Minnesota Legislature
SF 1667
1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
Current Version - 1st Engrossment
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A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying certain provisions of charter school law;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivisions 3, 4, 4a, 6,
9, 14, 20.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 3, is amended to
read:
Subd. 3.
Sponsor.
(a) A school board; intermediate school district school board;
education district organized under sections 123A.15 to 123A.19; charitable organization
under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986new text begin , except a church or house
of worship,new text end that is a member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits or the Minnesota
Council on Foundations, registered with the attorney general's office, and reports an
end-of-year fund balance of at least $2,000,000; Minnesota private college that grants
two- or four-year degrees and is registered with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education
under chapter 136A; community college, state university, or technical college, governed
by the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; or the
University of Minnesota may sponsor one or more charter schools.
(b) A nonprofit corporation subject to chapter 317A, described in section 317A.905,
and exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, may sponsor one or more charter schools if the charter school has operated for
at least three years under a different sponsor and if the nonprofit corporation has existed
for at least 25 years.
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Formation of school.
(a) A sponsor may authorize one or more licensed
teachers under section 122A.18, subdivision 1, to operate a charter school subject to
approval by the commissioner. deleted text begin A board must vote on charter school application for
sponsorship no later than 90 days after receiving the application. After 90 days, the
applicant may apply to the commissioner. If a board elects not to sponsor a charter school,
the applicant may appeal the board's decision to the commissioner who may elect to
assist the applicant in finding an eligible sponsor.deleted text end The school must be organized and
operated as a cooperative under chapter 308A or nonprofit corporation under chapter
317A and the provisions under the applicable chapter shall apply to the school except as
provided in this section.new text begin A nonprofit corporation or cooperative that has operated a charter
school successfully for a minimum of six years may apply to operate up to two additional
charter schools that replicate the original school under the same nonprofit corporation or
cooperative.new text end Notwithstanding sections 465.717 and 465.719, a school district may create a
corporation for the purpose of creating a charter school.
(b) Before the operators may form and operate a school, the sponsor must file an
affidavit with the commissioner stating its intent to authorize a charter school. The
affidavit must state the terms and conditions under which the sponsor would authorize a
charter school and how the sponsor intends to oversee the fiscal and student performance
of the charter school and to comply with the terms of the written contract between the
sponsor and the charter school board of directors under subdivision 6. The commissioner
must approve or disapprove the sponsor's proposed authorization within deleted text begin 90deleted text end new text begin 60new text end days of
receipt of the affidavit. Failure to obtain commissioner approval precludes a sponsor from
authorizing the charter school that was the subject of the affidavit.
(c) The operators authorized to organize and operate a school, before entering into a
contract or other agreement for professional or other services, goods, or facilities, must
incorporate as a cooperative under chapter 308A or as a nonprofit corporation under
chapter 317A and must establish deleted text begin adeleted text end new text begin the first new text end board of directors composed of at least five
new text begin nonrelated new text end members until a timely election for members of the charter school board of
directors is held according to the school's articles and bylaws.
new text begin (d) new text end deleted text begin Adeleted text end new text begin The permanent new text end charter school board of directors must be composed of at least
five new text begin nonrelated new text end members. new text begin A board member must be a resident of Minnesota or a bordering
state. new text end Any staff members who are employed at the school, including teachers providing
instruction under a contract with a cooperative, and all parents of children enrolled in the
school deleted text begin maydeleted text end new text begin are eligible tonew text end participate in the election for members of the school's board
of directors. deleted text begin Licensed teachers employed at the school, including teachers providing
instruction under a contract with a cooperative, must be a majority of the members of
the board of directors before the school completes its third year of operation, unless the
commissioner waives the requirement for a majority of licensed teachers on the board.deleted text end
new text begin The board shall establish and publish election procedures for members of the school's
board of directors in compliance with chapter 13D. The permanent board must be in
place before the school completes its second year of operation. The permanent board of
directors shall be composed of either a teacher majority board or a board composed of an
equal number of teachers, parents, and community members. Licensed teachers employed
by the school, or those providing instruction under a contract with a cooperative are
eligible to be members of the board of directors. The chief financial officer and chief
administrator may not be voting members of a charter school board. The commissioner
may grant a waiver for another innovative governance model. The bylaws of the nonprofit
corporation or cooperative shall outline the internal process and procedures for changing
the model of governance. The model of governance may only be changed in conjunction
with the renewal of a chart contract and a majority vote of the licensed teachers employed
at the school. new text end Board of director meetings must comply with chapter 13D.
deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin (e)new text end The granting or renewal of a charter by a sponsoring entity must not be
conditioned upon the bargaining unit status of the employees of the school.
deleted text begin (e)deleted text end new text begin (f)new text end A sponsor may authorize the operators of a charter school to expand the
operation of the charter school to additional sites or to add additional grades at the school
beyond those described in the sponsor's deleted text begin applicationdeleted text end new text begin original affidavitnew text end as approved by
the commissioner only after deleted text begin submittingdeleted text end new text begin the sponsor submitsnew text end a supplemental deleted text begin applicationdeleted text end new text begin
affidavitnew text end to the commissioner in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The
supplemental deleted text begin applicationdeleted text end new text begin affidavitnew text end must provide evidence that:
(1) the expansion of the charter school is supported by need and projected enrollment;
(2) the charter school is fiscally sound;
(3) the sponsor supports the expansion; and
(4) the building of the additional site meets all health and safety requirements to
be eligible for lease aid.
deleted text begin (f)deleted text end new text begin (g)new text end The commissioner annually must provide timely deleted text begin financial managementdeleted text end
training new text begin for financial management, financial record keeping, and public record keeping
new text end to deleted text begin newly elected members of a charter school board of directors and ongoing training to
other members ofdeleted text end a charter school board of directors. Training must address ways to:
(1) proactively assess opportunities for a charter school to maximize all available
revenue sources;
(2) establish and maintain complete, auditable records deleted text begin fordeleted text end new text begin ofnew text end the charter schoolnew text begin
cooperative or nonprofit corporationnew text end ;
(3) establish proper new text begin procedures for new text end filing deleted text begin techniquesdeleted text end new text begin state required reportsnew text end ;
(4) document formal actions of the charter school, including meetings of the charter
school board of directors;
(5) properly manage and retain charter school new text begin financial, personnel, new text end and student
records;
(6) comply with state and federal payroll record-keeping requirements; and
(7) deleted text begin address other similar factors that facilitate establishing and maintaining complete
records on the charter school's operationsdeleted text end new text begin other topics related to the effective operations of
charter school operationsnew text end .
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:
Subd. 4a.
Conflict of interest.
(a) A member of a charter school board of directors
is prohibited from serving as a member of the board of directors or as an employee or
agent of or a contractor with a for-profit new text begin or new text end entity with whom the charter school contracts,
directly or indirectly, for professional services, goods, or facilities. A violation of this
prohibition renders a contract deleted text begin voidable at the option of the commissionerdeleted text end new text begin voidnew text end . A member
of a charter school board of directors who violates this prohibition shall be individually
liable to the charter school for any damage caused by the violation.
(b) An individual may serve as a member of the board of directors if no conflict of
interest under paragraph (a) exists.
(c) A member of a charter school board of directors that serves as a member of the
board of directors or as an employee or agent of or a contractor with a nonprofit entity
with whom the charter school contracts, directly or indirectly, for professional services,
goods, or facilities, must disclose all potential conflicts to the commissioner.new text begin A sponsor is
prohibited from selling management or financial services to the charter school or schools it
sponsors. Other services of the sponsor may be purchased only through a bidding process.
new text end
deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin Employees of the sponsor who are directly involved in the approval, oversight, or
renewal of the charter may not serve on the charter school board of directors.new text end The conflict
of interest provisions under this subdivision do not apply to compensation paid to a teacher
employed by the charter school who also serves as a member of the board of directors.
deleted text begin (e)deleted text end new text begin (d)new text end The conflict of interest provisions under this subdivision do not apply to a
teacher who provides services to a charter school through a cooperative formed under
chapter 308A when the teacher also serves on the charter school board of directors.
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6.
Contract.
