CALSTRS...CALSTRS Teachers' Retirement Board Regular Meeting Emerging Education Delivery Methods:...

CALSTRS Teachers' Retirement Board Regular Meeting

Emerging Education Delivery Methods: Charter Schools

Attachment 1 Regular Meeting - Item 8

June 8, 2017

TRB 108

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I. California’s Charter Schools Act of 1992 Twenty-five years ago, in 1992, the first public charter school in the U.S. opened in Minnesota.1 That same year, California’s Charter Schools Act was signed by then Governor Pete Wilson. The act became effective on January 1, 1993. In February of 1993, the San Carlos Charter Learning Center in San Mateo County was granted the state’s first charter.2 As stated in the Charter Schools Act, the legislative intent was “… to provide opportunities for teachers, parents, pupils and community members to establish and maintain schools that operate independently from the existing school district structure, as a method to … improve pupil learning … , encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods … [and] create new professional opportunities for teachers … ,” among other objectives listed in the act.3 The act also establishes the “… maximum total number of charter schools authorized to operate in this state … ,” a limit that increases by 100 “… each successive school year.”4 For the 2015–16 school year, the maximum number of charter schools was 1,950. As shown in Figure 1, as of June 30, 2016, there were 1,220 active K–12 charter schools in California—out of 1,822 charter school petitions approved in California since the enactment of the Charter Schools Act. There were also 422 closed charter schools, which include voluntary closures, conversions to traditional schools and reauthorizations with new districts, as well as 180 charter schools with other statuses, which include revoked, abandoned and pending charters.

Figure 1. Total California Charter Schools as of June 30, 2016

Approved Charter Petitions1,822 petitions

Other Status180 schools (9.9%)

Closed Charter Schools422 schools (23.2%)

Active Charter Schools1,220 schools (67.0%)

According to the Charter Schools Act, “… a petition for the establishment of a charter school within a school district … may be submitted to the governing board of the school district for review. … If the governing board of a school district denies a petition, the petitioner may elect to submit the petition for the establishment of a charter school to the county board of education. … [If] the county board of education denies the petition, the petitioner may file a petition for establishment of a charter school with the state board. …” The act specifies the various reasons a charter petition may be denied by the governing board of a school district, which include: • “The charter school presents an unsound educational program. …” • “The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program. …”


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• “The petition does not contain an affirmation of each of the conditions …” listed later in the act, including that “a charter school shall be nonsectarian … , shall not charge tuition, and … shall admit all pupils who wish to attend the school.”

• “The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of …” 16 wide-ranging, required components, including “The measurable pupil outcomes identified for use by the charter school” and “The qualifications to be met by individuals to be employed by the charter school.”5

As shown in Figure 2, a large majority of active charter schools were authorized by a school district. As of June 30, 2016, 87.2 percent of active charter schools were authorized by a school district, while only 11 percent of schools were authorized by a county office of education, and 1.8 percent of schools were authorized by the State Board of Education.

Figure 2. Active Charter Schools by Charter Authorizer as of June 30, 2016

According to the California Department of Education, the charter authorizer “… is responsible for ensuring that a charter school operates in compliance with all applicable laws and the terms of its charter.” In addition to oversight responsibilities, the charter authorizer provides a charter school with “… general guidance and assistance on various issues, such as funding and compliance.”6 Typically, the charter authorizer establishes a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a charter school regarding the format, frequency and scope of oversight activities. Often addressed in an MOU are material revisions to a school’s charter. The Charter Schools Act refers to material revisions, but the reference applies only to proposals by a charter school to establish additional school sites, which require approval by the chartering authorizer. Other types of material revisions to a school’s charter may also be addressed in an MOU. It is important to note that the Charter Schools Act does not use the terms dependent and independent. However, these terms are commonly used to describe charter schools. As defined by the California School Boards Association, “Dependent charters are considered charter schools that have been created by the district board and are an integral part of the district’s portfolio of schools. Independent charter schools are typically those charters that are formed by parents, teachers, community members or charter management organizations.”7

87.2%

11.0% 1.8%

District

COE

State Board


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The term independent is also sometimes used to refer to charter schools that elect to receive funding directly from the state instead of through a school district or county office of education. As described by the Education Data Partnership, “Charter schools can be ‘locally funded,’ meaning that they receive their funding through their authorizing district or county office, or ‘direct-funded,’ in which case they receive funding directly from the state.”8 As shown in Figure 3, as of June 30, 2016, 72.4 percent of active charter schools were direct-funded, while 27.6 percent of schools were locally funded.

