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S1282..........................................................by SCHROEDER
CHARTER SCHOOLS - Amends existing law to provide for an exception to the
organization and management of public charter schools under the Idaho
Nonprofit Corporations Act; and to require the petition to establish a
public charter school to set forth the manner by which the public charter
school's board of directors is to be elected.
01/20 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/23 Rpt prt - to Educ
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1282
BY SCHROEDER
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS; AMENDING SECTION 33-5204, IDAHO CODE, TO
3 PROVIDE FOR AN EXCEPTION TO THE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC
4 CHARTER SCHOOLS UNDER THE IDAHO NONPROFIT CORPORATION ACT; AND AMENDING
5 SECTION 33-5205, IDAHO CODE, TO REQUIRE THE PETITION TO ESTABLISH A PUBLIC
6 CHARTER SCHOOL TO SET FORTH THE MANNER BY WHICH THE PUBLIC CHARTER
7 SCHOOL'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS TO BE ELECTED.
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
9 SECTION 1. That Section 33-5204, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 33-5204. NONPROFIT CORPORATION -- LIABILITY -- INSURANCE. (1) Except as
12 otherwise provided in this chapter, a A public charter school shall be orga-
13 nized and managed under the Idaho nonprofit corporation act. The board of
14 directors of a public charter school shall be deemed public agents authorized
15 by a public school district, the public charter school commission, or the
16 state board of education to control the public charter school, but shall func-
17 tion independently of any school board of trustees in any school district in
18 which the public charter school is located, or independently of the public
19 charter school commission except as provided in the charter. For the purposes
20 of section 59-1302(15), Idaho Code, a public charter school created pursuant
21 to this chapter shall be deemed a governmental entity. Pursuant to the provi-
22 sions of section 63-3622O, Idaho Code, sales to or purchases by a public
23 charter school are exempt from payment of the sales and use tax. A public
24 charter school and the board of directors of a public charter school are sub-
25 ject to the provisions of:
26 (a) Sections 18-1351 through 18-1362, Idaho Code, on bribery and corrupt
27 influence, except as provided by section 33-5204A(2), Idaho Code;
28 (b) Chapter 2, title 59, Idaho Code, on prohibitions against contracts
29 with officers;
30 (c) Chapter 7, title 59, Idaho Code, on ethics in government;
31 (d) Chapter 23, title 67, Idaho Code, on open public meetings; and
32 (e) Chapter 3, title 9, Idaho Code, on disclosure of public records
33 in the same manner that a traditional public school and the board of school
34 trustees of a school district are subject to those provisions.
35 (2) A public charter school may sue or be sued, purchase, receive, hold
36 and convey real and personal property for school purposes, and borrow money
37 for such purposes, to the same extent and on the same conditions as a tradi-
38 tional public school district, and its employees, directors and officers shall
39 enjoy the same immunities as employees, directors and officers of traditional
40 public school districts and other public schools, including those provided by
41 chapter 9, title 6, Idaho Code. The authorized chartering entity that approves
42 a public school charter shall have no liability for the acts, omissions, debts
43 or other obligations of a public charter school, except as may be provided in
2
1 the charter. A local public school district shall have no liability for the
2 acts, omissions, debts or other obligations of a public charter school located
3 in its district that has been approved by an authorized chartering entity
4 other than the board of trustees of the local school district.
5 (3) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the board of directors of a
6 public charter school, operating as a nonprofit corporation, from borrowing
7 money to finance the purchase or lease of school building facilities, equip-
8 ment and furnishings of those school building facilities. Subject to the terms
9 of a contractual agreement between the board and a lender, nothing herein
10 shall prevent the board from using the facility, its equipment and furnish-
11 ings, as collateral for the loan.
12 (4) Public charter schools shall secure insurance for liability and prop-
13 erty loss.
