§ 33-5205 — APPLICATION TO ESTABLISH A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL — HEARING — APPLICATION DECISION — APPEAL PROCEDURE — TERM

(1) A public charter school application may be submitted to only one (1) authorizer at a time. If an application has been denied by an authorizer or an application is withdrawn by the applicant, then the applicant may resubmit an application to another authorizer.
(2)(a) Authorizers shall develop a transparent application process to establish a new public charter school. The application shall require applicants to provide descriptions of the following key features of the prospective public charter school:
(i) The educational program, including educational philosophy, student academic proficiency and growth standards, measurement methods, any mission-specific standards that may be unique to the school, and strategies for meeting the needs of specific student populations, including English language learners, at-risk students, and special education or gifted and talented students;
(ii) The financial and facilities plan with a pre-opening budget, three (3) year operating budget, break-even analysis and cash flow projection, evidence of existing and anticipated funds, and projected facility costs;
(iii) Board capacity and governance structure, including copies of the articles of incorporation and corporate bylaws;
(iv) Student demand and primary attendance area, including a description of the population of students the proposed school intends to serve and the target enrollment by grade level; and
(v) Use of educational service providers, including the contracts, fees and terms, and recent contracts that the entity has executed with other charter schools.
(b) Upon review of the completed application, representatives of the authorizer may request from applicants additional information actually necessary to clarify the contents.
(3) An application for a virtual school must also contain statements describing the following:
(a) The learning management system by which courses will be delivered;
(b) The role of the online teacher, including the consistent availability of the teacher to provide guidance around course material, methods of individualized learning in the online course, and the means by which student work will be assessed;
(c) A plan for the provision of professional development specific to the public virtual school environment;
(d) The means by which public virtual school students will receive appropriate teacher-to-student interaction, including timely and frequent feedback about student progress;
(e) The means by which the public virtual school will verify student attendance and award course credit. Attendance at public virtual schools shall focus primarily on coursework and activities that are correlated to the Idaho state thoroughness standards;
(f) A plan for the provision of technical support relevant to the delivery of online courses;
(g) The means by which the public virtual school will provide opportunity for student-to-student interaction;
(h) Any financial agreement that will require an education service provider to assume a virtual school’s financial risk when the virtual school does not have sufficient residual funds to pay the education service provider, to the extent there is such an agreement. Such financial agreement will be favorably considered during the application process. Where this paragraph is applicable, the education service provider shall make its audited financial statements available unless the education service provider already makes such audited financial statements publicly available for compliance with other federal or state laws; and
(i) A plan for ensuring equal access for all students, including the provision of necessary hardware, software, and internet connectivity required for participation in online coursework, and utilization of remote testing, proctoring, and administration procedures for state-required assessments.
(4) The authorizer shall afford applicants a hearing prior to making a decision, with an opportunity in a public forum for local residents to learn about and provide input on each application. The authorizer shall provide each applicant with its detailed analysis of the application and grant the applicant at least fourteen (14) days to provide additional materials to address any identified deficiencies.
(5) No later than ninety (90) days after an application is submitted, the authorizer shall decide to approve or deny the charter application, unless the applicant agrees to a later date. The authorizer shall adopt by resolution all charter approval or denial decisions in an open meeting of the authorizer’s governing board and, in the case of a denial, include all reasons for denial in the resolution adopted by the governing board.
(a) An application may be approved by the authorizer without condition or with specific and relevant pre-opening conditions the authorizer finds necessary in the applicant’s unique case to ensure the school can meet its academic and financial requirements.
(b) If an application is denied, then the authorizer must prepare a written notice of its decision within fourteen (14) days, including all of the reasons for the denial and a statement that explains the criteria and standards considered relevant by the authorizer in its denial, the relevant contested facts relied upon, and the rationale for the decision based on the applicable statutory provisions and factual information presented to the authorizer.
(6) If an authorizer denies an application for the establishment of a public charter school for any reason, then such decision may be appealed to the office of administrative hearings within thirty (30) days of the date of the written decision at the request of the applicant whose request for a new charter was denied.
(a) The office of administrative hearings shall, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the request, review the full record regarding the charter application and convene a public hearing regarding the appeal. Within ten (10) days of the public hearing, the hearing officer shall submit a written recommendation to the authorizer and to the persons requesting the review. The recommendation by the hearing officer either to affirm or reverse the decision of the authorizer shall be based on the full record regarding the charter application, including the standards and criteria contained in this chapter. The recommendation shall be in writing and accompanied by a reasoned statement that explains the criteria and standards considered relevant, states the relevant contested facts relied upon, and explains the rationale for the recommendations based on the applicable statutory provisions and factual information contained in the record.
(b) Within thirty (30) days following receipt of the hearing officer’s written recommendation, the authorizer shall hold a meeting open to the public for the purpose of reviewing the hearing officer’s written recommendation. Within ten (10) days of such meeting, the authorizer shall either affirm or reverse its initial decision. The authorizer’s decision shall be in writing and contain findings that explain the reasons for its decision.
(c) If, upon reconsideration of a decision to deny an application for a public charter school, the authorizer:
(i) Reverses its initial decision and approves the public charter school application, then there shall be no further appeal; or
(ii) Affirms its initial decision denying the public charter school application, then the board of directors of the nonprofit corporation may appeal as set forth in chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.
(d) There shall be no appeal of a decision by a local school board of trustees that denies the conversion of an existing traditional public school within that district to a public charter school or a decision by an authorizer that approves an application for a public charter school.
(7)(a) An approved initial charter shall be granted for a term of six (6) operating years. The charter shall include the beginning and ending dates of the charter term. An approved school may delay its opening for one (1) school year to plan and prepare for the school’s opening. A delay greater than one (1) school year requires an extension from the school’s authorizer.
(b) In order to incubate innovative charter schools, an authorizer may instead grant a pilot charter with an initial term of three (3) operating years to test an innovative or novel model. This pilot charter shall be used in limited instances and the authorizer must provide sufficient documentation to justify the shorter term.

Legislative History

[33-5205, added 2024, ch. 9, sec. 13, p. 66.]