Application Timeline

The Charter Schools Institute formally accepts new school applications two times a year: the Summer Cycle (June) and the Winter Cycle (January).

New! 6/3/08: The Charter Schools Institute has received 19 new applications for schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Rochester, Elmira, Ithaca and Buffalo.  

A Cycle specific schedule will always be produced to assure clarity for applicants. Click here for the Summer
2008 Application Cycle schedule.

More generally, however, the bulleted items below provide an overview of the Institute's Application Review Cycle.  Note that a more extensive discussion of these items is provided in the Institute's recently updated Application Kit (in the Frequently Asked Questions document and the new Section III). 

   
 
Overview
Application Timeline
Application Kit
Application Resources
 
   


  • All applicants will be notified of the receipt of their applications.
  • Concurrent with review by Institute academic, fiscal and legal staff, copies of applications are sent to external panels for independent reviews by nationally recognized charter school experts.
 
  • Institute staff interviews the application's founding team, including applicants and proposed members of the charter school's board of trustees.
 
  • The Institute continues review of applications for fiscal and educational soundness, and compliance with all other applicable laws, rules and regulations. 
 
  • Those applications moving forward in the process begin a series of exchanges with Institute staff known as the RFA process.
  • The applicant and proposed board of trustees of those applications being moved forward in the process are then interviewed by members of the Committee on Charter Schools of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York.

  • The Committee on Charter Schools--informed by the Charter Schools Institute and their own interview with applicants--forwards any recommended charters for action by the full State University Board of Trustees.
 
  • Upon approval by the Board of Trustees, a charter agreement between the Charter Schools Institute and the charter school applicants must be executed. Within five days of entering a charter agreement, the agreement is submitted to the Board of Regents.

    The Regents may then issue the charter (if they fail to act within 90 days, the charter is automatically issued), or return it with comments.

    The University Trustees can take one of three actions when the Regents return a proposed charter.  The Trustees can re-submit the proposed charter unchanged. They may also re-submit the proposed charter with modifications. The Trustees may also abandon the charter. The Charter Schools Act sets no timetable for when these actions must take place. Once a proposed charter is re-submitted to the Board of Regents, whether it has been modified or not, the Regents have 30 days to issue the charter. If after 30 days the Regents do not act, the proposed charter is deemed approved and issued by operation of law.