Authorizes the establishment of charter school in school districts in St. Charles County

(Expands Charter Schools, no local elected governing board, Overseen by DESE)

AN ACT To repeal sections 160.400 and 160.415, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the establishment of charter schools.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows: Section A. Sections 160.400 and 160.415, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections 2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 160.400 and 160.415, to read as follows: 160.400. 1. A charter school is an independent public school. 2 2. Except as further provided in subsection 4 of this section, charter schools may be 3 operated only: 4 (1) In a metropolitan school district; 5 (2) In an urban school district containing most or all of a city with a population 6 greater than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants; 7 (3) In a school district that has been classified as unaccredited by the state board of 8 education; 9 (4) In a school district that has been classified as provisionally accredited by the state 10 board of education and has received scores on its annual performance report consistent with a 11 classification of provisionally accredited or unaccredited for three consecutive school years 12 beginning with the 2012-13 accreditation year under the following conditions: 13 (a) The eligibility for charter schools of any school district whose provisional 14 accreditation is based in whole or in part on financial stress as defined in sections 161.520 to 15 161.529, or on financial hardship as defined by rule of the state board of education, shall be 16 decided by a vote of the state board of education during the third consecutive school year after 17 the designation of provisional accreditation; and EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1764 2 18 (b) The sponsor is limited to the local school board or a sponsor who has met the 19 standards of accountability and performance as determined by the department based on 20 sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 and properly promulgated rules of the 21 department; [or] 22 (5) In a school district that has been accredited without provisions, sponsored only by 23 the local school board; provided that no board with a current year enrollment of one thousand 24 five hundred fifty students or greater shall permit more than thirty-five percent of its student 25 enrollment to enroll in charter schools sponsored by the local board under the authority of this 26 subdivision, except that this restriction shall not apply to any school district that subsequently 27 becomes eligible under subdivision (3) or (4) of this subsection or to any district accredited 28 without provisions that sponsors charter schools prior to having a current year student 29 enrollment of one thousand five hundred fifty students or greater; or 30 (6) In a school district with the majority of such district located within a county 31 with more than four hundred thousand but fewer than five hundred thousand 32 inhabitants. 33 3. Except as further provided in subsection 4 of this section, the following entities are 34 eligible to sponsor charter schools: 35 (1) The school board of the district in any district which is sponsoring a charter 36 school as of August 27, 2012, as permitted under subdivision (1) [or], (2), or (6) of subsection 37 2 of this section, the special administrative board of a metropolitan school district during any 38 time in which powers granted to the district's board of education are vested in a special 39 administrative board, or if the state board of education appoints a special administrative board 40 to retain the authority granted to the board of education of an urban school district containing 41 most or all of a city with a population greater than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, 42 the special administrative board of such school district; 43 (2) A public four-year college or university with an approved teacher education 44 program that meets regional or national standards of accreditation; 45 (3) A community college, the service area of which encompasses some portion of the 46 district; 47 (4) Any private four-year college or university with an enrollment of at least one 48 thousand students, with its primary campus in Missouri, and with an approved teacher 49 preparation program; 50 (5) Any two-year private vocational or technical school designated as a 501(c)(3) 51 nonprofit organization under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and accredited 52 by the Higher Learning Commission, with its primary campus in Missouri; 53 (6) The Missouri charter public school commission created in section 160.425. HB 1764 3 54 4. Changes in a school district's accreditation status that affect charter schools shall be 55 addressed as follows, except for the districts described in subdivisions (1) [and], (2), and (6) 56 of subsection 2 of this section: 57 (1) As a district transitions from unaccredited to provisionally accredited, the district 58 shall continue to fall under the requirements for an unaccredited district until it achieves three 59 consecutive full school years of provisional accreditation; 60 (2) As a district transitions from provisionally accredited to full accreditation, the 61 district shall continue to fall under the requirements for a provisionally accredited district 62 until it achieves three consecutive full school years of full accreditation; 63 (3) In any school district classified as unaccredited or provisionally accredited where 64 a charter school is operating and is sponsored by an entity other than the local school board, 65 when the school district becomes classified as accredited without provisions, a charter school 66 may continue to be sponsored by the entity sponsoring it prior to the classification of 67 accredited without provisions and shall not be limited to the local school board as a sponsor. 