What is a charter contract?
The charter contract is a voluntary agreement between the Washington State Charter School Commission (Commission) and a Washington state public benefit non-profit (charter public school board) that is enforceable by law (Revise Code of Washington RCW 28A.710.160) as a binding legal agreement.
A charter contract is a fixed term (generally up to five years), renewable contract between a Washington sate public benefit non-profit and the Commission that outlines the roles, powers, responsibilities and performance expectations for each party of the contract.
How was the Commission’s charter contract developed?
The Commission reviewed:
- Federal and State statutes;
- Rules/regulations;
- Policies/interpretive statements; and
- Non–regulatory guidance in the development of the sample charter contract.
The Commission collaborated with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and other charter school authorizers, incorporated feedback from authorized schools, and incorporated lessons learned from the implementation of oversight processes to develop and refine the charter contract.
The current charter contract is the fourth iteration, and the Commission continues to incorporate feedback and lessons learned into future iterations of the contract.
Charter contract resources
New Charter Contract Presentation (2020)
Sample Contract (2020)