Figure 3. Active Charter Schools by Funding Mode as of June 30, 2016

The Charter School Act differentiates between charter schools that are new, start-up schools and charter schools that are conversions of existing public schools. Existing private schools may not be converted to charter schools. Conversion charter petitions must be “… signed by not less than 50 percent of the permanent status teachers currently employed at the public school to be converted.” Start-up charter petitions must be “… signed by a number of parents or legal guardians of pupils that is equivalent to at least one-half of the number of pupils that the charter school estimates will enroll in the school for its first year of operation.” As shown in Figure 4, most active charter schools were created as start-ups. As of June 30, 2016, 83.1 percent of schools were start-ups, and 16.9 percent were conversions.

72.4%

27.6%

Direct

Local


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Figure 4. Active Charter Schools by Charter Type as of June 30, 2016

One topic that tends to attract media attention, but is not addressed in the original iteration of the Charter Schools Act, is the corporate structure of charter schools. In 2003, the act was amended to add, “Charter schools may elect to operate as, or be operated by, a nonprofit public benefit corporation. …”9 The act does not specify other corporate structures that a charter school may operate as or be operated by. According to the California Charter Schools Association, “… for-profit charter schools represent less than 1 percent of charter schools in California. Out of almost 1,200 charter schools in the state, there are only six charter schools that are organized as limited liability corporations.”10 However, that total reflects only the individual charter schools themselves, not the organizations that operate multiple charter schools, which may be structured as for-profit corporations. As the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools explains, “Charter management organizations (CMOs) are nonprofit entities that manage two or more charter schools. … CMOs often provide back office functions for charter schools to take advantage of economies of scale, but some also provide a wider range of services—including hiring, professional development, data analysis, public relations and advocacy. Education management organizations (EMOs) are for-profit entities that manage charter schools and perform similar functions as CMOs. EMOs generally charge a management fee for their services to charter schools.”11 In 2014‒15, according to data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools12, 93.7 percent of charter schools in California were non-profit—either individually run non-profit, single-site schools or schools run by non-profit organizations with more than one charter school (CMOs)—and 5.1 percent of charter schools were run by for-profit companies (EMOs), as shown in Figure 5. It is worth noting that the California Code of Regulations provides slightly different definitions of CMO and EMO. “A CMO is a non-profit organization that operates or manages charter schools by centralizing or sharing certain functions and resources among schools. An EMO is a for-profit or non-profit organization that provides ‘whole-school operation’ services to a [local education agency].”13

83.1%

16.9%

Start-up

Conversion


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Figure 5. California Charter Schools by Management Structure for 2014‒15

Compared to the entire country, California had fewer for-profit charter schools by percentage in 2014‒15, as 83.6 percent of charter schools in the U.S. were non-profit, 16.0 percent were for-profit and 0.4 percent were unknown. When charter schools in California are examined by total student population instead of total schools, the percentages are similar. In 2014‒15, 91.9 percent of students at charter schools in California were enrolled at non-profit schools and 7.5 percent were enrolled at for-profit schools, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. California Charter School Students by Management Structure for 2014‒15

Another element that makes it difficult to determine if a school’s funding, in part, goes to for-profit companies is the fact that, as stated in the Charter Schools Act (emphasis added), “A charter school may opt to contract with its charter authorizing entity or other sources to provide additional services such as administrative, insurance, maintenance, payroll, etc., on a fee-for-service basis.”

