BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to charter schools; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. PURPOSE. (1) The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the creation of charter schools. Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of school districts. Charter schools may not be affiliated with a sectarian school or a religious institution.

(2) The goals of charter schools shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Improving student learning;

(b) Providing alternative learning opportunities for students in public schools, especially students with special needs and students who are at risk of academic failure;

(d) Creating new professional opportunities for principals and teachers, including the opportunity to be much more responsible for the learning program at the school site; and

(e) Establishing new forms of accountability for schools based on student performance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. APPLICATION PROCESS. (1) Entities eligible to submit an application to establish a charter school include existing public schools, nonprofit corporations or cooperatives, and public college and university teacher preparation programs. An existing public school may apply to become a charter school if at least fifty percent of the teachers employed in the school and fifty percent of parents of students attending the school agree to submit an application. Private schools and organizations promoting religious beliefs are not eligible to apply to become a charter school.

(2) By September 1, 1996, the superintendent of public instruction shall develop an application form for charter schools that will serve as the basis for a contract between the school district and the charter school. The application form shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements:

(a) A description of the charter school's proposed educational program and a discussion of how the program will achieve the goals of section 1 of this act and the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210;

(b) Specific learning requirements that students are to achieve;

(d) A proposed five-year budget;

(e) Governance, management, and financial policies and procedures; and

(f) Program evaluation and financial audit procedures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. APPROVAL PROCESS. (1) Charter school applications shall be submitted to the board of directors of the school district in which the proposed charter school will be located. School boards shall approve or disapprove a charter application within ninety days of submittal unless an extension in time is mutually agreed to by both the applicant and the board of directors. If the school board rejects the application, the superintendent of the educational service district in which the school district is located, at the request of the applicant, shall select and convene a review panel to review the decision of the school district board of directors. The review panel shall consist of three school board members and three teachers from other school districts within the educational service district. If the review panel determines that the school board failed to consider the charter application appropriately, or acted in an arbitrary manner in denying the application, the review panel shall request the school district board of directors to reconsider the charter request. In the case of a tie vote of the panel, the educational service district superintendent shall vote to break the tie. If the panel decides to request the school board to reconsider the request, the decision of the school board after reconsideration is final.

(2) The total number of charter schools operating in the state in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years shall not exceed twenty-five. For purposes of implementing this subsection in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years, a school district shall notify the superintendent of public instruction when it receives a charter school application, when it approves a charter school pursuant to this section, and when a charter school contract expires or is terminated. Once twenty-five charter schools are approved by school boards, the superintendent shall notify school districts. The superintendent also shall notify school districts when additional charter schools may be approved due to charter school contract terminations.

(3) The approval of a charter school shall be in the form of a written contract between the school district and the board of trustees of the charter school. Except as provided in this chapter, the school district has broad authority in establishing the terms and conditions of the contract. At a minimum, the contract shall include:

(a) The applicable requirements of this chapter;

(b) Other educational program requirements;

(d) Admission policies and procedures;

(e) Governance, management, and financial policies and procedure requirements;

(f) Insurance and liability requirements that provide financial protection for the board of trustees against loss; and

(g) Program evaluation and financial audit requirements.

(4) The term of the contract shall be no longer than five school years. Contracts may be renewed by the approving agency for additional periods of five years or less.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS. (1) The primary focus of charter schools shall be to provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one grade from kindergarten to grade twelve.

(2) Charter schools shall design their programs to be consistent with the goals in RCW 28A.150.210 and the essential academic learning requirements developed for the goals.

(3) Charter schools shall provide instruction each year and shall make available to students enrolled in kindergarten at least a total instructional offering of four hundred fifty hours. Charter schools shall make available to students enrolled in grades one through twelve at least a school-wide average total instructional hour offering of one thousand hours. As used in this subsection, "instructional hours" means those hours students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school staff, inclusive of intermissions for class changes, recess, and teacher-parent or teacher-guardian conferences that are planned and scheduled by the school for the purpose of discussing students' educational needs or progress, and exclusive of time actually spent for meals.

(4) A charter school shall comply with chapter 28A.155 RCW and rules relating to the education of students with disabilities.

(5) Charter schools shall annually administer the required state-wide assessments in RCW 28A.230.190 through 28A.230.240 and have students participate in the assessments developed by the commission on student learning in RCW 28A.630.885. The schools also shall comply with other applicable state-wide accountability requirements as determined by the superintendent of public instruction.

(6) Charter schools shall be nonsectarian in their programs, admissions policies, employment practices, and all other operations.

(7) Charter schools shall not charge tuition.

(8) Except as provided in this chapter, charter schools are exempt from all statutes and rules applicable to a school board or district, although they may elect to comply with one or more provisions of these statutes or rules. However, charter schools shall meet the same health, safety, and civil rights requirements as those required of a school district. Charter schools also shall submit financial reports as required by the superintendent of public instruction.

(9) Charter schools shall be subject to financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements similar to those required of a school district.

(10) Charter schools shall report at least annually to the school district board of directors and to the parents of their students. At a minimum, this report shall include the information required in the annual performance report required in RCW 28A.320.205.

