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1 SB45
2
3
165751 6
By
Senator
Marsh
4 RFD:
Education and Youth f fa i rs
5
Fi r s t Read:
03 MAR 15
6 PFD:
02/25/2015
ACT
No 2015 ·
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2
3
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4
ENROLLED An
Act,
SB 5
5 To
crea te
the
Alabama
School
Choice and
Student
6
Oppor tuni ty
Act;
to crea te the
Alabama
Publ ic Char te r
School
7
Commission
and
provide
for the
membership,
powers, dut ies
and
8 l i a b i l i t i e s of
the commission; to provide for the app l ica t ion
9 process
for
es t ab l i sh ing
publ ic
char te r
schools
and
convers ion
1
char te r
schools ; to provide for char te r terms,
char te r
11 con t rac t s
and
preopening
requirements
and condi t ions; to
12
provide for accoun tab i l i ty
of
char te r schools pursuant to
a
13
performance
framework,
ongoing
overs ight
and cor rec t ive
14
ac t ion
and
renewal , revocat ion , and nonrenewal of
char te rs ;
15 to
provide
for the operat ion and autonomy of publ ic
char te r
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1
b)
This
ac t
sha l l
be i n t e rp re t ed to support
the
2 f indings and purposes of t h i s
ac t
and to advance the
continued
3 commitment of
the s t a t e to
the miss ion
and goals
of publ ic
4 educat ion .
5
c) o pr iva te or nonpubl ic school
may
es tab l i sh
a
6 publ ic
char te r
school pursuant to t h i s ac t .
7 Sect ion 3. The
Legis la ture
f inds
and declares
a l l
of
8
the fol lowing:
9
1)
I t
i s
in
the
bes t
i n t e res t s
of the
people
of
1
Alabama to provide
a l l
chi ldren
with
access
to
high qua l i ty
11 publ ic schools .
12
2) I t
i s necessary to
cont inue
to search for ways
13 to s t rengthen the academic performance of
elementary
and
14 secondary publ ic school
s tudents .
15
3) Different
s tuden ts
l ea rn d i f fe ren t ly and
publ ic
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1 7)
Students
of a l l
backgrounds
are e n t i t l e d to
2
access to
a
high qua l i ty educat ion .
3
8) Therefore,
with t h i s ac t
the Legis la ture
4 in tends
to accomplish a l l of the fol lowing:
5
a.
Provide
school
systems and communities
with
6
addi t ional
tools
tha t
may
be used to be t t e r meet the
7 educat ional needs
of
a diverse s tuden t populat ion .
8
b. Encourage innovat ive educat ional ideas tha t
9
improve
s tudent
learning
for s tudents
a t
a l l academic
levels .
10 c . Empower educators to be nimble and s t r a t eg i c
in
11
t he i r decis ions
on behal f of
s tudents .
12 d. Provide add i t iona l high
qua l i ty
educat ional
13
options for a l l s tudents espec ia l ly
s tuden ts
in low
14 performing schools .
15
e .
Create publ ic schools with freedom and
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1 2) APPLICATION. A proposa l from an appl icant to an
2 authorizer
to
ente r in to a char te r
con t rac t
whereby
the
3 proposed school
obtains
publ ic
char te r
school
s ta tus .
4 3) AT-RISK STUDENT. A
s tudent
who
has
an economic
5
or
academic disadvantage tha t
requires
spec ia l se rv ices and
6 ass i s t ance to
succeed
in educat ional programs. The term
7 includes , but i s not l imi ted to s tuden ts who are
members
of
8 economically disadvantaged fami l i es s tuden ts who are
9
iden t i f i ed
as
having
spec ia l
educat ion
needs,
s tuden ts
who
are
10 l imi ted
in
English prof ic iency
s tuden ts
who are
a t r i sk
of
11
dropping out of high
school , and
s tuden ts
who
do not
meet
12 minimum s tandards of academic prof ic iency.
13
4) AUTHORIZER.
An en t i ty au thor ized
under t h i s ac t
14 to review app l ica t ions approve or
r e j ec t
app l ica t ions en te r
15 in to
char te r con t rac t s with app l ican t s oversee
publ ic
char te r
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1 commission serves as
an appe l la te
body
in spec i f i c
2
circumstances out l ined in
subsect ion a)
of Sect ion 6.
3 7) CONVERSION PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL A publ ic
4
char te r school tha t
exis ted
as
a
non-char te r pub l ic school
5
before becoming
a publ ic
char te r school .
A
conversion
publ ic
6 char te r
school sha l l adopt and
mainta in a pol icy giving
7
enrol lment
prefe rence
to s tuden ts
who
res ide
within the
former
8 at tendance zone of the publ ic school .
9
8)
DEPARTMENT
The
Sta te
Department
of
Educat ion.
10
9) EDUCATION
SERVICE PROVIDER. An e n t i t y with
which
11 a
publ ic
char te r
school
in tends
to con t rac t with for
12 educat ional
design,
implementation, or comprehensive
13
management. This re la t ionship sha l l be
a r t i cu l a t ed
in the
14 publ ic
char te r
school app l ica t ion .
15
10) GOVERNING BOARD The independent board of
a
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11)
LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD. A
c i t y or county
board
of
2 educat ion exerc i s ing
management
and control of a c i ty or
3 county
loca l
school system pursuant to
s t a t e
law.
4 12)
LOCAL SCHOOL
SYSTEM. A publ ic agency tha t
5 es tabl i shes and
supervises
one
or more publ ic
schools
within
6
i t s
geographical l imi t s pursuant to s t a t e law. A local school
7 system includes a c i ty or
county
school system.
8
13) NATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED AUTHORIZING
STANDARDS.
9
Standards
for
high
qua l i ty
publ ic
char te r
school
au thor iz ing
10
col labora t ive ly
draf ted
and
regu la r ly updated by prac t i t ioner s
11 and pol icy makers from across
the
country who have experience
12 and prac t i ce
in the f i e l d of
char te r authoriz ing.
13
14)
NON CHARTER PUBLIC
SCHOOL.
A
publ ic
school
14
other than
a
school formed pursuant to t h i s ac t .
A
publ ic
15 school tha t i s under
the d i r ec t
management, governance, and
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4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
SB 5
govern ing
boa rd
s h a l l
have
a
f i n a n c i a l r e l a ti o n s h i p
to an
educa t ion
s e r v i c e
p r o v i d e r
o r
the s t a f f
o f
the a u t ho r i z e r .
c . I s e s t a b l i s h e d
and
o p e r a t e d
under
t h e t e rms
o f
a
c ha r t e r c o n t r a c t between
t h e gove rn ing boa rd and its
a u t h o r i z e r i n
acco rdance wi th
t h i s
a c t .
d .
I s a
schoo l
to
which
pa r e n t s
choose
to
s end
t h e i r
s tude n t .
e . I s
a schoo l t h a t
admi ts
s t u d e n t s
on
the
b a s i s o f
a
random
s e l e c t i o n
pr oces s
i
more
s tude n t s
a t t empt
to
e n r o l l
f o r admiss ion
than can be
accommodated
f .
Prov ides an e d u c a t i o n a l
program
t h a t s a t i s f i e s
a l l
o f
the
f o l lowing :
1 . I nc ludes any grade
o r
grades
f rom
p r e k i n d e r g a r t e n
to 12th gr ade .
2 May
i nc lude
a
s p e c i f i c academic
appr oach
o r theme
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17)
START UP PUBLIC
CHARTER SCHOOL
A publ ic
2
char te r
school tha t did not ex i s t as a non-char te r pub l ic
3
school pr io r to becoming
a publ ic
char te r
school.
4 18) STUDENT. Any
chi ld
who i s e l ig ib le
for
5
a t tendance in publ ic schools in
the
s t a t e .
6
Sect ion 5.
a)
Open
enrol lment .
7
1)
A
publ ic
char te r
school sha l l be open to
any
8 s tudent
res id ing in
the s t a t e .
9
2)
A
school
system
sha l l
not
require
any
s tudent
10
enro l l ed in the school
system to
a t t end
a s ta r t -up publ ic
11
char te r
school .
12
3)
A
publ ic char te r school sha l l
not l imi t
13 admission based on e thn ic i ty , nat iona l
or ig in , re l ig ion ,
14 gender,
income l eve l ,
d i sab i l i ty ,
prof ic iency in
the
English
15 language, or academic or a t h l e t i c
a b i l i t y .