93.7%

5.1% 1.3%

Non-profit

For-profit

Unknown

91.9%

7.5% 0.6%

Non-profit

For-profit

Unknown


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II. The Charter Schools Act and CalSTRS The Charter Schools Act refers to CalSTRS in a few places. As described earlier in this report, the act requires that charter petitions include “… reasonably comprehensive descriptions of …” 16 wide-ranging, required components. One of these components is “… the manner by which staff members of the charter schools will be covered by [CalSTRS], [CalPERS], or federal social security.” As shown in Figure 7, of the 1,220 active charter schools in California as of June 30, 2016, CalSTRS provides retirement benefits for 1,091 schools (89.4 percent), while 129 schools (10.6 percent) offer an alternative retirement plan, such as Social Security.

Figure 7. CalSTRS at Active Charter Schools as of June 30, 2016

Approved Charter Petitions1,822

Active Charter Schools1,220

Other Retirement 129 schools (10.6%)

Other Status602

CalSTRS Retirement1,091 schools (89.4%)

The act also states, “If a charter school chooses to make [CalSTRS] available, all employees of the charter school who perform creditable service shall be entitled to have that service covered under [CalSTRS]. …”14 On the topic of teacher certification, the act asserts, “Teachers in charter schools shall hold a Commission on Teacher Credentialing certificate, permit, or other document equivalent to that which a teacher in other public schools would be required to hold.” According to data from the California Department of Education, as of June 30, 2015, active charter schools employed 38,641 FTEs of certificated staff.15 As shown in Figure 8, schools that offer CalSTRS employed 33,129 FTEs (85.7%), while the schools that offer a retirement plan other than CalSTRS employed 5,512 FTEs (14.3%).

Figure 8. Certificated FTEs at Active Charter Schools as of June 30, 2015

85.7%

14.3%

CalSTRS

Other


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If a charter school offers CalSTRS or CalPERS, the Charter Schools Act requires the charter school to inform “… all applicants for positions within that charter school … [about] whether the charter school makes available to employees coverage under [CalSTRS], [CalPERS], or both systems, and that accepting employment in the charter school may exclude the applicant from further coverage in the applicant’s current retirement system, depending on the retirement options offered by the charter of the charter school.” Regarding reporting required by CalSTRS and CalPERS, the act states, “At the request of a charter school, a school district or county office of education that is the chartering authority of a charter school shall create any reports required by [CalSTRS] and [CalPERS] … [and] shall submit the required reports on behalf of the charter school. … Information submitted on behalf of the charter school to [CalSTRS], [CalPERS], or both, shall be in a format conforming to the requirements of those systems.”16


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III. The Growth of Charter Schools According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as of the 2014–15 school year, there were 100,901 public K–12 schools in the U.S.17 Traditional schools accounted for 92.8 percent (93,597 schools) of total schools, and charter schools accounted for 7.2 percent (7,304 schools) of total schools. As shown in Figure 9, between the 2002–03 and 2014–15 school years, while the number of charter schools grew, the number of traditional schools remained steady. Note: to ensure the charts in this section of the report are visually coherent, they all have y-axes that start at numbers greater than zero.

Figure 9. U.S. K–12 Public Schools by Total

Between the 1999–00 and 2014–15 school years, the total number of U.S. charter schools grew by an average of 385 schools each year. As shown in Figure 10, the percentage of total schools that charter schools accounted for grew consistently from 1999–00 to 2014–15. Charter schools accounted for an average of an additional 1.1 percentage points of total schools every three years.

Figure 10. U.S. K–12 Public Schools by Percentage

In California, charter schools account for a higher percentage of total schools compared to the national data. As of the 2014–15 school year, there were 10,508 public K–12 schools in California. As shown in Figure 11, traditional schools accounted for 87.8 percent (9,231 schools)

1999–00 2002–03 2005–06 2008–09 2011–12 2014–15 Charter 1,524 2,575 3,780 4,920 6,011 7,304Traditional 90,488 93,040 93,602 94,870 93,302 93,597

98.3% 97.3% 96.1% 95.1% 93.9% 92.8%

1.7%

2.7% 3.9% 4.9% 6.1% 7.2%

86,000

90,000

94,000

98,000

102,000

1999–00 2002–03 2005–06 2008–09 2011–12 2014–15 Charter 1.7% 2.7% 3.9% 4.9% 6.1% 7.2%Traditional 98.3% 97.3% 96.1% 95.1% 93.9% 92.8%

90,488 93,040 93,602 94,870 93,302 93,597

1,524 2,575 3,780 4,920 6,011 7,304

86%88%90%92%94%96%98%

100%


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of total schools, and charter schools accounted for 12.2 percent (1,277 schools) of total schools, which is 5 percentage points higher than the corresponding national percentage. However, this is not an entirely equitable comparison, because not every state has charter school laws.

