1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for charter school 
  1.3             districts; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes, chapter 124D. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [124D.101] [CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICTS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
  1.8   section, the following terms have the meanings given them: 
  1.9      (a) "Charter school district" means a school district 
  1.10  operating under a charter that has been approved by the 
  1.11  commissioner of children, families, and learning under this 
  1.12  section. 
  1.13     (b) "Local board of education" means the school district 
  1.14  board of education. 
  1.15     Subd. 2.  [CREATION; REQUIREMENTS.] (a) The commissioner of 
  1.16  children, families, and learning shall establish a program to 
  1.17  determine the effectiveness of charter school districts.  As 
  1.18  part of this program, the commissioner may approve up to five 
  1.19  school districts in the state to operate as charter school 
  1.20  districts, except that the commissioner shall approve only those 
  1.21  applications that meet the qualifications specified in 
  1.22  subdivision 3.  To be approved as a charter school district, the 
  1.23  local board of education shall submit an application to the 
  1.24  commissioner according to subdivision 3.  A school district that 
  1.25  is approved to operate as a charter school district shall 
  2.1   operate under the provisions of its charter and be subject to 
  2.2   charter school law, and shall not otherwise be subject to state 
  2.3   statutes or regulations concerning school districts except as 
  2.4   may be provided in the charter.  A charter school district is 
  2.5   subject to and must comply with the Pupil Fair Dismissal Act, 
  2.6   sections 121A.40 to 121A.56, and the Minnesota Public School Fee 
  2.7   Law, sections 123B.34 to 123B.39. 
  2.8      (b) A charter school district shall continue to: 
  2.9      (1) operate as a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious public 
  2.10  school district with the general control and supervision vested 
  2.11  in the members of the local board of education; 
  2.12     (2) operate within the same geographical boundaries that 
  2.13  existed prior to its becoming a charter school district unless 
  2.14  its boundaries are changed under sections 123A.45 to 123A.50; 
  2.15     (3) receive state money as if it did not operate under a 
  2.16  charter; 
  2.17     (4) provide special education services for students with 
  2.18  disabilities as provided in chapter 125A; and 
  2.19     (5) be liable for timely payment on its bonded indebtedness 
  2.20  and subject to the same bonded indebtedness limitations as if it 
  2.21  did not operate under a charter. 
  2.22     (c) A charter school district is subject to and must comply 
  2.23  with chapter 363 and section 121A.04.  A charter school district 
  2.24  shall be subject to a desegregation plan in effect for the 
  2.25  school district at the time the district's charter application 
  2.26  is approved.  Enrollment in a charter school district shall be 
  2.27  open to any child who resides within the state as if the charter 
  2.28  school district were not operating under a charter. 
  2.29     (d) If the commissioner does not approve the local board of 
  2.30  education's application, then the local board may apply to the 
  2.31  board of government innovation and cooperation under section 
  2.32  465.797, subdivision 1. 
  2.33     (e) A charter school district shall be accountable to the 
  2.34  commissioner of children, families, and learning for purposes of 
  2.35  ensuring compliance with the charter provisions. 
  2.36     Subd. 3.  [DISTRICT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.] (a) Before a 
  3.1   local board of education applies for a charter to the 
  3.2   commissioner of children, families, and learning: 
  3.3      (1) the local board must submit the issue of whether to 
  3.4   operate the school district as a charter school district to the 
  3.5   eligible voters of the school district at any regular school 
  3.6   election or at a special election called for said purpose; and 
  3.7      (2) if a majority of the eligible electors voting in an 
  3.8   election called under this subdivision vote in favor of the 
  3.9   question, the local board of education may submit an application 
  3.10  to the commissioner of children, families, and learning to 
  3.11  become a charter school district. 
  3.12     (b) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  3.13  shall provide for a charter school district application process. 
  3.14     (c) In addition to any requirements that the commissioner 
  3.15  of children, families, and learning may establish, a charter 
  3.16  school district application shall include the following: 
  3.17     (1) a statement of mission and purpose for operating the 
  3.18  school district under a charter, including a clear statement of 
  3.19  the school district's goals and objectives; 
  3.20     (2) evidence of broad-based support among parents, 
  3.21  teachers, and pupils within the applying school district for the 
  3.22  formation of a charter school district by way of a petition, 
  3.23  public opinion survey, or other similar, reliable indicator of 
  3.24  public opinion; 
  3.25     (3) evidence that the charter is educationally sound and is 
  3.26  in the best educational interest of the students; 
  3.27     (4) evidence that the plan for the charter school district 
  3.28  is economically sound; and 
  3.29     (5) an explanation of the relationship that will exist 
  3.30  between the charter school district and its employees. 
  3.31     (d) The commissioner and an applying school district may 
  3.32  freely negotiate which state statutes and regulations not 
  3.33  otherwise required to apply to a charter school district under 
  3.34  subdivision 2 shall apply to a charter school district. 
  3.35     Subd. 4.  [CONTRACT CONTENTS.] (a) An approved charter 
  3.36  school district application shall constitute an agreement, and 
  4.1   the terms of the application shall be the terms of a contract 
  4.2   between the charter school district and the commissioner. 
  4.3      (b) The contract between the charter school district and 
  4.4   the commissioner shall reflect all agreements regarding the 
  4.5   operation of the charter school district. 
  4.6      (c) The terms of the contract may be revised at any time, 
  4.7   with the approval of both the commissioner and the local board 
  4.8   of education, whether or not the stated provisions of the 
  4.9   contract are being fulfilled. 
  4.10     Subd. 5.  [TERM; RENEWAL OF CHARTER; GROUNDS FOR 
  4.11  NONRENEWAL, PROBATION, OR REVOCATION.] (a) A charter may be 
  4.12  approved or renewed for a period not to exceed six academic 
  4.13  years.  The commissioner shall provide for a charter renewal 
  4.14  process. 
  4.15     (b) The department of children, families, and learning must 
  4.16  provide for ongoing review of a charter school district's 
  4.17  compliance with its charter designation. 
  4.18     (c) Staff from the department of children, families, and 
  4.19  learning shall visit each charter school district at least once 
  4.20  each year to determine the status and progress toward the goals 
  4.21  of the charter.  Department staff shall note the effectiveness 
  4.22  of the charter organization in improving the quality of 
  4.23  education in the school district. 
  4.24     (d) If, in either the ongoing review, the annual visit, or 
  4.25  the renewal procedure, the department of children, families, and 
  4.26  learning finds that the charter school district is not in 
  4.27  compliance with the charter, the commissioner shall provide for 
  4.28  a procedure whereby the charter may be revoked or not renewed or 
  4.29  the charter school district may be placed on probation if the 
  4.30  noncompliance is not addressed, as well as a procedure for the 
  4.31  disposition of probation.  Moreover, the commissioner may not 
  4.32  renew a charter if it determines that the charter is not in the 
  4.33  interest of the pupils residing in the district. 
  4.34     Sec. 2.  [CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICTS; REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] 
  4.35     No later than January 12, 2005, the commissioner of 
  4.36  children, families, and learning and all charter school 
  5.1   districts shall report to the education committees of the 
  5.2   legislature regarding whether the charter school district law 
  5.3   assisted or impeded the charter school districts in meeting 
  5.4   their stated goals and objectives.  In preparing the reports 
  5.5   required by the charter school district, the commissioner and 
  5.6   the charter school districts shall compare the performance of 
  5.7   charter school district pupils with the performance of 
  5.8   ethnically and economically comparable groups of pupils in other 
  5.9   public school districts who are enrolled in academically 
  5.10  comparable courses. 
  5.11     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.12     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.