The Fulton

County Board of Education is looking at revising its guidelines for

charter schools.

At next Thursday's

meeting, the board will consider a number of changes to its current

policy.

Charter schools

are becoming more and nmore popular throughout the state, and board

officials want to make sure that everything is spelled out for folks

who want to start and operate such a facility. The policy under consideration

emphasizes that it is a petitioner's responsibility to know all the

requirements for a charter school and to stay in contact with school

officials about the requirements.

Responsibility

for preparing a complete and coherent petition rests with the petitioner,

not the school system or its staff. Within reason, staff will provide

suggestions and comments, but staff will not rewrite the petition for

the petitioners, the new policy states.

One of the

biggest issues concerning the new type of school is funding.

In its policy,

the system states that the Fulton County Board of Education will treat

charter schools no less favorably than other schools in this system

with respect to funding for instructional and administrative programs.

Funding for

a charter school's instructional and administrative programs will be

based on the same formulas used to fund other schools in the system.

These formulas vary depending on the school level (elementary, middle

or high) and the needs of the specific students to be served at the

school.

Because "average

expenditures" and other published averages are not used to fund

individual schools or school systems in Georgia, averages will not be

used to fund charter schools, the policy states.

In addition

to the formula amounts, charter schools will receive funds to cover

the functions or services that the school system provides for its regular

public schools.

The policy

states that payments to charter schools ordinarily will be made in equal

monthly installments from September through June, subject to subsequent

adjustments based on the ten-day count.

However,

a charter school may receive up to 3 percent of its total estimated

allocation in July and August to cover expenses to be incurred in connection

with the start of the new school year.

But charter

schools should also seek other avenues of funding. Charter schools are

encouraged to submit grant applications to federal, state and local

government agencies and private sources.

The policy

also spells out who can submit a petition. The policy allows an existing

public school in the district, a private individual, a private organization

or a state or local public entity to submit a petition, but does not

allow home study programs or schools, existing private schools, sectarian

or religious schools, private for-profit schools, or out-of-state private

educational institutions to apply for status as charter schools.

The petitions

must be submitted to the superintendent's office by July 1 of the year

prior to the proposed opening of the school. The superintendent will

designate a staff member to shepherd the petition through the local

review process.

Petitioners

seeking approval of a proposed charter school must satisfy the requirements

of the Charter Schools Act and provide all of the information required

The board

will discuss the policy at its April 12 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Cleveland

Avenue Administrative Complex.