School System Flexibility in Georgia Overview and Comparison

SCHOOL SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY SCHOOL SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY IN GEORGIAIN GEORGIA

Overview and ComparisonOverview and Comparison

Presentation to

Education Works Leadership Institute

September 16, 2013

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Selecting a Flexibility Option• By June 30, 2015*June 30, 2015* each local school system must choose to

operate as one of the following: – Investing in Educational Excellence School System (IE2)– Charter System– Status Quo School System• Other options include:– System of Charter Clusters– System of Charter Schools– Strategic School System

*Per OCGA §20-2-84.3

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Decision Considerations

*College & Career Readiness Performance Index 11

Distributed

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Centralized (or Other) Decentralized

Yes

No Waivers

Decision Structure Considerations

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IE2

SystemSystem of

Charter Schools and Charter

Clusters

Strategic School System

CharterSystem

StatusQuo

>School System seeks waivers – must include at least one of the following: class size; expenditure control; certification; salary schedule

>Schools must state how broad flexibility per-mitted by the Charter Schools Act will be utilized to improve student achievement>School must provide exam-ples of how they will utilize the broad relief from Title 20 permit-ted by the Chart-er Schools Act.

>School System must state how bundled Title 20 waiver requests for flexibility permitted by state statute and State Board rule will be utilized.>School System cannot include the following: class size; expenditure control; certification; salary schedule.

>School System must provide examples of how broad flexibility permitted by the Charter Schools Act will be utilized to improve student achievement

>Waivers granted only in the case of a natural disaster>Statewide waivers expire June 30, 2015

Flexibility and Title 20

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

Status Quo

Cannot waive: >Federal rules/ regulations >State and local rules/regulations such as: insurance; physical health; school safety; assessment; QBE funding; etc. >Court orders, civil rights statutes >Conflicts of interest; unlawful conduct

Schools cannot waive: >Federal rules/ regulations >State and local rules/regulations such as: insurance; physical health; school safety; assessment; QBE funding; etc. >Court orders, civil rights statutes >Conflicts of interest; unlawful conduct

Cannot waive: >Big 4>Federal rules/ regulations >State and local rules/regulations such as: insurance; physical health; school safety; assessment; QBE funding; etc. >Court orders, civil rights statutes >Conflicts of interest; unlawful conduct

Cannot waive: >Federal rules/ regulations >State and local rules/regulations such as: insurance; physical health; school safety; assessment; QBE funding; etc. >Court orders, civil rights statutes >Conflicts of interest; unlawful conduct

No waivers permitted except if natural disaster, but cannot waive:>Federal rules/ regulations >State and local rules/regulations such as: insurance; physical health; school safety; assessment; QBE funding; etc. >Court orders, civil rights statutes >Conflicts of interest; unlawful conduct

Waiver Limitations

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

StatusQuo

>Flexibility proportionate to student performance goals>School System Strategic Plan is required>School System must conduct a public hearing to share Strategic Plan>Approved by the Local School Board at a public meeting.

>Emphasis on parent/ community involvement, including maximum school level governance>Approved by the Local School Board at a public meeting

>Flexibility is proportionate to increase in student performance goals >School System Strategic Plan is required>School System must conduct a public hearing to share Strategic Plan >Approved by the Local School Board

>Emphasis on parent/ community involvement, including maximum school level governance>Approved by the Local School Board at a public meeting

>School System must conduct a public hearing to provide notice of the system’s intent to select Status Quo>Local board of education must sign statement that the school system has selected Status Quo

Unique Features

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

Status Quo

>Possible savings through flexibility>Regular QBE funding with more local school system expenditure controls

>Possible savings through flexibility>Regular QBE funding with local expenditure controls>Federal charter school imple-mentation grants possible for each school

>Possible savings through flexibility>Regular QBE funding

>Possible savings through flexibility>Regular QBE funding with more local school system expenditure controls>Possible $100 (pre-austerity cut) per student

>No savings through flexibility

Fiscal Impact

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

StatusQuo

>School System may maximize school-level governance by granting local schools authority to determine how to reach goals

