Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Local
school boards shall carefully review each type 1 and type 3 charter school
application they receive and may approve a charter application only after it
has made a specific determination whether each proposed charter complies with
the law and rules, whether the proposal is valid, complete, financially
well-structured, and educationally sound, whether it provides for a master plan
for improving behavior and discipline in accordance with
R.S.
17:252, whether it provides a plan for
collecting data in accordance with
R.S.
17:3911.
B. Local school boards may approve requests
to establish a type 3B charter school pursuant to the process outlined in
Bulletin 129,
§505
1. A type 3B charter school is a former type
5 charter school transferred from the Recovery School District to the
administration and management of the transferring local school system pursuant
to
R.S.
17:10.5,
R.S.
17:10.7 and Bulletin 129, §505.
2. A type 3B charter school shall retain its
type 5 academic accountability history, including, but not limited to prior
school performance scores. The performance of a type 3B charter school shall be
included in the local school districts district performance score.
3. Throughout initial and all subsequent
renewal charter terms, the type 3B charter contract shall:
a. comply with any transfer conditions
previously specified by BESE at the time BESE made the determination to allow
the transfer;
b. permit the charter
school to remain in its facility or designate an alternative facility for use
by the charter school;
c. prohibit
the charter school from establishing admissions requirements; and
d. require any school that participated as a
type 5 charter school in unified processes common to other public schools
located in the same parish or school district boundaries that are critical to
providing equity and access to students and families to continue to participate
in such processes. At a minimum, the contract shall require the charter school
to:
i. continue to participate in any unified
enrollment system and expulsion process established by the RSD for the parish
or region where the charter school is located. The charter school shall follow
all policies and procedures applicable to type 5 charter schools participating
in the enrollment system and expulsion process; and
ii. continue to provide transportation
services for students who reside more than one mile away from the
school.
4. The
length of the initial term for the type 3B charter school shall be equal to the
number of years remaining on the charter schools former type 5 charter contract
or the number of years approved by BESE for the renewal term of the type 5
charter school if the charter contract for the type 5 charter school was set to
expire at the conclusion of the school year in which the charter school makes a
request to transfer to the local school board pursuant to this
Section.
5. If granted a renewal,
in determining the length of the term for the first renewal of the type 3B
charter contract, the local school board shall set the length of the renewal
term to be three or more years, not to exceed the number of years the charter
school would be granted under the "maximum charter renewal terms" contained in
§1503 of this Bulletin. Differing
academic performance standards for the first renewal of the charter contract
must be approved by BESE. Subsequent renewal term lengths shall be determined
by the local school board.
6. At
the time of transfer, the type 3B charter school shall have the option to
remain its own local educational agency or have the local school system serve
as the charter schools local education agency. A type 3B charter school acting
as its own local education agency shall comply with the requirements provided
for in §2303 of this
bulletin.
C. For each
locally-authorized charter school which has met the performance criteria below,
a charter operator may open and operate two additional schools that serve the
same grade levels and the same enrollment boundaries as the school meeting the
automatic renewal criteria without formal application to the local school
board.
1. The charter school must have:
a. A letter grade of "A" or "B", or an
equivalent school performance score (SPS);
b. Met or exceeded for the three preceding
school years the benchmarks established for it by the local school board in
accordance with the school and district accountability system;
c. Demonstrated growth in student academic
achievement for the three proceeding school years; and
d. Had no significant audit findings during
the term of the charter agreement.
2. The charter operator shall notify the
local school board of its intent to open one or two such additional charter
schools at least 120 calendar days prior to the day on which each additional
school shall enroll students.
3. At
least 90 calendar days prior to the day on which each additional school shall
enroll students, the local school board shall enter into a charter agreement
with the chartering group for each additional school and shall notify BESE of
its action.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
17:6(A)(10) and
R.S.
17:3981.
