H 3388 Session 111 (1995-1996)
H 3388 General Bill, By Richardson, R.J. Herdklotz, M.F. Jaskwhich, T.F. Rogers,
Stille, Stuart, D.C. Waldrop and D.A. Wright
A Bill to amend Title 59, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
education, by adding Chapter 40 so as to enact the "South Carolina Charter
Schools Act of 1995" including provisions which provide for the manner in
which charter schools are established, funded, and operated.
01/25/95 House Introduced and read first time HJ-22
01/25/95 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-22
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING
CHAPTER 40 SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH
CAROLINA CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT OF 1995"
INCLUDING PROVISIONS WHICH PROVIDE FOR THE
MANNER IN WHICH CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE
ESTABLISHED, FUNDED, AND OPERATED.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 40
Charter Schools
Section 59-40-10. This chapter is known and may be cited as
the `South Carolina Charter Schools Act of 1995'.
Section 59-40-20. The General Assembly finds:
(A) It is the obligation of all South Carolinians to provide all
children with schools that reflect high expectations and create
conditions in all schools where these expectations can be met. (B) Education reform is in the best interests of the State in order to
strengthen the performance of elementary and secondary public
school pupils, that the best education decisions are made by those
who know the students best and who are responsible for
implementing the decisions and therefore, that educators and parents
have a right and a responsibility to participate in the education
institutions which serve them.
(C) Different pupils learn differently and public school programs
should be designed to fit the needs of individual pupils, both those
who are particularly talented and those who are `at risk'. There are
educators, citizens, and parents in South Carolina who are willing
and able to offer innovative programs, educational techniques, and
environments but who lack a channel through which they can direct
their efforts.
Section 59-40-30. This chapter is enacted to:
(A) enhance learning opportunities in school communities across
the State by ensuring schools have rigorous standards for pupil
commitment to performance;
(B) encourage diverse approaches to learning and education and
the use of innovative, appropriate teaching methods;
(C) create the flexibility to develop innovative and new
appropriate forms of measuring pupil learning and achievement;
(D) create new professional opportunities for teachers, including
the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the
school site;
(E) provide parents and pupils with expanded choices in the
types of education opportunities that are available within the public
school system;
(F) encourage parental and community involvement with public
schools, and to encourage public schools to interact more
constructively with their parents and community;
(G) establish new forms of accountability for students, parents,
teachers, and schools which together enhance a demand for quality
education and continuous improvement in their results.
Section 59-40-40. In authorizing charter schools, it is the intent
of the General Assembly to create a legitimate avenue for parents,
teachers, and community members to take responsible risks and
create new, innovative, and more flexible ways of educating all
children within the public school system. The General Assembly
seeks to create an atmosphere in South Carolina's public school
systems where research and development in producing different
learning opportunities is actively pursued and where classroom
teachers are given the flexibility to innovate and the responsibility
to be accountable. As such, the provisions of this chapter should be
interpreted liberally to support the findings and goals of this chapter
and to advance a renewed commitment by the State of South
Carolina to the mission, goals, and diversity of public education.
Section 59-40-50. As used in this chapter:
(A) A `charter school' means a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, nonhome-based, nonprofit school which operates
within a public school district, but is accountable to either the South
Carolina Board of Education, or the local school board of trustees
of that district, whichever grants its charter.
(B) A charter school:
(1) is considered a public school and part of the school
district in which it is located for the purposes of state law and the
state constitution;
(2) is subject to all federal and state laws and constitutional
provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race,
creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, or need for
special education services. Enrollment must be open to any child
who resides within the school district;
(3) must be administered and governed by a governing body
in a manner agreed to by the charter school applicant and the
approving body;
(4) shall not charge tuition.
(C) `Applicant' means the person who desires to form a charter
school and files the necessary application therefor with the
approving body. The applicant also must be the person who applies
to the Secretary of State to organize the charter school as a
nonprofit corporation.
(D) `Approving body' means the governing body, either the
local school board of trustees or the State Board of Education, from
which the charter school applicant requested its charter, and which
granted approval for the charter school's existence.
(E) `At risk' means a student who, because of physical,
emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely to
succeed in a conventional educational environment.
(F) `Certified teacher' means a person certified by the State of
South Carolina to teach in a public elementary or secondary school.
(G) `Charter committee' means the governing body of a charter
school and also shall be the board of directors of the nonprofit
corporation which must be organized.
(H) `Department' means the State Department of Education.
(I) `Local school board of trustees' means the local school
district board of trustees of the district in which the charter school
is located.
(J) `State board' means the State Board of Education.
(K) `Teacher' means a person granted a certificate by the State
of South Carolina as provided by law to teach in a public
elementary or secondary school, or an individual considered
appropriately qualified for the subject matter taught, and who has
been approved by the charter committee of the school.
Section 59-40-60. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
section and Section 59-40-70 or 59-40-140, a charter school is
exempt from all provisions of laws and regulations applicable to a
public school, a school board, or a district, although a charter
school may elect to comply with one or more of these provisions of
law or regulations.
(B) A charter school shall:
(1) adhere to the same health and safety requirements as are
applied to public schools operating in the same school district;
(2) adhere to the same financial audits, audit procedures, and
audit requirements as are applied to public schools operating in the
same school district;
(3) be considered a school district for purposes of tort
liability. Employees of charter schools shall be relieved of personal
liability for any tort or contract related to their school to the same
extent that employees of traditional public schools in their school
district are relieved;
(4) not hire noncertified teachers in a ratio which is higher
than twenty percent of its entire teacher staff. Part-time
noncertified teachers shall be considered pro rata in calculating this
percentage based on the hours which they are expected to teach.
All noncertified teachers shall teach under the supervision of a
certified teacher or administrator;
(5) except for a foreign exchange student who is not a United
States citizen, not enroll a pupil who is not a resident of this State.
Enrollment shall be open to all pupils who reside in the school
district in which the school exists. If there are more applications to
enroll in the charter school than there are spaces available, pupils
shall be selected using a random selection process. However, a
charter school may give enrollment priority to a sibling of a pupil
already enrolled. A charter school may give enrollment priority to
any pupil who was previously enrolled as a pupil at the school,
unless the appropriate grade or curriculum is not offered.
Section 59-40-70. (A) An approved charter application
constitutes an agreement, and the terms shall be the terms of a
contract between the charter school and the approving body.
(B) The contract between the charter school and the approving
body shall reflect all agreements regarding the release of the charter
school from local school district policies or state regulations.
(C) A material revision of the terms of the contract between the
charter school and the approving board may be made only with the
approval of both parties.
(D) Except as provided in subsection (E), an applicant who
wishes to form a charter school shall:
(1) organize the charter school as a nonprofit corporation
under the laws of this State;
(2) elect a charter committee for the charter school;
(3) submit a written charter school application to either the
State Board of Education or the local school board of trustees for
the school district in which the charter school will be located.
(E) The charter school application shall be a proposed
agreement and shall include:
(1) the mission statement of the charter school, which must
be consistent with the principles of the General Assembly's
purposes as set forth in Section 59-40-30;
(2) the goals, objectives, and pupil achievement standards to
be achieved by the charter school;
(3) evidence that an adequate number of parents, teachers,
pupils, or any combination thereof support the formation of a
charter school;
(4) a description of the charter school's educational program,
pupil achievement standards, and curriculum, which must meet or
exceed any content standards adopted by the school district in
which the charter school is located and must be designed to enable
each pupil to achieve these standards;
(5) a description of the charter school's plan for evaluating
pupil achievement, the types of assessments that shall be used to
measure pupil progress towards accomplishment of the school's
pupil achievement standards, the timeline for achievement of these
standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action in the
event that pupil achievement at the charter school falls below the
standards;
(6) a description of the charter school's plan for evaluating
teacher performance, the types of assessments that shall be used to
measure teacher progress towards achievement of the school's
teacher performance standards, the timeline for achievement of
these standards, and the procedure for taking corrective action in the
event that teacher performance at the charter school falls below the
standards;
(7) evidence that the plan for the charter school is
economically sound, a proposed budget for the term of the charter,
a description of the manner in which an annual audit of the
financial and administrative operations of the charter school,
including any services provided by the school district, is to be
conducted;
(8) a description of the governance and operation of the
charter school, including the nature and extent of parental,
professional educator, and community involvement in the
governance and operation of the charter school, as well as a
description of the admissions policies;
(9) an explanation of the relationship that shall exist between
the proposed charter school and its employees, including evidence
that the terms and conditions of employment have been addressed
with affected employees;
(10) an agreement between the parties regarding their
respective legal liability and applicable insurance coverage;
(11) a description of how the charter school plans to meet the
transportation needs of its pupils;
(12) a description of the planned facilities of the charter school
and how such facilities shall be obtained.
(F) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a
charter school in a school district which is comprised of only one
school or type of school, be it elementary or secondary.
Section 59-40-80. (A) The approving body may establish a
schedule for receiving applications from charter schools and shall
make a copy of any schedule available to all interested parties upon
request. If the approving body finds the charter school application
is incomplete, it immediately shall request the necessary information
from the charter applicant.
