SF0096 - Charter schools-amendments.

 

2001

State of Wyoming

01LSO-0191.E1 ENGROSSED

 

 

 

SENATE FILE NO.  SF0096

 

 

Charter schools-amendments.

 

Sponsored by:  Senator(s) Devin, Erb, Larson and Scott and
Representative(s) Nagel and Shivler

 

 

A BILL

 

for

 

 1  AN ACT relating to charter schools; establishing an
 2  application process for charter schools as specified;
 3  eliminating petition requirements; establishing a separate
 4  application process for converting existing public schools
 5  into charter schools; providing for establishing a charter
 6  school within a public school; granting charter schools
 7  authority to enter into contracts; providing for
 8  conditional approval; providing for state board review of
 9  district board action; prohibiting certain actions by
10  district boards; clarifying charter school employee
11  employment status for salary, benefit and retirement
12  purposes; clarifying application of district major
13  maintenance payments to charter school facilities;
14  restricting foundation program amounts generated by charter
15  school attendance; providing for funding through district

Page  1

 

 

 

 1  budget as specified; granting rulemaking authority; and
 2  providing for an effective date.

 3 

 4  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

 5 

 6         Section 1.  W.S. 21-3-203(a)(intro), (b)(intro) and
 7  (xiii), (e) through (g) and by creating new subsections (h)
 8  through (k), 21-3-205(b), 21-3-207 and 21-15-109(a)(ii) are
 9  amended to read:

10 

11         21-3-203.  Application for establishing charter
12  schools; new charter schools and chartered schools within a
13  school defined; conversion of existing schools; hearing by
14  local board; prohibited actions by local board; criteria;
15  compliance with state standards; state board review;
16  contractual authority.

17 

18         (a)  A petition Except as provided under subsection
19  (h) of this section for converting an existing public
20  school to a charter school, any person may apply to the
21  district board of trustees for the establishment of a new
22  charter school or a chartered school within a school within
23  any a school district. may be circulated by any person
24  seeking to establish the charter school. The petition may

Page  2

 

 

 

 1  be submitted to the district board of trustees for review
 2  after it has been signed by: As used in this article:

 3 

 4              (i)  "New charter school" means a charter school
 5  established within the district which is located in a
 6  facility or a portion of a facility which is not currently
 7  being operated by the district as a public school;

 8 

 9              (ii)  "A charter school within a school" means a
10  charter school operating within a facility or portion of a
11  facility currently operated by the district as a public
12  school or operated as an adjunct to a public school or
13  schools with students attending both the charter school and
14  the public school.

15 

16         (b)  Not later than thirty (30) days after receiving a
17  petition submitted an application for a new or converted
18  charter school filed in accordance with subsection (a) or
19  (h) of this section, the district board of trustees shall
20  hold a public hearing on the charter application, at which
21  time the board shall consider the level of employee
22  community and parental support for the petition application
23  if an application for a new charter school, or the level of
24  teacher and parental support if an application for a

Page  3

 

 

 

 1  converted charter school. Following review of the petition
 2  application and the public hearing, if applicable, the
 3  governing board shall either grant approve or deny the
 4  charter application within sixty (60) days of receipt. of
 5  the petition. Approval under this article may be
 6  conditioned for purposes specified under subsection (f) of
 7  this section. In addition, the board may grant a charter
 8  approve an application for the operation of a converted
 9  charter school under this article pursuant to subsection
10  (h) of this section only if it determines the petition
11  contains the number of signatures teacher and parental
12  support for the conversion are established at the levels
13  required by paragraph (a)(i) or (ii) subsection (h) of this
14  section., Prior to approving an application for a charter
15  school under this section, the board shall require and
16  review a statement of each of the conditions described in
17  subsection (d) of this section and each of the following:

18 

19         (xiii)  In accordance with W.S. 21-3-205(b), a
20  description of the rights of any employee of the school
21  district upon leaving the commencing employment of the
22  school district to work in a charter school; and of any
23  rights upon returning to the school district after
24  employment at a charter school; and

 

Page  4

 

 

 

 1 

 2         (e)  No district board of trustees or agent of the
 3  board shall require any employee of the school district to
 4  be employed in a charter school or any pupil enrolled in
 5  the school district to attend a charter school. No district
 6  board or its agent shall harass, threaten, discipline,
 7  discharge, retaliate or in any manner discriminate against
 8  any district employee involved directly or indirectly with
 9  an application to establish a charter school as authorized
10  under this article.

11 

12         (f)  The district board shall require the petitioner
13  applicant to provide information regarding the proposed
14  operation and potential effects of the school, including
15  but not limited to the facilities to be utilized by the
16  school, the manner in which administrative services of the
17  school are to be provided and a demonstration that the
18  school is adequately insured for liability, including
19  errors and omissions, and that the school district is
20  indemnified to the fullest extent possible. As authorized
21  under subsection (b) of this section, the applicant may
22  request the district board and the board may approve the
23  charter application subject to specified conditions which
24  provide the applicant sufficient time to acquire necessary

Page  5

 

 

 

 1  funding for securing or otherwise finalizing arrangements
 2  for facilities or equipment necessary for the operation of
 3  the proposed school. In addition, the district board shall
 4  upon request of the applicant and approval of the charter
 5  school application, make available for use by the charter
 6  school any district facility which is closed, not
 7  operational and otherwise feasible for use as an
 8  educational building as defined under W.S.
 9  21-15-109(a)(ii).

