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Charter School Petition Guidelines

Start-Up Petition Application
A charter school petition in Georgia, as defined by the Georgia Office of Charter School Compliance (OCSC) and the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia (SCSC), is a formal proposal submitted by a charter petitioner to establish or renew a public charter school. The petition outlines the school’s mission, educational program, governance structure, operational plan, financial sustainability, and accountability measures. It must demonstrate how the proposed charter school will provide innovative educational opportunities, improve student achievement, and comply with the requirements of the Georgia Charter Schools Act, State Board of Education rules, and SCSC regulations.

Charter School Start-Up Petition Timeline
Pursuant to Georgia State Board of Education (SBOE) Rule 160-4-9-.05, this timeline governs the submission, review, and evaluation of start-up school petitions. Pursuant to Rule 160-4-9-.05, the time frame between when the local board approves the charter petition and when the charter school is expected to begin serving students (pre-opening period) will be at least six (6) months and not more than twelve (12) months, unless the OCSC approves a longer or shorter pre-opening period in advance.

Deadline

Required Action & Milestone Description 

September 1, 2026

Annual Timeline Publication
The annual charter petition timeline is available on the CSD website. 

November 13, 2026
12:00 p.m.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission
Petitioners must submit an official Letter of Intent, using the state template (available here), to the City Schools of Decatur (CSD) school district and to GaDOE. 

TBD

Petitioners Workshop 
Optional virtual workshop for those who submitted Letters of Intent by the deadline. 

January 1, 2027
12:00 p.m.

New Charter School Final Petition Submission
A completed, unaltered OCSC petition application (available here) must be submitted electronically to CSD.

After petitions are submitted, CSD will review petitions for completeness. Only petitioners who filed a letter of intent and met the petition submission deadlines will be reviewed.

January 22, 2027

Notice of Completeness
Petitioners are notified via email of the outcome of the review for completeness. Complete petitions will be evaluated by the review committee. 

February 1-5, 2027

Founding Board Capacity Interview(s)
All Founding Board members are required to attend; the meeting will be conducted in person. 

90 days from final petition submission (no later than June 30, 2027)

Decision on Petition
Within 90 days after the final petition submission, the Superintendent makes a recommendation to the CSD BOE on whether to approve or deny the petition. The BOE will vote at a regular or special-called meeting if necessary, to officially approve or deny the charter petition by majority vote. The petitioner and BOE may agree in writing to an extension, but the Board must vote no later than June 30, 2027.

10 days from CSD BOE vote

Notification
CSD will notify petitioners of approval/denial within 10 days following the BOE vote. 

TBD
Based on State Approval

CSD Charter School Agreement Finalized

TBD by SBOE

State Board of Education Action

Note: Only petitions from Governing Boards that filed a letter of intent with CSD by the November 13, 2026, deadline and that meet the January 1, 2027, deadline for final petition submission will be reviewed for completeness. No exceptions will be made.
 

Contact Information

All documents should be submitted electronically to charterpetition@csdecatur.net. For additional information, please contact:

Amanda Lynch
Chief of Staff
amanda.lynch@csdecatur.net 


Additional Resources