Citations Affected: IC 20-5.5; IC 20-7.5; noncode.
Synopsis: Charter schools. Allows a sponsor to issue a charter to an
organizer to establish a charter school. Defines a "sponsor" as: (1) the
governing body of a school corporation; (2) a state higher education
institution; or (3) the mayor of Indianapolis or Ft. Wayne. Sets forth the
organization, powers, method of establishment, charter contents,
policies, oversight, and restrictions for charter schools. Provides that a
decision concerning the establishment of a charter school may not be
restrained by a collective bargaining agreement. Allows the employees
of a charter school to organize and collectively bargain. Requires 75%
of the teachers in a charter school to hold a license to teach in a public
school. Provides that if a school corporation eliminates a teaching
position in a noncharter school because of a charter school, the legal or
contractual provisions, if any, otherwise applicable to the teacher
whose contract is canceled, continue to apply to that teacher. Allows
the conversion of an existing public school to a charter school if at least
51% of the teachers and 51% of the parents approve of the conversion.
Provides that only the governing body of the school corporation in
which a conversion charter school is located may act as sponsor for the
school. Makes conforming amendments to related statutes.
Effective: Upon passage; July 1, 2001.
January 8, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
January 22, 2001, amended, reported favorably _ Do Pass.
January 29, 2001, read second time, amended, ordered engrossed.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
education and to make an appropriation.
SECTION 1. IC 20-5.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS
A NEW ARTICLE TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE UPON
PASSAGE]:
ARTICLE 5.5. CHARTER SCHOOLS
Chapter 1. Definitions
Sec. 1. The definitions in this chapter apply throughout this
article.
Sec. 2. "ADM" has the meaning set forth in IC 21-3-1.6-1.1.
Sec. 3. "At-risk index" has the meaning set forth in
IC 21-3-1.8-1.1.
Sec. 4. "Board" refers to the Indiana state board of education
established by IC 20-1-1-1.
Sec. 5. "Charter" means a contract between an organizer and
a sponsor for the establishment of a charter school.
Sec. 6. "Charter school" means a public elementary school or
secondary school established under this article that:
(1) is nonsectarian and nonreligious; and
(2) operates under a charter.
Sec. 7. "Department" refers to the department of education
established by IC 20-1-1.1-2.
Sec. 8. "Elementary school" has the meaning set forth in
IC 20-10.1-1-15.
Sec. 9. "Governing body" has the meaning set forth in
IC 20-10.1-1-5.
Sec. 10. "Organizer" means a group or an entity that enters into
a contract under this article to operate a charter school.
Sec. 11. "Parent" has the meaning set forth in IC 20-1-1.8-8.
Sec. 12. "Proposal" refers to a proposal from an organizer to
establish a charter school.
Sec. 13. "Public school" has the meaning set forth in
IC 20-10.1-1-2.
Sec. 14. "School corporation" has the meaning set forth in
IC 20-10.1-1-1.
Sec. 15. "Secondary school" means a high school (as defined in
IC 20-10.1-1-16).
Sec. 16. "Sponsor" means one (1) of the following:
(1) A governing body.
(2) A state educational institution (as defined in
IC 20-12-0.5-1).
(3) The executive (as defined in IC 36-1-2-5) of a consolidated
city.
(4) The executive (as defined in IC 36-1-2-5) of a municipality
having a population of more than one hundred fifty thousand
(150,000) but less than five hundred thousand (500,000).
Sec. 17. "Teacher" has the meaning set forth in IC 20-6.1-1-8.
Chapter 2. Description
Sec. 1. A charter school may be established under this article to
provide innovative and autonomous programs that do the
following:
(1) Serve the different learning styles and needs of public
school students.
(2) Offer public school students appropriate and innovative
choices.
(3) Afford varied opportunities for professional educators.
(4) Allow public schools freedom and flexibility in exchange
for exceptional levels of accountability.
(5) Provide parents, students, community members, and local
entities with an expanded opportunity for involvement in the
public school system.
Sec. 2. A charter school is subject to all federal and state laws
and constitutional provisions that prohibit discrimination on the
basis of the following:
(1) Disability.
(2) Race.
(3) Color.
(4) Gender.
(5) National origin.
(6) Religion.
(7) Ancestry.
Chapter 3. Establishment
Sec. 1. A sponsor may grant a charter to an organizer to operate
a charter school under this article.
