FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
JOHN WINN
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.
CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA
JULIA L. JOHNSON
WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.
LINDA K. TAYLOR
September 13, 2004
M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
Charter School Directors/Principals
School District Superintendents
FROM:
Theresa A. Klebacha, Ph.D.
SUBJECT:
2003-04 Annual Charter School Reports –
11/1/2004 DEADLINE
This memorandum serves as a reminder of the annual reporting requirement for charter schools and their
school district sponsors.
School districts and other sponsoring entities must submit a 2003-2004
annual report for each charter school to the Department of Education postmarked no later than
November 1, 2004.
School districts may determine the number of copies and the timeline that charter schools must follow in
submitting their annual reports to the district office. Charter school directors and principals should
contact their district charter school director to determine the number of copies and other specific reporting
requirements that the district may have established. The school district office is responsible for collecting
annual reports from all charter schools in the district and sending one copy of each school’s report to the
Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, Florida Department of Education, to the attention
of Karen Hines Henry.
Section 1002.33(9)(l), Florida Statutes, requires every operating charter school to coordinate with its
sponsoring school district in submitting an annual report to the Florida Department of Education. Per
statutory requirement, the annual report must include, at minimum:
THERESA A. KLEBACHA, PH.D.
Executive Director
Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 522 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0502 • Fax (850) 245-0875
Charter School Directors/Principals
School District Superintendents
September 13, 2004
Page Two
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Student Achievement: Student achievement data, as recorded by the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test (FCAT), including reports of student achievement information that links
baseline student data to the school’s performance goals as identified in the charter. The report
must identify reasons for any difference between established goals and actual student
performance.
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Financial Status: Financial status of the charter school, which must include revenues and
expenditures at a level of detail that allows for analysis of the school’s ability to meet financial
obligations and timely repayment of debt.
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Facilities: Documentation of the facilities in current use and any planned facilities for use by the
charter school for instruction of students, administrative functions or investment purposes.
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Personnel: Descriptive information about the charter school’s personnel, including salary and
benefit levels of charter school employees, the proportion of instructional personnel who hold
professional or temporary certificates, and the proportion of instructional personnel teaching in-
field or out-of-field.
To ensure compliance and reporting comprehensiveness, and to assist the charter schools in compiling the
required reporting information, the Department has provided a template that
must be completed by each
charter school
that operated during the 2003-04 academic year. Schools that closed during the school year
do not have to complete a report, but must be identified by the district when other charter school annual
reports are submitted to the Department. The template assures that each required statutory issue is addressed
and compiled in a way that allows for comparisons across schools and districts.
Charter schools
must
use the template to complete information required by the Department for the 2003-04
annual report. It is possible the sponsoring school district may require additional information be included in
the charter school submission to the district, consistent with contract requirements. However, at a minimum,
the Department expects to receive a final version of the template information.
Again, the deadline for school district sponsors to submit charter school annual reports to the Department is
November 1, 2004
. The school district is responsible for notifying the charter schools, in writing, of any
additional reporting requirements beyond the template requirements, including rationale for such
requirements. Ultimately, the law holds both the charter school and school district responsible for meeting
the reporting deadline.
As required by law, if a charter school fails to meet the reporting deadline, the Department of Education
is
required to include a notation of non-compliance
in the Annual Charter School Report submitted to the
Commissioner of Education, the State Board of Education, the Governor, the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives. We hope that this new reporting system will assist in ensuring
compliance, consistency, comprehensiveness and timeliness in the reporting process.
If you have any technical questions regarding the template, please contact Nancy Scowcroft at (850) 322-
5093 or
Nancy.Scowcroft@fldoe.org. Any policy questions should be directed to Dr. Paulette Mainwood at
(850) 245-0502 or Paulette.Mainwood@fldoe.org. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
c:
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Jim Warford, Chancellor
Jeanine Blomberg, Deputy Chief of Staff
School District Charter School Directors
