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1996 SESSION

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HB 776 Charter schools.

Introduced by: J. Paul Councill, Jr. | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Charter schools. Authorizes the establishment of charter schools in Virginia. After a local school board adopts a resolution stating its intention to receive applications for the establishment of charter schools in the school division, individuals or organizations may initiate the charter application process by submitting a proposed charter agreement to the local school board. Each charter application must include a school mission statement; goals and performance standards; evidence of parental, teacher, and pupil support; a statement of need; a description of standards, which must meet or exceed the Standards of Quality (SOQ); a proposed budget; a plan for displaced pupils and teachers; and a description of governance, employment conditions, and other related matters. While a charter contract releases the school from specified division policies and state regulations, these public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home-based schools are subject to the SOQ, state and federal anti-discrimination laws, and court-ordered desegregation plans. Tuition-free, charter schools are deemed part of the school division and are accountable to the local school board. The conversion of a private, nonpublic, religious, or home-based program into a charter school is specifically prohibited. Enrollment is open to any child residing in the school division.

The school board may restrict the number of charters granted, and no more than two charters may be granted per division before July 1, 1998. The term of any charter--whether initial or renewed--may not exceed three years. At least half of a division's charters must be reserved for applications designed to increase opportunities for at-risk students and priority given to these applications.

The local school board retains final, ultimate authority over the approval, denial, revocation, or nonrenewal of charter contracts; there is no appeals process. Local boards may revoke or deny renewal of a charter for failure to make progress toward performance standards, violations of law or charter conditions and standards, upon a determination that the charter is "not in the public interest," or for fiscal mismanagement. The school board has no obligation to renew a charter contract.

The funding mechanism for charter schools is similar to that for some Governor's Schools and alternative education programs: students enrolled in a charter school are included in the division's average daily membership, but the schools are not included in fall membership for purposes of calculating division SOQ costs. The proportionate share of state and federal money for disabled pupils and special education personnel as well as state and federal categorical aid must also go to the charter school. Other details for funding for the charter school are to be negotiated in the charter contract.

Licensed personnel may volunteer for employment at the charter school on an annual contract basis; charter school teachers are entitled to the same benefits as noncharter teachers. Teachers who are reassigned from a charter school (voluntarily and involuntarily) other than for grounds cited in § 22.1-307 (incompetence, conviction of a felony, etc.) are guaranteed involuntary transfer to a noncharter school in the division. School boards may also assign personnel to the charter school.

Charter schools may contract for the use of facilities, maintenance, operations, and other services. The charter school may not be charged rent for the use of school division facilities.

School boards must submit an annual evaluation of their charter schools to the Board of Education; the Board, in turn, must report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly beginning January 1997. This measure is a recommendation of the HJR 551/SJR 334 Joint Subcommittee Studying Charter Schools.


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