HRS

§302D-14 Conversion charter schools; establishment. (a) A conversion charter school may be established pursuant to this section.

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

(c) The conversion charter school charter application process and schedule shall be determined by the authorizer, and shall provide for and include the following elements:

(1) The submission of a letter of intent to convert to a 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; provided that the charter application shall include certification and documentation that the charter application was approved by a majority of the votes cast by existing administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and parents of students at the existing department school; provided that:

(A) This vote shall be considered by the authorizer to be the primary indication of the existing administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and parents' approval to convert to a charter school;

(B) The balance of stakeholders represented in the vote and the extent of support received in support of the conversion shall be key factors, along with the applicant's proposed plans, to be considered by the authorizer when deciding whether to award a charter; and

(C) A breakdown of the number of administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and parents of students who constitute the existing department school and the number who actually participated in the vote shall be provided 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 of whether 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 conversion charter school may begin operation before obtaining authorizer approval of its charter and charter contract and fulfilling pre-opening requirements that may be imposed by the authorizer.

(d) A charter application to become a conversion charter school shall meet the requirements of this subsection and section 302D-25. The charter application shall include, at a minimum, 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) A nonprofit organization may submit a letter of intent to an authorizer to convert a department school to a conversion charter school, operate and manage the school, establish a governing board as its governing body, and develop a charter application pursuant to subsection (d); provided that:

(1) As the governing body of the conversion charter school, the governing board shall be the board of directors of the nonprofit organization and shall not be selected pursuant to section 302D-12. The nonprofit organization may also appoint advisory groups of community representatives for each school managed by the nonprofit organization; provided that these groups shall not have governing authority over the school and shall serve only in an advisory capacity to the nonprofit organization;

(2) The charter application for each conversion charter school to be operated by the nonprofit organization shall be formulated, developed, and submitted by the nonprofit organization, and shall be approved by a majority of the votes cast by existing administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and parents of students of the existing department school; provided that:

(A) This vote shall be considered by the authorizer to be the primary indication of the existing administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and parents' approval to convert to a charter school;

(B) The balance of stakeholders represented in the vote and the extent of support received in support of the conversion shall be a key factor, along with the applicant's proposed plans, in an authorizer's decision to award a charter; and

(3) The board of directors of the nonprofit organization, as the governing body for the conversion charter school that it operates and manages, shall have the same protections that are afforded to the board in its role as the conversion charter school governing body;

(4) Any conversion charter school that is managed and operated by a nonprofit organization shall be eligible for the same federal and state funding as other public schools; provided that nothing in this section shall prohibit a nonprofit organization from making a contribution toward the operation of a conversion charter school; and

(5) If, at any time, the board of directors of the nonprofit organization governing the conversion charter school votes to discontinue its relationship with the charter school, the charter school may submit a revised charter application to the authorizer to continue as a conversion charter school without the participation of the nonprofit organization.

(f) Any nonprofit organization that seeks to manage or operate a conversion charter school as provided in subsection (e) shall comply with the following at the time of charter application:

(1) Have bylaws or policies that describe the manner in which business is conducted and policies that relate to the management of potential conflict of interest situations;

(2) Have experience in the management and operation of public or private schools or, to the extent necessary, agree to obtain appropriate services from another entity or entities possessing such experience;

(3) Comply with all applicable federal, state, and county laws, including licensure or accreditation, as applicable; and

(4) Comply with any other requirements prescribed by the department to ensure adherence with applicable federal, state, and county laws, and the purposes of this chapter.

(g) Any public school or schools, programs, or sections of existing public school populations that are part of a separate Hawaiian language immersion program using existing public school facilities may submit a letter of intent to an authorizer to form a conversion charter school pursuant to this section.

(h) In reviewing a charter application for a charter 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.

(i) In the event of a conflict between the provisions in this section and other provisions in this chapter, this section shall control.

(j) In reviewing charter applications for a charter 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, §9]