SF 879

Introduction - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)

Posted on 07/09/2025 01:46 p.m.

A bill for an act
relating to education policy; requiring charter school authorizers to comply with
government data practices; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124E.05,
subdivisions 2, 4.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124E.05, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Roles, responsibilities, and requirements of authorizers.

(a) The role of an
authorizer is to ensure that a school it authorizes has the autonomy granted by statute, fulfills
the purposes of a charter school, and is accountable to the agreed upon terms of the charter
school contract in order to safeguard quality educational opportunities for students and
maintain public trust and confidence.

(b) An authorizer has the following responsibilities:

(1) to review applications for new schools, determine whether a new school is ready to
open, review applications for grade and site expansions, review applications for change in
authorizers, and determine whether to approve or deny an application based on the
authorizer's approved criteria;

(2) to negotiate and execute the performance charter contracts with the schools it
authorizes;

(3) to conduct ongoing monitoring, oversight, and evaluation of the school's academic,
operational, and financial performance during the term of the charter contract;

(4) to evaluate the academic, operational, and financial performance of the school as
defined in the charter contract prior to the end of the contract to determine the renewal,
nonrenewal, or termination of the contract; and

(5) to comply with authorizer requirements in chapter 124E.

(c) An authorizer must document in the authorizer annual report under section 124E.16,
subdivision 2, paragraph (b), the annual successful completion of training of its staff members
during the previous year relative to chartering and an authorizer's role and responsibilities.

(d) An authorizer must participate in department-approved training.

new text begin (e) An authorizer must comply with government data practices under chapter 13.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 124E.05, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Application content.

(a) To be approved as an authorizer, an applicant must
include in its application to the commissioner at least the following:

(1) how the organization carries out its mission by chartering schools;

(2) a description of the capacity of the organization to serve as an authorizer, including
the positions allocated to authorizing duties, the qualifications for those positions, the
full-time equivalencies of those positions, and the financial resources available to fund the
positions;

(3) the application and review process the authorizer uses to decide whether to grant
charters;

(4) the type of contract it arranges with the schools it charters to meet the provisions of
section 124E.10;

(5) the process for overseeing the school, consistent with clause (4), to ensure that the
schools chartered comply with applicable law and rules and the contract;

(6) the criteria and process the authorizer uses to approve applications adding grades or
sites under section 124E.06, subdivision 5;

(7) the process for renewing or terminating the school's charter based on evidence
showing the academic, organizational, and financial competency of the school, including
its success in increasing student achievement and meeting the goals of the charter school
agreement; and

(8) an assurance specifying that the organization is committed to serving as an authorizer
until the commissioner terminates the organization's ability to authorize charter schools
under subdivision 6 or the organization formally withdraws as an approved authorizer under
subdivision 7.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), an authorizer that is a school district may satisfy the
requirements of paragraph (a), clauses (1) and (2), and any requirement governing a conflict
of interest between an authorizer and its charter schools or ongoing evaluation or continuing
education of an administrator or other professional support staff by submitting to the
commissioner a written promise to comply with the requirements.

new text begin (c) An approved authorizer, including an authorizer that is not a school district, must
comply with government data practices under chapter 13.
new text end