Bill Text: MS HB513 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Charter schools; establish process for establishing in underperforming schools and districts.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2010-02-02 - Died In Committee [HB513 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-HB513-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Espy
House Bill 513
AN ACT TO REENACT SECTIONS 37-28-1 THROUGH 37-28-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH WERE THE LAWS RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS, AND WHICH WERE REPEALED BY OPERATION OF LAW ON JULY 1, 2009; TO AUTHORIZE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CONVERSION CHARTER SCHOOLS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE BEEN DETERMINED TO BE UNDERPERFORMING ON THE RATING SCALE AS DEFINED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION; TO PRESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN EFFORTS TO RECEIVE CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS AS A CONVERSION SCHOOL; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PETITIONS FOR CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS AND THE OPERATION OF THOSE SCHOOLS; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO OPERATE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CONVERSION SCHOOLS ON A PILOT PROGRAM BASIS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE CONVERSION OF AN UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOL OR DISTRICT TO CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS SHALL NOT BE ON A PILOT PROGRAM BASIS; TO PRESCRIBE THE REQUIREMENTS OF A PETITION FOR CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS FOR PURPOSES OF APPROVAL BY THE BOARD; TO PRESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE BOARD AND THE LOCAL SCHOOL IN THE EVENT THAT THE BOARD DISAPPROVES THE PETITION FOR CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS; TO PRESCRIBE THE TERMS TO BE INCLUDED IN EACH CHARTER FOR A CONVERSION SCHOOL; TO PRESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD REGARDING PETITIONS SUBMITTED BY LOCAL SCHOOLS TO OBTAIN CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS AS A CONVERSION SCHOOL; TO PROVIDE THE TERM OF DURATION OF CHARTERS FOR CONVERSION SCHOOLS OPERATING ON A PILOT PROGRAM BASIS AND THE PROCESS FOR RENEWAL OF THE CHARTER; TO REQUIRE THE PLACEMENT OF UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS CONVERTED TO CHARTER SCHOOL STATUS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT UNTIL CERTAIN STANDARDS ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAVE BEEN MET; TO PROVIDE FOR THE FUNDING OF CONVERSION SCHOOLS; TO PROVIDE THAT EMPLOYEES OF CONVERSION SCHOOLS SHALL be TREATED AS EMPLOYEES OF AND HAVE THE SAME BENEFIT ENTITLEMENTS AS OTHER EMPLOYEES OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SUBMIT A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE STATUS OF CONVERSION SCHOOLS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-28-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-1. It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter provide a means by which local public schools may choose to substitute a binding academic or vocational, or both, performance-based contract approved by the State Board of Education and the school board of the school district in which the school is located, called a "charter," for rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the State Board of Education and the local school district and, except as otherwise provided, the provisions of Title 37 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 that are applicable to schools and school districts and their employees and students.
SECTION 2. Section 37-28-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-3. For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Charter" means an academic or vocational, or both, performance-based contract between the State Board of Education, the school board of the local school district, and a local school that exempts a charter school from rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the State Board of Education and the local school district and, except as otherwise provided, the provisions of Title 37 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 that are applicable to schools and school districts and their employees and students.
(b) "Charter school" means a public school that is operating under the terms of a charter granted by the State Board of Education.
(c) "Conversion school" means an existing public school that has been converted to charter school status.
(d) "Local school" means a public school in Mississippi that is under the management and control of the school board of the school district in which the school is located.
(e) "Petition" means a proposal to enter into an academic or vocational, or both, performance-based contract between the State Board of Education and a local school by which the local school obtains charter school status.
(f) "Underperforming school or district" means a public school or local school district that fails to meet adequate yearly progress and is rated at the three (3) lowest levels as defined by the State Board of Education.