Figure 11. California K–12 Public Schools by Total

Between the 1999–00 and 2014–15 school years, the total number of California charter schools grew by an average of 69 schools each year. Similar to the national data, the percentage of total California schools that California charter schools accounted for grew consistently from 1999–00 to 2014–15, as shown in Figure 12, but at a faster rate than the national data. Charter schools accounted for an average of an additional 1.9 percentage points of total schools every three years, compared to 1.1 percentage points for U.S. schools.

Figure 12. California K–12 Public Schools by Percentage

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as of the 2014–15 school year, there were 262,118 teacher FTEs employed at public K–12 schools in California. As shown in Figure 13, FTEs at traditional schools accounted for 90.5 percent (237,097 FTEs) of total teacher FTEs, and FTEs at charter schools accounted for 9.5 percent (25,021 FTEs) of total teacher FTEs. The average number of teacher FTEs at California traditional schools was 27, and the average number of teacher FTEs at California charter schools was 22.

Figure 13. California K–12 Public School Teacher FTEs by Total

1999–00 2002–03 2005–06 2008–09 2011–12 2014–15 Charter 238 409 543 789 1,018 1,277Traditional 8,340 8,691 9,107 9,321 9,197 9,231

97.2% 95.5% 94.4% 92.2% 90.0% 87.8% 2.8%

4.5% 5.6%

7.8% 10.0% 12.2%

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

11,000


8,340 8,691 9,107 9,321

9,197 9,231

238 409 543 789

1,018 1,277

86%88%90%92%94%96%98%

100%


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Not surprisingly, as the total number of charter schools in California has grown, the total number of teachers employed at charter schools has also grown. Between the 1999–00 and 2014–15 school years, the number of teacher FTEs at California charter schools grew by an average of 1,364 FTEs each year. As shown in Figure 14, the percentage of total FTEs that charter school FTEs accounted for grew at a progressively faster rate from 1999–00 to 2014–15. From 1990–00 to 2005–06, charter school FTEs accounted for an average of an additional 0.8 percent points of total FTEs every three years, while from 2008–09 to 2014–15, charter school FTEs accounted for an average of an additional 2.4 percentage points of total FTEs every three years.

Figure 14. California K–12 Public School Teacher FTEs by Percentage

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as of the 2014–15 school year, there were 6,222,731 students who attended public K–12 schools in California. As shown in Figure 15, students at traditional schools accounted for 90.4 percent (5,678,438 students) of total students, and students at charter schools accounted for 9.6 percent (544,293 students) of total students. The average number of students at California traditional schools was 644, and the average number of students at California charter schools was 462.

1999–00 2002–03 2005–06 2008–09 2011–12 2014–15 Charter 4,554 7,278 9,328 13,766 18,276 25,021Traditional 275,022 288,930 285,851 279,693 245,100 237,097

98.4% 97.5% 96.8% 95.3%

93.1% 90.5%

1.6%

2.5% 3.2% 4.7%

6.9% 9.5%

230,000

244,000

258,000

272,000

286,000

300,000


275,022 288,930 285,851 279,693 245,100

237,097

4,554 7,278 9,328 13,766 18,276

25,021

86%88%90%92%94%96%98%

100%


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Figure 15. California K–12 Public School Students by Total

Between the 1999–00 and 2014–15 school years, the total number of students at California charter schools grew by an average of 29,304 students each year. As shown in Figure 16, the percentage of total students that charter school students accounted for grew at a progressively faster rate from 1999–00 to 2014–15, a rate similar to that of teacher FTEs over the same period. From 1990–00 to 2005–06, charter school students accounted for an average of an additional 0.7 percent points of total students every three years, while from 2008–09 to 2014–15, charter school students accounted for an average of an additional 2.5 percentage points of total students every three years.

