Dear Charter Schools,
By August 1 of each year, each charter school in New York State is required by law to complete and submit an Annual Report to the New York State Education Department’s Charter School Office (NYSED CSO) and to the school’s charter entity (authorizer). Each charter school is required to make the Annual Report publicly available by August 1 and post it on the charter school’s website[1]. Each school should post an updated and complete version to include accountability data and financial statements that are not or may not be available until after the August deadline (i.e., Repost when financials have been submitted in November).
The 2023-2024 Annual Report Guidelines include general instructions for submission, report content requirements, and key inquiries that highlight academic, organization, and fiscal performance, as well as the extent to which a school is meeting the requirements of its charter. These Guidelines are intended to walk schools through and supplement the s in the online Annual Report Portal. All New York State charter schools, regardless of authorizer, must submit their school’s 2023-2024 Annual Report through the online portal no later than 11:59 PM on August 1, 2024, or no later than the dates specified in the applicable sections of the guidance. Schools should make note of individual authorizer requirements in the Guidelines and within the portal.
A charter school’s Annual Report provides information about its performance over the prior academic year, as well as a record of progress toward performance goals agreed upon in the charter contract.[2] The components to be included in each section of the Annual Report are outlined in the Guidelines below. Please note that all required information must be clearly documented to complete this statutory requirement.
Charter schools are not asked and are not required to submit personally identifiable student information. Please DO NOT include or attach this information.
Additionally, all charter schools in New York must comply with reporting requirements set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner[3] and are held accountable for ensuring accurate data sharing through the NYSED’s information management systems.
Submission Instructions
All Annual Reports must be submitted through the NYSED’s Charter School Office (NYSED CSO) Annual Report Portal. All four authorizers in New York State access their respective annual reports through this portal. Therefore, charter schools are not required to e-mail or submit hard copies of the Annual Report to their respective authorizers. Waivers or extended deadline requests will not be granted.
Schools that changed to another authorizer (through an education corporation merger) during the 2023-2024 school year should follow the submission requirements of the authorizer overseeing the school as of June 30, 2024. There are multiple components to the Annual Report, some of which are required of all schools—regardless of the authorizer—and others which are specific to one or more authorizers. Format specifications and due dates of some information may also vary by authorizer. Therefore, it is important for schools to read these Guidelines and instructions carefully. Schools must ensure that all required components are included as specified in these Guidelines. The information requested of schools is presented as “tasks” within the online system.
A charter school’s Annual Report must be a clear and accessible document for parents, the charter school’s authorizer, NYSED’s Charter School Office, and the general public. Any uploads submitted through the online portal should be clearly labeled. Uploads that consist of narrative must use standard one-inch margins, be clearly paginated, and use a clearly readable font no smaller in type size than 11-point. The text must be grammatically correct and free of jargon, undefined terms, and unexplained references. Please remove password protections from your Excel, Word, or PDF documents before uploading them to this portal.
DUE AUGUST 1: All schools must submit the first component of the Annual Report no later than 11:59 PM on August 1, 2024, unless otherwise indicated for specific tasks. This submission includes basic school information, board of trustees’ meeting minutes, and membership information (including completed Trustee Financial Disclosure Forms). The specific requirements are described in the section heading labeled “Content Requirements” of the Guidelines.
SUNY-authorized charter schools must download an Accountability Plan Progress Report template and, after completion, schools must upload the document into the Annual Report Portal and into the SUNY Epicenter document management system no later than 11:59 PM on September 16, 2024.
If, after reading the instructions carefully, there are questions about the required information, format, or deadlines for the Annual Report, please contact the school’s authorizer:
New York State Board of Regents (NYSED): charterschools@nysed.govState University of New York Trustees (SUNY): charters@suny.eduNew York City Department of Education (NYCDOE): charteroversight@schools.nyc.govBuffalo Board of Education: Ebony Bullock EBullock@buffaloschools.org
Questions about the submission process may be directed to the Charter School Office.
[1] New York State Education Law Section 2857(2).
[2] New York State Education Law Section 2857(2)(b).
[3] See, 8 NYCRR 119.3.
