ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 278	By:	Stanislawski of the Senate

			and

		Hickman, Billy and Nelson of the House

An Act relating to charter schools; amending 70 O.S. 2001, Section 3-132, as last amended by Section 34 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 553 of the 1st Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, which relates to sponsors of charter schools; modifying criteria for charter schools sponsored by the State Board of Education; expanding the number of charter schools sponsored by the Board; amending 70 O.S. 2001, Section 3-134, as last amended by Section 36 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 553 of the 1st Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, which relates to charter school applications; modifying the physical location requirement of certain charter school; amending 70 O.S. 2001, Section 3-140, as last amended by Section 1 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 445 of the 1st Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, which relates to student enrollment eligibility for a charter school; modifying admission limitation for certain charter schools; and amending 70 O.S. 2001, Section 16-111.1, which relates to funds allocated for textbooks; removing certain limit on funds to be used for certain purposes.

SUBJECT:  Oklahoma Charter Schools Act

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2001, Section 3-132, as last amended by Section 34 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 553 of the 1st Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, is amended to read as follows:

Section 3-132.  A.  The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall apply only to charter schools formed and operated under the provisions of the act.  Charter schools shall be sponsored only as follows:

1.  By a school district with an average daily membership of five thousand (5,000) or more and which all or part of the school district is located in a county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population according to the latest Federal Decennial Census;

2.  By a school district which has a school site listed on the school improvement list as determined by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended or reauthorized;

3.  By a technology center school district if the charter school is located in a school district served by the technology center school district and the school district has an average daily membership of five thousand (5,000) or more and which all or part of the school district is located in a county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population according to the latest Federal Decennial Census; 

4.  By a technology center school district if the charter school is located in a school district served by the technology center school district and the school district has a school site listed on the school improvement list as determined by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended or reauthorized;

5.  By a comprehensive or regional institution that is a member of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education if the charter school is located in a school district that has an average daily membership of five thousand (5,000) or more and which all or part of the school district is located in a county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population according to the latest Federal Decennial Census.  In addition, the institution shall have a teacher education program accredited by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation and have a branch campus or constituent agency physically located within the school district in which the charter school is located;

6.  By a comprehensive or regional institution that is a member of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education if the charter school is located in a school district that has a school site listed on the school improvement list as determined by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended or reauthorized.  In addition, the institution shall have a teacher education program accredited by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation and have a branch campus or constituent agency physically located within the school district in which the charter school is located;

7.  By a federally recognized Indian tribe, operating a high school under the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as of the effective date of this act, if the charter school is for the purpose of demonstrating native language immersion instruction, and is located within its former reservation or treaty area boundaries.  For purposes of this paragraph, native language immersion instruction shall require that educational instruction and other activities conducted at the school site are primarily conducted in the native language; or

8.  By the State Board of Education only when the applicant of the charter school is the Office of Juvenile Affairs or the applicant has a contract with the Office of Juvenile Affairs to provide a fixed rate level E, D, or D+ group home service and the charter school is for the purpose of providing education services to youth in the custody or supervision of the Office of Juvenile Affairs state.  Not more than one two charter school schools shall be sponsored by the Board as provided for in this paragraph during the period of time beginning July 1, 2010, through July 1, 2016.

B.  Any charter or enterprise school operating in the state pursuant to an agreement with the board of education of a school district on July 1, 1999, may continue to operate pursuant to that agreement or may contract with the board of education of the school district pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.  Nothing in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall prohibit a school district from applying for exemptions from certain education-related statutory requirements as provided for in the Educational Deregulation Act.

C.  For purposes of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, “charter school” means a public school established by contract with a board of education of a school district, an area vocational-technical school district, a higher education institution, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or the State Board of Education pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act to provide learning that will improve student achievement and as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 8065.

D.  A charter school may consist of a new school site, new school sites or all or any portion of an existing school site.  An entire school district may not become a charter school site.

SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2001, Section 3-134, as last amended by Section 36 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 553 of the 1st Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, is amended to read as follows:

Section 3-134.  A.  For written applications filed after January 1, 2008, prior to submission of the application to a proposed sponsor seeking to establish a charter school, the applicant shall be required to complete training which shall not exceed ten (10) hours provided by the State Department of Education on the process and requirements for establishing a charter school.  The Department shall develop and implement the training by January 1, 2008.  The Department may provide the training in any format and manner that the Department determines to be efficient and effective including, but not limited to, web-based training.

