Bill Text: HI HB2716 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Bill 2716 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating To Charter Schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-29 - Referred to EDN, LAB, FIN, referral sheet 9 [HB2716 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HB2716-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2716
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to charter schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 302D-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302D-5 Authorizer powers, duties, and liabilities. (a) Authorizers are responsible for executing the following essential powers and duties:

(1) Soliciting and evaluating charter applications;

(2) Approving quality charter applications that meet identified educational needs and promote a diversity of educational choices;

(3) Declining to approve weak or inadequate charter applications;

(4) Negotiating and executing sound charter contracts with each approved charter applicant and with existing public charter schools;

(5) Monitoring, in accordance with charter contract terms, the performance and legal compliance of public charter schools; and

(6) Determining whether each charter contract merits renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation.

(b) An authorizer shall:

(1) Act as a point of contact between the department and a public charter school it authorizes;

(2) Be responsible for and ensure the compliance of a public charter school it authorizes with all applicable state and federal laws, including reporting requirements;

(3) Be responsible for the receipt of applicable federal funds from the department and the distribution of funds to the public charter school it authorizes; and

(4) Be responsible for the receipt of per-pupil funding from the department of budget and finance and distribution of the funding to the public charter school it authorizes.

(c) An authorizer shall have the power to make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its duties and functions under this chapter[.]; provided that at no time shall the per-pupil allocation be used to force an agreement under this subsection.

(d) An authorizer may delegate its duties to officers, employees, and contractors.

(e) Regulation by authorizers shall be limited to the powers and duties set forth in this section, and shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter.

(f) An authorizer, members of the board of an authorizer acting in their official capacity, and employees or agents of an authorizer are immune from civil and criminal liability with respect to all activities related to a public charter school authorized by that authorizer, except for any acts or omissions constituting wilful misconduct. Members of the commission shall be afforded the same protection afforded the members of the board pursuant to section 26-35.5.

[~~(g) An authorizer shall not provide technical support to a~~ ~~prospective charter school applicant, an applicant governing board, or a~~ ~~charter school it authorizes in cases in which the technical support will directly and substantially impact any authorizer decision related to the~~ ~~approval or denial of the charter application or the~~ renewal, revocation, or nonrenewal of the charter contract. This subsection shall not apply to technical support that an authorizer is required to provide to a charter school pursuant to federal law.]

(g) For the purposes of this section, "negotiating" means a two-way conversation between the authorizer and the governing board resulting in mutually agreeable terms that focus on the best interest of the student; the individual charter school's vision, mission, and target population being served; and the board's strategic goals."

SECTION 2. Section 302D-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302D-8 Conflict of interests. No employee, trustee, agent, or representative of an authorizer may simultaneously serve as an employee, trustee, agent, representative, vendor, funder, or contractor of a public charter school authorized by that authorizer. Authorizer members shall disclose to the authorizer a list of all charter schools in which the member has previously been an employee, governing board member, vendor, contractor, agent, or representative."

SECTION 3. Section 302D-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (d) to read:

"(d) If an authorizer persists, after due notice from the board, in violating a material provision of a charter contract [or], its authorizing contract with the board, or a state or federal law, or fails to remedy other identified authorizing problems, the board shall notify the authorizer, within a reasonable amount of time under the circumstances, that it intends to revoke the authorizer's chartering authority unless the authorizer demonstrates a timely and satisfactory remedy for the violation or deficiencies."

2. By amending subsection (e) to read:

"(e) In the event of revocation of any authorizer's chartering authority, the board shall manage the timely and orderly transfer of each charter contract and all appropriate funds, including state, federal, and private funds, held by that authorizer to another authorizer in the State, with the mutual agreement of each affected public charter school and proposed new authorizer. The new authorizer shall enter into a new charter contract with the charter school for the remainder of the charter term."

SECTION 4. Section 302D-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

"(e) Section 78-4 shall not apply to members of governing boards[~~; provided that no governing board member shall be allowed to serve on more than two governing boards simultaneously~~]. For purposes of this subsection, a governing board that governs more than one charter school shall be considered one board."

SECTION 5. Section 302D-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The board shall have the power to decide appeals of decisions by an authorizer to deny the approval of a charter application, deny renewal of a charter contract, deny a contract negotiation request, or revoke a charter school's charter contract. An appeal shall be filed with the board within twenty-one calendar days of the receipt of the notification of denial or revocation. Only a party whose charter application has been denied, whose contract negotiation request has been denied, whose charter contract renewal has been denied, or whose charter contract has been revoked may initiate an appeal under this section for cause. The board shall review an appeal and issue a final decision within sixty calendar days of the filing of the appeal."

