State › North Carolina
North Carolina passed its charter law in 1996. In 2009-10, there are 96 charter schools (on 97 campuses) serving an estimated 39,033 students. North Carolina law allows 100 charter schools, with a maximum of five per school district per year.
North Carolina law allows local school boards, the University of North Carolina, and the state board of education to serve as authorizers. Charter schools approved by local school boards and the University of North Carolina must also be approved by the state board of education. In practice, the state board of education is the only active authorizer in the state.
The law is open to new start-ups, public school conversions, and virtual schools and fares well on charter school autonomy for start-up charters. However, the law needs significant work, starting with lifting the state's restrictive cap. It also needs to beef up its requirements for charter application, review, and decision-making processes, charter school oversight, and renewal, non-renewal, and revocation processes and provide facilities support to charter schools.
How does this state compare to the model law?
| Model Law Component | Matches | North Carolina's Charter Law | Scoring |
|---|---|---|---|
|
No Caps |
North Carolina law allows 100 charter schools, with a maximum of five per school district per year. As of the 2009-10 school year, there are 96 charter schools open. |
0
The state has a cap with no room for growth.
3
0
|
|
|
1A. No limits are placed on the number of public charter schools or students (and no geographic limits). |
No | ||
|
1B. If caps exist, adequate room for growth. |
No | ||
|
A Variety of Public Charter Schools Allowed |
North Carolina law allows new start-ups, public school conversions, and virtual schools. |
4
The state allows new start-ups, public school conversions, and virtual schools.
1
4
|
|
|
2A. New start-ups. |
Yes | ||
|
2B. Public school conversions. |
Yes | ||
|
2C. Virtual schools. |
Yes | ||
|
Multiple Authorizers Available |
North Carolina law allows local school boards, the University of North Carolina, and the state board of education to serve as authorizers. Charter schools approved by local school boards and the University of North Carolina must also be approved by the state board of education. In practice, the state board of education is the only active authorizer in the state. |
1
The state has only a single viable authorizer option available, and there is some authorizing activity.
3
3
|
|
|
3A. Two or more viable authorizing options for each applicant with direct application allowed to each authorizing option. |
No | ||
|
Authorizer and Overall Program Accountability System Required |
North Carolina law includes none of the elements of the model law's authorizer and overall program accountability system. |
0
The state law includes none of the elements of the model law's authorizer and overall program accountability system.
3
0
|
|
|
4A. At least a registration process for local school boards to affirm their interest in chartering to the state. |
No | ||
|
4B. Application process for other eligible authorizing entities. |
No | ||
|
4C. Authorizer submission of annual report, which summarizes the agency's authorizing activities as well as the performance of its school portfolio. |
No | ||
|
4D. A regular review process by authorizer oversight body. |
No | ||
|
4E. Authorizer oversight body with authority to sanction authorizers, including removal of authorizer right to approve schools. |
No | ||
|
4F. Periodic formal evaluation of overall state charter school program and outcomes. |
No | ||
|
Adequate Authorizer Funding |
North Carolina law inclues none of the model law's provisions for adequate authorizer funding. |
0
The state law includes none of the model law's provisions for adequate authorizer funding.
2
0
|
|
|
5A. Adequate funding from authorizing fees (or other sources). |
No | ||
|
5B. Guaranteed funding from authorizing fees (or from sources not subject to annual legislative appropriations). |
No | ||
|
5C. Requirement to publicly report detailed authorizer expenditures. |
No | ||
|
5D. Separate contract for any services purchased from an authorizer by a school. |
No | ||
|
5E. Prohibition on authorizers requiring schools to purchase services from them. |
No | ||
|
Transparent Charter Application, Review, and Decision-making Processes |
North Carolina law contains application elements for all schools. |
1
The state law includes a small number of the model law's provisions for transparent charter application, review, and decision-making processes.