14 (5) It shall be unlawful for:
15 (a) Any director to have pecuniary interest directly or indirectly in any
16 contract or other transaction pertaining to the maintenance or conduct of
17 the authorized chartering entity and charter, or to accept any reward or
18 compensation for services rendered as a director except as may be other-
19 wise provided in this subsection (5). The board of directors of a public
20 charter school may accept and award contracts involving the public charter
21 school to businesses in which the director or a person related to him by
22 blood or marriage within the second degree has a direct or indirect inter-
23 est, provided that the procedures set forth in section 18-1361 or
24 18-1361A, Idaho Code, are followed. The receiving, soliciting or accep-
25 tance of moneys of a public charter school for deposit in any bank or
26 trust company, or the lending of moneys by any bank or trust company to
27 any public charter school, shall not be deemed to be a contract pertaining
28 to the maintenance or conduct of a public charter school and authorized
29 chartering entity within the meaning of this section; nor shall the pay-
30 ment by any public charter school board of directors of compensation to
31 any bank or trust company for services rendered in the transaction of any
32 banking business with such public charter school board of directors be
33 deemed the payment of any reward or compensation to any officer or direc-
34 tor of any such bank or trust company within the meaning of this section.
35 (b) The board of directors of any public charter school to enter into or
36 execute any contract with the spouse of any member of such board, the
37 terms of which said contract require, or will require, the payment or
38 delivery of any public charter school funds, moneys or property to such
39 spouse, except as provided in section 18-1361 or 18-1361A, Idaho Code.
40 (6) When any relative of any director or relative of the spouse of a
41 director related by affinity or consanguinity within the second degree is to
42 be considered for employment in a public charter school, such director shall
43 abstain from voting in the election of such relative, and shall be absent from
44 the meeting while such employment is being considered and determined.
45 SECTION 2. That Section 33-5205, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
46 amended to read as follows:
47 33-5205. PETITION TO ESTABLISH PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL. (1) Any group of
48 persons may petition to establish a new public charter school, or to convert
49 an existing traditional public school to a public charter school.
50 (a) A petition to establish a new public charter school, including a pub-
51 lic virtual charter school, shall be signed by not fewer than thirty (30)
52 qualified electors of the attendance area designated in the petition.
53 Proof of elector qualifications shall be provided with the petition.
3
1 (b) A petition to establish a new public virtual school must be submitted
2 directly to the public charter school commission. A petition to establish
3 a new public charter school, other than a new public virtual school,
4 shall first be submitted to the local board of trustees in which the pub-
5 lic charter school will be located. A petition shall be considered to be
6 received by an authorized chartering entity as of the next scheduled meet-
7 ing of the authorized chartering entity after submission of the petition.
8 (c) The board of trustees may either: (i) consider the petition and
9 approve the charter; or (ii) consider the petition and deny the charter;
10 or (iii) refer the petition to the public charter school commission. If
11 the petitioners and the local board of trustees have not reached mutual
12 agreement on the provisions of the charter, after a reasonable and good
13 faith effort, within sixty (60) days from the date the charter petition is
14 received, the petitioners may withdraw their petition from the local board
15 of trustees and may submit their charter petition to the public charter
16 school commission, provided it is signed by thirty (30) qualified electors
17 as required by subsection (1)(a) of this section. Documentation of the
18 reasonable and good faith effort between the petitioners and the local
19 board of trustees must be submitted with the petition to the public
20 charter school commission.
21 (d) The public charter school commission may either: (i) consider the
22 petition and approve the charter; or (ii) consider the petition and deny
23 the charter.
24 (e) A petition to convert an existing traditional public school shall be
25 submitted to the board of trustees of the district in which the school is
26 located for review and approval. The petition shall be signed by not fewer
27 than sixty percent (60%) of the teachers currently employed by the school
28 district at the school to be converted, and by one (1) or more parents or
29 guardians of not fewer than sixty percent (60%) of the students currently
30 attending the school to be converted. Each petition submitted to convert
31 an existing school or to establish a new charter school shall contain a
32 copy of the articles of incorporation and the bylaws of the nonprofit cor-
33 poration, which shall be deemed incorporated into the petition.
