Board approves Sun Coast countywide charter after debate over state testing participation

The Orange County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Sun Coast Preparatory Academy's countywide charter petition for a five-year term, concluding a contentious hearing that centered on test participation and how the state's accountability formulas affect non-classroom-based charter schools.

Sun Coast representatives, led by Wendy Ecklund, told trustees the homeschool-focused school serves nearly 2,000 students countywide and has worked to raise CAASPP participation from roughly 33% three years ago to about 75% last year and a projected ~81% this year. Ecklund said the school honors parents' legal right to opt out of statewide testing while working to increase participation: “Our families play a central role in their children's education and are well informed about their rights, including the legal right to opt out of state assessments,” she said.

OCDE staff had recommended approval with conditions tied to measurable student outcomes and reporting metrics (attendance, chronic absenteeism, performance targets in ELA and math, and college-readiness measures). Staff described the concern that low participation can assign a lowest possible score to non-tested students and artificially depress a school's dashboard classification, which in turn affects renewal timelines.

Trustees pressed petitioners on whether certain measures (for example Advanced Placement participation) could be reliably reported for a non-classroom-based model that lacks a permanent testing site. Ecklund said the school already documents concurrent college enrollment and other pathways and agreed to provide specified baseline and annual target data to OCDE staff in the coming weeks. Arisali, the OCDE staff presenter, said the requested metrics stemmed from Education Code requirements and from the need to make annual targets explicit in charter petitions.

After extended discussion about parental opt-out rights and statutory accountability consequences, the board agreed not to impose punitive conditions but asked the petitioner to return with clarified metrics and a plan to improve participation. Dr. Sparks said she supported parental choice while noting the board must also consider statutory renewal consequences. Trustee Williams moved and the board voted 5'0'0 in favor to approve the charter for five years with no formal conditions.

Trustees and staff emphasized that continued monitoring and public reporting would follow and that the petitioner had committed to supply requested performance and participation metrics in a timely fashion. The board's action allows Sun Coast to operate countywide beginning in 2026'27; staff will post follow-up materials and the petitioner is expected to deliver the supplemental data requested by the board.

The petition record and staff report cited Education Code section 47605.6 for countywide charter standards; staff also referenced the state's accountability/dashboards as the practical reason to document participation and measurable targets.

Next steps: OCDE staff will publish the petition addendum requested by trustees and track Sun Coast's LCAP/assessment participation progress; the board signaled it will review updates at a future meeting.