4
4
|
|
|
6A. Application elements for all schools. |
Yes | ||
|
6B. Additional application elements specific to conversion schools. |
Yes | ||
|
6C. Additional application elements specific to virtual schools. |
No | ||
|
6D. Additional application elements specific when using educational service providers. |
No | ||
|
6E. Additional application elements specific to replications. |
No | ||
|
6F. Authorizer-issued request for proposals (including application requirements and approval criteria). |
No | ||
|
6G. Thorough evaluation of each application including an in-person interview and a public meeting. |
No | ||
|
6H. All charter approval or denial decisions made in a public meeting, with authorizers stating reasons for denials in writing. |
No | ||
|
Performance-Based Charter Contracts Required |
North Carolina law requires charter contracts, but provides few requirements regarding the parameters of charter contracts. North Carolina law allows the state board of education to grant the initial charter for a period not to exceed 10 years and requires the state board of education to review the operations of each charter school at least once every five years to ensure that the school is meeting the expected academic, financial, and governance standards. |
2
The state law requires charter contracts with some of the model law's provisions for performance-based charter contracts.
4
8
|
|
|
7A. Being created as a separate document from the application and executed by the governing board of the charter school and the authorizer. |
Yes | ||
|
7B. Defining the roles, powers, and responsibilities for the school and its authorizer. |
No | ||
|
7C. Defining academic and operational performance expectations by which the school will be judged, based on a performance framework that includes measures and metrics for, at a minimum, student academic proficiency and growth, achievement gaps, attendance, recurrent enrollment, postsecondary readiness (high schools), financial performance, and board stewardship (including compliance). |
No | ||
|
7D. Providing an initial term of five operating years (or a longer term with periodic high-stakes reviews). |
Yes | ||
|
7E. Including requirements addressing the unique environments of virtual schools, if applicable. |
No | ||
|
Comprehensive Charter School Monitoring and Data Collection Processes |
North Carolina law provides that charter schools are subject to the financial audits, the audit procedures, and the audit requirements adopted by the state board of education for charter schools, which may include the requirements of the School Budget and Fiscal Control Act. North Carolina law requires charter schools to comply with the reporting requirements established by the state board of education in the Uniform Education Reporting System. North Carolina law requires charter schools to report at least annually to the authorizer and the state board of education the information required by the authorizer or the state board of education. |
1
The state law includes a small number of the model law's provisions for comprehensive charter school monitoring and data collection processes.
4
4
|
|
|
8A. The collection and analysis of student outcome data at least annually by authorizers (consistent with performance framework outlined in the contract). |
No | ||
|
8B. Financial accountability for charter schools (e.g., Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, independent annual audit reported to authorizer). |
Yes | ||
|
8C. Authorizer authority to conduct or require oversight activities. |
Some | ||
|
8D. Annual school performance reports produced and made public by each authorizer. |
No | ||
|
8E. Authorizer notification to their schools of perceived problems, with opportunities to remedy such problems. |
No | ||
|
8F. Authorizer authority to take appropriate corrective actions or exercise sanctions short of revocation. |
No | ||
|
Clear Processes for Renewal, Nonrenewal, and Revocation Decisions |
North Carolina law allows the state board of education, or an authorizer subject to the approval of the state board of education, to terminate or not renew a charter upon any of the following grounds: failure to meet the requirements for student performance contained in the charter; failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; violations of law; material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the charter; two thirds of the faculty and instructional support personnel at the school request that the charter be terminated or not renewed; or other good cause identified. North Carolina law requires that upon dissolution of the charter school or upon the nonrenewal of the charter, all net assets of the charter school purchased with public funds shall be deemed the property of the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is located. |
1
The state law includes a small number of the model law's clear processes for renewal, nonrenewal, and revocation decisions.
4
4
|
|
|
9A. Authorizer must issue school performance renewal reports to schools whose charter will expire the following year. |
No | ||
|
9B. Schools seeking renewal must apply for it. |
No | ||
|
9C. Authorizers must issue renewal application guidance that provides an opportunity for schools to augment their performance record and discuss improvements and future plans. |
No | ||
|
9D. Clear criteria for renewal and nonrenewal/revocation. |
Yes | ||
|
9E. Authorizers must ground renewal decisions based on evidence regarding the school's performance over the term of the charter contract (in accordance with the performance framework set forth in the charter contract). |
No | ||
|
9F. Authorizer authority to vary length of charter renewal contract terms based on performance or other issues. |
Yes | ||
|
9G. Authorizers must provide charter schools with timely notification of potential revocation or non-renewal (including reasons) and reasonable time to respond. |
No | ||
|
9H. Authorizers must provide charter schools with due process for nonrenewal and revocation decisions (e.g., public hearing, submission of evidence). |
No | ||
|
9I. All charter renewal, non-renewal, and revocation decisions made in a public meeting, with authorizers stating reasons for non-renewals and revocations in writing. |
No | ||
|
9J. Authorizers must have school closure protocols to ensure timely parent notification, orderly student and record transitions, and property and asset disposition. |
Some | ||
|
Educational Service Providers Allowed |
North Carolina law is silent regarding these arrangements. While the law is silent regarding these arrangements, the state allows all types of educational service providers to operate all or parts of charter schools in practice. |
1
The state law is silent regarding these arrangements OR The state law prohibits contracting with certain types of educational service providers.