34 (2) Not later than sixty (60) days after receiving a petition signed by
35 thirty (30) qualified electors as required by subsection (1)(a) of this sec-
36 tion, the authorized chartering entity shall hold a public hearing for the
37 purpose of discussing the provisions of the charter, at which time the autho-
38 rized chartering entity shall consider the merits of the petition and the
39 level of employee and parental support for the petition. In the case of a
40 petition submitted to the public charter school commission, such public hear-
41 ing must be not later than sixty (60) days after receipt of the petition,
42 which may be extended to ninety (90) days if both parties agree to an exten-
43 sion, and the public hearing shall also include any oral or written comments
44 that an authorized representative of the school district in which the proposed
45 public charter school would be physically located may provide regarding the
46 merits of the petition and any potential impacts on the school district. Fol-
47 lowing review of the petition and the public hearing, the authorized charter-
48 ing entity shall either approve or deny the charter within sixty (60) days
49 after the date of the public hearing, provided however, that the date may be
50 extended by an additional sixty (60) days if the petition fails to contain all
51 of the information required in this section, or if both parties agree to the
52 extension. This public hearing shall be an opportunity for public participa-
53 tion and oral presentation by the public. This hearing is not a contested case
54 hearing as described in chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.
55 (3) An authorized chartering entity may approve a charter under the pro-
4
1 visions of this chapter only if it determines that the petition contains the
2 requisite signatures, the information required by subsection (4) of this sec-
3 tion, and additional statements describing all of the following:
4 (a) The proposed educational program of the public charter school,
5 designed among other things, to identify what it means to be an "educated
6 person" in the twenty-first century, and how learning best occurs. The
7 goals identified in the program shall include how all educational thor-
8 oughness standards as defined in section 33-1612, Idaho Code, shall be
9 fulfilled.
10 (b) The measurable student educational standards identified for use by
11 the public charter school. "Student educational standards" for the purpose
12 of this chapter means the extent to which all students of the public
13 charter school demonstrate they have attained the skills and knowledge
14 specified as goals in the school's educational program.
15 (c) The method by which student progress in meeting those student educa-
16 tional standards is to be measured.
17 (d) A provision by which students of the public charter school will be
18 tested with the same standardized tests as other Idaho public school stu-
19 dents.
20 (e) A provision which ensures that the public charter school shall be
21 state accredited as provided by rule of the state board of education.
22 (f) The governance structure of the public charter school including, but
23 not limited to, the person or entity who shall be legally accountable for
24 the operation of the public charter school, and the process to be followed
25 by the public charter school to ensure parental involvement.
26 (g) The qualifications to be met by individuals employed by the public
27 charter school. Instructional staff shall be certified teachers as pro-
28 vided by rule of the state board of education.
29 (h) The procedures that the public charter school will follow to ensure
30 the health and safety of students and staff.
31 (i) A plan for the requirements of section 33-205, Idaho Code, for the
32 denial of school attendance to any student who is an habitual truant, as
33 defined in section 33-206, Idaho Code, or who is incorrigible, or whose
34 conduct, in the judgment of the board of directors of the public charter
35 school, is such as to be continuously disruptive of school discipline, or
36 of the instructional effectiveness of the school, or whose presence in a
37 public charter school is detrimental to the health and safety of other
38 pupils, or who has been expelled from another school district in this
39 state or any other state.