Sec. 2. A sponsor may not grant a charter to a for-profit
organizer.
Sec. 3. An organizer shall submit to the sponsor a proposal to
establish a charter school. A proposal must contain at least the
following information:
(1) Identification of the organizer.
(2) A description of the organizer's organizational structure
and governance plan.
(3) The following information for the proposed charter
school:
(A) Name.
(B) Purposes.
(C) Governance structure.
(D) Management structure.
(E) Educational mission goals.
(F) Curriculum and instructional methods.
(G) Methods of pupil assessment.
(H) Admission policy and criteria, subject to IC 20-5.5-5.
(I) School calendar.
(J) Age or grade range of pupils to be enrolled.
(K) A description of staff responsibilities.
(L) A description and the address of the physical plant.
(M) Budget and financial plans.
(N) Personnel plan, including methods for selection,
retention, and compensation of employees.
(O) Transportation plan.
(P) Discipline program.
(Q) Plan for compliance with any applicable desegregation
order.
(R) The date when the charter school is expected to:
(i) begin school operations; and
(ii) have students in attendance at the charter school.
(S) The arrangement for providing teachers and other staff
with health insurance, retirement benefits, liability
insurance, and other benefits.
(4) The manner in which an annual audit of the program
operations of the charter school is to be conducted by the
sponsor.
Sec. 4. This section applies only to a sponsor that is the executive
of a consolidated city or a municipality having a population of
more than one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) but less than five
hundred thousand (500,000). Before issuing a charter, the sponsor
must receive the approval of a majority of the members of the
legislative body (as defined in IC 36-1-2-9) of the consolidated city
or municipality for the establishment of a charter school. The
sponsor may issue charters for charter schools in any school
corporation that is located within the consolidated city or
municipality.
Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), if a governing
body grants a charter to establish a charter school, the governing
body must provide a noncharter school that students of the same
ages or grade levels may attend.
(b) The department may waive the requirement that a
governing body provide a noncharter school under subsection (a)
upon the request of the governing body.
Sec. 6. The sponsor may revoke the charter of a charter school
that does not, by the date specified in the charter:
(1) begin school operations; and
(2) have students in attendance at the charter school.
Sec. 7. Before granting a charter under which more than fifty
percent (50%) of the students in the school corporation will attend
a charter school, a governing body must receive the approval of the
department.
Sec. 8. A sponsor must notify an organizer who submits a
proposal under section 3 of this chapter of:
(1) the acceptance of the proposal; or
(2) the rejection of the proposal;
not later than sixty (60) days after the organizer submits the
proposal.
Sec. 9. (a) A sponsor must notify the department of the
following:
(1) The receipt of a proposal.
(2) The acceptance of a proposal.
(3) The rejection of a proposal, including the reasons for the
rejection, the number of members of the governing body
favoring the proposal, and the number of members of the
governing body not favoring the proposal.
(b) The department shall annually do the following:
(1) Compile the information received under subsection (a)
into a report.
(2) Submit the report to the legislative council.
Sec. 10. If a sponsor rejects a charter school proposal, the
organizer may:
(1) amend the charter school proposal and resubmit the
proposal to the same sponsor; or
(2) submit a charter school proposal to another sponsor.
Sec. 11. A school that has qualified for a strategic and
continuous school improvement and achievement plan under
IC 20-1-1-6.3 may revise its qualification plan for submission
under this chapter as a charter school proposal.
Chapter 4. The Charter
Sec. 1. A charter must do the following:
(1) Be a written instrument.
(2) Be executed by a sponsor and an organizer.
(3) Confer certain rights, franchises, privileges, and
obligations on a charter school.
(4) Confirm the status of a charter school as a public school.
(5) Be granted for:
(A) not less than three (3) years; and
(B) a fixed number of years agreed to by the sponsor.
(6) Provide for:
(A) a review by the sponsor of the charter school's
performance, including the progress of the charter school
in achieving the academic goals set forth in the charter, at
least one (1) time in each five (5) year period while the
charter is in effect; and
(B) renewal, if the sponsor and the organizer agree to
renew the charter.
(7) Specify the grounds for the sponsor to:
(A) revoke the charter before the end of the term for which
the charter is granted; or
(B) not renew a charter.
(8) Set forth the methods by which the charter school is held
accountable for achieving the educational mission and goals
of the charter school, including the following:
(A) Evidence of improvement in assessment measures,
attendance rates, and graduation rates (if appropriate),
and increased numbers of academic honors diplomas.
