California's Revised Charter Schools Act. An annotated version of the key education code sections that govern charter schools. This version includes amendments through the end of the 2006 regular legislative session. 

How the New Charter Laws Affect You. Several new changes were made to the charter laws that significantly affect the charter school community. This article summarizes these most recent changes and their current and future implications for all charter school constituents.

California Codes. This web site, maintained by California Legislative Counsel, contains all 29 of California's Codes, including the Education Code, in a searchable format.  It also contains a complete listing of all legislation pending in the Legislature and similar documents for several prior legislative sessions.

California Administrative Code of Regulations. This web site, maintained by the Office of Administrative Law, contains a complete collection of California's Administrative Code of Regulations.  Title V of this Code is where most education and charter school-related portions are found.

California Attorney General Opinion Unit's Home Page. This page contains all California Attorney General Opinions dating back to 1986. You can search for legal opinions pertaining to charter schools. Please note, however, that the Attorney General's opinions and the legal opinions of the State Department of Education are sometimes conflicting on charter school issues. Please also note that the laws governing charter schools may have been amended subsequent to the publishing date of the AG's opinions and the opinions may no longer be relevent to current law.

Other Legal and Policy Resources

No Child Left Behind Resource List. A compilation of policy briefs, articles, and other sources of information about NCLB arranged by topic. Resources derived from both state and federal departments of education as well as private entities.

A Comparison of Charter Legislation: 33 States and the District of Columbia. This publication, co-written by CSDC's Eric Premack, provides a detailed overview of the provisions of charter school laws across the US.  For another take, see the Center for Education Reform's rankings.

Guidance for Complying with Federal Laws and Regulations. The uscharterschools website, developed by the U.S. Department of Education and WestEd, contains guidance on how to comply with some federal laws and regulations. Please note that you may wish to consult legal counsel as the advice provided on this site is not legal advice.

Federal Legal Issues. The U.S. Charter School website, developed by the U.S. Department of Education and WestEd, contains links to the major federal laws governing charter schools and briefly discusses them.

Topical Legal Updates. CSDC's Charter Currents publication, which is published several times each year, contains a significant amount of legal and policy-related information and should be considered "must reading" for all who work in or around California's charter schools.

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