2008 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 423<br /> – Public virtual school, establish

HOUSE BILL NO. 423

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Bill Status



H0423..........................................................by EDUCATION
PUBLIC VIRTUAL SCHOOLS - Amends existing law relating to public virtual
schools to define a term; and to provide for additional statements required
in a petition to establish a public virtual school.

01/25    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/28    Rpt prt - to Educ
02/08    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/11    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/14    3rd rdg - PASSED - 65-1-4
      AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Block,
      Bock, Bolz, Bowers, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez, Chew,
      Clark, Collins, Crane, Durst, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart, Harwood,
      Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador, Lake,
      LeFavour, Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, McGeachin, Mortimer,
      Moyle, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence, Raybould, Ringo(Cooke),
      Roberts, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(02),
      Shepherd(08), Shirley, Shively, Smith(30), Smith(24), Snodgrass,
      Thayn, Thomas, Vander Woude, Wills, Wood(27), Wood(35), Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- Trail
      Absent and excused -- Black, Boe, Nielsen, Stevenson
    Floor Sponsor - Shirley
    Title apvd - to Senate
02/15    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Educ
03/05    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/06    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/07    3rd rdg - PASSED - 32-0-3
      AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Burkett, Cameron, Coiner,
      Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Geddes, Goedde, Hammond,
      Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little, Lodge,
      Malepeai(Sagness), McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson,
      Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Werk
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Broadsword, Gannon, Siddoway
    Floor Sponsor - Bastian
    Title apvd - to House
03/10    To enrol
03/11    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/12    Pres signed - To Governor
03/14    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 105
         Effective: 07/01/08

Bill Text




                                                                       
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2008

                                                                       

                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 423

                                   BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO VIRTUAL SCHOOLS; AMENDING SECTION 33-5202A, IDAHO CODE, TO  REMOVE
  3        A  DEFINITION  AND  TO  DEFINE A TERM; AND AMENDING SECTION 33-5205, IDAHO
  4        CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL  STATEMENTS  REQUIRED  IN  A  PETITION  TO
  5        ESTABLISH A PUBLIC VIRTUAL SCHOOL.

  6    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

  7        SECTION  1.  That Section 33-5202A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
  8    amended to read as follows:

  9        33-5202A.  DEFINITIONS. As  used  in  this  chapter,  unless  the  context
 10    requires otherwise:
 11        (1)  "Authorized  chartering  entity"  means  either  the  local  board of
 12    trustees of a school district in this state, or the public charter school com-
 13    mission pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
 14        (2)  "Charter" means the grant of authority  approved  by  the  authorized
 15    chartering entity to the board of directors of the public charter school.
 16        (3)  "Founder"  means  a  person, including employees or staff of a public
 17    charter school, who makes a material contribution toward the establishment  of
 18    a public charter school in accordance with criteria determined by the board of
 19    directors  of  the public charter school, and who is designated as such at the
 20    time the board of directors acknowledges and accepts  such  contribution.  The
 21    criteria  for  determining  when  a person is a founder shall not discriminate
 22    against  any  person  on  any  basis  prohibited  by  the  federal  or   state
 23    constitutions  or any federal, state or local law. The designation of a person
 24    as a founder, and the admission preferences available to  the  children  of  a
 25    founder, shall not constitute pecuniary benefits.
 26        (4)  "Petition" means the document submitted by a person or persons to the
 27    authorized  chartering  entity  to  request  the  creation of a public charter
 28    school.
 29        (5)  "Professional-technical regional public charter school" means a  pub-
 30    lic charter secondary school authorized under this chapter to provide programs
 31    in  professional-technical  education  which meet the standards and qualifica-
 32    tions established by  the  division  of  professional-technical  education.  A
 33    professional-technical  regional  public  charter school may be approved by an
 34    authorized chartering entity and by the terms of its charter, shall operate in
 35    association with at least two (2) school districts. Notwithstanding the provi-
 36    sions of section 33-5206(1), Idaho Code, participating school  districts  need
 37    not be contiguous.
 38        (6)  "Public  charter school" means a school that is authorized under this
 39    chapter to deliver public education in Idaho.
 40        (7)  "Public virtual school" means a public charter school that may  serve
 41    students  in  more  than one (1) school district and through which the primary
 42    method for the delivery of instruction to all of its pupils is through virtual
 43    distance learning or online technologies.

