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Review Process

Letters of Intent to SCCPSS: 

  1. ​Letters of Intent due to the SCCPSS Office of the Superintendent by the due dates listed (see Information for Charter Petitioners​ page).​ 
     
  2. Letter of Intent must be hand delivered on or before appropriate due date or postmarked no later than the appropriate due date; 
     
  3. Charter School Applications not preceded by a timely and complete Letter of Intent will not be considered; applicants are to refer to the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) Charter Schools Division website for a sample Letter of Intent. 

Charter School Applications: 

  1. ​Due to the Office of the Superintendent in room 102 of the School District’s Central Administrative Office located at 208 Bull Street in Savannah, no later than 5:00 PM on the appropriate due date; see Charter Schools Application Timeline; 
     
  2. Charter School Applications will only be accepted from applicants who submitted a timely Letter of Intent;
     
  3. No exceptions will be made to Charter School Application submission dates.

Charter School Applications Will Be Deemed Submitted to SCCPSS: 

  1. ​If fully completed with all required supporting documents as determined by GADOE and SCCPSS policy, rules and regulations; 
     
  2. All formatting requirements met as established by GADOE; 
     
  3. All submission requirements met as established by GADOE and SCCPSS: 
    1. Refer to the Charter School Application Timeline for all due dates; ​
    2. Eleven hard copies to be submitted in three-ring binders (the application should not be clipped, stapled, or held together by rubber bands or folders, etc.); 
    3. A complete copy of the application, including narrative and appendices, must also be provided electronically on a flash drive or CDs/DVDs; 
    4. Once the application is received and the due date has passed, corrections/additions will not be accepted; 
    5. Petitioners are responsible for ensuring that all files are accessible and readable 

Petitioners that have applied to a local school district must also provide a copy of their petition to the Georgia Department of Education within thirty (30) days of submitting their petition to the school district. Petitioners should consult the Charter Schools Division website of the Georgia Department of Education for applicable timelines and requirements. Failure to comply with timelines or requirements may delay or prohibit consideration of the petition until the following school year’s petition review cycle. ​

Petitioners that have applied to a local school district must also provide a copy of their petition to the Department within thirty (30) days of submitting their petition to the school district. Petitioners should consult the Charter Schools Division website for applicable timelines and requirements. Failure to comply with timelines or requirements may delay or prohibit consideration of the petition until the following school year’s petition review cycle. 

​For Charter school applications that have met the submission criteria, the SCCPSS Charter School Application Review Process will begin and shall be completed within 90 days of application submission date. 

SCCPSS CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS​

Within the ninety (90) days a local district has to review a charter petition, the district shall provide a written statement to the petitioner indicating which of the following four groups the petitioner is in and, if appropriate, what they must do if they wish to revise and resubmit their petition:

Rejection Group: These applications are flawed in some way that is irreparable and will be rejected for the current school year’s Petition Review Cycle. 

  1. ​The local district shall issue a rejection letter that informs such applicants that their application cannot be considered during the current school year’s Petition Review Cycle. 
     
  2. The rejection letter shall include a statement of the legal insufficiency that makes the petition irreparable. 
     
  3. Applicants in this category are free to submit a brand new application in the following school year’s Petition Review Cycle. 

Revision Group: During the district’s initial internal review and panel interview with the applicant, these applicants demonstrate minimum quality and compliance or less, and would require substantial and material revisions before their petition could be recommended by the district for approval by the local board of education. 

  1. ​The local district shall issue a letter informing these applicants that they cannot receive an approval recommendation unless the required material revisions are made within thirty (30) days. This letter shall include mention of the district’s agreement to the petitioner’s granting the district ninety (90) additional days to accept or reject its petition. 
     
  2. If an applicant chooses to make the substantial and material changes required, they shall resubmit their petition within the thirty (30) day window. Their resubmittal letter shall include mention of their granting to the district ninety (90) additional days beyond the initial 90-day review period to accept or reject their petition. 
     
  3. Applicants will have only one opportunity to revise their application to make the substantial and material changes required. 
     
  4. Applicants that fail to make required revisions will have to wait until the following school year’s Petition Review Cycle to submit a new application. 

Clarification Group: During the district’s initial internal review and panel interview with the applicant, these applicants demonstrate moderate quality and compliance or better, but require clarification and supplemental information to be submitted before their petition could be recommended by the district for approval by the local board of education. 

  1. The local district shall issue a letter informing these applicants what clarification(s) and/or supplemental information is required. This letter shall include mention of the district’s agreement to the petitioner’s granting the district ninety (90) additional days to accept or reject its petition. 
     
  2. If an applicant chooses to provide the required clarification(s) and/or supplemental information, they shall resubmit their petition within a thirty (30) day window. Their response letter shall include mention of their granting to the district ninety (90) additional days beyond the initial ninety (90) day review period to accept or reject their petition. 
  3. Applicants will have only one opportunity to provide the required clarification(s) and/or supplemental information. 
  4. Applicants that fail to provide the required clarification(s) and/or supplemental information will have to wait until the following school year’s petition review cycle to submit a new application. 

Approval Group: During the district’s initial internal review and panel interview with the applicant, these applicants demonstrate near-perfect quality and compliance. For these applicants, the district will make a recommendation to the local board of education for approval of the petition without any further action on the part of the applicant.