Figure 16. California K–12 Public School Students by Percentage

1999–00 2002–03 2005–06 2008–09 2011–12 2014–15 Charter 104,730 156,696 195,876 284,986 413,124 544,293Traditional 5,847,868 6,087,707 6,116,227 5,955,198 5,789,738 5,678,438

98.2% 97.5% 96.9%

95.4% 93.3% 90.4%

1.8%

2.5% 3.1% 4.6%

6.7% 9.6%

5,600,000

5,750,000

5,900,000

6,050,000

6,200,000

6,350,000


5,847,868 6,087,707 6,116,227 5,955,198 5,789,738

5,678,438

104,730 156,696 195,876 284,986 413,124

544,293

86%88%90%92%94%96%98%

100%


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IV. CalSTRS at Charter Schools During the initial writing of a charter petition, a charter school can elect to participate in CalSTRS to provide retirement benefits for their employees. A charter school must meet the following criteria to participate in CalSTRS retirement programs: • Be recognized as a public charter by the California Department of Education. • Elect participation in CalSTRS and enroll eligible employees. • Provide documentation to CalSTRS confirming participation before reporting contributions. • Report contributions to CalSTRS via school district or county office of education. Prior to accepting contributions, CalSTRS requires the following documents: • A copy of the school’s charter petition indicating the election or participation in CalSTRS. • If the charter school chooses to collect pre-tax contributions, a completed Employer Paid

Member Contributions Resolution is required.18 As shown earlier in this report, as of June 30, 2016, CalSTRS provided retirement benefits for 89.4 percent of active charter schools in California. Over the past 10 years, this percentage has remained relatively stable, with a low of 88.8 percent in 2006–07 and a high of 92.4 percent in 2010–11, as shown in figure 17.

Figure 17. Retirement Plans at California Charter Schools by Total

CalSTRS has provided retirement benefits for a majority of charter schools since the Charter Schools Act was enacted. Moreover, CalSTRS has provided benefits for over 70 percent of California charter schools each fiscal year from 1993–94 to 2015–16. However, the magnitude of this majority has varied over time, ranging from a low of 71.7 percent in 1999–2000 to a high of 92.4 percent in 2010–11, as shown in Figure 18.

06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 Other 65 68 61 65 68 75 79 86 102 129CalSTRS 517 608 663 726 828 882 945 1,012 1,047 1,091

88.8% 89.9% 91.6% 91.8% 92.4% 92.2% 92.3% 92.2% 91.1% 89.4% 11.2% 10.1% 8.4% 8.2%

7.6% 7.8% 7.7% 7.8% 8.9% 10.6%

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400


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Figure 18. Retirement Plans at California Charter Schools by Percentage

Another way to examine retirement benefit trends at California charter schools is to isolate those charter schools that opened within a given fiscal year. For instance, out of the 81 charter schools that opened during 2015–16, CalSTRS provided retirement benefits for 54, or two-thirds, of those schools, as shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19. Retirement Plans at Newly Opened Charter Schools by Fiscal Year

The percentage of newly opened charter schools that chose to offer CalSTRS benefits has trended downward over the past couple of fiscal years examined in this report. Moreover, the 66.7 percent of newly opened charter schools represents the smallest percentage since 2000–01, when 65.7 percent of new charter schools chose to offer CalSTRS benefits, as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20. Retirement Plans at Newly Opened Charter Schools by Percentage

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%CalSTRS Other

06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 Other 8 13 10 10 8 8 9 12 18 27CalSTRS 69 102 71 79 114 96 100 108 72 54

89.6% 88.7%

87.7% 88.8%

93.4% 92.3% 91.7% 90.0%

80.0% 66.7%

10.4%

11.3%

12.3% 11.2%

6.6%

7.7% 8.3% 10.0%

20.0% 33.3%

0

25

50

75

100

125


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The recent drop in new schools choosing to offer CalSTRS benefits, as seen in 2014–15 and 2015–16, should continue to be monitored in future fiscal years to determine if this is a consistent trend.

