BILL NUMBER: AB 2240 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Grove
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 47607 of the Education Code, relating to
charter schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2240, as introduced, Grove. Charter schools.
The Charter Schools Act of 1992 specifies the procedures for the
submission, review, and approval or denial of a petition to establish
a standard or countywide charter school, and authorizes a charter to
be granted for a period not to exceed 5 years. The act also
authorizes the chartering authority of a charter school to grant one
or more subsequent renewals for 5-year periods if the charter school
meets specified requirements.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions,
including, among others, updating cross-references.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
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 the governing board of 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 chartering 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.
(3) (A) The chartering authority that granted
the charter shall consider increases in pupil academic
achievement for all groups of pupils served by the charter school as
the most important factor in determining whether to grant a charter
renewal.
(B) For purposes of this section, "all groups of pupils served by
the charter school" means a numerically significant pupil subgroup,
as defined by paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 52052,
served by 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
before 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 both schoolwide and
for all groups of pupils served by the charter school.
(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
chartering authority 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
Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress
program established by Article 4 (commencing with Section
60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33 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 a 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) Qualified for an alternative accountability system pursuant to
subdivision (h) (g) of Section 52052.
(c) (1) A charter may be revoked by the authority that granted the
charter under this chapter if the chartering authority
finds, through a showing of substantial evidence, that the charter
school did any of the following:
(A) Committed a material violation of any of the conditions,
standards, or procedures set forth in the charter.
(B) Failed to meet or pursue any of the pupil outcomes identified
in the charter.
(C) Failed to meet generally accepted accounting principles, or
engaged in fiscal mismanagement.
(D) Violated any provision of law.
(2) The chartering authority that granted the
charter shall consider increases in pupil academic
achievement for all groups of pupils served by the charter school as
the most important factor in determining whether to revoke a charter.
(d) Before revocation, the chartering authority
that granted the charter shall notify the charter
school of any a violation of this
section and give the school a reasonable opportunity to remedy the
violation, unless the chartering authority determines, in
writing, that the violation constitutes a severe and imminent threat
to the health or safety of the pupils.
(e) Before revoking a charter for failure to remedy a violation
pursuant to subdivision (d), 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 the charter 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, charter unless it makes
written factual findings supported by substantial evidence, specific
to the charter school, that support its findings.
(f) (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 of education may reverse the revocation
decision if the county board of education determines that the
findings made by the chartering authority under subdivision (e) are
not supported by substantial evidence. The school district may appeal
the reversal to the state board.
(3) If the county board of education does not issue a decision on
the appeal within 90 days of receipt, or the county board of
education 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) 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) are supported by
substantial evidence.
(g) (1) If a county office of education is the chartering
authority and the county board of education 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) are not supported by substantial
evidence.
(h) If the revocation decision of the chartering authority is
reversed on appeal, the agency entity
that granted the charter shall continue to be regarded as the
chartering authority.
(i) During the pendency of an appeal filed under this section, a
charter school, whose revocation proceedings are based on
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), 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) Immediately following the decision of a county board of
education 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) A final decision of a revocation or appeal of a revocation
pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be reported to the chartering
authority, the county board of education, and the department.