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H0768..........................................................by EDUCATION
PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS - Amends existing law relating to public charter
school financial support to provide for distribution of the school building
facilities allowance with respect to petitions to establish a public
charter school submitted on and after July 1, 2006; to provide reference to
an exception to public charter school financial support from the State
Educational Support Program; and to provide special application of public
charter school financial support for public charter schools which begin
educational instruction after January 1, 2007, as it pertains to per
student support, the school building facilities allowance and distribution
of supplemental levy revenues, if applicable.
03/06 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/07 Rpt prt - to Educ
03/15 Rpt out - w/o rec - to 2nd rdg
03/16 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/20 3rd rdg - FAILED - 18-46-6
AYES -- Boe, Bradford, Cannon, Henbest, Lake, LeFavour, Martinez,
Mitchell, Pasley-Stuart, Pence, Ringo, Rusche, Sayler, Shirley,
Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Trail
NAYS -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer,
Bedke, Bilbao, Black, Block, Bolz, Brackett, Chadderdon, Clark,
Collins, Crow, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Eskridge, Field(18),
Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henderson, Kemp, Loertscher,
Mathews, McGeachin, McKague, Miller, Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini, Ring,
Roberts, Rydalch, Sali, Schaefer, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Smylie,
Snodgrass, Wills, Wood
Absent and excused -- Bell, Ellsworth, Jaquet, Raybould, Stevenson,
Mr. Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Cannon
Filed in Office of the Chief Clerk
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 768
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT; AMENDING SECTION 33-5205,
3 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCHOOL BUILDING FACILITIES
4 ALLOWANCE WITH RESPECT TO PETITIONS TO ESTABLISH A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
5 SUBMITTED ON AND AFTER JULY 1, 2006; AND AMENDING SECTION 33-5208, IDAHO
6 CODE, TO PROVIDE REFERENCE TO AN EXCEPTION TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINAN-
7 CIAL SUPPORT FROM THE STATE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM AND TO PROVIDE
8 SPECIAL APPLICATION OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CHARTER
9 SCHOOLS WHICH BEGIN EDUCATIONAL INSTRUCTION AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, AS IT
10 PERTAINS TO PER STUDENT SUPPORT, THE SCHOOL BUILDING FACILITIES ALLOWANCE
11 AND DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLEMENTAL LEVY REVENUES IF APPLICABLE.
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
13 SECTION 1. That Section 33-5205, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
14 amended to read as follows:
15 33-5205. PETITION TO ESTABLISH PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL. (1) Any group of
16 persons may petition to establish a new public charter school, or to convert
17 an existing traditional public school to a public charter school.
18 (a) A petition to establish a new public charter school, including a pub-
19 lic virtual charter school, shall be signed by not fewer than thirty (30)
20 qualified electors of the attendance area designated in the petition.
21 Proof of elector qualifications shall be provided with the petition.
22 (b) A petition to establish a new public virtual school must be submitted
23 directly to the public charter school commission. A petition to establish
24 a new public charter school, other than a new public virtual school, shall
25 first be submitted to the local board of trustees in which the public
26 charter school will be located. A petition shall be considered to be
27 received by an authorized chartering entity as of the next scheduled meet-
28 ing of the authorized chartering entity after submission of the petition.
29 (c) The board of trustees may either: (i) consider the petition and
30 approve the charter; or (ii) consider the petition and deny the charter;
31 or (iii) refer the petition to the public charter school commission. If
32 the petitioners and the local board of trustees have not reached mutual
33 agreement on the provisions of the charter, after a reasonable and good
34 faith effort, within sixty (60) days from the date the charter petition is
35 received, the petitioners may withdraw their petition from the local board
36 of trustees and may submit their charter petition to the public charter
37 school commission, provided it is signed by thirty (30) qualified electors
38 as required by subsection (1)(a) of this section. Documentation of the
39 reasonable and good faith effort between the petitioners and the local
40 board of trustees must be submitted with the petition to the public
41 charter school commission.
42 (d) The public charter school commission may either: (i) consider the
43 petition and approve the charter; or (ii) consider the petition and deny
2
1 the charter.
