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Charter School Application Materials

Charter School Application Documents

Due Date: On or before April 1 of the year preceding the year in which the proposed public charter school plans to begin operation, the sponsor shall file applications as follows by the close of the business day:

  1. The number of hard copies required by the LEA (no more than 5) and one electronic copy of the complete application to the director of schools for the local board of education considering the charter school application
    AND
  2. One electronic copy of the complete application to the Tennessee Department of Education, Office of Charter Schools. Email or submission via online file transfer service (e.g., box.net) is preferred. But submission via CD, USB drive, or other portable media is acceptable.

The same number of copies of any updates or revisions submitted during the review process should also be submitted to the above entities.

Please note that some LEAs may have supplementary guidance for their application process.  Though we have tried to include those materials below, please contact the LEA well in advance of submitting your application for any additional guidance.

TN law requires one application per charter school. However, existing operators proposing to replicate an existing school in the same LEA only need to submit the replication application posted below. Similarly, sponsors applying for multiple schools in one application cycle do not need to complete an original application for each school. Instead, they should complete one original application and a supplemental application for each additional proposed school. Further explanation is provided on pages 2 and 3 of the replication application/application supplement.

For individuals interested in applying to local education agencies (LEAs) or the Achievement School District (ASD) in 2014, the Department and the ASD will host training sessions during the fall of 2013. To sign up to receive information on those sessions as it becomes available, please email us.
Applications for Charter School Authorization
  Planning Documents  
  Starting a High-Quality Charter School (Checklistdownload Word file)  
  The Application Process (Flowchartdownload Word file)  
  Necessary Documents Deadline
New Charter Schools Letter of Intentdownload Word file January 30, 2013
  2013 Applicationdownload Word file April 1, 2013
  Application Guides for KCS, MNPS, MCS April 1, 2013
  Replication Application/Application Supplementdownload Word file April 1, 2013
  Application Budgetdownload Excel file April 1, 2013
  Charter and ASD Funding Overview FY13 (updated Feb 2013) download Excel file  
  Budget Completion Resources
Please contact the authorizing LEA for BEP, Title I and IDEA Part B per pupil amounts to use in budgets.		  
Charter Renewal 2012 Charter Renewal Applicationdownload Word file October 1, 2013
Authorization Documents

LEA Authorization - Sample Templatedownload pdf file and Flowcharts (April; October)

  
  2013 Application Scoring Rubricdownload Word file  
  2013 Replication Application/Application Supplement Scoring Rubricdownload Word file  
  NACSA’s Principles & Standards for Quality Authorizing