charter schools; employment contracts; publication

Plain English Breakdown

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Charter Schools; Employment Contracts and Publication

This bill requires charter schools to report and publish information about their chief financial officers' or highest-ranking administrators' employment contracts on their websites and the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools website.

What This Bill Does

• Requires charter school governing bodies to submit copies of employment contracts, including extensions and amendments, for CFOs or highest-ranking administrators employed in the past five years to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS).
• Instructs charter schools to post these contracts on their websites within 30 days after entering into a contract or approving an extension/amendment.
• Requires ASBCS to create and maintain a searchable online database with specific details about employment contracts submitted by charter schools, including base salaries, benefits, and other financial information.
• Directs ASBCS to compile and post an annual report on December 1st detailing the base salary and employee benefits for CFOs or highest-ranking administrators in each charter school.

Who It Names or Affects

• Charter schools in Arizona
• Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS)

Terms To Know

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

The person responsible for managing the financial operations of a charter school.

Highest-ranking administrator

The top administrative position in a charter school, often equivalent to a principal or superintendent.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if a charter school fails to comply with the reporting and posting requirements.
• Does not provide details on how personally identifiable information will be redacted from contracts before publication.

Official Summary Text

HB4078 - 572R - House Bill Summary

ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

57th
Legislature, 2nd Regular Session

Majority Research Staff

HB4078
:
charter schools; employment contracts; publication

Sponsor:
Representative Gutierrez, LD 18

Committee
on Education

Overview

Establishes
reporting and posting requirements for charter school governing bodies
(governing bodies) and the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS)
regarding the employment contracts of chief financial officers (CFOs) or the highest-ranking
school administrator (administrator).

History

The charter of a charter school must provide for a governing
body that is responsible for the policy decisions of the charter school (
A.R.S. � 15-183
).

ASBCS exercises general supervision over ASBCS-sponsored
charter schools, recommends charter school-related legislation to the Legislature
and adopts rules and policies it deems necessary to accomplish its statutory
duties (
A.R.S. � 15-182
).

Provisions

1.

Directs a
governing body to submit to ASBCS either:

a.

a copy of
the employment contract, including any extension or amendment, for each CFO or
administrator employed by the charter school during the preceding five school
years; or

b.

an
attestation stating the charter school has not employed a CFO or school
administrator during the preceding five school years.

2.

Instructs a
governing body to submit to ASBCS either:

a.

a copy of
the employment contract, including any extension or amendment, for each
currently employed CFO or administrator within 30 days after the date on which
the charter school entered into the contract or approved the extension or
amendment; or

b.

an affidavit
stating the employment contract of the CFO or administrator is the same
contract as the contract the charter school submitted for the immediately
preceding year within 30 days after the anniversary of the date on which the
charter school entered into the contract.

3.

Requires
each governing body to post on the charter school's website a copy of each
contract and attestation it submits to ASBCS and ASBCS to post on its website
all contracts that are submitted.

4.

Prohibits
ASBCS and a charter school from removing a contract that is posted on its
respective website until at least five years after the date on which the
employment of the CFO or administrator is terminated.

5.

Authorizes
ASBCS and a charter school to redact personally identifiable information that
is exempt from public disclosure as a matter of law before posting an
employment contract on its respective website.

6.

Instructs
ASBCS, by December 1 annually, to compile and post on its website a report that
contains the following information for each charter school:

a.

the CFO's or
administrator's base salary;

b.

a list of
all employee benefits the CFO or administrator may receive pursuant to their
employment contract, including the benefit's monetary value; and

c.

if the CFO
or administrator has a car allowance under their employment contract, the
amount of the car allowance.

7.

Instructs
ASBCS to create and post on its website a searchable online database that
contains, at a minimum, the following information from each CFO or
administrator contract submitted by a charter school:

a.

the charter
school's name;

b.

the base
salary for the CFO or administrator employed by the charter school;

c.

the total
amount of:

i.

performance
based pay awarded to the CFO or administrator;

ii.

employer
contributions for retirement benefits for the CFO or the administrator;

iii.

stipends
paid to the CFO or administrator, disaggregated by the purpose or type of
stipend;

iv.

employer
contributions for health insurance premiums for the spouse and dependents of
the CFO or administrator;

v.

employer
contributions for life insurance for the CFO or administrator;

d.

the total
hours of personal leave and paid time off awarded to the CFO or administrator;
and

e.

whether the
CFO or administrator is entitled to payment for unused personal leave and paid
time off.