2
2
|
|
|
10A. All types of educational service providers to operate all or parts of charter schools. |
No | ||
|
10B. A performance contract between the independent public charter school board and the service provider is required. |
No | ||
|
10C. Existing and potential conflicts of interest between the two entities are required to be disclosed and explained in application. |
No | ||
|
Fiscally and Legally Autonomous Schools, with Independent Public Charter School Boards |
North Carolina law provides all of the model law's requirements for fiscally and legally autonomous schools with independent charter school boards. |
4
The state law includes all of the model law's provisions for fiscally and legally autonomous schools with independent public charter school boards.
3
12
|
|
|
11A. Fiscally and legally autonomous schools (e.g., schools have authority to receive and disburse funds, enter into contracts, and sue and be sued in their own names). |
Yes | ||
|
11B. School governing boards independent of the authorizer and created specifically to govern their charter school(s). |
Yes | ||
|
Clear Student Recruitment, Enrollment and Lottery Procedures |
North Carolina law requires charters to provide open enrollment to any student in the state. North Carolina law provides that conversion charter schools must give preference in the admissions process to students who reside within the former attendance area of that school. It also specifies that within one year after the charter school begins operation, the population of the school must reasonably reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population residing in the school district or the racial and ethnic composition of the special population that the school seeks to serve residing in the school district. The law subjects a charter school to any court ordered desegregation plan in effect for the school district. The law allows a charter school to give enrollment priority to siblings of currently enrolled students and to children of the school's principal, teachers and teacher assistants. In its first year of operation, it also allows a charter school to give enrollment priority to children of the initial members of the charter school's board of directors, so long as these children are limited to no more than ten percent of the school's total enrollment or twenty students, whichever is less, and the charter school is not a former public or private school. Once enrolled, North Carolina law does not require students to reapply in subsequent enrollment periods. |
3
The state law includes many of the model law's requirements for student recruitment, enrollment, and lottery procedures.
1
3
|
|
|
12A. Open enrollment to any student in the state. |
Yes | ||
|
12B. Lottery requirements. |
Yes | ||
|
12C. Required enrollment preferences for previously enrolled students within conversions, prior year students within chartered schools, and siblings of enrolled students enrolled at a charter school. |
Some | ||
|
12D. Optional enrollment preference for children of a school's founders, governing board members, and full-time employees, not exceeding 10% of the school's total student population. |
Some | ||
|
Automatic Exemptions from Many State and District Laws and Regulations |
North Carolina law states that except as provided in the state's charter school law and pursuant to the provisions of its charter, a charter school is exempt from statutes and rules applicable to a local school board or school district. |
3
The state law provides automatic exemptions from many state and district laws and regulations and requires some of a school's teachers to be certified.
3
9
|
|
|
13A. Exemptions from all laws, except those covering health, safety, civil rights, student accountability, employee criminal history checks, open meetings, freedom of information, and generally accepted accounting principles. |
Yes | ||
|
13B. Exemption from state teacher certification requirements. |
Some | ||
|
Automatic Collective Bargaining Exemption |
For charter schools sponsored by a local school board, teachers remain subject to school district work rules. For all other charter schools, teachers are not subject to school district work rules. |
2
The state law exempts some schools from existing collective bargaining agreements, but not others.
