[§302A-1151.5]  Use of vacant public school facilities by charter schools.  (a)  When the department considers whether to close any particular public school, it shall simultaneously give reasonable consideration to making all or portions of the facilities of the public school available for the exclusive occupancy and use by a charter school or joint occupancy and use by the charter school and the department; provided that the department may elect to use the facilities for the support of public education programs, with preference given to instructional uses over administrative uses.

     (b)  The department shall submit a notice of possible availability of a public school to the charter school review panel as early as possible; provided that if a vacancy is established, a notice of vacancy shall be submitted to the charter school review panel no later than thirty days after the establishment of the vacancy.

     (c)  Pursuant to section 302B-3.6 and upon receipt of a notice pursuant to subsection (b), the charter school review panel shall solicit applications from charter schools interested in using and occupying all or portions of the facilities of the public school and submit a prioritized list of charter schools to the department for final determination of which charter school, if any, shall be authorized to use and occupy the public school facilities.

     (d)  Upon the selection of a charter school to use a vacant school facility or portion of a school facility, the department and the charter school review panel shall enter into necessary agreements within ninety days of the selection to carry out the purposes of this section.

     (e)  After receipt by the charter school review panel of a notice pursuant to subsection (b), if the charter school review panel does not provide a prioritized list of charter schools because no charter school has requested to use the facilities of the public school, or if the department receives the prioritized list but determines that no charter school on the list is an appropriate candidate to occupy and use the facilities, the department shall give reasonable consideration to making all or portions of the facilities of the public school, if closed, available for occupancy and use for other educational purposes.

     (f)  The department shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

     (g)  For purposes of this section, "public school" means any school that falls within the definition of public schools in section 302A-101, except for charter schools. [L 2010, c 144, §2]