SECTION 3. Section 37-28-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-5. (1) Any local public school may submit a petition to the State Board of Education requesting charter school status as a conversion school. The petition must:
(a) Be approved by the school board of the school district in which the local school is located;
(b) Be agreed to freely by a majority of the faculty and instructional staff members, by secret ballot, at the local school initiating the petition;
(c) Be agreed to by a majority of the parents of students enrolled in the local school who are present at a meeting called for the specific purpose of deciding whether or not to initiate the petition;
(d) Describe a plan for school improvement that addresses how the conversion school proposes to work toward improving student learning and meeting state education goals;
(e) Outline proposed academic or vocational, or both, performance criteria that will be used during the initial period of the charter to measure progress of the conversion school in improving student learning and in meeting state education goals;
(f) Describe how the faculty, instructional staff and parents of students enrolled in the local school have been involved in developing the petition and will be involved in developing and implementing the improvement plan and identifying academic or vocational, or both, performance criteria; and
(g) Describe how the concerns of faculty, instructional staff and parents of students enrolled in the conversion school will be solicited and addressed in evaluating the effectiveness of the improvement plan.
(2) An underperforming school or district shall file a petition with the State Board of Education, notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1)(a), (b) and (c) of this section. In the performance of its review and consideration of petitions for conversion charter school status, as required by Section
38-27-7, the board shall give preference to those underperforming schools and districts.
SECTION 4. Section 37-28-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-7. (1) The State Board of Education shall establish rules and regulations for the submission of petitions for charter school status and criteria and procedures for the operation of charter schools.
(2) (a) The board shall receive and review petitions for charter school status from local public schools and may approve petitions and grant conversion charter school status, on a pilot program basis, to up to six (6) local schools throughout the state. One (1) local public school in each congressional district, as those districts existed on April 24, 1997, and at least one (1) local public school situated in the Delta region of the state shall be granted charter school status by the board, unless there are no petitions submitted from a particular congressional district or the Delta region, as the case may be, that are proper under the terms of this section.
(b) The conversion of an underperforming school or district by the board shall not be on a pilot program basis, and the board shall be without limitation on the number of charters that it is authorized to grant to underperforming schools or districts.
(3) In order to be approved, a petition for charter school status, in the opinion of the State Board of Education, must adequately include:
(a) A plan for improvement at the school level that addresses the charter school's proposed means for improving student learning and for meeting state education goals;
(b) A set of academic or vocational, or both, performance-based objectives and criteria and student achievement-based objectives and criteria for the initial term of the charter and the means for measuring those objectives on no less than an annual basis;
(c) An agreement to provide a yearly report to parents, the community, the State Board of Education and the local school board of the school district in which the charter school is located, which report must indicate the progress made by the charter school in the previous year in meeting the academic or vocational, or both, performance objectives; and
(d) A proposal to directly and substantially involve the parents of students enrolled in the school as well as the licensed employees and the broader community in the process of modifying the petition, if necessary for approval, and carrying out the terms of the charter.
(4) If the State Board of Education disapproves a petition for a charter school, the board shall notify the local school in writing of the reasons for the disapproval. The State Board of Education may allow local schools to resubmit petitions for charter school status if the original petition, in the opinion of the board, is deficient in one or more respects. The State Department of Education may provide technical assistance to the faculty and instructional staff of local schools in the creation or modification of the petitions.
SECTION 5. Section 37-28-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-9. The terms of each charter for a conversion school shall include the following:
(a) A mechanism for declaring the charter null and void if a majority of the faculty, instructional staff of the school, and parents of students enrolled in the school who are present at a meeting called for the specific purpose of deciding whether or not to declare the charter null and void request the State Board of Education to withdraw the charter;
(b) A mechanism for declaring the charter null and void if, at any time, in the opinion of the State Board of Education, the school operating under charter status fails to fulfill the terms of the charter;
(c) Clear academic or vocational, or both, performance-based and student achievement-based objectives and the means to measure those objectives on no less than an annual basis;
(d) A mechanism for updating the terms of each charter, agreed to by all parties and subject to the approval of a majority of the faculty, instructional staff and parents of students enrolled in the school who are present at a meeting called for the specific purpose of updating the terms of the charter, based upon the yearly progress reports submitted to the State Board of Education by the charter school;
(e) A provision that the charter school shall not have any authority to request an ad valorem tax levy independent of that authority exercised by the school district in which the charter school is located;
(f) A provision that no person shall be denied admission to the charter school on the basis of race, color, creed or national origin;
(g) A provision to exempt the school from the rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the State Board of Education and the local school board and from the provisions of Title 37 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 that are not included in this act, unless the code sections are specifically made applicable to charter schools by the State Board of Education in the charter;
(h) A provision that the performance variables established by the State Board of Education, acting through the Commission on School Accreditation, in the performance-based accreditation system are fully applicable to the charter school; and
(i) A provision to exempt the charter school from process standards.