10 

11         (g)  Upon the approval of any petition application by
12  the district board, the petitioner applicant shall provide
13  written notice of that approval including a copy of the
14  petition application to the state superintendent. If the
15  district board denies the application, the board shall
16  notify the applicant of the denial in writing, together
17  with its reasons for denial. The applicant may appeal the
18  final decision of the district board to the state board of
19  education. Review by the state board shall be based upon
20  the record before the district board and shall be limited
21  to determining if the decision of the district board was in
22  the best interests of the involved students, district or
23  the community in which the proposed school is to be

Page  6

 

 

 

 1  located. The decision of the state board is a final
 2  administrative decision not subject to judicial review.

 3 

 4         (h)  Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section,
 5  administrators and teachers employed by the district,
 6  parents of students enrolled in the district and any
 7  special district advisory group comprised of district
 8  residents may apply to the district board of trustees to
 9  convert an existing public school operating within the
10  district to a charter school. An application filed under
11  this subsection shall demonstrate the support of not less
12  than fifty percent (50%) of the teachers employed by the
13  district who teach at the school proposed to be converted,
14  and fifty percent (50%) of the parents of all students
15  attending the school proposed to be converted.

16 

17         (j)  Instead of establishing a new charter school or a
18  converted charter school under this section, a district and
19  a charter school applicant may by mutual agreement
20  establish a charter school within a school. A charter
21  school operated under this subsection is a separate school
22  and shall have the rights and obligations provided under
23  this article for new and converted charter schools if:

24 

 

Page  7

 

 

 

 1              (i)  Faculty and staff at the charter school may
 2  work in both the charter school established under this
 3  subsection and other district schools;

 4 

 5              (ii)  If district students attend both the
 6  charter school established under this subsection and
 7  another district school, the students shall be counted for
 8  each school in proportion to the percentage of their time
 9  spent in each school.

10 

11         (k)  A charter school may contract for the provision
12  of services subject to the following:

13 

14              (i)  The contract shall be executed in the same
15  manner and subject to the same restrictions as contracts by
16  the school district;

17 

18              (ii)  The contract shall not exceed funds
19  available to the charter school;

20 

21              (iii)  The contract shall not exceed the
22  remaining length of operation for which the charter school
23  was approved pursuant to W.S. 21-3-204;

24 

 

Page  8

 

 

 

 1              (iv)  With the consent of the school district,
 2  the charter school may delegate the authority to negotiate
 3  the contract or execute the contract, or both, to the
 4  school district.

 5 

 6         21-3-205.  Compliance with charter; participation in
 7  retirement system; continuous employment of employees for
 8  salary and benefit purposes.

 9 

10         (b)  Any charter school electing to shall participate
11  in the Wyoming retirement system shall participate to the
12  extent as if it were a public school within the district.
13  The employment of charter school employees shall be
14  considered continuous with the district during the period
15  of employment with the charter school for purposes of
16  salary, retirement and other benefits.  Charter school
17  employees shall be afforded all benefits provided employees
18  of the district and shall receive credit within the
19  district's salary schedule for the years of service under
20  the charter school.

21 

22         21-3-207.  Students counted within district ADM;
23  district foundation program amount restricted; expenditure
24  and reporting of restricted amounts.

 

Page  9

 

 

 

 1 

 2         (a)  Each student attending a charter school shall be
 3  counted among the average daily membership of the district
 4  in which the school is located.

 5 

 6         (b)  Except as provided by subsection (c) of this
 7  section, for any school year during which an application
 8  for a new or converted charter school or a charter school
 9  within a school was approved by a district board under this
10  article and the charter school operated in that district,
11  the following shall apply with respect to the foundation
12  program amount determined for that district under W.S.
13  21-13-309:

14 

15              (i)  The district shall use an amount not less
16  than the amount computed under this paragraph solely for
17  the operation of the charter school during the applicable
18  school year:

19 

20                   (A)  The total amount computed under W.S.
21  21-13-309 for the district on a per average daily
22  membership basis for the applicable school year;

23 

 

Page 10

 

 

 

 1                   (B)  The amount determined under
 2  subparagraph (b)(i)(A) of this section times the total
 3  average daily membership of the charter school for the
 4  applicable school year. For purposes of this subparagraph,
 5  the average daily membership for each kindergarten student
 6  attending the charter school shall be divided by two (2);

 7 

 8                   (C)  The amount computed under subparagraph
 9  (b)(i)(B) of this section times ninety-five percent (95%).

10 

11              (ii)  The district shall not use any of the
12  foundation program amount computed under this subsection
13  for purposes other than operating the charter school;

14 

15              (iii)  The district shall separately report
16  expenditures under this subsection to the state department
17  of education in a manner and form required by rule and
18  regulation of the department.

19 

20         (c)  In lieu of subsection (b) of this section, the
21  district and the charter school applicant may by mutual
22  agreement fund the charter school through a specific budget
23  for the charter school.

24 

 

Page 11

 

 

 

 1         21-15-109.  Major building and facility repair and
 2  replacement payments; computation; square footage
 3  allowance; use of payment funds; accounting and reporting
 4  requirements.

 5 

 6         (a)  As used in this section:

 7 

 8              (ii)  "Educational building" means a school
 9  building or facility primarily used for providing the
10  educational programs offered by a district in compliance
11  with law which is owned by the district or leased by the
12  district, including a school building or facility used for
13  operating a charter school established under W.S. 21-3-201
14  through 21-3-207;

15 

16         Section 2.  W.S. 21-3-203(a)(i) and (ii) and (b)(xi)
17  is repealed.

18 

19         Section 3.  This act is effective July 1, 2001.

20 

21                         (END)

 

Page 12