Charter Renewal

Every New York State charter school has a charter agreement (contract), signed by its board of trustees and its authorizer, that defines its terms of operation and details the promises made to students and their families. The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (as amended) limits the maximum length of these agreements to no more than five-years.  As a result, to continue operating, a school must apply to renew its charter at the end of each charter term.  Because the charter is for a limited period and expires unless it is renewed, it is known as a “provisional charter.”  The purpose of making charters provisional is to hold charter schools more accountable than district-run public schools, which are registered instead of chartered.

The Charter Schools Act requires that charter schools submit an application for renewal. 
Not everything, however, that the Charter Schools Institute requires in the renewal application is required by the law.  The Act permits the SUNY Trustees to require additional information.  In order to get the best sense of whether a charter school has lived up to its promises, the SUNY Trustees have determined that schools should submit a number of other documents as part of their application.  In addition, the Charter Schools Institute conducts a renewal visit to schools that apply for renewal.

In short, the SUNY Trustees do not automatically grant charter renewal; a school must demonstrate that it has earned it. Only by providing: 1) a comprehensive, evidence-based, case of the school's growth and increased student achievement over the life of the charter; 2) a description of the systems the school currently has in place to continue that growth; and 3) a set of well-designed plans that will result in further growth in the future, will a school have effectively demonstrated that it deserves to continue the high privilege of educating New York State's children. Throughout the renewal process schools should feel free to contact the Institute with any questions or concerns.

Updated: 8/22/12

                      Attention 2012 Applicants for Renewal

Thank you to all schools that submitted the 2012 Application for Renewal. 

What follows are key resources for schools as they move through the SUNY renewal process or for anyone interested in learning more about SUNY renewal policies and practices:

• SUNY Renewal Policies (Practices, Policies and Procedures for the

Renewal of Charter Schools Authorized by the State University Board of Trustees) Revised 6-25-12

The SUNY Renewal Policies have been revised to reflect the authority of the re-established SUNY Trustees' Charter Schools Committee as well as to address the May 2010 amendments to the Charter Schools Act.

• Fall 2012 Charter School Renewal Visit Guide for School Leaders
  
  
• Renewal Visit Data Collection Form
  
  
• Teacher and Certification Roster Template
  
  
• SUNY Renewal Process Overview for Parents, Teachers, Community

Members and Other Stakeholders

• SUNY Charter Renewal Benchmarks
  

(latest version is now 5.0) Revised 5-8-12

• Guidelines for Creating a SUNY Accountability Plan
  

(Revised Dec. 2010)

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The Institute generally updates its renewal application each year. For the reference of SUNY authorized charter schools that will come to renewal next year:

• 2012 Application for Renewal
  
  

-  Renewal Functional Expenses for Last Year of Charter Term

-  Renewal Five Year Budget Outlook

• Recording of an Informational Webinar on Initial Renewal
  

-  PowerPoint Presentation used in webinar

• Recording of an Informational Webinar on Subsequent Renewal

 -  PowerPoint presentation used in webinar

Coming Soon:

The SUNY Charter
Renewal Handbook (4th Edition)