SB 645 Senate Bill - INTRODUCED

BILL NUMBER: SB 645	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Simitian

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 47607 of the Education Code, relating to
charter schools.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 645, as introduced, Simitian. Charter schools: charter renewal.

   The Charter Schools Act of 1992 (Charter Schools Act) specifies
the procedures for the submission, review, and approval or denial of
a petition to establish a charter school. The Charter Schools Act
limits the duration of charters to a period not to exceed 5 years and
authorizes the chartering authority to grant one or more subsequent
renewals for an additional period of 5 years. The Charter Schools Act
prescribes the requirements a charter school must meet in order to
have its charter renewed, including a requirement that a charter
school that has been in operation for 4 years satisfy at least one of
several specified criteria regarding academic performance.
   This bill would change the criteria a charter school is required
to meet in order to have its charter renewed. The bill would require
the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify the charter
schools that have not met the renewal criteria and notify the charter
school and its authorizer. The bill would prohibit the renewal of a
charter of a school that does not meet the criteria unless the State
Board of Education approves the renewal. The bill would authorize a
charter school that does not meet the renewal criteria but wants the
state board to consider approving the renewal of its charter to
submit to the Superintendent copies of supporting documentation and a
written summary of the basis for its request. The bill would require
the Superintendent to review the materials and recommend to the
state board whether it should approve or disapprove the charter
renewal.
   The bill would authorize the state board to replace or revise the
renewal criteria established by this bill if the new or revised
criteria aligns with metrics of pupil performance that recognize
individual pupil progress or changes in the state school
accountability program.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 47607 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   47607.  (a) (1) A charter may be granted pursuant to Sections
47605, 47605.5, and 47606 for a period not to exceed five years. A
charter granted by a school district governing board, a county board
of education or the state board, may be granted one or more
subsequent renewals by that entity. Each renewal shall be for a
period of five years. A material revision of the provisions of a
charter petition may be made only with the approval of the authority
that granted the charter. The authority that granted the charter may
inspect or observe any part of the charter school at any time.
   (2) Renewals and material revisions of charters are governed by
the standards and criteria in Section 47605, and shall include, but
not be limited to, a reasonably comprehensive description of any new
requirement of charter schools enacted into law after the charter was
originally granted or last renewed.  A renewal decision shall be
based primarily on an assessment of the actual academic and
operational performance of the charter school.  
   (b) Commencing on January 1, 2005, or after a charter school has
been in operation for four years, whichever date occurs later, a
charter school shall meet at least one of the following criteria
prior to receiving a charter renewal pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a):  
   (1) Attained its Academic Performance Index (API) growth target in
the prior year or in two of the last three years, or in the
aggregate for the prior three years.  
   (2) Ranked in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API in the prior
year or in two of the last three years.  
   (3) Ranked in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API for a
demographically comparable school in the prior year or in two of the
last three years.  
   (4) (A) The entity that granted the charter determines that the
academic performance of the charter school is at least equal to the
academic performance of the public schools that the charter school
pupils would otherwise have been required to attend, as well as the
academic performance of the schools in the school district in which
the charter school is located, taking into account the composition of
the pupil population that is served at the charter school. 

   (B) The determination made pursuant to this paragraph shall be
based upon all of the following:  
   (i) Documented and clear and convincing data.  
   (ii) Pupil achievement data from assessments, including, but not
limited to, the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program
established by Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) for
demographically similar pupil populations in the comparison schools.
 
   (iii) Information submitted by the charter school. 

   (C) A chartering authority shall submit to the Superintendent
copies of supporting documentation and a written summary of the basis
for any determination made pursuant to this paragraph. The
Superintendent shall review the materials and make recommendations to
the chartering authority based on that review. The review may be the
basis for a recommendation made pursuant to Section 47604.5.
 
   (D) A charter renewal may not be granted to a charter school prior
to 30 days after that charter school submits materials pursuant to
this paragraph.  
   (5) Has qualified for an alternative accountability system
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 52052.  
   (b) After a charter school has been in operation for four years,
it shall meet at least one of the following criteria before having
its charter renewed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or
complete the process described in subdivision (c):  
   (1) Attain an Academic Performance Index (API) score of at least
700 in the most recent year.  
   (2) Attain a cumulative API growth of at least 30 points over the
last three API cycles. For purposes of this paragraph, an API cycle
represents the difference between a current year growth API and the
prior year's base API.  
   (3) Rank in deciles 6 to 10, inclusive, on the API for a
demographically comparable school in the prior year or in two of the
last three years for which similar school ranks are available as of
October 1. A school that does not generate a similar school rank
shall be deemed not to have met this criterion.  
   (4) Qualify for an alternative accountability system pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 52052.  
   (c) (1) By October of each year, the Superintendent shall identify
the charter schools that have not met the criteria in subdivision
(b) and notify the charter school and its authorizer of that fact.
 
