Bill Text: MS HB36 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Mississippi Charter Public School Act; create.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2010-02-02 - Died In Committee [HB36 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-HB36-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Brown
House Bill 36
AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE "MISSISSIPPI CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL ACT"; TO CREATE A NEW PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHING CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS USED IN THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE A CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL TO BE FORMED BY CREATING A NEW SCHOOL OR BY CONVERSION OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TO CHARTER STATUS; TO PRESCRIBE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATIONS FOR CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO REQUIRE AN AUTHORIZER TO WHICH AN APPLICATION FOR A CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO RESPOND TO THE APPLICATION WITHIN 45 DAYS; TO REQUIRE AN AUTHORIZER AND A CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT AFTER AN APPLICATION FOR CHARTER STATUS IS APPROVED AND TO REQUIRE CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT; TO REQUIRE CONTRACTS TO BE FOR A TERM OF FIVE SCHOOL YEARS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE INITIAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF A CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL; TO REQUIRE CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO BE OPEN TO ADMISSION TO CERTAIN STUDENTS; TO PRESCRIBE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS THAT A CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL MUST SATISFY IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN ITS CHARTER; TO REQUIRE EACH CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL TO REGISTER AS A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT CORPORATION; TO PROHIBIT CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM LEVYING TAXES OR ISSUING BONDS SECURED BY TAX REVENUES; TO PRESCRIBE REASONS THAT A CHARTER MAY BE REVOKED BY THE AUTHORIZER; TO PROVIDE THAT CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE EXEMPT FROM ALL EDUCATION STATUTES, UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE, AND RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS BY CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO PROHIBIT UNLAWFUL REPRISALS AGAINST SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES WHO ARE INVOLVED IN AN APPLICATION FOR CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL STATUS; TO PROVIDE FOR STATE AND LOCAL FUNDING OF CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO REQUIRE CHARTER SCHOOLS TO HAVE A TRANSPORTATION PLAN; TO AUTHORIZE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO LEASE SPACE TO CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO ESTABLISH THE CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS STIMULUS REVOLVING LOAN FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR START-UP COSTS; TO PROVIDE THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT MAY BE APPROVED; TO AUTHORIZE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO REFUSE TO ADMIT STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED OR EXPELLED FROM A CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION ON HOW TO CREATE AND HOW TO ENROLL STUDENTS IN CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO SUBMIT AN EVALUATION OF CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO THE LEGISLATURE; TO AUTHORIZE THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED UNDER THE ORIGINAL CHARTER SCHOOL STATUTES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known as the "Mississippi Charter Public School Act."
SECTION 2. The Legislature declares that the following are the purposes of this act:
(a) To provide increased opportunities in the public school system for students to learn in an educational environment that best meets their needs;
(b) To close achievement gaps between high performing and low performing groups of public school students;
(c) To provide new forms of accountability for schools;
(d) To encourage increased involvement of parents and teachers in the operation and decision-making of a local public school;
(e) To encourage the use of innovative and effective models of teaching, governing, scheduling and other aspects of schooling; and
(f) To create new professional opportunities for teachers and other school personnel.
SECTION 3. For purposes of this act, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Applicant," except when preceded by the word "enrollment," means any person, group of persons, organization or public institution that develops and submits an application for a charter public school to an authorizer.
(b) "Application," except when preceded by the word "enrollment," means a proposal from an applicant to an authorizer to open a charter public school.
(c) "Authorizer" means an entity that reviews applications, decides whether to approve or reject applications, enters into contracts with applicants, oversees and monitors charter public schools and decides whether to renew, not renew or revoke contracts; eligible authorizers in Mississippi are local school boards and the State Board of Education.
(d) "Charter" means an approved application to operate a charter public school.
(e) "Charter public school" means a public school that:
(i) Has autonomy over decisions including, but not limited to, matters concerning finance, personnel, scheduling and instruction;
(ii) Is governed by an independent board;
(iii) Is established and operates under a fixed term, performance based contract between the school's governing board and either a school board of a local school district or the State Board of Education;
(iv) Is a school to which parents choose to send their children; and
(v) Operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives.
(f) "Contract" means a performance based contract for a fixed term between a charter public school and an authorizer.
(g) "Conversion school" means an existing public school that has been converted to charter public school status.
(h) "Governing board" means the independent board of a charter public school, the members of which have been elected or selected pursuant to the school's charter, which is responsible for ensuring the school's compliance with the contract.
