REPORT TITLE:
Education; Charter Schools


DESCRIPTION:
Requires the DOE to enter into agreements with nonprofit
corporations to construct, manage, and operate a pilot charter
school. (HB1328 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1328 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
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 legislature finds that public education has
 
 2 been undergoing a transition in recent years, providing for
 
 3 alternative administrative structures, innovative teaching
 
 4 methods based on reliable research, and the use of leading-edge
 
 5 technology and curriculum to meet the needs of diverse
 
 6 populations.  Act 272, Session Laws of Hawaii 1994, established
 
 7 student-centered schools within the public school system to allow
 
 8 individual school communities to implement alternative
 
 9 administrative structures and programs based upon the consensus
 
10 of the school's faculty, parents, and students.  Since the
 
11 passage of this law, two student-centered schools have been
 
12 proposed and established.
 
13      The legislature further finds that along the same continuum
 
14 as student-centered schools are other alternative structures such
 
15 as charter schools.  Charter schools can be established through a
 
16 partnership between the public and private sectors that can
 
17 provide both public and private resources that result in the
 
18 construction of a specially designed facility that will support a
 
19 specialized curriculum and programs.  One such charter school
 
20 proposal that is presently being developed would establish a high
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 school in Kihei within the Maui departmental school district that
 
 2 would be the complex high school with a complete, comprehensive
 
 3 high school curriculum enhanced by computer technology and
 
 4 focusing specifically on high technology curriculum and programs.
 
 5      The purpose of this Act is to provide the authority to and
 
 6 require the department of education to establish one pilot
 
 7 charter school organization within the Maui departmental school
 
 8 district, including the use of private nonprofit entities and
 
 9 educational resource partners to construct, manage, and operate
 
10 the charter school.
 
11      SECTION 2.  Charter schools.  (a)  The department of
 
12 education, in accordance with section 103D-303, Hawaii Revised
 
13 Statutes (HRS), shall enter into agreements with nonprofit
 
14 entities, in conjunction with educational resource partners, to
 
15 construct, manage, and operate one pilot charter school within
 
16 the Maui departmental school district.  The charter school shall
 
17 be attached to the board of education for administrative purposes
 
18 only except as otherwise specified in section 4.
 
19      (b)  The planning, design, construction, and equipping of,
 
20 and the acquisition of lands for, the charter school shall be
 
21 done at no cost to the State; provided that:
 
22      (1)  The department of education shall enter into a lease
 
23           agreement to secure the long-term use of the charter
 
24           school's facilities; and
 

 
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 1      (2)  The term of the lease agreement shall be for not less
 
 2           than twelve years.
 
 3      (c)  The charter school shall be exempt from all state laws,
 
 4 except those regarding collective bargaining under chapter 89,
 
 5 HRS, discriminatory practices under section 378-2, HRS, and
 
 6 applicable health and safety requirements.
 
 7      (d)  The charter school may limit admission to students
 
 8 within an age group or grade level.
 
 9      The charter school shall give first preference for
 
10 enrollment to students who reside in the Kihei and South Maui
 
11 areas of the island.  After the enrollment of Kihei and South
 
12 Maui students, the charter school may enroll students residing
 
13 elsewhere.  If the number of applicants residing outside Kihei
 
14 and South Maui exceeds the number of available openings at the
 
15 charter school, admission to the charter school shall be
 
16 determined by lottery.
 
17      The charter school may not refuse admission to students who
 
18 have a specific affinity for the teaching methods or learning
 
19 philosophy of the charter school, or subjects including
 
20 mathematics, science, and technology.
 
21      The charter school may not limit admission to students on
 
22 the basis of athletic or physical ability, learning or cognitive
 
23 disabilities, socio-economic status, medical impairments,
 
24 parental involvement, or academic achievement.
 

 
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 1      The charter school may not charge tuition to children who
 
 2 are of compulsory school age or charge fees to students that
 
 3 would discriminate on the basis of socio-economic status.
 
