Bill Text: MS SB2892 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Charter schools; amend certain provisions of law relating to.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - Died In Committee [SB2892 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2022-SB2892-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Blackwell, Younger, Chassaniol, Polk
Senate Bill 2892
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-28-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO RECONSTITUTE THE CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER BOARD TO ESTABLISH TERMS OF OFFICE FOR APPOINTEES; TO AMEND SECTION 37-28-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE LEGISLATURE SHALL ANNUALLY APPROPRIATE FUNDS AND ALLOCATE POSITIONS TO THE MISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER BOARD; TO AMEND SECTION 37-28-55, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE AMOUNT OF FUNDS PAYABLE TO CHARTER SCHOOLS SHALL BE CALCULATED BY USING A FORMULA DEVELOPED BY THE CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER BOARD AND APPROVED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO REQUIRE THAT THE FORMULA ENSURE THAT THE PRO RATA DISTRIBUTION OF LOCAL AD VALOREM FUNDS BE EQUITABLE BETWEEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THE CHARTER SCHOOLS; TO REQUIRE LOCAL AD VALOREM PAYMENTS BE RECONCILED LIKE ADEQUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM PAYMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-28-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-28-7. (1) There is created the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board as a state agency with exclusive chartering jurisdiction in the State of Mississippi. Unless otherwise authorized by law, no other governmental agency or entity may assume any charter authorizing function or duty in any form.
(2) (a) The mission of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board is to authorize high-quality charter schools, particularly schools designed to expand opportunities for underserved students, consistent with the purposes of this chapter. Subject to the restrictions and conditions prescribed in this subsection, the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may authorize charter schools within the geographical boundaries of any school district.
(b) The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may approve a maximum of fifteen (15) qualified charter applications during a fiscal year.
(c) In any school district designated as an "A," "B" or "C" school district by the State Board of Education under the accreditation rating system at the time of application, the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may authorize charter schools only if a majority of the members of the local school board votes at a public meeting to endorse the application or to initiate the application on its own initiative.
(3) The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall consist of seven (7) members, to be appointed as follows:
(a) Three (3) members appointed by the Governor, with one (1) member being from each of the Mississippi Supreme Court Districts.
(b) Three (3) members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, with one (1) member being from each of the Mississippi Supreme Court Districts.
(c) One (1) member appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education.
All appointments must be made with the advice and consent of the Senate. In making the appointments, the appointing authority shall ensure diversity among members of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board.
(4) Members appointed to the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board collectively must possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit governance, management and finance, public school leadership, assessment, curriculum and instruction, and public education law. Each member of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board must have demonstrated an understanding of and commitment to charter schooling as a strategy for strengthening public education.
(5) To establish staggered
terms of office the board shall be reconstituted and reappointed by July 1, 2022,
the initial term of office for the three (3) Mississippi Charter School
Authorizer Board members appointed by the Governor shall be * * * one (1) year for the appointee
from the First Supreme Court District, two (2) years for the appointee from the
Second Supreme Court District, three (3) years for the appointee from the Third
Supreme Court District, and thereafter shall be three (3) years; the
initial term of office for the three (3) members appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor shall be three (3) years for the appointee from the First Supreme Court
District, one (1) year for the appointee from the Second Supreme Court District,
two (2) years for the appointee from the Third Supreme Court District, and
thereafter shall be three (3) years; and the * * * term of office for the member
appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education * * * shall be
three (3) years. No member may serve more than two (2) consecutive terms. The
initial appointments must be made before * * * July 1, 2022.
(6) The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall meet as soon as practical after September 1, 2013, upon the call of the Governor, and shall organize for business by selecting a chairman and adopting bylaws. Subsequent meetings shall be called by the chairman.
(7) An individual member of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may be removed by the board if the member's personal incapacity renders the member incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of the office or if the member is absent from a number of meetings of the board, as determined and specified by the board in its bylaws. Whenever a vacancy on the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board exists, the original appointing authority shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the term.
(8) No member of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board or employee, agent or representative of the board may serve simultaneously as an employee, trustee, agent, representative, vendor or contractor of a charter school authorized by the board.
(9) The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall appoint an individual to serve as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board. The executive director shall possess the qualifications established by the board which are based on national best practices, and shall possess an understanding of state and federal education law. The executive director, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the board, shall devote his full time to the proper administration of the board and the duties assigned to him by the board and shall be paid a salary established by the board, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. Subject to the availability of funding, the executive director may employ such administrative staff as may be necessary to assist the director and board in carrying out the duties and directives of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board.
(10) The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board is authorized to obtain suitable office space for administrative purposes. In acquiring a facility or office space, the authorizer board shall adhere to all policies and procedures required by the Department of Finance and Administration and the Public Procurement Review Board.
SECTION 2. Section 37-28-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-28-11. (1) To cover the costs of overseeing charter schools in accordance with this chapter, the authorizer shall receive up to three percent (3%) of annual per-pupil allocations received by a charter school from state and local funds for each charter school it authorizes. The Legislature shall annually appropriate funds and allocate positions to the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board.
(2) The authorizer may receive appropriate gifts, grants and donations of any kind from any public or private entity to carry out the purposes of this chapter, subject to all lawful terms and conditions under which the gifts, grants or donations are given.