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6)
I f f a c i l i t y capac i ty i s i n s u f f i c i en t to
enro l l
2
a l l s tudents
who
wish to a t t end
a s t a r t - u p
publ ic char te r
3
school ,
the school sha l l s e lec t s tuden ts
through
a
random
4
se lec t ion
process .
The school sha l l
f i r s t
enro l l s tudents
who
5
res ide
within the
school system in which the
publ ic
char te r
6
school i s
located .
I f the number of loca l s tuden ts wanting to
7
enro l l exceeds the f a c i l i t y s capac i ty , then the school sha l l
8 conduct a random
se lec t ion
process to enro l l s tuden ts who
9
res ide in
the
loca l
school
system.
I f
the
school
has
1
add i t iona l capac i ty a f t e r admit t ing s tuden ts from the
loca l
11
school system,
then
the school
sha l l
admit
any s tuden ts
12
without regard to t h e i r res idency by
a
random
se lec t ion
13 process .
The se lec t ion
sha l l
take
place
in
a publ ic meeting,
14
ca l led
by the
governing
body of the publ ic
char te r
school ,
and
15 fol lowing a l l pos t ing and not ice requirements prescr ibed
by
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school system
and then
outs ide
the
loca l school system,
as se t
2 fo r th
in
subdiv is ion 6).
3
8)
A
publ ic char te r school sha l l
give
enrol lment
4 preference to s tudents enro l l ed
in
the publ ic
char te r
school
5
the previous school year and to s ib l ings of s tuden ts a l ready
6
enrol led in
the publ ic
char te r
school .
7
9)
A publ ic
char te r
school
may
give enrol lment
8 preference
to chi ldren
of a publ ic
char te r schoo l s
founders ,
9
governing
board
members,
and
fu l l - t ime
employees, so
long as
10
they cons t i t u t e
no more than 10 percen t of the schoo l s
to ta l
11 s tudent
populat ion .
12 10) This subsect ion does
not
prec lude the
formation
13 of
a
publ ic
char te r
school whose miss ion i s focused on
serv ing
14 spec ia l educat ion
s tudents ,
s tuden ts of the same gender ,
15 s tuden ts
who
pose
such
severe
d isc ip l ina ry
problems
tha t
they
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publ ic schools .
Nothing
in t h i s ac t
sha l l
prevent loca l school
2
systems from
adminis ter ing placement
t e s t s for
newly
enro l l ed
3
s tudents
who
were
prev ious ly
enro l l ed
in a publ ic
char te r
4
school .
5 c) Determination of s tuden t
capaci ty
of publ ic
6
char te r
schools .
The
capac i ty of the publ ic
char te r
school
7
sha l l be determined annual ly by
the
governing board of
the
8 publ ic
char te r
school
in
conjunct ion with the au thor izer
and
9
in
cons idera t ion
of the
publ ic
char te r school s
a b i l i t y
to
10 f a c i l i t a t e the academic
success of i t s
s tudents , to achieve
11
the other object ives spec i f ied in
the
char te r con t rac t , and
to
12
ensure t ha t
i t s
s tuden t enrol lment does not exceed the
13 capac i ty of
i t s
f a c i l i t y
or s i t e .
14 d)
Student informat ion .
A publ ic
char te r school
15 sha l l maintain records on
a l l
enro l l ed
s tuden ts u t i l i z i n g
the
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a.
A
local school board, for char te r ing of schools
2 within
the
boundar ies of the
school
system under
i t s
3
ju r i sd ic t ion pursuant to s t a t e law.
4 b .
The
Alabama Publ ic Charter School Commission,
5
pursuant to t h i s sec t ion .
6
2)
A
loca l school board t ha t
r eg i s te r s
as an
7
au thor izer
may
approve
or deny
an
app l ica t ion to form
a
publ ic
8
char te r school
within the
boundaries
of
the loca l
school
9
system
overseen
by
the
loca l
school
board.
10
3)
All au thor iz ing
e n t i t i e s
sha l l
pr io r i t i z e
those
11
appl icat ions t ha t are focused on
serv ing
a t - r i s k s tudents .
12 4)
A
decis ion made
by a
local
school
board
sha l l
be
13
subject
to appeal to the commission. The commission
may
hear
14
an appl icat ion
for
the formation
of a publ ic
char te r
school by
15
an
appl icant only i f one of
the
fol lowing
fac to rs i s met:
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2)
Upon
rece iv ing not ice of approval of
the
t en th
2 s ta r t -up publ ic
char te r
school to be
approved
in
a f i sca l
3
year, the department sha l l provide not ice to a l l au thor izers
4
t ha t
the cap has been reached
and
no new s ta r t -up publ ic
5
char te r schools may
be approved
in
tha t f i sca l year.
6
3)
The cap exp i res on Apri l 1 immediately
fol lowing
7
the conclusion
of
the
f i f t h
f i sca l year a f t e r the ef fec t ive
8 date of
t h i s ac t .
9 4)
At
the conclusion of the
f i f t h
f i sca l
year, the
10 department
sha l l submit
a
report to the Legis la ture
out l in ing
11 the performance
of
both s ta r t -up and
conversion
publ ic
char te r
12
schools . This repor t sha l l
include, a t a
minimum,
academic
13
performance of a l l publ ic
char te r
schools
in
the
s t a t e
a
14
de ta i l ed update
on the
authoriz ing
process ,
and
15 recommendations for adjustments to publ ic
char te r
school
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1 3) The commission
sha l l be
composed
of
a to ta l of
2 11 members. The Sta te Board of Education sha l l appoint 10
3
members,
made up
of
four appointees recommended by
the
4
Governor, one appointee recommended by the Lieutenant
5 Governor,
two
appointees
recommended by
the
Pres iden t
Pro
6 Tempore of
the
Senate, and th ree appointees recommended by the
7
Speaker
of
the House
of Represen ta t ives . The
Governor,
the
8
Lieutenant Governor, the President Pro Tempore
of
the Senate,
9
and
the
Speaker
of the
House
of Representat ives
sha l l
each
10 recommend
a
l i s t of no fewer
than
two
nominees
for each
11
appointment
to the
commission.
One recommended appointee
of
12
the Pres ident Pro Tempore of the
Senate
and one recommended
13 appointee of the Speaker of
the
House of
Representat ives
sha l l
14 be
an
appointee recommended by
members
of the Senate
minori ty
15 par ty and
members of
the House
minori ty
par ty respec t ive ly .
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2
3
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pos i t ion through board ac t io n s p ec i f i c a l l y
to
consider t ha t
ap p l i ca t io n .
5) The appoint ing a u t h o r i t i e s of
the
commission
4
members sha l l
s t r i v e to
se l ec t
ind iv iduals
t ha t co l l ec t ive ly
5 possess
s t rong
exper ience
and
exper t i se in pub l ic
and
6 nonprof i t governance, s t r a t eg i c
planning
management and
7 f inance publ ic school l eadersh ip
assessment ,
cur r iculum and
8
i ns t ruc t ion
and publ ic educat ion law. Each member of the
9
commission
sha l l
have
demonst ra ted
unders tanding
of
and
10
commitment to
ch a r t e r school ing
as a too l fo r s t reng then ing
11 publ ic educat ion and sha l l s ign an agreement
to
hear
the
12
appeal and review documents in a f a i r and imp ar t i a l manner.
13 6) Membership of
the
commission sha l l be i n c lu s iv e
14 and
r e f l e c t
the
r ac i a l gender,
geographic , urban / ru ra l and
15
economic
dive rs i ty
of the s t a t e . The appoint ing au thor i ty
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1 House of Representat ives
and one
recommended
appointee
of the
2 Pres ident
Pro Tempore of
the
Senate sha l l serve
an
i n i t i a l
3 term of two years .
Thereaf ter
a l l appointees
sha l l
serve two-
4 year terms of of f ice . All
appointments
sha l l be e l ig ib le for
5
reappointment as determined by
the appoin t ing
author i ty
not
6 to exceed a
t o t a l
of
s ix years
of
serv ice
unless the
member
7
was
i n i t i a l l y
appointed to serve
a
one-year term of of f ice . I f
8
the
i n i t i a l term of of f i ce of
an
appointee was one
year
he or
9
she
may serve a
to ta l
of
f ive
years of
serv ice
on
the
10
commission.
11 8) A
member
of
the commission
may be
removed
for
12 f a i lu re to perform the dut ies
of
the
appointment.
