2014 Delaware Code
Title 14 - Education
CHAPTER 5. CHARTER SCHOOLS
§ 506. Restrictions

(a) A charter school shall not:

(1) Charge tuition, except in accordance with Chapter 6 of this title, or collect fees not permitted to be assessed by other school districts;

(2) Be home-based nor engage in any sectarian or religious practices in its educational program, admissions policies, employment policies or operations;

(3) Restrict student admissions except:

a. By age and grade;

b. By lottery in the case of over-enrollment;

c. By gender in the case of a same-gender school. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, the Department of Education, with approval of the State Board of Education, shall be considered the approving authorizer of Prestige Academy, a same-gender school, and shall provide oversight to such school. The Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board, may waive any provisions in this Chapter that would limit the school from opening for the 2008-2009 school year. Any subsequent same-gender charter school shall make its application to the Department of Education and the State Board of Education.

d. Within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the Department of Education, but no longer than 2 years after commencement of operations of any same-gender charter school in the State, there shall be approved and operating a same-gender charter school of the opposite gender, substantially equal to the prior-approved, same-gender charter school, matching in grade level and marketed towards similar demographics of the prior-approved, same-gender charter school. The Department of Education shall work with the education community on a plan for recruitment and technical assistance for applicants of a same-gender charter school of the opposite gender. The Department of Education shall provide such report regarding the recruitment plan to the General Assembly on an annual basis.

e. The same-gender charter school provisions shall sunset, for any new charter applications, on June 30, 2013, unless the General Assembly has otherwise acted to extend such date prior to its expiration.

f. The Department of Education shall provide a written report to the Governor and the respective Education Committees of the state House of Representatives and Senate with a proposal for an experienced research and evaluation entity to conduct an evaluation of single-gender charter schools in the State. The study proposal shall cause to be examined factors including, but not limited to, academic results, social factors, and psychological factors. The cost of the evaluation shall be included in the Department of Education's proposal and provided to the Governor for consideration for inclusion in the FY 2010 state budget. The Department of Education is encouraged also to seek grant funding for the evaluation.

g. A single-gender charter school shall report on an annual basis, with the first report to be provided to the Department of Education and the respective Education Committee of the state House of Representatives and the Senate within 1 calendar year after commencement of operations by the charter school, and such report shall include, among other things, the efforts made by the charter school to further advancement of its students' education, as well as quantitative analysis of its efforts and results in recruiting and retaining economically-disadvantaged students, regardless of race.

(4) Discriminate against any student in the admissions process because of race, creed, color, sex (except in the case of a same-gender school), handicap, or national origin, or because the student's school district of residence has a per student local expenditure lower than another student seeking admission; or

(5) Be formed to circumvent a court-ordered desegregation plan.

(b) Preferences in student admissions may be given to:

(1) Siblings of students currently enrolled at the school;

(2) Students attending an existing public school converted to charter status. Parents of students at a school converted to charter status shall be provided with a plan the district will use to address the educational needs of students who will not be attending the charter school;

(3) Students enrolling in a new (nonconverted) charter school may be given preference under the following circumstances as long as the school has described its preferences in the school's charter:

a. Students residing within a 5-mile radius of the school;

b. Students residing within the regular school district in which the school is located;

c. Students who have a specific interest in the school's teaching methods, philosophy, or educational focus;

d. Students who are at risk of academic failure;

e. Children of persons employed on a permanent basis for at least 30.0 hours per week during the school year by the charter school.

(4) Children of a school's founders, so long as they constitute no more than 5% of the school's total student population. For the purposes of this paragraph "founder" shall not include anyone whose sole significant contribution to the school was monetary, but otherwise shall be determined by the founding Board of Directors subject to Department of Education regulations.

(c)(1) On or before April 1 of each school year, a charter school shall have enrolled, at a minimum, 80% of its total authorized number of students, and the administrator of each charter school shall, pursuant to the requirements below, provide a written certification of that enrollment to the Department of Education and to the superintendent of each public school district in which 1 or more of the charter school's students reside.

(2) The certification from the charter school's administrator shall contain an updated roster of students who are enrolled at the charter school, together with their home address and district of residence.

(3) A charter school shall obtain a written confirmation, signed by a parent or guardian of each student in that student's initial year of attendance at the charter school, that the student will remain in the charter school for at least 1 school year. That confirmation shall include a statement reading:

"I understand that my child is required to remain in this charter school, in the absence of any condition constituting good cause, for at least 1 school year"

and shall be kept on file at the school and made available for inspection to Department of Education officials or representatives from the public school district in which the student resides. After a student's initial year of enrollment, it shall be presumed for school district planning purposes only that the student will continue to attend the charter school until completion of the school's highest grade level and no further written confirmation need be obtained by the charter school.

(d) A pupil accepted for enrollment in a charter school pursuant to this chapter shall remain enrolled therein for a minimum of 1 year unless, during that 1-year period, good cause exists for the failure to meet this requirement. For purposes of this section only, "good cause" shall be defined as a change in a child's residence due to a change in family residence, a change in the state in which the family residence is located, a change in the marital status of the child's parents, a change caused by a guardianship proceeding, placement of a child in foster care, adoption, participation by a child in a foreign exchange program, participation by a child in a substance abuse or mental health treatment program, mutual agreement by the board of directors of the charter school, the board of the receiving district and the parent or parents or guardian of such child to the termination of such enrollment, or a set of circumstances consistent with this definition of "good cause."

(e) If at any time during any fiscal year of its existence, a charter school knows or reasonably should know that it has or will become unable to pay in full its projected expenses as they fall due, the school shall immediately so advise the Department of Education, and shall provide the Department with all financial information relating to revenues and expenses of the school necessary for the Department to determine the extent and cause of any potential operating deficit. If a charter school should fail to provide the notice to the Department of Education required by this subsection or shall fail to cooperate with the Department in the production of financial information pursuant to this subsection, the Department shall subject the school's charter to formal review pursuant to the provisions of § 515 of this title in order to determine whether grounds exist to take remedial measures.

(f) If a child would qualify for a no- or low-cost breakfast or lunch under a federal national school breakfast or lunch program, beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, the charter school shall provide breakfast and lunch to the child at no or low cost to the child's family. Charter schools shall not consider whether a child would qualify for no- or low-cost breakfast or lunch under a federal national school breakfast or lunch program when making enrollment decisions.

70 Del. Laws, c. 179, § 2; 71 Del. Laws, c. 367, § 1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 118, § 2; 72 Del. Laws, c. 312, § 1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 316, §§ 1, 2; 73 Del. Laws, c. 164, § 24; 73 Del. Laws, c. 313, §§ 2, 7, 11; 74 Del. Laws, c. 327, § 1; 76 Del. Laws, c. 202, §§ 1-6; 79 Del. Laws, c. 51, §§ 1, 2.;