SB0192

SENATE BILL 192

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

John M. Sapien

AN ACT

RELATING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS; PROVIDING THAT START-UP SCHOOLS AND RENEWING CHARTER SCHOOLS MUST ENTER INTO CHARTER CONTRACTS WITH THEIR CHARTERING AUTHORITIES WITHIN CERTAIN TIME FRAMES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. That version of Section 22-8B-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999, Chapter 281, Section 8, as amended) that is to become effective July 1, 2012 is amended to read:

"22-8B-8. CHARTER APPLICATION--CONTENTS.--The charter school application for a start-up school or renewal of an existing charter school shall include:

A. the mission statement of the charter school;

B. the goals, objectives and student performance outcomes to be achieved by the charter school;

C. a description of the charter school's educational program, student performance standards and curriculum that must meet or exceed the department's educational standards and must be designed to enable each student to achieve those standards;

D. a description of the way a charter school's educational program will meet the individual needs of the students, including those students determined to be at risk;

E. a description of the charter school's plan for evaluating student performance, the types of assessments that will be used to measure student progress toward achievement of the state's standards and the school's student performance outcomes, the time line for achievement of the outcomes and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that student performance falls below the standards;

F. evidence that the plan for the charter school is economically sound, including a proposed budget for the term of the charter and a description of the manner in which the annual audit of the financial and administrative operations of the charter school is to be conducted;

G. evidence that the fiscal management of the charter school complies with all applicable federal and state laws and rules relative to fiscal procedures;

H. evidence of a plan for the displacement of students, teachers and other employees who will not attend or be employed in the conversion school;

I. a description of the governing body and operation of the charter school, including:

(1) how the governing body will be selected; (2) qualification and terms of members, how vacancies on the governing body will be filled and procedures for changing governing body membership; and

(3) the nature and extent of parental, professional educator and community involvement in the governance and operation of the school;

J. an explanation of the relationship that will exist between the proposed charter school and its employees, including evidence that the terms and conditions of employment will be addressed with affected employees and their recognized representatives, if any;

K. the employment and student discipline policies of the proposed charter school;

L. an agreement between the charter school and the chartering authority regarding their respective legal liability and applicable insurance coverage;

M. a description of how the charter school plans to meet the transportation and food service needs of its students;

N. a description of both the discretionary waivers and the waivers provided for in Section 22-8B-5 NMSA 1978 that the charter school is requesting or that will be provided from the local school board or the department and the charter school's plan for addressing and using these waiver requests; and

O. a description of the facilities the charter school plans to use."

SECTION 2. That version of Section 22-8B-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999, Chapter 281, Section 9, as amended) that is to become effective July 1, 2012 is amended to read:

"22-8B-9. CHARTER SCHOOL CONTRACT--CONTENTS--RULES.--

[A. The chartering authority shall enter into a contract with the governing body of the applicant charter school within thirty days of approval of the charter application. The charter contract shall be the final authorization for the charter school and shall be part of the charter. If the chartering authority and the applicant charter school fail to agree upon the terms of or enter into a contract within thirty days of the approval of the charter application, either party may appeal to the secretary to finalize the terms of the contract; provided that such appeal must be provided in writing to the secretary within forty-five days of the approval of the charter application. Failure to enter into a charter contract or appeal to the secretary pursuant to this section precludes the chartering authority from chartering the school.] A. An applicant charter school and its chartering authority shall enter into a contract that shall be the final authorization for the charter school and shall be part of the charter, as follows:

(1) for a start-up school whose application is approved between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, the school shall enter into a contract with the chartering authority by no later than February 15, 2013;

(2) for a start-up school whose application is approved on or after July 1, 2012, the school shall enter into a contract with the chartering authority by no later than thirty days after approval of the charter application; and

(3) for an existing school whose renewal application is due on or after July 1, 2012, the school shall enter into a contract with the chartering authority by no later than thirty days after approval of the charter renewal application.

B. The charter contract shall include:

(1) all agreements regarding the release of the charter school from department and local school board rules and policies, including discretionary waivers and waivers provided for in Section 22-8B-5 NMSA 1978;

(2) any material term of the charter application as determined by the parties to the contract;

(3) the mission statement of the charter school and how the charter school will report on implementation of its mission;

(4) a description of the chartering authority's duties to the charter school and liabilities of the chartering authority as provided in Section [8 of this 2011 act] 22-8B-5.3 NMSA 1978;

(5) a statement of admission policies and procedures;

(6) signed assurances from the charter school's governing body members regarding compliance with all federal and state laws governing organizational, programmatic and financial requirements applicable to charter schools;

(7) a description of the criteria, processes and procedures that the chartering authority will use for ongoing oversight of operational, financial and academic performance of the charter school;

