Bill Text: AZ HB2665 | 2016 | Fifty-second Legislature 2nd Regular | Chaptered
Bill Title: Charter schools; preference; foster children
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 13-4)
Status: (Passed) 2016-05-13 - Chapter 248 [HB2665 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2016-HB2665-Chaptered.html
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Senate Engrossed House Bill |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature Second Regular Session 2016
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CHAPTER 248
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HOUSE BILL 2665 |
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AN ACT
amending sections 15‑184 and 15‑816.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 41, chapter 1, article 1, arizona revised statutes, by adding section 41‑108; appropriating monies; relating to charter schools.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-184, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-184. Charter schools; admissions requirements
A. A charter school shall enroll all eligible pupils who submit a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building.
B. A charter school shall give enrollment preference to pupils returning to the charter school in the second or any subsequent year of its operation and to siblings of pupils already enrolled in the charter school.
C. A charter school that is sponsored by a school district governing board shall give enrollment preference to eligible pupils who reside within the boundaries of the school district where the charter school is physically located.
d. a charter school may give enrollment preference to children who are in foster care or meet the definition of unaccompanied youth prescribed in the mckinney‑vento homeless assistance act (42 united states code section 11434a).
D. e. A charter school may give enrollment preference to and reserve capacity for pupils who either:
1. Are children, grandchildren or legal wards of any of the following:
(a) Employees of the school.
(b) Employees of the charter holder.
(c) Members of the governing body of the school.
(d) Directors, officers, partners or board members of the charter holder.
2. Attended another charter school or are the siblings of that pupil if the charter school previously attended by the pupil has the identical charter holder, board and governing board membership as the enrolling charter school or is managed by the same educational management organization, charter management organization or educational service provider as determined by the charter authorizer.
E. f. If remaining capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit a timely application, the charter school shall select pupils through an equitable selection process such as a lottery except that preference shall be given to siblings of a pupil selected through an equitable selection process such as a lottery.
F. g. Except as provided in subsections A through D e of this section, a charter school shall not limit admission based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language or athletic ability.
G. h. A charter school may limit admission to pupils within a given age group or grade level.
H. i. A charter school may provide instruction to pupils of a single gender with the approval of the sponsor of the charter school. An existing charter school may amend its charter to provide instruction to pupils of a single gender, and if approved by the sponsor of the charter school, may provide instruction to pupils of a single gender at the beginning of the next school year.
I. j. A charter school shall admit pupils who reside in the attendance area of a school or who reside in a school district that is under a court order of desegregation or that is a party to an agreement with the United States department of education office for civil rights directed toward remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination unless notice is received from the resident school that the admission would violate the court order or agreement. If a charter school admits a pupil after notice is received that the admission would constitute such a violation, the charter school is not allowed to include in its student count the pupils wrongfully admitted.
J. k. A charter school may refuse to admit any pupil who has been expelled from another educational institution or who is in the process of being expelled from another educational institution.
Sec. 2. Section 15-816.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-816.01. Enrollment policies
A. School district governing boards shall establish policies and shall implement an open enrollment policy without charging tuition. Tuition may be charged to nonresident pupils only if the tuition is authorized under section 15‑764, subsection C, section 15‑797, subsection C, section 15‑823, subsection A, section 15‑824, subsection A or section 15‑825 or if two school districts have entered into a voluntary agreement for the payment of tuition for certain pupils. These policies shall include admission criteria, application procedures and transportation provisions. A school district may give enrollment preference to children who are in foster care. A school district may give enrollment preference to and reserve capacity for pupils who are children of persons who are employed by or at a school in the school district. A copy of the district policies for open enrollment shall be posted on the district's website and shall be available to the public on request.
B. The governing board of the district educating the pupil may provide transportation limited to no more than twenty miles each way to and from the school of attendance or to and from a pickup point on a regular transportation route or for the total miles traveled each day to an adjacent district for eligible nonresident pupils who meet the economic eligibility requirements established under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785) for free or reduced price lunches.
C. The governing board of the district educating the pupil shall provide transportation limited to no more than twenty miles each way to and from the school of attendance or to and from a pickup point on a regular transportation route or for the total miles traveled each day to an adjacent district for nonresident pupils with disabilities whose individualized education program specifies that transportation is necessary for fulfillment of the program.
Sec. 3. Title 41, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-108, to read:
41-108. Foster youth education success program; fund; report; program termination
A. The foster youth education success program is established in the office of the governor for the purpose of improving the educational outcomes of children in this state's foster care system.
B. The foster youth education success fund is established consisting of monies appropriated to the fund and monies received by the office of the governor from any lawful public or private source for this purpose. The office of the governor shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are CONTINUOUSLY appropriated. The office of the governor may accept and spend local, state and federal monies and private grants, gifts, contributions and devises to assist in carrying out the purposes of this section. Monies in the fund do not revert to the state general fund.
C. The office of the governor shall establish policies and procedures, selection criteria and minimum performance standards for service providers that wish to participate in the program.
D. A service provider that is selected to participate in the program shall:
1. contract with an organization that is exempt from federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and that provides the following programmatic components:
(a) A partnership with local education agencies, child welfare agencies and judicial agencies to implement a continuous cycle of data‑driven interventions for children in foster care.
(b) Identification and support of an education champion for children in foster care who is informed of rights and responsibilities and paired with an education coach to increase capacity to support educational success for children in foster care.
(c) Development and monitoring of an education team, which may include education liaisons, students, social workers, school staff, caregivers, court‑appointed special advocates, coaches, mentors or other community members.
(d) A Customized education plan for each child in foster care that is based on individual strengths and needs and that uses a research-based tool.
2. Submit an annual report on or before December 15 to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that includes an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, including demographic information and academic outcomes. The service provider shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
E. The program established by this section ends on July 1, 2026 pursuant to section 41-3102.
Sec. 4. Appropriations; office of the governor; youth education success fund; matching monies; exemption
A. The sum of $1,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2017-2018 to the office of the governor for deposit in the youth education success fund established by section 41‑108, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, for the purposes of this act.
B. In addition to the monies appropriated in subsection A of this section, the sum of $500,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2017-2018 to the office of the governor for deposit in the youth education success fund established by section 41‑108, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, to be spent when matching amounts, including matching amounts of less than $500,000, from sources other than this state of other public monies, gifts, grants and donations are collected by the office of the governor and deposited in the fund.
C. Monies from public sources other than this state, gifts, grants and donations may be spent by the office of the governor as they are collected, but an accounting shall be made by the office of the governor to the joint legislative budget committee to determine qualification for the state match under subsection B of this section.
D. The appropriations made in subsections A and B of this section are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations.
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR MAY 13, 2016.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 13, 2016.
