Each year, the governing body of every charter school in Florida must report on its progress to its sponsoring school district, pursuant to Section 1002.33 (9)(k), Florida Statutes. Each district must then forward these annual accountability reports to the Florida Commissioner of Education. The information below constitutes that report.
Various sections of this accountability report include the demographic information, student performance data, and financial accountability information required by law, but there also are sections that feature pertinent information on management companies, instructional staffing, school mission, and governance, among others.
This report has multiple purposes. Among them: to provide the general public critical information on the public charter schools in their communities, to provide sponsoring districts information on the schools in their portfolio, and to provide all constituents of public schooling the data necessary to examine this growing sector of education. Most importantly, however, the primary purpose of the annual accountability report is to help the district sponsor determine whether the charter school is meeting the terms of its charter and meeting or exceeding the student academic achievement requirements and goals agreed to in the charter contract. According to the Florida Standard Charter Contract, which must serve as the base of negotiations for all charter agreements in the State of Florida, “The sponsor shall annually evaluate the School on its performance and progress toward meeting the standards and targets included in this contract, including academic achievement goals. If the term of this contract exceeds five years, the Sponsor shall conduct a High-Stakes Review at least every five years and shall present the findings of the review to the governing board of the School.”
This purpose also is aligned with the Florida Principles & Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing, drafted by the Department in collaboration with national experts and authorizers across Florida. The Principles & Standards provides that charter sponsors “grant initial charter contracts for a term of five years or longer only with periodic high-stakes reviews every five years or more frequently …”
