256F.3 - PILOT PROGRAM -- APPLICATION.
256F.3 PILOT PROGRAM -- APPLICATION.
1. The state board of education shall apply for a federal grant
under Pub. L. No. 107-110, cited as the federal No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (Title V, Part B, Subpart 1), for purposes of providing
financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial
implementation of public charter schools. The department shall
initiate a pilot program to test the effectiveness of charter schools
and shall implement the applicable provisions of this chapter.
2. To receive approval to establish a charter school in
accordance with this chapter, the principal, teachers, or parents or
guardians of students at an existing public school shall submit an
application to the school board to convert an existing attendance
center to a charter school. An attendance center shall not enter
into a charter school contract with a school district under this
chapter unless the attendance center is located within the school
district. The application shall demonstrate the support of at least
fifty percent of the teachers employed at the school on the date of
the submission of the application and fifty percent of the parents or
guardians voting whose children are enrolled at the school, provided
that a majority of the parents or guardians eligible to vote
participate in the ballot process, according to procedures
established by rules of the state board. A parent or guardian voting
in accordance with this subsection must be a resident of this state.
3. A school board shall receive and review all applications for
converting an existing building or creating a new building for a
charter school. Applications received on or before October 1 of a
calendar year shall be considered for charter schools to be
established at the beginning of the school district's next school
year or at a time agreed to by the applicant and the school board.
However, a school board may receive and consider applications after
October 1 at its discretion.
4. A school board shall by a majority vote approve or deny an
application no later than sixty calendar days after the application
is received. An application approved by a school board and
subsequently approved by the state board pursuant to subsection 6
shall constitute, at a minimum, an agreement between the school board
and the charter school for the operation of the charter school. A
school board that denies an application for a conversion to a charter
school shall provide notice of denial to the applicant in writing
within thirty days after board action. The notice shall specify the
exact reasons for denial and provide documentation supporting those
reasons.
5. An applicant may appeal school board denial of the applicant's
charter school application to the state board in accordance with the
procedures set forth in chapter 290. The state board shall affirm,
modify, or reverse the school board's decision on the basis of the
information provided in the application indicating the ability and
willingness of the proposed charter school to meet the requirements
of section 256F.1, subsection 3, and section 256F.4.
6. Upon approval of an application for the proposed establishment
of a charter school, the school board shall submit an application for
approval to establish the charter school to the state board in
accordance with section 256F.5. The application shall set forth the
manner in which the charter school will provide special instruction,
in accordance with section 280.4, to students who are limited English
proficient. The application shall set forth the manner in which the
charter school will comply with federal and state laws and
regulations relating to the federal National School Lunch Act and the
federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. § 1751--1785, and
chapter 283A. The state board shall approve only those applications
that meet the requirements specified in section 256F.1, subsection 3,
and sections 256F.4 and 256F.5. The state board may deny an
application if the state board deems that approval of the application
is not in the best interest of the affected students. The state
board shall approve not more than twenty charter school applications.
The state board shall approve not more than one charter school
application per school district. The state board shall adopt rules
in accordance with chapter 17A for the implementation of this
chapter.
7. If federal rules or regulations relating to the distribution
or utilization of federal funds allocated to the department pursuant
to this section are adopted that are inconsistent with the provisions
of this chapter, the state board shall adopt rules to comply with the
requirements of the federal rules or regulations. The state board
shall identify inconsistencies between federal and state rules and
regulations as provided in this subsection and shall submit
recommendations for legislative action to the chairpersons and
ranking members of the senate and house standing committees on
education at the next meeting of the general assembly. Section History: Recent Form
2002 Acts, ch 1124, §3, 16; 2003 Acts, ch 79, §1, 7, 8; 2006 Acts,
ch 1152, §7, 17
Referred to in § 256F.4