The sponsor's authorization for a charter school must be in the
form of a written contract signed by the sponsor and the board of directors of the charter
school. The contract must be completed within 90 days of the commissioner's approval
of the sponsor's proposed authorization. The contract for a charter school must be in
writing and contain at least the following:
(1) a description of a program that carries out one or more of the purposes in
subdivision 1;
(2) specific outcomes pupils are to achieve under subdivision 10;
(3) admission policies and procedures;
(4) management and administration deleted text begin ofdeleted text end new text begin plan for new text end the school;
(5) requirements and procedures for program and financial audits;
(6) how the school will comply with subdivisions 8, 13, 16, and 23;
(7) assumption of liability by the charter school;
(8) types and amounts of insurance coverage to be obtained by the charter school;
(9) the term of the contract, which may deleted text begin be up to three yearsdeleted text end new text begin include a planning
period and up to three operational years for the initial contract and up to five years for
renewal contractsnew text end ;
(10) deleted text begin ifdeleted text end new text begin hownew text end the board of directors or the operators of the charter school provide
special instruction and services for children with a disability under sections 125A.03
to 125A.24, and 125A.65, a description of the financial parameters within which the
charter school will operate to provide the special instruction and services to children
with a disability; deleted text begin and
deleted text end
(11) the process and criteria the sponsor intends to use to monitor and evaluate the
fiscal and student performance of the charter school, consistent with subdivision 15deleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end
new text begin
(12) the process and criteria the sponsor will use to determine whether to renew
the charter; and
new text end
new text begin
(13) the process the board of directors will follow to end the business of the nonprofit
corporation or cooperative, including such legal responsibilities as transferring as required:
student records to the resident school district, personnel records, financial reports and
audits, and the necessary legal actions to dissolve the nonprofit corporation or cooperative.
new text end
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9.
Admission requirements.
A charter school may limit admission to:
(1) pupils within an age group or grade level;
(2) people who are eligible to participate in the graduation incentives program
under section 124D.68; or
(3) residents of a specific geographic area where the percentage of the population
of non-Caucasian people of that area is greater than the percentage of the non-Caucasian
population in the congressional district in which the geographic area is located, and as
long as the school reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the specific area.
A charter school shall enroll an eligible pupil who submits a timely application,
unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or
building. In this case, pupils must be accepted by lot. new text begin The charter school must develop
and publish the lottery process. new text end If a charter school is the only school located in a town
serving pupils within a particular grade level, then pupils that are residents of the town
must be given preference for enrollment before accepting pupils by lot. If a pupil lives
within two miles of a charter school and the next closest public school is more than five
miles away, the charter school must give those pupils preference for enrollment before
accepting other pupils by lot.
A charter school shall give preference for enrollment to a sibling of an enrolled pupil
and to a foster child of that pupil's parents new text begin and to children of the school's employees new text end before
accepting other pupils by lot.
A charter school may not limit admission to pupils on the basis of intellectual ability,
measures of achievement or aptitude, or athletic ability.
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 14, is amended to read:
Subd. 14.
Annual public reports.
A charter school must new text begin publish an annual new text end report
deleted text begin at least annually to its sponsor and the commissionerdeleted text end new text begin ofnew text end the information required by the
sponsor or the commissionernew text begin and distribute the report to the commissioner, the school's
sponsor, the school's employees, and the parents and guardians of the school's pupilsnew text end . The
reports are public data under chapter 13.
Sec. 7.
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 124D.10, subdivision 20, is amended to read:
Subd. 20.
Leave to teach in a charter school.
If a teacher new text begin or other licensed person
new text end employed by a district makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to teach
new text begin or work new text end at a charter school, the district must grant the leave. The district must grant a
leave not to exceed a total of five years. Any request to extend the leave shall be granted
only at the discretion of the school board. The district may require that the request for
a leave or extension of leave be made up to 90 days before the teacher would otherwise
have to report for duty. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision and except for
section 122A.46, subdivision 7, the leave is governed by section 122A.46, including, but
not limited to, reinstatement, notice of intention to return, seniority, salary, and insurance.
During a leave, the teacher may continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the
Teachers' Retirement Association account by paying both the employer and employee
contributions based upon the annual salary of the teacher for the last full pay period before
the leave began. The retirement association may impose reasonable requirements to
efficiently administer this subdivision.