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Minnesota Charter School Resource Center (MCSRC) Handbook http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/school-change/handhooklcontract.htm - I ,4t... ", " ~ M ~ ~ MCSRC home Dage I What is a Charter School? I Charter School Handbook I Internet Resources I Contact MCSRC Staff CHARTER SCHOOL HANDBOOK The Charter Contract ITable of Contents' The Charter Contract THE CHARTER CONTRACT Once the Commissioner approves your charter proposal, your Board of Directors will negotiate a contract with your sponsor. The contract authorizes the Board of Directors to operate a school, and specifies the outcomes the school will achieve. Care should be taken in drafting the contract, in tenns of student perfonnance and other measures of school achievement, as this is the document against which the school will be measured. Sponsors look to whether a school has met the tenns of the contract for the purpose of detennining whether to continue sponsorship after the stated tenn. The basic requirements for the contract between the charter school board and the sponsor are set forti: the charter school law (Minn. Stats 1240.10, Subd. 6). The law covers the fonn, the timing and the content of the contract. The contract must be (I) in writing, (2) signed by the sponsor and the charter school board, and (3) completed within 90 days of the date of charter approval. The initial contract m last up to three (3) years. If a school fails to negotiate a contract with its sponsor, the school may not open. Developers should note that the 90-day requirement was enacted to protect schools, forcing sponsors to commit to charter sponsorship within a reasonable amount of time. Minnesota Statute 1240.10, Subd. 6 specifically provides: The sponsor's authorization for a charter school must be in the fonn of a written contract signed by the sponsor and the board of directors of the charter school. The contract for a charter school must be completed within 90 days of the commissioner's approval of the sponsor's proposed authorization. The contract for a charter school must be in writing and contain at least the following: I. A description of a program that carries out one or more of the purposes in subdivision 1; [the six purposes are: to improve pupil learning; increase learning opportunities for pupils; encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods; require the measurement oflearning outcomes and create different and innovative fonns of measuring outcomes; establish new fonns of accountability for schools; and create new professional opportunities for teachers]; 2. Specific outcomes pupils are to achieve under subdivision 10 [Pupil Perfonnance] 100 9/29/04 6: 12 PM