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Members of the North Carolina State Board of Education raised questions about charter schools repeatedly receiving three-year renewal terms from the state’s Charter Schools Review Board.
Three-year renewal terms are typically granted to low-performing schools struggling with academic performance or governance issues.
But there is no policy that specifies a limit on the number of three-year renewals a school can receive before facing closure. That’s left to the review board to decide. “There’s no cutoff, it really is the judgment of the CSRB whether or not they’re going to continue to have a three-year renewal,” said review board chair, Bruce Friend.
Last month, the review board renewed charters for 32 schools, granting 10-year terms to 18 schools, seven-year terms to one, five-year terms to three, and three-year terms to 10. One renewal request was denied, and five others were tabled to a later date. At least six of the 10 schools given three-year renewals had previously been on a three-year cycle, raising questions among some board members.
The review board oversees approximately 200 public charter schools serving over 130,000 students across North Carolina. A 10-year renewal term is granted to high-performing schools. The board has discretion to grant shorter terms of three to seven years for lower-performing institutions.
Three-year renewals are a designation reserved for schools that show a “pattern of unresolved or consistent issues” and an inability to provide sound audits for the immediately preceding year, or if the school is currently on financial noncompliance disciplinary status. Schools with academic outcomes that have not been comparable to the local school district’s outcomes but have met growth one year out of the immediately preceding three years, may also be granted three-year renewals.
Friend reassured state board members that struggling schools face heightened scrutiny before they are renewed. Friend said decisions hinge on factors like academic growth, leadership stability and governance. “Has there been an upward trend since the last time they were before us? Are we starting to see movement towards higher proficiency, higher growth scores?”
The review board approved half of the 12 applicants for the 2024 application cycle at its January meeting. The 2025 application window remains open through April.
State law gives applicants, charter schools, and the state superintendent the right to appeal review board decisions to the State Board of Education.