New York State Education Department 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools The Regents of the University of the State of New York Charter School Office 89 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12234 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 1 Acknowledgements The Board of Regents and the New York State Education Department wish to specifically acknowledge and thank the State University of New York’s Charter Schools Institute, the New York City Department of Education, and the Board of Education of the Buffalo City School District for their contributions and collaborative efforts in creating this Annual Report. SUNY Charter Schools Institute SUNY Plaza 353 Broadway Albany, NY 12246 http://www.newyorkcharters.org/ New York City Department of Education 52 Chambers Street New York, NY 10007 http://schools.nyc.gov/charters Board of Education of the Buffalo City School District 712 City Hall Buffalo, NY 14202 http://www.buffaloschools.org/ 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 2 Table of Contents Introduction and Overview ........................................................................................................................... 4 Submission Instructions ................................................................................................................................ 5 Content Requirements .................................................................................................................................. 7 Entry 1 – School Information and Cover Page 7 Entry 2 – New York State School Report Card 7 Entry 3 – Progress Toward Goals 8 Entry 4 – Total Expenditures and Administrative Expenditures per Child 9 Entry 5 – Audited Financial Statements 9 Entry 6 – Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Budget 10 Entry 7 – Board of Trustees Disclosure of Financial Interest Form 11 Entry 8 – Board of Trustees Membership Table 11 Entry 9 – Board Meeting Minutes 12 Entry 10 – Enrollment and Retention 12 Entry 11 – Teacher and Administrator Attrition 13 Entry 12 – Percent of Uncertified Teachers 13 Entry 13 – Organizational Chart 15 Entry 14 – School Calendar 15 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 3 Introduction and Overview By August 1 of each year, each charter school in New York State is required by law to complete and submit an Annual Report to the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Charter School Office and to the school’s charter entity, and to post the report on the charter school’s website.1 The Annual Report Guidelines include general instructions for submission, report content requirements, and key inquiries that highlight academic, organizational, and fiscal performance, as well as the extent to which a school is meeting the requirements of its charter. These Guidelines are intended to walk schools through and supplement the prompts in the online Annual Report portal. All New York State charter schools, regardless of authorizer, must submit their school’s 2017-2018 Annual Report through the online portal no later than the dates specified below. Schools should make note of individual authorizer requirements in the Guidelines and within the portal. A charter school’s Annual Report provides information about its performance over the prior academic year, as well as a report on progress toward performance goals agreed upon in the charter contract.2 The components to be included in each section of the Annual Report are outlined in the Guidelines below. Please note that all required information must be clearly documented to complete this statutory requirement. Schools can download a completed report to make available to the public. Additionally, all charter schools in New York must comply with reporting requirements set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner3 and are held accountable for ensuring accurate data sharing through the Department’s information management systems. 1 New York State Education Law Section 2857(2). 2 N e w Y o r k S t a t e E d u c a t i o n L a w S e c tion 2857(2)(b). See, 8 NYCRR 119.3. 3 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 4 Submission Instructions All Annual Reports must be submitted through the NYSED’s Charter School Office online portal. All four authorizers in the state of New York access the reports through this portal, and schools are not required to e-mail or submit hard copies of the Annual Report to their respective authorizers. Waivers or extended deadline requests cannot be granted. Schools that changed to another authorizer (through education corporation merger) during the 2017-18 school year should follow the submission requirements of the authorizer overseeing the school as of June 30, 2018. There are multiple components to the Annual Report, some of which are required of all schools— regardless of the authorizer—and others which are specific to one or more authorizers. Format specifications and due dates of some information may also vary by authorizer. Therefore, it is important for schools to read these Guidelines and instructions