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4078

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Current Bill Text

HB4078 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
charter schools; employment contracts; publication

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 4078

Introduced by

Representatives
Gutierrez: Garcia, Simacek

AN
ACT

AMENDING TITLE 15, CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 8,
Arizona Revised Statutes, BY ADDING SECTION 15-187.02; RELATING TO
CHARTER SCHOOLS.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 1, article 8,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-187.02, to read:

START_STATUTE
15-187.02.

Charter schools; administrators; employment contracts; posting
requirements; searchable database; annual report

A. Each charter school governing body
shall submit to the state board for charter schools both of the following:

1. Either:

(
a
) A copy of
the employment contract, including any extension or amendment to the contract,
for each individual who has been employed by the charter school during the
preceding five school years as the chief financial officer or the highest-ranking
school administrator.

(
b
) An
attestation stating that the charter school has not employed a chief financial
officer or school administrator during the preceding five school years.

2. Either:

(
a
) A copy of
the employment contract, including any extension or amendment to the contract,
for each individual who is currently employed as the chief financial officer or
the highest-ranking school administrator not later than thirty days after
the date on which the charter school entered into the contract or approved the
extension or amendment to the contract.

(
b
) An
affidavit stating that the employment contract of the chief financial officer
or the highest-ranking school administrator, as applicable, is the same
as the employment contract that the charter school submitted for the
immediately preceding year.� an affidavit submitted pursuant to this
subdivision must be submitted not later than thirty days after the anniversary
of the date on which the charter school entered into the contract.

B. The state board for charter
schools shall:

1. Post all contracts that are
submitted pursuant to subsection A of this section on the state board's
website.� The state board may not remove a contract that is posted pursuant to
this subsection until at least five years after the date on which the
employment of the chief financial officer or school administrator is
terminated.� The state board may redact personally identifiable information
that is exempt from public disclosure as a matter of law before posting an
employment contract on the state board's website.

2. Create a searchable online
database that is posted on the state board's website and that contains, at a
minimum, the following information from each contract that is submitted
pursuant to subsection a of this section:

(
a
) The charter school's name.

(
b
) The base salary for the chief financial officer OR the
highest-ranking school administrator who is employed by the charter
school.

(
c
) The total
amount of performance based pay that the charter school governing body awards
to the chief financial officer OR the highest-ranking school
administrator.

(
d
) The total
amount of employer contributions for retirement benefits for the chief
financial officer OR the highest-ranking school administrator.

(
e
) The total
amount of stipends paid to the chief financial officer or the highest-ranking
school administrator, disaggregated by the purpose or type of stipend.

(
f
) The total
hours of personal leave and paid time off that are awarded to the chief
financial officer or the highest-ranking school administrator.

(
g
) Whether the
chief financial officer or the highest-ranking school administrator is
entitled to payment for unused personal leave and paid time off.

(
h
) The total
amount of employer contributions for health insurance premiums for the spouse
and dependents of the chief financial officer or the highest-ranking
school administrator.

(
i
) The total
amount of employer contributions for life insurance for the chief financial
officer or the highest-ranking school administrator.

C. Each charter school governing body
shall post on the charter school's website a copy of each contract and
attestation that the governing body submits to the state board pursuant to
subsection A of this section.� A charter school may not remove a contract that
is posted pursuant to this subsection until at least five years after the date
on which the employment of the chief financial officer or school administrator
is terminated.� A charter school may redact personally identifiable information
that is exempt from public disclosure as a matter of law before posting an
employment contract on the charter school's website.

D. On or before December 1 of each
year, the state board for charter schools shall compile a report that includes
all of the following information for each charter school in this state and
shall post the report on the state board's website:

1. The base salary of the chief
financial officer or the highest-ranking school administrator.

2. A
list of all employee benefits that the chief financial officer or highest-ranking
school administrator may receive pursuant to the individual's employment
contract, including, if applicable, the monetary value of each benefit.

3. If the chief financial officer or
highest-ranking school administrator has a car allowance under the
individual's employment contract, the amount of the allowance.

END_STATUTE