Charter Schools Committee Charter
Joseph Belluck, Chair
Stephen Hunt
John Murad

Staff Liaison:  Bill Howard/Suzie Miller Barker
Counsel:  Ralph Rossi


Committee Purpose:  The Board of Trustees of the State University (the “Board of Trustees”) is charged with several tasks as a designated “charter entity” or authorizer of charter schools under the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (as amended, the “Charter Schools Act”) (Education Law § 2850 et seq.).  The Charter Schools Committee, together with SUNY System Administration and particularly the SUNY Charter Schools Institute (the “Institute”), carry out the required charter school oversight and execute other required functions under the Charter Schools Act.  The current delegated functions and authority of the Charter Schools Committee and the Institute were specified by the Board of Trustees by resolution of June 12, 2012.  Those functions of the Committee include: 
1) the approval, denial or abandonment of the following:

a) an application to establish a charter school education corporation;

b) an application by a charter school education corporation for authority to operate an additional school or site as defined in the Charter Schools Act;

c) an application to renew the charter of a charter school education corporation;

d) an application by a charter school education corporation to renew the authority to operate a particular a charter school or site;

e) an application for a charter revision to merge or consolidate charter school education corporations; or for the addition of new elementary, middle or high school programs; and 

f) an application to extend a charter for a period of greater than two school years for schools that did not open opting instead to take one or more planning years prior to operation; including the resubmission of any of the foregoing to the Board of Regents with or without modification, if applicable, and the consideration of any school district comments in connection therewith;


2) the closure of all of the schools operated by a charter school education corporation and the approval of any renewal or revision application to replace the education corporation’s educational programs;

3) the placement on probation of a charter school education corporation;

4) the involuntary termination or revocation of an education corporation’s charter or its authority to operate a particular school or site; 

5) the approval or denial of applications for federal and State charter school grants; and

6) the promulgation and revision of policy related to the authorizing and oversight of charter schools authorized by the Board of Trustees

7) In coordination with the Chancellor and her designees, oversight of the Charter Schools Institute in all of its functions under the Charter Schools Act, which include authority delegated to the chief administrative officer of the Institute to:

a) approve or deny charter revisions not requiring Charter Schools Committee approval; and

b) approve or deny approve charter extensions of up to two years for schools that did not open opting instead to take one or more planning years prior to operation; including the resubmission thereof to the Board of Regents with or without modification, if applicable, and the consideration of any school district comments in connection therewith; and 

c) take all other actions not delegated to the Charter Schools Committee as set forth above with respect to the Board of Trustees’ statutory authority as a charter entity under the Charter Schools Act; 

Pursuant to existing administrative law, the Charter Schools Committee, on its own initiative, or on request of the Institute, may take up any matter generally delegated to the Institute, and it may also refer any matter within its authority to the full Board of Trustees if it so desires.   
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