SECTION 4. (1) A charter public school may be formed in one (1) of the following manners:
(a) By the authorizer's approval of an application to create a new charter public school, followed by the execution of a performance based contract between the authorizer and the school; or
(b) By the conversion of an existing school to charter status, which may be accomplished by the local school board converting the school on its own motion or the approval of an application to convert. Conversion of an existing public school to charter status must be approved by the State Board of Education.
(2) The applicants of a proposed charter public school under subsection (1)(a) of this section may apply to, and the school may be authorized by, the school board of the school district in which the proposed school is to be located or the State Board of Education.
(3) The State Board of Education shall establish a process by which a conversion under subsection (1)(b) of this section may occur. The process of conversion may be initiated by parents or teachers at the existing school who petition the local school district in accordance with the district's conversion policy, or may be initiated by the district on its own motion. A petition may not be approved unless a majority of the school's faculty and instructional staff and the parents of students enrolled in the school who are present at the meeting called for the specific purpose of deciding whether or not to convert, vote in favor of the conversion.
(4) Authorizers must give preference to applications for charter public schools that are proposed to be located in areas with low performing public schools, as defined by the State Board of Education.
(5) A private or parochial school is not eligible for charter public school status.
SECTION 5. (1) An application for a charter public school must be submitted to an authorizer before July 1 in the calendar year preceding the first school year the school intends to open.
(2) The application must include the following:
(a) Assurances that the school will meet the requirements defined in Section 11;
(b) Evidence that the applicant has the experience and competence to create and operate a school;
(c) A description of the grade level or levels to be served in the initial year of operation. A charter public school must provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one (1) complete grade level of kindergarten, elementary or secondary education. A school may add a grade level or levels beyond the level or levels identified in the application if notice is given in a manner prescribed in the contract that is executed following approval of the application;
(d) A description of the features of the school that differ from the public schools in the school district or area to be served by the charter public school. A school may offer a program of instruction based on a specific learning philosophy, teaching style, governing structure, subject area emphasis or other elements;
(e) A description of the governing body that is responsible for the policy and operational decisions of the charter public school, a description of the method by which members of that body will be elected and the method by which fairness and objectivity of those elections will be assured;
(f) A description of the objective method or methods that will be used to measure student progress. The method or methods must include, at a minimum, the tests used by the State Department of Education to determine the accreditation level of all public schools and school districts;
(g) A description of the school's plan to provide reasonable public notice of the existence, nature and enrollment application requirements of the charter public school. This notice must include at least one (1) informational meeting to which the public is invited. Local school districts shall provide reasonable assistance, if requested by the school, in providing such notice in their districts. The expenses incurred by a district in providing the requested assistance must be paid by the school; and
(h) Any other matters that the authorizer and applicant agree to include. Failure to agree on such additional matters shall not constitute grounds for rejection of a charter application.
SECTION 6. (1) The authorizer to which an application for a charter has been submitted must respond to the application within forty-five (45) days after receiving the application. The response may be in the form of approval of the application as submitted, rejection, or approval of the application subject to negotiation, which negotiation must be conducted in good faith.
(2) An application for a charter must be approved unless:
(a) The application does not contain all items required by this act; or
(b) The authorizer determines that the applicant is incompetent to carry out one or more of the plans described in the application, in which case the incompetence must be documented by the authorizer to which the application was submitted.
(3) If an application for a charter is rejected, the authorizer to which it was submitted must provide written notice to the applicant of the basis for the rejection. If the application is rejected on the basis of incompetence, the notice to the applicant must include the authorizer's documentation of the incompetence.
(4) The rejection of an application by the State Board of Education or by a local school district to which the application was submitted does not bar submission of the same application to the other authorizer. The State Board of Education must provide technical assistance to an applicant whose application has been rejected.
(5) A charter expires when the school authorized by the charter ceases to operate as a charter public school, whether the cessation is due to revocation of the charter under the provisions of Section 14 or by nonrenewal of the contract. A charter for a school that fails to open in a timely manner expires at the end of the time approved under Section 8 of this act for the opening of the school.
SECTION 7. (1) Within forty-five (45) days of approval of the application, the authorizer and the governing board of the approved charter public school shall execute a contract that includes provisions establishing the academic and operational performance expectations for the school and the administrative relationship between the authorizer and the school. The performance expectations must include, but need not be limited to, applicable federal and state accountability requirements. A charter school may not commence operations without a contract executed according to this section.
