(1)(a) A charter applicant
cannot apply to, or enter into a charter contract with, a school district unless a
majority of the proposed charter school's pupils, other than online pupils, will reside
in the chartering school district or in school districts contiguous thereto.
(b)The local board of education shall receive and review all applications for
charter schools. If the local board of education does not review a charter
application, that charter application is denied. For applications beginning in 2025, a
charter applicant must file its application with the local board of education during
the period beginning February 1 and ending April 1, eighteen months before the
charter school is set to open. An application is considered filed when the school
district administration rec
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(1) (a) A charter applicant
cannot apply to, or enter into a charter contract with, a school district unless a
majority of the proposed charter school's pupils, other than online pupils, will reside
in the chartering school district or in school districts contiguous thereto.
(b) The local board of education shall receive and review all applications for
charter schools. If the local board of education does not review a charter
application, that charter application is denied. For applications beginning in 2025, a
charter applicant must file its application with the local board of education during
the period beginning February 1 and ending April 1, eighteen months before the
charter school is set to open. An application is considered filed when the school
district administration receives the charter application from the charter applicant
either in hard copy or electronically. Prior to any change in the application deadline,
the local board of education shall notify the department and each charter school
applicant in the district of the proposed change by certified letter. The local board
of education shall not charge any application fees.
(c) Within fifteen days after receiving a charter school application, the
school district shall determine whether the application contains the minimum
components specified in section 22-30.5-106 (1) and is therefore complete. If the
application is not complete, the school district shall notify the charter applicant
within the fifteen-day period and provide a list of the information required to
complete the charter application. The charter applicant has fifteen days after the
date it receives the notice to provide the required information to the local board of
education for review. The local board of education is not required to take action on
the charter application if the charter applicant does not provide the required
information within the fifteen-day period. The school district may request additional
information during the review period and provide reasonable time for the charter
applicant to respond. The school district may, but is not required to, accept any
additional information the charter applicant provides that the school district does
not request. The district accountability committee shall review the complete
charter school application at least fifteen days, if possible, before the local board of
education takes action on the application.
(d) Any date in this subsection (1) that falls on a weekend, a legal holiday, or
a day school is not in session is extended to the next school day.
(1.5) For purposes of reviewing a charter school application, a district
accountability committee shall include at least:
(a) One person with a demonstrated knowledge of charter schools,
regardless of whether that person resides within the school district; and
(b) One parent or legal guardian of a child enrolled in a charter school in the
school district; except that, if there are no charter schools in the school district, the
local board of education shall appoint a parent or legal guardian of a child enrolled
in the school district.
(2) After giving reasonable public notice, the local board of education shall
hold community meetings in the affected areas or the entire school district to
obtain information to assist the local board of education in its decision to approve a
charter school application. The local board of education shall rule by resolution on
the application for a charter school in a public hearing, upon reasonable public
notice, no later than June 30. A charter school shall use the school and fiscal year,
July 1 to June 30, following the submission of its charter application as a planning
year, during which the charter school shall prepare for serving students the next
school year. All negotiations between the charter school and the local board of
education on the contract shall be concluded by, and all terms of the contract
agreed upon, no later than ninety days after the local board of education rules by
resolution on the application for a charter school or September 30, whichever date
is later.
(2.5) The charter applicant and the local board of education may jointly
waive or extend the timelines set forth in this section. As specified in section 22-2-117, the local board of education may apply to the state board of education for a
modification or waiver of the timelines set forth in this section. If the state board of
education approves the waiver, the local board of education must publish notice of
the waiver on the local board of education's website within thirty days after the
approval. The new timeline only applies to the applications submitted following the
date of the public posting of the waiver.
(3) If a local board of education denies a charter school application, does not
review a charter school application, or unilaterally imposes conditions that are
unacceptable to the charter applicant, the charter applicant may appeal the
decision to the state board pursuant to section 22-30.5-108.
(3.5) Nothing in this part 1 shall prohibit a school district from adopting one
or more policies that encourage charter applicants to address specified school
district needs.
(4) If a local board of education denies or does not review a charter school
application, it shall state its reasons for the denial or refusal to review. Within
fifteen days after denying or refusing to review a charter school application, the
local board of education shall notify the department of the denial or refusal and the
reasons therefor. If a local board of education approves a charter application, it
shall send a copy of the approved charter application to the department within
fifteen days after approving the charter application.
(5) A school district may unilaterally impose conditions on a charter
applicant or on a charter school only through adoption of a resolution of the local
board of education of the school district. If a local board adopts a resolution
unilaterally imposing conditions on a charter applicant or on a charter school, the
resolution shall, at a minimum, state the school district's reasons for imposing the
conditions unilaterally, despite the objections of the charter applicant or the
charter school. The charter applicant or charter school may appeal the decision of
the local board of education to unilaterally impose the conditions by filing the
notice of appeal with the state board within thirty days after adoption of the
resolution, as provided in section 22-30.5-108 (2)(a).