The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on what decisions
are being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.
State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA)
What is the SPCSA & what are they responsible for? Considered one of Nevada's school districts, the SPCSA sponsors and oversees public charter schools. The Authority consists of seven appointed members responsible for overseeing educational and operational standards and holding sponsored schools accountable to the academic achievement of students.
How often does the SPCSA Board meet? The SPCSA typically meets once a month, generally on Fridays.
Click here for SPCSA meeting schedule and materials.
Can community members engage at SPCSA Board Meetings? Meetings of the SPCSA are typically held publicly at the Nevada Department of Education building in Carson City and the Nevada Department of Education building in Las Vegas (1st floor boardroom). Members of the public may view the meeting online via the link on the SPCSA's Public Notice web page and the agenda and any supporting materials can be found here. Public comment may be given on any agenda item at the beginning of the meeting, or public comment regarding any matter that is SPCSA-related may be given at the conclusion of each Board meeting. Members of the community giving public comment can utilize the following conference call line: 1-775-321-6111; Phone Conference ID: 894 302 869#. During the public comment periods, callers will dial *5 to raise their hand. The moderator will call out the last 4 numbers of the caller's phone number, at that time you will dial *6 to unmute and make comment. There is a time limit of three minutes per speaker. Alternatively, public comment may be submitted in writing to publiccomment@spcsa.nv.gov, and any such public comment received prior to the meeting will be provided to the Authority and included in the written minutes of the meeting.
Click here for a list of all SPCSA Members.
Click here for a list of all SPCSA sponsored schools.
Friday, August 22, 2025
State Public Charter School Authority Board Meeting
Access the meeting agenda and playback.
What happened at this meeting?
Public Comment
Public comment highlights included:
- Support for Citizens of the World Charter School
Board Approved the Consent Agenda
Highlights included:
- July 2025 SPCSA Board meeting minutes
SPCSA Executive Director's Report
Highlights from the report include:
- School Highlight: Recognizing Tony York, who organizes quarterly safety and security training for anyone in SPCSA who would like to attend, and who recently received the 2025 National School Safety Lifetime Achievement Award at the National School Safety Conference
- PERS Contributions: Outstanding PERS contribution balances from SPCSA schools can be found here.
- New Schools Opening: Do & Be Arts Academy of Excellence and WYLEES opened their doors in August. Nevada Classical Academy – Elko completed its walkthrough and will welcome students on August 25.
- Introducing Odalis Ayala, the Board's new student representative, from Equipo Academy
Board Discussed Updates to the Site Evaluation Process
Proposed revisions to the site evaluation process include tailoring site evaluation schedules based on each school's unique context, with possible options including number of evaluators present, how many classrooms to observe, NSPF rating of the school, if it is a new charter, existing, or have a renewal coming up, status of the school's academic, financial, and organizational frameworks, whether it is self-managed or managed by an EMO/CMO, if there is new leadership or other significant changes, and a school's outstanding strong recommendations/ deficiency plans.
The second major proposed change is amending Appendix A of the site evaluation handbook to include a measurable goal, a clear timeline of action steps, designated team members with assigned tasks, and defined methods for measuring progress.
The 2025-26 schools were split into first semester and second semester schools for site evaluations, and are available to explore in the presentation.
Explore the presentation and the site evaluation handbook.
Board Approved Revisions to the Financial Performance Framework
Changes to the Financial Performance Framework to incorporate 'fund' accounting to align with state budgeting and reporting requirements, and ensure clearer understanding of financial metrics for stakeholders. The revised framework's near term measures, as proposed, are unrestricted current ratio; unrestricted days cash on hand; ending fund balance; enrollment variance; and missed obligations. Sustainability measures are debt-to-asset ratio and debt service to total revenue ratio. Financial management and oversight's measures include the annual financial audit, financial reporting and compliance, and financial oversight.
Removed measures include total margin and aggregated three-year total margin, cash flow, chart of accounts (rolled into financial reporting and compliance), and grant subrecipient compliance. New measures include ending fund balance. The updates also change the Notice threshold to three Does Not Meet Standard ratings from four Does Not Meet Standard ratings.
Additional context and detail on each of the proposed measures, determined metrics, formulae, and breakdown of each status can be found in the presentation.
Explore the presentation and the technical guide.
Board Took Action on New Charter School Applications
The Board approved Citizens of the World Charter School – Las Vegas to open in August 2027. It will open with grades K-2, and at full scale, will serve grades K-8 in zip codes 89121 and 89122. At full enrollment, it plans to serve 510 students. The school must meet the criteria as specified in the recommendation memo in order to open.
The Board approved Northern Nevada Wildflower Montessori to open in August 2026. It will open with grades K-3, and at full scale, will serve grades K-6 in zip codes 89502, 89503, 89506, 89512, 89519, 89501, 89431, and 89433. At full enrollment, it plans to serve 171 students. The school must meet the criteria as specified in the recommendation memo in order to open.
The Board denied Pahrump Valley Academy's application to open in August 2026. Its academic plan, operations plan, and financial plan approached the standard. Additional details on staff findings are specified in the recommendation memo.
The Board denied Pathways in Education – Las Vegas' application to open in August 2026. Its academic plan, operations plan, and financial plan approached the standard. Additional details on staff findings are specified in the recommendation memo.
The Board denied Purpose Leadership Academy's application to open in August 2026. Its academic plan, operations plan, and financial plan approached the standard. Additional details on staff findings are specified in the recommendation memo.
The Board approved Somerset Academy of Carson City's application to open in August 2026. It will open with grades K-2, and at full scale, will serve grades K-8 in zip codes 89701, 89703, 89705, and 89706. At full enrollment, it plans to serve 430 students. The school must meet the criteria as specified in the recommendation memo in order to open.
Long-Range Calendar (next 3 months):
Agenda items over the next three SPCSA board meetings are anticipated to include:
- Organizational Performance Framework results
- 2024-25 NSPF and SPCSA Academic Performance Framework results
- 2025 Demographic and Academic Needs Assessment
Explore the calendar.
The next Meeting of the SPCSA Board is scheduled for Friday, October 10, at 9:00 a.m.