2 (e) A petition to convert an existing traditional public school shall be
3 submitted to the board of trustees of the district in which the school is
4 located for review and approval. The petition shall be signed by not
5 fewer than sixty percent (60%) of the teachers currently employed by the
6 school district at the school to be converted, and by one (1) or more par-
7 ents or guardians of not fewer than sixty percent (60%) of the students
8 currently attending the school to be converted. Each petition submitted to
9 convert an existing school or to establish a new charter school shall con-
10 tain a copy of the articles of incorporation and the bylaws of the non-
11 profit corporation, which shall be deemed incorporated into the petition.
12 (2) Not later than sixty (60) days after receiving a petition signed by
13 thirty (30) qualified electors as required by subsection (1)(a) of this sec-
14 tion, the authorized chartering entity shall hold a public hearing for the
15 purpose of discussing the provisions of the charter, at which time the autho-
16 rized chartering entity shall consider the merits of the petition and the
17 level of employee and parental support for the petition. In the case of a
18 petition submitted to the public charter school commission, such public hear-
19 ing must be not later than sixty (60) days after receipt of the petition,
20 which may be extended to ninety (90) days if both parties agree to an exten-
21 sion, and the public hearing shall also include any oral or written comments
22 that an authorized representative of the school district in which the proposed
23 public charter school would be physically located may provide regarding the
24 merits of the petition and any potential impacts on the school district. Fol-
25 lowing review of the petition and the public hearing, the authorized charter-
26 ing entity shall either approve or deny the charter within sixty (60) days
27 after the date of the public hearing, provided however, that the date may be
28 extended by an additional sixty (60) days if the petition fails to contain all
29 of the information required in this section, or if both parties agree to the
30 extension. This public hearing shall be an opportunity for public participa-
31 tion and oral presentation by the public. This hearing is not a contested case
32 hearing as described in chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.
33 (3) An authorized chartering entity may approve a charter under the pro-
34 visions of this chapter only if it determines that the petition contains the
35 requisite signatures, the information required by subsection (4) of this sec-
36 tion, and additional statements describing all of the following:
37 (a) The proposed educational program of the public charter school,
38 designed among other things, to identify what it means to be an "educated
39 person" in the twenty-first century, and how learning best occurs. The
40 goals identified in the program shall include how all educational thor-
41 oughness standards as defined in section 33-1612, Idaho Code, shall be
42 fulfilled.
43 (b) The measurable student educational standards identified for use by
44 the public charter school. "Student educational standards" for the purpose
45 of this chapter means the extent to which all students of the public
46 charter school demonstrate they have attained the skills and knowledge
47 specified as goals in the school's educational program.
48 (c) The method by which student progress in meeting those student educa-
49 tional standards is to be measured.
50 (d) A provision by which students of the public charter school will be
51 tested with the same standardized tests as other Idaho public school stu-
52 dents.
53 (e) A provision which ensures that the public charter school shall be
54 state accredited as provided by rule of the state board of education.
55 (f) The governance structure of the public charter school including, but
3
1 not limited to, the person or entity who shall be legally accountable for
2 the operation of the public charter school, and the process to be fol-
3 lowed by the public charter school to ensure parental involvement.
4 (g) The qualifications to be met by individuals employed by the public
5 charter school. Instructional staff shall be certified teachers as pro-
6 vided by rule of the state board of education.
7 (h) The procedures that the public charter school will follow to ensure
8 the health and safety of students and staff.
9 (i) A plan for the requirements of section 33-205, Idaho Code, for the
10 denial of school attendance to any student who is an habitual truant, as
11 defined in section 33-206, Idaho Code, or who is incorrigible, or whose
12 conduct, in the judgment of the board of directors of the public charter
13 school, is such as to be continuously disruptive of school discipline, or
14 of the instructional effectiveness of the school, or whose presence in a
15 public charter school is detrimental to the health and safety of other
16 pupils, or who has been expelled from another school district in this
17 state or any other state.
