ENROLLED HOUSE
BILL NO. 3872 By: Phillips of the House
and
Taylor
of the Senate
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Sections
3-132 and 3-134, which relate to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act; modifying
sponsorship of certain schools which contract with the Office of Juvenile
Affairs; deleting requirement of physical location for certain charter school;
and declaring an emergency.
SUBJECT:
Schools
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.
AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 3-132, is amended to read as follows:
Section 3-132. A. The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall apply
only to charter schools formed and operated under the provisions of the
act. Charter schools shall be sponsored
only as follows:
1.
By any school district located in the State of Oklahoma, provided such
charter school shall only be located within the geographical boundaries of the
sponsoring district and subject to the restrictions of Section 3-145.6 of this
title;
2. By a technology center school district if the
charter school is located in a school district served by the technology center
school district in which all or part of the school district is located in a
county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population according to
the latest Federal Decennial Census;
3.
By a technology center school district if the charter school is located
in a school district served by the technology center school district and the
school district has a school site that has been identified as in need of
improvement by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended or reauthorized;
4.
By an accredited comprehensive or regional institution that is a member
of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or a community college if the
charter school is located in a school district in which all or part of the
school district is located in a county having more than five hundred thousand
(500,000) population according to the latest Federal Decennial Census;
5.
By a comprehensive or regional institution that is a member of The
Oklahoma State System of Higher Education if the charter school is located in a
school district that has a school site that has been identified as in need of
improvement by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended or reauthorized. In addition, the institution shall have a
teacher education program accredited by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher
Preparation and have a branch campus or constituent agency physically located
within the school district in which the charter school is located in the State
of Oklahoma;
6.
By a federally recognized Indian tribe, operating a high school under the
authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as of November 1, 2010, if the
charter school is for the purpose of demonstrating native language immersion
instruction, and is located within its former reservation or treaty area
boundaries. For purposes of this
paragraph, native language immersion instruction shall require that educational
instruction and other activities conducted at the school site are primarily
conducted in the native language;
7.
By the State Board of Education when the applicant of the charter school
is the Office of Juvenile Affairs or the applicant has a contract with the
Office of Juvenile Affairs to provide a fixed rate level E, D, or D+ group
home service and the charter school is for the purpose of providing
education services to youth in the custody or supervision of the state. Not more than two charter schools shall be
sponsored by the Board as provided for in this paragraph during the period of
time beginning July 1, 2010, through July 1, 2016;
8.
By a federally recognized Indian tribe only when the charter school is
located within the former reservation or treaty area boundaries of the tribe on
property held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States
Department of the Interior for the benefit of the tribe; or
9.
By the State Board of Education when the applicant has first been denied
a charter by the local school district in which it seeks to operate. In counties with fewer than five hundred
thousand (500,000) population, according to the latest Federal Decennial
Census, the State Board of Education shall not sponsor more than five charter
schools per year each year for the first five (5) years after the effective
date of this act, with not more than one charter school sponsored in a single
school district per year. In order to
authorize a charter school under this section, the State Board of Education
shall find evidence of all of the following:
a. a
thorough and high-quality charter school application from the applicant based
on the authorizing standards in subsection B of Section 3-134 of this title,
b. a
clear demonstration of community support for the charter school, and
c. the
grounds and basis of objection by the school district for denying the operation
of the charter are not supported by the greater weight of evidence and the
strength of the application.
B.
An eligible non-school-district sponsor shall give priority to opening
charter schools that serve at-risk student populations or students from
low-performing traditional public schools.
C.
An eligible non-school-district sponsor shall give priority to
applicants that have demonstrated a record of operating at least one school or
similar program that demonstrates academic success and organizational viability
and serves student populations similar to those the proposed charter school
seeks to serve. In assessing the
potential for quality replication of a charter school, a sponsor shall consider
the following factors before approving a new site or school:
1.
Evidence of a strong and reliable record of academic success based
primarily on student performance data, as well as other viable indicators,
including financial and operational success;
2.
A sound, detailed, and well-supported growth plan;
3.
Evidence of the ability to transfer successful practices to a
potentially different context that includes reproducing critical cultural,
organizational and instructional characteristics;
4.
Any management organization involved in a potential replication is fully
vetted, and the academic, financial and operational records of the schools it
operates are found to be satisfactory;
5.
Evidence the program seeking to be replicated has the capacity to do so
successfully without diminishing or putting at risk its current operations; and
6.
A financial structure that ensures that funds attributable to each
charter school within a network and required by law to be utilized by a school
remain with and are used to benefit that school.
D.
For purposes of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, "charter
school" means a public school established by contract with a board of
education of a school district, an area vocational-technical school district, a
higher education institution, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or the State
Board of Education pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act to provide
learning that will improve student achievement and as defined in the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 8065.
E.
1. For the purposes of the
Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, "conversion school" means a school
created by converting all or any part of a traditional public school in order
to access any or all flexibilities afforded to a charter school.
