§302B-6 - Conversion charter schools; establishment.
§302B-6 Conversion charter schools; establishment. (a) A conversion charter school may be established pursuant to this section.
(b) Any department school, school community council, group of teachers, group of teachers and administrators, or nonprofit organization may submit a letter of intent to the office to convert a department school to a charter school, establish an interim local school board as its governing body, and develop a detailed implementation plan pursuant to subsection (d).
(c) The conversion charter school application process and schedule shall be determined by the panel, and shall provide for and include the following elements:
(1) The submission of a letter of intent to convert to a charter school;
(2) The timely transmittal of the application form and completion guidelines to the interim local school board;
(3) The timely submission to the panel of a completed application; provided that the application shall include certification and documentation that the application and the proposed detailed implementation plan was approved by a majority of the votes cast by existing administrative, support, teaching personnel, and parents of students at the proposed conversion charter school;
(4) The timely review of the application by the panel for completeness, and notification of the interim local school board if the application is complete or, if the application is insufficient, a written statement of the elements of the application that require completion;
(5) The timely resubmission of the application;
(6) Upon receipt of a completed application, the convening of the panel by the panel chairperson to begin review of the application;
(7) The timely notification of the applicant of any revisions the panel may request as necessary for a recommendation of approval;
(8) Following the submission of an application, issuance of a charter or denial of the application by the panel by majority vote; provided that if the panel does not approve the application and issue a charter, provisions requiring the panel to:
(A) Clearly identify in writing its reasons for not issuing the charter, which may be used as guidelines for an amended plan; and
(B) Allow the interim local school board to revise its plan in accordance with the panel's guidelines, and resubmit an amended plan within ten calendar days;
(9) A provision for a final date on which a decision must be made upon receipt of an amended plan; and
(10) A provision that no conversion charter school may begin operation before obtaining panel approval of its charter.
(d) An application to become a conversion charter school shall include a detailed implementation plan that meets the requirements of this subsection and section 302B-9. The plan shall include the following:
(1) A description of employee rights and management issues and a framework for addressing those issues that protects the rights of employees;
(2) A plan for identifying, recruiting, and retaining highly-qualified instructional faculty;
(3) A plan for identifying, recruiting, and selecting students that is not exclusive, elitist, or segregationist;
(4) The curriculum and instructional framework to be used to achieve student outcomes, including an assessment plan;
(5) A plan for the assessment of student, administrative support, and teaching personnel performance that:
(A) Recognizes the interests of the general public;
(B) Incorporates or exceeds the educational content and performance standards developed by the department for the public school system;
(C) Includes a system of faculty and staff accountability that holds faculty and staff both individually and collectively accountable for their performance, and that is at least equivalent to the average system of accountability in public schools throughout the State; and
(D) Provides for program audits and annual financial audits;
(6) A governance structure for the charter school that incorporates a conflict of interest policy and a plan for periodic training to carry out the duties of local school board members;
(7) A financial plan based on the most recent fiscal year's per-pupil charter school allocation that demonstrates the ability to meet the financial obligations of one-time, start-up costs and ongoing costs such as monthly payrolls, faculty recruitment, professional development, and facilities costs; and
(8) A facilities plan.
(e) A nonprofit organization may submit a letter of intent to the office to convert a department school to a conversion charter school, operate and manage the school, establish a local school board as its governing body, and develop a detailed implementation plan pursuant to subsection (d); provided that:
(1) As the governing body of the conversion charter school, the local school board shall be composed of the board of directors of the nonprofit organization and not representatives of the participant groups specified in section 302B-7. The nonprofit organization may also appoint advisory groups of community representatives for each school managed by the nonprofit organization; provided that these groups shall not have governing authority over the school and shall serve only in an advisory capacity to the nonprofit organization;
(2) The detailed implementation plan for each conversion charter school to be operated by the nonprofit organization shall be formulated, developed, and submitted by the nonprofit organization, and shall be approved by a majority of the votes cast by existing administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and parents of the students of the proposed conversion charter school;
(3) The board of directors of the nonprofit organization, as the governing body for the conversion charter school that it operates and manages, shall have the same protections that are afforded to the board in its role as the conversion charter school governing body;
(4) Any conversion charter school that is managed and operated by a nonprofit organization shall be eligible for the same federal and state funding as other public schools; provided that the nonprofit organization makes a minimum annual contribution of $1 per pupil toward the operation of a conversion charter school for every $4 per pupil allocated by the office for the operation of the conversion charter school; provided that in no event shall the nonprofit organization be required to contribute more than the total required contribution per pupil per year. As used in this section, "total required contribution" means:
(A) $1,500 for school years 2006-2007 through 2010-2011;
(B) $1,650 for school years 2011-2012 through 2015-2016; and
(C) $1,815 for school years 2016-2017 through 2020-2021; and
(5) If, at any time, the board of directors of the nonprofit organization governing the conversion charter school votes to discontinue its relationship with the charter school, the charter school may submit an application with a revised detailed implementation plan to the panel to continue as a conversion school without the participation of the nonprofit organization.
(f) Any nonprofit organization that seeks to manage or operate a conversion charter school as provided in subsection (e) shall comply with the following at the time of application:
(1) Have bylaws or policies that describe the manner in which business is conducted and policies that relate to the management of potential conflict of interest situations;
(2) Have experience in the management and operation of public or private schools or, to the extent necessary, agree to obtain appropriate services from another entity or entities possessing such experience;
(3) Comply with all applicable federal, state, and county laws, including licensure or accreditation, as applicable; and
(4) Comply with any other requirements prescribed by the department to ensure adherence with applicable federal, state, and county laws, and the purposes of this chapter.
(g) Any public school or schools, programs, or sections of existing public school populations that are part of a separate Hawaiian language immersion program using existing public school facilities may submit a letter of intent to the office to form a conversion charter school pursuant to this section.
(h) In the event of a conflict between the provisions in this section and other provisions in this chapter, this section shall control. [L 2006, c 298, pt of §2; am L 2007, c 115, §10]