(B) After giving reasonable pubic notice, the approving body
shall hold community meetings in the affected areas or the entire
school district to obtain information to assist it in their decision to
grant a charter school application. The approving body shall rule
on the application for a charter school in a public hearing, upon
reasonable public notice, within sixty days after receiving the
application. If there is no ruling within sixty days, the application
is considered approved.
(C) If the approving body is a local school board of trustees, it
shall only deny an application if the application does not meet the
requirements specified in Section 59-40-60 or 59-40-70. It shall
provide, within five days, a written explanation of the reasons for
denial, citing specific provisions of Section 59-40-60 or 59-40-70
that the application violates. This written explanation immediately
shall be sent to the charter committee and filed with the State Board
of Education.
(D) If the approving body is a local school board of trustees,
and it denies a charter school application, the charter applicant may
appeal the denial to the State Board of Education pursuant to
Section 59-40-90 or may amend its application to conform with the
reasons for denial and reapply to the approving body, which has
thirty days to approve or deny the application.
(E) If the approving body is a local school board of trustees and
approves the application, it becomes the charter school's sponsor
and shall sign the charter application with the charter committee of
the charter school. A copy of the charter shall be filed with the
State Board of Education.
Section 59-40-90 (A) The State Board of Education, upon
receipt of a notice of appeal or upon its own motion, shall review a
decision of any approving body which is a local school board of
trustees concerning charter schools in accordance with the
provisions of this section.
(B) A charter applicant or any other person who wishes to
appeal an adverse decision shall provide the State Board of
Education and the local school board of trustees with a notice of
appeal within thirty days of the local board's decision.
(C) If the notice of appeal or the motion to review by the State
Board of Education relates to a local board's decision to deny,
refuse to renew, or revoke a charter, the appeal and review process
shall be:
(1) within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal or
the making of a motion to review by the State Board of Education
and after reasonable public notice, the State Board of Education, at
a public hearing which may be held in the district where the
proposed charter school is located, shall review the decision of the
local school board of trustees and make its findings known. If the
State Board of Education finds that the local school board's
decision was contrary to this chapter, it shall remand the decision to
the local board of trustees with written instructions for
reconsideration. These instructions shall include specific
recommendations concerning the matters requiring reconsideration;
(2) within thirty days following the remand of a decision to
the local board of trustees and with reasonable public notice, the
local school board of trustees, at a public hearing, shall reconsider
its decision and make a final decision;
(3) if the local school board of trustees' final decision is still
to deny, refuse to renew, or revoke a charter, a second notice of
appeal may be filed with the State Board of Education within thirty
days following this final decision;
(4) within thirty days following receipt of the second notice
of appeal or the making of a motion for a second review by the
State Board of Education, and after reasonable public notice, at a
public hearing it shall determine whether the final decision of the
local school board of trustees was contrary to this chapter. If such
a finding is made, the State Board of Education shall remand the
final decision to the local board with instructions to approve or
renew the charter application. The decision of the State Board of
Education shall be final and not subject to appeal or review by the
courts.
Section 59-40-100. (A) An existing public school may be
converted into a charter school if two-thirds of the faculty and
instructional staff employed at the school, two-thirds of all parents
or legal guardians of students enrolled in the school, and a majority
of the members of the school board for the district in which the
school is located agree to the filing of an application with the State
Board of Education for the conversion and formation of that school
into a charter school. The application shall be submitted by the
principal of that school or his designee who shall be deemed the
applicant. The application shall include all information required of
other applications under this chapter. The State Board of Education
shall approve or disapprove this application in the same manner it
approves or disapproves other applications.
(B) If the application for a conversion of an existing public
school identifies existing school facilities to be occupied by the
charter school, the school district in which the charter school is
located shall allow the charter school to convert those school
facilities to the use of the charter school, as specified in the
application. The school district and the charter school shall enter
into a lease agreement charging a reasonable rent for the facilities.
If the parties cannot agree to reasonable rent within ninety days
after all required votes for conversion have been conducted and the
application filed, each party shall choose an appraiser, who together
shall choose a third appraiser, and the appraisers shall determine a
reasonable rent by majority vote. The determination of the
appraisers is final and binding on the parties. Each party shall bear
its own costs for this process. The lease agreement shall specify the
party that has financial liability for all utilities, maintenance,
improvements, and other costs for the facilities occupied by the
charter school.
(C) A converted charter school and the school district shall enter
into a contract or cooperative arrangement concerning reasonable
general liability insurance for the charter school.
(D) A converted charter school shall offer at least the same
grades, or nongraded education appropriate for the same ages and
education levels of pupils, as offered by the school immediately
before conversion, and also may provide additional grades and
further educational offerings.
Section 59-40-110. (A) A charter may be approved or renewed
for a period not to exceed three school years.
(B) A charter renewal application shall be submitted to the
school's original approving body, and it shall contain:
(1) a report on the progress of the charter school in achieving
the goals, objectives, pupil achievement standards, content
standards, and other terms of the initial approved charter
application; and
(2) a financial statement that discloses the costs of
administration, instruction, and other spending categories for the
charter school that is understandable to the general public and that
will allow comparison of these costs to other schools or other
comparable organizations, in a format required by the State Board
of Education.
(C) A charter may be revoked or not renewed by the original
approving body if it determines that the charter school:
(1) committed a material violation of the conditions,
standards, or procedures set forth in the charter application;
(2) failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
achievement of the content standards or pupil achievement standards
identified in the charter application;
(3) failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal
management; or
(4) violated any provision of law from which the charter
school was not specifically exempted.
(D) In addition, a charter may not be renewed upon a
determination by the original approving body that it is demonstrably
not in the interest of the pupils residing within the school district to
continue the operation of the charter school.
(E) A decision to revoke or not to renew a charter if made by
the local school board of trustees may be appealed pursuant to the
provisions of Section 59-40-90.
Section 59-40-120. Upon dissolution of a charter school, its
assets may not inure to the benefit of any private person and must
be distributed in the manner required by the South Carolina
Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1994.
Section 59-40-130. (A) Teachers at public schools within the
district where the charter school is located may be employed by the
charter school, and upon the teacher's request must be granted a
one-year leave of absence by the school district to teach at the
charter school. During the first year that a teacher employed by a
school district is employed by a charter school, this teacher shall be
considered to be on a one-year leave of absence from the school
district. This leave of absence commences on the first day of
services for the charter school. Upon the request of the teacher, the
one-year leave of absence shall be renewed for not more than two
additional one-year periods upon the mutual agreement of the
teacher and the school district. At the end of three years, the
relationship between the teacher and the school district shall be
determined by the school district and the district shall provide
notice to the teacher of the relationship.
(B) During a leave of absence, the teacher's seniority and
vesting rights shall continue to accrue, and the teacher's insurance,
retirement, and other fringe benefits shall continue in effect so long
as the charter school and the teacher reimburse the local school
board of trustees for the required employee and employer
contributions. Employment at a charter school counts as creditable
service under the state retirement system and as creditable state
service for other applicable provisions of law.
(C) The local school board of trustees shall determine by policy
the employment status of school district employees employed by the
charter school who seek to return to employment with public
schools in the school district. At the very least, the employment
status of any returning employees shall be equal to the status which
existed when the leave of absence was taken, and employees who
take a leave of absence to work with a charter school must be
offered reemployment by the district at a compensation level and
with a job description at least equal to what they had before their
leave of absence with the charter school.
Section 59-40-140. (A) Pupils enrolled in a charter school shall
be included in the pupil enrollment of the district within which the
pupil resides. The school district of residence shall report to the
State Department of Education the number of pupils included in
that school district's pupil enrollment that are actually enrolled in
each charter school.
(B) Each student in the district shall be credited with an equal
amount of funding for his or her education, subject to appropriate
student-based cost formulas. Like students shall be funded
identically regardless whether they attend a charter school or a
traditional public school in the same district. This funding shall be
calculated based on the total state and local funding which is
available to the district, including all administrative, transportation,
and other types of funding allocations. The State Department of
Education shall determine the amount of state funds to which the
charter school is entitled and shall direct the appropriate state
officials to transmit these funds to the charter school and these
officials shall comply with this directive. The treasurer of the
county in which the charter school is located shall determine the
amount of local funds to which the charter school is entitled and
shall transmit these funds to the charter school. Charter schools
which self-administer shall make no contribution to a district's
administrative expenditures. Charter schools which self-transport
shall receive state funds which are equivalent to the per-student
funding for transportation which is spent by the State Department of
Education in the local school district.
(C) Notwithstanding subsection (B), the proportionate share of
state and federal resources generated by students with disabilities or
staff serving them shall be directed to charter schools enrolling
these students with disabilities or staff serving them shall be
directed to charter schools enrolling the students by their school
districts. The proportionate share of funds generated under other
federal or state categorical aid programs shall be directed to charter
schools serving students eligible for the aid.
