(a)Not later than thirty (30) days after the
date a governing body of a school corporation determines at a public
meeting to cease using a covered school building for classroom
instruction on student instructional days (as described in IC 20-30-2-2)
for a school year as required under IC 20-30-2-3, a school corporation
shall provide written notice to the department regarding the date that
the covered school building has ceased or will cease being used for
classroom instruction as described in this subsection.
(b)If the school corporation does not intend to make a covered
school building available for lease or purchase in accordance with this
chapter, the school corporation shall state in the notice required under
subsection (a) the factual and legal basis for the school corporation's
con
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
(a) Not later than thirty (30) days after the
date a governing body of a school corporation determines at a public
meeting to cease using a covered school building for classroom
instruction on student instructional days (as described in IC 20-30-2-2)
for a school year as required under IC 20-30-2-3, a school corporation
shall provide written notice to the department regarding the date that
the covered school building has ceased or will cease being used for
classroom instruction as described in this subsection.
(b) If the school corporation does not intend to make a covered
school building available for lease or purchase in accordance with this
chapter, the school corporation shall state in the notice required under
subsection (a) the factual and legal basis for the school corporation's
contention that the covered school building is not required to be made
available under this chapter. Any claim for exclusion from a
requirement to make the covered school building available under this
chapter which is not stated in the notice under this subsection is
waived.
(c) If a school corporation does not provide notice to the department
under subsection (a), any claim for exclusion from a requirement to
make the covered school building available under this chapter is
waived.
(d) Not later than fifteen (15) days after the date that the department
receives a notice from a school corporation under subsection (a), the
department shall provide written notice to all interested persons
regarding the notice from the school corporation submitted under
subsection (a).
(e) If a notice from a school corporation under subsection (a)
acknowledges that the covered school building will be made available
in accordance with this chapter, the department's notice to interested
persons shall provide that any notice of interest by an interested person
for the covered school building must be submitted to the department
not later than sixty (60) days after the date the interested person
receives the department's notice under subsection (d).
(f) If a notice from a school corporation under subsection (a)
includes a claim that the covered school building will not be made
available under this chapter, an interested person may submit to the
department, not later than thirty (30) days after the date the interested
person receives the notice from the department under subsection (d),
a rebuttal to the factual and legal basis for the school corporation's
contention that the covered school building is not required to be made
available under this chapter.
(g) The department shall, not later than sixty (60) days after the date
that a rebuttal is due under subsection (f), issue a determination to the
school corporation and interested persons as to whether the covered
school building must be made available under this chapter. The
department shall publish a copy of the department's determination on
the department's website.
(h) Not later than thirty (30) days after the date that the department
issues a determination under subsection (g), a school corporation or
interested person may appeal the determination to the state board. An
appeal to the state board shall be subject to the procedure described in
IC 20-26-11-15(b).
(i) Not later than fifteen (15) days after:
(1) the time expires for an appeal to the state board of a
department determination under subsection (g) or IC 20-26-7-47
that a covered school building be made available; or
(2) a determination by the state board that a covered school
building is to be made available is issued;
the governing body shall take the actions specified by subsection (j). If
the governing body fails to take the actions, the department shall
request that the attorney general enforce the order under section 9(a)
of this chapter.
(j) If a covered school building is to be made available, the
governing body shall do the following:
(1) Make the covered school building available for inspection by
a charter school or state educational institution that notifies the
department that it is interested in leasing or purchasing the
covered school building.
(2) Make the following information available to a charter school
or state educational institution described in subdivision (1):
(A) Estimates of the operating expenses for the covered school
building for the past three (3) years.
(B) Written information regarding the condition of the covered
school building, including the age of the roof and the HVAC
system, and any known conditions which, in the governing
body's opinion, require prompt repair or replacement.
(C) A legal description of the property.
(k) If the governing body fails to take the actions required under
subsection (j), a charter school having notified the school corporation
of its interest in the covered school building is entitled to an injunction
requiring the governing body to take the actions under subsection (j).
(l) The school corporation shall lease the covered school building
to a charter school or state educational institution for one dollar ($1)
per year for as long as the state educational institution uses the covered
school building for an academic purpose or the charter school uses the
covered school building for classroom instruction, for a term at the
state educational institution's or charter school's discretion, or sell the
covered school building for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or
state educational institution does the following:
(1) Within ninety (90) days of receiving the department's notice
under subsection (d), a charter school or state educational
institution must submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease
the covered school building.
(2) Subject to subsection (m), within ninety (90) days of receiving
the department's notice under subsection (d), a charter school or
state educational institution must submit to the school corporation
the following information:
(A) The name of the charter school or state educational
institution that is interested in leasing or purchasing the covered
school building.
(B) A time frame, which may not exceed three (3) years from
the date that the covered school building is to be closed, no
longer used, or no longer occupied, in which the:
(i) charter school intends to begin providing classroom
instruction in the covered school building; or
(ii) state educational institution intends to begin using the
covered school building for an academic purpose.
(C) A resolution, adopted by the board of the charter school or
state educational institution stating that the board of the charter
school or state educational institution has determined that, after
the charter school or state educational institution has made any
necessary repairs or modifications, the covered school building
will be sufficient to meet the charter school's or state
educational institution's needs and can be operated within the
charter school's or state educational institution's budget.
