1| STATE OF OKLAHOMA |
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2| 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023) |
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3|SENATE BILL 321 By: Seifried |
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4| |
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5| |
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6| AS INTRODUCED |
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7| An Act relating to charter schools; amending 70 O.S. |
| 2021, Section 3-132, as amended by Section 1, Chapter |
8| 222, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 3-132), |
| which relates to charter school sponsorship; updating |
9| statutory language; adding sponsor; amending 70 O.S. |
| 2021, Section 3-134, as amended by Section 2, Chapter |
10| 222, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 3-134), |
| which relates to charter sponsor proposals; adding |
11| sponsor; updating statutory reference; providing an |
| effective date; and declaring an emergency. |
12| |
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13| |
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14|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: |
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15| SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-132, as |
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16|amended by Section 1, Chapter 222, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022, |
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17|Section 3-132), is amended to read as follows: |
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18| Section 3-132. A. The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall apply |
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19|only to charter schools formed and operated under the provisions of |
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20|the act. Charter schools shall be sponsored only as follows: |
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21| 1. By any school district located in the State of Oklahoma this |
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22|state, provided such charter school shall only be located within the |
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23|geographical boundaries of the sponsoring district and subject to |
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24|the restrictions of Section 3-145.6 of this title; |
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1| 2. By a technology center school district if the charter school |
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2|is located in a school district served by the technology center |
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3|school district in which all or part of the school district is |
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4|located in a county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) |
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5|population according to the latest Federal Decennial Census; |
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6| 3. By a technology center school district if the charter school |
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7|is located in a school district served by the technology center |
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8|school district and the school district has a school site that has |
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9|been identified as in need of improvement by the State Board of |
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10|Education pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of |
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11|1965, as amended or reauthorized; |
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12| 4. By an accredited comprehensive or regional institution that |
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13|is a member of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education or a |
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14|community college if the charter school is located in a school |
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15|district in which all or part of the school district is located in a |
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16|county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population |
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17|according to the latest Federal Decennial Census; |
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18| 5. By a comprehensive or regional institution that is a member |
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19|of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education if the charter |
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20|school is located in a school district that has a school site that |
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21|has been identified as in need of improvement by the State Board of |
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22|Education pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of |
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23|1965, as amended or reauthorized. In addition, the institution |
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24|shall have a teacher education program accredited by the Oklahoma |
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1|Commission for Teacher Preparation Commission for Educational |
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2|Quality and Accountability and have a branch campus or constituent |
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3|agency physically located within the school district in which the |
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4|charter school is located in the State of Oklahoma this state; |
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5| 6. By a federally recognized Indian tribe, operating a high |
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6|school under the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as of |
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7|November 1, 2010, if the charter school is for the purpose of |
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8|demonstrating native language immersion instruction, and is located |
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9|within its former reservation or treaty area boundaries. For |
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10|purposes of this paragraph, native language immersion instruction |
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11|shall require that educational instruction and other activities |
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12|conducted at the school site are primarily conducted in the native |
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13|language; |
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14| 7. By the State Board of Education when the applicant of the |
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15|charter school is the Office of Juvenile Affairs or the applicant |
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16|has a contract with the Office of Juvenile Affairs and the charter |
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17|school is for the purpose of providing education services to youth |
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18|in the custody or supervision of the state. Not more than two |
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19|charter schools shall be sponsored by the Board as provided for in |
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20|this paragraph during the period of time beginning July 1, 2010, |
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21|through July 1, 2016; |
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22| 8. By a federally recognized Indian tribe only when the charter |
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23|school is located within the former reservation or treaty area |
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24|boundaries of the tribe on property held in trust by the Bureau of |
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1|Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior for |
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2|the benefit of the tribe; or |
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3| 9. By a private institution of higher learning located within |
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4|this state and accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of this title; or |
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5| 10. By the State Board of Education when the applicant has |
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6|first been denied a charter by the local school district in which it |
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7|seeks to operate. In counties with fewer than five hundred thousand |
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8|(500,000) population, according to the latest Federal Decennial |
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9|Census, the State Board of Education shall not sponsor more than |
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10|five charter schools per year each year for the first five (5) years |
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11|after the effective date of this act August 21, 2015, with not more |
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12|than one charter school sponsored in a single school district per |
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13|year. In order to authorize a charter school under this section, |
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14|the State Board of Education shall find evidence of all of the |
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15|following: |
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16| a. a thorough and high-quality charter school |
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17| application from the applicant based on the |
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18| authorizing standards in subsection B of Section 3-134 |
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19| of this title, |
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20| b. a clear demonstration of community support for the |
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21| charter school, and |
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22| c. the grounds and basis of objection by the school |
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23| district for denying the operation of the charter are |
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24| |
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1| not supported by the greater weight of evidence and |
