Thank you for your interest in applying for authorization to open a charter school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.  Since approval of its first charter school in 1993, the District has become the largest district charter school authorizer in the nation, with more than 248 independent and affiliated charter schools serving over 130,000 students as part of its portfolio of schools.  As stated in our Board of Education's Policy on Charter School Authorizing, LAUSD is committed to providing a wide range of schools and programs to meet the diverse educational needs and priorities of all students and families it has the privilege to serve.  Charter schools are valuable partners and viable choices among the District's robust set of educational options.  Accordingly, the Board of Education views charter schools as an integral method of achieving its vision and mission.  In fulfillment of our Board policy and the California Charter Schools Act, we recommend charters for petitioner teams that demonstrate strong capacity for establishing and operating a quality charter school for the benefit of all students.  We encourage you to deliver innovative and effective educational programs, especially those that serve underperforming student population, and to provide high quality educational alternatives as part of the District's diverse portfolio of public school choices for Los Angeles County students and their families.  

 

An approved charter is the foundational document that directs and guides charter school operations and serves as a commitment to the public of the quality educational opportunity that your organization aspires to realize from inception.  Recent research confirms that the foundation must be well-laid in order to ensure immediate success for our students.  Thus, within the context of the California Charter Schools Act, only petitions that are clear, coherent, comprehensive, budgetarily sound, compelling, and proposed by a strong team will merit a recommendation for approval to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.