Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission

What Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission does

The Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission (SPCSC, also ʻAha Kula Hoʻāmana) is the sole statewide charter school authorizer in the State of Hawaii, established under state law and accountable to the Hawaii Board of Education. The Commission comprises nine volunteer members appointed by the Board, supported by approximately 23 staff led by Executive Director Dr. Ed Noh. It authorizes and oversees 37 public charter schools across the Hawaiian islands through a workflow that includes soliciting and evaluating new school applications, negotiating and executing charter contracts, monitoring performance and legal compliance, and determining renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation outcomes.

The Commission's service portfolio centers on regulatory and informational services rather than commercial products. Core offerings include charter contract management, public charter school performance dashboards, a searchable school directory, an employment opportunities portal, a monthly Ka ʻElele e-newsletter, a publicly accessible Commission Oversight Actions tracker, and oversight of Early Learning/Pre-K programs. Supporting technology is web-based, anchored on chartercommission.hawaii.gov, with WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility compliance and Title IX compliance.

As a state government agency, the Commission is funded through legislative appropriations rather than commercial revenue; charter schools are statutorily prohibited from charging tuition. Its GTM motion is regulatory rather than sales-led: it engages communities to solicit new charter applications, evaluates them, and stewards a portfolio of ~37 schools operating under performance-based contracts.

Name

Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission

Legal name

Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission

Website

https://chartercommission.hawaii.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission is Hawaii's sole statewide charter school authorizer, authorizing and overseeing 37 public charter schools across the islands through application review, contract management, and performance monitoring, funded by state appropriations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Regulatory Services

NAICS

Administration of Education Programs (92311)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter School Authorizers & Oversight Boards (EDADABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Charter Indigenous/Culturally Focused & Community-Based Schools (EDAJACAM), Charter Language Immersion & Bilingual Schools (EDAJACAI)

Keywords

• Charter school authorization
• Education oversight services
• School performance monitoring
• Regulatory compliance education
• Public charter governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. State Funding: The Commission operates as a state government agency funded through state appropriations. It receives per-pupil allocations for charter schools and distributes funding to authorized charter schools while maintaining oversight responsibilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission is the sole statewide charter school authorizer in Hawaii. It solicits and evaluates applications for new charter schools, negotiates and executes charter contracts, monitors school performance and legal compliance, and decides on renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation of charter contracts. It also supports early learning/Pre-K programs, publishes performance dashboards, and maintains a public directory of authorized charter schools.

Product overview

The Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission operates as a statewide charter school authorizer, providing governance oversight, performance monitoring, and administrative support services for public charter schools. The Commission's offerings consist of regulatory and informational services rather than commercial products—including charter school authorization, performance dashboards, employment resources, and a monthly e-newsletter (Ka ʻElele). The service portfolio centers on the charter school authorization workflow: soliciting and evaluating new school applications, negotiating charter contracts, monitoring school performance and legal compliance, and determining renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation outcomes. Supporting services include a searchable school directory, early learning program oversight, governing board resources, and complaint resolution procedures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Charter School Performance Dashboards

Quantifiable outcome

• Hawai'i met all 10 benchmarks for high-quality early learning for the fourth consecutive year (2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Commission works collaboratively with EOEL and Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke to expand public pre-kindergarten through a mixed-delivery system, accelerating expansion efforts statewide.
• University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Linguistics DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe UH Mānoa Linguistics Department conducted landmark research on Olelo Niihau, funded by the Hawai'i State Legislature through Act 164, documenting linguistic features and community use of the language. The study highlights the role of Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha charter school in language preservation.
• Hawai'i Board of EducationcoreOthersThe Commission is accountable to the Hawai'i Board of Education, which appoints the nine volunteer commissioners who govern the Commission.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: Advocacy and research organization supporting the public charter school sector. Engages with state authorizers like the Hawaii SPCSC on policy, performance data, and sector growth strategy.
• National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA): Industry association that sets standards and provides best-practice guidance to charter school authorizers, including state-level commissions like the Hawaii SPCSC. Not a direct competitor but a key ecosystem partner/standard-setter.

Direct peers

• Tennessee Charter School Commission: Independent state-level charter authorizer in Tennessee that hears appeals and authorizes charter schools on appeal. Operates the same appellate-authorizer model and shares regulatory framework duties with the Hawaii SPCSC.
• DC Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB): The sole district-wide charter school authorizer in Washington, D.C., performing the same authorizer functions — application review, contract approval, performance monitoring, renewal/revocation — as the Hawaii SPCSC. Both are government-chartered authorizers with portfolio oversight responsibility.
• Indiana Charter School Board: Independent statewide charter authorizer in Indiana responsible for charter application review, contract oversight, and performance accountability for charter schools. Functions as a direct functional peer to the Hawaii SPCSC.
• Colorado Charter School Institute: State-chartered charter school authorizer in Colorado that directly authorizes and oversees charter schools, much like the Hawaii SPCSC. Performs parallel application evaluation, performance framework administration, and renewal/non-renewal decisions.
• California Department of Education - Charter Schools Division: State-level charter school oversight body in California that reviews petitions, oversees compliance, and supports charter authorizers. Performs analogous regulatory oversight functions to the Hawaii SPCSC within a much larger state system.

Broad incumbents

• New York State Education Department - Charter School Office: State education department unit that authorizes and oversees charter schools in New York. A much larger incumbent, but performs the same authorizing, renewal, and revocation functions as the Hawaii SPCSC.
• Ohio Department of Education - Office of Community Schools: State-level unit responsible for charter school sponsorship oversight in Ohio. Functions within a broader state education agency and provides comparable regulatory oversight of charter sponsors and schools.
• Michigan Department of Education - Charter School Office: Michigan state agency that authorizes public school academies (charter schools) and oversees their authorizing bodies. Performs analogous authorizer oversight to the Hawaii SPCSC within a larger state education framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UClUF0NUCIOS7T1i2rfFqcmg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Hawaii-State-Public-Charter-School-Commission-519665748236801
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawaii-state-public-charter-school-commission

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission