§ 115C-238.29D. Final approval of applications for charter schools.
§ 115C‑238.29D. Finalapproval of applications for charter schools.
(a) The State Boardshall grant final approval of an application if it finds that the applicationmeets the requirements set out in this Part or adopted by the State Board ofEducation and that granting the application would achieve one or more of thepurposes set out in G.S. 115C‑238.29A. The State Board shall act by March15 of a calendar year on all applications and appeals it receives prior toFebruary 15 of that calendar year.
(b) The State Boardshall authorize no more than five charter schools per year in one local schooladministrative unit. The State Board shall authorize no more than 100 charterschools statewide. If more than five charter schools in one local schooladministrative unit or more than 100 schools statewide meet the standards forfinal approval, the State Board shall give priority to applications that aremost likely to further State education policies and to strengthen theeducational program offered in the local school administrative units in whichthey are located.
(c) The State Board ofEducation may authorize a school before the applicant has secured its space,equipment, facilities, and personnel if the applicant indicates the authorityis necessary for it to raise working capital. The State Board shall notallocate any funds to the school until the school has obtained space.
(d) The State Board ofEducation may grant the initial charter for a period not to exceed 10 years andmay renew the charter upon the request of the chartering entity for subsequentperiods not to exceed 10 years each. The State Board of Education shall reviewthe operations of each charter school at least once every five years to ensurethat the school is meeting the expected academic, financial, and governancestandards.
A material revision of theprovisions of a charter application shall be made only upon the approval of theState Board of Education.
It shall not be considered amaterial revision of a charter application and shall not require the priorapproval of the State Board for a charter school to increase its enrollmentduring the charter school's second year of operation and annually thereafter(i) by up to ten percent (10%) of the school's previous year's enrollment or(ii) in accordance with planned growth as authorized in the charter. Otherenrollment growth shall be considered a material revision of the charterapplication, and the State Board may approve such additional enrollment growthof greater than ten percent (10%) only if the State Board finds that:
(1) The actualenrollment of the charter school is within ten percent (10%) of its maximumauthorized enrollment;
(2) The charter schoolhas commitments for ninety percent (90%) of the requested maximum growth;
(3) The board of educationof the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is locatedhas had an opportunity to be heard by the State Board of Education on anyadverse impact the proposed growth would have on the unit's ability to providea sound basic education to its students;
(4) The charter schoolis not currently identified as low‑performing;
(5) The charter schoolmeets generally accepted standards of fiscal management; and
(6) It is otherwiseappropriate to approve the enrollment growth. (1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 731, s. 2; 1997‑430,s. 3; 2000‑67, s. 8.23; 2001‑424, s. 28.26; 2003‑354, s. 2;2004‑203, s. 45(a).)