(2) The contract must include the following:
(a) A description of the grade level or levels to be offered by the school for each year of the contract;
(b) A description of the program of instruction. A charter public school must provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one (1) complete grade level of kindergarten, elementary or secondary education. If the school is a high school, the program of instruction must require students to earn the minimum number of units required for graduation from public high schools by the State Board of Education in order to be eligible for graduation. However, the State Board of Education may grant an exemption from this requirement when there is a compelling reason for an exemption based on the unique circumstances of the school;
(c) A description of the administrative or other services, if any, that the district will provide for the school; however, a charter public school may not be required to purchase services from its authorizer as a condition of executing a charter contract;
(d) A description of the school's plan for transporting students;
(e) A description of the school's plan for handling disruptive students;
(f) A description of the types and amount of insurance coverage, including bonding insurance for the principal officers of the school, to be obtained by the school;
(g) Any other matters necessary to ensure compliance with the charter; and
(h) Any other matters that the authorizer and school agree to include in the contract. Failure to agree on additional matters may not constitute grounds for refusal to execute the remaining provisions of the contract.
(3) A budget encompassing all items necessary for operating the school, based on one or more projections of the number of students the school anticipates serving in the year for which the budget is prepared, must be submitted to the authorizer by the school on an annual basis and may not be revised by the authorizer unless the information in the budget indicates a violation of the contract, this act or any other law.
(4) Provisions of the contract may be amended at any time by agreement between the school and its authorizer.
SECTION 8. (1) The term of a contract shall be five (5) operating school years. The contract term shall commence on the school's first day of operation. A school may delay its opening for one (1) school year in order to plan and prepare for the school's opening. If the school requires an opening delay of more than one (1) school year, the school must request an extension from its authorizer. The authorizer may grant or deny the extension depending on the school's circumstances.
(2) Before January 1 in the final year of a contract, the authorizer of the school must renew the contract, with any modifications that are the product of a good faith negotiation, for an additional term if the following conditions have been met:
(a) The school substantially has met the requirements for student performance stated in the contract; and
(b) The school substantially has complied with the other provisions of the charter and the contract.
(3) An authorizer may renew a contract with specific terms or conditions for necessary improvements to a charter public school, including specific annual benchmarks, to ensure compliance with the charter and contract.
SECTION 9. (1) The initial board of directors of a charter public school must be designated by the applicants who have been granted the charter. This initial board shall govern the school's first year of operation.
(2) No person may serve on the board of directors of the school who:
(a) Sells goods or services to the school; or
(b) Is a substantial owner, or has a family member who is a substantial owner, of a business that sells goods or services to the school.
(3) Not less than six (6) months before the beginning of the charter public school's second school year, the school shall hold an election for members of the school's board of directors. The term of office for this board shall be set according to the charter.
(4) Administrative and instructional personnel of the charter public school and all parents of children enrolled in the school are eligible to participate in any election of members of the board of directors.
(5) Meetings of the charter public school's board of directors will be subject to Sections 25-41-1 through 25-41-17 governing open meetings.
SECTION 10. (1) (a) A charter public school authorized by a local school district must be open to admission to all students residing in that district. However, in conversion schools, an enrollment preference may be given to students who reside within the former attendance area of that school.
(b) Students from outside the school district may be admitted if the district and the charter public school agree to and establish in the school's contract a procedure for the enrollment and admission of such students. If a student from outside the school district enrolls in the charter public school, the school district from which the student comes must submit an amount equal to that student's pro rata share of the school district's local funds to the charter school.
(2) A charter public school authorized by the State Board of Education must be open to any student residing in the state.
(3) A school district may not assign students to a charter public school.
(4) A charter public school is subject to any desegregation court orders in effect in the school district in which the school is located.
(5) (a) A charter public school must enroll an eligible student who submits a timely enrollment application, unless the number of enrollment applications for a program, class, grade level or school building exceeds the number of students the school is prepared to accept in that program, class, grade level or school building.
(b) If an excess number of enrollment applications are received by the school, all enrollment applicants must have an equal chance of being admitted under the following guidelines:
(i) The school may not limit admission to students on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, income level, disabling condition, athletic ability, intellectual ability or measure of achievement, except to restrict admissions to the grade level or levels served by the school.