(B) Evidence of progress toward reaching the educational
goals set by the organizer.
(9) Describe the method to be used to monitor the charter
school's:
(A) compliance with applicable law; and
(B) performance in meeting targeted educational
performance.
(10) Specify that the sponsor and the organizer may amend
the charter during the term of the charter by mutual consent,
and describe the process for amending the charter.
(11) Describe specific operating requirements, including all of
the matters set forth in the application for the charter.
(12) Specify a date when the charter school will:
(A) begin school operations; and
(B) have students in attendance at the charter school.
(13) Specify that records of a charter school relating to the
school's operation and charter are subject to inspection and
copying to the same extent that records of a public school are
subject to inspection and copying under IC 5-14-3.
(14) Specify that records provided by the charter school to the
department or sponsor that relate to compliance by the
operator with the terms of the charter or applicable state or
federal laws are subject to inspection and copying in
accordance with IC 5-14-3.
(15) Specify that the charter school is subject to the
requirements of IC 5-14-1.5.
Chapter 5. Student Admissions and Enrollment
Sec. 1. Except as provided in this chapter, a charter school must
be open to any student who resides in Indiana.
Sec. 2. Except as provided in this chapter, a charter school may
not establish admission policies or limit student admissions in any
manner in which a public school is not permitted to establish
admission policies or limit student admissions.
Sec. 3. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d), a
charter school must enroll any eligible student who submits a
timely application for enrollment.
(b) This subsection applies if the number of applications for a
program, class, grade level, or building exceeds the capacity of the
program, class, grade level, or building. If a charter school receives
a greater number of applications than there are spaces for
students, each timely applicant must be given an equal chance of
admission.
(c) A charter school may limit new admissions to the charter
school to:
(1) ensure that a student who attends the charter school
during a school year may continue to attend the charter
school in subsequent years; and
(2) allow the siblings of a student who attends a charter school
to attend the charter school.
(d) This subsection applies to an existing school that converts to
a charter school under IC 20-5.5-11. During the school year in
which the existing school converts to a charter school, the charter
school may limit admissions to:
(1) those students who were enrolled in the charter school on
the date of the conversion; and
(2) siblings of students described in subdivision (1).
Chapter 6. Employment
Sec. 1. Individuals who work at a charter school are employees
of the charter school or of an entity with which the charter school
has contracted to provide services, including instructional services.
Sec. 2. Individuals must choose to be teachers at a charter
school voluntarily, and a charter school shall voluntarily choose
such individuals to be its teachers.
Sec. 3. Employees of a charter school may organize and bargain
collectively under IC 20-7.5.
Sec. 4. The following apply to teachers in a charter school:
(1) A teacher must have a four (4) year college degree from an
accredited institution.
(2) At least seventy-five percent (75%) of the teachers in a
charter school must hold a license to teach in a public school.
(3) Not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of a charter
school's teaching staff may be individuals who:
(A) are not licensed to teach in a public school; and
(B) possess specific knowledge or skills that are critical to
the mission of the charter school.
(4) A charter school teacher described in subdivision (3) is
subject to:
(A) regular performance reviews; and
(B) professional development activities;
funding, must be deposited in any of the following funds:
(1) Capital projects fund.
(2) Debt service fund.
A sponsor shall distribute to a charter school a distributive share
of tax revenues, state distributions, and federal distributions
received by the sponsor for noncapital expenditures. The schedule
under which distributions are made under this subsection shall be
established in the charter.
(c) For money received by a sponsor on the basis of a formula
that utilizes a student count, including:
(1) average daily attendance;
(2) average daily membership;
(3) average daily membership as adjusted by an at-risk index
or other factors;
(4) additional pupil count;
(5) eligible pupils; or
(6) number of special education preschool children;
the sponsor shall determine the distributive share of a charter
school by calculating the amount of funding that would be
available under the formula if the student count of the charter
school rather than the total student count of the sponsor were used.
(d) This subsection does not apply to money received by a
sponsor to facilitate the sponsor's compliance with a desegregation
order issued by a court. For money:
(1) that is received by a sponsor for participation in a
program or delivery of services; and
(2) that is not reimbursed on the basis of a student count;
the sponsor shall reimburse the charter school for programs or
services provided using the program or service reimbursement rate
applicable to the program or services.