18 (j) Admission procedures, including provision for overenrollment. Such
19 admission procedures shall provide that the initial admission procedures
20 for a new public charter school, including provision for overenrollment,
21 will be determined by lottery or other random method, except as otherwise
22 provided herein. If initial capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils
23 who submit a timely application, then the admission procedures may provide
24 that preference shall be given in the following order: first, to children
25 of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be limited to
26 not more than ten percent (10%) of the capacity of the public charter
27 school; second, to siblings of pupils already selected by the lottery or
28 other random method; and third, an equitable selection process such as by
29 lottery or other random method. If capacity is insufficient to enroll all
30 pupils for subsequent school terms, who submit a timely application, then
31 the admission procedures may provide that preference shall be given in the
32 following order: first, to pupils returning to the public charter school
33 in the second or any subsequent year of its operation; second, to children
34 of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be limited to
35 not more than ten percent (10%) of the capacity of the public charter
36 school; third, to siblings of pupils already enrolled in the public
37 charter school; and fourth, an equitable selection process such as by lot-
38 tery or other random method. There shall be no carryover from year to year
39 of the list maintained to fill vacancies. A new lottery shall be conducted
40 each year to fill vacancies which become available.
41 (k) The manner in which an annual audit of the financial and programmatic
42 operations of the public charter school is to be conducted.
43 (l) The disciplinary procedures that the public charter school will uti-
44 lize, including the procedure by which students may be suspended, expelled
45 and reenrolled, and the procedures required by section 33-210, Idaho Code.
46 (m) A provision which ensures that all staff members of the public
47 charter school will be covered by the public employee retirement system,
48 federal social security, unemployment insurance, worker's compensation
49 insurance, and health insurance.
50 (n) The public school attendance alternative for students residing within
51 the school district who choose not to attend the public charter school.
52 (o) A description of the transfer rights of any employee choosing to work
53 in a public charter school that is approved by the board of trustees of a
54 school district, and the rights of such employees to return to any non-
55 charter school in the same school district after employment at such
4
1 charter school.
2 (p) A provision which ensures that the staff of the public charter school
3 shall be considered a separate unit for purposes of collective bargaining.
4 (q) The manner by which special education services will be provided to
5 students with disabilities who are eligible pursuant to the federal indi-
6 viduals with disabilities education act, including disciplinary procedures
7 for these students.
8 (r) A plan for working with parents who have students who are dually
9 enrolled pursuant to section 33-203, Idaho Code.
10 (s) The process by which the citizens in the area of attendance shall be
11 made aware of the enrollment opportunities of the public charter school.
12 (t) A proposal for transportation services as required by section
13 33-5208(4), Idaho Code.
14 (u) A plan for termination of the charter by the board of directors, to
15 include:
16 (i) Identification of who is responsible for dissolution of the
17 charter school;
18 (ii) A description of how payment to creditors will be handled;
19 (iii) A procedure for transferring all records of students with
20 notice to parents of how to request a transfer of student records to
21 a specific school; and
22 (iv) A plan for the disposal of the public charter school's assets.
23 (4) The petitioner shall provide information regarding the proposed oper-
24 ation and potential effects of the public charter school including, but not
25 limited to, the facilities to be utilized by the public charter school, the
26 manner in which administrative services of the public charter school are to be
27 provided and the potential civil liability effects upon the public charter
28 school and upon the authorized chartering entity.
29 (5) On and after July 1, 2006, a school district board of trustees may
30 offer the petitioners use of an existing school district facility to house the
31 public charter school, provided that more than ten percent (10%) of the public
32 charter school's students will receive their regular instruction at physical
33 school locations. If the petitioners accept use of such facility, the school
34 district shall receive the school building facilities allowance as provided in
35 section 33-5208(9), Idaho Code. If the petitioners reject the facility offered
36 by the board of trustees, or if the board of trustees has no facility to
37 offer, then such public charter school shall be entitled to receive the school
38 building facilities allowance as provided in section 33-5208(9), Idaho Code.
39 SECTION 2. That Section 33-5208, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
40 amended to read as follows:
41 33-5208. PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT. Except as provided in
42 subsection (8) of this section, and except as provided in subsection (9) of
43 this section for public charter schools which begin educational instruction
44 after January 1, 2007, and in which more than ten percent (10%) of the stu-
45 dents receive their regular instruction at physical school locations, from the
46 state educational support program the state department of education shall make
47 the following apportionment to each public charter school for each fiscal year
48 based on attendance figures submitted in a manner and time as required by the
49 department of education:
50 (1) Per student support. Computation of support units for each public
51 charter school shall be calculated as if it were a separate school according
52 to the schedules in section 33-1002 6., Idaho Code, except that public charter
53 schools with fewer than one hundred (100) secondary ADA shall use a divisor
5
1 of twelve (12) and the minimum units shall not apply, and no public charter
2 school shall receive an increase in support units that exceeds the support
3 units it received in the prior year by more than twenty (20). Funding from the
4 state educational support program shall be equal to the total distribution
5 factor, plus the salary-based apportionment provided in chapter 10, title 33,
6 Idaho Code. Provided however, any public charter school that is formed by the
7 conversion of an existing traditional public school shall be assigned
8 divisors, pursuant to section 33-1002, Idaho Code, that are no lower than the
9 divisors of the school district in which the traditional public school is
10 located, for each category of pupils listed.