(ii) The school may give preference in enrollment in the school's first year of operation to children of the applicants and teachers of the school. In later years, preference may be given to students enrolled at the school during the previous year and to children of teachers and siblings of students who were enrolled at the school during the previous year and will be enrolled at the school in the current school year.
(iii) The number of students given preference in enrollment as children of applicants and teachers may not exceed ten percent (10%) of the enrollment capacity of a program, class, grade level or school building.
(iv) Enrollment applicants must be chosen by a random selection method. An enrollment applicant in a preference category is eligible for inclusion in the general selection process if the enrollment applicant is not selected from the preference category.
SECTION 11. In order for a school to maintain its charter, the school must satisfy the following requirements:
(a) The school must maintain substantial compliance with the terms of the contract related to academic progress and financial accountability;
(b) The school may not charge tuition or other fees except under the same conditions in which tuition or fees are allowed by law to be charged by public school districts;
(c) The school may not limit admission to students on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, income level, disabling condition, athletic ability, intellectual ability or measure of achievement, except to restrict admissions to the grade level or levels served by the school;
(d) The school must meet all applicable health, safety and civil rights requirements;
(e) The school must comply with the same financial audit requirements as public school districts;
(f) The school must be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies and employment practices;
(g) The school must comply with all federal and state laws relating to the education of children with disabilities; and
(h) The school must issue annual reports to parents of students in the school, the authorizer of the school and the State Department of Education. These reports must be available to the public and must include the following:
(i) Average daily attendance, demographic information and other student information required to be reported by other public schools in the state;
(ii) Number and average salary information of teachers and administrators;
(iii) Financial statements reflecting the income and expenses of the school;
(iv) A description of the school's progress in reaching academic and other goals identified in the charter and the contract;
(v) A statement of assurance that the school is in compliance with paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subsection;
(vi) An objective measurement of parental satisfaction; and
(vii) Other items stipulated in the contract between the authorizer and the school.
SECTION 12. A charter public school, unless it is a conversion school, must organize as a nonprofit corporation and must obtain tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code before its opening.
SECTION 13. (1) A charter public school may not levy taxes or issue bonds secured by tax revenues.
(2) A charter public school may sue and be sued.
(3) A charter public school may borrow funds and invest funds. Funds received and earnings from investments on gifts from nongovernmental entities may be accounted for separately. If a charter public school closes, all unspent government funds, unspent earnings from those funds and assets purchased with government funds will revert to the school board that chartered the school. Unspent funds from nongovernmental sources, unspent earnings from those funds, assets purchased with those funds and debts of the school (unless otherwise provided for in the charter or debt instrument) shall revert to the nonprofit entity created to operate the school and may be disposed of according to applicable laws for nonprofit corporations. If a conversion school reverts to noncharter status, then all assets will revert to the school board that chartered the school. A governmental entity shall not be liable for any debt of the charter public school unless that entity explicitly authorized the debt and agreed to be liable for nonpayment of the debt. An authorizer's approval of a charter public school budget that includes debt does not constitute the authorizer's liability for that debt.
(4) Board members of the authorizer are immune from civil and criminal liability with respect to all activities of a charter public school authorized by the authorizer. The authorizer may be held liable only for matters with which the authorizer has been involved directly.
SECTION 14. (1) A charter issued under this act may be revoked by the authorizer, and the charter public school must be closed, if the authorizer determines that one or more of the following have occurred:
(a) Repeated substantial failure of the school to maintain applicable safety standards;
(b) Repeated substantial failure of the school to meet academic and operational performance expectations;
(c) Repeated substantial failure of the school to meet auditing or other financial standards as required under this act;
(d) Blatant and recurrent violations of provisions of the charter or the contract; or
(e) The existence of one or more grounds for revocation as specified in the charter.
(2) If a charter is revoked, the school must remain open until the end of the school year in which the revocation takes effect, unless the State Department of Education determines that an extreme emergency situation that jeopardizes the safety and security of the students of the school exists.
(3) The revocation of a charter must be accompanied by a list of specific reasons for the action. The school may seek judicial review of the decision to revoke a charter.
(4) A charter for a new school must be revoked if the school is not opened by the applicants in a timely manner following the execution of a contract.
SECTION 15. (1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (2) of this section, all schools chartered under this act are exempt from those statutes applicable to the public schools and the rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the State Board of Education and the local school district. A charter public school must comply with general health and safety standards.
