2016 Idaho Statutes
Title 33 - EDUCATION
Chapter 52 - PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
Section 33-5206 - REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS UPON APPROVAL OF A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL.

33-5206. Requirements and prohibitions upon approval of a public charter school. (1) In addition to any other requirements imposed in this chapter, a public charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, affiliations, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations, shall not charge tuition, levy taxes or issue bonds, and shall not discriminate against any student on any basis prohibited by the federal or state constitutions or any federal, state or local law. Admission to a public charter school shall not be determined according to the place of residence of the student, or of the student's parent or guardian within the district, except that a new, replication or conversion public charter school established under the provisions of this chapter shall adopt and maintain a policy giving admission preference to students who reside within the primary attendance area of that public charter school.

(2) No board of trustees shall require any employee of the school district to be involuntarily assigned to work in a public charter school.

(3) Certified teachers in a public charter school shall be considered public school teachers. Educational experience shall accrue for service in a public charter school and such experience shall be counted by any school district for any teacher who has been employed in a public charter school.

(4) Employment of charter school teachers and administrators shall be on written contract conditioned upon a valid certificate being held by such professional personnel at the time of entering upon the duties thereunder.

(5) No board of trustees shall require any student enrolled in the school district to attend a public charter school.

(6) Authorized chartering entities may establish reasonable pre-opening requirements or conditions to monitor the start-up progress of newly approved public charter schools and ensure that they are prepared to open smoothly on the date agreed, and to ensure that each school meets all building, health, safety, insurance and other legal requirements for school opening.

(7) Each public charter school shall annually submit the audit of the fiscal operations as required in section 33-5205(3)(l), Idaho Code, and a copy of the public charter school's accreditation report to the authorized chartering entity that approved its charter.

(8) A public charter school or the authorized chartering entity may enter into negotiations to revise a charter or performance certificate at any time. If a public charter school petitions to revise its charter or performance certificate, the authorized chartering entity's review of the revised petition shall be limited in scope solely to the proposed revisions. Except for public charter schools authorized by a school district board of trustees, when a non-virtual public charter school submits a proposed charter revision to its authorized chartering entity and such revision includes a proposal to increase such public charter school's approved student enrollment cap by ten percent (10%) or more, the authorized chartering entity shall hold a public hearing on such petition. The authorized chartering entity shall provide the board of the local school district in which the public charter school is physically located notice in writing of such hearing no later than thirty (30) days prior to the hearing. The public hearing shall include any oral or written comments that an authorized representative of the school district in which the public charter school is physically located may provide regarding the impact of the proposed charter revision upon the school district. Such public hearing shall also include any oral or written comments that any petitioner may provide regarding the impact of the proposed charter revision upon such school district.

(9) When a charter is nonrenewed pursuant to the provisions of section 33-5209B, Idaho Code, revoked pursuant to section 33-5209C, Idaho Code, or the board of directors of the public charter school terminates the charter, the assets of the public charter school remaining after all debts of the public charter school have been satisfied must be returned to the authorized chartering entity for distribution in accordance with applicable law.

(10) Public charter schools may contract with educational services providers subject to the following provisions:

(a) Educational services providers, whether for-profit or nonprofit, shall be third-party entities separate from the public charter schools with which they contract. Educational services providers shall not be considered governmental entities.

(b) No more than one-third (1/3) of the public charter school's board membership may be comprised of nonprofit educational services provider representatives. Nonprofit educational services provider representatives may not be employees of the public charter school or the educational services provider and may not hold office as president or treasurer on the public charter school's board. For-profit educational services providers may not have representatives on the public charter school's board of directors.

(c) Public charter school board of director members shall annually disclose any existing and potential conflicts of interest, pecuniary or otherwise, with affiliated educational services providers.

(d) Charter holders shall retain responsibility for academic, fiscal and organizational operations and outcomes of the school and may not relinquish this responsibility to any other entity.

(e) Contracts must ensure that school boards retain the right to terminate the contract for failure to meet defined performance standards.

(f) Contracts must ensure that assets purchased by educational services providers on behalf of the school, using public funds, shall remain assets of the school. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prevent educational services providers from acquiring assets using revenue acquired through management fees.

(g) Charter holders shall consult legal counsel independent of the party with whom they are contracting for purposes of reviewing the school's management contract and facility lease or purchase agreements to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal law, including requirements that state entities not enter into contracts that obligate them beyond the terms of any appropriation of funds by the state legislature.

(h) Charter holders must ensure that their facility contracts are separate from any and all management contracts.

(i) Prior to approval of the charter petition indicating the school board's intention to contract with an educational services provider, authorized chartering entities shall conduct a thorough evaluation of the academic, financial and organizational outcomes of other schools that have contracted with the educational services provider and evidence of the educational services provider's capacity to successfully grow the public charter school while maintaining quality management and instruction in existing schools.

History:

[33-5206, added 1998, ch. 92, sec. 1, p. 334; am. 1999, ch. 244, sec. 4, p. 627; am. 2001, ch. 209, sec. 1, p. 831; am. 2004, ch. 220, sec. 1, p. 658; am. 2004, ch. 371, sec. 7, p. 1107; am. 2004, ch. 376, sec. 1, p. 1120; am. 2005, ch. 376, sec. 6, p. 1209; am. 2012, ch. 188, sec. 3, p. 500; am. 2013, ch. 343, sec. 7, p. 918; am. 2016, ch. 54, sec. 1, p. 150; am. 2016, ch. 271, sec. 7, p. 739.]