Accountability Update: Proposed Charter Contract Extension

As a result of COVID-19-related school closures, the Georgia Dept. of Education (GaDOE) has waived all statewide assessment and accountability requirements for the 2019-20 school year. Thus, GaDOE will not produce a 2019-20 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) score. As such, the SCSC will be unable to determine if state charter schools met the academic performance expectation of providing students with a better educational opportunity in the 2019-20 school year.

So as to not unfairly penalize schools and provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate successful academic performance prior to renewal, the SCSC plans to recommend extending all charter contract terms by one year. This extension will apply to all state charter school contract terms with the exception of schools that:

• Earned a 5-year renewal term at the February 2020 SCSC Board Meeting (the last year of data from the current term does not apply in future accountability scenarios for schools granted a new 5-year charter contract); and
• Schools that have earned a 5-year renewal term through satisfactory performance in their current charter term.

With regard to the 2019-20 Comprehensive Performance Framework (CPF), the SCSC will not produce an academic performance score. We plan to produce operational and financial performance scores for the 2019-20 school year unless data limitations prevent us from doing so. For schools with extended contract terms, the 2019-20 operational and financial scores will be included in renewal considerations only if the scores improve a school’s renewal status.

SCSC staff shared this proposal with commissioners at the April 29, 2020 SCSC Board Meeting and bring the final recommendation to commissioners for a vote at the June 24, 2020 SCSC Board Meeting.