                                       2

  1        (8)  "Traditional public school" means any school existing or to be  built
  2    that is operated and controlled by a school district in this state.
  3        (8)  "Virtual school" means a school that delivers a full-time, sequential
  4    program  of  synchronous and/or asynchronous instruction primarily through the
  5    use of technology via the internet in a distributed environment. Schools clas-
  6    sified as virtual must have an online component to their  school  with  online
  7    lessons and tools for student and data management.

  8        SECTION  2.  That  Section 33-5205, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
  9    amended to read as follows:

 10        33-5205.  PETITION TO ESTABLISH PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL. (1)  Any  group  of
 11    persons  may  petition to establish a new public charter school, or to convert
 12    an existing traditional public school to a public charter school.
 13        (a)  A petition to establish a new public charter school, including a pub-
 14        lic virtual charter school, shall be signed by not fewer than thirty  (30)
 15        qualified  electors  of  the  attendance  area designated in the petition.
 16        Proof of elector qualifications shall be provided with the petition.
 17        (b)  A petition to establish a new public virtual school must be submitted
 18        directly to the public charter school commission. A petition to  establish
 19        a new public charter school, other than a new public virtual school, shall
 20        first  be  submitted  to  the  local board of trustees in which the public
 21        charter school will be located. A  petition  shall  be  considered  to  be
 22        received by an authorized chartering entity as of the next scheduled meet-
 23        ing of the authorized chartering entity after submission of the petition.
 24        (c)  The  board  of  trustees  may  either:  (i) consider the petition and
 25        approve the charter; or (ii) consider the petition and deny  the  charter;
 26        or  (iii)  refer  the petition to the public charter school commission. If
 27        the petitioners and the local board of trustees have  not  reached  mutual
 28        agreement  on  the  provisions of the charter, after a reasonable and good
 29        faith effort, within sixty (60) days from the date the charter petition is
 30        received, the petitioners may withdraw their petition from the local board
 31        of trustees and may submit their charter petition to  the  public  charter
 32        school commission, provided it is signed by thirty (30) qualified electors
 33        as  required  by  subsection  (1)(a) of this section. Documentation of the
 34        reasonable and good faith effort between the  petitioners  and  the  local
 35        board  of  trustees  must  be  submitted  with  the petition to the public
 36        charter school commission.
 37        (d)  The public charter school commission may  either:  (i)  consider  the
 38        petition  and  approve the charter; or (ii) consider the petition and deny
 39        the charter.
 40        (e)  A petition to convert an existing traditional public school shall  be
 41        submitted  to the board of trustees of the district in which the school is
 42        located for review and approval. The petition shall be signed by not fewer
 43        than sixty percent (60%) of the teachers currently employed by the  school
 44        district  at the school to be converted, and by one (1) or more parents or
 45        guardians of not fewer than sixty percent (60%) of the students  currently
 46        attending  the  school to be converted. Each petition submitted to convert
 47        an existing school or to establish a new charter school  shall  contain  a
 48        copy of the articles of incorporation and the bylaws of the nonprofit cor-
 49        poration, which shall be deemed incorporated into the petition.
 50        (2)  Not  later  than sixty (60) days after receiving a petition signed by
 51    thirty (30) qualified electors as required by subsection (1)(a) of  this  sec-
 52    tion,  the  authorized  chartering  entity shall hold a public hearing for the
 53    purpose of discussing the provisions of the charter, at which time the  autho-

