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2004 SESSION

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HB 380 Charter School Excellence and Accountability Act; changes in provisions.

Introduced by: L. Scott Lingamfelter | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED:

Charter School Excellence and Accountability Act. Amends the charter schools statute to (i) allow charter schools to contract with private institutions of higher education for school facilities, services, and other undertakings, including construction; (ii) add evidence of the support of school division residents for a charter school to those items that may be included in proposed charter agreement materials; (iii) allow charter applicants to submit the proposed charter agreement to the Board of Education for review and comment, and to require inclusion of the Board's findings in the charter application to the local school board; (iv) delete the authority of school boards to limit the number of charter schools within the division and the statutory cap on the maximum number of charter schools (two schools or not more than 10 percent of the total number of schools in the division, whichever is greater); (v) delete the requirement that half the charter schools in the division be designed to benefit at-risk pupils, and instead direct school boards to give priority to applications designed to benefit these students, particularly those at-risk students currently served by schools that have not achieved full accreditation; (vi) direct the Board to report annually to the General Assembly the number of public charter school applications granted and denied, and the reasons for any such denials; and (vii) increase the maximum charter term from three to five years. The Board of Education must set objective criteria for the review and comment on the applications; the Board's comments cannot relate to whether the local school board should approve the application. The bill also amends the State and Local Government Conflicts of Interests Act to allow the governing body, administrators, and other personnel within a public charter school to have an ownership or financial interest in renovating, lending, granting, or leasing public charter school facilities, if such interest has been disclosed in the public charter school application. The provisions of this bill will sunset on July 1, 2009.

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Charter School Excellence and Accountability Act. Amends the charter schools statute to (i) require public charter schools to maintain high standards for teachers and administrators; (ii) allow charter schools to contract with private institutions of higher education for school facilities, services, and other undertakings, including construction; (iii) add evidence of the support of school division residents for a charter school to those items that may be included in proposed charter agreement materials; (iv) allow charter applicants to submit the proposed charter agreement to the Board of Education for review and comment, and to require inclusion of the Board's findings in the charter application to the local school board; (v) delete the authority of school boards to limit the number of charter schools within the division and the statutory cap on the maximum number of charter schools (two schools or not more than 10 percent of the total number of schools in the division, whichever is greater); (vi) delete the requirement that half the charter schools in the division be designed to benefit at-risk pupils, and instead direct school boards to give priority to applications designed to benefit these students, particularly those at-risk students currently served by schools that have not achieved full accreditation; (vii) direct the Board to report annually to the General Assembly the number of public charter school applications granted and denied, and the reasons for any such denials; (viii) increase the maximum charter term from three to five years; (xi) amend the State and Local Government Conflicts of Interests Act to allow the governing body, administrators, and other personnel within a public charter school to have an ownership or financial interest in renovating, lending, granting, or leasing public charter school facilities, provided such interest has been disclosed in the public charter school application.

The measure includes a July 1, 2009, sunset on these new provisions. HB 845 was rolled into this measure.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Charter School Excellence and Accountability Act. Amends the charter schools statutes to (i) require public charter schools to maintain high standards for teachers and administrators; (ii) allow charter schools to contract with private institutions of higher education for school facilities, services, and other undertakings; (iii) provide for judicial review of school board decisions (a) for persons submitting an application for a public charter school who are aggrieved by a school board's grant or denial of a charter application or approval or disapproval of revisions to a charter agreement; and (b) for any governing body of a public charter school aggrieved by a school board's revocation or denial of renewal of a charter or approval or disapproval of revisions to a charter agreement (parents already have the right to petition for judicial review of school board decisions generally); (iv) add evidence of the support of school division residents for a charter school to those items that may be included in proposed charter agreement materials; (v) allow charter applicants to submit the proposed charter agreement to the Board of Education for review and comment, and may include the Board's findings in its charter application to the local school board; (vi) delete the authority of school boards to limit the number of charter schools within the division and the statutory cap on the maximum number of charter schools (two schools or not more than 10 percent of the total number of schools in the division, whichever is greater); (vii) delete the requirement that half the charter schools in the division be designed to benefit at-risk pupils; (viii) increase the maximum charter term from three to seven years; (ix) delete school board authority to revoke the charter upon determining that the charter is not in the public interest or for the welfare of the students within the school division; (x) allow school boards to hire and place otherwise qualified personnel who may be unlicensed as teachers and administrators in a charter school; and (xi) amend the State and Local Government Conflicts of Interests Act to allow the governing body, administrators, and other personnel within a public charter school to have a personal interest in the construction or lease of public charter school facilities or services.