Modifies provisions governing charter school compliance with educational requirements

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2129
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE BOYKO.
4290H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 160.405, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
charter school compliance with educational requirements.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 160.405, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 160.405, to read as follows:
160.405. 1. A person, group or or ganization seeking to establish a charter school
2 shall submit the proposed charter , as provided in this section, to a sponsor . If the sponsor is
3 not a school board, the applicant shall give a copy of its application to the school board of the
4 district in which the charter school is to be located and to the state board of education, within
5 five business days of the date the application is filed with the proposed sponsor . The school
6 board may file objections with the proposed sponsor , and, if a charter is granted, the school
7 board may file objections with the state board of education. The charter shall include a
8 legally binding performance contract that describes the obligations and responsibilities of the
9 school and the sponsor as outlined in sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 and
10 shall address the following:
11 (1) A mission and vision statement for the charter school;
12 (2) A description of the charter school's or ganizational structure and bylaws of the
13 governing body , which will be responsible for the policy , financial management, and
14 operational decisions of the charter school, including the nature and extent of parental,
15 professional educator , and community involvement in the governance and operation of the
16 charter school;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 (3) A financial plan for the first three years of operation of the charter school
18 including provisions for annual audits;
19 (4) A description of the charter school's policy for securing personnel services, its
20 personnel policies, personnel qualifications, and professional development plan;
21 (5) A description of the grades or ages of students being served;
22 (6) The school's calendar of operation, which shall include at least the equivalent of a
23 full school term as defined in section 160.01 1;
24 (7) A description of the charter school's pupil performance standards and academic
25 program performance standards, which shall meet the requirements of subdivision (6) of
26 subsection 4 of this section. The charter school program shall be designed to enable each
27 pupil to achieve such standards and shall contain a complete set of indicators, measures,
28 metrics, and tar gets for academic program performance, including specific goals on
29 graduation rates and standardized test performance and academic growth;
30 (8) A description of the charter school's educational program and curriculum;
31 (9) The term of the charter , which shall be five years and may be renewed;
32 (10) Procedures, consistent with the Missouri financial accounting manual, for
33 monitoring the financial accountability of the charter , which shall meet the requirements of
34 subdivision (4) of subsection 4 of this section;
35 (1 1) Preopening requirements for applications that require that charter schools meet
36 all health, safety , and other legal requirements prior to opening;
37 (12) A description of the charter school's policies on student discipline and student
38 admission, which shall include a statement, where applicable, of the validity of attendance of
39 students who do not reside in the district but who may be eligible to attend under the terms of
40 judicial settlements and procedures that ensure admission of students with disabilities in a
41 nondiscriminatory manner;
42 (13) A description of the charter school's grievance procedure for parents or
43 guardians;
44 (14) A description of the agreement and time frame for implementation between the
45 charter school and the sponsor as to when a sponsor shall intervene in a charter school, when
46 a sponsor shall revoke a charter for failure to comply with subsection 8 of this section, and
47 when a sponsor will not renew a charter under subsection 9 of this section;
48 (15) Procedures to be implemented if the charter school should close, as provided in
49 subdivision (6) of subsection 16 of section 160.400 including:
50 (a) Orderly transition of student records to new schools and archival of student
51 records;
52 (b) Archival of business operation and transfer or repository of personnel records;
53 (c) Submission of final financial reports;
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54 (d) Resolution of any remaining financial obligations;
55 (e) Disposition of the charter school's assets upon closure; and
56 (f) A notification plan to inform parents or guardians of students, the local school
57 district, the retirement system in which the charter school's employees participate, and the
58 state board of education within thirty days of the decision to close;
59 (16) A description of the special education and related services that shall be available
60 to meet the needs of students with disabilities; and
61 (17) For all new or revised charters, procedures to be used upon closure of the charter
62 school requiring that unobligated assets of the charter school be returned to the department of
63 elementary and secondary education for their disposition, which upon receipt of such assets
64 shall return them to the local school district in which the school was located, the state, or any
65 other entity to which they would belong.
