Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) A sponsor may terminate a charter for
failure to:
(a) Meet the terms of the
approved charter or any requirement of ORS Chapter 338, unless waived by the
State Board of Education;
(b) Meet
the requirements for student performance as established in the approved
charter;
(c) Correct any violation
of a federal or state law described in ORS
338.115;
(d) Maintain insurance as described in the
approved charter;
(e) Maintain
financial stability; or.
(f) If the
charter is terminated on or after July 1, 2011, failure to maintain, for one or
more consecutive years, a sound financial management system described in the
proposal submitted under ORS
338.045 and incorporated into
the written charter under 338.065.
(2) A sponsor intending to terminate an
approved charter must:
(a) Notify the public
charter school governing body in writing at least 60 calendar days prior to the
proposed effective date of the termination;
(b) Include in the notification the grounds
for the termination; and
(c)
Deliver the notice to the business address of the charter school.
(3) If the grounds for termination
include failure to maintain financial stability or failure to maintain a sound
financial management system, the sponsor and the public charter school may
agree to develop a plan to correct deficiencies. The plan must be finalized and
agreed upon within 30 days of the notice of termination. Under a plan to
correct deficiencies:
(a) The sponsor shall
identify a date at least 60 days from the date of the notice by which the
public charter school may attempt to correct any deficiencies related to
financial stability or to a sound financial management system. The deadline
identified in the plan to correct deficiencies may be extended by mutual
agreement of the sponsor and the public charter school;
(b) The proposed effective date of the
termination may be extended to the date identified under subparagraph (a) of
this paragraph.
(c) The sponsor may
withhold up to 50 percent of the moneys owed to the public charter school while
the public charter school is on the plan to correct deficiencies unless the
withholding would create undue hardship. The sponsor shall indicate if it plans
to withhold moneys within 10 days of the notice of termination.
(A) For the purpose of this section, "undue
hardship" shall be defined as a significant and limiting factor in the public
charter school's ability to continue operating through the duration of the plan
to correct deficiencies under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph and project a
positive ending fund balance for 2 consecutive fiscal years following
compliance with the plan.
(B) A
public charter school attempting to prove undue hardship must provide the
following evidence to the sponsor within 20 days of the notice of termination:
(i) A current balance sheet;
(ii) A current profit and loss
statement;
(iii) All current
financial statements showing assets and liabilities; and
(iv) Any other financial documents requested
by the sponsor related to the financial operation of the public charter
school.
(C) The sponsor
must evaluate the public charter school's evidence of undue hardship and
determine whether or not to withhold any moneys within 10 days of receiving the
evidence from the public charter school. If the sponsor plans to withhold
moneys, the sponsor shall indicate in the plan to correct deficiencies the
terms of any withholding of moneys.
(d) The sponsor must hold in trust any moneys
withheld under subparagraph (c) of this paragraph until:
(A) The public charter school complies with
the plan to correct deficiencies, at which time the public charter school is
entitled to the moneys held in trust; or
(B) The public charter school fails to comply
with the plan to correct deficiencies, at which time the charter is terminated
and the public charter school forfeits any claim to the moneys held in
trust.
(e) The sponsor
shall apply any moneys withheld under subparagraph (c) of this paragraph if the
public charter school is terminated to the debts of the public charter school.
Any remaining moneys shall be returned to the state.
(4) The governing body of a public charter
that has received notice from the sponsor of the sponsor's intent to terminate
the charter may request a hearing by the sponsor related to a termination of
the charter or a plan to correct deficiencies. Such a request must be made in
writing and be delivered to the business address of the sponsor. Within 30 days
of receiving the request for a hearing, the sponsor must provide the public
charter school with the opportunity for a hearing.
(5) Following a notice of termination or
completion of the plan to correct deficiencies, the sponsor of a public charter
school shall make a final decision whether to terminate the public charter
school. The decision must be made at a public meeting.
(6) If the sponsor reasonably believes that a
public charter school is endangering the health or safety of the students
enrolled in the public charter school, the sponsor may act to immediately
terminate the approved charter and close the public charter school without
providing the notice requirements set out in subsection (4) of this
rule.
(7) The governing body of a
public charter that is closed under the provisions of subsection (6) of this
rule may request a hearing by the sponsor. Such a request must be made in
writing and be delivered to the business address of the sponsor. Within 10 days
of receiving the request for a hearing, the sponsor must provide the public
charter school with the opportunity for a hearing on the termination.
(8) Nothing in this rule should be construed
as limiting the ability of a sponsor and a public charter school to include in
the charter a procedural requirement for alternative dispute resolution prior
to invoking the termination process.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
326.051
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
338.105