                                       3

  1    rized  chartering  entity  shall  consider  the merits of the petition and the
  2    level of employee and parental support for the petition.  In  the  case  of  a
  3    petition  submitted to the public charter school commission, such public hear-
  4    ing must be not later than sixty (60) days  after  receipt  of  the  petition,
  5    which  may  be extended to ninety (90) days if both parties agree to an exten-
  6    sion, and the public hearing shall also include any oral or  written  comments
  7    that an authorized representative of the school district in which the proposed
  8    public  charter  school  would be physically located may provide regarding the
  9    merits of the petition and any potential impacts on the school district.  Fol-
 10    lowing  review of the petition and the public hearing, the authorized charter-
 11    ing entity shall either approve or deny the charter  within  sixty  (60)  days
 12    after  the  date of the public hearing, provided however, that the date may be
 13    extended by an additional sixty (60) days if the petition fails to contain all
 14    of the information required in this section, or if both parties agree  to  the
 15    extension.  This  public hearing shall be an opportunity for public participa-
 16    tion and oral presentation by the public. This hearing is not a contested case
 17    hearing as described in chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.
 18        (3)  An authorized chartering entity may approve a charter under the  pro-
 19    visions  of  this chapter only if it determines that the petition contains the
 20    requisite signatures, the information required by subsection (4) of this  sec-
 21    tion, and additional statements describing all of the following:
 22        (a)  The  proposed  educational  program  of  the  public  charter school,
 23        designed among other things, to identify what it means to be an  "educated
 24        person"  in  the  twenty-first  century, and how learning best occurs. The
 25        goals identified in the program shall include how  all  educational  thor-
 26        oughness  standards  as  defined  in section 33-1612, Idaho Code, shall be
 27        fulfilled.
 28        (b)  The measurable student educational standards identified  for  use  by
 29        the public charter school. "Student educational standards" for the purpose
 30        of  this  chapter  means  the  extent  to which all students of the public
 31        charter school demonstrate they have attained  the  skills  and  knowledge
 32        specified as goals in the school's educational program.
 33        (c)  The  method by which student progress in meeting those student educa-
 34        tional standards is to be measured.
 35        (d)  A provision by which students of the public charter  school  will  be
 36        tested  with the same standardized tests as other Idaho public school stu-
 37        dents.
 38        (e)  A provision which ensures that the public  charter  school  shall  be
 39        state accredited as provided by rule of the state board of education.
 40        (f)  The  governance structure of the public charter school including, but
 41        not limited to, the person or entity who shall be legally accountable  for
 42        the operation of the public charter school, and the process to be followed
 43        by the public charter school to ensure parental involvement.
 44        (g)  The  qualifications  to  be met by individuals employed by the public
 45        charter school. Instructional staff shall be certified  teachers  as  pro-
 46        vided by rule of the state board of education.
 47        (h)  The  procedures  that the public charter school will follow to ensure
 48        the health and safety of students and staff.
 49        (i)  A plan for the requirements of section 33-205, Idaho  Code,  for  the
 50        denial  of  school attendance to any student who is an habitual truant, as
 51        defined in section 33-206, Idaho Code, or who is  incorrigible,  or  whose
 52        conduct,  in  the judgment of the board of directors of the public charter
 53        school, is such as to be continuously disruptive of school discipline,  or
 54        of  the  instructional effectiveness of the school, or whose presence in a
 55        public charter school is detrimental to the health  and  safety  of  other

                                       4

  1        pupils,  or  who  has  been  expelled from another school district in this
  2        state or any other state.
  3        (j)  Admission procedures, including provision  for  overenrollment.  Such
  4        admission  procedures  shall provide that the initial admission procedures
  5        for a new public  charter school, including provision for  overenrollment,
  6        will  be determined by lottery or other random method, except as otherwise
  7        provided herein. If initial capacity is insufficient to enroll all  pupils
  8        who submit a timely application, then the admission procedures may provide
  9        that  preference shall be given in the following order: first, to children
 10        of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be  limited  to
 11        not  more  than  ten  percent  (10%) of the capacity of the public charter
 12        school; second, to siblings of pupils already selected by the  lottery  or
 13        other  random method; and third, an equitable selection process such as by
 14        lottery or other random method. If capacity is insufficient to enroll  all
 15        pupils  for subsequent school terms, who submit a timely application, then
 16        the admission procedures may provide that preference shall be given in the
 17        following order: first, to pupils returning to the public  charter  school
 18        in the second or any subsequent year of its operation; second, to children
 19        of  founders,  provided that this admission preference shall be limited to
 20        not more than ten percent (10%) of the  capacity  of  the  public  charter
 21        school;  third,  to  siblings  of  pupils  already  enrolled in the public
 22        charter school; and fourth, an equitable selection process such as by lot-
 23        tery or other random method. There shall be no carryover from year to year
 24        of the list maintained to fill vacancies. A new lottery shall be conducted
 25        each year to fill vacancies which become available.
 26        (k)  The manner in which an annual audit of the financial and programmatic
 27        operations of the public charter school is to be conducted.
 28        (l)  The disciplinary procedures that the public charter school will  uti-
 29        lize, including the procedure by which students may be suspended, expelled
 30        and reenrolled, and the procedures required by section 33-210, Idaho Code.
 31        (m)  A  provision  which  ensures  that  all  staff  members of the public
 32        charter school will be covered by the public employee  retirement  system,
 33        federal  social  security,  unemployment  insurance, worker's compensation
 34        insurance, and health insurance.
 35        (n)  The public school attendance alternative for students residing within
 36        the school district who choose not to attend the public charter school.
 37        (o)  A description of the transfer rights of any employee choosing to work
 38        in a public charter school that is approved by the board of trustees of  a
 39        school  district,  and  the rights of such employees to return to any non-
 40        charter school in the  same  school  district  after  employment  at  such
 41        charter school.
 42        (p)  A provision which ensures that the staff of the public charter school
 43        shall be considered a separate unit for purposes of collective bargaining.
 44        (q)  The  manner  by  which special education services will be provided to
 45        students with disabilities who are eligible pursuant to the federal  indi-
 46        viduals with disabilities education act, including disciplinary procedures
 47        for these students.
 48        (r)  A  plan  for  working  with  parents who have students who are dually
 49        enrolled pursuant to section 33-203, Idaho Code.
 50        (s)  The process by which the citizens in the area of attendance shall  be
 51        made aware of the enrollment opportunities of the public charter school.
 52        (t)  A  proposal  for  transportation  services  as  required  by  section
 53        33-5208(4), Idaho Code.
 54        (u)  A  plan  for termination of the charter by the board of directors, to
 55        include:

