Memo to BOE - Report on Administrative Rules - August 21, 2006

August 21, 2006 

Dear Mr. Yee, Members of the Board,

Attached please find a copy of draft proposed rules for implementation of the new charter school law. The scope of these rules is limited to several important aspects of charter school operations: the application and approval process for new charter schools; the process for amending the detailed implementation plans of existing charter schools; the duties and responsibilities of the charter school administrative office; the evaluation system for ensuring the accountability of charter schools; the process for placing a charter school on probation; and the process for revoking the charter of a charter school. The new charter school law, Act 298, created significant changes in each of these statutory areas. 

The primary researcher and rule drafter was Liam Skilling, a former teacher and current law student at the William S. Richardson School of Law with whom the executive director contracted. He worked closely with the Charter School Administrative Office during the drafting process. Professor Casey Jarman, who teaches Administrative Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, reviewed drafts of the rules for consistency with the statute and with general administrative law principles.  Third year law students Benjamin Bower and Daniel Dean assisted as members of the research team. 

In preparing these draft rules, the research team examined statutes and administrative regulations governing charter schools in several states: Arizona, California, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin. In addition, they contacted several organizations involved in charter school operation, including the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, Central Michigan University’s Charter School office, the New York Charter Schools Association, the California Charter Schools Association, and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.  There is wide variation in the structure and characteristics of the charter school systems in each of these states. Similarly, there are considerable differences in the way these states administer their charter school systems through regulation. 

Using the research on how charter schools are regulated around the country to inform our decision-making, these proposed rules were drafted to accommodate the specific characteristics and unique needs of the Hawaii charter schools system and the dictates of Act 298. 

Jim Shon, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Charter Schools Administrative Office

DOWNLOAD>> Administrative Regulation to Accompany Hawaii's Charter School Law, a study commissioned by the Charter School Administrative Office, August 21, 2006