SECTION 6. Section 302D-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (b) to read:

"(b) Annual academic performance targets shall be negotiated and set by each public charter school in conjunction with its authorizer, and shall be designed to track each school in meeting applicable federal, state, and authorizer expectations."

2. By amending subsection (c) to read:

"(c) The performance framework shall allow the inclusion of additional rigorous, valid, and reliable indicators proposed by a public charter school to augment external evaluations of its performance; provided that the authorizer [~~approves~~] negotiates the quality and rigor of [~~such~~] these school-proposed indicators, based on target population demographics of similar public school populations and the indicators are consistent with the purposes of this chapter and the charter contract."

SECTION 7. Section 302D-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) An authorizer shall continually monitor the performance and legal compliance of the public charter schools it oversees, including collecting and analyzing data to support ongoing evaluation according to the charter contract[.] and target population demographics of similar public school populations. Every authorizer shall have the authority to conduct or require oversight activities that enable the authorizer to fulfill its responsibilities under this chapter, including conducting appropriate inquiries and investigations, so long as those activities are consistent with the intent of this chapter and the requirements of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and adhere to the terms of the charter contract."

SECTION 8. Section 302D-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302D-18 Renewals, revocations, and nonrenewals. (a) A charter contract may be renewed for successive [~~five-year~~] ten-year terms of duration, although an authorizer may vary the terms based on performance, demonstrated capacities, and particular circumstances of each charter school. An authorizer may grant a renewal of a charter contract with specific conditions negotiated with the governing board for necessary improvements to a charter school. No governing board shall be forced to sign a contract agreement because of the threat of withholding per-pupil funding or eliminating their student count from required legislative budget reports that impact funding. Only closure proceedings following due processes shall constitute the withholding of per-pupil funding.

(b) The authorizer shall issue a charter school performance report and charter contract renewal application guidance to any charter school whose charter contract is in its final contract year. The performance report shall summarize the charter school's performance record to date, based on the data required by this chapter and the charter contract, and shall provide notice of any weaknesses or concerns perceived by the authorizer concerning the charter school that may jeopardize its position in seeking renewal.

(1) Submit any corrections or clarifications to the performance report;

(2) Present additional evidence, beyond the data contained in the performance report, supporting its case for charter renewal;

(3) Describe improvements undertaken or planned for the school; and

(4) Detail the charter school's plans for the next charter term.

(d) The renewal application guidance shall include or refer explicitly to the criteria that will guide the authorizer's renewal decisions, which shall be based on the charter contract and be consistent with this chapter.

(e) No later than thirty days after the issuance of the performance report, the governing board of a charter school seeking renewal shall submit a renewal application to the authorizer pursuant to the renewal guidance issued by the authorizer. The authorizer shall decide whether or not to renew the charter no later than forty-five days after the filing of the renewal application.

(f) In making charter renewal decisions, every authorizer shall:

(1) Ground its decisions in evidence of the school's performance over the term of the charter contract in accordance with the performance framework utilizing comparative data that clarifies target population demographics of similar public school populations as indicators of success set forth in the charter contract;

(2) Ensure that data used in making the renewal decisions are available to the charter school and the public; and

(3) Provide a public report summarizing the evidence and basis for each decision.

(g) A charter contract may be revoked at any time or not renewed if the authorizer determines that the charter school did any of the following or otherwise failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter:

(1) Committed a material and substantial violation of any of the terms, conditions, standards, or procedures required under this chapter or the charter contract;

(2) Failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward performance expectations set forth in the contract;

(3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; or

(4) Substantially violated any material provision of law from which the charter school is not exempted.

(h) An authorizer shall develop revocation and nonrenewal processes that:

(1) Provide charter contract holders with a timely notification of the prospect of revocation or non-renewal and the reasons for [~~such~~] each possible closure;

(2) Allow charter contract holders a reasonable amount of time in which to prepare a response;

(3) Provide charter contract holders with an opportunity to submit documents and give testimony challenging the rationale for closure and supporting the continuation of the school at an orderly proceeding held for that purpose; provided that the proceeding shall be governed by the requirements set forth in this section [~~and shall not be additionally subject to the requirements for an agency hearing under chapter 91~~];

(4) Allow charter contract holders access to representation by counsel[~~, subject to section 28-8.3,~~] and to call witnesses on their behalf;

(5) Permit the recording of proceedings described in paragraph (3); and

(6) After a reasonable period for deliberation, require a final determination to be made and conveyed in writing to the charter contract holders.

