Charter Starter Membership
Information for New Charter School Operators
Starting a new public charter school in Arizona is a team effort. It requires a great deal of forethought and hard work before doors open on day one. For individuals or groups interested in petitioning for a new charter school, navigating the requirements of new school development can be arduous. It is at minimum a two-year process which includes planning, writing the charter application, finding a facility, and completing all the tasks necessary to open the school.
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools requires charter applicants to submit a completed charter application in June of each year. The application is reviewed and ultimately approved or denied in December with schools expected to open the following August. This is a short period in which to prepare a school for opening. Given this, prospective charter operators must be willing to scrutinize capacity to commit the necessary time and energy toward the development of a charter school before embarking on the application process. Find out more about Arizona’s charter schools here.
Getting to Know Arizona’s Charter School Landscape
A first and critical step is for prospective operators is to become familiar with Arizona’s public school landscape. To help you learn more about where district and charter schools are operating in Arizona and how they are performing, visit our Education Evaluator- Arizona’s Public School Search Tool, an easy to use, interactive mapping tool that provides critical information for parents and community stakeholders regarding commonly agreed measures of school quality.
Where to Get Help
We strongly encourage prospective charter operators to participate in ALL technical assistance workshops offered by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools.
For more information, please contact Rachel Hannah at Rachel.Hannah@asbcs.az.gov.
Understanding the Law
Applicants interested in submitting an application should be familiar with all applicable charter school legislation.
Click here to view applicable charter school law.
To stay abreast of issues affecting the public charter school sector beyond Arizona, we encourage you to visit the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) ,which is dedicated to helping all charter schools reach their aspirations and promoting awareness and understanding of the sector in general.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools advocates for the millions of public school students all across the US, attending or hoping to attend a charter school. The Alliance brings together charter school teachers, leaders, lawyers, researchers, and policy experts through events like the annual National Charter Schools Conference, as well as through online resources.
Resources for Prospective Operators
The Arizona Charter Schools Association offers a school developer membership for prospective school operators which includes the following resources:
School Developer Membership ($500 – one-year access)
Our Charter Smarter online kit provides the basics of Arizona charter school start-up via online presentations and resources.
School Developer membership includes:
- Discounted Professional Development – members-only pricing at Association events to help you stay connected with the sector and current with best practices through learning from proven leaders in Arizona’s robust charter school sector.
- Charter Smarter Kit comprised of three general orientation webinars covering important charter school start up including:
- So You Want to Start a Charter School? – the basics of opening a charter school,
- Charter School Governance 101 – a guide to your legal responsibilities around school board governance,
- An Overview of the Quality Standards – a resource to ensure your school meets the state’s standards for quality.
- Guidance for Founding Committees Handbook – This must-have resource is designed to help you self-assess and determine your readiness for submitting a charter school application.
- Weekly Newsletter Updates – This members-only resource will keep you informed of critical policy, academic, and financial issues that impact all phases of your charter school journey.
- Access to advocacy updates, Speaker Series events, weekly member calls etc
For more information, please contact info@azcharters.org
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools presents free applicant workshops in March and April of each year. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend. Please be sure to visit the New Charter Applicant webpage often for dates and information about the charter application which is revised each year.
For questions about the New Charter Application or technical assistance workshops, please contact Rachel Hannah at Rachel.Hannah@asbcs.az.gov.
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools includes an in -person interview as a key component of In-Person Interview as a
component of the charter application process. The purpose of the interview is for prospective operators to demonstrate their capacity to operate a charter as described in the Educational Plan,
Operational Plan, and Business Plan presented in their application.
The interview panel will use applicant responses to questions to assess the capacity of the applicant to successfully implement the plan to operate a charter school. Information about the interview will subsequently be shared with the Board for their consideration.
Those invited to be present at the interview are limited to the following individuals:
- Authorized Representative(s)
- Charter Principals
- School Governing Body Members specifically named in the application package
- A School Administrator named in the application package
- A single representative of the ESP
Additional individuals will not be invited or admitted to the interview, regardless of whether they are
named in the application package, this includes contracted service providers and additional
representatives or staff of the ESP.
To assist you in preparing for the interview, below is a helpful resource:
Important Note: The Arizona Charter Schools Association has no knowledge of specific questions that will be asked of applicant teams. The questions listed in the document below are based on what we anticipate will be asked to help determine your capacity to operate a school.
Help for Charter Developers - Useful Links
Below are a variety of helpful online resources for new charter school developers. If you need a resource not listed below or have any questions, please contact info@azcharters.org
- Article 8. Arizona Revised Statutes
- Arizona State Board for Charter Schools – Charter Applicant Resources
- ASBCS Online: Charter Holder and Charter School Information
- Arizona Department of Education
- Arizona State Board of Education
- Arizona Corporation Commission
- Arizona Charter Schools Association
- AZ Charter Marketplace
- Asbestos in Schools: Guide for Administrators and Parents
- National Association of Charter School Authorizers
- U.S. Department of Education
- National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
- National Charter Schools Institute
