REPORT TITLE:
Education; Charter Schools


DESCRIPTION:
Requires the DOE to enter into agreements with qualified private
nonprofit corporations to construct, manage, and operate charter
schools.  Requires the planning, design, construction, and
equipping of, and the acquisition of lands for, a charter school
to be done at no cost to the State.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.1225       
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding
 
 2 a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as
 
 3 follows:
 
 4                             "CHAPTER
 
 5                        CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT
 
 6      §   -1  Charter schools authorized.  (a)  The department of
 
 7 education, in accordance with section 103D-303, shall enter into
 
 8 agreements with qualified nonprofit entities to construct,
 
 9 manage, and operate charter schools.  Charter schools shall be
 
10 attached to the board of education for administrative purposes
 
11 only as specified in section    -11.
 
12      (b)  The planning, design, construction, and equipping of,
 
13 and the acquisition of lands for, a charter school shall be done
 
14 at no cost to the State; provided that:
 
15      (1)  The department of education shall enter into a lease
 
16           agreement to secure the long-term use of the charter
 
17           school's facilities; and
 
18      (2)  The term of the lease agreement shall be for not less
 
19           than twelve years.
 

 
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 1      (c)  For the purposes of this section, "qualified nonprofit
 
 2 entity" means an agency that is incorporated in the State of
 
 3 Hawaii under chapter 415B, and that has entered into a written
 
 4 agreement with the department of education to construct, manage,
 
 5 and operate a charter school.
 
 6      §   -2  Applicability of state laws.(a)  Charter schools
 
 7 shall be exempt from all applicable state laws, except those
 
 8 regarding discriminatory practices under section 378-2, and
 
 9 health and safety requirements.  Neither chapter 89, nor chapter
 
10 103D, nor chapter 302A, shall apply to charter schools, except as
 
11 otherwise provided by this chapter.
 
12      (b)  Charter schools may limit admission to students within
 
13 an age group or grade level.
 
14      (c)  A charter school may not refuse admission to students
 
15 who have a specific affinity for the teaching methods or learning
 
16 philosophy of the charter school, or subjects including
 
17 mathematics, science, fine arts, performing arts, or a foreign
 
18 language.
 
19      (d)  Charter schools may not limit admission to students on
 
20 the basis of athletic or physical ability, learning or cognitive
 
21 disabilities, socio-economic status, medical impairments,
 
22 parental involvement, or academic achievement.
 
23      (e)  Charter schools may not charge tuition for compulsory-
 

 
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 1 age children or charge student fees that would discriminate on
 
 2 the basis of socio-economic status.
 
 3      §   -3  Governance.(a)  A charter school shall establish a
 
 4 school board as its governing body composed of, at a minimum, one
 
 5 representative from each of the following participant groups:
 
 6      (1)  Instructional staff members selected by the
 
 7           instructional staff of the charter school;
 
 8      (2)  Support staff selected by the support staff of the
 
 9           charter school;
 
10      (3)  Parents of students attending the charter school
 
11           selected by the parents of the charter school; and
 
12      (4)  Student body representatives selected by the students
 
13           of the charter school, who may not vote on matters
 
14           affecting personnel;
 
15 provided that neither the principal nor any vice-principal of the
 
16 charter school may be a member of the school board; and provided
 
17 further that parents of students attending the charter school
 
18 shall constitute a majority of the members of the school board.
 
19      (b)  The school board of a charter school shall:
 
20      (1)  Formulate school-based educational policies and goals
 
21           in accordance with the statewide student performance
 
22           standards, adopt school performance standards and
 
23           assessment mechanisms, monitor school performance and
 

 
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 1           report results to the school community; and
 
 2      (2)  Select the principal as the chief educational officer
 
 3           of the charter school without regard to chapter 89,
 
 4           notwithstanding section 89-19 to the contrary.
 
