EL DORADO COUNTY CHARTER SELPA Tuesday, February 28th th, 2012

Transcription

1 EL DORADO COUNTY CHARTER SELPA Tuesday, February 28th th, 2012 Attachment 6.2 Meeting held at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel Bosco Room 1230 J Street / 13 th and J Street, Sacramento 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Dinner Meeting) MINUTES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING EDCOE/Charter SELPA (*Denotes Attendance) *Vicki L. Barber, EDCOE Superintendent of Schools *Francie Heim, EDCOE Consultant *Tammy Watson, SELPA Director *Amy Andersen, Assistant SELPA Director *Emi Johnson, Charter SELPA Consultant *Heather Edwards, Esq. Girard Edwards & Hance Executive Committee Members: (*Denotes Attendance) *Mary Searcy Bixby, Altus Institute *Lynne Alipio, Altus Institute *Elise Darwish, ASPIRE Public Schools *Paula DeGroat, Lifeline Education (Via Telephone) *Adrienne Morrell, Edison Donn Harris, Oakland School for the Arts *Jovan Jacobs, Alliance Bob Lenz, Envision Schools *Bill Batchelor, Livermore Valley *Gia Truong, Envision Schools (Via Telephone) *Tim Wolf, San Diego Consortium *Gloria Fortine, Alta Vista *David Patterson, Rocklin Academies *Rich Billings, Rocketship (Via Telephone) *Jean Hatch, Redding School of the Arts David Underwood, Father s Heart Dawn Evenson, Santa Clarita Valley Mari Brabbin, Golden Lake *Pat Hill, Mission View *Marvin Smith, Doris Topsy-Elvord Academy (Via Telephone) Guests: *Lisa Donaldson, *Lindsay Whitelaw, *Kathleen Hall, *Dani Aposhian; *Cindy Atlas of San Diego Consortium; and *Derek Austin of Tri-Valley Learning Corp. Vicki welcomed everyone to the meeting. She congratulated David Patterson on his award and Jovan Jacobs on the defense of her dissertation. 1. Information Item 1.1 November 14 th, 2011 Executive Committee Draft Minutes The Unadopted Minutes from the November 14 th, 2011 Executive Committee meeting were presented and approved by the Executive Committee. They will go back to the full CEO Council in May, 2012 for approval. 1.2 Charter SELPA Annual Service Plan The Annual Service Plan is complete and the public hearing for approval of the plan was held on January 3 rd at the El Dorado County Board of Education meeting. Charters were sent the public meeting notice for posting. The Annual Service Plan information is based on CASEMIS data as of 12/01/11.

2 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page Charter Special Education Conference The El Dorado County Charter SELPA is hosting the 2012 Charter Special Education Conference to be held Wednesday, March 28 th, 2012 at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Sacramento. The conference, entitled Charting a New Course, will feature Don Shalvey, charter school pioneer and the founder of ASPIRE Public Schools, as the keynote speaker and will offer 14 breakout sessions. Online registration for the conference has begun and an informational flyer was presented. 2. Executive Committee and CEO Council Meetings (Information) 2.1 The meeting schedule for the remaining CEO Council and Executive Committee Meetings was reviewed: Thursday, May 17 th, 2012 San Diego Location Doubletree Hotel San Diego Downtown 1646 Front Street, San Diego 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CEO Council Meeting 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Legal Update/Training 2.2 The proposed meeting schedule for the CEO Council and Executive Committee Meetings was reviewed: Friday, September 21 st, 2012 Sacramento Location 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. New CEO Orientation 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CEO Council Meeting 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Legal Update/Training Friday, November 9 th, 2012 Bay Area Location 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting February/March, 2013 San Diego Location (This meeting will take place in coordination with the 2013 CCSA Conference to be held in San Diego. Exact date to be determined.) March 11 th 14 th San Diego Convention Center 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting Thursday, May 16 th, 2013 San Diego Location 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CEO Council Meeting 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Legal Update/Training The Charter SELPA is sensitive to serving both Northern and Southern California with the locations of our CEO Council and Executive Committee meetings. Please note the February meeting will again correspond with the CCSA Conference to be held in San Diego to accommodate members attending this conference.