66
67 [Charter schools operating on August 27, 2012, shall have until August 28, 2015, to meet the
68 requirements of this subsection. ]
69 2. Proposed charters shall be subject to the following requirements:
70 (1) A charter shall be submitted to the sponsor , and follow the sponsor's policies and
71 procedures for review and granting of a charter approval, and be approved by the state board
72 of education by January thirty-first prior to the school year of the proposed opening date of
73 the charter school;
74 (2) A charter may be approved when the sponsor determines that the requirements of
75 this section are met, determines that the applicant is suf ficiently qualified to operate a charter
76 school, and that the proposed charter is consistent with the sponsor's charter sponsorship
77 goals and capacity . The sponsor's decision of approval or denial shall be made within ninety
78 days of the filing of the proposed charter;
79 (3) If the charter is denied, the proposed sponsor shall notify the applicant in writing
80 as to the reasons for its denial and forward a copy to the state board of education within five
81 business days following the denial;
82 (4) If a proposed charter is denied by a sponsor , the proposed charter may be
83 submitted to the state board of education, along with the sponsor's written reasons for its
84 denial. If the state board determines that the applicant meets the requirements of this section,
85 that the applicant is suf ficiently qualified to operate the charter school, and that granting a
86 charter to the applicant would be likely to provide educational benefit to the children of the
87 district, the state board may grant a charter and act as sponsor of the charter school. The state
88 board shall review the proposed charter and make a determination of whether to deny or grant
89 the proposed charter within sixty days of receipt of the proposed charter , provided that any
90 charter to be considered by the state board of education under this subdivision shall be
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91 submitted no later than March first prior to the school year in which the charter school intends
92 to begin operations. The state board of education shall notify the applicant in writing as the
93 reasons for its denial, if applicable; and
94 (5) The sponsor of a charter school shall give priority to charter school applicants that
95 propose a school oriented to high-risk students and to the reentry of dropouts into the school
96 system. If a sponsor grants three or more charters, at least one-third of the charters granted by
97 the sponsor shall be to schools that actively recruit dropouts or high-risk students as their
98 student body and address the needs of dropouts or high-risk students through their proposed
99 mission, curriculum, teaching methods, and services. For purposes of this subsection, a
100 "high-risk" student is one who is at least one year behind in satisfactory completion of course
101 work or obtaining high school credits for graduation, has dropped out of school, is at risk of
102 dropping out of school, needs drug and alcohol treatment, has severe behavioral problems,
103 has been suspended from school three or more times, has a history of severe truancy , is a
104 pregnant or parenting teen, has been referred for enrollment by the judicial system, is exiting
105 incarceration, is a refugee, is homeless or has been homeless sometime within the preceding
106 six months, has been referred by an area school district for enrollment in an alternative
107 program, or qualifies as high risk under department of elementary and secondary education
108 guidelines. Dropout shall be defined through the guidelines of the school core data report.
109 The provisions of this subsection do not apply to charters sponsored by the state board of
110 education.
111 3. If a charter is approved by a sponsor , the charter application shall be submitted to
112 the state board of education, along with a statement of finding by the sponsor that the
113 application meets the requirements of sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 and a
114 monitoring plan under which the charter sponsor shall evaluate the academic performance,
115 including annual performance reports, of students enrolled in the charter school. The state
116 board of education shall approve or deny a charter application within sixty days of receipt of
117 the application. The state board of education may deny a charter on grounds that the
118 application fails to meet the requirements of sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349
119 or that a charter sponsor previously failed to meet the statutory responsibilities of a charter
120 sponsor . Any denial of a charter application made by the state board of education shall be in
121 writing and shall identify the specific failures of the application to meet the requirements of
122 sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349, and the written denial shall be provided
123 within ten business days to the sponsor .