2023-2024 Annual Report
Dear Charter Schools,
By August 1 of each year, each charter school in New York State is required by law to complete and submit an Annual Report to the New York State Education Department’s Charter School Office (NYSED CSO) and to the school’s charter entity (authorizer). Each charter school is required to make the Annual Report publicly available by August 1 and post it on the charter school’s website[1]. Each school should post an updated and complete version to include accountability data and financial statements that are not or may not be available until after the August deadline (i.e., Repost when financials have been submitted in November).
The 2023-2024 Annual Report Guidelines include general instructions for submission, report content requirements, and key inquiries that highlight academic, organization, and fiscal performance, as well as the extent to which a school is meeting the requirements of its charter. These Guidelines are intended to walk schools through and supplement the s in the online Annual Report Portal. All New York State charter schools, regardless of authorizer, must submit their school’s 2023-2024 Annual Report through the online portal no later than 11:59 PM on August 1, 2024, or no later than the dates specified in the applicable sections of the guidance. Schools should make note of individual authorizer requirements in the Guidelines and within the portal.
A charter school’s Annual Report provides information about its performance over the prior academic year, as well as a record of progress toward performance goals agreed upon in the charter contract.[2] The components to be included in each section of the Annual Report are outlined in the Guidelines below. Please note that all required information must be clearly documented to complete this statutory requirement.
Charter schools are not asked and are not required to submit personally identifiable student information. Please DO NOT include or attach this information.
Additionally, all charter schools in New York must comply with reporting requirements set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner[3] and are held accountable for ensuring accurate data sharing through the NYSED’s information management systems.
Submission Instructions
All Annual Reports must be submitted through the NYSED’s Charter School Office (NYSED CSO) Annual Report Portal. All four authorizers in New York State access their respective annual reports through this portal. Therefore, charter schools are not required to e-mail or submit hard copies of the Annual Report to their respective authorizers. Waivers or extended deadline requests will not be granted.
Schools that changed to another authorizer (through an education corporation merger) during the 2023-2024 school year should follow the submission requirements of the authorizer overseeing the school as of June 30, 2024. There are multiple components to the Annual Report, some of which are required of all schools—regardless of the authorizer—and others which are specific to one or more authorizers. Format specifications and due dates of some information may also vary by authorizer. Therefore, it is important for schools to read these Guidelines and instructions carefully. Schools must ensure that all required components are included as specified in these Guidelines. The information requested of schools is presented as “tasks” within the online system.
A charter school’s Annual Report must be a clear and accessible document for parents, the charter school’s authorizer, NYSED’s Charter School Office, and the general public. Any uploads submitted through the online portal should be clearly labeled. Uploads that consist of narrative must use standard one-inch margins, be clearly paginated, and use a clearly readable font no smaller in type size than 11-point. The text must be grammatically correct and free of jargon, undefined terms, and unexplained references. Please remove password protections from your Excel, Word, or PDF documents before uploading them to this portal.
DUE AUGUST 1: All schools must submit the first component of the Annual Report no later than 11:59 PM on August 1, 2024, unless otherwise indicated for specific tasks. This submission includes basic school information, board of trustees’ meeting minutes, and membership information (including completed Trustee Financial Disclosure Forms). The specific requirements are described in the section heading labeled “Content Requirements” of the Guidelines.
SUNY-authorized charter schools must download an Accountability Plan Progress Report template and, after completion, schools must upload the document into the Annual Report Portal and into the SUNY Epicenter document management system no later than 11:59 PM on September 16, 2024.
If, after reading the instructions carefully, there are questions about the required information, format, or deadlines for the Annual Report, please contact the school’s authorizer:
New York State Board of Regents (NYSED): charterschools@nysed.govState University of New York Trustees (SUNY): charters@suny.eduNew York City Department of Education (NYCDOE): charteroversight@schools.nyc.govBuffalo Board of Education: Ebony Bullock EBullock@buffaloschools.org
Questions about the submission process may be directed to the Charter School Office.
[1] New York State Education Law Section 2857(2).
[2] New York State Education Law Section 2857(2)(b).
[3] See, 8 NYCRR 119.3.