§ 115C-238.29B. Eligible applicants; contents of applications; submission of applications for approval.
§ 115C‑238.29B. Eligible applicants; contents of applications; submission of applications forapproval.
(a) Any person, group of persons, or nonprofit corporationseeking to establish a charter school may apply to establish a charter school.If the applicant seeks to convert a public school to a charter school, theapplication shall include a statement signed by a majority of the teachers andinstructional support personnel currently employed at the school indicatingthat they favor the conversion and evidence that a significant number ofparents of children enrolled in the school favor conversion.
(b) The application shall contain at least the followinginformation:
(1) A description of a program that implements one or more ofthe purposes in G.S. 115C‑238.29A.
(2) A description of student achievement goals for the school'seducational program and the method of demonstrating that students have attainedthe skills and knowledge specified for those student achievement goals.
(3) The governance structure of the school including the namesof the proposed initial members of the board of directors of the nonprofit, tax‑exemptcorporation and the process to be followed by the school to ensure parentalinvolvement.
(3a) The local school administrative unit in which the school willbe located.
(4) Admission policies and procedures.
(5) A proposed budget for the school and evidence that thefinancial plan for the school is economically sound.
(6) Requirements and procedures for program and financialaudits.
(7) A description of how the school will comply with G.S. 115C‑238.29F.
(8) Types and amounts of insurance coverage, including bondinginsurance for the principal officers of the school, to be obtained by thecharter school.
(9) The term of the charter.
(10) The qualifications required for individuals employed by theschool.
(11) The procedures by which students can be excluded from thecharter school and returned to a public school. Notwithstanding any law to thecontrary, any local board may refuse to admit any student who is suspended orexpelled from a charter school due to actions that would lead to suspension orexpulsion from a public school under G.S. 115C‑391 until the period ofsuspension or expulsion has expired.
(12) The number of students to be served, which number shall be atleast 65, and the minimum number of teachers to be employed at the school,which number shall be at least three. However, the charter school may servefewer than 65 students or employ fewer than three teachers if the applicationcontains a compelling reason, such as the school would serve a geographicallyremote and small student population.
(13) Information regarding the facilities to be used by the schooland the manner in which administrative services of the school are to be provided.
(14) Repealed by Session Laws 1997‑430, s. 1.
(c) An applicant shall submit the application to a charteringentity for preliminary approval. A chartering entity may be:
(1) The local board of education of the local schooladministrative unit in which the charter school will be located;
(2) The board of trustees of a constituent institution of TheUniversity of North Carolina, so long as the constituent institution isinvolved in the planning, operation, or evaluation of the charter school; or
(3) The State Board of Education.
Regardless of which chartering entity receives the application forpreliminary approval, the State Board of Education shall have final approval ofthe charter school.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, if the State Boardof Education finds that an applicant (i) submitted an application to a localboard of education and received final approval from the State Board ofEducation, but (ii) is unable to find a suitable location within that localschool administrative unit to operate, the State Board of Education mayauthorize the charter school to operate within an adjacent local schooladministrative unit for one year only. The charter school cannot operate formore than one year unless it reapplies, in accordance with subdivision (1),(2), or (3) of this subsection, and receives final approval from the StateBoard of Education.
(d) Unless an applicant submits its application under subsection(c) of this section to the local board of education of the local schooladministrative unit in which the charter school will be located, the applicantshall submit a copy of its application to that local board within seven days ofits submission under subsection (c) of this section. The local board may offerany information or comment concerning the application it considers appropriateto the chartering entity. The local board shall deliver this information to thechartering entity no later than January 1 of the next calendar year. Theapplicant shall not be required to obtain or deliver this information to thechartering entity on behalf of the local board. The State Board shall considerany information or comment it receives from a local board and shall considerthe impact on the local school administrative unit's ability to provide a soundbasic education to its students when determining whether to grant preliminaryand final approval of the charter school. (1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 731, s. 2; 1997‑430, s. 1.)