Counsel for charter schools, from petition to renewal.
A charter school is a nonprofit corporation, a public school, and an employer all at once. We advise boards and school leaders on all three.
Your authorizer, your families, and your staff all expect you to get it right.
Your renewal application is due in the spring. Your authorizer flagged gaps in your board minutes. A parent’s attorney has asked for a special education hearing, and your management agreement is up for renegotiation.
Charter schools answer to education law, nonprofit law, and employment law at the same time, under the eye of an authorizer. Our team includes a former educator turned lawyer and a former U.S. Department of Education attorney.
One firm for the board room, the classroom, and the front office.
Applications and renewals
Charter applications, renewal applications, charter revisions, and responses to authorizer findings.
Board governance
Open meetings and public records compliance where your state requires it, board training, conflict of interest rules, and minutes that stand up at renewal.
Special education
IEP and Section 504 obligations, due process hearings, and coordination with your local district, including reimbursement for special education costs.
Students and families
Enrollment and lottery procedures, discipline, and student records under FERPA.
Employment
Staff agreements, handbooks, and leader contracts and evaluations.
Facilities and partners
Leases, facilities financing, and agreements with charter management organizations and service providers.
We know who your authorizer is and what it looks for: the SUNY Charter Schools Institute and the New York Board of Regents, the DC Public Charter School Board, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Connecticut State Board of Education.
In Our Own Words
Charter schools’ lack of adequate reimbursement processes, despite mandates in law, has serious consequences for students. . . . These profound, systemic inequities have the effect of denying students with disabilities equal access to Connecticut public school choice.
Lauren Koster, Managing Partner
Testimony on CT S.B. 1561 (2025)
Federal CSP grant approved
Secured federal Charter Schools Program funding for a new community-centered charter school in New Haven.
Due process rights affirmed
Showed that gaps in services for students with disabilities traced to the sending district’s failure to send staff and providers to our charter school client.
Special education costs reimbursed
The Connecticut State Department of Education and the Superior Court agreed that General Statutes § 10-66ee(d)(7) requires sending districts to reimburse actual costs, not an arbitrary amount.
Outcome-forward representation.
A national-network ally for school-equity advocacy.
Our work for charter and independent schools is amplified by an ongoing partnership with The Center for Learner Equity, the leading national voice for students with disabilities in charter schools.
“Best Defense” finalist for the 2025 PIE Network’s Eddies Award based on our systemic advocacy on charter school reimbursement for special education costs.
Charter school reimbursement templates for school district invoices.
Drop your email and we’ll send you Model 1A, Model 1B, and Model 2 — the same templates we use with our charter school clients to seek reimbursement under General Statutes § 10-66ee.
Ready to talk?
A complimentary 30-minute call with a managing partner. Clear scope.
Transparent fees. No primer required.