(3) The authorizer may expend its resources, seek grant funds and establish partnerships to support its charter school authorizing activities.
SECTION 3. Section 37-28-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-28-55. (1) (a) The State Department of Education shall make payments to charter schools for each student in average daily attendance at the charter school equal to the state share of the adequate education program payments for each student in average daily attendance at the school district in which the charter school is located. In calculating the local contribution for purposes of determining the state share of the adequate education program payments, the department shall deduct the pro rata local contribution of the school district in which the student resides, to be determined as provided in Section 37-151-7(2)(a).
(b) Payments made pursuant to this subsection by the State Department of Education must be made at the same time and in the same manner as adequate education program payments are made to school districts under Sections 37-151-101 and 37-151-103. Amounts payable to a charter school must be determined by the State Department of Education. Amounts payable to a charter school over its charter term must be based on the enrollment projections set forth over the term of the charter contract. Such projections must be reconciled with the average daily attendance using months two (2) and three (3) ADA for the current year for which adequate education program funds are being appropriated and any necessary adjustments must be made to payments during the school's following year of operation.
(2) For students attending
a charter school located in the school district in which the student resides,
the school district in which a charter school is located shall pay directly to
the charter school an amount for each student enrolled in the charter school
equal to the ad valorem tax receipts and in-lieu payments received per pupil
for the support of the local school district in which the student resides. The
pro rata ad valorem receipts and in-lieu receipts to be transferred to the
charter school shall include all levies for the support of the local school
district under Sections 37-57-1 (local contribution to the adequate education
program) and 37-57-105 (school district operational levy) and may not include
any taxes levied for the retirement of the local school district's bonded
indebtedness or short-term notes or any taxes levied for the support of vocational-technical
education programs. * * *
The pro rata amount must be calculated by * * * using a formula developed by the Charter
School Authorizer Board and approved by the State Department of Education. * * *
The formula shall ensure that the pro rata distribution of local ad valorem funds
is equitable between the school districts and the charter schools. Notice of any
change in formula must be submitted to the Education Committees of the House and
Senate and the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure
Review. The amount must be paid by the school district to the charter
school before January 16 of the current fiscal year. If the local school
district does not pay the required amount to the charter school before January
16, the State Department of Education shall reduce the local school district's
January transfer of Mississippi Adequate Education Program funds by the amount
owed to the charter school and shall redirect that amount to the charter
school. Any such payments made under this subsection (2) by the State Department
of Education to a charter school must be made at the same time and in the same
manner as adequate education program payments are made to school districts
under Sections 37-151-101 and 37-151-103. Such local ad valorem payments must
also be reconciled as are the adequate education payments in subsection (1)(b) of
this section.
(3) For students attending
a charter school located in a school district in which the student does not
reside, the State Department of Education shall pay to the charter school in
which the student is enrolled an amount as follows: the pro rata ad valorem
receipts and in-lieu payments per pupil for the support of the local school
district in which the student resides under Sections 37-57-1 (local
contribution to the adequate education program) and 37-57-105 (school district
operational levy), however, not including any taxes levied for the retirement
of the local school district's bonded indebtedness or short-term notes or any
taxes levied for the support of vocational-technical education programs. The
amount of funds payable to the charter school by the school district must be
based on the previous year's enrollment data and ad valorem receipts and in-lieu
receipts of the local school district in which the student resides. The pro rata
amount must be calculated * * * by dividing the local school district's months one (1) through nine (9)
average daily membership into the total amount of ad valorem receipts and in‑lieu
receipts, as reported to in accordance with a formula constituted
by the Charter School Authorizer Board and approved by the State Department
of Education * * *. The payable amount shall be equal
to this pro rata amount multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the
charter school, based on the charter school's end of first month enrollment for
the current school year. The State Department of Education shall reduce the
school district's January transfer of Mississippi Adequate Education Program
funds by the amount owed to the charter school and shall redirect that amount
to the charter school. Any such payments made under this subsection (3) by the
State Department of Education to a charter school must be made at the same time
and in the same manner as adequate education program payments are made to
school districts under Sections 37-151-101 and 37-151-103. Such local ad valorem
payments must also be reconciled as are adequate education program payments as specified
in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(4) (a) The State Department of Education shall direct the proportionate share of monies generated under federal and state categorical aid programs, including special education, vocational, gifted and alternative school programs, to charter schools serving students eligible for such aid. The department shall ensure that charter schools with rapidly expanding enrollments are treated equitably in the calculation and disbursement of all federal and state categorical aid program dollars. Each charter school that serves students who may be eligible to receive services provided through such programs shall comply with all reporting requirements to receive the aid.
(b) A charter school shall pay to a local school district any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a disability attending the charter school in proportion to the level of services for that student which the local school district provides directly or indirectly.
(c) Subject to the approval of the authorizer, a charter school and a local school district may negotiate and enter into a contract for the provision of and payment for special education services, including, but not necessarily limited to, a reasonable reserve not to exceed five percent (5%) of the local school district's total budget for providing special education services. The reserve may be used by the local school district only to offset excess costs of providing services to students with disabilities enrolled in the charter school.
(5) (a) The State Department of Education shall disburse state transportation funding to a charter school on the same basis and in the same manner as it is paid to school districts under the adequate education program.
(b) A charter school may enter into a contract with a school district or private provider to provide transportation to the school's students.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