68 69 A charter school operating in a school district identified in subdivision (1) [or], (2), or (6) of 70 subsection 2 of this section may be sponsored by any of the entities identified in subsection 3 71 of this section, irrespective of the accreditation classification of the district in which it is 72 located. A charter school in a district described in this subsection whose charter provides for 73 the addition of grade levels in subsequent years may continue to add levels until the planned 74 expansion is complete to the extent of grade levels in comparable schools of the district in 75 which the charter school is operated. 76 5. The mayor of a city not within a county may request a sponsor under subdivision 77 (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of subsection 3 of this section to consider sponsoring a "workplace 78 charter school", which is defined for purposes of sections 160.400 to 160.425 as a charter 79 school with the ability to target prospective students whose parent or parents are employed in 80 a business district, as defined in the charter, which is located in the city. 81 6. No sponsor shall receive from an applicant for a charter school any fee of any type 82 for the consideration of a charter, nor may a sponsor condition its consideration of a charter 83 on the promise of future payment of any kind. 84 7. The charter school shall be organized as a Missouri nonprofit corporation 85 incorporated pursuant to chapter 355. The charter provided for herein shall constitute a 86 contract between the sponsor and the charter school. 87 8. As a nonprofit corporation incorporated pursuant to chapter 355, the charter school 88 shall select the method for election of officers pursuant to section 355.326 based on the class 89 of corporation selected. Meetings of the governing board of the charter school shall be 90 subject to the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.030.  HB 1764 4 91 9. A sponsor of a charter school, its agents and employees are not liable for any acts 92 or omissions of a charter school that it sponsors, including acts or omissions relating to the 93 charter submitted by the charter school, the operation of the charter school and the 94 performance of the charter school. 95 10. A charter school may affiliate with a four-year college or university, including a 96 private college or university, or a community college as otherwise specified in subsection 3 of 97 this section when its charter is granted by a sponsor other than such college, university or 98 community college. Affiliation status recognizes a relationship between the charter school 99 and the college or university for purposes of teacher training and staff development, 100 curriculum and assessment development, use of physical facilities owned by or rented on 101 behalf of the college or university, and other similar purposes. A university, college or 102 community college may not charge or accept a fee for affiliation status. 103 11. The expenses associated with sponsorship of charter schools shall be defrayed by 104 the department of elementary and secondary education retaining one and five-tenths percent 105 of the amount of state and local funding allocated to the charter school under section 160.415, 106 not to exceed one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, adjusted for inflation. The 107 department of elementary and secondary education shall remit the retained funds for each 108 charter school to the school's sponsor, provided the sponsor remains in good standing by 109 fulfilling its sponsorship obligations under sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 with 110 regard to each charter school it sponsors, including appropriate demonstration of the 111 following: 112 (1) Expends no less than ninety percent of its charter school sponsorship funds in 113 support of its charter school sponsorship program, or as a direct investment in the sponsored 114 schools; 115 (2) Maintains a comprehensive application process that follows fair procedures and 116 rigorous criteria and grants charters only to those developers who demonstrate strong capacity 117 for establishing and operating a quality charter school; 118 (3) Negotiates contracts with charter schools that clearly articulate the rights and 119 responsibilities of each party regarding school autonomy, expected outcomes, measures for 120 evaluating success or failure, performance consequences based on the annual performance 121 report, and other material terms; 122 (4) Conducts contract oversight that evaluates performance, monitors compliance, 123 informs intervention and renewal decisions, and ensures autonomy provided under applicable 124 law; and 125 (5) Designs and implements a transparent and rigorous process that uses 126 comprehensive data to make merit-based renewal decisions.  HB 1764 5 127 12. Sponsors receiving funds under subsection 11 of this section shall be required to 128 submit annual reports to the joint committee on education demonstrating they are in 129 compliance with subsection 17 of this section. 130 13. No university, college or community college shall grant a charter to a nonprofit 131 corporation if an employee of the university, college or community college is a member of the 132 corporation's board of directors. 133 14. No sponsor shall grant a charter under sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 134 without ensuring that a criminal background check and family care safety registry check are 135 conducted for all members of the governing board of the charter schools or the incorporators 136 of the charter school if initial directors are not named in the articles of incorporation, nor shall 137 a sponsor renew a charter without ensuring a criminal background check and family care 138 safety registry check are conducted for each member of the governing board of the charter 139 school. 140 15. No member of the governing board of a charter school shall hold any office or 141 employment from the board or the charter school while serving as a member, nor shall the 142 member have any substantial interest, as defined in section 105.450, in any entity employed 143 by or contracting with the board. No board member shall be an employee of a company that 144 provides substantial services to the charter school. All members of the governing board of the 145 charter school shall be considered decision-making public servants as defined in section 146 105.450 for the purposes of the financial disclosure requirements contained in sections 147 105.483, 105.485, 105.487, and 105.489. 