(i) If an authorizer revokes or does not renew a charter contract, the authorizer shall clearly state in writing the reasons for the revocation or nonrenewal.

(j) Within fifteen days of taking action to renew, not to renew, or to revoke a charter contract, the authorizer shall report to the board the action taken, and shall simultaneously provide a copy of the report to the charter school. The report shall set forth the action taken and reasons for the decision and assurances as to compliance with all the requirements set forth in this chapter.

(k) Commission members with a conflict of interest shall not engage at the committee or board level in school closure discussions or related decision making processes."

SECTION 9. Section 302D-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) Charter schools shall be exempt from chapters 91 and 92 and all other state laws in conflict with this chapter, except those regarding:

(1) Collective bargaining under chapter 89; provided that:

(A) The exclusive representatives as defined in chapter 89 and the governing board of the charter school may enter into supplemental agreements that contain cost and noncost items to facilitate decentralized decision-making;

(B) The agreements shall be funded from the current allocation or other sources of revenue received by the charter school; provided that collective bargaining increases for each bargaining unit for all public schools shall include charter schools and include, but not be limited to, cost of living increases, union step increases, hard to fill incentives, and national certification incentives for employees and shall be allocated by the department of budget and finance to the charter school's authorizer for distribution to the charter school; and

(2) Discriminatory practices under section 378-2; and

(3) Health and safety requirements."

2. By amending subsection (g) to read:

"(g) For purposes of statutory delegation of authority to department heads by other state agencies, the executive director of the commission and the executive director of each authorizer shall be deemed the department head of the [~~commission and~~] charter schools within their respective portfolios unless otherwise specifically provided."

SECTION 10. Section 302D-28, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302D-28 Funding and finance. (a) Beginning with fiscal year 2012-2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, the non-facility general fund per-pupil funding request for charter school students shall be the same as the general fund per-pupil amount to the department in the most recently approved executive budget recommendation for the department and shall be based upon reasonable projected enrollment figures for all charter schools. The general fund per-pupil request for each regular education and special education student shall:

(1) Include all general fund regular education cost categories, including comprehensive school support services, but excluding special education services, adult education, and the after-school plus program; provided that these services are provided and funded by the department; and

(2) Exclude fringe benefit costs and debt service.

(b) Fringe benefit costs for charter school employees, regardless of the payroll system utilized by a charter school, shall be included in the department of budget and finance's annual budget request. No fringe benefit costs shall be charged directly to or deducted from the charter school per-pupil allocations.

The legislature shall make an appropriation based upon the budget request; provided that the legislature may make additional appropriations for facility and other costs.

The governor, pursuant to chapter 37, may impose restrictions or reductions on charter school appropriations similar to those imposed on department schools.

(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, to ensure non-facility per-pupil general fund amounts allocated for the department and charter school students are equal on an annualized fiscal year basis, each year the director of finance shall:

(1) Determine the sum of general fund appropriations made for department and charter school student non-facility costs described in subsections (a) and (b);

(2) Determine the sum of department and charter school student enrollment based on reviewed and verified student enrollment counts as of October 15;

(3) Determine a per-pupil amount by dividing the sum of general fund appropriations determined under paragraph (1) by the sum of student enrollment determined under paragraph (2);

(4) Transfer a general fund amount between the department and charter schools that will provide each with a per-pupil allocation equal to the amount determined on an annualized fiscal year basis under paragraph (3); and

(5) Annually account for all calculations and transfers made pursuant to this subsection in a report to the legislature, governor, department, and charter schools.

This subsection shall not limit the ability of the director of finance to modify or amend any allotment pursuant to chapter 37.

(d) Charter schools shall be eligible for all federal financial support to the same extent as department schools. The department shall provide all authorizers with all state-level federal grant proposals submitted by the department that include charter schools as potential recipients and timely reports on state-level federal grants received for which charter schools may apply or are entitled to receive. Federal funds received by the department for charter schools shall be transferred to authorizers for distribution to the charter schools they authorize in accordance with the federal requirements. If administrative services related to federal grants are provided to the charter school by the department, the charter school shall reimburse the department for the actual costs of the administrative services in an amount that shall not exceed six per cent of the charter school's federal grants.

Any charter school shall be eligible to receive any supplemental federal grant or award for which any department school may submit a proposal, or any supplemental federal grants limited to charter schools; provided that if department administrative services, including funds management, budgetary, fiscal accounting, or other related services, are provided with respect to these supplemental grants, the charter school shall reimburse the department for the actual costs of the administrative services in an amount that shall not exceed six per cent of the supplemental grant for which the services are used.