(m) If the department does not receive any preliminary requests to
purchase or lease a covered school building within the time frame
described in subsection (l)(1), the department shall send notification to
the school corporation that the department has not received any
preliminary requests to purchase or lease the covered school building.
Upon receipt of the notification under this subsection, the school
corporation may sell or otherwise dispose of the covered school
building in accordance with IC 36-1-11, IC 20-25-4-14, and IC 20-26-5-4(a)(7).
(n) If only one (1) charter school submits a preliminary request to
purchase or lease the covered school building, the department shall
notify the school corporation of the identity of the charter school and
direct the school corporation to complete a sale or lease to the charter
school in accordance with subsection (r). In the event that two (2) or
more charter schools submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease
a covered school building within the time frame described in
subsection (l)(1), the department shall send notification to each
interested person and the school corporation that the department has
received two (2) or more preliminary requests under this section. An
authorizer committee shall be established, with each statewide
authorizer that has authorized one (1) or more charter schools
appointing a representative, and the committee shall establish the
chairperson and procedures for the committee. Within sixty (60) days
of receiving notice under this subsection, the committee shall select
which charter school may proceed under subsection (r) to purchase or
lease the covered school building or determine if two (2) or more
charter schools should co-locate within the covered school building.
The committee shall base the committee's decision on the following
criteria:
(1) Preference shall be given to existing charter schools that have
a proven track record of student academic performance.
(2) If two (2) or more charter schools of proven academic
performance are competing and only one (1) charter school is
operating in the county in which the covered school building is
located, the charter school in the same county as the covered
school building shall be given preference.
In the event that the committee determines that two (2) or more charter
schools should co-locate in the covered school building, the charter
schools have sixty (60) days to submit a memorandum of
understanding stating that the charter schools shall be jointly and
severally liable for the obligations related to the sale or lease of the
covered school building, and specifying how the charter schools will
utilize the covered school building and share responsibility for
operational, maintenance, and renovation expenses. If the charter
schools are unable to agree, the charter schools shall be deemed to have
revoked their prior request regarding the lease or sale of the covered
school building. The committee shall give notice of the committee's
decision to the school corporation and each interested person. A charter
school that is not selected by the committee may appeal the decision to
the state board not more than thirty (30) days after receipt of the
committee's decision. The state board shall issue a final order in the
appeal not more than sixty (60) days after receipt of a properly filed
appeal. Notice of the appeal and the final order in the appeal must be
given to the school corporation.
(o) If a charter school does not submit a preliminary request to
purchase or lease the covered school building and only one (1) state
educational institution submits a preliminary request to purchase or
lease the covered school building, the department shall:
(1) notify the school corporation of the identity of the state
educational institution; and
(2) direct the school corporation to complete a sale or lease to the
state educational institution in accordance with subsection (r).
(p) If one (1) or more state educational institutions submit
preliminary requests to purchase or lease a covered school building, a
selection committee shall be established consisting of one (1) member
appointed by the executive of the largest city or town in the county in
which the covered school building is located, one (1) member
appointed by the city or town council of the largest city or town in the
county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member
appointed by the county commissioners of the county in which the
covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the
county council of the county in which the covered school building is
located, and one (1) member appointed by the chamber of commerce
of the county in which the covered school building is located.
(q) Not later than sixty (60) days after the date that a member is
appointed under subsection (p), the committee shall:
(1) select which state educational institution may proceed to
purchase or lease the covered school building; or
(2) determine whether more than one (1) state educational
institution should co-locate within the covered school building.
In making the committee's determination, the committee shall give
preference to a state educational institution whose proposed use of the
covered school building is assessed as having the greatest educational
benefit for prekindergarten through grade 12 education. A committee
determination under this subsection may not be appealed.
(r) A school corporation shall lease the covered school building for
one dollar ($1) per year to the charter school or state educational
institution for as long as the:
(1) charter school uses the covered school building for classroom
instruction for any combination of kindergarten through grade 12;
or
(2) state educational institution uses the covered school building
for an academic purpose.
The term of the lease shall be established at the charter school's or state
educational institution's discretion and include an option for the state
educational institution or charter school to purchase the covered school
building for one dollar ($1). Alternatively, the school corporation shall
sell the covered school building to the charter school or state
educational institution for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or state
educational institution has met the requirements set forth in subsection
(l) and uses the covered school building in the manner prescribed by
this subsection. If the charter school or state educational institution
selected to lease or purchase the covered school building has met the
requirements under subsection (l), the school corporation has not more
than ninety (90) days after the date notice of a final unappealable
decision is received by the school corporation to complete the lease or
sale of the covered school building to the charter school or state
educational institution. If the transaction is not completed within ninety
(90) days, the department or the selected charter school or state
educational institution may, under section 9 of this chapter, request that
the attorney general enforce the sale or lease or may file suit to enforce
the sale or lease. If a charter school or state educational institution has
not met the requirements under subsection (l), the school corporation
may sell or otherwise dispose of the covered school building in
accordance with IC 36-1-11, IC 20-25-4-14, and IC 20-26-5-4(a)(7).