(D) No charter school is required to issue a contract to a person
or entity. All charter school contracts shall be issued on a
competitive basis taking into consideration the resources available
for the proposed school, the population to be served, and the
educational goals to be obtained.
(E) All services centrally or otherwise provided by the school
district, if any, including, but not limited to, food services, custodial
services, maintenance, curriculum, media services, libraries, and
warehousing are subject to negotiation between a charter school and
the school district.
(F) All awards, grants, or gifts collected by a charter school
shall be retained by the charter school.
(G) The governing body of a charter school is authorized to
accept gifts, donations, or grants of any kind made to the charter
school and to expend or use the gifts, donations, or grants in
accordance with the conditions prescribed by the donor. However,
no gift, donation, or grant may be accepted by the governing board
if subject to any condition contrary to law or contrary to the terms
of the contract between the charter school and the governing body.
(H) The State Board of Education shall prepare an annual report
and evaluation for the Governor and the General Assembly on the
performance of charter schools, their relationship to other school
reform efforts, and suggested changes in state law necessary to
strengthen or change the charter school program.
(I) The approving body shall provide technical assistance to
persons and groups preparing or revising charter applications at no
expense.
(J) Charter schools may acquire by gift, devise, purchase, lease,
sublease, installment purchase agreement, land contract, option, or
by any other means, hold and own in its own name buildings or
other property for school purposes, and interests in it which is
necessary or convenient to fulfill its purposes.
(K) Charter schools are exempt from all state and local taxation
on their earnings and property. Instruments of conveyance to or
from a charter school are exempt from all types of taxation of local
or state taxes and transfer fees.
Section 59-40-150. (A) The State Board of Education shall
compile evaluations of charter schools received from local school
boards of trustees. They shall review information regarding the
regulations and policies from which charter schools were released to
determine if the releases assisted or impeded the charter schools in
meeting their stated goals and objectives.
(B) The State Board of Education shall issue a report to the
General Assembly on its findings no later than July 1, 1998.
(C) In preparing the report required by this section, the State
Board of Education shall compare the performance of charter school
pupils with the performance of ethnically and economically
comparable groups of pupils in other public schools who are
enrolled in academically comparable courses.
Section 59-40-160. (A) The charter schools stimulus fund is
established as a separate fund within the state general fund for the
purpose of providing financial support to charter school applicants
and charter schools for start-up costs and costs associated with
renovating or remodeling existing buildings and structures. The
fund may consist of grants, gifts, devises, and donations from any
public or private source or monies that may be appropriated by the
General Assembly for this purpose. The State Treasurer shall invest
the funds in the fund in the same manner of other funds under his
control are invested. The State Department of Education shall
administer and authorize any disbursements from the fund.
(B) The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations
to implement the provisions of this section, including application
and notification requirements. If sufficient funds are appropriated
or available for this purpose, funds from the charter schools'
stimulus fund may be distributed to qualifying charter school
applicants and charter schools in the following manner.
(1) Each qualifying charter school applicant or charter school
may be awarded an initial grant not exceeding one hundred
thousand dollars during or before the first year of the charter
school's operation. If an applicant for a charter school receives an
initial grant pursuant to this item and fails to begin operating a
charter school within the next twelve months, the applicant shall
reimburse the Department of Education for the amount of the initial
grant plus interest calculated at a rate of ten percent per annum.
(2) Applicants for charter schools and charter schools that
received initial grants pursuant to item (1) may apply to the State
Department of Education for an additional grant not exceeding one
hundred thousand dollars. If an applicant for a charter school
receives an additional grant pursuant to this item and fails to begin
operating a charter school within the next twelve months, the
applicant shall reimburse the Department of Education for the
amount of the additional grant plus interest calculated at a rate of
ten percent per annum. A reimbursement required by this item is in
addition to any reimbursement required by item (1).
(C) Funds in the charter schools stimulus fund and the earnings
thereon shall be carried forward from fiscal year to fiscal year and
are not subject to any provisions of law relating to lapsed funds or
appropriations.
Section 59-40-170. The State Department of Education, in
conjunction with the Budget and Control Board, shall publish
annually a list of vacant and unused buildings and vacant and
unused portions of buildings that are owned by this State or by
school districts in this State and that may be suitable for the
operation of a charter school. The State Department of Education
shall make the list available to applicants for charter schools and to
existing charter schools. The list shall include the address of each
building, a short description of the building, and the name of the
owner of the building. Nothing in this section requires the owner
of a building on the list to sell or lease the building or a portion of
the building to a charter school or to any other school or to any
other prospective buyer or tenant.
Section 59-40-180. The State Board of Education may
promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of
this chapter."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 1995.
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