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2| the strength of the application. |
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3| B. An eligible non-school-district sponsor shall give priority |
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4|to opening charter schools that serve at-risk student populations or |
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5|students from low-performing traditional public schools. |
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6| C. An eligible non-school-district sponsor shall give priority |
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7|to applicants that have demonstrated a record of operating at least |
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8|one school or similar program that demonstrates academic success and |
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9|organizational viability and serves student populations similar to |
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10|those the proposed charter school seeks to serve. In assessing the |
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11|potential for quality replication of a charter school, a sponsor |
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12|shall consider the following factors before approving a new site or |
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13|school: |
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14| 1. Evidence of a strong and reliable record of academic success |
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15|based primarily on student performance data, as well as other viable |
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16|indicators, including financial and operational success; |
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17| 2. A sound, detailed, and well-supported growth plan; |
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18| 3. Evidence of the ability to transfer successful practices to |
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19|a potentially different context that includes reproducing critical |
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20|cultural, organizational, and instructional characteristics; |
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21| 4. Any management organization involved in a potential |
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22|replication is fully vetted, and the academic, financial, and |
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23|operational records of the schools it operates are found to be |
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24|satisfactory; |
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1| 5. Evidence the program seeking to be replicated has the |
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2|capacity to do so successfully without diminishing or putting at |
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3|risk its current operations; and |
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4| 6. A financial structure that ensures that funds attributable |
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5|to each charter school within a network and required by law to be |
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6|utilized by a school remain with and are used to benefit that |
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7|school. |
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8| D. For purposes of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, "charter |
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9|school" means a public school established by contract with a board |
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10|of education of a school district, an area vocational-technical |
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11|school district, a higher education institution, a federally |
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12|recognized Indian tribe, a private institution of higher learning, |
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13|or the State Board of Education pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter |
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14|Schools Act to provide learning that will improve student |
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15|achievement and as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education |
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16|Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 8065. |
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17| E. 1. For the purposes of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, |
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18|"conversion school" means a school created by converting all or any |
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19|part of a traditional public school in order to access any or all |
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20|flexibilities afforded to a charter school. |
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21| 2. Prior to the board of education of a school district |
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22|converting all or any part of a traditional public school to a |
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23|conversion school, the board shall prepare a conversion plan. The |
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24|conversion plan shall include documentation that demonstrates and |
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1|complies with paragraphs 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, |
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2|19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 34, and 35 of subsection B of Section 3-134 |
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3|of this title. The conversion plan and all documents shall be in |
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4|writing and shall be available to the public pursuant to the |
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5|requirements of the Oklahoma Open Records Act. All votes by the |
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6|board of education of a school district to approve a conversion plan |
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7|shall be held in an open public session. If the board of education |
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8|of a school district votes to approve a conversion plan, the board |
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9|shall notify the State Board of Education within sixty (60) days |
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10|after the vote. The notification shall include a copy of the |
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11|minutes for the board meeting at which the conversion plan was |
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12|approved. |
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13| 3. A conversion school shall comply with all the same |
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14|accountability measures as are required of a charter school as |
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15|defined in subsection D of this section. The provisions of Sections |
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16|3-140 and 3-142 of this title shall not apply to a conversion |
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17|school. Conversion schools shall comply with the same laws and |
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18|State Board of Education rules relating to student enrollment which |
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19|apply to traditional public schools. Conversion schools shall be |
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20|funded by the board of education of the school district as a school |
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21|site within the school district and funding shall not be affected by |
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22|the conversion of the school. |
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23| 4. The board of education of a school district may vote to |
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24|revert a conversion school back to a traditional public school at |
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1|any time; provided, the change shall only occur during a break |
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2|between school years. |
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3| 5. Unless otherwise provided for in this subsection, a |
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4|conversion school shall retain the characteristics of a traditional |
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5|public school. |
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6| F. A charter school may consist of a new school site, new |
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7|school sites, or all or any portion of an existing school site. An |
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8|entire school district may not become a charter school site. |
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9| SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-134, as |
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10|amended by Section 2, Chapter 222, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022, |
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11|Section 3-134), is amended to read as follows: |
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12| Section 3-134. A. For written applications filed after January |
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13|1, 2008, prior to submission of the application to a proposed |
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14|sponsor seeking to establish a charter school, the applicant shall |
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15|be required to complete training which shall not exceed ten (10) |
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16|hours provided by the State Department of Education on the process |
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17|and requirements for establishing a charter school. The Department |
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18|shall develop and implement the training by January 1, 2008. The |
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19|Department may provide the training in any format and manner that |
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20|the Department determines to be efficient and effective including, |
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21|but not limited to, web-based training. |
