Options School Accountability

THE SUPERINTENDENT/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RECOMMENDS:

The Board rescinds Board Report 23-0928-PO3 and adopts a new Options School Academic Accountability Policy commencing with the 2026–2027 school year. Data collected during this inaugural year will determine school designations for the 2027–2028 school year. This framework is established as the ongoing standard for evaluating academic performance; in perpetuity, until such time as it is amended or replaced.

PURPOSE: This policy is intended to ensure the continuation of transparent academic accountability performance standards for district-authorized charter, contract, and Alternative Learning Opportunity Program (“ALOP”) options schools.

Each district-authorized charter, contract, and ALOP Options school will be assigned an accountability designation based on school performance data gathered during the prior school year. The accountability designation for each Options school from the prior school year will remain in effect until such time as the school is notified of its new designation/status that is issued in accordance with this policy.

POLICY TEXT:

I. SCOPE OF POLICY:

This policy sets out broad charter, contract and Alternative Learning Opportunity Program (ALOP) options school academic performance standards to ensure that (1) there is transparency regarding the expectations and standards for charter, contract and Alternative Learning Opportunity Program (ALOP) Options school academic performance; and (2) the portfolio of charter, contract and ALOP Options schools available to Chicago families and students contains academically high-quality schools. This policy will be implemented in alignment with the CPS Equity Framework and the principle of Targeted Universalism.

II. DEFINITIONS

• Continuous Improvement Workplan (CIWP) - A mandatory, three-year strategic process aligning school and district goals that requires schools on the Intensive Academic Support List to use a designated template while collaborating with the Options Network for development, final approval, and progress monitoring. Furthermore, the development of the CIWP must formally include and document the input of enrolled students, families, and community stakeholders to ensure all planned interventions are culturally responsive and grounded in the lived experiences of the populations served.
• Designation - A status assigned to a school (Exemplary, Commendable, Approaching, Developing, or Comprehensive) based on its annual summative performance score. This designation determines whether a school is meeting academic achievement standards and what level of district support or intervention it will receive.
• Intensive Academic Support List - A list of schools that receive a designation of "Developing" or "Comprehensive". Placement on this list triggers a collaborative continuous improvement process with the District to identify growth areas and provide resources, such as site visits and professional development, to improve academic outcomes.
• Performance Indicator - A specific metric used to quantify school performance based on defined criteria. Each indicator is assigned a weight that reflects its relative importance to the student experience.
• Professional Learning Community (PLC) - A collaborative group that schools on the Intensive Academic Support List are required to participate in as part of the improvement process. It serves as a forum for shared professional development and support.
• Subpopulation - A specific, smaller subset of the student body identified for certain performance indicators. Because achieving strong outcomes for these groups is critical yet uniquely challenging due to systemic barriers, the policy, grounded in Targeted Universalism, includes a "Subpopulation Adjustment." These positive point adjustments recognize the additional effort required to support these students and serve as an incentive for schools to prioritize high-need groups. These adjustments are applied only to increase a school’s score and never result in a deduction of points.

III. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHARTER, CONTRACT AND ALTERNATIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (ALOP) OPTIONS SCHOOLS

A. ACADEMIC ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS:

Charter, contract, and Alternative Learning Opportunity Program (ALOP) options schools will receive an accountability designation based on a summative score as described in Section IV.

• All schools that receive a designation of Exemplary, Commendable, or Approaching will be deemed to have met or be making reasonable progress toward student academic achievement standards in accordance with Section 27A-9(c)(2) of the Illinois School Code.
• All schools that receive a designation of Developing or Comprehensive are subject to contract revocation or non-renewal for failure to meet or make reasonable progress toward student academic achievement in accordance with Section 27A-9(c)(2) of the Illinois School Code and will be placed on the Intensive Academic Support List.

B. STANDARDS AND PROCESS FOR RENEWAL, NON-RENEWAL AND REVOCATION:

1.EVALUATION FRAMEWORK

Renewal recommendations are based on a comprehensive annual review of academic, financial, and operational performance. Within the academic domain, the primary indicator is a school’s ability to meet - or make reasonable progress toward - the student academic achievement standards defined in this policy. For operators of multiple Options schools or campuses, each site will be evaluated separately, receiving individualized scores and designations.