2.
Prior to the board of education of a school district converting all or
any part of a traditional public school to a conversion school, the board shall
prepare a conversion plan. The
conversion plan shall include documentation that demonstrates and complies with
paragraphs 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 34
and 35 of subsection B of Section 3-134 of this title. The conversion plan and all documents shall
be in writing and shall be available to the public pursuant to the requirements
of the Oklahoma Open Records Act. All
votes by the board of education of a school district to approve a conversion
plan shall be held in an open public session.
If the board of education of a school district votes to approve a
conversion plan, the board shall notify the State Board of Education within sixty
(60) days after the vote. The
notification shall include a copy of the minutes for the board meeting at which
the conversion plan was approved.
3.
A conversion school shall comply with all the same accountability
measures as are required of a charter school as defined in subsection D of this
section. The provisions of Sections
3-140 and 3-142 of this title shall not apply to a conversion school. Conversion schools shall comply with the same
laws and State Board of Education rules relating to student enrollment which
apply to traditional public schools.
Conversion schools shall be funded by the board of education of the
school district as a school site within the school district and funding shall
not be affected by the conversion of the school.
4.
The board of education of a school district may vote to revert a
conversion school back to a traditional public school at any time; provided,
the change shall only occur during a break between school years.
5.
Unless otherwise provided for in this subsection, a conversion school
shall retain the characteristics of a traditional public school.
F. A charter school may
consist of a new school site, new school sites or all or any portion of an
existing school site. An entire school
district may not become a charter school site.
SECTION 2.
AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 3-134, is amended to read as follows:
Section 3-134. A. For written applications filed after January
1, 2008, prior to submission of the application to a proposed sponsor seeking
to establish a charter
school, the applicant shall be required to complete training which shall not
exceed ten (10) hours provided by the State Department of Education on the
process and requirements for establishing a charter school. The Department shall develop and implement
the training by January 1, 2008. The Department
may provide the training in any format and manner that the Department
determines to be efficient and effective including, but not limited to,
web-based training.
B. Except as otherwise
provided for in Section 3-137 of this title, an applicant seeking to establish
a charter school shall submit a written application to the proposed sponsor as
prescribed in subsection E of this section.
The application shall include:
1.
A mission statement for the charter school;
2.
A description including, but not limited to, background information of
the organizational structure and the governing body of the charter school;
3.
A financial plan for the first five (5) years of operation of the
charter school and a description of the treasurer or other officers or persons
who shall have primary responsibility for the finances of the charter
school. Such person shall have
demonstrated experience in school finance or the equivalent thereof;
4.
A description of the hiring policy of the charter school;
5.
The name of the applicant or applicants and requested sponsor;
6.
A description of the facility and location of the charter school;
7.
A description of the grades being served;
8.
An outline of criteria designed to measure the effectiveness of the
charter school;
9.
A demonstration of support for the charter school from residents of the
school district which may include but is not limited to a survey of the school
district residents or a petition signed by residents of the school district;
10.
Documentation that the applicants completed charter school training as
set forth in subsection A of this section;
11.
A description of the minimum and maximum enrollment planned per year for
each term of the charter contract;
12.
The proposed calendar for the charter school and sample daily schedule;
13.
Unless otherwise authorized by law or regulation, a description of the
academic program aligned with state standards;
14.
A description of the instructional design of the charter school,
including the type of learning environment, class size and structure,
curriculum overview and teaching methods;
15.
The plan for using internal and external assessments to measure and
report student progress on the performance framework developed by the applicant
in accordance with subsection C of Section 3-135 of this title;
16.
The plans for identifying and successfully serving students with
disabilities, students who are English language learners and students who are
academically behind;
17.
A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs and how they
will be funded and delivered;
18.
Plans and time lines for student recruitment and enrollment, including
lottery procedures;
19.
The student discipline policies for the charter school, including those
for special education students;
20.
An organizational chart that clearly presents the organizational
structure of the charter school, including lines of authority and reporting
between the governing board, staff, any related bodies such as advisory bodies
or parent and teacher councils and any external organizations that will play a
role in managing the school;
21.
A clear description of the roles and responsibilities for the governing
board, the leadership and management team for the charter school and any other
entities shown in the organizational chart;
22.
The leadership and teacher employment policies for the charter school;
23.
Proposed governing bylaws;
24.
Explanations of any partnerships or contractual partnerships central to
the operations or mission of the charter school;
25.
The plans for providing transportation, food service and all other
significant operational or ancillary services;
26.
Opportunities and expectations for parental involvement;
27.
A detailed school start-up plan that identifies tasks, time lines and
responsible individuals;
28.
A description of the financial plan and policies for the charter school,
including financial controls and audit requirements;
29.
A description of the insurance coverage the charter school will obtain;
30.
Start-up and five-year budgets with clearly stated assumptions;
31.
Start-up and first-year cash-flow projections with clearly stated
assumptions;
32.