(8) a detailed description of how the chartering authority will use the withheld two percent of the school-generated program cost as provided in Section 22-8B-13 NMSA 1978;

(9) the types and amounts of liability insurance [liability] coverage to be obtained by the charter school;

(10) the term of the contract;

(11) the process and criteria that the chartering authority intends to use to annually monitor and evaluate the fiscal, overall governance and student performance of the charter school, including the method that the chartering authority intends to use to conduct the evaluation as required by Section 22-8B-12 NMSA 1978;

(12) the dispute resolution processes agreed upon by the chartering authority and the charter school, provided that the processes shall, at a minimum, include:

(a) written notice of the intent to invoke the dispute resolution process, which notice shall include a description of the matter in dispute;

(b) a time limit for response to the notice and cure of the matter in dispute;

(d) a process for apportionment of all costs related to the dispute resolution process; and

(e) a process for final resolution of the issue reviewed under the dispute resolution process;

(13) the criteria, procedures and time lines, agreed upon by the charter school and the chartering authority, addressing charter revocation and deficiencies found in the annual status report pursuant to the provisions of Section 22-8B-12 NMSA 1978;

(14) if the charter school contracts with a third-party provider, the criteria and procedures for the chartering authority to review the provider's contract and the charter school's financial independence from the provider;

(15) all requests for release of the charter school from department rules or the Public School Code. Within ten days after the contract is approved by the local school board, any request for release from department rules or the Public School Code shall be delivered by the local school board to the department. If the department grants the request, it shall notify the local school board and the charter school of its decision. If the department denies the request, it shall notify the local school board and the charter school that the request is denied and specify the reasons for denial;

(16) an agreement that the charter school will participate in the public school insurance authority;

(17) if the charter school is a state-chartered charter school, a description of the process for qualification of and review of the school as a qualified board of finance and provisions for assurance that the school has satisfied any conditions imposed by the commission; and

(18) any other information reasonably required by either party to the contract.

C. If the applicant charter school and the chartering authority fail to agree upon the terms of or enter into a contract by the dates specified in Subsection A of this section, either party may submit a written appeal to the secretary to finalize the terms of the contract, as follows:

(1) for a start-up school whose application is approved between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, the written appeal shall be submitted to the secretary by March 8, 2013;

(2) for a start-up school whose application is approved on or after July 1, 2012, the written appeal shall be submitted to the secretary within forty-five days of approval of the charter application; and

(3) for an existing school whose renewal application is due on or after July 1, 2012, the written appeal shall be submitted to the secretary within forty-five days of approval of the charter renewal application.

D. Failure to enter into a contract or to appeal to the secretary pursuant to the provisions of Subsection C of this section precludes the chartering authority from chartering a start-up school or renewing the charter of an existing school.

[C.] E. The process for revision or amendment to the terms of the charter contract shall be made only with the approval of the chartering authority and the governing body of the charter school. If they cannot agree, either party may appeal to the secretary [as provided in Subsection A of this section]."

SECTION 3. That version of Section 22-8B-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999, Chapter 281, Section 12, as amended) that is to become effective July 1, 2012 is amended to read:

"22-8B-12. CHARTER SCHOOLS--TERM--OVERSIGHT AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS--SITE VISITS--RENEWAL OF CHARTER--GROUNDS FOR NONRENEWAL OR REVOCATION.--

A. A charter school may be approved for an initial term of six years; provided that the first year shall be used exclusively for planning and not for completing the application. A charter may be renewed for successive periods of five years each. Approvals of less than five years may be agreed to between the charter school and the chartering authority.

B. During the planning year, the charter school shall file a minimum of three status reports with the chartering authority and the department for the purpose of demonstrating that the charter school's implementation progress is consistent with the conditions, standards and procedures of its approved charter. The report content, format and schedule for submission shall be agreed to by the chartering authority and the charter school and become part of the charter contract.

C. Prior to the end of the planning year, the charter school shall demonstrate that its facilities meet the requirements of Section 22-8B-4.2 NMSA 1978.

D. A chartering authority shall monitor the fiscal, overall governance and student performance and legal compliance of the charter schools that it oversees, including reviewing the data provided by the charter school to support ongoing evaluation according to the charter contract. Every chartering authority may conduct or require oversight activities that allow the chartering authority to fulfill its responsibilities under the Charter Schools Act, including conducting appropriate inquiries and investigations; provided that the chartering authority complies with the provisions of the Charter Schools Act and the terms of the charter contract and does not unduly inhibit the autonomy granted to the charter schools that it governs.

E. As part of its performance review of a charter school, a chartering authority shall visit a charter school under its authority at least once annually to provide technical assistance to the charter school and to determine the status of the charter school and the progress of the charter school toward the performance framework goals in its charter contract.