>School System must grant each school substan-tial autonomy and maximize school-level governance and decision making over budgets, programs, personnel, and innovation

>School System may maximize school level governance by granting local schools authority to determine how to reach goals, manage personnel, and develop innovative strategies

>School System must provide each school with substantial autonomy and maximum school-level governance and decision making over budgets, programs, personnel and/or innovation

>No change in school-level governance

Governance

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• Beyond the 4 responsibilities of a school board, everything else is the Superintendent’s responsibility

• Therefore, it is the Superintendent’s authority that is shared with schools in a charter system or a system of charter schools

• The authority of a local Board of Education is not diminished unless it has inappropriately taken the Superintendent’s authority

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Charter System School Governing Team

Autonomy

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Indicators of Autonomy• Must make personnel decisions (People)• Must make decisions about what happens in the school (Time)• Must set school budget spending priorities (Money)• Must recruit/select governing board members without district assistance (except for initial group)• Can contract for services provided by the district

Indicators of Autonomy• Must make personnel decisions (People)• Must make decisions about what happens in the school (Time)• Must set school budget spending priorities (Money)• Must recruit/select governing board members without district assistance (except for initial group)• Can contract for services provided by the district

The school should be as close to this

end as possible

The school should be as close to this

end as possible

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Different starting points, but same end point

Same starting point as a conversion charter, but a

different end point

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College and Career Academies• Since charter system schools are charter

schools, and• Since College and Career Academies must be

charter schools,• Many charter systems create new College and

Career Academies through their charter system contract – rather than through a separate charter application process for the College and Career Academy

Career Clusters/Pathways• College and Career Academies are increasingly being

created to better provide for Career Clusters/ Pathways

• We have 17 Career Clusters -- all designed with the help of Georgia businesses. – Each Cluster has multiple Pathways students can choose

• Students take core set of classes coupled with electives based on their pathway

1. Architecture & Construction2. Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources3. Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications4. Business Management & Administration5. Education and Training6. Energy Systems7. Finance8. Government & Public Administration9. Health Science10.Hospitality & Tourism11.Human Services12.Information Technology13.Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security14.Manufacturing15.Marketing16.Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics17.Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

27Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent 04/20/23

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

StatusQuo

>Student performance goals must meet or exceed state averages and exceed previous system performance >Student performance must meet all federal and state accountability measures


>Student performance goals must exceed previous system performance and must show annual improvement>Student performance must meet all federal and state accountability measures


>Student performance must meet all federal and state accountability measures

Performance Evaluation

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

StatusQuo

>Loss of governance of non-performing schools: (1) conversion to charter school; (2) operation by another school system; or (3) operation by private or non-profit entity

>Charter status revoked for non-performing schools/clusters; those schools/clusters lose all flexibility >Possible fiscal impact due to loss of flexibility

>Flexibility status revoked and school system reverts to Status Quo>Possible fiscal impact when converting from Strategic School System to Status Quo due to loss of flexibility

>Charter status revoked and school system reverts to Status Quo >Possible fiscal impact when converting from Charter System to Status Quo due to loss of flexibility

N/A

Consequences

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

Status Quo

>Local School System Board of Education and State Board of Education*

>Charter School Governing Board, Local School System Board of Education, and State Board of Education

>Local School System Board of Education and State Board of Education

>Local School System Board of Education and State Board of Education

N/A

Contractual Partners

*Required by statute that the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement participate in the IE2 process.

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

Status Quo

>Initial term of contract is for 5 years>Contract may be renewed if contract performance goals are met for at least three consecutive years

>Initial term of individual school contract is for 5 years>Contract status is reviewed annually, based on student performance>Subsequent contract term may range from 5 to 10 years if the charter contract goals are met

>Single contract term of 2 to 5 years>Contract status is reviewed annually, based on student performance>Follow-up contract must be IE2, Charter System, System of Charter Schools or Charter Clusters, or Status Quo

>Initial term of contract is for 5 years>Contract status is reviewed annually, based on student performance>Subsequent contract term may range from 5 to 10 years if the charter contract goals are met

N/A

Length of Contract

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Petition Approval Process

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Conversion charter petition

Charter system petition

LBOE GaDOE SBOE

Approval Approval

Review and make

recommendation to SBOE

New conversion

charter school

Approval Approval

Review and make


New charter system

Y

Y

N

N

End

End

End

End

Y

Y

N

N

Charter Advisory Committee review and


What is the Petition Review Process?

