Tugboat has extensive expertise in all aspects of the charter school sector.
Assisting Schools
Our professionals have founded charter schools in numerous states, drafted many successful charter applications, taken schools from the idea stage to opening day, assisted them in all stages of operations and compliance, and helped them secure charter renewal. This includes:
- Advising boards of trustees on governance, strategic planning and effectively responding to challenges
- Conducting board retreats and training sessions
- Providing diagnostic school performance, compliance and financial analysis in advance of authorizer review
- Assistance in working effectively with educational service providers
- Advising on special education issues
- Advising on student discipline practices and policies
Assisting Authorizers
We have also served as charter authorizers and are consulted by states, districts, and third party authorizers across the country on the practical aspects of creating and overseeing charter schools and holding them accountable for their performance, including:
- Creating charter application processes
- Conducting charter application reviews, interviews and determinations
- Drafting comprehensive charter agreements
- Creating charter oversight processes and rubrics
- Engaging in oversight and compliance reviews, conducting investigations and developing corrective action plans
- Advising on preventing and investigating fraud
- Creating renewal processes, rubrics and tools
- Advising on special education issues
- Developing and implementing closure and appeal processes
Assisting Educational Service Providers
Tugboat professionals have held senior management and senior attorney positions with a major educational service provider (ESP) and have advised many others, including non-profit charter management organizations (CMOs) and for-profit education management organizations (EMOs). Our services to ESPs are extensive, including:
- Providing regulatory expertise on chartering states and authorizers
- Advising on expansion and growth
- Drafting and negotiating effective charter management agreements and related documents
- Assistance with facilities and real estate issues
- Advising on special education issues
- Assistance in working effectively with charter school boards
Assisting Charter Support Organizations
We help local state and national charter school support organizations (CSOs) operate effectively and offer guidance, expertise and resources to schools.