3 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page -3- An additional Executive Committee meeting may be held via conference call in August, Membership Update 3.1 List of Applicants for 2012/13 (Information Item) A list of the applications for membership in the Charter SELPA for was reviewed. 3.2 Status of CEO Selection Committee Review (Information) The following members of the Selection Committee, along with Tammy, Amy and the EDCOE fiscal staff, have reviewed the applications for membership in the Charter SELPA: Elise Darwish - ASPIRE Pat Hill - Mission View Hae-Sin Thomas - Cox Academy Gloria Fortine Alta Vista Cindy Atlas San Diego Consortium Pauline Ho - Rocketship The Selection Committee met, via conference call, on February 23 rd, 2012 to discuss and review the recommendations for membership. The results of the selection process was shared and included the following: 54 applications were reviewed. Six or seven additional applications were not yet complete and will be reviewed at a later time. Fewer than 15 of the applicants also applied to the new Sonoma Charter SELPA. They will accept ten charters their first year of operation. Three of the applicants will get site visits to help the Selection Committee decide on admission. 14 charters were not accepted and will have the option to appeal. The Selection Committee felt the priority system for admittance was very helpful. 36 charters were recommended for acceptance Most charters accepted were expansion schools of existing members. It appears we will add an additional 10,000 ADA for Clarification of Growth Considerations (Information) As the selection process has started, growth consideration priorities have been used to assign priority numbers to the applicants in the selection process. Proposed clarifying language was presented in the document entitled Charter SELPA-Growth Consideration for The proposed language changes will assist in further clarifying how to assign priorities. The term or affiliated with a Charter member/developer SELPA will be removed and will be a priority 2, not priority 1. The clarifying revisions will be made to the document.

4 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page Charter SELPA Application Timeline: Ongoing: Applications for membership available October: Information Session on October 19, 2011 January 13th: Online applications must be submitted for expansion schools of current Charter SELPA members January 13th: Online applications for new members must be submitted to the El Dorado County Charter SELPA January 23 rd Letters notifying COE, Superintendents, SELPAs of those charters who have applied February 1st: List of Charters who have applied provided to CEOs and Steering Committee for input February 23 rd CEO Council Selection Committee will meet via conference call to review applications March 1st: Charters notified regarding recommendation March 15 th : Deadline for charters to notify Charter SELPA regarding their intent to join the Charter SELPA March/April: CDE review and notify Charter SELPA; re: acceptance March/April: Charter SELPA will prepare Local Plan Revision and submit to CDE. County Board action; re: Local Plan Revision May: Charters will be notified via letter as to the status of their admission May: Letter of introduction sent out to families of new Charter SELPA members July 1st : Charter membership in the El Dorado County Charter SELPA begins The application process and timelines were discussed. Tammy shared that notification of the recommended charters has begun. A discussion was held on the added considerations this year due to the fact that there are three Charter SELPAs now EDCOE, Sonoma and LAUSD. Charters who have been recommended for admission by more than one SELPA must decide by March 15 th which SELPA they choose to join. Admission of charters approved by the State Board need not adhere to the above timeline since their admission is a priority for the Charter SELPA.. 4. Dashboard (Information/Discussion) The Annual Dashboard, entitled Report of Select Statistics for was included in the meeting packet and reviewed. This document is posted to the Charter SELPA website and sent to members of the Charter SELPA CEO Council, Steering Committee and fiscal contacts. As requested, this updated document now includes information on ASAM schools in the Student Achievement Data section. No statewide data on timeliness of Annual IEPs and evaluations was available so this information was not included. Individual charters can request copies of personalized data by charter and/or CMO. We anticipate bringing this document to the full CEO Council in May and asking members for suggestions of other types of information they would like included.