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22| B. Except as otherwise provided for in Section 3-137 of this |
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23|title, an applicant seeking to establish a charter school shall |
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24| |
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1|submit a written application to the proposed sponsor as prescribed |
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2|in subsection E of this section. The application shall include: |
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3| 1. A mission statement for the charter school; |
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4| 2. A description including, but not limited to, background |
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5|information of the organizational structure and the governing body |
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6|of the charter school; |
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7| 3. A financial plan for the first five (5) years of operation |
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8|of the charter school and a description of the treasurer or other |
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9|officers or persons who shall have primary responsibility for the |
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10|finances of the charter school. Such person shall have demonstrated |
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11|experience in school finance or the equivalent thereof; |
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12| 4. A description of the hiring policy of the charter school; |
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13| 5. The name of the applicant or applicants and requested |
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14|sponsor; |
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15| 6. A description of the facility and location of the charter |
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16|school; |
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17| 7. A description of the grades being served; |
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18| 8. An outline of criteria designed to measure the effectiveness |
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19|of the charter school; |
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20| 9. A demonstration of support for the charter school from |
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21|residents of the school district which may include but is not |
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22|limited to a survey of the school district residents or a petition |
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23|signed by residents of the school district; |
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24| |
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1| 10. Documentation that the applicants completed charter school |
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2|training as set forth in subsection A of this section; |
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3| 11. A description of the minimum and maximum enrollment planned |
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4|per year for each term of the charter contract; |
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5| 12. The proposed calendar for the charter school and sample |
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6|daily schedule; |
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7| 13. Unless otherwise authorized by law or regulation, a |
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8|description of the academic program aligned with state standards; |
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9| 14. A description of the instructional design of the charter |
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10|school, including the type of learning environment, class size and |
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11|structure, curriculum overview, and teaching methods; |
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12| 15. The plan for using internal and external assessments to |
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13|measure and report student progress on the performance framework |
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14|developed by the applicant in accordance with subsection C of |
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15|Section 3-135 of this title; |
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16| 16. The plans for identifying and successfully serving students |
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17|with disabilities, students who are English language learners, and |
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18|students who are academically behind; |
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19| 17. A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs |
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20|and how they will be funded and delivered; |
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21| 18. Plans and time lines for student recruitment and |
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22|enrollment, including lottery procedures; |
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23| 19. The student discipline policies for the charter school, |
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24|including those for special education students; |
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1| 20. An organizational chart that clearly presents the |
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2|organizational structure of the charter school, including lines of |
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3|authority and reporting between the governing board, staff, any |
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4|related bodies such as advisory bodies or parent and teacher |
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5|councils, and any external organizations that will play a role in |
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6|managing the school; |
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7| 21. A clear description of the roles and responsibilities for |
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8|the governing board, the leadership and management team for the |
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9|charter school, and any other entities shown in the organizational |
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10|chart; |
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11| 22. The leadership and teacher employment policies for the |
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12|charter school; |
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13| 23. Proposed governing bylaws; |
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14| 24. Explanations of any partnerships or contractual |
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15|partnerships central to the operations or mission of the charter |
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16|school; |
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17| 25. The plans for providing transportation, food service, and |
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18|all other significant operational or ancillary services; |
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19| 26. Opportunities and expectations for parental involvement; |
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20| 27. A detailed school start-up plan that identifies tasks, time |
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21|lines, and responsible individuals; |
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22| 28. A description of the financial plan and policies for the |
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23|charter school, including financial controls and audit requirements; |
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24| |
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1| 29. A description of the insurance coverage the charter school |
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2|will obtain; |
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3| 30. Start-up and five-year budgets with clearly stated |
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4|assumptions; |
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5| 31. Start-up and first-year cash-flow projections with clearly |
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6|stated assumptions; |
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7| 32. Evidence of anticipated fundraising contributions, if |
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8|claimed in the application; |
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9| 33. A sound facilities plan, including backup or contingency |
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10|plans if appropriate; |
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11| 34. A requirement that the charter school governing board meet |
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12|at a minimum quarterly in the state and that for those charter |
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13|schools outside of counties with a population of five hundred |
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14|thousand (500,000) or more, that a majority of members are residents |
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15|within the geographic boundary of the sponsoring entity; and |
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16| 35. A requirement that the charter school follow the |
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17|requirements of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and Oklahoma Open |
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18|Records Act. |
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19| C. A board of education of a public school district, public |
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20|body, public or private college or university, private person, or |
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21|private organization may contract with a sponsor to establish a |
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22|charter school. A private school shall not be eligible to contract |
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23|for a charter school under the provisions of the Oklahoma Charter |
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24|Schools Act. |
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1| D. The sponsor of a charter school is the board of education of |
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2|a school district, the board of education of a technology center |