40 (j) Admission procedures, including provision for overenrollment. Such
41 admission procedures shall provide that the initial admission procedures
42 for a new public charter school, including provision for overenrollment,
43 will be determined by lottery or other random method, except as otherwise
44 provided herein. If initial capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils
45 who submit a timely application, then the admission procedures may provide
46 that preference shall be given in the following order: first, to children
47 of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be limited to
48 not more than ten percent (10%) of the capacity of the public charter
49 school; second, to siblings of pupils already selected by the lottery or
50 other random method; and third, an equitable selection process such as by
51 lottery or other random method. If capacity is insufficient to enroll all
52 pupils for subsequent school terms, who submit a timely application, then
53 the admission procedures may provide that preference shall be given in the
54 following order: first, to pupils returning to the public charter school
55 in the second or any subsequent year of its operation; second, to children
5
1 of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be limited to
2 not more than ten percent (10%) of the capacity of the public charter
3 school; third, to siblings of pupils already enrolled in the public
4 charter school; and fourth, an equitable selection process such as by lot-
5 tery or other random method. There shall be no carryover from year to year
6 of the list maintained to fill vacancies. A new lottery shall be conducted
7 each year to fill vacancies which become available.
8 (k) The manner in which an annual audit of the financial and programmatic
9 operations of the public charter school is to be conducted.
10 (l) The disciplinary procedures that the public charter school will uti-
11 lize, including the procedure by which students may be suspended, expelled
12 and reenrolled, and the procedures required by section 33-210, Idaho Code.
13 (m) A provision which ensures that all staff members of the public
14 charter school will be covered by the public employee retirement system,
15 federal social security, unemployment insurance, worker's compensation
16 insurance, and health insurance.
17 (n) The public school attendance alternative for students residing within
18 the school district who choose not to attend the public charter school.
19 (o) A description of the transfer rights of any employee choosing to work
20 in a public charter school that is approved by the board of trustees of a
21 school district, and the rights of such employees to return to any non-
22 charter school in the same school district after employment at such
23 charter school.
24 (p) A provision which ensures that the staff of the public charter school
25 shall be considered a separate unit for purposes of collective bargaining.
26 (q) The manner by which special education services will be provided to
27 students with disabilities who are eligible pursuant to the federal indi-
28 viduals with disabilities education act, including disciplinary procedures
29 for these students.
30 (r) A plan for working with parents who have students who are dually
31 enrolled pursuant to section 33-203, Idaho Code.
32 (s) The process by which the citizens in the area of attendance shall be
33 made aware of the enrollment opportunities of the public charter school.
34 (t) A proposal for transportation services as required by section
35 33-5208(4), Idaho Code.
36 (u) A plan for termination of the charter by the board of directors, to
37 include:
38 (i) Identification of who is responsible for dissolution of the
39 charter school;
40 (ii) A description of how payment to creditors will be handled;
41 (iii) A procedure for transferring all records of students with
42 notice to parents of how to request a transfer of student records to
43 a specific school; and
44 (iv) A plan for the disposal of the public charter school's assets.
45 (v) The manner by which the board of directors shall be elected, to
46 include:
47 (i) Annual elections;
48 (ii) Secret ballots; and
49 (iii) One (1) vote for each parent or guardian, as defined in section
50 33-1401, Idaho Code, who has one (1) or more students enrolled in the
51 charter school.
52 (4) The petitioner shall provide information regarding the proposed oper-
53 ation and potential effects of the public charter school including, but not
54 limited to, the facilities to be utilized by the public charter school, the
55 manner in which administrative services of the public charter school are to be
6
1 provided and the potential civil liability effects upon the public charter
2 school and upon the authorized chartering entity.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15695
The purpose of this legislation amends 33-5205, Idaho Code, to
provide that petitions to establish charter schools shall include
statements describing the manner in which the Board of Directors
of the Charter school are to be elected. This statement must
provide for annual elections, secret ballots, and (1) vote for
each parent or guardian as defined in 33-1401, Idaho Code.
FISCAL NOTE
The additional of these statements to petitions to establish
charters will have a minimal fiscal impact on those bringing
forth the charters.
Contact
Name: Senator Gary Schroeder
Phone: 208-332-1324
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1282