5 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page -5- Tammy shared that the Charter SELPA hired an additional Program Specialist Sadie Pinotti. We are adding capacity to serve the additional members. The Charter SELPA is currently at 52,000 ADA and we may be at 62,000 ADA in 2012/ Mental Health Funding Update The Charter SELPA has received approximately $180,000 grant in Mental Health funding for expenditures that occurred in fiscal year As of February 15, we have reimbursed and have pending approximately 80% of the grant and have had communications with charters that indicate we will be fully spent by the due date of September 15, A document entitled Charter SELPA Mental Health Funding February 2012 Update was included and reviewed. We have a settlement for 2010/11 that will ensure we fully spend the 10/11 funds; everyone will be fully funded and we won t have to return any unspent funds to the state Update The Charter SELPA will receive approximately $2.3 million for Mental Health services for fiscal year An allocation plan was approved at the September CEO Council meeting for three levels of funding. Level 1 (25% of grant) is allocated to Charters for pre-referral counseling services. Level 2 (25% of grant) is allocated to Charters that have submitted approved plans for additional mental health counseling services. Level 3 (50% of the grant) is reserved for high cost placements such as NPS or residential services. Reimbursements for this level will be at 100% or pro-rated should the grant balance not be sufficient. At this time, we anticipate having sufficient dollars to fully fund identified needs. A document entitled Charter SELPA Mental Health Funding February 2012 Update was included as an informational item and reviewed. It was reported that we have distributed the Level 1 monies on a per ADA basis. The Level 2 monies with a service and budget plan required prior to payment is in process. If a charter has Level 1 (pre-referral) expenditures beyond their allotment, they may be able to submit for Level 2 funds to cover. Please contact the SELPA for assistance. Level 3 covers non-public and residential placements major emphasis on mental health services to access the funding stream. Transportation may also be included as an allowable cost on a mental health placement. 5.3 Mental Health Guidelines The Charter SELPA Executive Committee approved draft Mental Health Funding Guidelines at their November 14 th, 2011 meeting. The Guidelines have been updated to incorporate the CDE Guidelines issued in January and to provide additional budget and reporting guidance. The updated Guidelines are presented here for information and reference. It was reported that the guidelines from the state are very helpful.

6 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page Program and Fiscal Oversight (Information) The Charter SELPA and EDCOE continue to enhance program and fiscal oversight controls. At the November meeting, the Executive Committee requested the separate Program Oversight and Fiscal Oversight documents presented be merged and revised to include a few suggested additions. The merged document entitled the Charter SELPA Fiscal and Program Oversight was presented and reviewed. A discussion was held on the various program and fiscal oversight controls and the Executive Committee members agreed this document is a helpful summary of all services the Charter SELPA provides its members. This document will be posted on the Charter SELPA website to show the types of oversight activities available to ensure success for our charter members. 7. New Charter Participation Follow Up (Discussion) 7.1 Participation Expectations Status (Discussion) As Charters join the SELPA, we have varied degrees of participation at the CEO Council level, program Steering Committee level, and finance level. A document on New Charter Participation Expectations (approved by CEO Council on September 16 th, 2011 and final revision approved by Executive Committee in November 2011) was attached and sets forth in detail the expectations, follow-up and consequences to help ensure full participation. A report was be made by the Charter SELPA on the status of member participation to date. A sample of the letter sent out to charters that had not met the meaningful participation expectation of attending at least two activities as of mid-year was included in the packet and reviewed. The Charter SELPA is concerned about charters participating and being fully engaged in the SELPA. If we have not seen and documented a charter s involvement and participation, we need to perform due diligence to ensure the charters success in the Charter SELPA. The Charter SELPA sent letters to ten member charters who have not met our minimum participation standards through the first half of the year. We immediately received contact from four of the charters and anticipate hearing from all of them shortly. A discussion was held on another potential concern: the situation of a charter being returned to their authorizer for non-participation in the Charter SELPA and the charter not being able to default back to their authorizer. Further legal review of this issue will be done and information provided to all charters in the SELPA. A further discussion was held on how all members of the Charter SELPA share a stake in the group and its success. Tammy reported on the state s determination of timely and complete reports: The Charter SELPA received a 97% - we strive for 100% compliance.