Whenever a
13 vacancy on the
commission
ex i s t s the appoin t ing
author i ty
14
within
60 days a f t e r the
vacancy occurs sha l l appoint
a
15 member for
the remaining
port ion
of the
term in the
same
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the Alabama Open
Meetings
Act
and s t a t e record laws.
2
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence,
members of the
3
commission
may p a r t i c ip a t e
in
a
meeting
of the
commission
by
4
means
of
te lephone conference, video conference, or s imi la r
5 communications equipment by means of
which
a l l
persons
6
par t i c ipa t ing in the meeting
may
hear each
other a t
the
same
7
t ime. Par t i c ipa t ion
by such
means sha l l cons t i t u t e presence
in
8
person
a t a
meeting for a l l purposes, including the
9 es tabl ishment of a
quorum.
Telephone
or
video
conference or
1
s imi la r communications
equipment
sha l l also allow
members
of
11 the publ ic the opportuni ty to s imul taneously
l i s t e n
to
or
12 observe
meetings
of the commission.
13 10) I f
the commission
overru les the decis ion of a
14
loca l
school board and chooses to au thor ize the es tabl ishment
15 of a publ ic
char te r
school
in
tha t loca l school system, the
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2
3
4
5
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needed, recommend
to
the
Sta te Super in tendent of Education any
ru le
or regulat ion
changes deemed necessary .
d. Convene s takeholder
groups
and engage experts .
e . Seek and receive s t a t e , federa l , and
pr iva te
funds for operat ional expenses.
6
f .
A
commission member may
not receive compensation,
7
but sha l l be
reimbursed
by the department for t r ave l and per
8 diem expenses a t the same ra t e s and
in
the same manner as
9
s t a t e
employees.
10 g.
The commission
sha l l submit
an
annual repor t to
11
the
department
pursuant to
subsect ion g) .
12 12) In order to overru le the
decis ion
of a
loca l
13 school board and
au thor ize a publ ic
char te r school ,
the
14
commission
sha l l
do
a l l of the
fol lowing:
15
a.
Find evidence of
a
thorough and high-qua l i ty
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3
4
5
6
7
8
SB 5
d. Take in to cons idera t ion i) other ex i s t ing
char te r
school
app l ica t ions ,
i i ) the qua l i ty
of
school
opt ions ex i s t ing
in
the af fec ted community, i i i ) the
ex is tence of other char te r
schools ,
and iv) any other fac to rs
considered re levant to
ensure
the
establ i shment of
high-
qua l i ty char te r
schools in accordance
with the
in ten t of t h i s
ac t .
e . Find
evidence
tha t
the
loca l school
board er red
9
in
i t s
app l ica t ion
of
nat iona l ly
recognized
au thor iz ing
10 s tandards .
d)
A
loca l school board
may r eg i s t e r
with the
12 department for char te r ing au thor i ty within the boundar ies of
13 the
school system
overseen by the loca l school board. The
4 department sha l l publ ic ize to a l l loca l school boards the
15
opportuni ty to r eg i s te r with
the
s t a t e for char te r ing
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SB45
1 2) n
explanat ion of the
loca l
school
board s
2
capac i ty
and
commitment to
execute
the dut ies of
qua l i ty
3 char te r
au thor iz ing ,
as
defined by
na t iona l ly
recognized
4
au thor iz ing s tandards .
5 3) n
explanat ion
of
the
loca l school board s
6
s t r a teg ic
vis ion
for char te r ing .
7 4) n
explanat ion
of how
the
loca l
school board
8
plans to
so l i c i t
publ ic
char te r
school app l ican t s ,
in
9
accordance
with
t h i s
ac t .
10 5) A descr ip t ion
or
out l ine
of the performance
11 framework the
loca l
school board wi l l use to guide the
12 es tabl ishment of
a char te r con t rac t
and for ongoing overs igh t
13 and evalua t ion of publ ic
char te r
schools , cons i s t en t with the
14 requirements
of
t h i s ac t .
15
6)
A dra f t of
the
loca l
school board s renewal,
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1
2
publ ic
char ter school physica l ly loca ted in
tha t
local school
system may apply di rec t ly
to
the commission.
3 f)
n author ize r may
do a l l of the
fol lowing:
4
1)
Sol i c i t , inv i t e ,
receive , and evaluate
5 appl ica t ions from organizers of
proposed publ ic char ter
6
schools .
7
2)
Approve appl ica t ions tha t
meet
i den t i f i ed
8 educat ional
needs.
9
3) Deny appl ica t ions tha t do
not
meet
i den t i f i ed
10 educat ional
needs.
11 4)
Create
a
framework
to guide the development
of
12
char ter cont rac t s .
13
5)
Negotiate and
execute char ter cont rac t s
with
14
each
approved publ ic
char ter school .
15
6)
Monitor the academic, f i sca l ,
and
organiza t iona l
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1
2) The
academic and
f i n an c i a l performance
o f a l l
2 opera t ing publ i c c h a r t e r schools
overseen
by the au th o r i ze r
3 accord ing
to the performance measures and expec ta t ions
4 sp ec i f i ed
in
the
ch a r t e r co n t rac t s .
5
3) The s t a t u s o f the publ i c ch a r t e r school
6 p o r t fo l i o
of
the au th o r i ze r i d en t i fy in g a l l publ i c c h a r t e r
7 schools wi th in t h a t
p o r t fo l i o
as one of the fo l lowing:
8 a . Approved, bu t
no t ye t
open.
9
b.
Open
and
opera t ing .
10
c .
Terminated.
11
12
13
14
15
d. Closed, i nc lud ing year c lo s e d
and
reason fo r
c los ing .
e . Never opened.
4) The overs igh t and se rv i ces
i
any, provided by
the
a u t ho r i z e r t o
the
publ i c ch a r t e r
schools
under
the purview
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SB 5
school
board serv ing as
an
au thor izer
may do
a l l of the
2
fol lowing:
3
1) Expend i t s
own
resources
seek
gran t funds,
and
4
es t ab l i sh partnerships to support i t s
publ ic
char te r
school
5 au thor iz ing a c t iv i t i e s .
6
2) Charge
a
port ion
of
annual
per s tuden t s t a t e
7
a l loca t ions
received by each publ ic
char te r
school t
8
authorizes based
on
the fol lowing schedule:
9 a.
I f
the
loca l
school board
has
overs igh t
over
one
10 to th ree inc lus ive publ ic char te r schools :
Three
percent of
annual per s tudent s t a t e a l loca t ions .
2 b .
I f the loca l school board has overs ight
over four
13 to f ive inc lus ive publ ic
char te r
schools : Two percent
of
4 annual per
s tudent s t a t e a l loca t ions .
15 c. I f the
loca l
school board has
overs ight
over s ix
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1
j) With the except ion of charges fo r overs igh t
2
services as
required in subsect ion
h),
a publ ic
char te r
3
school
may
not
be
requ i red to purchase services from i t s
4
au thor izer
as a condi t ion of
char te r
approval or
of
a
char te r
5 con t rac t
nor
may any such condi t ion
be
impl ied .
6
k)
A
publ ic char te r school au thor ized
by a
loca l
7
school system
may choose to purchase serv ices such as
8
t r anspor t a t ion- re l a t ed
or
lunchroom-re la ted serv ices from i t s
9
au thor izer .
In
such
event , the
publ ic
char te r
school
and
10
au thor izer sha l l execute
an
annual
serv ice con t rac t separa te
11 from the
char te r
con t rac t s ta t ing the
mutual
agreement
of
the
12 par t i e s
concerning any service
fees
to be charged to
the
13 publ ic
char te r
school .
A
publ ic
char te r
school
authorized
by
14
the commission
may
not purchase services from the commission,
15 but cons i s t en t with t h i s sec t ion
may
purchase
services
from
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1 sha l l apply
na t iona l ly
recognized
s tandards
for qua l i ty in
2
char te r au thor iz ing . I f a t
any
time, the
department
f inds
3 t ha t
an
authorizer i s not
in
compliance with
an
ex i s t ing
4
char te r
con t rac t
or the
requirements
of a l l
au thor izers
under
5 t h i s
ac t
the department sha l l not i fy
the
au thor izer in
6 wri t ing
of
any
iden t i f i ed problem, and the
au thor izer
sha l l
7 have
reasonable opportuni ty to respond and
remedy
the problem.