                                       5

  1             (i)   Identification of who is responsible  for  dissolution  of  the
  2             charter school;
  3             (ii)  A description of how payment to creditors will be handled;
  4             (iii) A  procedure  for  transferring  all  records  of students with
  5             notice to parents of how to request a transfer of student records  to
  6             a specific school; and
  7             (iv)  A plan for the disposal of the public charter school's assets.
  8        (4)  The petitioner shall provide information regarding the proposed oper-
  9    ation  and  potential  effects of the public charter school including, but not
 10    limited to, the facilities to be utilized by the public  charter  school,  the
 11    manner in which administrative services of the public charter school are to be
 12    provided  and  the  potential  civil liability effects upon the public charter
 13    school and upon the authorized chartering entity.
 14        (5)  The public charter school commission may approve a charter for a pub-
 15    lic virtual school under the provisions of this chapter only if it  determines
 16    that the petition contains the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this
 17    section and the additional statements describing the following:
 18        (a)  The learning management system by which courses will be delivered;
 19        (b)  The role of the online teacher, including the consistent availability
 20        of  the  teacher  to  provide  guidance around course material, methods of
 21        individualized learning in the online course and the means by  which  stu-
 22        dent work will be assessed;
 23        (c)  A  plan for the provision of professional development specific to the
 24        public virtual school environment;
 25        (d)  The means by which public virtual school students will receive appro-
 26        priate teacher-to-student interaction, including timely, frequent feedback
 27        about student progress;
 28        (e)  The means by which the public  virtual  school  will  verify  student
 29        attendance  and  award course credit. Attendance at public virtual schools
 30        shall focus primarily on coursework and activities that are correlated  to
 31        the Idaho state thoroughness standards;
 32        (f)  A  plan for the provision of technical support relevant to the deliv-
 33        ery of online courses;
 34        (g)  The means by which the public virtual school will provide opportunity
 35        for student-to-student interaction; and
 36        (h)  A plan for ensuring equal access to all students, including the  pro-
 37        vision  of necessary hardware, software and internet connectivity required
 38        for participation in online coursework.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


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                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                           RS 17413C1

The Office of Performance Evaluations (OPE) recommended that the
legislature clarify the definition of a public virtual school as
found in Section 33-5202A(8), Idaho Code. This new definition will
provide more specific information for new virtual schools to
include in their petitions and establish a clearer criteria for use
in determining which of Idaho's existing schools may be considered
public virtual schools.


                          FISCAL NOTE

There will be no fiscal impact to the state budget as a result of 
this clarification.





CONTACT
Name:     Tamara Baysinger
Agency:   Office of the State Board of Education 
Phone:    332-1583


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                         H 423