The Echo

C'mon, Jack, sign 205!

For two weeks Pencader families emailed the DOE asking for protocol for the public hearing.  When they received no answer from countless DOE authorities, they asked Sen. Peterson to intervene.  Once Peterson made an official request, the information finally flowed to Pencader, late last week.

Yesterday, John Carwell, the head of the Charter School Office, also finally responded.  The response is below.  But, what really stood out to me was the date of the memo, July 5th.  To me, it indicates that previously there was little-to-no written guidance on the hearing process prior to Pencader's repeated requests.

Here's the memo:

PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR FORMAL REVIEWS OF CHARTER SCHOOLS


July 5, 2011

Public comment on Charter School matters are welcomed by the Secretary of Education, the Department of Education and the State Board of Education. All parties want comments made in a way that allows what is said to be considered when decisions about Charter Schools are made. During a Charter School formal review process, if the accountability committee reports probable cause for the remedial measures of probation or revocation, a public hearing is held. This hearing is conducted as a joint public hearing with the Department of Education and the State Board of Education.

At the public hearing, the Charter School has opportunity to respond to the accountability committee’s report and members of the public have the opportunity to comment. Written and electronic comments maybe be received at or before the public hearing, and must be received by the Department of Education’s Charter School Education Associate no later than the beginning of the public hearing to be included in the record. The current Education Associate for Charter Schools is John Carwell; his email address is jcarwell@doe.k12.de.us.

The Secretary of Education and the State Board of Education must base their decision on the formal review of a Charter School on the record. After the joint public hearing conducted as part of the formal review process is concluded, the record is complete and no other evidence may be considered. The State Board of Education’s rules for public participation at its meetings do not allow for public comments at a meeting where action will be taken on a matter which has a defined record on which a decision must be based. State Board of Education decisions on formal reviews of Charter Schools must be based on the record as it exists at the conclusion of the joint public hearing, so no additional comments can be made at the Board meeting. However, all oral comments made at the joint public hearing and all written or electronic comments given to the Charter School Education Associate at or before the public hearing will be part of the record provided to the Board for consideration in making its decision.