8
m)
I f a loca l
school
board ac t ing as an authorizer
9
p e r s i s t s
in
vio la t ing
a
mater ia l
prov is ion
of
a
char te r
1 con t rac t
or
fa i l s
to
remedy any
other
authoriz ing
problem
11 a f t e r due not ice from
the
department, the department sha l l
12
not i fy the
loca l school
board, within
6 days,
tha t t in tends
13 to
revoke
the char te r ing au thor i ty of the
loca l
school board
14
unless
the loca l school board demonstrates a
t imely and
15 sa t i s f ac to ry remedy for
the
vio la t ion or def ic ienc ies .
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SB45
Governor, the Speaker of the House of Represen ta t ives and the
2 Pres iden t
Pro
Tempore appoin tees comply with t he reques t s
of
3 the
department
or face a revocat ion of
t h e i r appointment
to
4
the
commission.
5 o)
In
the event of revocat ion of the ch a r t e r in g
6
au thor i ty
of
an
au th o r i ze r the department
sha l l
manage
the
7 t ime ly and order ly t r a n s f e r of
each
char te r co n t rac t held by
8
t ha t
au th o r i ze r t o another au th o r i ze r in the s t a t e with the
9
mutual agreement
of
each
a f f ec t ed
publ ic
ch a r t e r
school
and
10
proposed new au th o r i ze r .
The new
au th o r i ze r
sha l l
assume
the
11 ex i s t ing char te r co n t rac t
fo r
the
remainder
of the char te r
12
term.
13
p) Author ize r power, dut ies and l i a b i l i t i e s .
14
Author izers are responsible for execut ing in accordance with
15
t h i s
ac t the
fo l lowing
e s s e n t i a l powers and dut ies :
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3
4
5
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5) Monitor ing,
in
accordance with
char te r
con t rac t
terms, the performance and
l ega l
compliance of publ ic
char te r
schools .
6)
Determining whether each
char te r
con t rac t meri t s
renewal
nonrenewal
or revocat ion
6
q)
n au thor izer tha t
grants
a
char te r
to a
7 501 c) 3)
tax-exempt
organ iza t ion fo r the purpose of opening
8 and
operat ing
a
publ ic
char te r
school i s not l i ab le for the
9
debts or
obl igat ions
of the
publ ic
char te r
school , or
for
10 claims
a r i s ing from the performance
of
ac t s er ro r s or
11
omissions by
the char te r school , i f
the
au thor izer has
12
complied with a l l overs igh t r e s p o n s ib i l i t i e s requ i red by
law,
13 including ,
but
not l imi ted to those requ i red by t h i s ac t .
14 r)
Pr inc ip les
and
s tandards for
char te r
15
au thor iz ing .
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1
reasonable
ru l e s
and
regu la t ions to e f f ec t u a t e
t h i s
sec t ion
2 with in 9
days
a f t e r the
e f fec t ive
date of t h i s
ac t .
3 2)
Author izers sha l l car ry out
a l l
of
t h e i r
dut ies
4 under t h i s ac t in a manner
cons i s t en t
with such nat iona l ly
5
recognized p r i n c i p l e s and standards and
with t he
s p i r i t and
6
i n t en t
of t h i s
ac t .
Evidence of mate r i a l or p e r s i s t e n t
fa i lu re
7 to do
so sha l l cons t i t u t e
grounds fo r
los ing char te r
8
au thor iz ing
powers.
9
10
Sec t ion
7.
a)
Request
fo r p roposa l s .
1) To s o l i c i t encourage,
and
guide the development
11 of qual i ty
publ i c
ch a r t e r
school
app l ica t ions
every
l o ca l
12
school board, in i t s ro le as publ ic ch a r t e r school
au thor izer
13 sha l l i s sue and broadly
p u b l i c i ze a reques t fo r
proposa l s
fo r
14
publ i c
char te r school
ap p l i ca t io n s
by 120 days
a f t e r
the
15 e f fec t ive date of
t h i s
ac t and by November 1 in
each
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1 4) Each
loca l
school board s request for proposa ls
2
sha l l presen t the
board s
s t ra t eg ic vis ion for char ter ing,
3
including
a c lear s ta tement
of any
preferences
the
board
4
wishes
to grant to app l ica t ions
t h a t
help
a t - r i s k s tudents .
5 5) The request for proposals sha l l inc lude or
6 otherwise
d i rec t
appl icants
to the performance framework t ha t
7
the
au thor izer has developed fo r pub l ic
char te r
school
8
overs ight and evalua t ion
in accordance
with t h i s ac t .
9
6) The
request for
proposals
sha l l
inc lude the
1
c r i t e r i a
tha t wi l l guide the au thor ize r s decis ion to
approve
11 or deny a
char te r appl ica t ion .
12 7)
The request for proposals sha l l s t a t e
c lear ,
13 appropria te ly de ta i l ed
quest ions
as well as
guide l ines
14
concerning the format and content essen t ia l for appl icants to
15 demonstrate the capac i t ies
necessary
to es tab l i sh and
operate
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2
3
school .
SB45
c . The loca t ion
or
geographic area proposed for
the
d. The grades to be served
each
year for
the
fu l l
4
term
of
the
char te r cont rac t .
5 e . Minimum planned, and maximum enrol lment
per
6 grade
per
year for
the
term of the char te r cont rac t .
7
f .
Evidence
of need
and community support
for the
8
proposed publ ic
char te r school .
9
g.
A
br ie f
biography
regarding the
exper t i se
and
10 background on the
proposed founding governing
members
and
the
11 proposed school l eadersh ip and
management
team.
12 h.
The
schoo l s proposed
calendar
and sample da i ly
13
schedule.
14
i .
A descr ip t ion of the
academic program.
15 j . A descr ip t ion
of
the schoo l s in s t ruc t iona l
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1 m A
descr ip t ion
of
cocur r i cu la r
or
ex t racur r i cu la r
2
programs
and how they w i l l be funded and del ivered .
3 n. Plans
and t imel ines
fo r
s tuden t
recrui tment and
4 enrol lment , inc luding random se lec t ion procedures in the
event
5
t ha t
i n t e r e s t exceeds
capac i ty .
6 o. The
schoo l s
s tuden t
di sc ip l ine po l i c i e s ,
7 inc luding those fo r
spec ia l educa t ion
s tuden ts .
8
p .
n
organ iza t ion char t t ha t c l ea r ly presen ts the
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
schoo l s
organ iza t iona l
s t ruc tu re ,
i nc lud ing
l i ne s
of
au thor i ty
and repor t ing
between
t he governing board, s t a f f ,
any
re l a t ed bodies such
as
advisory bodies or paren t and
teacher counci l s ) ,
and
any ex terna l o rgan iza t ions t h a t w i l l
play
a
ro le
in
managing the school .
q.
A c lear descr ip t ion of the
ro l e s
and
r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s for
the
governing board,
the schoo l s
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
12
13
14
15
SB45
v . Exp lana t ions o f any pa r t ne r sh i p s o r c on t r a c t ua l
r e l a t i o n s h i p s
c e n t r a l
to
t he
s c h o o l s
ope r a t i ons
o r
miss ion .
w. The s c h o o l s p lans
fo r
p r o v i d i n g t r a n s p o r t a t i o n ,
food se rv ice , and
a l l
o t he r
s i g n i f i c a n t
ope r a t i ona l o r
a n c i l l a r y se r v i c e s .
x. O p p o r t u n i t i e s
and
e xpe c t a t i ons f o r
pa r e n t a l
involvement .
y.
A
d e t a i l e d schoo l s t a r t - u p p lan ,
i d e n t i f y i n g
tasks , t im e l ine s
and
r e s pons ib l e i n d i v i d u a l s .
z. Descr ip t ion o f
the
s c h o o l s
f i n a n c i a l p lan
and
p o l i c i e s , i nc lud ing f i na nc i a l c on t r o l s and a ud i t
r equ i remen t s .
This p lan
s h a l l
i nc lude a
d i sc l o su r e
o f a l l dona t ions o f
p r iv a t e funding , i any
inc lud ing , bu t
no t l i m i t e d t o , g i f t s
r ece ived from fo re ign governments fo re ign l e g a l
e n t i t i e s ,
and when
r easonab ly
known
domes t i c
e n t i t i e s
a f f i l i a t e d
with
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1 ee. In the
case
of
an appl icant
who has
submit ted an
2 appl icat ion for 50l c) 3) tax-exempt s ta tus , but has not ye t
3 been approved
for 50l c) 3)
tax-exempt
s ta tus ,
the
appl icant
4 sha l l submit a
copy
of t h e i r
appl icat ion
for
50l c) 3) t ax -
5 exempt s ta tus .