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IE2

SystemSystem of


Clusters


CharterSystem

Status Quo

>Approved by local board>Petition sent to GaDOE>Petition vetted by GaDOE staff>Petition sent to GaDOE Cabinet>Petition sent to State Board of Education (SBOE)>Contract signed by all parties>Time from receipt of petition to SBOE approval and contract = 8 to 24 months

>Approved by local board>Petition sent to GaDOE>Petition vetted by GaDOE staff >Petition sent to GaDOE Cabinet>Petition sent to State Board of Education (SBOE)>Contract signed by all parties>Time from receipt of petition to SBOE approval and contract = 3 to 6 months



N/A

Petition Process

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IE2

System System of


Clusters


CharterSystem

StatusQuo

O.C.G.A. §20-2-80 §20-2-81§20-2-82§20-2-83§20-2-84.1§20-2-84.2§20-2-84.3

O.C.G.A. §20-2-2062§20-2-2063.1§20-2-2063.2§20-2-2064.1§20-2-2065§20-2-2066§20-2-2067§20-2-2067.1§20-2-2068§20-2-2068.1§20-2-2068.2§20-2-2069§20-2-2070§20-2-2071

O.C.G.A. §20-2-2063.2

O.C.G.A. §20-2-2063.2

O.C.G.A. §20-2-80

Legal References

Flexibility Orientation

• Local Boards of Education make a significant legal commitment when they sign a charter system or IE2 contract.

• It is therefore critical that both new Board of Education members and new Superintendents receive a detailed orientation on their charter system or IE2 commitments as part of their “on-boarding” process

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Category 1: Strategic School System

Category 2: High Performing System

Category 3: Charter System

>Description: Receive Title 20 flexibility via waiver request process>Eligibility: Any system not categorized as 2 or 3. In general, this will mean system scoring less than an 80 on the CCRPI.>Incentive: Flexibility: Specific Title 20 regulations (including “Big 4” at the discretion of the SBOE) can be waived at the request of the system by the SBOE based on completion of strategic plan and monitoring by DOE. Plan must clearly indicate how the flexibility will affect student achievement. Higher bar on student achievement for Big 4 waivers.>Accountability: Term of waivers is 3 years, can only be revoked if system materially breaches its plan. -- or system can be promoted to Category 2 and get the broad flexibility waiver or go through the process to become Category 3.

>Description: Receive Title 20 flexibility without waiver process

>Eligibility: Granted automatically without process or performance contract if district meets (a1) and (a2), or (b):

(a1) System CCRPI grade of >= 80

AND

(a2) 90% of schools >= 80 (or all but 1 for systems with 10 or fewer schools) OR(b) Exceptional CCRPI growth (definition TBD)

>Incentive: Broad flexibility.

>Accountability: Maintain High Performance criteria; Term of broad flexibility is 3 years

>Description: Receive Title 20 flexibility through charter system application process.

>Eligibility: Any system is always eligible to apply but must go through the current application process; local school governance assurance

>Incentive: Broad flexibility

>Accountability: Student performance and local school governance

HB 327: Georgia’s Statewide Tiered Accountability and Flexibility System (G-STAFS)

Additional Information

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Garry McGiboney, Ph.D.Associate Superintendent

[email protected]

Howard Hendley, Ed.D.Director, Policy Division

[email protected]

Louis ErsteDirector, Charter Schools Division

[email protected]

Allan MeyerAssistant Director

Policy [email protected]

404-657-1065

Morgan FeltsProgram Manager and

Senior AttorneyCharter Schools [email protected]

404-656-0027

mailto:[email protected]





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School System Flexibility in Georgia Overview and Comparison