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S1021..........................................................by SCHROEDER
CHARTER SCHOOLS - Amends existing law relating to requirements for approval
of a public charter school to further define the attendance area of a
public charter school.
01/18 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/19 Rpt prt - to Educ
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1021
BY SCHROEDER
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL OF A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL; AMENDING
3 SECTION 33-5206, IDAHO CODE, TO FURTHER DEFINE THE ATTENDANCE AREA OF A
4 PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 33-5206, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 33-5206. REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS UPON APPROVAL OF A PUBLIC CHARTER
9 SCHOOL. (1) In addition to any other requirements imposed in this chapter, a
10 public charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, affiliations,
11 admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations, shall not
12 charge tuition, levy taxes or issue bonds, and shall not discriminate against
13 any student on any basis prohibited by the federal or state constitutions or
14 any federal, state or local law. Admission to a public charter school shall
15 not be determined according to the place of residence of the student, or of
16 the student's parent or guardian within the district, except that a new or
17 conversion public charter school established under the provisions of this
18 chapter shall adopt and maintain a policy giving admission preference to stu-
19 dents who reside within the attendance area of that public charter school.
20 Charter schools authorized by a local district board of trustees shall have an
21 attendance area consisting of the entire district, except that a conversion
22 public charter school established under the provisions of this chapter shall
23 adopt and maintain a policy giving admission preference to students who reside
24 within the attendance area of that traditional public school. The attendance
25 area of a charter school, as described in the petition, shall be composed of
26 compact and contiguous area. For the purposes of this section, if services are
27 available to students throughout the state, the state of Idaho is considered a
28 compact and contiguous area.
29 (2) No board of trustees shall require any employee of the school dis-
30 trict to be involuntarily assigned to work in a public charter school.
31 (3) Certified teachers in a public charter school shall be considered
32 public school teachers. Educational experience shall accrue for service in a
33 public charter school and such experience shall be counted by any school dis-
34 trict to which the teacher returns after employment in a public charter
35 school.
36 (4) Employment of charter school teachers and administrators shall be on
37 written contract in form as approved by the state superintendent of public
38 instruction, conditioned upon a valid certificate being held by such profes-
39 sional personnel at the time of entering upon the duties thereunder.
40 (5) No board of trustees shall require any student enrolled in the school
41 district to attend a public charter school.
42 (6) Upon approval of the petition by the authorized chartering entity,
43 the petitioner shall provide written notice of that approval, including a copy
2
1 of the petition, to the state board of education. For the purpose of imple-
2 menting the provisions of section 33-5203(2), Idaho Code, the state board of
3 education shall assign a number to each petition it receives. Petitions shall
4 be numbered based on the chronological order in which notice of the approved
5 petition is received by the state board of education.
6 (7) Each public charter school shall annually submit a report to the
7 authorized chartering entity which approved its charter. The report shall con-
8 tain the audit of the fiscal and programmatic operations as required in sec-
9 tion 33-5205(3)(j), Idaho Code, a report on student progress based on the pub-
10 lic charter school's student educational standards identified in section
11 33-5205(3)(b), Idaho Code, and a copy of the public charter school's accredi-
12 tation report.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14628
This legislation makes access to public charter schools
authorized by the local district board of trustees more equitable
for students by extending the attendance area to the entire
district. A district is limited to one newly chartered public
charter school per year and if the attendance area is smaller
than the district it limits the opportunity for all students of
the district to have access to expanded educational choices. A
traditional public school that converts to a public charter
school may give admission preference to students who reside
within its previously established attendance area.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact on the general fund.
Contact
Name: Jan Sylvester
Phone: 208-884-5680
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1021