124 4. A charter school shall, as provided in its charter:
125 (1) Be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and
126 all other operations;
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127 (2) Comply with laws and regulations of the state, county , or city relating to health,
128 safety , and state minimum educational standards, as specified by the state board of education,
129 and other requ irem ents for public schools in state law including , but not limited to, the
130 requirements relating to :
131 (a) Student discipline under sections 160.261, 167.161, 167.164, and 167.171[ , ] ;
132 (b) Notification of criminal conduct to law enforcement authorities under sections
133 167.1 15 [ to ] and 167.1 17[ , ] ;
134 (c) Academic assessment under section 160.518[ , ] ;
135 (d) T ransmittal of school records under section 167.020[ , ] ;
136 (e) The minimum amount of school time required under section 171.031[ , and ] ;
137 (f) The employee criminal history background check and the family care safety
138 registry check under section 168.133;
139 (g) Student participation in moderate physical activity under section 167.720;
140 (h) Interscholastic youth sports brain injury pr evention under section 167.765;
141 (i) Conducting educational pr ograms and activities and observing V eterans Day
142 under section 170.049;
143 (j) Pr oviding access to official recruiting repr esentatives of the military under
144 section 171.026;
145 (k) The minimum school term under section 163.021; and
146 (l) Pr evailing wage requ irem ents for school construction pr ojects under section
147 290.230;
148 (3) Except as provided in sections 160.400 to 160.425 and as specifically provided in
149 other sections, be exempt from all laws and rules relating to schools, governing boards and
150 school districts;
151 (4) Be financially accountable, use practices consistent with the Missouri financial
152 accounting manual, provide for an annual audit by a certified public accountant, publish audit
153 reports and annual financial reports as provided in chapter 165, provided that the annual
154 financial report may be published on the department of elementary and secondary education's
155 internet website in addition to other publishing requirements, and provide liability insurance
156 to indemnify the school, its board, staff and teachers against tort claims. A charter school that
157 receives local educational agency status under subsection 6 of this section shall meet the
158 requirements imposed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for audits of such
159 agencies and comply with all federal audit requirements for charters with local educational
160 agency status. For purposes of an audit by petition under section 29.230, a charter school
161 shall be treated as a political subdivision on the same terms and conditions as the school
162 district in which it is located. For the purposes of securing such insurance, a charter school
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163 shall be eligible for the Missouri public entity risk management fund pursuant to section
164 537.700. A charter school that incurs debt shall include a repayment plan in its financial plan;
165 (5) Provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one grade or age
166 group from early childhood through grade twelve, as specified in its charter;
167 (6) (a) Design a method to measure pupil progress toward the pupil academic
168 standards adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 160.514, establish
169 baseline student performance in accordance with the performance contract during the first
170 year of operation, collect student performance data as defined by the annual performance
171 report throughout the duration of the charter to annually monitor student academic
172 performance, and to the extent applicable based upon grade levels of fered by the charter
173 school, participate in the statewide system of assessments, comprised of the essential skills
174 tests and the nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement tests, as designated by the
175 state board pursuant to section 160.518, complete and distribute an annual report card as
176 prescribed in section 160.522, which shall also include a statement that background checks
177 have been completed on the charter school's board members, and report to its sponsor , the
178 local school district, and the state board of education as to its teaching methods and any
179 educational innovations and the results thereof. No charter school shall be considered in the
180 Missouri school improvement program review of the district in which it is located for the
181 resource or process standards of the program.
182 (b) For proposed high-risk or alternative charter schools, sponsors shall approve
183 performance measures based on mission, curriculum, teaching methods, and services.
184 Sponsors shall also approve comprehensive academic and behavioral measures to determine
185 whether students are meeting performance standards on a dif ferent time frame as specified in
186 that school's charter . Student performance shall be assessed comprehensively to determine
187 whether a high-risk or alternative charter school has documented adequate student progress.
188 Student performance shall be based on sponsor- approved comprehensive measures as well as
189 standardized public school measures. Annual presentation of charter school report card data
190 to the department of elementary and secondary education, the state board, and the public shall
191 include comprehensive measures of student progress.
192 (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as permitting a charter school to be
193 held to lower performance standards than other public schools within a district; however , the
194 charter of a charter school may permit students to meet performance standards on a dif ferent
195 time frame as specified in its charter . The performance standards for alternative and special
196 purpose charter schools that tar get high-risk students as defined in subdivision (5) of
197 subsection 2 of this section shall be based on measures defined in the school's performance
198 contract with its sponsors;
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199 (7) Comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding
200 students with disabilities, including sections 162.670 to 162.710, the Individuals with
201 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq. ) and Section 504 of the
202 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) or successor legislation;
203 (8) Provide along with any request for review by the state board of education the
204 following:
205 (a) Documentation that the applicant has provided a copy of the application to the
206 school board of the district in which the charter school is to be located, except in those
207 circumstances where the school district is the sponsor of the charter school; and
208 (b) A statement outlining the reasons for approval or denial by the sponsor ,
209 specifically addressing the requirements of sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349.
210 5. (1) Proposed or existing high-risk or alternative charter schools may include
211 alternative arrangements for students to obtain credit for satisfying graduation requirements in
212 the school's charter application and charter . Alternative arrangements may include, but not be
213 limited to, credit for of f-campus instruction, embedded credit, work experience through an
214 internship arranged through the school, and independent studies. When the state board of
215 education approves the charter , any such alternative arrangements shall be approved at such
216 time.
