Title
Denial of the Renewal Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles [PUBLIC HEARING]
Charter Schools Division
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Brief Description:
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(Denial of the Renewal Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles) Recommends denial of the renewal petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles, a Middle performing, Start-Up Independent charter school, located in Board District 1 and Region South, for five (5) years, beginning July 1, 2026, until June 30, 2031, to serve up to 342 students in grades TK-8 in each year of the charter term.
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Recommendation
Action Proposed:
Adopt the denial of the renewal charter petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles (“Charter School”), located in Board District 1 and Region South, and adoption of the attached Findings of Fact in Support of Denial of the Renewal Charter Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles.
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Body
Background:
The Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees is currently the chartering authorizer of Today’s Fresh Start-Compton, a TK-8 span school currently serving 374 students on two private (non-District owned) facilities at 4476 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90043 in Board District 1 and Region South; and 4513 East Compton Blvd., Compton, CA, 90221 in Compton Unified School District’s boundaries. Today’s Fresh Start-Compton was originally approved by the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees on July 14, 2015, to serve 715 students in grades K-8. On December 20, 2017, the charter school was renewed by the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees for a five-year term. Pursuant to Education Code section 47607.4, all charter schools whose term expires on or between January 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025, inclusive, shall have their term extended by two years, and all charter schools whose term expires on or between January 1, 2024, and June 30, 2027, inclusive, shall have their term extended by one additional year. Thus, by operation of law, the charter term for Today’s Fresh Start-Compton expires June 30, 2026.
The charter for Today’s Fresh Start-Compton was renewed by the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees on March 10, 2026 to operate at 4513 East Compton Blvd., Compton, CA, 90221., for a five-year term (July 1, 2026-June 30, 2031) to serve up to 220 students in grades TK-8.
A charter school that established one site outside the boundaries of the school district, but within the county in which that school district is located before January 1, 2020, may continue to operate that site until the charter school submits a request for the renewal of its charter petition. To continue operating the site, the charter school shall do either of the following:
(i) First, before submitting the request for the renewal of the charter petition, obtain approval in writing from the school district where the site is operating.
(ii) Submit a request for the renewal of the charter petition pursuant to Section 47607 to the school district in which the charter school is located.
(Ed. Code, §47605(a)(5)(A))
In this case, Today’s Fresh Start (a California non-profit public benefit corporation that operates both Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles and Today’s Fresh Start-Compton) seeks authorization by the LAUSD Board via this renewal petition application to continue operating at 4476 Crenshaw Blvd. pursuant to Education Code section 47605(a)(5)(A). Please note that Charter School may be required to have one or more of its sites [4476 Crenshaw Blvd., and 4513 East Compton Blvd] become a separately authorized charter school to comply with Education Code section 47605(a)(5)(A). (Ed. Code, § 47654.)
On March 5, 2026, Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles submitted its charter renewal petition application to the Charter Schools Division seeking to continue operating as an independent charter school at 4476 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90043. The 90-day statutory timeline for Board action on this petition runs through June 3, 2026.
An initial Public Hearing was held on April 21, 2026.
Based on a review and assessment of Charter School’s renewal petition application including Today’s Fresh Start’s record of performance and other publicly available information, staff has determined that Charter School has not met the requirements set forth in Education Code sections 47605, 47607 and/or 47607.2 and therefore recommends denial of the renewal petition.
Due Diligence:
Current Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles governing board members completed questionnaires so the District may assess whether any conflicts of interest arise based on the information provided. A confidential due diligence review of the charter school and its governing organization, school leader and financial manager, was performed by the Office of the Inspector General, and to the extent any material concerns were identified by the Office of the Inspector General, such information was forwarded to District staff for further assessment.
Statutory Framework and Criteria for Renewal:
A charter school must demonstrate that it is eligible for a renewal of its charter by meeting specific renewal criteria outlined in the Charter Schools Act. The renewal criteria prescribed in Education Code sections 47607 and 47607.2 requires a three-pronged analysis:
Criterion 1: The Charter Schools Act provides that renewals are governed by the standards and criteria described in Education Code section 47605 applicable to initial petitions. The first criterion considered in reviewing a renewal petition requires an analysis of the following:
• Whether the petition includes a sound educational program;
• Whether the petition contains a reasonably comprehensive description of the 15 elements required for petitions;
• Whether the petition contains an affirmation of each of the conditions described in Education Code section 47605(e); and
• Whether the charter school is demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition. Education Code section 47607(b) provides that renewals are governed by the standards and criteria described in section 47605 applicable to initial petitions. (The Board may not consider the community impact analysis or District fiscal analysis in determining whether to grant or deny a renewal petition).
Criterion 2: The Board is required to consider the charter school’s performance on the California School Dashboard accountability indicators. Education Code sections 47607 and 47607.2 prescribe three-tiers of performance classification in which a charter school falls within one of the following categories - “high,” “middle,” or “low.” The three-tier classification considers a charter school’s performance on the California School Dashboard accountability indicators, with an emphasis on the measurements of academic performance.
Criterion 3: Notwithstanding Criterion 1 and 2, the Board must also consider whether the charter school’s enrollment or dismissal practices are discriminatory as grounds for nonrenewal. (Ed. Code, § 47607(e).) Additionally, the Board considers whether the charter school has substantial fiscal or governance factors as grounds for nonrenewal. (Ed. Code, § 47607(e).)
Grounds for Nonrenewal:
Staff of the Charter Schools Division and the Office of the General Counsel reviewed the renewal charter petition application for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles and have assessed that the renewal petition application does not meet the criteria for approval. As fully discussed in the attached Findings of Fact in Support of Denial of the Renewal Charter Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles, based on review of the petition and supporting documentation, staff has determined, that Charter School has not met the requirements set forth in Education Code sections 47605, 47607, and/or 47607.2, and therefore recommends denial of the renewal petition.