carefully. Schools must ensure that all required components are included as specified in these Guidelines. The information requested of schools is presented as “tasks” within the online system. A charter school’s Annual Report must be a clear and accessible document for parents, the charter school’s authorizer, NYSED’s Charter School Office, and the general public. Any uploads submitted through the online portal should be clearly labeled. Uploads that consist of narrative must use standard one-inch margins, be clearly paginated, and use a clearly readable font no smaller in type size than 11 point. The text must be grammatically correct and free of jargon, undefined terms, and unexplained references. DUE AUGUST 1: All schools must submit the first component of the Annual Report no later than 3:00 p.m. on August 1, 2018. This submission includes basic school information, the school’s progress toward charter goals, fiscal performance data, board of trustees’ meeting and membership information (including completed Trustee Financial Disclosure Forms), as well as other information. The specific requirements are described in the Content Requirements section beginning on page 7 of these Guidelines. SUNY-authorized charter schools must download an Accountability Plan Progress Report template from the http://www.newyorkcharters.org/category/operational- resources/accountability/. After completing, schools must upload the document into the portal within roughly 30 days after the release of the state test scores for K-8 schools and September 15 for schools with high school grades. DUE NOVEMBER 1: The second submission for all schools is due no later than 3:00 p.m. on November 1, 2018 and includes Audited Financial Statements. For Regents, NYCDOE, and Buffalo BOE authorized schools, final Progress Toward Charter Goals must also be submitted by that date. If, after reading the instructions carefully, there are questions about the required information, format or deadlines for the Annual Report, please contact the school’s authorizer:  New York State Board of Regents (NYSED): [email protected]  State University of New York Trustees (SUNY): [email protected] 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 5  New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE): [email protected]  Buffalo Board of Education: Contact Anne Fitzgerald: [email protected] Questions about the submission process may be directed to the Charter School Office. 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 6 Content Requirements Entry 1 – School Information and Cover Page Required of ALL Charter Schools Each Annual Report begins with a completed School Information and Cover Page. The information is collected in a survey format within the online portal. When entering information in the portal, some of the following items may not appear, depending on the authorizer and/or responses to related items. a. School Name/BEDS # b. Charter Authorizer as of June 30, 2018 c. District/CSD of Location d. Primary Address, Telephone, Fax, and School Email Address Emergency Contact Name, Title, and Phone Number e. School Website Address f. Date of Initial Charter g. Date School First Opened for Instruction h. Approved School Mission and Key Design Elements (Regents, NYCDOE and Buffalo BOE authorized schools only) i. Total Enrollment on June 30, 2018 j. Grades Served in 2017-18 k. Charter Management Organization/Educational Management Organization (if applicable), including contact information (name, email address, telephone number l. Facility Contact Information: physical address(es), phone number(s), district/CSD, grades served m. Public (co-location) or Private Space Information; For private, submit COO and Fire Inspection Documentation n. Summary of Material and Non-Material Charter Revisions approved or pending in 2017- 18 including updates to the school’s board of trustee bylaws, enrollment policy, discipline policy, or complaint policy o. Name and Position of Person who Completed the 2017-18 Annual Report p. Signatures of the Charter School Leader(s) and Board Chair Entry 2 – New York State School Report Card Required of ALL Charter Schools Provide a direct web link to the most recent New York State School Report Card for the charter school. This report captures school-level enrollment and demographic information, staff qualifications, electronic student records, and attendance rates, as prescribed by New York State 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 7 law.4 Entry 3 – Progress Toward Goals SUNY-Authorized Charter Schools ONLY SUNY-authorized charter schools must download an Accountability Plan Progress Report template at http://www.newyorkcharters.org/category/operational-resources/accountability/. After completing, schools must upload the document into the portal with a deadline of roughly 30 days after the release of the state test scores for K-8 schools, and of September 15 for schools with high school grades. Regents, NYCDOE, and Buffalo BOE Authorized Charter Schools ONLY The following tables reflect formatting in the online portal required for Board