6 f f . Any other i tem tha t the au thor izer deems
7
appropr ia te to assess the app l ican t s a b i l i t y to successful ly
8 open
and
operate a publ ic
char te r
school .
9
9)
Conversion
publ ic
char te r
schools . A
loca l
1
school
board may conver t a non-char te r pub l ic school to a
11 publ ic
char te r school .
12
a.
Any
loca l
school
board s
decis ion to
convert
a
13
school i s not appealable to the commission.
14
1.
After
ident i fy ing
the non-charter publ ic school
15
t has decided
to conver t to
a
publ ic char te r school ,
a
loca l
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1
for
a
pos i t ion
in
the publ ic
char te r
school . The publ ic
2
char te r school
i s
under
no
obl iga t ion to hi re any teacher
or
3
adminis t ra tor .
4 4. At
the t ime
of
conversion to
a
publ ic char te r
5
school , any
t eacher or
adminis t ra tor in
the publ ic
char te r
6
school
may
be al lowed to t r ans fe r in to vacant pos i t ions for
7
which they
are both c e r t i f i e d and
qua l i f i ed in
other
schools
8
in the school
system
pr io r to the hi r ing of
new
personnel for
9 those
vacant
posi t ions .
10 5. I f personnel
reduct ions
are contemplated as the
11 r e s u l t
of
a convers ion to a
char te r model,
tha t sha l l be
12 c lea r ly s t a t ed in the appl ica t ion .
n
approved
convers ion
13 sha l l cons t i t u t e decreased s tudent enrol lment or
a
shortage
of
14
revenues, or
both, for the purposes
of
the
loca l
school
board
15 implementing a reduct ion
in
force pursuant to Sect ion
16-1-33,
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1 addi t iona l ly
require the
appl icants
to do a l l of the
2
fol lowing:
3 a .
Provide
evidence of the education service
4
prov ide r s success in
serv ing
s tudent populat ions
s imi la r
to
5 the
t a rge ted populat ion , including demonstrated academic
6 achievement as well as success fu l management of nonacademic
7 school funct ions , i f appl icable .
8
b . Provide
a
term shee t s e t t i n g fo r th the
proposed
9
durat ion
of the
serv ice con t rac t ; ro les
and
r espons ib i l i t i e s
10
of
the governing board; the school s t a f f ;
and
the educat ion
11 service provider;
scope
of serv ices and
resources
to be
12 provided by the educat ion service
provider;
performance
13 evalua t ion
measures
and t imel ines ; compensation s t ruc tu re ,
14
including
c lear
iden t i f i ca t ion
of a l l fees to be paid to the
15 educat ion service
provider;
methods
of
con t rac t
overs igh t
and
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1
2
3
4
SB45
add i t iona l ly requ i re the ap p l i can t
to
provide evidence of p as t
performance and curren t
a b i l i t y
to manage fo r growth.
b) Appl ica t ion decis ion-making
process .
1) In
evalua t ing and
rev iewing
ch a r t e r
5
app l ica t ions ,
au th o r i ze r s sha l l employ procedures ,
prac t i ce s ,
6 and c r i t e r i a
cons i s t en t with
n a t i o n a l l y
recognized
p r i n c i p l e s
7
and
standards
for
q u a l i t y ch a r t e r au thor iz ing . The
ap p l i ca t io n
8 review process
sha l l
inc lude thorough eva lua t ion of each
9
w ri t t en
char te r app l i ca t ion ,
an
i n -pe rson in te rv iew
with
the
10 app l ican t
group,
and an
oppor tun i ty in a
publ ic
forum fo r
11 loca l res iden t s t o l ea rn about and provide
i npu t
on
each
12
ap p l i ca t io n .
13
14
2)
In
dec id ing
whether to
approve ch a r t e r
ap p l i ca t io n s , au th o r i ze r s s h a l l do
a l l
of the fol lowing:
15
a . Grant ch a r t e r s only t o ap p l i can t s t ha t
have
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0
SB45
1 char te r
school
from the
community
the publ ic
char te r school
2 wishes to serve.
3 3) n au thor izer sha l l not approve a publ ic
char te r
4
school app l ica t ion tha t
includes
any
of the
fol lowing:
5
a.
Admissions
requirements
for
entry
including ,
but
6
not l imi ted to academic prof ic iency p a r t i cu l a r s k i l l s or
7
competencies, or
f inanc ia l
means.
8
b .
Any
paroch ia l or re l ig ious theme.
9
4)
No
l a t e r
than 60
days
a f t e r
the
f i l i ng
of the
10
char te r
app l ica t ion the au thor izer sha l l decide to approve or
11 deny the char te r appl icat ion; however, an app l ica t ion
12
submitted by
a
publ ic h i s t o r i c a l l y black
col lege
or
univers i ty
13 HBCU),
in par tnership with
a
nat ional nonprof i t
publ ic HBCU
14 support organ iza t ion fo r
a
char te r
school to be operated on
15 or
near
the campus
of
the HBCU may be considered for expedited
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1 6)
For any char te r denial , the au thor izer
sha l l
2
c lea r ly
s t a t e , fo r pub l ic record ,
i t s reasons
for den ia l . A
3
denied
appl icant
may
subsequent ly reapply to tha t board the
4
following year or
appeal
the denial to the commission.
5 7) Within 30 days of taking
ac t ion
to approve or
6 deny a
char te r app l ica t ion ,
the
au thor izer
sha l l
repor t to the
7
department the
act ion
t has taken . The au thor izer sha l l
8
provide
a
copy of the repor t to the char te r appl icant
a t
the
9
same
t ime
tha t
the
repor t
i s
submit ted
to
the
department.
The
10
report sha l l inc lude
a
copy of the au thor ize r s reso lu t ion
11 se t t ing fo r th the
act ion taken
and
reasons
for the decis ion
12
and assurances as to compliance with a l l
of
the procedural
13 requirements and app l ica t ion elements se t
for th
in t h i s
14
sect ion .
15 c)
1)
The
appl icant
for a publ ic
char te r school ,
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1 ef fo r t s
of
loca l
school systems to achieve and maintain
a
2 uni tary system.
3
3)
The
au thor izer sha l l
not
approve any
publ ic
4
char te r school
under t h i s
ac t
tha t hampers, delays ,
or in any
5
manner negat ively af fec t s the desegregat ion e f fo r t s of
a
loca l
6
school
system.
7
d)
I n i t i a l
char te r
term. n i n i t i a l
char te r
sha l l
8 be granted
for
a term of
f ive
opera t ing years . The
char te r
9
term
sha l l commence
on
the
publ ic
char te r school s
f i r s t
day
10
of
operat ion. n approved publ ic
char te r
school may delay
i t s
11
opening for one school year in order to
plan
and
prepare
for
12 the
schoo l s
opening. I f the school
requires an
opening
delay
13
of more than one year,
the
school sha l l request an
extens ion
14 from
i t s
au thor izer . The au thor izer may
grant
or
deny
the
15
extension
depending on the
p a r t i cu l a r
schoo l s c i rcumstances .
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1
contract
sha l l include, but need not be
l imi ted to ,
app l icab le
2
federal and s t a t e accoun tab i l i ty requirements. The performance
3 provis ions may
be re f ined or amended by
mutual
agreement
a f t e r
4
the publ ic
char te r
school i s operat ing and has
col lec ted
5
basel ine achievement
data fo r
i t s enro l l ed s tuden t s .
A
6 governing
board
sha l l have received 501 c)
3)
tax
exempt
7
s t a tus
before
beginning char te r
con t rac t nego t ia t ions .
8
2)
The
char te r
con t rac t sha l l
be signed
by the
9
pres iden t
of the
au thor ize r s
board
and
the
pres iden t
of the
10
publ ic
char te r schoo l s governing
body. Within 1 days of
11
executing
a
char te r
con t rac t , the au thor izer sha l l submit to
12 the
department
wri t t en n o t i f i c a t i o n of the executed
char te r
13 con t rac t
and any
a t tachments .
14
3) o
publ ic
char te r
school
may
commence
operat ions
15
without
a
char te r con t rac t executed in accordance with t h i s
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0
SB45
1 1) The
performance provis ions within
the char te r
2 contract sha l l be based on a performance
framework
tha t
3 c lea r ly se t s for th the academic and operat ional performance
4
indica tors ,
measures and metrics t ha t w i l l guide the
5 au thor i ze r s evaluat ions
of
each
publ ic
char te r school .