(e) The organizer shall provide the sponsor with the necessary
information for the sponsor to make distributions under this
section. The department may adopt guidelines for the
implementation of this section in order to assure equivalent
funding for students of charter schools and sponsors. If a charter
school is organized after the date set for the determination of a
student count used to make a distribution, the student count of the
charter school shall be determined under guidelines established by
the department.
Sec. 4. Not later than the date established by the department for
determining average daily membership under IC 21-3-1.6-1.1(d),
the organizer shall submit to the department the following
information to verify the accuracy of the information submitted:
(1) The number of students enrolled in the charter school.
(2) The name of each student and the school corporation in
which the student resides.
Sec. 5. (a) This subsection applies to a charter school that has a
sponsor that is a state educational institution. A state educational
institution that operates a charter school under this article without
an agreement with a school corporation or educational
organization shall receive the same amount of state financial
assistance that the largest school corporation in the county in
which the sponsor is located receives per pupil under IC 21-3,
except for transportation distributions under IC 21-3-3.1. A
student who attends full time a charter school to which this
subsection applies may not be counted in ADM or ADA by any
local school unit when the student's attendance is not regulated
under an agreement.
(b) This subsection applies to a charter school that has a sponsor
that is the executive of a consolidated city or a municipality having
a population of more than one hundred fifty thousand (150,000)
but less than five hundred thousand (500,000). The organizer of a
charter school to which this subsection applies is entitled to receive
transfer tuition under IC 20-8.1-6.1-8(b) for each student who
attends the charter school.
Sec. 6. (a) Services that a school corporation provides to a
charter school, including transportation, may be provided at not
more than one hundred three percent (103%) of the actual cost of
the services.
(b) This subsection applies to a sponsor that is a state
educational institution described in IC 20-5.5-1-15(2). A state
educational institution shall receive from the organizer of a charter
school sponsored by the state educational institution an
administrative fee equal to not more than three percent (3%) of the
total amount the organizer receives under section 3 of this chapter.
Sec. 7. An organizer may apply for and accept for a charter
school:
(1) independent financial grants; or
(2) funds from public or private sources other than the
department.
Sec. 8. With the approval of a majority of the members of the
governing body, a school corporation may distribute a
proportionate share of the school corporation's capital project
fund to a charter school.
subject matter.
Chapter 11. Conversion of Existing Schools Into Charter
Schools
Sec. 1. An existing public elementary or secondary school may
be converted into a charter school if the following conditions apply:
(1) At least fifty-one percent (51%) of the teachers at the
school have signed a petition requesting the conversion.
(2) At least fifty-one percent (51%) of the parents of students
at the school have signed a petition requesting the conversion.
Sec. 2. If the conditions of section 1 of this chapter are met, the
teachers and parents may appoint a committee to act as organizers
for the charter school.
Sec. 3. The organizers shall submit a proposal under IC 20-5.5-3
to the governing body of the school corporation in which an
existing elementary or secondary school is located to convert the
existing school into a charter school.
Sec. 4. Only the governing body of the school corporation in
which an existing public elementary or secondary school that seeks
conversion to a charter school is located may act as the sponsor of
the conversion charter school.
Sec. 5. An existing public school that is converted into a charter
school remains subject to an existing collective bargaining
agreement unless at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the certificated
staff of the school vote to remove the school from the collective
bargaining agreement.
SECTION 2. IC 20-7.5-1-2 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 2. As used in this
chapter:
(a) "School corporation" means any local public school corporation
established under Indiana law and, in the case of public vocational
schools or schools for children with disabilities established or
maintained by two (2) or more school corporations, shall refer to such
schools.
(b) "Governing body" shall mean: means:
(1) the board or commission charged by law with the
responsibility of administering the affairs of the school
corporation; or
(2) the body that administers a charter school established
under IC 20-5.5.
(c) "School employer" means:
(1) the governing body of each:
(A) school corporation; or
(B) charter school established under IC 20-5.5; and
(2) any person or persons authorized to act for the governing body
of the school employer in dealing with its employees.
(d) "Superintendent" shall mean:
(1) the chief administrative officer of any:
(A) school corporation; or
(B) charter school established under IC 20-5.5; or
(2) any person or persons designated by the officer or by the
governing body to act in the officer's behalf in dealing with school
employees.
