SB 173: "An Act relating to charter schools; and providing for an effective date."
00SENATE BILL NO. 173 01 "An Act relating to charter schools; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 14.03.255(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) A charter school operates as a school in the local school district except that 05 the charter school (1) is exempt from the local school district's textbook, program, 06 curriculum, and scheduling requirements; (2) is exempt from AS 14.14.130(c); the 07 principal of the charter school shall be selected by the academic policy committee and 08 shall select, appoint, or otherwise supervise employees of the charter school; and (3) 09 operates under the charter school's annual program budget as set out in the contract 10 between the local school board and the charter school under (c) of this section. A 11 local school board may exempt a charter school from other local school district 12 requirements if the exemption is set out in the contract , except that a local board 13 may not exempt a charter school from the provisions of AS 14.03.075 . 14 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.255(c) is amended to read:
01 (c) A charter school shall operate under a contract between the charter school 02 and the local school board. A contract must contain the following provisions: 03 (1) a description of the educational program; 04 (2) specific levels of achievement for the education program; 05 (3) admission policies and procedures; 06 (4) administrative policies; 07 (5) a statement of the charter school's funding allocation from the local 08 school board , including the itemized costs of administrative or other services to be 09 provided [AND COSTS ASSIGNABLE] to the charter school [PROGRAM 10 BUDGET]; 11 (6) the method by which the charter school will account for receipts 12 and expenditures; 13 (7) the location and description of the facility; 14 (8) the name of the teacher, or teachers, who, by agreement between 15 the charter school and the teacher, will teach in the charter school; 16 (9) the teacher-to-student ratio; 17 (10) the number of students served; 18 (11) the term of the contract [, NOT TO EXCEED A TERM OF FIVE 19 YEARS]; 20 (12) a termination clause providing that the contract may be terminated 21 by the local school board for the failure of the charter school to meet educational 22 achievement goals or fiscal management standards, or for other good cause; 23 (13) a statement that the charter school will comply with all state and 24 federal requirements for receipt and use of public money; 25 (14) other requirements or exemptions agreed upon by the charter 26 school and the local school board. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an 29 annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the aggregate, prorated 30 amount generated by all [THE] students enrolled in [THE] charter schools in that 31 district relative to the educational services selected by the charter school less the
01 cost of administrative or other services provided [COSTS RETAINED] by the local 02 school district, prorated per student [DETERMINED BY APPLYING THE 03 INDIRECT COST RATE APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION]. 04 The "amount generated by all students enrolled in [THE] charter schools in that 05 district [SCHOOL]" is to be determined in the same manner as it would be for 06 students [A STUDENT] enrolled in other [ANOTHER] public schools [SCHOOL] 07 in that school district and must reflect state, local and other funding for that school 08 district. A charter school qualified as tax exempt under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) may 09 conduct fund-raising activities or accept donations of money or materials to 10 supplement the program budget of the charter school . 11 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.260(b) is amended to read: 12 (b) The program budget of a charter school is to be used for operating 13 expenses of the educational program of the charter school, including purchasing 14 textbooks, classroom materials, and instructional aids , and, if the charter school is 15 not operating in an existing school district facility, for the costs of providing a 16 school building or facility. If a charter school program budget includes an 17 amount for the costs of providing a school building or facility, that amount may 18 not be less than the amount that would be budgeted for providing a school 19 building or facility for students in the district who are not charter school students . 20 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.275 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 14.03.275. Contracts [; DURATION]. A contract for a charter school 22 may be for a term of no more than 10 [FIVE] years [AND MAY NOT EXTEND 23 BEYOND JULY 1, 2005]. 24 * Sec. 6. Section 9, ch. 77, SLA 1995, is repealed. 25 * Sec. 7. Section 1 of this Act takes effect January 1, 2002.