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COMMITTEE REPORT
May 6, 2008
H. 4980
Introduced by Reps. Herbkersman, Merrill, E.H. Pitts, Cato, Bedingfield, Haskins, Walker, D.C. Smith, J.R. Smith, Barfield, Crawford, Davenport, Lowe, Rice, Simrill, G.R. Smith, Young, Edge and Mulvaney
S. Printed 5/6/08--S.
Read the first time April 29, 2008.
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4980) to amend Section 59-40-110, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to the approval, renewal, revocation, and termination of charters, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:
JOHN E. COURSON for Committee.
EXPLANATION OF IMPACT:
The State Department of Education (SDE) estimates this bill will have no fiscal impact for that agency. There is no impact on federal and/or other funds.
Approved By:
Harry Bell
Office of State Budget
TO AMEND SECTION 59-40-110, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE APPROVAL, RENEWAL, REVOCATION, AND TERMINATION OF CHARTERS FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE CHARTER PERIOD FROM FIVE TO TEN YEARS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 59-40-110(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 274 of 2006, is further amended to read:
"(A) A charter must be approved or renewed for a period of five ten school years; however, the charter only may be revoked or not renewed under the provisions of subsection (C) of this section. The sponsor annually shall evaluate the conditions outlined in subsection (C). The annual evaluation results must be used in making a determination for nonrenewal or revocation."
SECTION 2. Section 59-40-115 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 274 of 2006, is amended to read:
"Section 59-40-115. A charter school may terminate its contract with a sponsor before the five-year ten-year term of contract if all parties under contract with the charter school agree to the dissolution. A charter school that terminates its contract with a sponsor directly may seek application for the length of time remaining on its original contract from another sponsor without review from the Charter School Advisory Committee."
SECTION 3. Section 59-40-70(A)(5) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 274 of 2006, is further amended to read:
"(5) An applicant shall submit the application to the advisory committee and one copy to the school board of trustees of the district from which it is seeking sponsorship. In the case of the South Carolina Public Charter School District, the applicant shall provide notice of the application to the local school board of trustees in which the charter school will be located for informational purposes only. The advisory committee shall receive input from the school district in which the applicant is seeking sponsorship and shall request clarifying information from the applicant. An applicant may submit an application to the advisory committee at any time during the fiscal year and the advisory committee, within sixty days, shall determine whether the application is in compliance. An application that is in compliance must be forwarded to the school district from which the applicant is seeking sponsorship with a letter stating the application is in compliance. The letter also shall include a recommendation from the Charter School Advisory Committee to approve or deny the charter. The letter must specify the reasons for its recommendation. This recommendation is nonbinding on the school board of trustees. If the application is in noncompliance, it must be returned to the applicant with deficiencies noted. The applicant may appeal the decision to the State Board of Education Administrative Law Court."
SECTION 4. Section 59-40-70(E) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 274 of 2006, is further amended to read:
"(E) If the school district board of trustees from which the applicant is seeking sponsorship denies a charter school application, the charter applicant may appeal the denial to the State Board of Education Administrative Law Court pursuant to Section 59-40-90."
SECTION 5. Section 59-40-70(G) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 274 of 2006, is further amended to read:
"(G) If a local school board of trustees has information that an approved application by the South Carolina Public Charter School District adversely affects the other students in its district, as defined in regulation, or that the approval of the application fails to meet the spirit and intent of this chapter, the local school board of trustees may appeal the granting of the charter to the State Board of Education Administrative Law Court. The state board Administrative Law Court, within forty-five days, may affirm or reverse the application for action by the South Carolina Public Charter School District in accordance with an order of the state board. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations outlining procedures for this type of appeal."
SECTION 6. Section 59-40-90 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 274 of 2006, is further amended to read:
"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 school board of trustees concerning charter schools in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(B) A charter applicant who wishes to appeal an adverse decision shall provide the State Board of Education and the school board of trustees issuing the decision with a notice of appeal within ten days of the board's decision.
(C) If the notice of appeal or the motion to review by the State Board of Education relates to a board's decision to deny, refuse to renew, or revoke a charter, the appeal and review process must be as contained in this section. Within forty-five 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 school board of trustees and make its findings known. The state board may affirm or reverse the application for action by the board in accordance with an order of the state board.
(D) A final decision of the state board school district may be appealed by any party to the Administrative Law Court as provided in Sections 1-23-380(B) and 1-23-600(D)."
SECTION 7. Section 59-40-110(H) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 274 of 2006, is further amended to read:
"(H) A decision to revoke or not to renew a charter school may be appealed to the state board Administrative Law Court pursuant to the provisions of Section 59-40-90."
SECTION 8. Section 59-40-180 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-40-180. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations and develop guidelines necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter, including standards which the Charter School Advisory Committee shall use to determine compliance with this chapter and an application process to include a timeline for submission of applications that will allow for final decisions, including state board Administrative Law Court appeal, by December first of the year preceding the charter school's opening."
SECTION 9. Section 59-40-50(B)(8) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(8) not limit or deny admission or show preference in admission decisions to any individual or group of individuals; provided, however, that a charter school may give enrollment priority to a sibling of a pupil already enrolled or previously enrolled, children of a charter school employee, and children of the charter committee, provided their if such priority enrollment does not constitute more than twenty percent of the enrollment of the charter school;"
SECTION 10. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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