   (2)  If a charter is due to expire within the school year, or the
chartering authority is considering early renewal of the charter, the
chartering authority shall not renew a charter of a school that does
not meet the criteria in subdivision (b) unless the state board
approves of the renewal.  
   (3) If a charter school does not meet the criteria in subdivision
(b) and wants the state board to consider approving the renewal of
its charter, the charter school shall submit to the Superintendent,
by November 15, copies of supporting documentation and a written
summary of the basis for its request. The documentation may include
information on individual pupil achievement, additional analysis of
similar pupil populations, or other data.  
   (4) The Superintendent shall review the materials and recommend to
the state board whether it should approve or disapprove the charter
renewal.  
   (5) At the next meeting following receipt of the Superintendent's
recommendation, the state board may take action to approve renewal of
the charter if it finds that the materials provided by the charter
school warrants renewal. Unless the state board approves the charter
renewal, the chartering authority shall not renew the charter. 

   (d)  The state board may replace the criteria in subdivision (b)
or revise that criteria if the new or revised criteria aligns with
metrics of pupil performance that recognize individual pupil progress
or changes in the Public School Performance Accountability Program
(Article 2 (commencing with Section 52051) of Chapter 6.1 of Part
28).  
   (c) 
    (e)  A charter may be revoked by the authority that
granted the charter under this chapter if the authority finds,
through a showing of substantial evidence, that the charter school
did any of the following:
   (1) Committed a material violation of any of the conditions,
standards, or procedures set forth in the charter.
   (2) Failed to meet or pursue any of the pupil outcomes identified
in the charter.
   (3) Failed to meet generally accepted accounting principles, or
engaged in fiscal mismanagement.
   (4) Violated any provision of law. 
   (d) 
    (f)  Prior to revocation, the authority that granted the
charter shall notify the charter public school of any violation of
this section and give the school a reasonable opportunity to remedy
the violation, unless the authority determines, in writing, that the
violation constitutes a severe and imminent threat to the health or
safety of the pupils. 
   (e) 
    (g)  Prior to revoking a charter for failure to remedy a
violation pursuant to subdivision  (d)   (f)
 , and after expiration of the school's reasonable opportunity
to remedy without successfully remedying the violation, the
chartering authority shall provide a written notice of intent to
revoke and notice of facts in support of revocation to the charter
school. No later than 30 days after providing the notice of intent to
revoke a charter, the chartering authority shall hold a public
hearing, in the normal course of business, on the issue of whether
evidence exists to revoke the charter. No later than 30 days after
the public hearing, the chartering authority shall issue a final
decision to revoke or decline to revoke the charter, unless the
chartering authority and the charter school agree to extend the
issuance of the decision by an additional 30 days. The chartering
authority shall not revoke a charter, unless it makes written factual
findings supported by substantial evidence, specific to the charter
school, that support its findings. 
   (f) 
    (h)  (1) If a school district is the chartering
authority and it revokes a charter pursuant to this section, the
charter school may appeal the revocation to the county board of
education within 30 days following the final decision of the
chartering authority.
   (2) The county board may reverse the revocation decision if the
county board determines that the findings made by the chartering
authority under subdivision  (e)   (g)  are
not supported by substantial evidence. The school district may
appeal the reversal to the state board.
   (3) If the county board does not issue a decision on the appeal
within 90 days of receipt, or the county board upholds the
revocation, the charter school may appeal the revocation to the state
board.
   (4) The state board may reverse the revocation decision if the
state board determines that the findings made by the chartering
authority under subdivision  (e)   (g)  are
not supported by substantial evidence. The state board may uphold
the revocation decision of the school district if the state board
determines that the findings made by the chartering authority under
subdivision  (e)   (g)  are supported by
substantial evidence. 
   (g) 
    (`i)  (1) If a county office of education is the
chartering authority and the county board revokes a charter pursuant
to this section, the charter school may appeal the revocation to the
state board within 30 days following the decision of the chartering
authority.
   (2) The state board may reverse the revocation decision if the
state board determines that the findings made by the chartering
authority under subdivision  (e)   (g)  are
not supported by substantial evidence. 
   (h) 
    (j)  If the revocation decision of the chartering
authority is reversed on appeal, the agency that granted the charter
shall continue to be regarded as the chartering authority. 
   (i) 
    (k)  During the pendency of an appeal filed under this
section, a charter school, whose revocation proceedings are based on
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision  (c)   (e)
 , shall continue to qualify as a charter school for funding and
for all other purposes of this part, and may continue to hold all
existing grants, resources, and facilities, in order to ensure that
the education of pupils enrolled in the school is not disrupted.

   (j) 
    (l)  Immediately following the decision of a county
board to reverse a decision of a school district to revoke a charter,
the following shall apply:
   (1) The charter school shall qualify as a charter school for
funding and for all other purposes of this part.
   (2) The charter school may continue to hold all existing grants,
resources, and facilities.
   (3) Any funding, grants, resources, and facilities that had been
withheld from the charter school, or that the charter school had
otherwise been deprived of use, as a result of the revocation of the
charter shall be immediately reinstated or returned. 
   (k) 
   (m)  A final decision of a revocation or appeal of a
revocation pursuant to subdivision  (c)   (e)
 shall be reported to the chartering authority, the county
board, and the department.