The
6 performance framework sha l l inc lude indica tors , measures
and
7
metrics for , a t
a minimum:
8 a.
Student academic
prof ic iency, which
includes , but
9
i s
not
l imi ted to ,
performance
on s t a t e
s tandard ized
10
assessments.
11
b. Student academic growth
which includes ,
but i s
12 not l imi ted
to,
performance on s t a t e s tandardized assessments.
13 c . Achievement
gaps in
both prof ic iency and growth
14
between major s tudent
subgroups.
15
d.
Attendance.
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SB 5
1 3) The
performance framework sha l l allow
the
2 inclus ion of add i t iona l
r igorous ,
va l id ,
and
r e l i ab l e
3
ind ica to rs proposed by
a
publ ic
char te r
school to
augment
4 ex te rna l evalua t ions of i t s
performance,
provided tha t the
5 au thor izer
approves the
qua l i ty and r igor
of such school-
6 proposed
indica tors ,
and
they
are cons i s t en t with
the
purposes
7
of
t h i s ac t .
8 4) The performance framework sha l l require the
9
disaggregat ion of
a l l
s tuden t
performance
data
by
major
10
s tudent
subgroups
gender, race , pover ty s ta tus , spec ia l
11 educat ion
s ta tus ,
English l ea rner
s ta tus ,
and
g i f ted
s ta tus
12
5)
For each publ ic
char te r
school t oversees , the
13 au thor izer
sha l l
be
responsible for
col lec t ing , analyzing, and
14 report ing a l l
data
from s t a t e assessments in accordance with
15
the performance
framework.
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1
requ i re ove rs igh t
a c t i v i t i e s t h a t enable the au thor izer
to
2
f u l f i l l i t s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s
under t h i s
ac t ,
inc luding
3 conducting appropr ia te i n q u i r i e s
and
i n v es t i g a t i o n s , so long
4 as those a c t i v i t i e s are
cons i s t en t
with
the i n t en t
of t h i s
5 ac t ,
adhere to
the
terms
o f the char te r con t rac t , and do not
6 unduly proh ib i t the
autonomy granted to
publ ic char te r
7
8
schools .
2) Each au thor izer sha l l annual ly publ i sh and
9 provide ,
as
p a r t
of i t s
annual
r ep o r t
to
the
department
and
10 the Legis la tu re ,
a performance repor t fo r each publ i c
ch a r t e r
11
school
t oversees , in accordance with the
performance
12
framework
se t fo r th in the char te r con t rac t and Sect ion 6. The
13
au th o r i ze r may requ i re each publ ic ch a r t e r school t oversees
14
to
submit
an
annual
r ep o r t to
a s s i s t
the
au th o r i ze r in
15
gather ing complete in format ion about each school , cons i s t en t
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2
3
SB 5
short
of revocat ion
in
response to apparent def ic ienc ies
in
publ ic
char te r school
performance or
l ega l
compliance. Such
act ions
or sanct ions
may include,
i f
warranted,
requir ing
a
4
school
to develop
and
execute a cor rec t ive
act ion
plan
wi thin
5 a
spec i f ied
t ime frame.
6 c)
Renewals, revocat ions , and
nonrenewals.
7
1)
A
char te r
may
be renewed for success ive
f ive-
S year
terms
of durat ion, al though the
au thor izer
may
vary the
9
term
based
on
the
performance,
demonstrated
capac i t ies ,
and
10
par t i cu la r
circumstances
of
each
publ ic
char te r school . n
au thor izer
may gran t renewal with spec i f i c condi t ions for
2
necessary improvement to
a publ ic
char te r school .
13
2)
No l a t e r than July 15, the au thor izer sha l l
4
i ssue
a publ ic
char te r school
performance
repor t
and
char te r
15 renewal app l ica t ion
guidance
to any publ ic
char te r
school
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SB 5
1 3) The renewal app l ica t ion guidance,
a t
a minimum,
2 sha l l provide
an
opportuni ty
for
the publ ic
char te r
school to
3
do
a l l of
the
fol lowing:
4
a .
Present add i t iona l evidence, beyond the
data
5 contained
in
the
performance
repor t ,
support ing
i t s case
for
6 char te r renewal.
7 b. Describe improvements undertaken or planned for
8 the school .
9
c .
Deta i l
the
schoo l s
plans
for
the
next
char te r
10
term.
11 4)
The renewal
app l ica t ion guidance sha l l inc lude
12 or r e fe r exp l i c i t ly to the c r i t e r i a t ha t
wi l l
guide the
13
au thor i ze r s renewal decis ions , which
sha l l be
based
on the
14 performance framework se t fo r th in the char te r con t rac t and
15
consis tent
with
t h i s
ac t .
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SB45
1 accordance
with
the performance
framework
se t
fo r th in the
2
char te r con t rac t .
3
b.
Ensure
tha t
data used
in making renewal decis ions
4 are
ava i l ab le
to the
school
and the
publ ic .
5
c. Provide
a
publ ic report summarizing the evidence
6
basis for each
decis ion .
7
7)
A
char te r
con t rac t
may
be revoked
a t
any t ime i f
8
the au thor izer
determines tha t
the
publ ic
char te r
school
did
9
any
of the
fol lowing
or otherwise
f a i l ed
to
comply
with
t h i s
10
ac t :
11
a. Commits
a
mater ia l and subs t an t i a l v io l a t ion
of
12
any of
the
terms,
condi t ions s tandards , or
procedures
13
required
under t h i s ac t
or
the char te r
cont rac t .
14
b. Fai l s
to
meet
or
make
s u f f i c i en t
progress
toward
15
the performance expectat ions se t fo r th in
the
char te r
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
SB 5
school did
any
of the
fol lowing
or
otherwise
fa i l ed to comply
with t h i s
ac t :
a . Commits a
mater ia l
and subs t an t i a l v io l a t ion of
any of the
terms,
condi t ions s tandards or procedures
requi red under t h i s
ac t
or the
char te r
con t rac t .
b. Fai l s to meet the performance expecta t ions
se t
fo r th
in
the
char te r con t rac t .
c. Fai l s to meet
genera l ly
accepted
standards of
9
f i s ca l
management.
10 d. Subs tan t i a l ly vio la t e s any mater ia l provis ion of
11 law from which the pub l ic
char te r
school was
not
exempted.
12
9)
A
char te r
con t rac t sha l l not be
renewed
a t the
13 end of the con t rac t term i the pub l ic char te r
school
f a i l s to
14 meet the
performance expecta t ions se t
fo r th
in
the
char te r
15 contract
or
fa i l s
to a t t a i n
the minimum
s t a t e
prof ic iency
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SB45
1 a grade of D
or
F fo r
the
pas t th ree
most recen t years sha l l
2 be cons idered
to
f a l l
below
the
minimum s t a t e
s t andard .
3 10) An
au th o r i ze r
sha l l
develop
revoca t ion
and
4 nonrenewal processes t ha t do a l l of the fol lowing:
5
a .
Provide
the char te r holders
with a
t imely
6 not i f i c a t ion of the prospect of revocat ion or nonrenewal and
7 of the reasons for such poss ib le c losures .
8 b. Allow the
char te r
holders a
reasonable
amount of
9
t ime
in
which
to
prepare
a
response .
10
c .
Provide
the char te r holders with an oppor tun i ty
11
to submit
documents and give tes t imony
cha l l eng ing
the
12
ra t iona le fo r c losure
and
in suppor t of the
con t inua t ion
of
13 the school a t an order ly proceeding he ld
for
t h a t purpose .
14
d. Allow the
char te r
holders access to
15 r ep resen ta t i o n by counsel , a t the
expense
of
the
ch a r t e r
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
SB45
department the ac t ion taken, and sha l l provide a copy of the
repor t to the publ ic
char te r
school a t the same t ime tha t the
repor t
i s
submit ted
to the department.
The repor t
sha l l
include
a copy of
the
au thor ize r s reso lu t ion se t t ing
fo r th
the ac t ion taken and reasons for the decis ion
and
assurances
as to compliance with a l l of
the
requirements se t
fo r th
in
t h i s
ac t .
d)
School c losure
and dissolu t ion .
