Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, December 1, 2023
RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 13B, 160.1590, 160.1591, 160.1592,
160.1593, 160.1594, 160.1595, 160.1596, 160.1597, 160.1598, 160.1599
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
160.1598 requires the Kentucky Board of
Education to promulgate an administrative regulation to establish the process
to appeal a decision of an authorizer denying a charter application or a
charter contract amendment request, unilaterally imposing conditions on the
applicant or charter school, or revoking or nonrenewing a charter contract.
This administrative regulation establishes the requirements for the appeal
process.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Appellant" means the applicant or
charter school board of directors filing the appeal of an authorizer's decision
denying a charter application or a charter contract amendment request,
unilaterally imposing conditions on the applicant or charter school, or
revoking or nonrenewing a charter contract.
(2) "Applicant" is defined by
KRS
160.1590(2).
(3) "Authorizer" or "public charter school
authorizer" is defined by
KRS
160.1590(15).
(4) "Charter" means charter
contract.
(5) "Charter application"
is defined by KRS
160.1590(3).
(6) "Charter contract" or "contract" is
defined by KRS
160.1590(4).
(7) "Charter school" means a public charter
school.
(8) "Charter school board
of directors" is defined by
KRS
160.1590(5).
(9) "Days" means calendar days calculated
pursuant to KRS
446.030.
(10) "Knowingly" means that a person knew
that in authorizing, ordering, or carrying out an act or omission that the act
or omission constituted a violation of a statute or administrative
regulation.
(11) "Local school
district" is defined by
KRS
160.1590(10).
(12) "Notice" means written notice.
(13) "Public charter school" is defined by
KRS
160.1590(14).
(14) "Unilateral imposition of conditions"
means the authorizer has placed or attempted to place conditions or
requirements that are not required by
KRS
160.1590 through
160.1599,
161.141, or 701 KAR Chapter 8:
(a) On the applicant in the authorizer's
formal action approving the charter application; or
(b) On the charter school in the charter
contract or an amendment.
(15) "Unilaterally imposed conditions" or
"Unilateral conditions" or "Conditions unilaterally imposed" means conditions
or requirements not required by
KRS
160.1590 through
160.1599,
161.141, or 701 KAR Chapter 8
that the authorizer places or attempts to place:
(a) On the applicant in the authorizer's
formal action approving the charter application; or
(b) On the charter school in the charter
contract or an amendment.
Section 2. Policies and Procedures. The
authorizer shall create and publish on its website policies and procedures for
its implementation of
KRS
160.1595 and
160.1598 as established in
subsections (1) through (5) of this section. The authorizer shall include in
its policies and procedures:
(1) A rubric for
its evaluation of a charter application and its rubric for evaluation of
charter contract performance for renewal pursuant to
KRS
160.1598;
(2) The circumstances that shall result in
automatic revocation or nonrenewal of a charter contract, only as allowed in
KRS
160.1590 to
160.1599,
161.141, and 701 KAR Chapter
8;
(3) The requirements and
timeline for timely notification of the prospect of revocation or nonrenewal of
the charter contract and of the reasons for the possible closure;
(4) The reasonable deadline and requirements
for a charter school's opportunity to respond to the authorizer's notice of the
prospect of revocation or nonrenewal of the charter contract; and
(5) The requirements for appeal of an
authorizer decision denying a charter application or a charter amendment
request, nonrenewing or revoking a charter contract, or imposing unilateral
conditions on an applicant or charter school.
Section 3. Appeal.
(1) The appellant shall submit its appeal of
an authorizer's decision denying a charter application or a charter amendment
request, nonrenewing or revoking a charter contract, or imposing unilateral
conditions on an applicant or charter school to the commissioner of education,
to receive the appeal on behalf of the Kentucky Board of Education, as
established in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection.
(a) The deadline for appeals to the Kentucky
Board of Education under
KRS
160.1595 shall be thirty (30) days, as
evidenced by the face of the authorizer's notice to the charter school or
applicant of the decision to deny a charter application or charter contract
amendment request, to impose unilateral conditions on the applicant or the
charter school, or to revoke or nonrenew the charter contract.
(b) The appeal shall include the name, phone
number, mailing address, and email address of the contact for the appellant and
any legal counsel.
(c) The appeal
shall include a statement from the appellant whether there is a request for a
hearing, and whether the hearing is requested to be held in the local school
district in which the charter school lies or would lie.
(d) The appeal shall be submitted on the
Notice of Appeal and include any necessary additional documentation.
(2) The Kentucky Board of
Education shall affirm the decision of the authorizer based on the appellant's
failure to timely file the appeal, pursuant to
KRS
160.1595(2) and subsection
(1)(a) of this section, and may affirm the decision of the authorizer based on
the failure of an appellant to meet any of the other deadlines of this
administrative regulation or the hearing process.
(3) Within five (5) days of the
commissioner's receipt of the appeal, the commissioner of education on behalf
of the Kentucky Board of Education shall provide notice to the appellant and
the authorizer acknowledging receipt of the appeal, and:
(a) If a hearing is requested in the appeal,
the commissioner of education shall designate a hearing officer to set the
prehearing schedule, to conduct a KRS Chapter 13B public hearing before the
Kentucky Board of Education on the appeal, and to set the location of the
public hearing; or
(b) If a hearing
is not requested in the appeal or if the appellant waives its right at any time
to a hearing by providing written notice of its waiver to the commissioner of
education or to any previously appointed hearing officer, the hearing officer
shall set the schedule for written pleadings under
KRS
13B.090(2) to be submitted
to the Kentucky Board of Education without a hearing.
(4) The written decision of the Kentucky
Board of Education shall be issued no later than forty-five (45) days following
receipt of the notice of appeal as required by
KRS
160.1595(2)(c).
Section 4. Emergency Action. Emergency action
taken by the authorizer pursuant to
KRS
160.1598(7) shall be taken
in accordance with KRS 13B.125.
Section 5. Automatic Revocation or
Nonrenewal. The Kentucky Board of Education shall affirm revocation or
nonrenewal of a charter school for whom the commissioner of education has
determined a member of the charter school board of directors, or an education
service provider at the direction of a member of the board of directors, or an
employee at the direction of a member of the board of directors, has knowingly
violated 703 KAR 5:080, Administration
Code for Kentucky's Educational Assessment Program, or
KRS
160.1592(3)(g) for a student
assessment included in the performance framework of the charter contract or the
state accountability system after:
(1) The
department's presentation of a preponderance of evidence at a KRS Chapter 13B
hearing before the Kentucky Board of Education that a member of the charter
school board of directors, or an education service provider at the direction of
a member of the charter school board of directors, or an employee at the
direction of a member of the charter school board of directors, has knowingly
violated 703 KAR 5:080, Administration
Code for Kentucky's Educational Assessment Program, or
KRS
160.1592(3)(g) for a student
assessment included in:
(a) The performance
framework of the charter contract; or
(b) The state accountability system;
or
(2) The charter school
board of directors waives its right to a KRS Chapter 13B hearing under this
section.
Section 6.
Incorporation by Reference.
(1) "Notice of
Appeal", October 2022, is incorporated by reference.
(2) This material may be inspected, copied,
or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the Department of
Education, Office of Legal Services, 5th floor, 300 Building, 300 Sower
Boulevard, Frankfort, Kentucky, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.
44 Ky.R. 1185,
1561, 1843; eff. 3-9-2018;
49
Ky.R. 998; eff. 10/13/2022; 49
Ky.R. 1167; eff. 7/5/2023.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
13B.170,
160.1598