11 (2) Special education. For each student enrolled in the public charter
12 school who is entitled to special education services, the state and federal
13 funds from the exceptional child education program for that student that would
14 have been apportioned for that student to the school district in which the
15 public charter school is located.
16 (3) Alternative school support. Public charter schools may qualify under
17 the provisions of sections 33-1002 and 33-1002C, Idaho Code, provided the pub-
18 lic charter school meets the necessary statutory requirements, and students
19 qualify for attendance at an alternative school as provided by rule of the
20 state board of education.
21 (4) Transportation support. Support shall be paid to the public charter
22 school as provided in chapter 15, title 33, Idaho Code, and section 33-1006,
23 Idaho Code. Each public charter school shall furnish the department with an
24 enrollment count as of the first Friday in November, of public charter school
25 students living more than one and one-half (1 1/2) miles from the school. For
26 charter schools in the initial year of operation, the petition shall include a
27 proposal for transportation services with an estimated first year cost. The
28 state department of education is authorized to include in the annual appropri-
29 ation to the charter school eighty percent (80%) of the estimated transporta-
30 tion cost. The final appropriation payment in July shall reflect eighty-five
31 percent (85%) of the actual cost.
32 (5) Payment schedule. The state department of education is authorized to
33 make an advance payment of twenty-five percent (25%) of a public charter
34 school's estimated annual apportionment for its first year of operation, and
35 each year thereafter, provided the public charter school has an increase of
36 student population in any given year of twenty (20) students or more, to
37 assist the school with initial start-up costs or payroll obligations.
38 (a) For a state public charter school to receive the advance payment, the
39 school shall submit its anticipated fall membership for each grade level
40 to the state department of education by June 1.
41 (b) Using the figures provided by the public charter school, the state
42 department of education shall determine an estimated annual apportionment
43 from which the amount of the advance payment shall be calculated. Advance
44 payment shall be made to the school on or after July 1 but no later than
45 July 31.
46 (c) All subsequent payments, taking into account the one-time advance
47 payment made for the first year of operation, shall be made to the public
48 charter school in the same manner as other traditional public schools in
49 accordance with the provisions of section 33-1009, Idaho Code.
50 A public charter school shall comply with all applicable fiscal requirements
51 of law, except that the following provisions shall not be applicable to public
52 charter schools: section 33-1003B, Idaho Code, relating to guaranteed minimum
53 support; that portion of section 33-1004, Idaho Code, relating to reduction of
54 the administrative and instructional staff allowance when there is a discrep-
55 ancy between the number allowed and the number actually employed; and section
6
1 33-1004E, Idaho Code, for calculation of district staff indices.
2 (6) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any private
3 person or organization from providing funding or other financial assistance to
4 the establishment or operation of a public charter school.
5 (7) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a public charter school from
6 applying for federal grant moneys.
7 (8) (a) For the period July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2005, all public
8 virtual schools shall be assigned divisors, pursuant to section 33-1002,
9 Idaho Code, that are no higher than the median divisor shown for each
10 respective category of pupils, among the possible divisors listed, for
11 each respective category of pupils that contains more than one (1) divi-
12 sor. If there is an even number of possible divisors listed for a particu-
13 lar category of pupils, then the lesser of the two (2) median divisors
14 shall be used. For the period July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2007, all
15 public virtual schools shall be assigned divisors, pursuant to section
16 33-1002, Idaho Code, that are no higher than the second highest divisor
17 shown, among the possible divisors listed, for each respective category of
18 pupils that contains more than one (1) divisor. The divisor provisions
19 contained herein shall only be applicable to the number of pupils in aver-
20 age daily attendance in such public virtual schools for the period July 1,
21 2003, through June 30, 2004. If the number of pupils in average daily
22 attendance in any particular category of pupils increases, during the
23 period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, to a number above that which
24 existed in the prior fiscal year, then those additional pupils in average
25 daily attendance shall be assigned the divisor, pursuant to section
26 33-1002, Idaho Code, that would have otherwise been assigned to the school
27 district or public charter school had this section not been in force.