SECTION 6. Section 37-28-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-11. Any request for a petition to obtain charter school status as a conversion school sent by a local school to the local school board of the school district in which the school is located shall be forwarded by the local school board to the State Board of Education. If a local school board disapproves of a local school's request for a petition seeking charter school status, the local school board shall inform the faculty of the local school of the reasons for the disapproval and shall forward a copy of the reasons to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education, in its discretion, may request a hearing to receive further information from the local school board and the faculty of the local school.
SECTION 7. Section 37-28-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-13. (1) Initial charters for conversion schools issued by the State Board of Education shall be on a pilot program basis, except for an underperforming school or district, and shall be for a term of four (4) years. Thereafter, the State Board of Education may renew charters on a one-year or multiyear basis, not to exceed four (4) years, for conversion schools, if all parties to the original charter approve the renewal with a vote of a majority of the faculty, instructional staff and parents of students enrolled in the conversion school who are present at a meeting called for the specific purpose of deciding whether or not to renew the charter.
(2) Any underperforming school that is converted to charter school status shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Recovery School District, as provided in Section 37-17-6, and shall there remain until the time that there has been a determination by the Deputy Superintendent and the Office of Accreditation that the school has reached an adequate level of accreditation sufficient enough to meet the standards established by the State Board of Education for a higher accreditation rating. At that time, the conversion school may:
(a) Exercise its option to maintain its charter status by executing a renewal agreement with the board in a manner consistent with subsection (1) of this section; or
(b) Notify the board of its desire to revert to unchartered status.
SECTION 8. Section 37-28-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-15. (1) A conversion school may be funded by: federal grants, grants, gifts, devises or donations from any private sources; state funds appropriated for the support of the charter school; and any other funds that may be received by the local school district. Schools applying for charter status are encouraged to apply for federal funds appropriated specifically for the support of charter schools under the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law No. 104-208 [H.R. 3610] (1996)).
(2) The State Board of Education may give charter schools special preference when allocating grant funds other than state funds for alternative school programs, classroom technology, school improvement programs, mentoring programs or other grant programs designed to improve local school performance. The board may promulgate rules and regulations consistent with state and federal statutes to implement this section.
SECTION 9. Section 37-28-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-17. Employees of a conversion school shall be considered employees of the school district in which that conversion school is located. Conversion school employees shall be entitled to the same rights, privileges and benefits to which all other employees of the school district are entitled.
SECTION 10. Section 37-28-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, which was repealed by operation of law on July 1, 2009, is reenacted as follows:
37-28-19. Before January 1 of each year, the State Board of Education shall submit a report to the Legislature on the status of conversion schools. This report minimally shall include:
(a) A review and compilation of comprehensive reports and evaluations issued by local school boards concerning successes or failures of conversion schools and formulated recommendations;
(b) A comparison of the academic performance of conversion school students with the performance of ethnically and economically comparable groups of students in other public schools who are enrolled in academically comparable courses;
(c) The current and projected impact of conversion schools on the delivery of services by the public schools;
(d) An assessment of the students' academic progress in the conversion school as measured, where available, against the academic year immediately preceding the first year of the conversion school's operation; and
(e) The best practices resulting from conversion school operations.
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
