§302D-13  Start-up charter schools; establishment.  (a)  New start-up charter schools may be established pursuant to this section.

     (b)  Any community, group of teachers, group of teachers and administrators, or nonprofit organization may submit a letter of intent to an authorizer to form a charter school, establish a governing board as its governing body, and develop a charter application pursuant to subsection (d).

     (c)  The start-up charter school charter application process and schedule shall be determined by the authorizer, and shall provide for and include, at a minimum, the following elements:

     (1)  The submission of a letter of intent to operate a start-up charter school;

     (2)  The availability of the charter application form and completion guidelines on the authorizer's website;

     (3)  The timely submission of a completed charter application to the authorizer;

     (4)  The timely review of the charter application by the authorizer for completeness, and notification by the authorizer to the governing board that the charter application is complete;

     (5)  Upon receipt of a completed charter application, the review and evaluation of the charter application by qualified persons;

     (6)  Following the review and evaluation of a charter application, approval or denial of the charter application by the authorizer;

     (7)  A provision for a final date by which a decision to approve or deny a charter application must be made by the authorizer, upon receipt of a complete charter application; and

     (8)  A provision that no start-up charter school may begin operation before obtaining authorizer approval of its charter application and charter contract and fulfilling pre-opening requirements that may be imposed by the authorizer.

     (d)  A charter application to become a start-up charter school shall meet the requirements of this subsection and section 302D-25.  The charter application shall, at a minimum, include the following:

     (1)  A description of employee rights and management issues and a framework for addressing those issues that protects the rights of employees;

     (2)  A plan for identifying, recruiting, and retaining highly qualified instructional faculty as defined by the department;

     (3)  A plan for identifying, recruiting, and selecting students that is not exclusive, elitist, or segregationist, and complies with this chapter;

     (4)  The curriculum and instructional framework to be used to achieve student outcomes, including an assessment plan;

     (5)  A plan for the assessment of student, administrative support, and teaching personnel performance that:

         (A)  Recognizes the interests of the general public;

         (B)  Incorporates or exceeds the educational content and performance standards developed by the department for the public school system;

         (C)  Includes a system of faculty and staff accountability that holds faculty and staff individually and collectively accountable for their performance, and that is at least equivalent to the average system of accountability in public schools throughout the State; and

         (D)  Provides for program audits and annual financial audits;

     (6)  A governance structure for the charter school that incorporates a conflict of interest policy and a plan for periodic training to carry out the duties of governing board members;

     (7)  A description of the constitution of the governing board, terms of governing board members, and the process by which governing board members were selected;

     (8)  A financial plan based on the most recent fiscal year's per-pupil charter school allocation that demonstrates the ability to meet the financial obligations of one-time, start-up costs and ongoing costs such as monthly payrolls, faculty recruitment, professional development, and facilities costs; and

     (9)  A facilities plan.

     (e)  Any applicant whose charter application is denied by the authorizer shall not be allowed to amend or resubmit the charter application to the authorizer during a given cycle, as defined by the authorizer; provided that an applicant shall have the right to appeal the authorizer's denial of its charter application pursuant to section 302D-15.

     (f)  In reviewing a charter application under this section, an authorizer shall take into consideration the constitution of the applicant's governing board, terms of governing board members, and the process by which governing board members were selected.

     (g)  In reviewing charter applications under this section, an authorizer shall develop a schedule to approve or deny a charter application by the end of the calendar year for purposes of meeting any deadlines to request funding from the legislature. [L 2012, c 130, pt of §2; am L 2013, c 159, §8]