Department of Public Instruction press release:
Twenty eight nonprofit boards submitted applications to open public charter schools in August 2017. A spreadsheet of applicants is available on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Office of Charter Schools’ website.
“Charter schools provide parents with an additional public school choice so that they can determine the best fit to support their child’s learning,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson.
September 25 was the deadline to submit a charter application through the Office of Charter Schools’ automated application system. Each charter school applicant was required to pay a $1,000 application fee and perform criminal background checks on its proposed board members along with providing a detailed description of its proposed school’s mission and plan to meet that mission for students.
The Office of Charter Schools will now review the applications for completeness before forwarding them to the NC Charter Schools Advisory Board (CSAB). The CSAB will use an established structure, including external evaluators and applicant interviews, to review the applications. At the conclusion of this process, the CSAB will recommend applicants to the State Board of Education for approval.
Currently, 160 public charter schools are open for students in North Carolina. An additional 16 schools received a favorable report in June from the State Board of Education to begin their planning year for preparation to open in August 2016. NCDPI staff will provide training for these applicant groups over the next year as they complete the ready to open process.
Charter schools are public schools operated by nonprofit boards. The schools have open enrollment; and no tuition is charged to attend. Public tax dollars are the primary funding source for charter schools.