 5      (c)  The principal of a charter school shall:
 
 6      (1)  Consult and work collaboratively with the school board;
 
 7      (2)  Have jurisdiction over the internal organization,
 
 8           operation, and management of the charter school;
 
 9      (3)  Select the support staff of the charter school without
 
10           regard to chapter 89, notwithstanding section 89-19 to
 
11           the contrary;
 
12      (4)  Select the instructional staff of the charter school
 
13           without regard to chapter 89 and chapter 302A,
 
14           notwithstanding section 89-19 to the contrary; and
 
15      (5)  Be accountable solely to the school board, except on
 
16           account of those matters specifically enumerated in
 
17           section    -2(a).
 
18      §   -4  Leave to teach or work at a charter.  If a teacher
 
19 or educational officer employed by a public school makes a
 
20 written request for an extended leave of absence to teach or work
 
21 at a charter school, the department of education may grant the
 
22 leave subject to sections 302A-614 to 302A-616, relating to
 
23 sabbaticals for teachers and educational officers,
 

 
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 1 notwithstanding section    -2(a) to the contrary.
 
 2      §   -5  Implementation plan.(a)  The school board of a
 
 3 charter school shall develop a detailed implementation plan
 
 4 containing the elements prescribed under subsection (b) that has
 
 5 been approved by four-fifths of the support and teaching
 
 6 personnel and parents of students attending the charter school.
 
 7      (b)  A charter school shall submit a detailed implementation
 
 8 plan to the board of education for review in order to assure
 
 9 compliance with the statewide student performance standards.  The
 
10 detailed implementation plan shall include the following
 
11 elements:
 
12      (1)  A description of the administrative and educational
 
13           framework of the charter school;
 
14      (2)  The specific student outcomes as stated in the Hawaii
 
15           content and performance standards;
 
16      (3)  The curriculum and instructional framework to be used
 
17           to achieve student outcomes;
 
18      (4)  The assessment mechanisms to be used to measure and
 
19           document student outcomes;
 
20      (5)  The governance structure of the charter school;
 
21      (6)  A facilities management plan; and
 
22      (7)  The form and content of annual financial and program
 
23           audits.
 

 
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 1      (c)  The board of education shall review a charter school's
 
 2 implementation plan biennially to assure that the plan complies
 
 3 with the statewide student performance standards.  Unless the
 
 4 board of education finds that the implementation plan conflicts
 
 5 with the statewide student performance standards, the plan shall
 
 6 remain effective for another two years.  If, at any time, the
 
 7 board of education finds a conflict with the statewide student
 
 8 performance standards, the board of education shall notify the
 
 9 school board of the finding in writing to enable the school board
 
10 to appropriately amend the implementation plan to resolve the
 
11 conflict.
 
12      §   -6  Fiscal matters.  If administrative services are
 
13 provided to a charter school by the department of education, the
 
14 charter school shall reimburse the department for the actual
 
15 costs of the administrative services; provided that the cost of
 
16 these services shall be on a par with the cost to student-
 
17 centered schools pursuant to section 302A-1123.  A charter school
 
18 shall be eligible to receive any financial grant or award for
 
19 which any other public school may submit a proposal.  All
 
20 additional funds that are generated by the school board of a
 
21 charter school shall be considered supplementary and may be
 
22 expended at the discretion of the school board.
 
23      §   -7  Evaluation.(a)  The department of education shall
 

 
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 1 require a charter school to conduct a self-evaluation annually.
 
 2 The self-evaluation process shall include the following elements:
 
 3      (1)  The identification and adoption of benchmarks to
 
 4           measure and evaluate administrative and instructional
 
 5           programs;
 
 6      (2)  The identification of any administrative and legal
 
 7           barriers to meeting the benchmarks, as adopted, and
 
 8           recommendations for improvements and modifications to
 
 9           address the barriers; and
 
10      (3)  The impact of the charter school on student
 
11           achievement.
 
