City Schools’ operator renewal criteria are based on state law (§ 9-101, et seq., MD. CODE ANN., EDUC.) and Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners’ policy IHBJ and associated administrative regulations (IHBJ-RA and JFA-RA). The Board’s policy requires that schools up for renewal be evaluated on multiple measures including, but not limited to, the following:

Student achievement, constituting at least 50 percent of the renewal score and including measures such as schoolwide performance on state assessments, College and Career Readiness (for schools with high school grades), academic programming, performance on the 5Essentials Survey, and a school’s fidelity to its charter
School climate (measures such as chronic absence, suspensions, enrollment trends, school choice data, and school survey results from parents, teachers, and students)
Financial management and governance (annual audits, school budget submissions, grants management, board documentation; compliance/adherence with federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations)
An overall finding of ineffectiveness in any of the key areas (Student Achievement, School Climate, or Financial Management/Governance) may be the basis of a non-renewal decision.

The renewal process is a component of City Schools’ annual review of its schools, designed to ensure that students and families across the district have access to school options that meet their interests and needs.

The process uses the following components:

Renewal Rubrics
Application for Operator Renewal
Data Tables prepared by City Schools
School Effectiveness Review