(e) "School employee" means any full-time certificated person in the
employment of the school employer. A school employee shall be
considered full time even though the employee does not work during
school vacation periods, and accordingly works less than a full year.
There shall be excluded from the meaning of school employee
supervisors, confidential employees, employees performing security
work and noncertificated employees.
(f) "Certificated employee" means a person:
(1) whose contract with the school corporation requires that he
the person hold a license or permit from the state board of
education or a commission thereof as provided in IC 20-6.1; or
(2) employed as a teacher by a charter school established
under IC 20-5.5.
(g) "Noncertificated employee" means any school employee whose
employment is not dependent upon the holding of a license or permit
as provided in IC 20-6.1.
(h) "Supervisor" means any individual who has:
(1) authority, acting for the school corporation, to hire, transfer,
suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or
discipline school employees;
(2) responsibility to direct school employees and adjust their
grievances; or
(3) responsibility to effectively recommend the action described
in subsections subdivisions (1) through (2);
that is not of a merely routine or clerical nature but requires the use of
independent judgment. The term includes superintendents, assistant
superintendents, business managers and supervisors, directors with
school corporation-wide responsibilities, principals and vice principals,
and department heads who have responsibility for evaluating teachers.
(i) "Confidential employee" means a school employee whose
unrestricted access to confidential personnel files or whose functional
responsibilities or knowledge in connection with the issues involved in
dealings between the school corporation and its employees would make
the confidential employee's membership in a school employee
organization incompatible with the employee's official duties.
(j) "Employees performing security work" means any school
employee whose primary responsibility is the protection of personal
and real property owned or leased by the school corporation or who
performs police or quasi-police powers.
(k) "School employee organization" means any organization which
has school employees as members and one (1) of whose primary
purposes is representing school employees in dealing with their school
employer, and includes any person or persons authorized to act on
behalf of such organizations.
(l) "Exclusive representative" means the school employee
organization which has been certified for the purposes of this chapter
by the board or recognized by a school employer as the exclusive
representative of the employees in an appropriate unit as provided in
section 10 of this chapter, or the person or persons duly authorized to
act on behalf of such representative.
(m) "Board" means the Indiana education employment relations
board provided by this chapter.
(n) "Bargain collectively" means the performance of the mutual
obligation of the school employer and the exclusive representative to
meet at reasonable times to negotiate in good faith with respect to items
enumerated in section 4 of this chapter and to execute a written
contract incorporating any agreement relating to such matters. Such
obligation shall not include the final approval of any contract
concerning these or any other items. Agreements reached through
collective bargaining are binding as a contract only if ratified by the
governing body of the school corporation and the exclusive
representative. The obligation to bargain collectively does not require
the school employer or the exclusive representative to agree to a
proposal of the other or to make a concession to the other.
(o) "Discuss" means the performance of the mutual obligation of the
school corporation through its superintendent and the exclusive
representative to meet at reasonable times to discuss, to provide
meaningful input, or to exchange points of view, with respect to items
enumerated in section 5 of this chapter. This obligation shall not,
however, require either party to enter into a contract, to agree to a
proposal, or to require the making of a concession. A failure to reach
an agreement on any matter of discussion shall not require the use of
any part of the impasse procedure, as provided in section 13 of this
chapter. Neither the obligation to bargain collectively nor to discuss
any matter shall prevent any school employee from petitioning the
school employer, the governing body, or the superintendent for a
redress of the employee's grievances either individually or through the
exclusive representative, nor shall either such obligation prevent the
school employer or the superintendent from conferring with any
citizen, taxpayer, student, school employee, or other person considering
the operation of the schools and the school corporation.
(p) "Strike" means concerted failure to report for duty, willful
absence from one's position, stoppage of work, or abstinence in whole
or in part from the full, faithful, and proper performance of the duties
of employment, without the lawful approval of the school employer, or
in any concerted manner interfering with the operation of the school
employer for any purpose.
(q) "Deficit financing" with respect to any budget year shall mean
expenditures in excess of money legally available to the employer.
SECTION 3. [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2001] There is appropriated
to the department of education fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
from the state general fund in each state fiscal year of the biennium
beginning July 1, 2001, and ending June 30, 2003, for its use to
carry out its responsibilities under IC 20-5.5 and to provide
advisory assistance to school corporations and charter schools for
programs under IC 20-5.5.
SECTION 4. An emergency is declared for this act.