All additional funds generated by the governing boards, that are not from a supplemental grant, shall be held separate from allotted funds and may be expended at the discretion of the governing boards.

(e) Authorizers shall calculate a general fund per-pupil amount based upon the amount of general funds appropriated by the legislature and released by the governor and the projected enrollment amount used to calculate the general funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (a).

Authorizers shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session that contains each charter school's current school year projection that is used to submit the budget request, the updated May 15 enrollment projection, the actual October 15 enrollment count, the authorizer's reviewed and verified enrollment count, and the November 15 enrollment count.

(f) To enable charter schools to access state funding prior to the start of each school year, foster their fiscal planning, enhance their accountability, and avoid over-allocating general funds to charter schools based on self-reported enrollment projections, authorizers shall:

(1) Provide sixty per cent of a charter school's per-pupil allocation based on the charter school's projected student enrollment no later than July 20 of each fiscal year; provided that the charter school shall have submitted to its authorizer a projected student enrollment no later than May 15 of each year;

(2) Provide an additional thirty per cent of a charter school's per-pupil allocation no later than December 1 of each year, based on the October 15 student enrollment, as reviewed and verified by the authorizer, only to schools in compliance with all financial reporting requirements; and

(3) Retain no more than the balance of the remaining ten per cent of a charter school's per-pupil allocation, as a contingency balance to ensure fiscal accountability and compliance, no later than June 30 of each year;

provided that authorizers may make adjustments in allocations based on noncompliance with charter contracts and the board may make adjustments in allocations based on noncompliance with board policies made in the board's capacity as the state education agency, department directives made in the department's capacity as the state education agency, the board's administrative procedures, and board-approved accountability requirements.

(g) The department shall provide appropriate transitional resources to a conversion charter school for its first year of operation as a charter school based upon the department's allocation to the school for the year prior to the conversion.

(h) No charter school may assess tuition; provided that a charter school may assess and collect special fees and charges from students for co-curricular activities. Any special fees and charges collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into insured checking or savings accounts and expended by each individual charter school.

(i) Charter school students who are enrolled in a charter school that is in the process of negotiating a contract with an authorizer or transferring authorizers shall be counted with the authorizer whose contract was held prior to negotiation or transfer, or both, for the purposes of submitting the legislative budget request."

SECTION 11. Section 302D-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302D-30 Responsibilities of the department; special education services. (a) The department shall collaborate with each authorizer to develop a system of technical assistance related to compliance with federal and state laws and access to federal and state funds. The department shall collaborate with each authorizer to develop a list of central services that the department may offer for purchase by a charter school at an annual cost to be negotiated between an individual charter school and the department. The department shall enter into a contract with a charter school to provide these services, which shall be renegotiated on an annual basis.

(b) The department shall be responsible for the provision of a free appropriate public education. Any charter school that enrolls special education students or identifies one of its students as eligible for special education shall be responsible for [~~providing~~] implementing the educational and related services required by a student's individualized education program. The programs and services for the student shall be determined collaboratively by the student's individualized education program team, which includes the student's parents or legal guardians.

If the charter school is unable to provide all of the required services, then the department shall provide the student with services as determined by the student's individualized educational program team. The department shall collaborate with the commission to develop guidelines related to the provision of special education services and resources to each charter school. The department shall review all of the current individualized education programs of special education students enrolled in a charter school and may offer staff, funding, or both, to the charter school based upon a per-pupil weighted formula implemented by the department and used to allocate resources for special education students in the department schools.

(c) For the purposes of this section and special education, charter school authorizers shall be considered by the department and board as complex areas and host department positions based on the number of special education students in its portfolio as compared to other complex areas, to facilitate streamlined processes with the department for determining the allocation of all special education resources. The resource arrangement shall be produced administratively between the board, department, and authorizer."

SECTION 12. Section 302D-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302D-31 Athletics. The department shall provide students at charter schools, including students enrolled at charter schools whose curriculum incorporates virtual education, with the same opportunity to participate in athletics as is provided to students at department schools. If a student at any charter school wishes to participate in a sport for which there is no program at the charter school, the department shall allow that student to participate in a comparable program at the department school in the service area in which the charter school is located or where the student resides. All charter school students participating in athletics shall abide by all rules, regulations, and policies of the athletic league, association, and program applicable to the department school in whose athletic program the student is participating."

SECTION 13. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 14. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Public Charter Schools; Housekeeping

Description:

Amends the Public Charter Schools Law to align the requirements for charter schools. Provides clarity and definitions to the law and makes conforming amendments for issues arising from the 2016 Board of Education special review. Makes other housekeeping amendments.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.