1)
Pr io r
to
any
publ ic
char te r
school
c losure
decis ion, an
au thor izer
sha l l have developed a publ ic
char te r
11
school
c losure p ro toco l to ensure t imely no t i f i ca t ion to
12 paren ts ,
order ly
t r an s i t i o n o f s tuden ts
and
s tuden t records to
13 new
schools , and proper
dispos i t ion of
school
funds,
property ,
14
and
asse t s
in accordance with
the requirements of
t h i s
ac t .
15 The protocol sha l l speci fy tasks , t imel ines , and responsible
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SB 5
1
the State Treasury to
the
cred i t
of
the
Education Trust Fund.
2
I f the asse ts
of
the
school are i n s u f f i c i en t
to
pay a l l
3
par t i e s to
whom
the
school owes compensation,
the
4 p r i o r i t i z a t i o n
of
the d is t r ibu t ion of
asse ts
may be determined
5 by decree
of
a court of law.
6 e)
Char ter
t r ans fe r s . Transfer of a
char te r
7
con t rac t ,
and
of overs igh t of t ha t publ ic
char te r school ,
from
8
one au thor izer to another
before the
expi ra t ion
of the
char te r
9
term
sha l l
not
be
permi t ted
except
by
spec ia l
pe t i t ion
to
the
1 department by a publ ic
char te r school or i t s author ize r . The
11
department sha l l review
such
pe t i t ions on
a
case-by-case bas i s
12 and may gran t t r ans fe r reques t s
in
response to spec ia l
13
circumstances
and evidence tha t
such a t r ans fe r
would serve
14 the bes t i n t e res t s
of
the publ ic
char te r
schoo l s s tuden t s .
15 f) Annual
repor t .
n or before
November 1
of each
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SB 5
economically comparable groups
of
s tuden ts
in
non-charter
2 publ ic schools . In addi t ion , the annual repor t sha l l inc lude
3 the
department s assessment of the successes , chal lenges , and
4
areas
for improvement in
meeting the
purposes
of
t h i s ac t ,
5
including the department s recommendations as to
any suggested
6
changes
in s t a t e law
or
pol icy necessary to
s t rengthen the
7 s t a t e s
publ ic
char te r
schools .
8 Sect ion 9.
(a) Legal
s ta tus
of
a publ ic
char te r
9
school .
10 (1) Notwiths tanding any provis ion of law to
the
contrary , to the
extent
tha t
any
provis ion of t h i s ac t i s
2
incons i s t en t
with any
other s t a t e
or loca l
law,
ru le , or
13 regulat ion , the
provis ions
of t h i s ac t
sha l l
govern and be
4
cont ro l l ing .
15
(2)
A publ ic
char te r
school sha l l
be subject
to a l l
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school
board,
the State Board
of
Education,
or
the Sta te
Department o f Education.
4) A s ing le governing board may
hold
one or more
char te r con t rac t s . Each publ ic char te r school tha t i s par t of
a
char te r con t rac t sha l l be separa te and
d i s t i n c t
from any
others .
5)
A s ta r t -up publ ic
char te r
school
sha l l
funct ion
as a
loca l educat ional
agency LEA) . A publ ic
char te r school
sha l l
be
responsible for
meeting
the
requirements
of LEAs
under
app l icab le
federa l
s t a t e and loca l laws, including
11
those r e la t ing
to spec ia l
educat ion .
LE s t a tus sha l l
not
12 preclude a publ ic char te r school from developing
partnerships
13
with
school systems for serv ices resources and
programs by
14 mutual agreement o r
formal
cont rac t .
15 6)
A convers ion publ ic
char te r
school
sha l l
remain
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1 8) The governing board of a
publ ic
char te r school
2
sha l l hold
meetings in
the loca l school system
in which
the
3 publ ic
char te r
school i s
loca ted
and
a t
t imes convenient for
4
parents to
at tend.
5 9) All
members of
a governing board sha l l be
6 subject
to the
Sta te
Ethics
Law.
7 b)
Powers
of
publ ic
char te r
schools .
A
publ ic
8 char te r
school sha l l have a l l the
powers
necessary for
9 carry ing out the terms
of
i t s char te r con t rac t
including
the
10
fol lowing powers:
11 1) To
receive
and disburse
funds for
school
12
purposes.
13 2) To secure
appropr ia te
insurance
and to
ente r
14
i n to
con t rac t s
and
l eases .
15 3) To
con t rac t with
an
educat ion
service
provider
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SB45
7)
To acqui re
rea l proper ty fo r
use
as i t s f a c i l i t y
or
f ac i l i t i e s
from publ ic or
pr iva te
sources .
8) To
sue
and be sued
in i t s
own
name.
c)
General
requi rements .
1)
A publ ic
char te r school sha l l not
discr imina te
agains t any
person on the bas i s of
race
creed, co lor
sex,
7
d i sab i l i ty
or
nat ional
o r ig in or
any
other
ca tegory t ha t
8 would be unlawful i done by a non-char te r pub l ic
school .
9
2) o
publ ic
char te r
school
may
engage
in
any
10 sec ta r i an
prac t ices
in i t s educat ional program, admissions or
11
employment
pol i c i e s
or opera t ions .
12
3)
A publ ic
char te r
school sha l l not discr imina te
13 agains t any s tudent
on
the
bas i s of
nat iona l o r ig in minor i ty
14
s t a tus
or
l imi ted p rof ic iency
in
Engl ish .
Consis tent
with
15 federa l c iv i l
r igh t s
laws, publ ic char te r
schools
sha l l
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1
d)
Appl icab i l i ty of other laws,
ru les ,
and
2
regulat ions .
3
1) Public
char te r
schools sha l l be sub jec t to
the
4
same c iv i l r igh t s , heal th , and sa fe ty requirements,
including ,
5 but not
l imi ted
to , s t a t e
and loca l
publ ic
heal th
and bui ld ing
6
codes, employee f ingerpr in t ing and
criminal background checks
7 app l icab le
to
other pub l ic
schools
in the s t a t e ,
except
as
8
otherwise
spec i f i ca l ly
provided in t h i s
ac t .
9
2)
Public
char te r
schools
sha l l be
subject
to
the
1
s ta tewide
end-of-year
annual s tandardized assessment as
11 app l icab le to o ther pub l ic
schools in
the s t a t e , but
nothing
12
here in sha l l prec lude
a publ ic
char te r school from
13
es tabl i sh ing
add i t iona l s tuden t assessment
measures
tha t go
14
beyond
s ta te
requirements
i f the
schoo l s au thor izer
approves
15 such
measures.
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SB45
1
qua l i f i c a t ion of t eachers and
other
in s t ruc t iona l s t a f f . In
2 accordance with subsect ion (a) , t eachers
in
publ ic
char te r
3
schools sha l l be exempt from
s t a t e
teacher
c e r t i f i c a t i o n
4
requirements.
5
(2)
Star t up publ ic
char te r schools
may
e lec t
to
6 par t i c ipa te
in
the
Teachers
Reti rement
System
and Publ ic
7 Education
Employees Health Insurance Plan. Such e lec t ion must
8 take place pr io r to the execut ion of the
char te r contract and
9
once made i s i r revocable . Conversion char te r schools sha l l
10 par t i c ipa te
in
the
Teachers
Retirement System
and Public
11 Education
Employees Health Insurance
Plan
and sha l l provide
12 compensation
fo r t eachers
and
school nurses tha t complies with
13 the
pro
r a ta
da i ly
r a te
of
pay as
provided in
the s t a t e
14
minimum sa l a ry
schedules
fo r t eachers
and
school
nurses .
15
Employees of
par t i c ipa t ing s ta r t up publ ic
char te r schools
and
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SB 5
4) Pub l i c c h a r t e r school employees , t e a c he r s and
othe r i n s t ru c t i o n a l s t a f f s h a l l be
sub j e c t t o
t he Sta t e Eth ics
Law,
Chapter
25,
T i t l e
36, Code
of Alabama
1975.
4 f) Access to ex t r acu r r i cu l a r
and
i n t e r s c h o l a s t i c
5 a c t i v i t i e s . Nothing in
t h i s
ac t s h a l l
be
cons t rued
to
prevent
6 a pub l i c ch a r t e r school from forming an a t h l e t i c team and
7
p a r t i c i p a t i n g
in
i n t e r s c h o l a s t i c a t h l e t i c s
in t he S t a t e
of
8 Alabama. I f a pub l i c c h a r t e r school e l e c t s fo r
ts
s tude n t s t o
9 p a r t i c i p a t e in a t h l e t i c c on t e s t s
or compet i t ions
then t he
10
schoo l s h a l l pursue membership in t he Alabama High School
11 A th le t i c
Assoc ia t ion
and s h a l l adhere to a l l gu i de l i ne s
12
13
14
15
ru l e s
r e gu l a t i ons
and bylaws as othe r
member
schools .
