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The following Bill was taken up.

H. 4443 -- Reps. Wright, Richardson, Cooper, Townsend, Allison, Littlejohn, Kelley and Jaskwhich: 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 SCHOOL ACT WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH A CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL BE FORMED, FUNDED, REGULATED, AND GOVERNED, AND TO ESTABLISH A CHARTER SCHOOLS REVIEW COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ACT.

The Education and Public Works Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\PFM\9110SD.96), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

/SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-40-10. This chapter is known and may be cited as the `South Carolina Charter Schools Act of 1996'.

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 parents and educators 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.

(A) improve student learning;

(B) increase learning opportunities for students;

(C) encourage the use of a variety of productive teaching methods;

(D) establish new forms of accountability for schools;

(E) create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site;

(F) assist South Carolina in reaching academic excellence; and

(G) empower parents to make choices for their children.

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 corporation forming a school which operates within a public school district, but is accountable to the local school board of trustees of that district, which grants its charter. Nothing herein prevents a charter school from contracting with a for-profit corporation to operate the school.

(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 district reporting requirements, 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;

(3) must be administered and governed by a governing body in a manner agreed to by the charter school applicant and the approving body, the governing body to be selected in the manner provided in Section 59-40-60(B)(10). Enrollment must be open to any child who resides within the school district;

(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 local school board of trustees established as provided by law, from which the charter school applicant requested its charter, and which granted approval for the charter school's existence.

(E) `Certified teacher' means a person certified by the State of South Carolina to teach in a public elementary or secondary school.

(F) `Charter committee' means the governing body of a charter school and also shall be the board of directors of the corporation which must be organized.

(G) `Department' means the State Department of Education.

(H) `Local school board of trustees' means the local school district board of trustees established as provided by law of the district in which the charter school is located and which is considered the sponsor of the charter school.

(I) `State board' means the State Board of Education.

(J) `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 chapter, 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, safety, and civil rights requirements as are applied to public schools operating in the same school district;

(2) meet but may exceed the same minimum student attendance requirements as are applied to public schools operating in the same district;

(3) adhere to the same financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements as are applied to public schools operating in the same school district;

(5) in its discretion hire noncertified teachers in a ratio of up to twenty-five 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;

(6) admit all children eligible to attend public school in a school district who are eligible to apply for admission to a charter school operating in that school district, subject to space limitations. If the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building, students therefor shall be accepted by lot and there is no appeal to the sponsor;

(7) 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, and children of a charter school employee;

(8) in its discretion, charge a student tuition up to an amount equal to the per student amount distributed to the charter school, if a charter school enrolls a student who resides in a school district other than the district in which the charter school is located;

(9) obtain prior parental written permission before a student may participate in an activity proscribed by state law;

(10) elect its governing body annually. All employees of the charter school and all parents or guardians of students enrolled in the charter school shall be eligible to participate in the election. Parents or guardians of a student shall have one vote for each student enrolled in the charter school. At all times, the governing body of the charter school shall include one or more teachers;

(11) be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, including the charter school and its governing body.

(C)(1) If a charter school denies admission to a student, the student may appeal the denial to the State Board of Education. The decision shall be binding on the student and the charter school.

(2) If a charter school suspends or expels a student, the sponsor or the local school district of the student's residence, if different from the

(3) The sponsor, or the local school district of the student's residence if different from the sponsor, shall have no obligation to provide extracurricular activities or access to facilities of the school district for students enrolled in the charter school.

Section 59-40-65. (A) All instructional materials, including teachers' manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material which shall be used in charter schools, in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any applicable program shall be available for inspection by the parents or guardians of the children.

(B) No student shall be required at a charter school, as part of any applicable program, to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning:

(1) political affiliations;

(2) mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student or his family;

(3) sex behavior and attitudes;

(4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, and demeaning behavior;

(5) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;

(6) legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; or

(7) income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program) without prior consent of the student if the student is an adult or emancipated minor, or in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent or guardian.

(C) The charter school shall give parents and students effective notice of their rights under this section.

(D) The State Superintendent of Education shall take such action as the superintendent determines appropriate to enforce this section, except that action to terminate assistance provided to a charter school by the State shall be taken only if the superintendent determines that:

(1) there has been a failure to comply with this section; and

(2) compliance with this section cannot be secured by voluntary means.

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.

(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 (F), 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 the local school board of trustees for the school district in which the charter school will be located.

(E) A charter committee shall be responsible for and have the power to:

(1) submit an application to operate as a charter school, sign a charter school contract, and ensure compliance with all of the requirements for charter schools provided by law;

(2) employ and contract with teachers and nonteaching employees, contract for other services, and develop pay scales, performance criteria and discharge policies for its employees. All teachers whether certified or noncertified must undergo the background checks and other investigations required for certified teachers as provided by law before they may teach in the charter school; and

(3) decide all other matters related to the operation of the charter school, including budgeting, curriculum, and operating procedures.

(F) 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, and a description of the charter schools admission policies and procedures;

(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

(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 in addition to state assessments, 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;

(13) a description of a reasonable grievance and termination procedure as required by this chapter, including notice and a hearing before the governing body of the charter school. The application shall state whether or not the provisions of Article 5, Chapter 25 of Title 59 will apply to the employment and dismissal of teachers at the charter school;

(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 or fails to meet the spirit and intent of this chapter, it immediately shall request the necessary information from the charter applicant.

(B) After giving reasonable public 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 ninety days after receiving the application. If there is no ruling within ninety days, the application is considered approved.

(C) A local school board of trustees shall only deny an application if the application does not meet the requirements specified in Section 59-40-60 or 59-40-70 or fails to meet the spirit and intent of this chapter. It shall provide, within ten 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 local school board of trustees 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 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 local school board of trustees concerning charter schools in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(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. The state board may affirm, reverse, or remand the application for action by the local board in accordance with an order of the state board. If the state board remands the application, it shall do so 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. No further administrative appeal may be taken from this decision. However, any final decision of the local School Board of Trustees after remand from the State Board or a final decision of the state board may be appealed by any party to the circuit court for the county in which the proposed charter school is or was to have located.

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 and two-thirds of all parents or legal guardians of students enrolled in the school agree to the filing of an application with the local school board of trustees 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 local school board of trustees 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

(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.

(E) Teachers and other employees of a converted school who desire to teach or work at the converted school may do so but shall remain employees of the local school district with the same compensation and benefits including any future increases therein. The converted charter school annually shall reimburse the local school district for the compensation and employer contribution benefits paid to or on behalf of these teachers and employees.

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;

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