2016 Tennessee Code
Title 49 - Education
Chapter 13 - Tennessee Public Charter Schools Act of 2002
§ 49-13-110. Charter agreement.

(a) The approval by the chartering authority of a public charter school application shall be in the form of a written agreement signed by the sponsor and the chartering authority, which shall be binding upon the governing body of the public charter school. The charter agreement for a public charter school shall be in writing and contain all components of the application.

(b) The governing body of the charter school may amend the original charter by making petition to the chartering authority. Timelines for approval and the appeal process in § 49-13-108 shall apply to all petitions to amend the original charter; provided, that if the chartering authority is the state board, then no appeal may be made of the state board's decision to deny a petition to amend the charter. The governing body of a charter school may also request the chartering authority to allow a voluntary termination of the charter school prior to the expiration of the charter.

(c) (1) Upon dissolution of a charter school for any reason or if a charter is not renewed, any unencumbered public funds from the charter school shall revert to the LEA. In the event that a charter school is dissolved or otherwise terminated, all LEA property and improvements, furnishings and equipment purchased with public funds shall automatically revert to full ownership by the LEA, subject to complete satisfaction of any lawful liens or encumbrances.

(2) If a charter school is dissolved for any reason or a charter is not renewed, the charter school is responsible for all debts of the charter school. The LEA may not assume the debt from any contract for services made between the governing body of the school and a third party, except for a debt that is previously detailed and agreed upon in writing by both the LEA and the governing body of the school and that may not reasonably be assumed to have been satisfied by the LEA.