3
6
|
|
|
14A. Charter schools authorized by non-local board authorizers are exempt from participation in district collective bargaining agreements. |
Yes | ||
|
14B. Charter schools authorized by local boards are exempt from participation in district collective bargaining agreements. |
No | ||
|
Multi-School Charter Contracts and/or Multi-Charter Contract Boards Allowed |
North Carolina law is silent regarding multi-school charter contracts and multi-charter contracts boards. |
1
The state law is silent regarding these arrangements. OR The state law explicitly allows either of these arrangements but does not require each school to be independently accountable for fiscal and academic performance. OR The state law explicitly allows these arrangements for some schools but not others.
1
1
|
|
|
15A. Oversee multiple schools linked under a single contract with independent fiscal and academic accountability for each school. |
No | ||
|
15B. Hold multiple charter contracts with independent fiscal and academic accountability for each school. |
No | ||
|
Extra-Curricular and Interscholastic Activities Eligibility and Access |
North Carolina law is silent about extra-curricular and interscholastic activities eligibility and access for charter school students and employees. |
1
The state law is silent about charter eligibility and access.
1
1
|
|
|
16A. Laws or regulations explicitly state that charter school students and employees are eligible to participate in all interscholastic leagues, competitions, awards, scholarships, and recognition programs available to non-charter public school students and employees. |
No | ||
|
16B. Laws or regulations explicitly allow charter school students in schools not providing extra-curricular and interscholastic activities to have access to those activities at non-charter public schools for a fee by a mutual agreement. |
No | ||
|
Clear Identification of Special Education Responsibilities |
North Carolina law is silent about special education responsibilities. |
0
The state law is silent about special education responsibilities and funding for low-incident, high- cost services.
2
0
|
|
|
17A. Clarity regarding which entity is the local education agency (LEA) responsible for providing special education services. |
No | ||
|
17B. Clarity regarding funding for low-incident, high-cost services for charter schools (in the same amount and/or in a manner similar to other LEAs). |
No | ||
|
Equitable Operational Funding and Equal Access to All State and Federal Categorical Funding |
North Carolina law provides that the state board of education must allocate to each charter school: an amount equal to the average per pupil allocation for average daily membership from the local school administrative unit allotments in which the charter school is located for each child attending the charter school except for the allocation for children with disabilities and for the allocation for children with limited English proficiency; an additional amount for each child attending the charter school who is a child with disabilities; and an additional amount for children with limited English proficiency attending the charter school, based on a formula adopted by the state board. |
2
The state law includes some of the model law's provisions for equitable operational funding and equal access to all state and federal categorical funding.
3
6
|
|
|
18A. Equitable operational funding statutorily driven. |
Some | ||
|
18B. Equal access to all applicable categorical federal and state funding, and clear guidance on the pass-through of such funds. |
Some | ||
|
18C. Funding for transportation similar to school districts. |
No | ||
|
Equitable Access to Capital Funding and Facilities |
North Carolina law allows the North Carolina Capital Facilities Finance Authority to issue bonds on behalf of charter schools (but it has not done so to date). |
1
The state law includes a small number of the model law's provisions for equitable access to capital funding and facilities.
3
3
|
|
|
19A. A per-pupil facilities allowance which annually reflects actual average district capital costs. |
Some | ||
|
19B. A state grant program for charter school facilities. |
Yes | ||
|
19C. A state loan program for charter school facilities. |
No | ||
|
19D. Equal access to tax-exempt bonding authorities or allow charter schools to have their own bonding authority. |
Yes | ||
|
19E. A mechanism to provide credit enhancement for public charter school facilities. |
No | ||
|
19F. Equal access to existing state facilities programs available to non-charter public schools. |
No | ||
|
19G. Right of first refusal to purchase or lease at or below fair market value a closed, unused, or underused public school facility or property. |
Yes | ||
|
19H. Prohibition of facility-related requirements stricter than those applied to traditional public schools. |
No | ||
|
Access to Relevant Employee Retirement Systems |
North Carolina law provides charter schools access to the relevant employee retirement systems, but does not require them to participate. |
4
The state law provides access to relevant employee retirement systems, but does not require participation.
2
8
|
|
|
20A. Charter schools have access to relevant state retirement systems available to other public schools. |
Yes | ||
|
20B. Charter schools have the option to participate (i.e., not required). |
Yes |