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%CalSTRS Other


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V. CalSTRS Member Demographics Due to the varied ways in which data and contributions are reported to CalSTRS, it is not possible to strictly categorize CalSTRS members’ demographic information by whether members are employed by traditional schools or charter schools. Whenever data and contributions from charter schools are reported to CalSTRS, that reporting is delivered via one of the following structures, depending on the school: • County Office of Education (COE): charter school data and contributions are merged with

that of the COE. • School District: charter school data and contributions are merged with that of the school

district. • Charter School District: data and contributions of a group of charter schools of the same

corporation located in the same county are merged. • Unique: data and contributions are submitted under a unique ID. According to data from the California Department of Education, as of June 30, 2016, about half (49.2 percent) of active charter schools in California reported data and contributions via a unique ID, and 28.9 percent of charter schools reported via a school district, as shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21. Active Charter Schools by Reporting Structure as of June 30, 2016

For the purposes of the member demographic information in this report, charter school data reported via school district and COE structures is included under the label of traditional schools, because traditional schools and charter schools are comingled in those reporting structures. Meanwhile, charter school data reported via unique and charter school district structures are included under the label of charter schools. A large majority of active CalSTRS Defined Benefit Program members (83.1 percent) are employed at K‒12 traditional schools, as shown in Figure 22. As of June 30, 2016, there were 438,537 active CalSTRS members, with 364,518 members (83.1 percent) at K‒12 traditional schools and 25,048 members (5.7 percent) at K‒12 charter schools.

49.2%

8.2%

28.9%

2.8% 11.0% Unique

Charter District

School District

COE

Unkown


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Figure 22. Active CalSTRS DB Members by Employer Type as of June 30, 2016

Female members comprise a majority (71.8 percent) of the entire CalSTRS Defined Benefit Program. When the membership is further delineated by employer type, the gender ratios remain very similar. As of June 30, 2016, 73.4 percent of members at K‒12 traditional schools and 73.8 percent of members at K‒12 charter schools are female, as shown in Figure 23.

Figure 23. Active CalSTRS DB Members by Gender as of June 30, 2016

The average age that educators at K‒12 traditional schools first became CalSTRS members is very similar to the average age that educators at K‒12 charter schools first became members. However, the average current age of members at traditional schools is five years older than the average current age of members of the same gender at charter schools, as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24. Active CalSTRS DB Members Average Age as of June 30, 2016

The average annual earnings of CalSTRS members at K‒12 traditional schools is about $14,000 more than members of the same gender at K‒12 charter schools, and the average annual contributions are about $1,300 more, as shown in Figure 25.

83.1%

5.7% 8.7%

2.5%

TraditionalCharterCollegeOther

Traditional CharterMale 96,742 6,562Female 267,370 18,458

73.4% 73.8%

26.6% 26.2%

0%20%40%60%80%

100%

TraditionalFemale

TraditionalMale

CharterFemale

CharterMale

Entry Age 30 31 29 31Current Age 44 45 39 40


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Figure 25. Active CalSTRS DB Members Average Earnings as of June 30, 2016

TraditionalFemale

TraditionalMale

CharterFemale

CharterMale

Earnings $71,391 $76,669 $56,772 $62,343Contributions $6,514 $6,981 $5,127 $5,629


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VI. Charter Schools Survey In February 2017, CalSTRS contacted administrators at each charter school in California to invite them to take a brief online survey. Out of the 1,222 administrators who were sent email invitations, 212 administrators completed the survey—a response rate of 17.3 percent—during the 21-day survey period. Survey respondents were slightly more likely to work at a charter school with CalSTRS retirement benefits compared to the entirety of charter schools in California. As shown in Figure 26, 93.4 percent of respondents work at a school with CalSTRS benefits, compared to 89.4 percent for all charter schools in California, as shown in Figure 7 earlier in this report.

Figure 26. What retirement plan do you provide to the teachers and administrators employed at your charter school?