B.  Except as otherwise provided for in Section 3-137 of this title, an applicant seeking to establish a charter school shall submit a written application to the proposed sponsor as prescribed in subsection E of this section.  The application shall include:

1.  A mission statement for the charter school;

2.  A description of the organizational structure and the governing body of the charter school;

3.  A financial plan for the first three (3) years of operation of the charter school and a description of the treasurer or other officers or persons who shall have primary responsibility for the finances of the charter school.  Such person shall have demonstrated experience in school finance or the equivalent thereof;

4.  A description of the hiring policy of the charter school;

5.  The name of the applicant or applicants and requested sponsor;

6.  A description of the facility and location of the charter school;

7.  A description of the grades being served;

8.  An outline of criteria designed to measure the effectiveness of the charter school;

9.  A demonstration of support for the charter school from residents of the school district which may include but is not limited to a survey of the school district residents or a petition signed by residents of the school district; and

10.  Documentation that the applicants completed charter school training as set forth in subsection A of this section.

C.  A board of education of a public school district, public body, public or private college or university, private person, or private organization may contract with a sponsor to establish a charter school.  A private school shall not be eligible to contract for a charter school under the provisions of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.

D.  The sponsor of a charter school is the board of education of a school district, the board of education of a technology center school district, a higher education institution, the State Board of Education, or a federally recognized Indian tribe which meets the criteria established in Section 3-132 of this title.  Any board of education of a school district in the state may sponsor one or more charter schools.  The physical location of a charter school sponsored by a board of education of a school district or a technology center school district shall be within the boundaries of the sponsoring school district.  The physical location of a charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education when the applicant of the charter school is the Office of Juvenile Affairs shall be located where an Office of Juvenile Affairs facility for youth is located.

E.  An applicant for a charter school may submit an application to a proposed sponsor which shall either accept or reject sponsorship of the charter school within ninety (90) days of receipt of the application.  If the proposed sponsor rejects the application, it shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the rejection.  The applicant may submit a revised application for reconsideration to the proposed sponsor within thirty (30) days after receiving notification of the rejection.  The proposed sponsor shall accept or reject the revised application within thirty (30) days of its receipt.

F.  A board of education of a school district, board of education of a technology center school district, higher education institution, or federally recognized Indian tribe sponsor of a charter school shall notify the State Board of Education when it accepts sponsorship of a charter school.  The notification shall include a copy of the charter of the charter school.

G.  If a proposed sponsor rejects the revised application for a charter school, the applicant may proceed to mediation or binding arbitration or both mediation and binding arbitration as provided in the Dispute Resolution Act and the rules promulgated pursuant thereto.  The applicant shall contact the early settlement program for the county in which the charter school would be located.  If the parties proceed to binding arbitration, a panel of three arbitrators shall be appointed by the director of the early settlement program handling the dispute.  The proposed sponsor shall pay the cost for any mediation or arbitration requested pursuant to this section.

H.  If a board of education of a technology center school district, a higher education institution, the State Board of Education, or a federally recognized Indian tribe accepts sponsorship of a charter school, the administrative, fiscal and oversight responsibilities of the technology center school district, the higher education institution, or the federally recognized Indian tribe shall be listed in the contract.  No responsibilities shall be delegated to a school district unless the local school district agrees to assume the responsibilities.

SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2001, Section 3-140, as last amended by Section 1 of Enrolled Senate Bill No. 445 of the 1st Session of the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature, is amended to read as follows:

Section 3-140.  A.  Except for a charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education, a charter school shall enroll those students whose legal residence is within the boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located and who submit a timely application, or those students who transfer to the district in which the charter school is located in accordance with Section 8-103 or 8-104 of this title, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building.  Students who reside in a school district where a charter school is located shall not be required to obtain a transfer in order to attend a charter school in the school district of residence.  If capacity is insufficient to enroll all eligible students, the charter school shall select students through a lottery selection process.  Except for a charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education, a charter school shall give enrollment preference to eligible students who reside within the boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located.  Except for a charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education, a charter school created after the effective date of this act shall give enrollment preference to eligible students who reside within the boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located and who attend a school site listed on the school improvement list as determined by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended or reauthorized.  A charter school may limit admission to students within a given age group or grade level.  A charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education when the applicant of the charter school is the Office of Juvenile Affairs shall limit admission to youth that are in the custody or supervision of the Office of Juvenile Affairs.

B.  Except for a charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education, a charter school shall admit students who reside in the attendance area of a school or in a school district that is under a court order of desegregation or that is a party to an agreement with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights directed towards mediating alleged or proven racial discrimination unless notice is received from the resident school district that admission of the student would violate the court order or agreement.

C.  A charter school may designate a specific geographic area within the school district in which the charter school is located as an academic enterprise zone and may limit admissions to students who reside within that area.  An academic enterprise zone shall be a geographic area in which sixty percent (60%) or more of the children who reside in the area qualify for the free or reduced school lunch program.

D.  Except as provided in subsections B and C of this section, a charter school shall not limit admission based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, measures of achievement, aptitude, or athletic ability.

SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2001, Section 16-111.1, is amended to read as follows:

Section 16-111.1.  Twenty percent (20%) of the The funds allocated for textbooks in Section 16-114 16-114a of this title may be used by a school district for supplementary textbooks and other instructional materials other than those selected and listed by the State Textbook Committee.

Passed the Senate the 19th day of May, 2011.

	
	Presiding Officer of the Senate

Passed the House of Representatives the 19th day of May, 2011.

	
	Presiding Officer of the House
	of Representatives