Advisory Commission on Charter Schools

Advisories, meeting notices, meeting agendas, and member information.

SBE Policy | ACCS Meeting Schedule | ACCS Meeting Summaries

ACCS Meeting Notices & Agendas | Commission Members & Profiles

State Board Policy:

POLICY: #01-04 (PDF; 72KB; 3pp. )
DATE: April 2002
SUBJECT: Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS)
REFERENCES: Education Code sections 33031(Outside Source) and 47634.2(b) (Outside Source) . HISTORICAL NOTES: This policy was originally approved in October 2001. Minor technical amendments were made in April 2002

Establishment. In accordance with the requirements of Education Code Section 47634.2(b) (Outside Source), and for purposes of providing for its own government in keeping with Education Code Section 33031 (Outside Source), the State Board of Education (State Board) hereby establishes the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS).

Membership. The ACCS shall be composed of nine members. Eight of the members shall be appointed by the State Board to two-year terms on a calendar-year basis. The ninth member of the ACCS, who shall be deemed to be appointed by the State Board, represents the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and shall be designated by the State Superintendent. For purposes of the initial appointments to the ACCS, four members shall be designated by the State Board to serve three-year terms in order to establish a proper staggering of appointments.

The remainder of the year 2001 shall be disregarded in relation to the terms of office of the initial appointees. Individuals may be re-appointed to subsequent terms on the ACCS without limit.

Within the membership of the ACCS, the State Board shall ensure that all of the following groups are represented: school district superintendents, charter schools, teachers, parents (guardians), members of the governing boards of school districts, and county superintendents of schools. A single individual may represent more than one group.

Background Statement. Charter schools are a promising means for generating higher student achievement. The State Board has been assigned by statute a strategic role to ensure that this promise of higher student achievement is realized within a context of sound educational programs and practices, proper financial management, and certain specific requirements of law.

The State Board’s role includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Selective granting of charter petitions that have been denied or not renewed by local education agencies, but that the State Board determines to have met statutory requirements.
Taking appropriate action, including, but not limited to, revocation with respect to State Board-granted and locally-granted charters under specific circumstances set forth in statute.
Establishing appropriate funding levels for nonclassroom-based charter schools.
Jointly with the State Superintendent, approving districtwide charter petitions when those petitions are determined to be satisfactory.
Developing and adopting regulations to implement various provisions of the Charter Schools Act of 1992 (Part 26.8 of the Education Code, commencing with Section 47600).
Approving or denying requests to waive otherwise applicable provisions of law.
Assigning numbers to charter school petitions to ensure that the statutory cap on the number of charter schools is not exceeded.

Duties of the ACCS. The ACCS shall advise the State Board on all aspects of the State Board’s duties under the Charter Schools Act of 1992. In so doing, the ACCS shall assist the State Board in carrying out the State Board’s proper role of ensuring that charter schools realize higher student achievement within a context of sound educational programs and practices, proper financial management, and other specific requirements of law. Priority areas for consideration by the ACCS will include the first three matters listed in the Background Statement above: selective granting of charters; taking appropriate action, including, but not limited to, revocation of charters; and establishing appropriate funding levels for non-classroom based charter schools.

Applicability of Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. In accordance with law, meetings of the ACCS are subject to the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.

Chair and Rules of Governance. From among the members of the ACCS, the State Board shall designate a chair. The chair shall typically serve a one-year term in that office, unless otherwise specified by the State Board. The chair may from time to time surrender to another member the duty of presiding over a meeting of the ACCS as he or she deems necessary and appropriate.

The ACCS may establish bylaws for its own government as it deems necessary. Unless otherwise addressed in bylaws it may establish, the ACCS shall follow Robert’s Rules of Order (Newly Revised). No fewer than five members shall be deemed a quorum of the ACCS for purposes of conducting meetings. Each formal recommendation of the ACCS shall require an affirmative vote of at least five members.

Staff to the ACCS. The California Department of Education (CDE) shall provide staff support for the ACCS, including, agenda preparation, posting of meeting notices, distribution of meeting materials to ACCS members, maintenance of records regarding ACCS recommendations to the State Board, making of travel arrangements and filing of travel claims, and such other staff support as the members of the ACCS may need.

Travel, Lodging, and Other Expenses. Members of the ACCS shall be entitled to receive CDE purchased airline tickets and reimbursements for travel, lodging, and other expenses only to the extent permitted by applicable provisions of statute and the State Administrative Manual.

Frequency of Meetings. The ACCS may hold meetings as necessary based upon the members’ assessment of workload in consultation with CDE staff.

Meeting Schedule:

Meeting Schedule for 2007-2008

Meeting Notices & Agendas

Meeting Summaries:

For older copies of ACCS summary notes please contact the Charter Schools Office at charters@cde.ca.gov

ACCS Public Member Roster - May 2006

ACCS Member Biographies - July 2004

Vicki L. Barber

Represents - County Superintendents of schools
Term expires December 31, 2008
Dr. Vicki L. Barber has been a resident of El Dorado County for 23 years. She has been with the El Dorado County Office of Education for 20 years, and was elected as El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools in 1994. She is committed to serving clients with respect, responsiveness, and resourcefulness, and is keenly aware of the fiscal restraints within which education must work.