28 (b) Each student in attendance at a public virtual school shall be funded
29 based upon either the actual hours of attendance in the public virtual
30 school on a flexible schedule, or the percentage of coursework completed,
31 whichever is more advantageous to the school, up to the maximum of one (1)
32 full-time equivalent student.
33 (c) All federal educational funds shall be administered and distributed
34 to public charter schools, including public virtual schools, that have
35 been designated by the state board of education as a local education
36 agency (LEA), as provided in section 33-5203(7), Idaho Code.
37 (9) For public charter schools which begin educational instruction after
38 January 1, 2007, and in which more than ten percent (10%) of the students
39 receive their regular instruction at physical school locations, the apportion-
40 ment from the state educational support program shall be the same as provided
41 in this section for all public charter schools, except that the calculation of
42 per student support shall be as provided in this subsection (9). Public
43 charter schools to which this subsection (9) is applicable shall also be enti-
44 tled to a school building facilities allowance, and when applicable, a distri-
45 bution from a supplemental levy, as follows:
46 (a) Per student support. Computation of support units for each applicable
47 public charter school shall be calculated based on the divisors of the
48 school district in which the public charter school is physically located,
49 taking into account the ADA of the public charter school. Funding from the
50 state educational support program shall be equal to the total distribution
51 factor, plus the salary-based apportionment provided in chapter 10, title
52 33, Idaho Code.
53 (b) School building facilities allowance. A special allowance shall be
54 paid for support of the school building facility. For public charter
55 schools which use an existing school building of the school district, the
7
1 allowance shall be distributed to the school district. For public charter
2 schools which are eligible to receive this allowance as determined by the
3 provisions of section 33-5205, Idaho Code, the allowance shall be distrib-
4 uted directly to the public charter school. The allowance shall be calcu-
5 lated as follows:
6 (i) For each kindergarten student in average daily attendance,
7 allow fifty (50) square feet per student, and multiply by six dollars
8 ($6.00) per square foot;
9 (ii) For each elementary student in average daily attendance, allow
10 one hundred (100) square feet per student, and multiply by six dol-
11 lars ($6.00) per square foot; and
12 (iii) For each secondary student in average daily attendance, allow
13 one hundred fifty (150) square feet per student, and multiply by six
14 dollars ($6.00) per square foot.
15 (c) Distribution of supplemental levy revenues. In the event a supplemen-
16 tal levy, pursuant to section 33-802 4., Idaho Code, is authorized in the
17 home school district of a student who attends an applicable public charter
18 school in a different school district, the public charter school wherein
19 the student attends, shall be entitled to a proportional distribution of
20 the supplemental levy revenues for each student in attendance at the pub-
21 lic charter school.
22 (10) Nothing in this section prohibits separate face-to-face learning
23 activities or services.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16157
This legislation changes the way that future "brick and mortar"
charter schools would be funded, by creating a funding profile
that more resembles that of a school district. It provides
future charters with state funding for facility costs, and allows
school districts to offer the use of existing public schools for
charter school use. If the charter school accepts the use of a
district facility, the charter's facilities fund would be
deposited with the school district.
It also requires future charter schools to be assigned the same
attendance divisors as is used in calculating the support units
of the school district in which the charter school is physically
located.
FISCAL NOTE
This legislation has no fiscal impact on current charter schools,
or any charter schools that will open in the Fall of 2006.
Hypothetically, if the legislation has been in effect for all
current charter schools, the fiscal impact would have been as
follows:
By increasing the attendance divisor used in many charter
schools, this legislation would have had the effect of reducing
the number of support units that would need to be funded by the
state, resulting in a savings of $4.72 million to the General
Fund. The facilities funding distribution of $2.25 million would
have partially offset this reduction, resulting in a net General
Fund savings of $2.47 million.
These types of net savings would apply to future charter schools
opening after January 1, 2007.
Contact
Name: Rep. Cannon
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 768