Charter school contracts

AN ACT Relating to charter school contracts; and amending RCW 1
28A.710.040 and 28A.710.160. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.710.040 and 2023 c 356 s 3 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) A charter school must operate according to the terms of its 6
charter contract and the provisions of this chapter.7
(2) A charter school must: 8
(a) Comply with local, state, and federal health, safety, 9
parents' rights, civil rights, and nondiscrimination laws applicable 10
to school districts and to the same extent as school districts, 11
including but not limited to chapter 28A.642 RCW (discrimination 12
prohibition), chapter 28A.640 RCW (sexual equality), chapter 28A.180 13
RCW (transitional bilingual instruction program), and chapter 28A.155 14
RCW (special education); 15
(b) Provide a program of basic education, that meets the goals in 16
RCW 28A.150.210, including instruction in the state learning 17
standards, unless an exemption for one or more of the basic education 18
requirements is expressly included within the charter contract, and 19
participate in the statewide student assessment system as developed 20
under RCW 28A.655.070; 21
S-0716.1
SENATE BILL 5418
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Wellman, Chapman, Harris, and Nobles
Read first time 01/22/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
p. 1 SB 5418
(c) Comply with the screening and intervention requirements under 1
RCW 28A.320.260; 2
(d) Employ certificated instructional staff as required in RCW 3
28A.410.025. Charter schools, however, may hire noncertificated 4
instructional staff of unusual competence and in exceptional cases as 5
specified in RCW 28A.150.203(7), according to the same limited 6
exceptions that apply to other public schools. Beginning November 1, 7
2023, and annually thereafter, charter schools shall report the 8
employment of all noncertificated instructional staff hired in 9
accordance with this subsection (2)(d) during the current and 10
preceding school year to the executive director of the commission and 11
the state board of education for inclusion in the annual report 12
required by RCW 28A.710.250; 13
(e) Comply with the employee record check requirements in RCW 14
28A.400.303; 15
(f) Adhere to generally accepted accounting principles and be 16
subject to financial examinations and audits as determined by the 17
state auditor, including annual audits for legal and fiscal 18
compliance; 19
(g) Comply with the annual performance report under RCW 20
28A.655.110; 21
(h) Be subject to the performance improvement goals adopted by 22
the state board of education under RCW 28A.305.130;23
(i) Comply with the open public meetings act in chapter 42.30 RCW 24
and public records requirements in chapter 42.56 RCW; and25
(j) Be subject to and comply with legislation enacted after 26
December 6, 2012, that governs the operation and management of 27
charter schools. 28
(3) Charter public schools must comply with all state statutes 29
and rules made applicable to the charter school in the school's 30
charter contract, and are subject to the specific state statutes and 31
rules identified in subsection (2) of this section. For the purpose 32
of allowing flexibility to innovate in areas such as scheduling, 33
personnel, funding, and educational programs to improve student 34
outcomes and academic achievement, charter schools are not subject 35
to, and are exempt from, all other state statutes and rules 36
applicable to school districts and school district boards of 37
directors. Except as provided otherwise by this chapter or a charter 38
contract, charter schools are exempt from all school district 39
policies. 40
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(4) A charter school may not engage in any sectarian practices in 1
its educational program, admissions or employment policies, or 2
operations. 3
(5) Charter schools are subject to the supervision of the 4
superintendent of public instruction and the state board of 5
education, including accountability measures such as the Washington 6
achievement index developed by the state board of education under RCW 7
28A.657.110, to the same extent as other public schools, except as 8
otherwise provided in this chapter. 9
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.710.160 and 2020 c 49 s 4 are each amended to 10
read as follows: 11
(1) The purposes of the charter application submitted under RCW 12
28A.710.130 are to present the proposed charter school's academic and 13
operational vision and plans, and to demonstrate and provide the 14
authorizer with a clear basis for evaluating the applicant's 15
capacities to execute the proposed vision and plans. An approved 16
charter application does not serve as the school's charter contract.17
(2) Within ((ninety)) 90 days of approval of a charter 18
application, the authorizer and the governing board of the approved 19
charter school must execute a charter contract. The contract must 20
establish the terms by which the charter school agrees to provide 21
educational services that, at a minimum, meet basic education 22
standards, unless an exemption for one or more of the basic education 23
requirements is expressly included within the charter contract, in 24
return for a distribution of public funds that will be used for the 25
purposes established in the contract and in this and other applicable 26
statutes. The charter contract must clearly set forth the academic 27
and operational performance expectations and measures by which the 28
charter school will be evaluated and the administrative relationship 29
between the authorizer and charter school, including each party's 30
rights and duties. The performance expectations and measures set 31
forth in the charter contract must include, but need not be limited 32
to, applicable federal and state accountability requirements. The 33
performance provisions may be refined or amended by mutual agreement 34
after the charter school is operating and has collected baseline 35
achievement data for its enrolled students. The authorizer shall 36
consult with the state board of education on provisions within new or 37
revised charter contracts relating to the duties or authorizations of 38
the state board of education.39
p. 3 SB 5418
(3) If the charter school is authorized by a school district 1
board of directors, the charter contract must be signed by the 2
president of the applicable school district board of directors and 3
the president of the charter school board. If the charter school is 4
authorized by the commission, the charter contract must be signed by 5
the chair of the commission and the president of the charter school 6
board. Within ((ten)) 10 days of executing a charter contract, the 7
authorizer must submit to the state board of education written 8
notification of the charter contract execution, including a copy of 9
the executed charter contract and any attachments.10
(4) A charter contract may govern one or more charter schools to 11
the extent approved by the authorizer. A single charter school board 12
may hold one or more charter contracts. However, each charter school 13
that is part of a charter contract must be separate and distinct from 14
any others and, for purposes of calculating the maximum number of 15
charter schools that may be established under this chapter, each 16
charter school must be considered a single charter school regardless 17
of how many charter schools are governed under a particular charter 18
contract. 19
(5) An initial charter contract must be granted for a term of 20
five operating years. The contract term must commence on the charter 21
school's first day of operation. An approved charter school may delay 22
its opening for one school year in order to plan and prepare for the 23
school's opening. If the school requires an opening delay of more 24
than one school year, the school must request an extension from its 25
authorizer. The authorizer may grant or deny the contract extension 26
depending on the school's circumstances. 27
(6) Authorizers shall establish reasonable preopening 28
requirements or conditions to monitor the start-up progress of newly 29
approved charter schools, ensure that they are prepared to open 30
smoothly on the date agreed, and ensure that each school meets all 31
building, health, safety, insurance, and other legal requirements for 32
school opening. 33
(7) No charter school may commence operations without a charter 34
contract executed in accordance with this section.35
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