Indianapolis Charter Schools Board
Purpose
The Mayor created, via executive order, the Indianapolis Charter Schools Board to advise the mayor on which charter school applications to approve and to assist the mayor in holding resulting schools accountable.
Organization
The board will consist of: 1) a chairperson, 2) a vice-chairperson, 3) a secretary, 4) no more than seven additional members, and 5) a mayor's office designee, as a non-voting, ex-officio member.
In addition, the board may select any other officers it sees fit.
Member Qualifications
The mayor will appoint individuals with experience and expertise in areas such as:
- Primary and secondary education, including teachers, principals and education scholars;
- Serving special education and at-risk students (nationwide, 25 percent of charter schools serve special populations);
- Parental involvement in urban schools;
- Business organizations, strategies and financing, to assess applicants' governance and fiscal plans; and
- Curriculum.
Responsibilities
The board will:
- Submit recommendations on charter school applications to the mayor;
- Adopt rules, guidelines and criteria to help it carry out its responsibilities;
- Adopt rules for the conduct of its hearings and for its procedures to comply with Indiana's Open Door Law or Public Records Act;
- Review and adopt the mayor's charter school application;
- Consider and recommend reasonable application and oversight fees;
- Adopt technical requirements for applications that, if not met, render an application technically deficient;
- Identify individuals to serve on initial review teams;
- Obtain the services of experts whom the board finds necessary to accomplish its responsibilities;
- Establish guidelines for board members regarding ethical issues, including conflicts of interest, particularly with respect to review and recommendation of applications;
- Be responsible for continuing oversight and ongoing review of the educational achievement, finances, staffing and facilities of mayor-sponsored charter schools;
- Provide an annual written report on each mayor-sponsored school to the mayor, and do so more frequently if he directs.