The board considered proposed administrative code changes to implement recent statutory changes affecting charter authorizers and the new state Charter Commission.

Department staff said the draft code clarifies definitions (for example, “charter operator”), codifies an application process for local authorizers (local school boards that choose to be charter authorizers) and adds a statutory requirement that local authorizers must reapply after five years if they wish to continue in that role. The draft also adds an annual training requirement for local authorizers and clarifies timelines for application cycles. Staff characterized most changes as codifying current practice but acknowledged new statutory triggers (reapplication every five years) will require formal procedures and timelines.

A separate, and more immediate, operational issue discussed at length was the transition of the newly created state Charter Commission. Staff told the board that the commission was to be a separate state agency but, at the time of the work session, the appointing authorities had not completed appointments. Because a quorum is not in place the commission cannot operate; the department still monitors charter schools as public schools and will continue the department’s routine monitoring and support. Staff noted there is budgeted money for the commission in the department’s accounts (funds that would transfer once the commission is able to receive them, expected October 1) and urged patience while appointments are completed.

Board members and staff discussed practical implications: start‑up and conversion charter schools still open and operate as public schools and remain subject to department monitoring; local authorizers that have been in place longer than five years (for example, large systems such as Montgomery or Birmingham) will need to reapply under the new law. Staff said they will publish guidance and templates for reapplication and for the five‑year review process and will continue to provide monitoring support for charter schools until the new commission is operational.

No changes to the code were adopted at the work session; staff said the draft will come back in September for the public notice stage and in November for adoption under the administrative procedures timetable.