of Regents, NYCDOE, and Buffalo BOE authorized charter schools only. Schools should report all Progress Toward Charter Goals by November 1, 2018. Academic Student Performance Goals 2017-18 Progress Toward Attainment of Academic Charter Goals Measure 2017-18 progress toward If not met, describe Academic student used to evaluate progress attainment of goal efforts the school will performance goal toward attainment of goal Met/Not Met take to meet goal Organizational Goals 2017-18 Progress Toward Attainment of Organizational Charter Goals Measure 2017-18 progress toward If not met, describe Organizational goal used to evaluate progress attainment of goal efforts the school will toward attainment of goal Met /Not Met take to meet goal Financial Goals 2017-18 Progress Toward Attainment of Financial Charter Goals Measure 2017-18 progress toward If not met, describe Financial goal used to evaluate progress attainment of goal efforts the school will toward attainment of goal Met /Not Met take to meet goal 4 SRC data is included in the reporting requirements for New York charter schools in 8 NYCRR 119.3. 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 8 Entry 4 – Total Expenditures and Administrative Expenditures per Child Required of ALL Charter Schools  Total Expenditures per Child: To calculate “Total Expenditures per Child”, divide total expenditures (from the unaudited 2017-18 Schedule of Functional Expenses) by the year-end FTE student enrollment.  Administrative Expenditures per Child: To calculate “Administrative Expenditures per Child” first add together the following: 1. The relevant portion from the “personnel services cost” row and the “management and general” column from the unaudited 2017-18 Schedule of Functional Expenses. 2. Any contracted administrative/management fee paid to other organizations or corporations. The relevant portion that must be included in this calculation is defined as: Administration and management of the charter school includes the activities and personnel of the offices of the chief school officer, the finance or business offices, school operations personnel, data management and reporting, human resources, technology, etc. It also includes those administrative and management services provided by other organizations or corporations on behalf of the charter school for which the charter school pays a fee or other compensation. Do not include the FTE of personnel whose role is to directly support the instructional program. 3. Divide the total by the year-end FTE student enrollment. Employee benefit costs or expenditures should not be reported in these calculations. Information regarding the Schedule of Functional Expenses in the Audit Guide can help schools locate the amounts to use. Entry 5 – Audited Financial Statements Required of ALL Charter Schools by November 1 ALL charter schools must upload final, audited financial statements to the online portal no later than November 1, 2018. Upload the independent auditor’s report and the internal controls report as one submission, combined into a .PDF file, ensuring that security features such as password protection are turned off. 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 9 This task will be visible on August 1 in the online portal but will be clearly identified as a task due on November 1. Entry 5a – Audited Financial Statements Template SUNY-Authorized Charter Schools ONLY SUNY-authorized schools must download the Excel spreadsheet entitled “Audited Financial Report Template” at http://www.newyorkcharters.org/annual-budgets-quarterly-reports- audits/. After entering the information requested, upload the file in Excel format. Entry 5b – Audited Financial Statements Template Regents-Authorized Charter Schools ONLY Regents-authorized schools must download and complete the Excel spreadsheet entitled “Audited Financial Report Template” from the online portal or the website at 2017-18 Charter School Annual Report. Upload the completed file in Excel format. Entry 5c – Additional Financial Documents Regents, NYCDOE and Buffalo BOE authorized schools must upload financial documents in this section. The items listed below should be uploaded, with an explanation if not applicable or available. For example, A “federal Single Audit was not required because the school did not expend federal funds of more than the $750,000 Threshold.” 1. Management letter 2. Federal Single Audit 35.. CSP Agreed-Upon Procedure Report 4. Evidence of Requir ed Escrow Account Corrective Action Plan for Audit Findings and Management Letter Entry 5d – FinRaecnocmiaml Cenodnattaiocnt sInformation Regents, NYCDOE, and Buffalo BOE authorized schools should enter financial contact information directly into the form within the portal. Entry 6 – Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Budget Regents, NYCDOE, and Buffalo BOE authorized charter schools should upload a copy of the school’s FY18 Budget using the 2018-2019 Projected Annual Budget template in the portal or from the website at 2017-18 Annual Report. 2017-2018 Annual Report Guidelines for New York State Charter Schools 10