Sec t ion 10. a)
Enrol lment .
S tudents e n r o l l e d in and
a t t end ing pub l i c ch a r t e r schools s h a l l
be
inc luded
in
a l l
en ro l lmen t and a t t endance counts of s tude n t s
o f
the l o ca l
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a.
In t h e i r i n i t i a l
year
and
in
subsequent
years
to
2 accommodate growth
as
a r t i cu l a t ed
in
t h e i r
app l ica t ion ,
3
funding for publ ic
char te r schools
sha l l be provided from
the
4 Education Trust Fund in the Foundation
Program
appropr ia t ion
5 for
current
uni t s . Subsequent year funding fo r pub l ic
char te r
6
schools
sha l l
be based on the Foundation Program a l loca t ion
7
and
other pub l ic school Education Trust Fund
appropria t ions .
8 b. For each of
i t s s tudents ,
a publ ic
char te r school
9
sha l l receive the same
amount
of
s t a t e funds
including
funds
10 earmarked for the Foundation
Program t ranspor ta t ion ,
school
nurses technology coord ina to rs , and
other
l ine i tems t ha t may
2
be
inc luded
in
the appropr ia t ion fo r the Foundation
Program
3
Fund tha t , for
the
then-current f i sca l year would have
4 otherwise
been
a l loca ted
on behal f
of
each
publ ic
char te r
15 school s tudent to the
loca l
school system where the s tudent
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SB45
1 expendi tures or t ranspor ta t ion . As necessary the department
2
sha l l promulgate processes
and procedures
to determine the
3 spec i f ic
loca l
revenue a l loca t ions according to the
Foundation
4
Program for each publ ic
char te r
school .
5 d. The s t a t e
funds
descr ibed in
paragraph
a .
sha l l
6 be
forwarded on
a
quar te r ly
bas is
to the publ ic
char te r
school
7
by the
department. The
loca l
funds descr ibed
in paragraph b.
8 sha l l
be forwarded on
a quar te r ly
bas i s to the publ ic
char te r
9
school
by
the
loca l educat ional
agency
of the
s tuden t s
1 res idence notwi thstanding
the
overs igh t
fee
reduct ions
11 pursuant
to
Sect ion 6.
Addit ional ly ,
any loca l
revenues
12
13
r es t r i c ted , earmarked or committed by s ta tu to ry prov is ion ,
cons t i t u t iona l provis ion,
or
board
covenant
pledged or imposed
14
by
formal
act ion
of the
loca l
board
of educat ion or
other
15
au thor iz ing body of government
sha l l be excluded
by the
local
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SB 5
have
been
rece ived
by
the loca l educat ion
agency of
the
s tuden t s res idence for each s tuden t who now a t tends a
conversion
publ ic char te r
school ,
minus
any
amounts otherwise
excluded pursuant to
t h i s
sec t ion .
g. I f
necessary , the
department sha l l adopt
ru les
governing how to
ca lcula te and
d i s t r i b u t e
these per-s tudent
a l loca t ions , as well as any
ru les
governing cos t - shar ing
for
s tuden ts par t i c ipa t ing in spec ia l i zed gi f t ed , t a l en ted ,
vocat iona l ,
t echn ica l ,
or career educat ion programs.
10
2)
Categor ica l funding. The
department
sha l l d i rec t
11
the propor t iona te share of moneys genera ted under
federal and
12 s t a t e ca tegor ica l a id
programs
to
pub l ic
char te r schools
13 serving s tuden ts e l ig ib le for such aid . The s t a t e sha l l ensure
14
t ha t
publ ic
char te r
schools
with
rap id ly
expanding
enrol lments
15 are
t r e a t ed equi tably
in
the ca lcula t ion
and disbursement of
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1
char te r
con t rac t a l te rna te arrangements for the prov is ion of
2 and payment for spec ia l
educat ion se rvices .
3
4) General ly accepted accounting pr inc ip l e s ;
4
independent
audi t .
5
a.
A publ ic
char te r
school sha l l
adhere to general ly
6
accepted accounting
pr inc ip les .
7
b .
A publ ic
char te r school
sha l l
annual ly engage an
8
independent
c e r t i f i e d publ ic accountant to
do
an
independent
9
audi t
of the
schoo l s f inances .
A publ ic
char te r school sha l l
1 f i l e a copy of each aud i t repor t and accompanying management
11
l e t t e r to i t s au thor izer
by June
1.
This
aud i t sha l l inc lude
12
the same
requirements
as those requ i red of
loca l
school system
13
pursuant
to Sect ion
16-13A-7,
Code
of
Alabama
1975.
14
5)
Transporta t ion
funding.
15
a. The
department sha l l disburse s t a t e
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1 Sect ion 11.
a)
Access to Alabama Publ ic
School
and
2 College Authori ty PSCA) funds.
3
1)
Public
char te r schools
sha l l have the same
4 r igh t s
and
access
to
PSC funding oppor tun i t i es
as non-charter
5
publ ic schools .
6 2)
The
PSC
and the
department
sha l l
adopt and
7 maintain a pol icy
to
ensure
tha t publ ic
char te r schools
8
receive
access to equi table f a c i l i t i e s funding.
9 b) Access to loca l school system f a c i l i t i e s
and
10 land.
11 1) A publ ic char te r school sha l l have a r igh t
of
12 f i r s t re fusa l to
purchase or
lease
a t
or
below
fa i r
market
13 value a
closed
or
unused
publ ic school f a c i l i t y or proper ty
14
loca ted
in
a
school
system
from
which
t
draws
i t s
s tuden ts
i f
15 the school
system
decides to
se l l
or
lease
the publ ic school
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
SB45
i s
sea rchable a t l e a s t
by
each
f a c i l i t y s name and
address .
This
l st
s h a l l
be
updated a t l e a s t once
a
year
by May
1 .
Sec t ion
12.
The pr ov i s ions
o f
t h i s a c t a r e
severab le . I f any p a r t of t h i s ac t i s de c l a r e d i n v a l id or
unc ons t i t u t i ona l , t h a t
d ec la ra t i o n s h a l l not
a f f e c t t he p a r t
t h a t remains.
Sec t ion 13. This a c t
s h a l l
become
e f f ec t i v e
immedia te ly fo l lowing
ts passage and approva l by
the
Governor
or
ts o therwise becoming law.
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4
5
6
7
8
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10
11
12
13
14
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SB45
P r e s ide n t
and
Pres id ing Of f i c e r
of
t he Senate
Speaker
o f t he
House of Represen ta t ives
SB45
Senate
10 MAR 15
I
hereby
c e r t i f y t h a t t he
with in
Act
o r ig in a t ed
in and
passed
the Senate
as
amended.
Pa t r i c k
Har r i s
S e c r e t a r y
SENA tt
ActiON
HOUSE ACTION
NSOR
ATE:
I hereby certify that the Resolution as
..,3 - ~ D
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I
required in Section C of Act No. 81-889
RD 1 Rl'D
PONSORS
was adopted aud is attached to the Bill,
SB 4 5
19
yeas e 1 / nays
abstain 0
REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE
I
PATRICK HARRIS,
This bill having been referred by the
20
Secretary
H ~ u O { to 4 standinft committee on
21
.
VlP=
Y)
R>
1 {
was
acted upon by such committee in
22
session, and returned therefrom to the
I hereby certify that the not ice & proof is
House with the recommendation that
it be
attached to the Bill, SB
Passed, w/amend(s)
/sub_L_
.
23
as required in the General Acts
of
Ala-
h i s ~
d y o l ~ ,2015:.
bama, 1975Act
No
919.
f:J r j ,
Chairperson
24
PATRICK HARRIS,
\
25
Secretary
L
26
DATE:
3:_
'1L
2 0
r-
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
RF
0 ~ t . . t . B
RD2CAL
27
Senate Conferees
28
DATE:
2 0 _
29
RE-REFERRED D RE-COMMITTED D
30
Committee
31
32
I hereby certify that the Resolution as
required in Section C of Act No. 81-889
33
was4dopted
and is attached to the Bill,
SB
5 .
34
YEAS
(p'-{
NAYS
.3< f
I .
JEFF WOODARD,