1999 Minnesota Statutes

     124D.10 Charter schools. 

    Subdivision 1.    Purposes.  (a) The purpose of this 
 section is to: 

    (1) improve pupil learning; 

    (2) increase learning opportunities for pupils; 

    (3) encourage the use of different and innovative teaching 
 methods; 

    (4) require the measurement of learning outcomes and create 
 different and innovative forms of measuring outcomes; 

    (5) establish new forms of accountability for schools; or 

    (6) create new professional opportunities for teachers, 
 including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning 
 program at the school site. 

    (b) This section does not provide a means to keep open a 
 school that otherwise would be closed.  Applicants in these 
 circumstances bear the burden of proving that conversion to a 
 charter school fulfills a purpose specified in this subdivision, 
 independent of the school's closing. 

    Subd. 2.    Applicability.  This section applies only to 
 charter schools formed and operated under this section. 

    Subd. 3.    Sponsor.  A school board, intermediate 
 school district school board, education districts organized 
 under sections 123A.15 to 123A.19, private college, community 
 college, state university, technical college, or the University 
 of Minnesota may sponsor one or more charter schools. 

    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.  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.  If the commissioner authorizes the school, 
 the commissioner must sponsor the school according to this 
 section.  The school must be organized and operated as a 
 cooperative under chapter 308A or nonprofit corporation under 
 chapter 317A.  

    (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.  The commissioner must approve or disapprove 
 the sponsor's proposed authorization within 60 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 must hold an election for members of the school's board 
 of directors in a timely manner after the school is operating.  
 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 
 may participate in the election.  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, unless the commissioner waives the 
 requirement for the school.  A provisional board may operate 
 before the election of the school's board of directors.  Board 
 of director meetings must comply with section 471.705. 

    (d) 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.  

    Subd. 5.    Conversion of existing schools.  A board may 
 convert one or more of its existing schools to charter schools 
 under this section if 60 percent of the full-time teachers at 
 the school sign a petition seeking conversion.  The conversion 
 must occur at the beginning of an academic year.  

    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 of 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 be up to three 
 years; and 

    (10) if 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. 

    Subd. 7.    Public status; exemption from statutes and 
 rules.  A charter school is a public school and is part of the 
 state's system of public education.  Except as provided in this 
 section, a charter school is exempt from all statutes and rules 
 applicable to a school, a board, or a district, although it may 
 elect to comply with one or more provisions of statutes or rules.

    Subd. 8.    State and local requirements.  (a) A charter 
 school shall meet all applicable state and local health and 
 safety requirements. 

    (b) A school sponsored by a school board may be located in 
 any district, unless the school board of the district of the 
 proposed location disapproves by written resolution.  If such a 
 board denies a request to locate within its boundaries a charter 
 school sponsored by another school board, the sponsoring school 
 board may appeal to the commissioner.  If the commissioner 
 authorizes the school, the commissioner must sponsor the school. 

    (c) A charter school must be nonsectarian in its programs, 
 admission policies, employment practices, and all other 
 operations.  A sponsor may not authorize a charter school or 
 program that is affiliated with a nonpublic sectarian school or 
 a religious institution. 

    (d) Charter schools must not be used as a method of 
 providing education or generating revenue for students who are 
 being home-schooled. 

    (e) The primary focus of a charter school must be to 
 provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one 
 grade or age group from five through 18 years of age.  
 Instruction may be provided to people younger than five years 
 and older than 18 years of age. 

    (f) A charter school may not charge tuition. 

    (g) A charter school is subject to and must comply with 
 chapter 363 and section 121A.04. 

    (h) A charter school is subject to and must comply with The 
 Pupil Fair Dismissal Act, sections 121A.40 to 121A.56, and the 
 Minnesota Public School Fee law, sections 123B.34 to 123B.39. 

    (i) A charter school is subject to the same financial 
 audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements as a district.  
 The audit must be consistent with the requirements of sections 
 123B.75 to 123B.83, except to the extent deviations are 
 necessary because of the program at the school.  The department 
 of children, families, and learning, state auditor, or 
 legislative auditor may conduct financial, program, or 
 compliance audits. 

    (j) A charter school is a district for the purposes of tort 
 liability under chapter 466. 

    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. 

    A charter school may not limit admission to pupils on the 
 basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or 
 aptitude, or athletic ability.  

    Subd. 10.    Pupil performance.  A charter school must 
 design its programs to at least meet the outcomes adopted by the 
 commissioner for public school students.  In the absence of the 
 commissioner's requirements, the school must meet the outcomes 
 contained in the contract with the sponsor.  The achievement 
 levels of the outcomes contained in the contract may exceed the 
 achievement levels of any outcomes adopted by the commissioner 
 for public school students.  

