​​​What is a Countywide Charter School?

A countywide charter petition may be submitted directly to the Orange County Board of Education for a charter school that will operate at one or more locations within Orange County and provide instructional services that are not generally offered by the Orange County Department of Education.

Under California Education Code, the Orange County Board of Education may approve a countywide charter only if it determines that the proposed educational program will serve students whose needs cannot be met as effectively by a charter school operating within a single school district

​​​​​​Petition Review Process

The Charter Schools Unit coordinates the countywide charter petition review process on behalf of the Orange County Board of Education. Throughout the review, staff:

• Coordinate a multidisciplinary review of the petition.
• Evaluate the petition against applicable legal requirements and review criteria.
• Prepare findings and recommendations for the Orange County Board of Education.
• Provide guidance to petitioners throughout the review process.

Before You Begin

Before submitting a petition, we encourage prospective petitioners to:

• Review California Education Code requirements for countywide charter schools.
• Become familiar with the Orange County Board of Education's petition review process.
• Review the evaluation rubric and submission requirements.
• Contact the Charter Schools Unit with questions before submitting a petition.​

​Resources

Use the resources below to prepare and submit a countywide charter petition.

• Countywide Charter Petition Submission Process​
• Charter Petitioner Certification​ 
  
• Charter Petition Intake Information
  
• Countyw​ide Charter Petition Evaluation ​​Rubric Template
• ​Orange County Board of Education Meeting Schedule​