Evidence of anticipated fundraising contributions, if claimed in the
application;
33.
A sound facilities plan, including backup or contingency plans if
appropriate;
34.
A requirement that the charter school governing board meet at a minimum
quarterly in the state and that for those charter schools outside of counties
with a population of five hundred thousand (500,000) or more, that a majority
of members are residents within the geographic boundary of the sponsoring
entity; and
35.
A requirement that the charter school follow the requirements of the
Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and Oklahoma Open Records Act.
C.
A board of education of a public school district, public body, public or
private college or university, private person, or private organization may
contract with a sponsor to establish a charter school. A private school shall not be eligible to
contract for a charter school under the provisions of the Oklahoma Charter
Schools Act.
D.
The sponsor of a charter school is the board of education of a school
district, the board of education of a technology center school district, a
higher education institution, the State Board of Education, or a federally
recognized Indian tribe which meets the criteria established in Section 3-132
of this title. Any board of education of
a school district in the state may sponsor one or more charter schools. The physical location of a charter school
sponsored by a board of education of a school district or a technology center
school district shall be within the boundaries of the sponsoring school
district. The physical location of a
charter school sponsored by the State Board of Education when the applicant of
the charter school is the Office of Juvenile Affairs shall be where an Office
of Juvenile Affairs facility for youth is located. The physical location of a charter school
otherwise sponsored by the State Board of Education pursuant to paragraph 8 of
subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title shall be in the school district in
which the application originated.
E.
An applicant for a charter school may submit an application to a
proposed sponsor which shall either accept or reject sponsorship of the charter
school within ninety (90) days of receipt of the application. If the proposed sponsor rejects the
application, it shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the
rejection. The applicant may submit a
revised application for reconsideration to the proposed sponsor within thirty
(30) days after receiving notification of the rejection. The proposed sponsor shall accept or reject
the revised application within thirty (30) days of its receipt. Should the sponsor reject the application on
reconsideration, the applicant may appeal the decision to the State Board of
Education with the revised application for review pursuant to paragraph 8 of
subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title.
The State Board of Education shall hear the appeal no later than sixty
(60) days from the date received by the Board.
F.
A board of education of a school district, board of education of a
technology center school district, higher education institution, or federally
recognized Indian tribe sponsor of a charter school shall notify the State
Board of Education when it accepts sponsorship of a charter school. The notification shall include a copy of the
charter of the charter school.
G. Applicants for
charter schools proposed to be sponsored by an entity other than a school
district pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title
may, upon rejection of the revised application, proceed to binding arbitration
under the commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association with costs
of the arbitration to be borne by the proposed sponsor. Applicants for charter schools proposed to be
sponsored by school districts pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection A of
Section 3-132 of this title may not proceed to binding arbitration but may be
sponsored by the State Board of Education as provided in paragraph 8 of
subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title.
H.
If a board of education of a technology center school district, a higher
education institution, the State Board of Education, or a federally recognized
Indian tribe accepts sponsorship of a charter school, the administrative,
fiscal and oversight responsibilities of the technology center school district,
the higher education institution, or the federally recognized Indian tribe
shall be listed in the contract. No
responsibilities shall be delegated to a school district unless the local
school district agrees to assume the responsibilities.
I.
A sponsor of a public charter school shall have the following powers and
duties:
1.
Provide oversight of the operations of charter schools in the state
through annual performance reviews of charter schools and reauthorization of
charter schools for which it is a sponsor;
2.
Solicit and evaluate charter applications;
3.
Approve quality charter applications that meet identified educational
needs and promote a diversity of educational choices;
4.
Decline to approve weak or inadequate charter applications;
5.
Negotiate and execute sound charter contracts with each approved public
charter school;
6.
Monitor, in accordance with charter contract terms, the performance and
legal compliance of charter schools; and
7.
Determine whether each charter contract merits renewal, nonrenewal or
revocation.
J.
Sponsors shall establish a procedure for accepting, approving and
disapproving charter school applications in accordance with subsection E of
this section.
K.
Sponsors shall be required to develop and maintain chartering policies
and practices consistent with recognized principles and standards for quality
charter authorizing as established by the State Department of Education in all
major areas of authorizing responsibility, including organizational capacity
and infrastructure, soliciting and evaluating charter applications, performance
contracting, ongoing charter school oversight and evaluation and charter
renewal decision-making.
L.
Sponsors acting in their official capacity shall be immune from civil
and criminal liability with respect to all activities related to a charter
school with which they contract.
SECTION 3.
It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace,
health or safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof
this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and
approval.
Passed the
House of Representatives the 9th day of March, 2022.
Presiding
Officer of the House
of
Representatives
Passed the Senate the 27th day of
April, 2022.
Presiding
Officer of the Senate
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office
of the Governor this ____________________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By:
_________________________________
Approved by the
Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of
the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE
OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office
of the Secretary of State this __________ day of ___________________,
20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________