256F.4 - GENERAL OPERATING REQUIREMENTS.
256F.4 GENERAL OPERATING REQUIREMENTS.
1. Within fifteen days after approval of a charter school
application submitted in accordance with section 256F.3, subsection
2, a school board shall report to the department the name of the
charter school applicant, the proposed charter school location, and
its projected enrollment.
2. Although a charter school may elect to comply with one or more
provisions of statute or administrative rule, a charter school is
exempt from all statutes and rules applicable to a school, a school
board, or a school district, except that the charter school shall do
all of the following:
a. Meet all applicable federal, state, and local health and
safety requirements and laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis
of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion, ancestry, or
disability. A charter school shall be subject to any court-ordered
desegregation plan in effect for the school district at the time the
school's charter application is approved.
b. Operate as a nonsectarian, nonreligious public school.
c. Be free of tuition and application fees to Iowa resident
students between the ages of five and twenty-one years.
d. Be subject to and comply with chapters 216 and 216A
relating to civil and human rights.
e. Provide special education services in accordance with
chapter 256B.
f. Be subject to the same financial audits, audit procedures,
and audit requirements as a school district. The audit shall be
consistent with the requirements of sections 11.6, 11.14, 11.19,
256.9, subsection 19, and section 279.29, except to the extent
deviations are necessary because of the program at the school. The
department, the auditor of state, or the legislative services agency
may conduct financial, program, or compliance audits.
g. Be subject to and comply with chapter 284 relating to the
student achievement and teacher quality program. A charter school
that complies with chapter 284 shall receive state moneys or be
eligible to receive state moneys as provided in chapter 284 as if it
did not operate under a charter.
h. Be subject to and comply with chapters 20 and 279 relating
to contracts with and discharge of teachers and administrators.
i. Be subject to and comply with the provisions of chapter
285 relating to the transportation of students.
j. Meetings of the advisory council are subject to the
provisions of chapters 21 and 22.
3. A charter school shall not discriminate in its student
admissions policies or practices on the basis of intellectual or
athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a
person with a disability. However, a charter school may limit
admission to students who are within a particular range of ages or
grade levels or on any other basis that would be legal if initiated
by a school district. Enrollment priority shall be given to the
siblings of students enrolled in a charter school.
4. A charter school shall enroll an eligible resident student who
submits a timely application unless the number of applications
exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building.
In this case, students must be accepted by lot. A charter school may
enroll an eligible nonresident student who submits a timely
application in accordance with the student admission policy
established pursuant to section 256F.5, subsection 1. If the charter
school enrolls an eligible nonresident student, the charter school
shall notify the school district and the sending district not later
than March 1 of the preceding school year. Transportation for the
student shall be in accordance with section 282.18, subsection 10.
The sending district shall make payments to the charter school in the
manner required under section 282.18, subsection 7.
5. A charter school shall provide instruction for at least the
number of days required by section 279.10, subsection 1, or shall
provide at least the equivalent number of total hours.
6. Notwithstanding subsection 2, a charter school shall meet the
requirements of section 256.7, subsection 21.
7. A charter school shall be considered a part of the school
district in which it is located for purposes of state school
foundation aid pursuant to chapter 257.
8. A charter school may enter into contracts in accordance with
chapter 26. Section History: Recent Form
2002 Acts, ch 1124, §4, 16; 2002 Acts, ch 1175, §81; 2003 Acts, ch
35, §46, 49; 2003 Acts, ch 79, §2, 7, 8; 2006 Acts, ch 1185, §127
Referred to in § 256F.3, 256F.5, 256F.10, 282.9