7 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page Charter SELPA Financial Update (Information/Discussion) 8.1 Financial Update (Information) Financial update documents were reviewed and included information on the following: a. P-1 ADA b. Federal Funding Update c. Mental Health Summary Update d. Income Update and Cash Flow Update/Cash Advance Program Update e Budget f. Final Results of Unspent Funds / Implications g. Excess Cost Calculation no one should not pass. Information on the Excess Cost Calculation will also be shared with the charter business contacts. We should have no difficulty satisfying the cost calculation. Everyone should pass. An executive summary was reviewed at the meeting more detailed financial documents are available on the website. Highlights of the discussion included: The projected growth figures did not include the additional ADA from the new charters joining for 12-13; could be as high as 65,000 ADA. Federal funding is always difficult to estimate. We recommended budgeting $140 final amount $146 per ADA. Two charters have taken advantage of the special education cash advance program we offer. On a separate note not related to Charter SELPA - Vicki discussed the leadership role that EDCOE is taking to pursue legislation that would allow more options for charter cash borrowing. We are cautiously optimistic about its success for Fee Reduction Eligibility List for (Information) On May 19, 2011 the Charter CEO Council approved the recommended revised fee structure effective , which will result in reduced costs for some charters in the SELPA. Charters that are in their third year (or more) of membership in the Charter SELPA, in good standing, and meeting criteria (e.g. special education contact) are eligible for a 1% administrative fee reduction. A list of the charter schools meeting fee reduction eligibility based on the criteria for fiscal year was included and reviewed. If any charter not on the list feels they should have been included please contact Tammy and their case may be reviewed. In March of each year, we will create a list of those charters eligible for the administrative fee reduction for the following year. 8.3 Unspent Funds (Information) If a charter has unspent funds, there are a variety of options available. They may be removed from the distribution of federal funds in the subsequent year. A Charter appealed the decision to remove them from the distribution of federal funds, appeal

8 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page -8- was denied. We will work with the charter and anticipate they will be in good standing and receive federal funds in Legal Services (Information) 9.1 Legal Update Newsletter (Information) The second edition of the Legal Update newsletter is now available and can be downloaded at The Legal Update newsletter has been shared with State SELPA Administrators and County Superintendents throughout the state. A sample of the letter sharing this information was included and reviewed. Our goal is to provide a quarterly newsletter and we will emphasize quality rather than quantity. We will get legal alerts out right away if a major issue comes up. Vicki shared that we have received a great deal of positive feedback on the Legal Update newsletter and we are happy to continue sharing it statewide. 9.2 Helpline Status (Information) A report on the status of the Legal Helpline and Knowledge Base was made. A letter sharing information on the Legal Helpline and Knowledge Base was sent to all CEO Council members and 69 charters have signed up to access this resource. A reminder letter will be sent to those who have not yet signed up. Vicki encouraged everyone to take advantage of this valuable service. Information for the knowledge base comes from a variety of sources. Questions and answers from the helpline will be added to the knowledge base, along with general information added periodically from Heather. Reminder to submit questions to the online legal helpline the questions will first go to Tammy and Amy for review and a response the question will be referred to Heather for further review if necessary. 9.3 Brief Update on Current Legal Issues (Information) No new legal issues or court decisions were discussed. 10. Issues on the Horizon (Information/Discussion) Discussions were held on the following topics: Sonoma Charter SELPA Update LA Unified School District Charter Options Bay Area JPA is now in place. OMI, Oakland School of the Arts, and Education for Change are a few of the members. Some of our members from the Bay Area are looking into joining this JPA. San Diego Unified Charter Discussions

9 February 28 th, 2012 Minutes Page -9- Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.