217 (2) The department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a study of
218 any charter school granted alternative arrangements for students to obtain credit under this
219 subsection after three years of operation to assess student performance, graduation rates,
220 educational outcomes, and entry into the workforce or higher education.
221 6. The charter of a charter school may be amended at the request of the governing
222 body of the charter school and on the approval of the sponsor . The sponsor and the governing
223 board and staf f of the charter school shall jointly review the school's performance,
224 management and operations during the first year of operation and then every other year after
225 the most recent review or at any point where the operation or management of the charter
226 school is changed or transferred to another entity , either public or private. The governing
227 board of a charter school may amend the charter , if the sponsor approves such amendment, or
228 the sponsor and the governing board may reach an agreement in writing to reflect the charter
229 school's decision to become a local educational agency . In such case the sponsor shall give
230 the department of elementary and secondary education written notice no later than March first
231 of any year , with the agreement to become ef fective July first. The department may waive the
232 March first notice date in its discretion. The department shall identify and furnish a list of its
233 regulations that pertain to local educational agencies to such schools within thirty days of
234 receiving such notice.
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235 7. Sponsors shall annually review the charter school's compliance with statutory
236 standards including:
237 (1) Participation in the statewide system of assessments, as designated by the state
238 board of education under section 160.518;
239 (2) Assurances for the completion and distribution of an annual report card as
240 prescribed in section 160.522;
241 (3) The collection of baseline data during the first three years of operation to
242 determine the longitudinal success of the charter school;
243 (4) A method to measure pupil progress toward the pupil academic standards adopted
244 by the state board of education under section 160.514; and
245 (5) Publication of each charter school's annual performance report.
246 8. (1) (a) A sponsor's policies shall give schools clear , adequate, evidence-based, and
247 timely notice of contract violations or performance deficiencies and mandate intervention
248 based upon findings of the state board of education of the following:
249 a. The charter school provides a high school program which fails to maintain a
250 graduation rate of at least seventy percent in three of the last four school years unless the
251 school has dropout recovery as its mission;
252 b. The charter school's annual performance report results are below the district's
253 annual performance report results based on the performance standards that are applicable to
254 the grade level configuration of both the charter school and the district in which the charter
255 school is located in three of the last four school years; and
256 c. The charter school is identified as a persistently lowest achieving school by the
257 department of elementary and secondary education.
258 (b) A sponsor shall have a policy to revoke a charter during the charter term if there
259 is:
260 a. Clear evidence of underperformance as demonstrated in the charter school's annual
261 performance report in three of the last four school years; or
262 b. A violation of the law or the public trust that imperils students or public funds.
263 (c) A sponsor shall revoke a charter or take other appropriate remedial action, which
264 may include placing the charter school on probationary status for no more than twenty-four
265 months, provided that no more than one designation of probationary status shall be allowed
266 for the duration of the charter contract, at any time if the charter school commits a serious
267 breach of one or more provisions of its charter or on any of the following grounds: failure to
268 meet the performance contract as set forth in its charter , failure to meet generally accepted
269 standards of fiscal management, failure to provide information necessary to confirm
270 compliance with all provisions of the charter and sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349
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271 within forty-five days following receipt of written notice requesting such information, or
272 violation of law .
273 (2) The sponsor may place the charter school on probationary status to allow the
274 implementation of a remedial plan, which may require a change of methodology , a change in
275 leadership, or both, after which, if such plan is unsuccessful, the charter may be revoked.
276 (3) At least sixty days before acting to revoke a charter , the sponsor shall notify the
277 governing board of the charter school of the proposed action in writing. The notice shall state
278 the grounds for the proposed action. The school's governing board may request in writing a
279 hearing before the sponsor within two weeks of receiving the notice.
280 (4) The sponsor of a charter school shall establish procedures to conduct
281 administrative hearings upon determination by the sponsor that grounds exist to revoke a
282 charter . Final decisions of a sponsor from hearings conducted pursuant to this subsection are
283 subject to an appeal to the state board of education, which shall determine whether the charter
284 shall be revoked.
285 (5) A termination shall be ef fective only at the conclusion of the school year , unless
286 the sponsor determines that continued operation of the school presents a clear and immediate
287 threat to the health and safety of the children.
