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Credit: Kate Jeon

The School District of Philadelphia is taking the next step in expanding the number of charter schools in the city. On Tuesday, the district announced that public hearings will be held on Dec. 11 at its headquarters for charter school applicants in West Philadelphia.

Thirteen applicants are included on the list of proposals to be heard for West Philadelphia. Two applications are for schools proposed in Penn’s ZIP code. The hearings for the other proposed charter schools, a total of 40 applications, will begin on Dec. 8.

Applicants will make 15-minute presentations, and the public will have the chance to comment on any of the applications evaluated. A second set of hearings will take place in January, where the Charter School Office will present comments from application evaluators and the applicants will be questioned further, according to a district press release.

The applications are set to be reviewed by a panel of outside evaluators including some from area universities. As of November, the district had not released the names or affiliations of the panelists.

This is the first year since 2008 that the district has accepted charter school applications. A stipulation in the $2-a-pack cigarette tax that passed in September now requires them to be accepted annually.

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