1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; allowing a school board to 
  1.3             sponsor a more autonomous charter school; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.10, subdivision 
  1.5             3; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 124D.  
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.10, 
  1.9   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 3.  [SPONSOR.] A school board under this section or 
  1.11  section 124D.101; intermediate school district school board; 
  1.12  education district organized under sections 123A.15 to 123A.19; 
  1.13  charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
  1.14  Revenue Code of 1986 that is a member of the Minnesota council 
  1.15  of nonprofits or the Minnesota council on foundations, 
  1.16  registered with the attorney general's office, and reports an 
  1.17  end-of-year fund balance of at least $2,000,000; Minnesota 
  1.18  private college that grants two- or four-year degrees and is 
  1.19  registered with the higher education services office under 
  1.20  chapter 136A; community college, state university, or technical 
  1.21  college, governed by the board of trustees of the Minnesota 
  1.22  state colleges and universities; or the University of Minnesota 
  1.23  may sponsor one or more charter schools. 
  1.24     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  1.25  following final enactment and applies to charter schools 
  1.26  organized after that date and to charter schools renewing the 
  2.1   charter school contract with a sponsoring school board after 
  2.2   that date. 
  2.3      Sec. 2.  [124D.101] [AUTONOMOUS BOARD-SPONSORED CHARTER 
  2.4   SCHOOLS.] 
  2.5      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY OF LAW GOVERNING CHARTER 
  2.6   SCHOOLS GENERALLY.] Except as expressly provided in this 
  2.7   section, a board-sponsored charter school organized and operated 
  2.8   under this section is subject to the provisions of sections 
  2.9   124D.10 and 124D.11. 
  2.10     Subd. 2.  [FORMATION; BOARD ELECTION.] (a) A school 
  2.11  district, in cooperation with one or more licensed teachers 
  2.12  under section 122A.18, subdivision 1, or one or more licensed 
  2.13  teachers under section 122A.18, subdivision 1, in cooperation 
  2.14  with a school district, may organize and operate a charter 
  2.15  school sponsored by the school board of the participating school 
  2.16  district. 
  2.17     (b) The charter school operators must hold timely, periodic 
  2.18  elections for the members of the school's board of directors, 
  2.19  consistent with the articles and bylaws under which the school 
  2.20  is organized and operated.  Only licensed teachers employed at 
  2.21  the school, the parents of students attending the school, and 
  2.22  individuals selected by the sponsoring school board may be 
  2.23  members of the board of directors. 
  2.24     Subd. 3.  [BUDGETARY AND CURRICULAR RESPONSIBILITIES; 
  2.25  TERMINATION AND NONRENEWAL OF SPONSORSHIP.] (a) The charter 
  2.26  school operators, with direction from the board of directors, 
  2.27  must at least: 
  2.28     (1) control and supervise the school; 
  2.29     (2) allocate financial and personnel resources; 
  2.30     (3) purchase goods and services; 
  2.31     (4) implement parental involvement programs and foster 
  2.32  effective communications between parents and the school; 
  2.33     (5) set expectations for student learning and performance, 
  2.34  which must at least meet state-established outcomes; 
  2.35     (6) select the principal or other person having general 
  2.36  administrative control of the school; and 
  3.1      (7) employ teachers and other personnel to fill licensed 
  3.2   and nonlicensed positions, consistent with subdivision 5. 
  3.3      (b) Qualified personnel employed by the sponsoring school 
  3.4   board may periodically review and comment upon the expectations 
  3.5   for student learning and performance and the revenues and 
  3.6   expenditures of the charter school.  A charter school that fails 
  3.7   to meet its expectations for student learning and performance 
  3.8   must develop and implement a plan and a time line, in 
  3.9   collaboration with the sponsoring school board, to improve 
  3.10  student learning and performance. 
  3.11     (c) After notifying the board of directors of the charter 
  3.12  school and providing an opportunity for public comment, a 
  3.13  sponsoring school board may formally act to terminate or not 
  3.14  renew its sponsorship of a charter school that: 
  3.15     (1) fails to meet requirements for student learning and 
  3.16  performance; 
  3.17     (2) fails to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal 
  3.18  management of revenues and expenditures; or 
  3.19     (3) shows other good cause. 
  3.20     Subd. 4.  [FACILITIES.] The sponsoring school board must 
  3.21  provide appropriate instructional space for the charter school 
  3.22  unless the capacity of district programs, classes, or buildings 
  3.23  makes the school board unable to provide the appropriate 
  3.24  instructional space.  The charter school is responsible for 
  3.25  operating and maintaining appropriate instructional space 
  3.26  provided under this subdivision.  Building lease aid is 
  3.27  available to the charter school for the cost of renting or 
  3.28  leasing a building or land for instructional purposes, 
  3.29  consistent with the three criteria under section 124D.11, 
  3.30  subdivision 4, if the sponsoring school board is unable to 
  3.31  provide appropriate instructional space. 
  3.32     Subd. 5.  [TEACHERS; EVALUATION.] (a) The articles and 
  3.33  bylaws under which the charter school is organized and operated 
  3.34  must include a process for employing qualified licensed teachers 
  3.35  who: 
  3.36     (1) are employees of the sponsoring school board and remain 
  4.1   subject to the collective bargaining agreement in effect with 
  4.2   the sponsoring school board and part of the bargaining unit 
  4.3   within the district; 
  4.4      (2) are not employed by the sponsoring school board and 
  4.5   become employees of the board of directors of the charter 
  4.6   school; or 
  4.7      (3) are members of a cooperative providing instruction 
  4.8   under a contract with the charter school. 
  4.9      (b) The charter school must establish a process for 
  4.10  selecting, periodically evaluating, and terminating teachers 
  4.11  employed at the charter school under paragraph (a), clause (1) 
  4.12  or (2), and other personnel.  The cooperative under contract 
  4.13  with the charter school under paragraph (a), clause (3), in 
  4.14  consultation with the charter school, must establish a process 
  4.15  for selecting, periodically evaluating, and terminating teachers 
  4.16  providing instruction at the charter school. 
  4.17     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  4.18  following final enactment and applies to charter schools 
  4.19  organized after that date and to charter schools renewing the 
  4.20  charter school contract with a sponsoring school board after 
  4.21  that date.