(11) Charter schools may participate in insurance and other purchasing cooperatives used by school districts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. ADMISSION OF STUDENTS. (1) A charter school may limit admission to students within an age group or grade level. A charter school shall not limit admission to students on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or athletic ability.

(2) A student shall not be required by a school district to attend a charter school.

(3) A charter school shall enroll a student who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. In this case, students shall be accepted by lot, with first priority going to students who have siblings currently enrolled and to students from the school district in which the school is located.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. (1) Charter schools shall have a board of trustees. Bylaws containing the selection, terms, and qualifications of the board shall be established before the contract is approved by the school district board of directors.

(2) The board of trustees shall be the school's governing board, and shall consist of teachers employed in the charter school, parents of students enrolled in the charter school, and other individuals. Consistent with their contract, the board of trustees may exercise broad discretionary power for the development and implementation of programs, activities, and services for the students enrolled in the school. The board of trustees shall be liable, in accordance with applicable law, for the operation of the charter school.

(3) The board of trustees shall employ and contract with individuals who hold valid certificates to perform the particular service for which they are employed in the school as required in chapter 28A.410 RCW. The board of trustees also may employ necessary employees who are not required to hold certificates to perform other duties, and may contract for other services. The board may discharge teachers, the principal, and noncertificated employees.

(4) The board of trustees may decide, or may choose to delegate, all matters related to the operation of the school, including budgeting, personnel, curriculum, and operating procedures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. FUNDING. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall separately calculate and allocate moneys appropriated for basic education under RCW 28A.150.260 to charter schools. The amount of state funding for charter schools shall be determined by the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled in the school multiplied by the estimated state-wide annual average per full-time equivalent student allocation under RCW 28A.150.260 and applicable rules.

(2) State funding for local enhancement funds and for students who are eligible for special education under chapter 28A.155 RCW, the learning assistance program under chapter 28A.165 RCW, and the transitional bilingual instruction program under chapter 28A.180 RCW shall be determined in accordance with applicable statutes and rules that apply to school districts.

(3) For each annual full-time equivalent student enrolled in a charter school, the charter schools shall be entitled to an amount equal to the maintenance and operation excess tax levy rate per annual average full-time equivalent student of the district in which each full-time equivalent student who attends the charter school resides. These funds shall be paid to the charter school by the school district in which the student resides.

(4) The superintendent shall establish rules for the calculation and payment of funds to charter schools.

(5) The board of trustees may not levy taxes or issue bonds.

(6) Charter schools may receive funds from other governmental and private sources, excluding sectarian organizations.

(7) If school districts have excess classroom space, facilities, and buildings suitable for a charter school in which there is no foreseeable educational need, the school district shall make such space and facilities available to the charter school.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS. (1) The school district board of directors may unilaterally terminate a contract during the term of the contract for any reason in subsection (2) of this section. At least sixty days before not renewing or terminating a contract, the school district board of directors shall notify the board of trustees of the school of the proposed action in writing. The notice shall state the reasons for the proposed action in reasonable detail and the school's board of trustees may request in writing an informal hearing before the school district board of directors within fourteen days of receiving notice of nonrenewal or termination of the contract. Failure by the board of trustees to make a written request for a hearing within the fourteen-day period shall be treated as acquiescence to the proposed actions. Upon receiving a timely written request for a hearing, the school district board of directors shall give reasonable notice to the school's board of trustees of the hearing date. The school district board of directors shall conduct an informal hearing before taking final action.

(2) A contract may be terminated for the following reasons:

(a) The failure to meet or exceed the learning requirements for comparable students in the school district;

(b) The failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management;

(d) Other good cause shown.

(3) If a contract is terminated, the charter school shall be dissolved.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. TRANSPORTATION. Transportation of students attending a charter school may be provided by the sponsoring school district, through a contract with a third-party, or provided by parents. State funding for transportation of students who are transported through a contract with a third-party, at the discretion of the charter school, shall be based on the average full-time equivalent student transportation allocation for transported students in the district in which the school is located or on the allocation formula used by the school district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. EDUCATIONAL EMPLOYEES LEAVE OF ABSENCES--RETIREMENT--BARGAINING. (1) If a school district employee makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to work at a charter school, the school district shall grant the leave. The school district shall grant a leave for any number of years requested by the employee, and shall extend the leave at the employee's request. The school district may require that the request for a leave or extension of leave be made up to ninety days before the employee would otherwise have to report for duty.

(2) During a leave, the employee may continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the employee's retirement system account if appropriate employee and employer contributions are made. The department of retirement systems may impose reasonable requirements to administer this section efficiently.

(3) Employees of the board of trustees of the charter school may, if otherwise eligible, organize under chapters 41.59 and 41.56 RCW and comply with the provisions of these chapters. The board of trustees of the school is a public employer, for the purposes of chapters 41.59 and 41.56 RCW, upon formation of one or more bargaining units at the school. Bargaining units at the school shall be separate from any other units.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. INFORMATION. The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and distribute information to the public and school district personnel on the major elements of a charter school and how a charter school may be established.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. The legislative budget committee shall analyze the status and progress of the charter schools created under this act and report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 15, 1999.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The sum of fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1997, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this act do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 1 through 11 and 14 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.