                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CONTRACTS FOR PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS (§ 22.1-212.7)

A. Within 90 days of approval of a charter application, the local school board
and the management committee of the approved public charter school shall execute
a charter contract that clearly sets forth (i) the academic and operational
performance expectations and measures by which the public charter school will be
judged and (ii) the administrative relationship between the local school board
and public charter school, including each party&#8217;s rights and duties. Such
90-day period may be extended by a period not to exceed 30 days by mutual
agreement of the parties. Such performance expectations and measures shall
include applicable federal and state accountability requirements and may be
refined or amended by mutual agreement after the public charter school has
collected baseline achievement data for its enrolled students.

B. The academic and operational performance expectations and measures in the
charter contract shall be based on a performance framework that clearly sets
forth the academic and operational performance indicators, measures, and metrics
that will guide the local school board&#8217;s evaluations of each public
charter school. The performance framework shall include indicators, measures,
and metrics for:

   1. Student academic proficiency;

   2. Student academic growth;

   3. Achievement gaps in both proficiency and growth between the major student
   subgroups based on gender, race, poverty status, special education status,
   English language learner status, and gifted status;

   4. Attendance;

   5. Recurrent annual enrollment;

   6. Postsecondary education readiness of high school students;

   7. Financial performance and sustainability; and

   8. The performance and stewardship of the management committee, including
   compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and terms of the charter
   contract.

C. The performance framework shall allow the inclusion of additional rigorous,
valid, and reliable indicators proposed by a public charter school to augment
external evaluations of its performance, provided that the local school board
approves the quality and rigor of such indicators and such indicators are
consistent with the purposes of this article.

D. The performance framework shall require the disaggregation of all student
performance data by major student subgroups based on gender, race, poverty
status, special education status, English language learner status, and gifted
status.

E. Annual performance targets shall be set by each public charter school and the
local school board and shall be designed to help each school meet applicable
federal, state, and local school board expectations.

F. The charter contract shall be signed by the chairman of the local school
board and the president or chairman of the public charter school&#8217;s
management committee. Within 10 days of executing a charter contract, the local
school board shall submit to the Board written notification of the charter
contract execution, including a copy of the executed charter contract and any
attachments.

G. No public charter school shall commence operations without a charter contract
executed in accordance with this section and approved in an open meeting of the
local school board.

H. If the charter application proposes a program to increase the educational
opportunities for at-risk students, including those proposals for residential
charter schools for at-risk students, the local school board or relevant school
boards, as the case may be, on behalf of the public charter school, shall also
request that the Board approve an Individual School Accreditation Plan for the
evaluation of the performance of the school as authorized by the Standards of
Accreditation pursuant to 8VAC20-131-280 C of the Virginia Administrative Code.

I. Any material revision of the terms of the contract may be made only with the
approval of the local school board or relevant school boards and the management
committee of the public charter school.

HISTORY: 1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2012, cc.
702, 720; 2016, c. 770.