(2) Charter public schools are not exempt from the following statutes:
(a) Section 37-9-75, which relates to teacher strikes;
(b) Section 37-11-20, which prohibits acts of intimidation intended to keep a student from attending school;
(c) Section 37-11-21, which prohibits parental abuse of school staff;
(d) Section 37-11-23, which prohibits the willful disruption of school and school meetings;
(e) Sections 37-11-29 and 37-11-31, which relate to reporting requirements regarding unlawful or violent acts on school property; and
(f) Section 37-19-53, which prohibits false reporting of student counts by school officials.
SECTION 16. (1) A school district may not assign teachers employed by the district to a charter public school. A charter public school may hire the teachers to be employed by the school and negotiate contracts.
(2) The qualifications of the teachers in a charter public school must be disclosed to the students' parents before the beginning of the school year.
(3) The instructional staff of the charter public school will be deemed employees of the local school district for purposes of providing certain state-funded employee benefits, including membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State and School Employees Life and Health Insurance Plan. Charter schools are public schools, and the employees of charter schools are public school employees. Employees of a charter public school that elects to become a participating employer under the Public Employees' Retirement System are teachers for the purpose of membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System. Charter public schools may pay all or part of a teacher's health insurance premiums, including family coverage, as part of the teacher's compensation package.
SECTION 17. (1) A school district, school district employee or any other person who has control over personnel actions may not take unlawful reprisal against an employee of the school district because the employee is directly or indirectly involved in an application to establish a charter public school. A school district employee may not take unlawful reprisal against an educational program of the school or the school district because an application to establish a charter public school proposes the conversion of all or a portion of the educational program to charter status.
(2) As used in this section, the term "unlawful reprisal" means:
(a) With respect to a school district employee, an action that is taken by another school district employee as a direct result of a lawful application to establish a charter public school and which is adverse to the employee and results in one or more of the following for the employee:
(i) Disciplinary or corrective action;
(ii) Detail, transfer or reassignment;
(iii) Suspension, demotion or dismissal;
(iv) An unfavorable performance evaluation;
(v) A reduction in pay, benefits or awards;
(vi) Elimination of the employee's position without a reduction in force by reason of lack of monies or work; or
(vii) Other significant changes in duties or responsibilities which are inconsistent with the employee's salary or employment classification; and
(b) With respect to an educational program, an action that is taken by a school district employee as a direct result of a lawful application to establish a charter public school and which is adverse to the educational program and results in one or more of the following:
(i) Suspension or termination of the program;
(ii) Transfer or reassignment of the program to a less favorable department;
(iii) Relocation of the program to a less favorable site within the school or school district; or
(iv) Significant reduction or termination of funding for the program.
SECTION 18. (1) A charter public school's funding must be based on the number of students enrolled in and in attendance at the school.
(2) A charter public school student must be included in the average daily attendance reports of the district in which the student resides. The State Board of Education shall define the means by which a charter public school must verify the residency and attendance of a student at the school and the means by which the charter public school must notify the district of the student's attendance at the school.
(3) Funding from the state for a charter public school student, including transportation funds, will be distributed to the district in which the student resides as if the student were attending any other public school in that district.
(4) For each student enrolled in a school chartered by the local school district in which the student resides, the charter public school shall request from the district, and the district shall distribute to the school, an amount equal to the local and state portion of the per pupil expenditures in the district two (2) school years preceding the school year being funded. In addition, the district must distribute federal funds as dictated by federal law.
(5) For each student enrolled in a school chartered by a local school district in which the student does not reside, the charter public school shall request from the student's home district, and the district shall distribute to the charter public school, an amount equal to the state portion of the per pupil expenditures in the student's home district two (2) school years before the school year in which the student will be enrolled in the charter public school. The school also may request from the home district of the student, and the district may distribute to the school, an amount equal to the local portion of per pupil expenditures in the student's home district two (2) school years before the school year in which the student will be enrolled in the charter public school. Federal funds must be distributed as dictated by federal law.
(6) For each student enrolled in a school chartered by the State Board of Education, the charter public school shall request from the school district in which the student resides, and the district shall distribute to the school, an amount equal to the local and state portion of the per pupil expenditures in the student's home district two (2) school years preceding the school year being funded. In addition, federal funds to the school must be distributed by the school district as dictated by federal law.