12      (b)  A charter school shall submit a report of its self-
 
13 evaluation to the board of education within sixty days after the
 
14 completion of the school year; provided that the department of
 
15 education shall have thirty days to respond to any recommendation
 
16 regarding improvements and modifications that would directly
 
17 impact the department.
 
18      (c)  The board of education shall evaluate a charter school
 
19 four years after its establishment to assure compliance with the
 
20 statewide student performance standards.  Upon a determination by
 
21 the board of education that student achievement within a charter
 
22 school does not meet the statewide student performance standards,
 
23 the board of education, upon a unanimous vote of all members to
 

 
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 1 which the board is entitled, may deny the continuation of the
 
 2 charter school.
 
 3      §   -8  Fiscal matters.(a)  Moneys allocated to carry out
 
 4 the purposes of this chapter may not be reduced or restricted by
 
 5 the board of education except upon the unanimous vote of all
 
 6 members to which the board of education is entitled; provided
 
 7 that:
 
 8      (1)  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent
 
 9           the board of education from increasing funding for a
 
10           charter school by utilizing any other source of state,
 
11           federal, or private funding available to the department
 
12           of education; and
 
13      (2)  All federal and other financial support for a charter
 
14           school shall be at least equal to all other public
 
15           schools, including student-centered schools.
 
16      (b)  A charter school shall receive an allocation of state
 
17 general funds for operational and educational needs that is on
 
18 par with the allocation of state general funds received by
 
19 student-centered schools pursuant to section 302A-1123; provided
 
20 that the allocation for self-contained special education students
 
21 and for other special education students shall be adjusted
 
22 appropriately to reflect the additional expenses incurred for the
 
23 students in these programs.
 

 
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 1      (c)  The department of education shall distribute the full
 
 2 appropriation due to a charter school pursuant to this section
 
 3 directly to the charter school.
 
 4      §   -9  Immunity.  The State shall afford the school board
 
 5 of a charter school the same protections as the State affords to
 
 6 the board of education.
 
 7      §   -10  Mandate to support.  The department of education,
 
 8 through the board of education and the superintendent of
 
 9 education, shall provide information and technical assistance
 
10 upon request necessary to support the establishment and expansion
 
11 of a charter school.
 
12      §   -11  Administrative supervision.  The following
 
13 provisions shall apply to a charter school except as otherwise
 
14 specifically provided in this chapter:
 
15      (1)  Following consultation with the charter school, the
 
16           board of education shall represent the charter school
 
17           in communications with the governor and with the
 
18           legislature;
 
19      (2)  The financial requirements for state funds of the
 
20           charter school shall be submitted through the board of
 
21           education and included in the budget for the department
 
22           of education;
 
23      (3)  The approval of all policies and rules adopted by the
 

 
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 1           charter school shall be preceded by an open public
 
 2           meeting and shall not be subject to chapter 91;
 
 3      (4)  The employment, appointment, promotion, transfer,
 
 4           demotion, discharge, and job descriptions of all
 
 5           officers and employees of or under the jurisdiction of
 
 6           the charter school shall be determined by the charter
 
 7           school; and
 
 8      (5)  Except as set forth in this section, the board of
 
 9           education or the superintendent of education shall not
 
10           have the power to supervise or control the charter
 
11           school in the exercise of its functions, duties, and
 
12           powers."
 
13      SECTION 2.  If any provision of this Act, or the application
 
14 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 
15 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
 
16 the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
 
17 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are
 
18 severable.
 
19      SECTION 3.  It is the intent of this Act not to jeopardize
 
20 the receipt of any federal aid nor to impair the obligation of
 
21 the State or any agency thereof to the holders of any bond issued
 
22 by the State or by any such agency, and to the extent, and only
 
23 to the extent, necessary to effectuate this intent, the governor
 

 
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 1 may modify the strict provisions of this Act, but shall promptly
 
 2 report any such modification with reasons therefor to the
 
 3 legislature at its next session thereafter for review by the
 
 4 legislature.
 
 5      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
 6 
 
 7                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________