Respondents who selected “Other” were asked to specify what retirement plan other than CalSTRS is offered to the teachers and administrators at their charter schools. As shown in Figure 27, 42.9 percent of these respondents work at a school with only a defined contribution (DC) plan, 21.4 percent work at a school with only Social Security and 35.7 percent work at a school with both a DC plan and Social Security. According to the IRS, in order for a charter school to be exempted from offering Social Security, the school’s retirement plan “… must meet certain minimum benefit or contribution standards to qualify as a public retirement system, and thereby serve as a ‘replacement’ plan exempting the participants from mandatory social security coverage. These standards are based solely on meeting a minimum benefit level provided (defined benefit plan), or a minimum amount contributed (defined contribution plan) to the participant.”19

93.4% (198)

6.6% (14)

n=212

CalSTRS

Other


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Figure 27. What retirement plan [other than CalSTRS] do you provide to the teachers and administrators employed at your charter school?

Respondents who work at a charter school with CalSTRS retirement benefits were asked why their school chose to offer CalSTRS benefits. As shown in Figure 28, a quarter of respondents stated that CalSTRS was chosen as a way to aid teacher recruitment, and another quarter of respondents stated that CalSTRS was chosen in order to align with their school district.

Figure 28. What led to the decision to offer CalSTRS at your charter school?

Respondents who work at a charter school without CalSTRS retirement benefits were asked why their school chose to not offer CalSTRS benefits. As shown in Figure 29, the most frequent response (42.9 percent) was that offering CalSTRS benefits would be cost prohibitive.

Figure 29. What led to the decision to not offer CalSTRS at your charter school?

42.9% (6)

35.7% (5)

21.4% (3)

n=14

DC

DC + SSA

SSA

10.1% (20)

11.6% (23)

11.6% (23)

16.7% (33)

24.7% (49)

25.3% (50)

n=198

Teacher recruitment.

Alignment with district.

Teachers already CalSTRS members.

CalSTRS is good for teachers.

Not sure.

Other.

21.4% (3)

35.7% (5)

42.9% (6)

n=14

Cost prohibitive.

Not sure.

Other.


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Each survey respondent was asked where the instruction for their charter school takes place. As shown in Figure 30, the majority of respondents (73.6 percent) work at charter schools with classroom-based instruction, while 11.8 percent work at schools with non-classroom-based instruction—including independent study— and 14.6 percent work at schools with a combination of both. In comparison to the entirety of charter schools in California, the percentage of schools with only classroom-based instruction is similar, with 76.1 percent of all charter schools in California having only classroom-based instruction, according to data from the California Department of Education.

Figure 30. Where does the instruction for your charter school take place?

Each survey respondent was asked if their charter school offers online classes. As shown in Figure 31, the majority of respondents (76.9 percent) work at charter schools with no online classes, while 19.8 percent work at schools with some online classes and 3.3 percent work at schools where all classes are online.

Figure 31. To what extent does your charter school offer online (virtual) classes?

73.6% (156)

14.6% (31)

11.8% (25)

n=212

Classroom

Combination

Non-classroom

76.9% (163)

19.8% (42)

3.3% (7)

n=212

None online

Some online

All online


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Each survey respondent was asked if the teachers and administrators employed at their charter school are unionized. As shown in Figure 32, most respondents (81.1 percent) work at charter schools where teachers and administrators are not unionized.

Figure 32. Are the teachers and administrators employed at your charter school unionized?

81.1% (172)

18.9% (40)

n=212

Not unionized

Unionized


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VII. Future Research: Online Education At its April 2017 meeting, the Benefits and Services Committee discussed its 2017–18 work plan. In those discussions, committee members expressed an interest to learn more about education technology, including online education and artificial intelligence, and how such technology might impact teaching professions and CalSTRS. In the case of online education, this report about charter schools serves as a good introduction, because according to data from the Department of Education, charter schools are more likely to have online education programs than traditional schools.20 As shown in Figure 33, as of the 2015‒16 school year, 17.0 percent of charter schools offer at least some online education, compared to 7.7 percent of traditional schools. As shown in Figure 33, 13.4 percent of charter schools in California offer some instruction online and 3.6 percent offer all instruction online. These percentages are a little lower than those reported by the respondents of the charter schools survey, as shown earlier in this report in Figure 31.