F. If, based on the performance review conducted by the chartering authority pursuant to Subsection D of this section, a charter school's fiscal, overall governance or student performance or legal compliance appears unsatisfactory, the chartering authority shall promptly notify the governing body of the charter school of the unsatisfactory review and provide reasonable opportunity for the governing body to remedy the problem; provided that if the unsatisfactory review warrants revocation, the revocation procedures set forth in this section shall apply. A chartering authority may take appropriate corrective actions or exercise sanctions, as long as such sanctions do not constitute revocation, in response to the unsatisfactory review. Such actions or sanctions by the chartering authority may include requiring a governing body to develop and execute a corrective action plan with the chartering authority that sets forth time frames for compliance.

G. Every chartering authority shall submit an annual report to the division, including a performance report for each charter school that it oversees, in accordance with the performance framework set forth in the charter contract.

H. The department shall review the annual report received from the chartering authority to determine if the department or local school board rules and policies from which the charter school was released pursuant to the provisions of Section 22-8B-5 NMSA 1978 assisted or impeded the charter school in meeting its stated goals and objectives. The department shall use the annual reports received from the chartering authorities as part of its report to the governor, the legislative finance committee and the legislative education study committee as required by the Charter Schools Act.

I. No later than two hundred seventy days prior to the date in which the charter expires, the governing body may submit a renewal application to the chartering authority. A charter school may apply to a different chartering authority for renewal. The chartering authority shall rule in a public hearing on the renewal application no later than one hundred eighty days prior to the expiration of the charter.

J. A charter school renewal application submitted to the chartering authority shall contain:

(1) a report on the progress of meeting the academic performance, financial compliance and governance responsibilities of the charter school, including achieving the goals, objectives, student performance outcomes, state minimum educational standards and other terms of the charter contract, including the accountability requirements set forth in the Assessment and Accountability Act;

(2) a financial statement that discloses the costs of administration, instruction and other spending categories for the charter school that is understandable to the general public, that allows comparison of costs to other schools or comparable organizations and that is in a format required by the department;

(3) a copy of the current executed charter or charter contract [executed in compliance with the provisions of Section 22-8B-9 NMSA 1978];

(4) a petition in support of the charter school renewing its charter status signed by not less than sixty-five percent of the employees in the charter school;

(5) a petition in support of the charter school renewing its charter status signed by at least seventy-five percent of the households whose children are enrolled in the charter school; and

(6) a description of the charter school facilities and assurances that the facilities are in compliance with the requirements of Section 22-8B-4.2 NMSA 1978.

K. A charter may be suspended, revoked or not renewed by the chartering authority if the chartering authority determines that the charter school did any of the following:

(1) committed a material violation of any of the conditions, standards or procedures set forth in the charter contract;

(2) failed to meet or make substantial progress toward achievement of the department's minimum educational standards or student performance standards identified in the charter contract;

(3) failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; or

(4) violated any provision of law from which the charter school was not specifically exempted.

L. The chartering authority shall develop processes for suspension, revocation or nonrenewal of a charter that:

(1) provide the charter school with timely notification of the prospect of suspension, revocation or nonrenewal of the charter and the reasons for such action;

(2) allow the charter school a reasonable amount of time to prepare and submit a response to the chartering authority's action; and

(3) require the final determination made by the chartering authority to be submitted to the department.

M. If a chartering authority suspends, revokes or does not renew a charter, the chartering authority shall state in writing its reasons for the suspension, revocation or nonrenewal.

N. A decision to suspend, revoke or not to renew a charter may be appealed by the governing body pursuant to Section 22-8B-7 NMSA 1978."

SECTION 4. That version of Section 22-8B-12.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2011, Chapter 14, Section 6) that is to become effective July 1, 2012 is amended to read:

"22-8B-12.1. CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSURE--CHARTERING AUTHORITY

PROTOCOLS--CHARTERING AUTHORITY DUTIES--DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS.--

A. Prior to any charter school closure decision, the chartering authority shall develop a charter school closure protocol to ensure timely notification to parents, orderly transition of students and student records to new schools and proper disposition of school funds, property and assets in accordance with the provisions of Subsection C of this section. The protocol shall specify tasks, time lines and responsible parties, including delineating the respective duties of the charter school, the governing body and the chartering authority.

B. If a charter school is ordered closed for any reason, prior to closure, the chartering authority shall oversee and work with the closing school to ensure a smooth and orderly closure and transition for students and parents according to the closure protocol.

C. When a charter school is closed, the assets of the school shall be distributed first to satisfy outstanding payroll obligations for employees of the school, then to creditors of the school and then to the state treasury to the credit of the current school fund. If the assets of the school are insufficient to pay all parties to whom the [schools] school owes compensation, the prioritization of the distribution of assets may be determined by decree of a court of law."

SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2012.

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