    Subd. 11.    Employment and other operating matters.  A 
 charter school must employ or contract with necessary teachers, 
 as defined by section 122A.15, subdivision 1, who hold valid 
 licenses to perform the particular service for which they are 
 employed in the school.  The school may employ necessary 
 employees who are not required to hold teaching licenses to 
 perform duties other than teaching and may contract for other 
 services.  The school may discharge teachers and nonlicensed 
 employees.  A person, without holding a valid administrator's 
 license, may perform administrative, supervisory, or 
 instructional leadership duties. 

    The board of directors also shall decide matters related to 
 the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum and 
 operating procedures.  

    Subd. 12.    Pupils with a disability.  A charter school 
 must comply with sections 125A.02, 125A.03 to 125A.24, and 
 125A.65 and rules relating to the education of pupils with a 
 disability as though it were a district.  

    Subd. 13.    Length of school year.  A charter school 
 must provide instruction each year for at least the number of 
 days required by section 120A.22, subdivision 5.  It may provide 
 instruction throughout the year according to sections 124D.12 to 
 124D.127 or 124D.128.  

    Subd. 14.    Annual public reports.  A charter school 
 must report at least annually to its sponsor and the 
 commissioner the information required by the sponsor or the 
 commissioner.  The reports are public data under chapter 13.  

    Subd. 15.    Review and comment.  The department must 
 review and comment on the evaluation, by the chartering school 
 district, of the performance of a charter school before the 
 charter school's contract is renewed.  The information from the 
 review and comment shall be reported to the commissioner of 
 children, families, and learning in a timely manner.  
 Periodically, the commissioner shall report trends or 
 suggestions based on the evaluation of charter school contracts 
 to the education committees of the state legislature.  

    Subd. 16.    Transportation.  (a) By July 1 of each 
 year, a charter school must notify the district in which the 
 school is located and the department of children, families, and 
 learning if it will provide transportation for pupils enrolled 
 in the school for the fiscal year. 

    (b) If a charter school elects to provide transportation 
 for pupils, the transportation must be provided by the charter 
 school within the district in which the charter school is 
 located.  The state must pay transportation aid to the charter 
 school according to section 124D.11, subdivision 2. 

    For pupils who reside outside the district in which the 
 charter school is located, the charter school is not required to 
 provide or pay for transportation between the pupil's residence 
 and the border of the district in which the charter school is 
 located.  A parent may be reimbursed by the charter school for 
 costs of transportation from the pupil's residence to the border 
 of the district in which the charter school is located if the 
 pupil is from a family whose income is at or below the poverty 
 level, as determined by the federal government.  The 
 reimbursement may not exceed the pupil's actual cost of 
 transportation or 15 cents per mile traveled, whichever is 
 less.  Reimbursement may not be paid for more than 250 miles per 
 week.  

    At the time a pupil enrolls in a charter school, the 
 charter school must provide the parent or guardian with 
 information regarding the transportation.  

    (c) If a charter school does not elect to provide 
 transportation, transportation for pupils enrolled at the school 
 must be provided by the district in which the school is located, 
 according to sections 123B.88, subdivision 6, and 124D.03, 
 subdivision 8, for a pupil residing in the same district in 
 which the charter school is located.  Transportation may be 
 provided by the district in which the school is located, 
 according to sections 123B.88, subdivision 6, and 124D.03, 
 subdivision 8, for a pupil residing in a different district.  

    Subd. 17.    Leased space.  A charter school may lease 
 space from a board eligible to be a sponsor or other public or 
 private nonprofit nonsectarian organization.  If a charter 
 school is unable to lease appropriate space from an eligible 
 board or other public or private nonprofit nonsectarian 
 organization, the school may lease space from another 
 nonsectarian organization if the department of children, 
 families, and learning, in consultation with the department of 
 administration, approves the lease.  If the school is unable to 
 lease appropriate space from public or private nonsectarian 
 organizations, the school may lease space from a sectarian 
 organization if the leased space is constructed as a school 
 facility and the department of children, families, and learning, 
 in consultation with the department of administration, approves 
 the lease. 

    Subd. 18.    Authority to raise initial working capital. 
  A sponsor may authorize a charter school before the applicant 
 has secured its space, equipment, facilities, and personnel if 
 the applicant indicates the authority is necessary for it to 
 raise working capital.  A sponsor may not authorize a school 
 before the commissioner has approved the authorization.  

    Subd. 19.    Disseminate information.  The sponsor, the 
 operators, and the department of children, families, and 
 learning must disseminate information to the public on how to 
 form and operate a charter school and how to utilize the 
 offerings of a charter school.  Particular groups to be targeted 
 include low-income families and communities, and students of 
 color. 