288 (6) A charter sponsor shall make available the school accountability report card
289 information as provided under section 160.522 and the results of the academic monitoring
290 required under subsection 3 of this section.
291 9. (1) A sponsor shall take all reasonable steps necessary to confirm that each charter
292 school sponsored by such sponsor is in material compliance and remains in material
293 compliance with all material provisions of the charter and sections 160.400 to 160.425 and
294 167.349. Every charter school shall provide all information necessary to confirm ongoing
295 compliance with all provisions of its charter and sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 in a
296 timely manner to its sponsor .
297 (2) The sponsor's renewal process of the charter school shall be based on the thorough
298 analysis of a comprehensive body of objective evidence and consider if:
299 (a) The charter school has maintained results on its annual performance report that
300 meet or exceed the district in which the charter school is located based on the performance
301 standards that are applicable to the grade-level configuration of both the charter school and
302 the district in which the charter school is located in three of the last four school years;
303 (b) The charter school is or ganizationally and fiscally viable determining at a
304 minimum that the school does not have:
305 a. A negative balance in its operating funds;
306 b. A combined balance of less than three percent of the amount expended for such
307 funds during the previous fiscal year; or
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308 c. Expenditures that exceed receipts for the most recently completed fiscal year;
309 (c) The charter is in compliance with its legally binding performance contract and
310 sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349; and
311 (d) The charter school has an annual performance report consistent with a
312 classification of accredited for three of the last four years and is fiscally viable as described in
313 paragraph (b) of this subdivision. If such is the case, the charter school may have an
314 expedited renewal process as defined by rule of the department of elementary and secondary
315 education.
316 (3) (a) Beginning August first during the year in which a charter is considered for
317 renewal, a charter school sponsor shall demonstrate to the state board of education that the
318 charter school is in compliance with federal and state law as provided in sections 160.400 to
319 160.425 and section 167.349 and the school's performance contract including but not limited
320 to those requirements specific to academic performance.
321 (b) Along with data reflecting the academic performance standards indicated in
322 paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the sponsor shall submit a revised charter application to the
323 state board of education for review .
324 (c) Using the data requested and the revised charter application under paragraphs (a)
325 and (b) of this subdivision, the state board of education shall determine if compliance with all
326 standards enumerated in this subdivision has been achieved. The state board of education at
327 its next regularly scheduled meeting shall vote on the revised charter application.
328 (d) If a charter school sponsor demonstrates the objectives identified in this
329 subdivision, the state board of education shall renew the school's charter .
330 10. A school district may enter into a lease with a charter school for physical
331 facilities.
332 1 1. A governing board or a school district employee who has control over personnel
333 actions shall not take unlawful reprisal against another employee at the school district because
334 the employee is directly or indirectly involved in an application to establish a charter school.
335 A governing board or a school district employee shall not take unlawful reprisal against an
336 educational program of the school or the school district because an application to establish a
337 charter school proposes the conversion of all or a portion of the educational program to a
338 charter school. As used in this subsection, "unlawful reprisal" means an action that is taken
339 by a governing board or a school district employee as a direct result of a lawful application to
340 establish a charter school and that is adverse to another employee or an educational program.
341 12. Charter school board members shall be subject to the same liability for acts while
342 in of fice as if they were regularly and duly elected members of school boards in any other
343 public school district in this state. The governing board of a charter school may participate, to
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344 the same extent as a school board, in the Missouri public entity risk management fund in the
345 manner provided under sections 537.700 to 537.756.
346 13. Any entity , either public or private, operating, administering, or otherwise
347 managing a charter school shall be considered a quasi-public governmental body and subject
348 to the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.035.
349 14. The chief financial of ficer of a charter school shall maintain:
350 (1) A surety bond in an amount determined by the sponsor to be adequate based on
351 the cash flow of the school; or
352 (2) An insurance policy issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in
353 Missouri on all employees in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars or more that
354 provides coverage in the event of employee theft.
355 15. The department of elementary and secondary education shall calculate an annual
356 performance report for each charter school and shall publish it in the same manner as annual
357 performance reports are calculated and published for districts and attendance centers.
358 16. The joint committee on education shall create a committee to investigate facility
359 access and affor dability for charter schools. The committee shall be comprised of equal
360 numbers of the charter school sector and the public school sector and shall report its findings
361 to the general assembly by December 31, 2016.
✔
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