When a charter, contract, or ALOP Options school is placed on the Intensive Academic Support List, the school will receive formal notice regarding specific performance areas that fall below established academic achievement standards. Upon placement on this list, the school must adhere to all requirements outlined in Section II.C. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a recommendation for revocation.

Pursuant to Section 27A(9)(c) of the Illinois School Code, schools in this status may be subject to revocation or non-renewal. However, no school will face revocation solely based on its academic accountability designation. Furthermore, the District will review a school’s overall performance through an equity lens, as established in the CPS Equity Framework.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE AND BOARD AUTHORITY

Pursuant to Section 27A(9)(c) of the Illinois School Code, the Chicago Board of Education may revoke or non-renew a charter, contract, or ALOP for failure to meet or make reasonable progress toward achievement of content standards or student performance standards identified in the school agreement, failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management, failure to comply with applicable law, or a material violation of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the school agreement.

C. INTENSIVE ACADEMIC SUPPORT

The primary purpose of the Intensive Academic Support List is to foster a supportive partnership between the District and the Options school that identifies targeted areas for growth and provides the resources necessary to improve academic performance. This collaborative framework is designed to help schools strengthen their educational environment, ultimately ensuring higher-quality learning experiences and better academic outcomes for all students.

To achieve these goals, schools on this list must participate in the Intensive Academic Support Process, which includes, but is not limited to, site visits, professional development, participation in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and the submission of improvement planning documentation. The Options Network will provide the school a detailed outline of these required activities upon the release of annual designations.

Schools on the Intensive Academic Support List are required to submit a CIWP using the District’s designated template. The Options Network will collaborate with each school to develop the plan, provide final approval, and monitor progress toward identified goals. Throughout this process, the Options Network will provide ongoing feedback and may mandate additional action steps to ensure the school remains on a trajectory toward success.

Continuous Improvement Workplans (CIWPs) must be driven by a collaborative root cause analysis utilizing disaggregated school data. This ensures that all required interventions address underlying systemic inequities rather than merely treating statistical symptoms.

Tiered Support Levels: Support is categorized into two levels based on a school’s designation and performance history.

• Level I: Designed for schools requiring moderate intervention to reach the next performance tier.
  
  • Schools with a Developing designation.
  • Schools with an Approaching designation for two consecutive years and received a score lower than the previous year.*
• Level II: Designed for schools requiring high-level, urgent intervention.
  
  • Schools with a Comprehensive designation.
  • Schools with a Developing designation for two consecutive years and maintain the same score or receive a score lower than the previous year.

*Schools designated as Approaching for two consecutive years and received a score lower than the previous year are deemed to be making reasonable progress toward student academic achievement standards; however, they are provided with Level I supports to proactively assist them in further improving student outcomes.

IV. ACADEMIC ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK

A. SCORES AND DESIGNATIONS

B. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

*The Student Outreach indicator is a forthcoming metric scheduled for implementation exclusively at Safe Achieve Academies beginning in the 2028–2029 school year. These academies serve students who have been expelled or are in emergency placement pending an expulsion hearing. This metric is intended to improve the student experience by supporting more effective transitions into and out of the Safe Achieve environment.

C. SCORE CALCULATION

1. WEIGHTS

The weights assigned to each indicator reflect their relative importance to the student academic experience.

*The Student Outreach metric will be implemented exclusively at Safe Achieve Academies beginning in the 2028–2029 school year.

2. OPTIONS SCHOOL ACADEMIC ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY GUIDELINES

The Options School Academic Accountability Policy Guidelines provide more detailed information regarding the calculation of the final score. The guidelines provide performance benchmarks for each indicator. Schools can earn between 1 and 5 points for reaching progressive benchmarks of performance.

The District recognizes that Options Schools serve a unique student population facing significantly higher barriers to educational success than their peers in traditional schools. For specific subpopulations, achieving high performance on certain indicators is both critical and uniquely challenging due to these systemic obstacles. Accordingly, the guidelines establish subpopulation adjustments for several indicators to incentivize schools to prioritize these outcomes. These adjustments are designed to recognize the effort required to support these students and serve only to increase a school’s score; they will not be used to deduct points or penalize performance.

To ensure schools have adequate time to prepare, the District must notify all impacted Options schools of any guideline changes no later than June 1. This notification deadline ensures that updated guidelines can be effectively implemented for the following school year.