One defined engagement. Approximately 10 business days from receipt of the core documents.
Request a 20 minute conversationCalifornia Charter Renewal Risk Report 2026
What does your authorizer see?
Most California charter schools are not in the high renewal category. The Renewal Record explains what has changed, where schools are vulnerable, and what boards should examine before the petition reaches the hearing room.
Complimentary initial conversation. No obligation.
Renewal Readiness Review
Find the vulnerabilities while there is still time to fix them.
UCLG examines the school through an authorizer's lens, tests whether the public record supports the school's strongest case, and converts the findings into a focused 90 day action plan.
Members of our team have led two charter approval processes to approval following initial denials. Our most valuable work happens earlier, before a school reaches an adverse staff recommendation or denial.
What the school receives
- Focused review of renewal, academic, governance, fiscal, enrollment, attendance, and compliance evidence
- Half day on-site review with leadership interviews and an operational walk-through
- Authorizer-lens risk analysis and prioritized evidence gap map
- Written findings, 90 day action plan, and leadership briefing
Designed for an early, practical diagnosis. Full petition management, legal representation, major submission drafting, and implementation support are separate engagements.
One integrated team.UCLG leads the engagement and adds specialized expertise when the school's facts require it, so leadership can spend its time on the academic and operating improvements that matter most.
The warning signal
California charter closure records are accelerating.
California Department of Education records show 12 charter closures or status changes in 2024, 28 in 2025, and 39 in 2026 as of September 18. The number has more than tripled in two years.
This does not mean AB 1505 caused every closure. It does mean the operating environment has become less forgiving, and schools need to test their renewal record before an authorizer does.
Methodology: UCLG analyzed California Department of Education Public Schools and Districts records by closure year. A CDE closed status can reflect nonrenewal, revocation, voluntary closure, merger or reorganization, or replacement of a CDS code. The 2026 count is partial year data and should not be read as proof that AB 1505 caused each closure. View the CDE data source.
Renewal is no longer just a petition writing exercise.
AB 1505 and AB 1507 changed the environment in which California charter schools are evaluated, renewed, and located. Academic results remain essential, but they are only part of the record an authorizer may examine.
Enrollment, attendance, subgroup outcomes, governance, fiscal condition, community impact, and the school's public presentation can all shape the decision. Waiting until the petition is due leaves too little time to repair the underlying record.
1,159Charter schools analyzedStatewide 2026 CDE category file
79.1%Middle categoryThe largest and most strategically exposed group
16.1%High categoryOnly 187 schools in the statewide file
School renewal guides
Start with the record already in public view.
Each guide brings together the school's renewal timeline, performance category, documented strengths, preparation signals, source documents, and questions leadership should answer before the authorizer asks.
Long Beach · LACOE · 2027
Intellectual Virtues Academy High
Middle-category renewal context, school strengths, attendance and fiscal preparation questions, and a source-indexed evidence checklist.
Read the renewal guide →San Diego · SDUSD · 2027Harriet Tubman Village Charter School
Low-category renewal context, whole-child program strengths, the applicable preparation standard, and an evidence checklist for leadership and the board.
Read the renewal guide →UCLG renewal guides are independent public-information resources. They are not ratings, authorizer findings, or predictions of renewal outcomes.
The complete renewal record
Six domains every charter board should understand.
A credible renewal strategy connects the data instead of treating each concern as an isolated compliance task.
Academic performance
Outcomes, growth, subgroup results, and the story behind the numbers.
Engagement
Attendance, chronic absence, discipline, family participation, and persistence.
Enrollment and access
Demand, retention, recruitment, subgroup access, and operational viability.
Governance
Board oversight, transparency, conflicts, documentation, and corrective action.
Organization
Leadership capacity, compliance systems, implementation, and institutional memory.
Fiscal condition
Cash, reserves, enrollment assumptions, multiyear projections, and sustainability.
Renewal in practice
Similar pressure. Different preparation. Different position.
Recent cases show why schools need a coordinated operating response that connects evidence, governance, advocacy, legal strategy, stakeholder support, and the public process.
TEACH Preparatory Elementary
After a district denial, the school pursued its county process and ultimately received approval from the Los Angeles County Board of Education, with conditions.
Grace Hopper STEM Academy
Following a county remand, the district reconsidered and again denied the petition. The public proceeding illustrates the cost of reaching a decisive hearing without visible, coordinated representation.
These cases are presented as public process examples. The report distinguishes documented facts from strategic analysis and does not imply that UCLG was retained by either school.
Unidos Charter Leadership Group
The Renewal Record
California Charter Renewal Risk Report 2026Free report
Read the record before your authorizer writes it for you.
The report gives executive directors and boards a practical view of the post AB 1505 renewal environment and the evidence schools should assemble early.
- Statewide performance category analysis
- AB 1505 and AB 1507 implications
- Six renewal evidence domains
- Cases and board level questions
A confidential first conversation
What might the data mean for your school?
UCLG offers charter leaders and board members a complimentary 20 minute conversation about renewal timing, visible risks, and immediate priorities. There is no obligation.
Contact UCLG