Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Responsibilities of Board of Trustees. The board of
trustees of a charter school holds the charter of the school and governs the
school. Every board of trustees shall have a least five members. Boards of
trustees are state governmental bodies. Boards of trustees must fulfill their
fiduciary responsibilities, including but not limited to, the duty of loyalty
and duty of care, as well as the obligation to oversee the school's budget.
Boards of trustees shall not exercise managerial powers over the day-to-day
operations of the school. Boards of trustees must ensure that schools operate
in accordance with their charter, including any approved amendments. Boards of
trustees must ensure that schools operate in compliance with all applicable
state and federal laws. The responsibilities of boards of trustees shall
include, but are not limited to the following:
(a) Successfully completing the opening
procedures process in accordance with M.G.L. c. 70, § 89;
603 CMR
1.00; and any guidelines issued by the
Department;
(b) Requesting the
Commissioner's appointment of any new trustees;
(c) Submitting the timely annual
report;
(d) Submitting the timely
annual independent audit;
(e)
Hiring, evaluating, and removing, if necessary, qualified personnel to manage
the charter school's day-to-day operations and holding these administrators
accountable for meeting specified goals;
(f) Approving and monitoring progress towards
meeting the goals of the school's Accountability Plan;
(g) Adopting and revising school policies,
including plans for student recruitment and retention;
(h) Responding to complaints in writing as
required by
603 CMR 1.09;
and
(i) Ensuring that members of
the board receive an orientation and training regarding their duties and
obligations as members of a board of trustees.
(2)
Bylaws. The
bylaws of every board of trustees must comply with state and federal laws and
contain provisions including, but not limited to:
(a) specific, reasonable limits on successive
or total terms for members of the board of trustees;
(b) the exercise of due diligence in
assessing the suitability of candidates for board membership with respect to
potential conflicts of interest and areas of skills and expertise that will be
of value to the board of trustees, such due diligence to occur prior to a vote
by the board of trustees to request the Commissioner to appoint the proposed
members;
(c) frequency of board
meetings, which must be held in Massachusetts, and occur at least
quarterly;
(d) compliance with the
Commonwealth's open meeting law in M.G.L. c. 30A, including meeting all
training requirements;
(e)
compliance by members of the board of trustees with the Commonwealth's state
ethics requirements, including meeting all training requirements, filing all
required disclosures under M.G.L. c. 268A, and the filing of statements of
financial interest under M.G.L. c. 71, § 89(u); and
(f) if the board includes one or two
employees of the school as members of the board of trustees, the bylaws must
explicitly identify these positions.
(3)
Board of Trustees
Training. Every member of the board of trustees shall, within one
year of appointment, complete orientation concerning the responsibilities of
their office, as determined by the Commissioner, and any other training
required by other state agencies.
(4)
Charter School
Staff. Charter school teachers hired after August 10, 2000 must
either:
(a) take and pass, within their first
year of employment at a charter school, the Massachusetts Tests for Educator
Licensure; or
(b) be already
licensed to teach in Massachusetts.
