Please Plan to Attend Our Charter Hearings
On Thursday, October 6 at 6:00PM, in a special meeting, the VUSD Board will review and discuss approval of the charter for Blue Oak Academy and renewal of Sycamore Valley Academy's charter. Our charters are the sole agenda item this evening and VUSD staff will be sharing their recommendation regarding how their Board should vote - to approve or deny these charter petitions.
The VUSD Board will not vote on the charters October 6, but may engage our staff if they have any questions regarding our petitions.
The decision hearing for both charters will occur at a regular meeting of the VUSD Board on Tuesday, October 11. This meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:00PM.
California Education Code Section 47605(b) limits the reasons a District can deny a charter petition. Read the full text of the law here:
In reviewing petitions for the establishment of charter schools pursuant to this section, the chartering authority shall be guided by the intent of the Legislature that charter schools are and should become an integral part of the California educational system and that the establishment of charter schools should be encouraged. The governing board of the school district shall grant a charter for the operation of a school under this part if it is satisfied that granting the charter is consistent with sound educational practice. The governing board of the school district shall not deny a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless it makes written factual findings, specific to the particular petition, setting forth specific facts to support one or more of the following findings:
(1) The charter school presents an unsound educational program for the pupils to be enrolled in the charter school.
(2) The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition.
(3) The petition does not contain the number of signatures required by subdivision (a). [This is met with either 50% of projected year 1 student enrollment represented by parent signatures OR 50% of projected year 1 teaching staff represented in teacher signatures.]
(4) The petition does not contain an affirmation of each of the conditions described in subdivision (d).
(5) The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of [the 15 required elements, elements A-O].
(6) The petition does not contain a declaration of whether or not the charter school shall be deemed the exclusive public employer of the employees of the charter school for purposes of Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
Superintendent Dutton is confident that neither Sycamore Valley Academy nor Blue Oak Academy can be accurately described by the above findings.
We want to pack that board room again, so please plan to join us for these importa
nt events. We will meet right outside the front doors of VUSD's District Office, 5000 W. Cypress, 15 minutes prior to the start of these meetings.
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