(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in section 22-30.5-506 (2), the institute shall
receive and review all applications for institute charter schools. An application for
an institute charter school may be submitted by one or more individuals, by a
nonprofit, governmental, or other entity or organization, or by an existing charter
school authorized by a district. An entity applying for an institute charter school
shall file an application with the institute by a date determined by rule of the
institute board to be eligible for consideration for the following school year. An
application is considered filed when the institute receives the institute charter
application from the institute charter applicant either in hard copy or electronically.
Prior to any change in the application deadline, the institute shall notify each known
institute charter school applicant of the proposed change by certified letter. Within
fifteen days after receiving an institute charter school application, the institute
shall determine whether the application contains the minimum components
specified in section 22-30.5-509 (1) and is therefore complete. If the application is
not complete, the institute shall notify the applicant within the fifteen-day period
and provide a list of the information required to complete the institute charter
application. The applicant has fifteen days after the date it receives the notice to
provide the required information to the institute for review. The institute is not
required to take action on the institute charter application if the applicant does not
provide the required information within the fifteen-day period. The institute may
request additional information during the review period and provide reasonable
time for the applicant to respond. The institute may, but is not required to, accept
any additional information the applicant provides that the institute does not
request.
(a.3) An application to convert an existing charter school authorized by a
school district to an institute charter school shall include evidence that an
adequate number of parents, teachers, or pupils or any combination thereof support
the conversion to an institute charter school.
(a.5) The institute's approval of an application from an existing charter
school shall not relieve the charter school of any preexisting contractual
obligations or relationships, including obligations of the charter school to the
school district that oversees the charter school; except that the charter school
shall no longer be subject to the oversight and control of the school district. The
transfer of oversight of a charter school from a school district to the institute shall
not be deemed a dissolution or other event that empowers or obligates the school
district to wind down the charter school's affairs or to dispose of the charter
school's assets.
(a.7) (I) If a district charter school converts to an institute charter school, the
institute shall calculate the converted school's funding as it was calculated before
the conversion using the applicable formulas specified in part 1 of this article;
except that this paragraph (a.7) does not apply if the converted school was
authorized by a small rural school district, as described in section 22-54-108
(3)(b)(IV), before the conversion.
(II) Repealed.
(b) The institute board shall set forth by rule all necessary procedures for
the application process and for application review by the institute and the institute
board. The rules shall describe a rigorous review of the application that includes,
but is not necessarily limited to, the following key evaluative areas involving the
institute charter school:
(I) The number of at-risk students that the institute charter school
anticipates serving, both as an absolute number and as a percentage of the entire
student body expected to enroll at the institute charter school;
(II) Curriculum and instructional program;
(III) Nonacademic program characteristics;
(IV) Financial viability;
(V) Appropriate governance model and proposed practices;
(VI) Appropriate, consistent, clear, and measurable accountability systems;
(VII) The extent to which the instructional program fits the mission
statement of the institute charter school;
(VIII) Whether the institute charter school will provide an educational option
that substantially differs from the educational opportunities provided by existing
schools of the school district that have capacity to accommodate additional
students;
(IX) The institute charter school's plan for outreach and recruitment of
students whose race, gender, and ethnicity reflect the demographics of the
community that the institute charter school intends to serve; and
(X) The institute charter school's plan for identifying and reducing the
academic achievement gaps among its student population.
(c) The rules described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) shall require
the applicant to provide written notification of the application to the school district
board of education and the school district accountability committee of the school
district in which the proposed institute charter school is to be located. The rules
shall permit the board of education and the accountability committee to submit to
the institute written comments concerning the institute charter school application.
(d) When the institute determines that it has received a complete application
for an institute charter school, the institute shall send notice to the local board of
education and the school district accountability committee for the school district in
which the proposed institute charter school is to be located. At a minimum, the
notice shall include the following information:
(I) The schedule by which the institute will review the application and
determine whether to authorize the institute charter school;
(II) The dates and locations of meetings at which the institute will consider
the application, including at least one meeting within the school district;
(III) Instructions specifying how the local board may request information
from the institute regarding:
(A) The location of the proposed institute charter school, if known; and
(B) Enrollment projections for the proposed institute charter school,
including the projected number of at-risk students; and
(IV) An invitation to the local board of education to send comments to the
institute regarding the school district's concerns with any portion of the application,
including any comments concerning whether the proposed new institute charter
school substantially differs from existing educational options within the school
district that have the capacity to accommodate additional students.
(2) (a) Prior to ruling on the application for an institute charter school, one or
more representatives of the institute board shall hold a public meeting in the school
district in which the institute charter school would be located. At the meeting, the
representatives of the institute board, at a minimum, shall take public testimony
regarding whether to approve or disapprove the application for an institute charter
school.
(b) The institute board shall rule by resolution on the application for an
institute charter school in a public hearing, following reasonable public notice,
within ninety days after receiving the application filed pursuant to subsection (1) of
this section. At the public hearing, prior to adopting the resolution, the institute
board shall make available to persons in attendance at the hearing a written
summary of the testimony received at the meeting held pursuant to paragraph (a)
of this subsection (2) and, on the record, shall consider the testimony and its
application to the institute board's decision.
(c) All negotiations between the institute charter school and the institute on
the charter contract shall be concluded, and all terms of the charter contract
agreed upon, no later than forty-five days after the institute board approves the
application for an institute charter school.
(3) The institute charter school applicant and the institute may jointly waive
the deadlines set forth in this section.
(4) If the institute denies an institute charter school application, it shall state
its reasons for the denial. Within thirty days after the denial, the entity that
submitted the institute charter school application may submit to the state board a
notice of appeal, stating the grounds for the appeal.
(5) Within sixty days after receipt of a notice of appeal by the state board
and after reasonable public notice, the state board shall review the decision of the
institute and determine whether the decision was arbitrary and capricious. The
state board shall remand the matter to the institute with instructions to approve or
deny the institute charter school application. The decision of the state board shall
be final and not subject to appeal.