Expected Outcomes:
Denial will prevent Today’s Fresh Start from continuing its operations as a charter school at 4476 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90043.
Board Options and Consequences:
“Yes” - If the Board adopts the recommendation of denial and the attached Findings of Fact in Support of Denial of the Renewal Charter Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles, Today’s Fresh Start would not be authorized to continue operating at 4476 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90043 as a charter school. Charter School’s current charter expires on June 30, 2026. The petitioners may appeal a denial to Los Angeles County Board of Education. If the petition is approved on appeal by the Los Angeles County Board of Education, Charter School would be authorized by the Los Angeles County Board of Education. If the Los Angeles County Board of Education denies the renewal petition, the petitioners may appeal that denial to the California State Board of Education. If the denial of the renewal petition is reversed by the California State Board of Education, the California State Board of Education shall designate, in consultation with the petitioners, either the LAUSD Board or the Los Angeles County Board of Education as the chartering authority. This Board Report No. 403-25/26, accompanying documents, and transcript of the Board meeting, shall constitute the Board of Education’s adopted written findings of fact for the denial of Charter School renewal petition.
“No” - If the Board does not adopt the recommendation of denial of the charter petition and the attached Findings of Fact in Support of Denial of the Renewal Charter Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles, and instead takes specific action to approve the renewal charter petition, Charter School would be authorized to continue operating at 4476 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90043, as a charter school under the terms of the approved renewal petition for a five (5) year period beginning July 1, 2026. Within 30 days, the Board requires that the school submit to the Charter Schools Division a revised renewal charter petition that is consistent with and meets all applicable legal and LAUSD requirements, including but not limited to a reasonably comprehensive description of all fifteen required elements and current Federal, State, District Required Language.
Policy Implications:
All provisions in the FSDRL shall be consistent with and be governed by all applicable legal and District policy requirements. To the extent any inconsistency may exist between any provision contained in the FSDRL and any applicable legal and District policy requirement, those applicable legal and District policy requirements shall control and the FSDRL shall be updated accordingly.
Budget Impact:
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and various other income sources of the District are reduced when current District students enroll at a charter school, and corresponding reduction in expenditures may not occur in such cases. If the Board adopts staff recommendation of denial of the petition, the action will not have a budget impact. If the Board does not adopt the staff denial recommendation and the petition is approved, the impact on the budget will be commensurate with the terms of the specific Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (Option 1, 2, or 3) executed by the charter school and the District, if applicable.
Under Education Code section 47604(d), a chartering authority that grants a charter to a charter school to be operated as or by a nonprofit public benefit corporation is not liable for the debts or obligations of the charter school or for claims arising from the performance of acts, errors, or omissions by the charter school, if the chartering authority has complied with all oversight responsibilities required by law including, but not limited to, those required by Education Code section 47604.32 and Education Code section 47605(m). As the chartering authority, the District will monitor and evaluate the charter school’s fiscal condition and operations, and management of public funds, including review of all legally required fiscal reports, and the annual update of the charter school’s LCAP. (Ed. Code, §§ 47604.32, 47604.33, 47606.5.) Any significant modifications to the charter school’s charter or operations that raise financial implications would require a material revision prior to implementation. Charter schools are expected to secure and maintain all insurance coverage consistent with all applicable legal, District and charter requirements.
Charter School has chosen to remain with a non-LAUSD SELPA of which it is currently a participating member. Should Charter School subsequently elect to be part of the LAUSD SELPA, any Option election that occurs during Charter School’s charter term shall be mutually agreed upon and addressed in an MOU between the Charter School and the District. The Option election shall be effective on July 1 of the next school year with the corresponding fair share contribution.
Student Impact:
As stated in the LAUSD Policy and Procedures for Charter Schools, “[W]hen the LAUSD Board authorizes and oversees a charter school, it establishes a relationship to advance its vision and mission and to accelerate gains in academic achievement and accountability for all of its students and public schools,” (Policy, p.3). Based on a comprehensive review and assessment of Charter School’s renewal petition application, staff has determined that Charter School has not met the requirements for charter school approval and therefore recommends denial of the renewal petition.
Equity Impact:
Not applicable
Issues and Analysis:
If all applicable pending issues, including but not limited to special education requirements, special education local planning area (SELPA) requirements, governance, fiscal and facilities matters, are not resolved at the time of the Board meeting, the item may be pulled from the agenda to the extent consistent with the Charter Schools Act and the LAUSD Policy and Procedures for Charter Schools.
Attachments:
Attachment A- Staff Assessment and Recommendation Report
Attachment B- Today’s Fresh Start-Compton Data Set
Attachment C- Findings of Fact in Support of Denial of the Charter Petition for Today’s Fresh Start Charter School-Los Angeles
Budget and Petition will be available prior to the board meeting at the following link:
<https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nCZklciP38ntmOkpGfWH3CEddOJIgt7A?usp=sharing>
Submitted:
04/20/26
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, APPROVED BY:
______________________________ _____________________________
ANDRES E. CHAIT CAROLYN SPAHT GONZALEZ
Acting Superintendent Chief of Staff
REVIEWED BY: APPROVED & PRESENTED BY:
______________________________ ______________________________
DEVORA NAVERA REED JOSÉ COLE-GUTIÉRREZ
General Counsel Senior Executive Director of Strategy
Division of Data, Strategy, and Innovation
___ Approved as to form.
REVIEWED BY: APPROVED & PRESENTED BY:
______________________________ ______________________________
KURT E. JOHN MARLA WILLMOTT
Deputy Chief Financial Officer Director
Charter Schools Division
___ Approved as to budget impact statement.