Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:
ENACTMENT OF SENATE BILL 1290
On September 26, 2012, the Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 1290 (Chapter 576, Statutes of 2012) which affects charter schools and charter school authorizers. SB 1290 
amends Sections 47605, 47605.6, and 47607 of the CaliforniaEducation Code.
amends Sections 47605, 47605.6, and 47607 of the CaliforniaEducation Code.
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with notification of this legislation, which becomes effective on January 1, 2013.
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Charter Schools Division, by phone at 916-322-6029 or by e-mail at CHARTERS@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
/s/
Deborah V.H. Sigman, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction
District, School and Innovation Branch
DS:cc
(1)The Charter Schools Act of 1992 specifies the procedures for the submission, review, and approval or denial of a petition to establish a standard or countywide charter school, which include, but are not limited to, a requirement that the petition contain measurable pupil outcomes.
This bill would require those pupil outcomes to include outcomes that address increases in pupil academic achievement both schoolwide and for all groups of pupils served by the charter school, which this bill would define.
(2)The Charter Schools Act of 1992 limits the duration of charters to a period not to exceed 5 years and authorizes the chartering authority to grant one or more subsequent renewals for an additional period of 5 years. To receive a renewal, existing law requires a charter school to meet at least one of several criteria.
This bill would revise the criteria relating to the attainment of the charter school’s Academic Performance Index growth target in prior years and would require those growth targets to be met both schoolwide and for all groups of pupils served by the charter school. The bill also would require the chartering authority to consider increases in pupil academic achievement for all groups of pupils served by the charter school as the most important factor in determining whether to grant a charter renewal.
(3)Existing law authorizes a chartering authority to revoke a charter if it finds substantial evidence that the charter school committed one of several violations.
This bill would require a chartering authority to consider increases in pupil academic achievement for all groups of pupils served by the charter school as the most important factor in determining whether to revoke a charter.