Dr. Barber is known throughout California as an expert in special education. She testified before a United States Congress Subcommittee in March 1996 on the critical issue of reauthorization of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and was asked to join the California delegation lobbying Congress for more education funds in 1999 and 2000. She has served as president of CCSESA (California County Superintendents Educational Services Association). In addition, Dr. Barber has taken a statewide leadership role on the Public Schools Accountability Act Advisory Committee. She is extensively involved in many organizations and community service agencies, such as Kiwanis and the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Barber is a commission member of First 5 El Dorado. She also serves on the Board of Directors for El Dorado County JOB ONE, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, El Dorado Community Foundation, El Dorado Forum, and Western Slope Boys & Girls Club. She was appointed by the State Board of Education to the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools representing county superintendents of schools. She has previously served on the Marshall Hospital Board of Directors.

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Rae Belisle, Chair

Represents - Parent or Guardian of Student(s)
Term expires December 31, 2008
Raneene Preston Belisle is the General Counsel for the Sacramento County Office of Education. She formerly served as Executive Director of the California State Board of Education (SBE) (2003-2004); Associate General Counsel and Government Relations Team Leader for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) (2002-2003); Chief Counsel to the SBE (1997-2002); and Senior Consultant to the California State Assembly Committee on Higher Education (1997). Prior to joining state service with the Legislative Counsel Bureau (1986-1997), Ms. Belisle practiced for several years with a local law firm specializing in business litigation.

During her tenure with LAUSD, Ms. Belisle focused on the implementation of all aspects of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 . As the Chief Counsel to SBE, Ms. Belisle successfully defended the constitutionality of charter schools and the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) test. Most recently, she was involved in the settlement of the Williams litigation.

Ms. Belisle has been active in implementing NCLB, serving as California 's representative to the national rulemaking panel that developed the federal regulations for assessment and accountability provisions of NCLB. In addition, Ms. Belisle served as one of the original members appointed to the NCLB Liaison Team, which was established by state law to oversee implementation of all aspects of the federal law in California . Currently, she serves as a member of the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools.

Ms. Belisle earned a Juris Doctor with honors from McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California , Davis .

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Tom Conry

Represents - Teachers
Term expires December 31, 2009
Mr. Conry is a teacher in a non-charter public school in the Vista Unified School District. He resides in Oceanside, California.

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Beth Hunkapiller

Represents - School Governing Board Members
Term Expires December 31, 2009
Mrs. Hunkapiller is a nine-year member of the Board of Education of the San Carlos Elementary School District in San Carlos, California. She is also a founder of the San Carlos Charter Learning Center, the first school to receive a charter in California. Mrs. Hunkapiller is a board member of Aspire Public Schools whose mission is to raise the academic achievement of California's diverse students, to develop outstanding educators, to catalyze change in public schools, and to share successful practices with forward-thinking educators.

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Mark Kushner

Represents - Charter Schools
Term expires December 31, 2008

Mr. Kushner is founder and director of Leadership Public Schools, a new nonprofit dedicated to creating a network of quality charter high schools focusing on academic excellence and leadership development for traditionally under served students. He previously founded and was the initial Principal at Leadership High School in San Francisco, the first startup charter high school in California. Leadership High School has had considerable success, e.g. , 10 (out of 10) on the Academic Performance Index’s Similar Schools Rank, 98 percent college enrollment of its graduates, 2001 CANEC award for Academic Innovation, and a United States Department of Education profile.
A Bay Area native, Mr. Kushner received a BA from Wesleyan University and completed graduate work in literature, law and educational administration at Oxford University, University of San Francisco (J.D. ), and Harvard University (Ed.M. ). He is a former attorney, teacher of English at the high school level, and soccer and tennis coach. Recent honors include the 2000 Hart Vision Award for School Site Administrator, the highest award given to charter school educators in California, and in 2002 he was named the Harvard Club of San Francisco’s Secondary School Educator of the Year.

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Jesse Barajas

Represents - Charter Schools
Term expires December 31, 2008

Mr. Barajas is currently the principal of Latino College Preparatory Academy (LCPA) in San Jose, California. The student body is made up of 400 English Language Learners. Under his leadership his school received a 3 year WASC accreditation in 2005. In 2006 they received a 5 year unconditional renewal of their charter by the East Side Union High School District. In 2006 LCPA met and exceeded their API and AYP targets.

Mr. Barajas begins his 3rd year at LCPA and his 35th year in education still passionate and committed to making a positive difference in the academic success of our youth. Having grown up in a community with a diversity of socioeconomic and cultural constituencies provides him with a genuine sensitivity to the needs of the school-community.
Mr. Barajas has 18 years as classroom teacher. He has served as a trainer, coordinator, and has diverse administrative experiences that include associate principal, district director and superintendent. He speaks fluent Spanish and has demonstrated his abilities in producing change, piloting many innovative programs that continue to be successful in meeting the needs of some of the most challenging students.
Mr. Barajas’ management style combines a concern for people and an understanding of the need for clearly defined roles and supports the notion of a collaborative relationship between all stakeholders. His vision of what a school ought to be includes high standards for all including a safe and orderly learning environment for students. He believes that when teachers and staff are appropriately trained and provided with ongoing support, students perform at high levels of proficiency. Professional development is the cornerstone to increased academic success of students and will be a key factor in preparing our teachers for higher levels of effectiveness.

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Carol Barkley

Represents - State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Serves at the pleasure of the State Superintendent.
Ms. Barkley is the Director of the Charter School Division, California Department of Education.

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Paul Cartas

Represents - School district superintendents
Term expires December 31, 2009

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Brian Bauer

Represents - Charter Schools
Term expires December 31, 2009

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