Policies

Policies

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It is important that the charter public schools authorized by Central Michigan University (CMU) have a clear understanding of their expectations of them and the role CMU has as a charter public school authorizer. The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools (Center) and the CMU Board of Trustees have adopted policies that outline their standards and provide guidelines for charter public schools as they enter into agreements with third-party educational service providers. Whether opening a new charter school or administering an existing charter school, the Center encourages reviewing the following policies to develop an awareness of the types of policies it has developed.

ESP Policies 

As educational service providers (ESP) or management companies began to play a more significant role in the charter school sector, The Center developed policies outlining requirements to be satisfied before charter public school boards and ESPs enter into a final agreement. Specifically, these policies address the roles and responsibilities of the ESP and the charter public school board as they relate to contract development and negotiations. All ESP agreements must be in compliance with these policies before the final agreement is executed. The Center reserves the right to disapprove the proposed agreement if it is not in compliance with its policies. Conversely, it does not approve any ESP agreements.

Download Center ESP Policies - June 1, 2012 (.pdf)

ESP Information Sheet (.pdf)

Chartering Policies 

In 1994, the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees adopted its first set of chartering policies. In 1998, the Board rescinded and revised these initial policies to reflect the changes of the Michigan Supreme Court charter school law ruling of 1997.

In addition to reflecting the legislative changes, the Board took the opportunity to incorporate testing requirements and other standards. Through these policies, The Center developed an internal monitoring and oversight system that is nationally renowned.

The following outlines the policies currently utilized by Central Michigan University and The Center to evaluate, assess, monitor and reauthorize charter public schools.

Recitals:

1. The people of Michigan, through their constitution, have provided that schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged, and have authorized the legislature to maintain and support a system of free public elementary and secondary schools.
2. The Michigan legislature, by enacting Act 362 of the Public Schools Act of 1993, has authorized a new form of public school designated a public school academy to be created to serve the educational needs of pupils and has provided that pupils attending these schools shall be eligible for support from the state school aid fund.
3. Act 362 of the Public Schools Act of 1993 was ruled constitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court.
4. All public schools are subject to the leadership and general supervision of the State Board of Education.
5. The legislature has delegated to the governing boards of state public universities, community colleges, intermediate school districts and local school districts the responsibility for authorizing the establishment of public school academies.
6. The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees as a governing body of a state public university is an authorizing body empowered to voluntarily issue contracts to organize and operate public school academies.
7. The Michigan legislature has mandated that public school academy contracts be issued on a competitive basis taking into consideration the educational goals to be achieved, the population to be served, and the resources available for operation.
8. Central Michigan University's involvement with public school academies expands a tradition of leadership that began in the late 1800s when we educated our first public school teachers.

BE IT RESOLVED, That the chartering policies for public school academies adopted by the Board of Trustees at its July 21, 1994, meeting are rescinded;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the following chartering policies are adopted.

a. Recognizing that public school academy board members are public officials and have primary responsibility for the academy's governance and operation, an academy's board of directors shall have not less than five nor more than nine members.

b. To ensure that public school academies are open and accessible to all interested parties, each academy must legally notice and reasonably inform the public of its application period and enrollment procedures.

c. Believing competitive comparisons and benchmarking information are necessary for raising standards and driving continuous improvement, the charter schools office shall ensure that each public school academy contract contains clear, measurable performance standards.

d. To assess the academic performance of public school academies, the charter schools office shall institute an educational monitoring system that, among other things, requires public school academies to annually administer a nationally recognized norm-referenced achievement test to each grade or grouping level.

e. To assess the organizational viability of public school academies, the charter schools office shall institute a financial monitoring system that, among other things, requires public school academies to submit an annual budget, quarterly financial statements, and an annual independent financial audit.

f. To effectively perform the university's oversight responsibilities, the charter schools office shall assess an annual oversight fee of three percent of funds paid to each public school academy according to the terms of the State School Aid Act.

g. Striving to make the renewal process for public school academies straightforward, the charter schools office shall institute a charter renewal process, guided by the following core questions:

• Is the public school academy's academic program successful?
• Is the public school academy's organization viable?
• Is the public school academy demonstrating good faith in following the terms of its charter and applicable law?

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the president or the president's designee is authorized to develop and implement additional policies necessary for administering the university's charter schools program.