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3|school district, a higher education institution, a private |
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4|institution of higher learning, the State Board of Education, or a |
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5|federally recognized Indian tribe which meets the criteria |
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6|established in Section 3-132 of this title. Any board of education |
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7|of a school district in the state may sponsor one or more charter |
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8|schools. The physical location of a charter school sponsored by a |
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9|board of education of a school district or a technology center |
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10|school district shall be within the boundaries of the sponsoring |
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11|school district. The physical location of a charter school |
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12|otherwise sponsored by the State Board of Education pursuant to |
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13|paragraph 8 10 of subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title shall |
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14|be in the school district in which the application originated. |
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15| E. An applicant for a charter school may submit an application |
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16|to a proposed sponsor which shall either accept or reject |
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17|sponsorship of the charter school within ninety (90) days of receipt |
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18|of the application. If the proposed sponsor rejects the |
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19|application, it shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons |
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20|for the rejection. The applicant may submit a revised application |
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21|for reconsideration to the proposed sponsor within thirty (30) days |
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22|after receiving notification of the rejection. The proposed sponsor |
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23|shall accept or reject the revised application within thirty (30) |
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24|days of its receipt. Should the sponsor reject the application on |
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1|reconsideration, the applicant may appeal the decision to the State |
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2|Board of Education with the revised application for review pursuant |
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3|to paragraph 8 10 of subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title. |
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4|The State Board of Education shall hear the appeal no later than |
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5|sixty (60) days from the date received by the Board. |
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6| F. A board of education of a school district, board of |
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7|education of a technology center school district, higher education |
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8|institution, private institution of higher learning, or federally |
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9|recognized Indian tribe sponsor of a charter school shall notify the |
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10|State Board of Education when it accepts sponsorship of a charter |
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11|school. The notification shall include a copy of the charter of the |
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12|charter school. |
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13| G. Applicants for charter schools proposed to be sponsored by |
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14|an entity other than a school district pursuant to paragraph 1 of |
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15|subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title may, upon rejection of |
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16|the revised application, proceed to binding arbitration under the |
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17|commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association with costs |
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18|of the arbitration to be borne by the proposed sponsor. Applicants |
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19|for charter schools proposed to be sponsored by school districts |
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20|pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 3-132 of this |
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21|title may not proceed to binding arbitration but may be sponsored by |
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22|the State Board of Education as provided in paragraph 8 10 of |
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23|subsection A of Section 3-132 of this title. |
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24| |
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1| H. If a board of education of a technology center school |
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2|district, a higher education institution, a private institution of |
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3|higher learning, the State Board of Education, or a federally |
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4|recognized Indian tribe accepts sponsorship of a charter school, the |
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5|administrative, fiscal, and oversight responsibilities of the |
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6|technology center school district, the higher education institution, |
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7|the private institution of higher learning, or the federally |
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8|recognized Indian tribe shall be listed in the contract. No |
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9|responsibilities shall be delegated to a school district unless the |
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10|local school district agrees to assume the responsibilities. |
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11| I. A sponsor of a public charter school shall have the |
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12|following powers and duties: |
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13| 1. Provide oversight of the operations of charter schools in |
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14|the state through annual performance reviews of charter schools and |
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15|reauthorization of charter schools for which it is a sponsor; |
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16| 2. Solicit and evaluate charter applications; |
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17| 3. Approve quality charter applications that meet identified |
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18|educational needs and promote a diversity of educational choices; |
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19| 4. Decline to approve weak or inadequate charter applications; |
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20| 5. Negotiate and execute sound charter contracts with each |
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21|approved public charter school; |
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22| 6. Monitor, in accordance with charter contract terms, the |
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23|performance and legal compliance of charter schools; and |
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24| |
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1| 7. Determine whether each charter contract merits renewal, |
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2|nonrenewal, or revocation. |
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3| J. Sponsors shall establish a procedure for accepting, |
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4|approving, and disapproving charter school applications in |
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5|accordance with subsection E of this section. |
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6| K. Sponsors shall be required to develop and maintain |
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7|chartering policies and practices consistent with recognized |
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8|principles and standards for quality charter authorizing as |
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9|established by the State Department of Education in all major areas |
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10|of authorizing responsibility, including organizational capacity and |
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11|infrastructure, soliciting and evaluating charter applications, |
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12|performance contracting, ongoing charter school oversight, and |
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13|evaluation and charter renewal decision-making. |
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14| L. Sponsors acting in their official capacity shall be immune |
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15|from civil and criminal liability with respect to all activities |
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16|related to a charter school with which they contract. |
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17| SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023. |
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18| SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation |
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19|of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby |
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20|declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and |
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21|be in full force from and after its passage and approval. |
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22| |
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23| 59-1-732 EB 1/13/2023 10:44:03 AM |
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24| |
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Req. No. 732 Page 16
