THE OFFICE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IS COMMITTED TO ACCOUNTABILITY
Authorizer Responsibility "The Legislature intended charter schools to increase innovation and learning opportunities while being accountable for achieving measurable student outcomes. In order to hold the charter schools accountable, the Legislature required that each charter petition contain certain elements, including measurable student outcomes proposed by the school to accomplish its educational program. These outcomes give the chartering entity criteria against which it can measure the school’s academic performance and hold it accountable.The charter agreement is critical for accountability, as it outlines the standards the school is agreeing to be held to." - State Auditor Report, 2002
Ongoing Oversight, Evaluation, and Intervention. Authorizers oversee charter schools in a variety of ways, but whatever the method, authorizers must balance the tension between fulfilling their public stewardship responsibilities and minimizing administrative burdens on schools. Therefore, authorizers have to consider the balance between compliance requirements and school autonomy.
Excess in one direction can lead to procedural regulation that makes a mockery of the notion of autonomy, while moving too far in the other direction can enable abuse of public funds and public trust. This balancing applies to development of compliance requirements, gathering of information relevant to those requirements, and corrective action, as appropriate, when the school is not meeting requirements. - National Association of State Boards of Education