Call for Quality Options

For Your Information

• Introduction

  Call for Quality Options

  
  Louisiana Believes, the Department's plan to ensure that all children can achieve high expectations for learning, is grounded in the conviction that parents must be empowered to enroll their children in the schools and educational programs that best meet each child's needs.  For Louisiana Believes to succeed all options must be high quality options.  The 2013 Call for Quality Options takes Louisiana one step closer to achieving that vision.
  
  The Call for Quality Options (the Call) is just what its name describes.  It is an open invitation for talented individuals, organizations, and proven school operators to provide life-changing educational opportunities to Louisiana's students.  Entities can apply to open one or more choice options from a menu including multiple types of charter schools, non-public schools (which may accept students participating in any of Louisiana's scholarship programs), Course Choice, and local charter authorizers.
  
  The Call consists of two components: (1) an information center, and (2) a series of application processes spread throughout the year.  The information center, updated annually, displays the demand for each choice option visually through an information dashboard and descriptively through detailed narratives for each choice option.  These tools both guide potential providers to the choice option they are most qualified to provide and demonstrate the academic and geographic needs that each choice option is best positioned to serve.
  The 2013 application series consists of the following application processes:

  Process	Application Release
  State Charter Application Process (charter types 2, 4, and 5)	February 1, 2013
  Local Charter Authorizer Application Process	February 1, 2013
  District Charter Application Process	August 2013
  Course Choice Application Process	Fall 2013
  Non-Public School State Approval Eligibility Confirmation	Fall 2013
  Non-Public School Scholarship Program Application Process	Winter 2013

  The dashboard anticipates and answers the questions most commonly asked by applicants for each process so that all provider candidates begin the application process on a solid informational foundation.   Through each application and confirmation process, the Department moves Louisiana closer to its vision of a Louisiana in which all children can access educational options that allow them to reach their academic potential.

• User Guide

Call for Quality Options

• Demand for Charter Schools in Partner Districts

  East Baton Rouge Parish, Jefferson Parish, and Lafayette Parish
  Three school districts have entered into charter RFA partnerships with the Department: East Baton Rouge Parish, Jefferson Parish, and Lafayette Parish.  RFA partnerships allow the Department to conduct a high-quality charter application process on behalf of local school districts while at the same time allowing districts to make charter approval decisions.  Each partnership district has the opportunity to describe the needs that they hope to fulfill through the charter application process. Click here for more information.
• Demand for Scholarship Schools

  Eligible nonpublic schools are invited to participate in the Louisiana Scholarship Program. For the 2012-2013 school year, over 10,000 students applied for a scholarship. Due to a lack of seat availability, about 5,000 students were denied an opportunity to receive a scholarship. We are committed to providing options for every student who fills out an application and invite you to learn more about this opportunity. Click here for more information.
• Local Charter Authorizers

  For the first time in Louisiana, eligible nonprofit organizations and government agencies are invited to apply for the authority to authorize local charter schools. The Department believes that Local Charter Authorizers are uniquely qualified to focus substantial resources on developing high quality, region specific charter school sectors across the state. Local Charter Authorizers may serve an entire Regional Labor Market Area (RLMA) or a defined geographic area within an RLMA. Click here for more information.
• Course Choice

  The Course Choice Program is an integral component of Louisiana Believes, the state's plan to empower students and teachers. Through Course Choice students will have access to an unprecedented range of core academic and Advanced Placement courses, as well as career and technical education (CTE) training courses, internships and apprenticeship programs that prepare our state's students for high-paying 21st Century jobs. Click here for more information.
• Type 2 Charter Schools

  In the last charter application cycle, BESE approved or conditionally approved six Type 2 charter schools to serve approximately 4,000 students in five D and F rated school districts across the state. Based on data from the 2011-2012 school year there are almost 40,000 students now being educated in school districts with a D or F rating. Eligible nonprofit organizations schools are invited to apply for Type 2 charter schools to meet this need. Click here for more information.
• Type 5 Charter Schools

  Created by the State Legislature in 2003, the Recovery School District is guided by one question: What will it take to get every student on track to graduate from college or attain and succeed in a professional career? In pursuit of that goal, the RSD transforms underperforming public schools across Louisiana in order to ensure every student is headed down the path to a successful career or college graduation. The RSD does this by identifying top school leaders and teachers to operate the schools, giving these leaders the freedom and autonomy to educate children successfully, and empowering parents to choose the schools that are best for their children. Click here for more information.

Request for Applications (RFAs)

• Charter RFA
• Local Charter Authorizer RFA