2024-25 Renewal Cycle

The purpose of this page is to provide resources and up to date information regarding the 2024-25 Renewal Cycle in order to ensure community members interested in this process have all the information they need in order to stay involved and informed. For any questions about the renewal process or the information on this page, please reach out to the OUSD Office of Charter Schools team at charteroffice@ousd.org. For any questions regarding specifics about a charter school or a charter school petition, please reach out directly to the school. Please also note, responses from the OUSD Office of Charter Schools team may be delayed due to the time-consuming nature of the renewal cycle. We thank you in advance for your understanding and patience.

What is Renewal?

Charter school renewal is the process of determining whether a charter school's charter should be reauthorized for an additional term. In the academic year prior to a charter school's term expiration, the charter school must submit a Renewal Petition to their authorizer in order to continue operating. The authorizer, or in OUSD's case, the OUSD Board of Education, must then consider the school's academic, financial, and organizational performance over the course of the charter term. The OUSD Office of Charter Schools authors a Renewal Staff Report which will assist the OUSD Board of Education in evaluating the Renewal Petition. Based on this analysis, the authorizer must vote (within 90 days of submission) to approve the charter for a new term or to deny the request. The figure below represents the 90 day timeline for renewal, as outlined in California Education Code.

If you'd like to learn more about the renewal process, please check out our FAQs below and visit our Charter Petition page where you can find OCS' Renewal Handbook and other related materials.

What schools are applying for renewal?

In the 2024-25 school year, there are nine OUSD-authorized charter schools eligible for renewal. The full list of schools, including the submitted renewal petition, the submission date, the hearing dates, and a link to the Staff Report, will be posted below and updated throughout the renewal cycle. For a list of submitted renewal petitions, see here.

Aspire Lionel Wilson

Learning Without Limits

KIPP Bridge

ASCEND

Oakland Unity High

ARISE

Oakland Charter High School

AIMS K-8

LPS Oakland R&D

Renewal FAQs

This section of the page is still under construction. Thank you for your patience!

What are renewal tiers?

Education Code Section 47607 outlines a three-tiered system of performance categories for most charter schools seeking renewal. In this system, charter schools are placed into one of three categories (“High Tier”, “Low Tier”, or “Middle Tier”) based on an evaluation of student outcomes over the prior two years. Depending on the tier, additional criteria and conditions for evaluating the charter school’s renewal petition may apply as outlined below.

For the 2024-25 school year, there is one school in the High Tier (AIMS K-8), one school in the Low Tier (LPS Oakland R&D), and the remaining seven schools are in the Middle Tier.

How does OUSD evaluate Renewal Petitions?

The Charter Schools Act of 1992, as amended by AB 1505 in 2020, establishes the criteria by which charter renewal applications must be evaluated. The renewal criteria outlined in Ed Code is outlined below:

Has the Charter School Presented a Sound Educational Program?
Is the Charter School Demonstrably Likely to Successfully Implement the Proposed Educational Program?
Is the Petition Reasonably Comprehensive?
Is the Charter School Serving All Students Who Wish to Attend?

For more information about these criteria, see OCS' Renewal Handbook.

Who approves or denies a Renewal Petition?

What schools are up for renewal next year?

The Oakland Charter Schools Dashboard provides current and historical information about charter schools in Oakland including current charter terms, charter schools in Oakland over time, openings/closures/authorizer changes over time, and a school snapshot regarding each charter school that has operated in Oakland.

The "Current Charter Terms" tab specifically shows the expiration year of current Oakland charter terms, including charter schools authorized by the Alameda County Office of Education and the State Board of Education.

What ACOE or SBE charter schools are up for renewal?

The "Current Charter Terms" tab of the Oakland Charter Schools Dashboard shows the expiration year of all current Oakland charter terms, including charter schools authorized by the Alameda County Office of Education and the State Board of Education. For the 2024-25 school year, Lazear Charter Academy, Opportunity Academy, and Urban Montessori are eligible to apply for renewal.

For any questions about Oakland charter schools authorized by the Alameda County Office of Education, please visit the ACOE Charter Office page.

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