(7) A school district must remit requested funds in a timely fashion, as defined by the State Board of Education. When contributions are not forwarded in a timely manner, the state shall assess a ten percent (10%) penalty payable to the charter public school for failure to forward the contribution.
(8) For a new charter public school, pre-enrollment or other reasonable information shall be the basis for initial funding. The State Board of Education shall define the types of information that may be used for this purpose, as well as methods of correcting any discrepancies between the original estimates on which funding is based and the actual average daily attendance.
(9) A charter public school may receive gifts and grants from any public or private source.
(10) To cover its costs in overseeing charter public schools in accordance with this act, any authorizer may retain an oversight fee from each charter school it authorizes. The oversight fee shall be one percent (1%) of the state and local per pupil funding allocated to the school. The oversight fee may not include any costs incurred in delivering services that a charter school may purchase from the authorizer, in its discretion.
SECTION 19. (1) A school district may lease space or sell services to a charter public school. A school district must make unused buildings available to a charter public school and must bargain in good faith over the terms of the lease. A school district may not require lease payments that exceed the fair market value of the property.
(2) A charter public school shall have a right of first refusal to purchase or lease for fair market value a closed public school facility or property or unused portions of a public school facility or property located in a school district from which the school draws its students if the school district decides to sell or lease the public school facility or property.
(3) A charter public school may lease space or secure services from another public body, nonprofit organization or private organization or individual.
SECTION 20. (1) There is established in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the "Charter Public Schools Stimulus Revolving Loan Fund." The purpose of the fund is to provide financial support to charter public school applicants and charter public schools for start-up costs and costs associated with renovating or remodeling existing buildings and structures. The fund shall consist of monies obtained from grants from the federal government, funds appropriated by the Legislature, repaid loans from borrowers and grants, gifts, devises and donations from any public or private source. The State Board of Education shall administer the fund and may apply for any grants from the federal government or private sources.
(2) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this section, including application and notification requirements. If sufficient funds are available for this purpose, monies from the Charter Public Schools Stimulus Revolving Loan Fund will be distributed to qualifying charter public school applicants and charter public schools in the following manner:
(a) Each qualifying charter public school applicant or charter public school will be awarded an initial loan of not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) before or during the first year of the school's operation. This loan must be repaid over a period of no more than five (5) years. If an applicant receives an initial loan under this paragraph and fails to begin operating a charter public school within the following eighteen (18) months, the applicant must reimburse the Charter Public Schools Stimulus Revolving Loan Fund for the amount of the initial loan plus interest calculated at a rate of ten percent (10%) per year.
(b) Applicants for charter public schools and charter public schools that receive initial loans under paragraph (a) of this subsection may apply for an additional loan of not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). This loan must be repaid over a period of no more than five (5) years. If an applicant for a charter public school receives an additional loan under this paragraph and fails to begin operating a charter public school within the following eighteen (18) months, the applicant must reimburse the Charter Public Schools Stimulus Revolving Loan Fund for the amount of the additional loan, plus interest calculated at a rate of ten percent (10%) per year. A reimbursement required by this paragraph is in addition to any reimbursement required under paragraph (a) of this subsection.
SECTION 21. Not more than five (5) applications for charter public schools may be approved in each year of the first three (3) years after July 1, 2010. After the third year, not more than ten (10) applications may be approved each year.
SECTION 22. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a local school board may refuse to admit any student who is suspended or expelled from a charter public school due to actions that would lead to suspension or expulsion from a school in that district until the period of suspension or expulsion has expired.
SECTION 23. The State Department of Education shall disseminate information to the public regarding the following:
(a) The process and other requirements for applying for and operating a charter public school, which must include a list of the statutes, rules and regulations governing charter public schools; and
(b) The process by which students can enroll in charter public schools once they are created. Local school districts shall cooperate in the dissemination of this information.
SECTION 24. The State Department of Education shall provide to the Legislature an evaluation of the charter public schools created under this act. The evaluation must be presented before the beginning of the 2014 Regular Session.
SECTION 25. Any charter public school that is operating under the terms of a charter granted under the authority of Sections 37-28-1 through 37-28-21, which were repealed BY OPERATION of law on July 1, 2009, may continue to operate under the terms of that charter for the duration of its term, notwithstanding the repeal of Sections 37-28-1 through 37-28-21. The school may seek to renew its charter by modifying the charter to comply with the requirements of this act.
SECTION 26. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