    Subd. 20.    Leave to teach in a charter school.  If a 
 teacher employed by a district makes a written request for an 
 extended leave of absence to teach at a charter school, the 
 district must grant the leave.  The district must grant a leave 
 for any number of years requested by the teacher, and must 
 extend the leave at the teacher's request.  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.  

    Subd. 21.    Collective bargaining.  Employees of the 
 board of directors of a charter school may, if otherwise 
 eligible, organize under chapter 179A and comply with its 
 provisions.  The board of directors of a charter school is a 
 public employer, for the purposes of chapter 179A, upon 
 formation of one or more bargaining units at the school.  
 Bargaining units at the school must be separate from any other 
 units within the sponsoring district, except that bargaining 
 units may remain part of the appropriate unit within the 
 sponsoring district, if the employees of the school, the board 
 of directors of the school, the exclusive representative of the 
 appropriate unit in the sponsoring district, and the board of 
 the sponsoring district agree to include the employees in the 
 appropriate unit of the sponsoring district.  

    Subd. 22.    Teacher and other employee retirement.  (a) 
 Teachers in a charter school must be public school teachers for 
 the purposes of chapters 354 and 354a. 

    (b) Except for teachers under paragraph (a), employees in a 
 charter school must be public employees for the purposes of 
 chapter 353.  

    Subd. 23.    Causes for nonrenewal or termination of 
 charter school contract.  (a) The duration of the contract 
 with a sponsor must be for the term contained in the contract 
 according to subdivision 6.  The sponsor may or may not renew a 
 contract at the end of the term for any ground listed in 
 paragraph (b).  A sponsor may unilaterally terminate a contract 
 during the term of the contract for any ground listed in 
 paragraph (b).  At least 60 days before not renewing or 
 terminating a contract, the sponsor shall notify the board of 
 directors of the charter school of the proposed action in 
 writing.  The notice shall state the grounds for the proposed 
 action in reasonable detail and that the charter school's board 
 of directors may request in writing an informal hearing before 
 the sponsor within 14 days of receiving notice of nonrenewal or 
 termination of the contract.  Failure by the board of directors 
 to make a written request for a hearing within the 14-day period 
 shall be treated as acquiescence to the proposed action.  Upon 
 receiving a timely written request for a hearing, the sponsor 
 shall give reasonable notice to the charter school's board of 
 directors of the hearing date.  The sponsor shall conduct an 
 informal hearing before taking final action.  The sponsor shall 
 take final action to renew or not renew a contract by the last 
 day of classes in the school year.  If the sponsor is a local 
 board, the school's board of directors may appeal the sponsor's 
 decision to the commissioner. 

    (b) A contract may be terminated or not renewed upon any of 
 the following grounds: 

    (1) failure to meet the requirements for pupil performance 
 contained in the contract; 

    (2) failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal 
 management; 

    (3) violations of law; or 

    (4) other good cause shown. 

    If a contract is terminated or not renewed, the school must 
 be dissolved according to the applicable provisions of chapter 
 308A or 317A.  

    Subd. 24.    Pupil enrollment upon nonrenewal or 
 termination of charter school contract.  If a contract is not 
 renewed or is terminated according to subdivision 23, a pupil 
 who attended the school, siblings of the pupil, or another pupil 
 who resides in the same place as the pupil may enroll in the 
 resident district or may submit an application to a nonresident 
 district according to section 124D.03 at any time.  Applications 
 and notices required by section 124D.03 must be processed and 
 provided in a prompt manner.  The application and notice 
 deadlines in section 124D.03 do not apply under these 
 circumstances.  

    Subd. 25.    Extent of specific legal authority.  (a) 
 The board of directors of a charter school may sue and be sued. 

    (b) The board may not levy taxes or issue bonds.  

    (c) The commissioner, a sponsor, members of the board of a 
 sponsor in their official capacity, and employees of a sponsor 
 are immune from civil or criminal liability with respect to all 
 activities related to a charter school they approve or sponsor.  
 The board of directors shall obtain at least the amount of and 
 types of insurance required by the contract, according to 
 subdivision 6.  

    HIST: 1991 c 265 art 3 s 38; art 9 s 3; 1992 c 499 art 12 s 1; 
 1993 c 224 art 9 s 2-12; art 14 s 16; 1994 c 465 art 2 s 1; 1994 
 c 647 art 9 s 1,2; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 9 s 2; art 16 s 13; 1996 c 
 412 art 4 s 2; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 5 s 5-9; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 
 2-21,164; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 2 s 4; art 5 s 3,55; 1999 c 241 art 
 5 s 7-11