148 16. A sponsor shall develop the policies and procedures for: 149 (1) The review of a charter school proposal including an application that provides 150 sufficient information for rigorous evaluation of the proposed charter and provides clear 151 documentation that the education program and academic program are aligned with the state 152 standards and grade-level expectations, and provides clear documentation of effective 153 governance and management structures, and a sustainable operational plan; 154 (2) The granting of a charter; 155 (3) The performance contract that the sponsor will use to evaluate the performance of 156 charter schools. Charter schools shall meet current state academic performance standards as 157 well as other standards agreed upon by the sponsor and the charter school in the performance 158 contract; 159 (4) The sponsor's intervention, renewal, and revocation policies, including the 160 conditions under which the charter sponsor may intervene in the operation of the charter 161 school, along with actions and consequences that may ensue, and the conditions for renewal 162 of the charter at the end of the term, consistent with subsections 8 and 9 of section 160.405;  HB 1764 6 163 (5) Additional criteria that the sponsor will use for ongoing oversight of the charter; 164 and 165 (6) Procedures to be implemented if a charter school should close, consistent with the 166 provisions of subdivision (15) of subsection 1 of section 160.405. 167 168 The department shall provide guidance to sponsors in developing such policies and 169 procedures. 170 17. (1) A sponsor shall provide timely submission to the state board of education of 171 all data necessary to demonstrate that the sponsor is in material compliance with all 172 requirements of sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349. The state board of 173 education shall ensure each sponsor is in compliance with all requirements under sections 174 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 for each charter school sponsored by any sponsor. The state 175 board shall notify each sponsor of the standards for sponsorship of charter schools, 176 delineating both what is mandated by statute and what best practices dictate. The state board 177 shall evaluate sponsors to determine compliance with these standards every three years. The 178 evaluation shall include a sponsor's policies and procedures in the areas of charter application 179 approval; required charter agreement terms and content; sponsor performance evaluation and 180 compliance monitoring; and charter renewal, intervention, and revocation decisions. Nothing 181 shall preclude the department from undertaking an evaluation at any time for cause. 182 (2) If the department determines that a sponsor is in material noncompliance with its 183 sponsorship duties, the sponsor shall be notified and given reasonable time for remediation. 184 If remediation does not address the compliance issues identified by the department, the 185 commissioner of education shall conduct a public hearing and thereafter provide notice to the 186 charter sponsor of corrective action that will be recommended to the state board of education. 187 Corrective action by the department may include withholding the sponsor's funding and 188 suspending the sponsor's authority to sponsor a school that it currently sponsors or to sponsor 189 any additional school until the sponsor is reauthorized by the state board of education under 190 section 160.403. 191 (3) The charter sponsor may, within thirty days of receipt of the notice of the 192 commissioner's recommendation, provide a written statement and other documentation to 193 show cause as to why that action should not be taken. Final determination of corrective 194 action shall be determined by the state board of education based upon a review of the 195 documentation submitted to the department and the charter sponsor. 196 (4) If the state board removes the authority to sponsor a currently operating charter 197 school under any provision of law, the Missouri charter public school commission shall 198 become the sponsor of the school.  HB 1764 7 199 18. If a sponsor notifies a charter school of closure under subsection 8 of section 200 160.405, the department of elementary and secondary education shall exercise its financial 201 withholding authority under subsection 12 of section 160.415 to assure all obligations of the 202 charter school shall be met. The state, charter sponsor, or resident district shall not be liable 203 for any outstanding liability or obligations of the charter school. 160.415. 1. For the purposes of calculation and distribution of state school aid under 2 section 163.031, pupils enrolled in a charter school shall be included in the pupil enrollment 3 of the school district within which each pupil resides. Each charter school shall report the 4 eligibility for free and reduced price lunch, special education, or limited English proficiency 5 status, as well as eligibility for categorical aid, of pupils resident in a school district who are 6 enrolled in the charter school to the school district in which those pupils reside. The charter 7 school shall report the average daily attendance data, free and reduced price lunch count, 8 special education pupil count, and limited English proficiency pupil count to the state 9 department of elementary and secondary education. Each charter school shall promptly 10 notify the state department of elementary and secondary education and the pupil's school 11 district when a pupil discontinues enrollment at a charter school. 12 2. Except as provided in subsections 3 and 4 of this section, the aid payments for 13 charter schools shall be as described in this subsection. 14 (1) A school district having one or more resident