Figure 33. Online Education at California Schools for 2015‒16

Furthermore, the survey CalSTRS conducted with charter school administrators for this report offers an avenue to explore online education programs offered at charter schools in California. Most of the survey respondents indicated that they would be willing to participate in additional conversations with CalSTRS about their charter schools. If the board is interested, case studies about specific online education programs can be presented at a future board meeting.

92.3%

7.6% Traditional

83.0%

13.4% 3.6% Charter

None online

Some online

All online


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References 1. Progressive Policy Institute (April 2004). Ripples of Innovation: Charter Schooling in

Minnesota, the Nation’s First Charter School State. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED491210.pdf.

2. EdSource (June 2004). Charter Schools in California: An Experiment Coming of Age. https://edsource.org/wp-content/publications/CharterSchools04.pdf.

3. California Legislative Information. California Education Code, Section 47601. http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47601.



6. California Department of Education. Charter Schools FAQ Section 3. www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cs/re/qandasec3mar04.asp.

7. California School Boards Association (2012). Charter Schools: A Manual for Governance Teams. www.csba.org/EducationIssues/EducationIssues/~/media/D3A48BACC09B45C89F3 5FC33ABC3A86A.ashx.

8. Education Data Partnership. Charter Schools in California. www.ed-data.org/article/Charter-Schools-in-California.


10. California Charter Schools Association. Frequently Asked Questions. www.ccsa.org/understanding/faqs.

11. National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (2010). CMO and EMO Public Charter Schools: A Growing Phenomenon in the Charter School Sector. www.publiccharters.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NAPCS-CMO-EMO-DASHBOARD-DETAILS_20111103T102812.pdf.


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http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED491210.pdf

https://edsource.org/wp-content/publications/CharterSchools04.pdf

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47601


http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47602.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47602.



http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cs/re/qandasec3mar04.asp

http://www.csba.org/EducationIssues/EducationIssues/%7E/media/D3A48BACC09B45C89F35FC33ABC3A86A.ashx

http://www.csba.org/EducationIssues/EducationIssues/%7E/media/D3A48BACC09B45C89F35FC33ABC3A86A.ashx

http://www.ed-data.org/article/Charter-Schools-in-California

http://www.ed-data.org/article/Charter-Schools-in-California



http://www.ccsa.org/understanding/faqs

http://www.publiccharters.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NAPCS-CMO-EMO-DASHBOARD-DETAILS_20111103T102812.pdf



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12. National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Charter School Data Dashboard.

http://dashboard2.publiccharters.org/Home.

13. California Code of Regulations. Title 5, Division 1, Chapter 5.2.5, Subchapter 1, Article 1, Section 4804. https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Document/I605959F0065911E1AA65E1B0A4C85462


15. California Department of Education (October 2015). Staff Demographic Data. www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesstaffdemo.asp

16. California Legislative Information. California Education Code, Section 47611.3. http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47611.3

17. National Center for Education Statistics. Elementary/Secondary Information System. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/tableGenerator.aspx

18. California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Retirement Benefits to Charter Schools. www.calstrs.com/overview/retirement-benefits-charter-schools.

19. Internal Revenue Service. Government Retirement Plans Toolkit. www.irs.gov/government-entities/federal-state-local-governments/government-retirement-plans-toolkit.

20. California Department of Education (August 2016). Public Schools and Districts Data Files.

www.cde.ca.gov/ds/si/ds/pubschls.asp.


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http://dashboard2.publiccharters.org/Home

https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Document/I605959F0065911E1AA65E1B0A4C85462



http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesstaffdemo.asp

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47611.3

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=47611.3

https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/tableGenerator.aspx

http://www.calstrs.com/overview/retirement-benefits-charter-schools

http://www.irs.gov/government-entities/federal-state-local-governments/government-retirement-plans-toolkit

http://www.irs.gov/government-entities/federal-state-local-governments/government-retirement-plans-toolkit

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/si/ds/pubschls.asp

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