Los Angeles County education officials will consider Tuesday the recommendation of a conditional approval for a charter school petition by Einstein Academy officials.

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The school would be for a second K-6 location in the Santa Clarita Valley, in the Saugus Union School District, which would open next September, according to the county documents. 

The motion asks the board to ignore four rejections by the Saugus Union School District, which were made regarding concerns about governance and fiscal feasibility.

The OK comes with six conditions: 1)The school shall commence instruction between July 1, 2014, and Sept. 30, 2014. 2) By Sept. 30, 2013, the school must give the county an oversight agreement signed by the school’s board, requiring the submission of an English-learner master plan and a school safety and discipline plan. 3) By Nov. 15, the school must give LACOE a new petition addressing the deficiencies already cited by the county. 4) Brown Act compliance with Einstein officials’ meeting minutes, and compliance with the state’s education code and charter school association regarding student fees, as well as provide multiple vendor options for school uniforms. 5) School officials must provide proof of SELPA, or special education planning, acceptance. 6) School officials must also meet deadlines for an approved site, which must be within Saugus Union School District boundaries.

If instruction does not begin by Sept. 30, 2014, the charter is terminated.

Officials with the Los Angeles County Office of Education have twice made recommendations to deny the petition based on the same grounds that SUSD officials cited.

However, in both instances, Einstein Academy officials pulled the recommendation before county officials could vote on the staff recommendation.

After multiple rejections from Saugus Union, officials with Albert Einstein Academy for the Letters, Arts and Sciences recently gained approved for a charter school in the Santa Clarita Valley from the Acton Agua Dulce Unified School District.

After a two-hour meeting May 16, AADUSD officials approved the charter school with a 3-2 vote. That location is slated to open in the fall, although it has been met with controversy.

That petition authorized a school site within Saugus Union School District boundaries, and another in  a to-be-determined site in the San Fernando Valley, according to Einstein officials.

A little more than a week after that vote, Einstein Academy officials requested school numbers May 24 from the state’s Department of Education for an elementary and a high school at 25300 Rye Canyon Road, an address that falls within the boundaries of the Castaic Union School District.

Construction for the new elementary school was recently stopped by the city of Santa Clarita, which cited a lack of proper permits for the work.

Einstein Academy Executive Director Jeffrey Shapiro said Einstein officials thought the school’s location was going to be at a Copper Hill address, and then plans changed at the last minute.

Documents obtained by KHTS show the Rye Canyon Road address was titled Feb. 20.

Jim Gibson, superintendent for CUSD, has filed a protest with the county on the grounds that Einstein officials never notified the school of its intent to operate within his district’s boundaries, which is required by state law.

The CUSD has not received a reply from the county; however, Gibson said he planned to meet with the county’s superintendent this week.

AEA Elementary’s first day of school for the kids is scheduled for Aug. 21.

City officials have said the earliest that the Rye Canyon Road site could be permitted is Sept. 17.

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