 4      (e)  The charter school shall establish a school board as
 
 5 its governing body composed of, at a minimum, one representative
 
 6 from each of the following participant groups:
 
 7      (1)  Instructional staff selected by the instructional staff
 
 8           of the charter school;
 
 9      (2)  Support staff selected by the support staff of the
 
10           charter school;
 
11      (3)  Parents of students attending the charter school
 
12           selected by the parents of the charter school; and
 
13      (4)  Students selected by the students of the charter
 
14           school, any representative of whom may not vote on
 
15           matters affecting personnel; and
 
16      (5)  South Maui Learning Ohana Incorporated, the board of
 
17           directors of which shall select one person from the
 
18           general membership to be the representative on the
 
19           school board.
 
20 Neither the principal nor any vice-principal of the charter
 
21 school may be a member of the school board.  Parents of students
 
22 attending the charter school shall constitute a majority of the
 
23 members of the school board.  The election of the school board
 

 
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 1 shall be monitored by the chief elections officer.  No member of
 
 2 the school board may serve concurrently on the board of directors
 
 3 of South Maui Learning Ohana Incorporated.
 
 4      (f)  The school board of the charter school shall:
 
 5      (1)  Formulate school-based educational policies and goals
 
 6           that are consistent with the statewide student
 
 7           performance standards, adopt performance standards and
 
 8           assessment mechanisms, monitor school performance, and
 
 9           report results to the school community; and
 
10      (2)  Select the principal as the chief educational officer
 
11           of the charter school, except that the initial
 
12           principal of the charter school shall be selected by
 
13           the board of directors of South Maui Learning Ohana
 
14           Incorporated.  A temporary principal, hired on a month-
 
15           to-month basis, may be appointed to oversee
 
16           administrative matters.
 
17      (g)  The principal of the charter school shall:
 
18      (1)  Consult and work collaboratively with the school board;
 
19      (2)  Have jurisdiction over the internal organization,
 
20           operation, and management of the charter school;
 
21      (3)  Select the instructional staff of the charter school;
 
22           and
 

 
 
 
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 1      (4)  Be accountable solely to the school board, except on
 
 2           account of those matters specifically enumerated in
 
 3           subsection (c).
 
 4      (h)  The school board of the charter school shall develop a
 
 5 detailed implementation plan that has been approved by four-
 
 6 fifths of the support and teaching personnel and parents of the
 
 7 charter school board.  The detailed implementation plan shall
 
 8 include the following elements:
 
 9      (1)  A description of the administrative and educational
 
10           framework of the charter school;
 
11      (2)  Specific expected student outcomes consistent with the
 
12           Hawaii content and performance standards;
 
13      (3)  The curriculum and instructional framework to be used
 
14           to achieve the expected student outcomes;
 
15      (4)  The assessment mechanisms to be used to measure and
 
16           document student outcomes;
 
17      (5)  The governance structure of the charter school;
 
18      (6)  A facilities management plan; and
 
19      (7)  The form and content of annual financial and program
 
20           audits.
 
21      (i)  The school board of the charter school shall submit the
 
22 detailed implementation plan to the board of education for review
 
23 to assure compliance with the statewide student performance
 
24 standards.
 

 
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 1      (j)  The board of education shall review the charter school
 
 2 plan biennially to assure that it complies with the statewide
 
 3 student performance standards.  At each review, unless the board
 
 4 of education finds that the plan conflicts with the statewide
 
 5 student performance standards, the plan shall remain effective
 
 6 for another two years.  If, at any time, the board of education
 
 7 finds a conflict with the statewide student performance
 
 8 standards, the board of education shall notify the school board
 
 9 of the charter school of the finding in writing to enable it to
 
10 appropriately amend the plan to resolve the conflict.  In the
 
11 fourth year if the board of education determines that the charter
 
12 school does not meet the statewide performance standards, the
 
13 board of education may discontinue the charter school upon a
 
14 unanimous vote of all members to which the board of education is
 
15 entitled.
 
16      (k)  If administrative, student support, legal, repair and
 
17 maintenance, or other services are provided to the charter school
 
18 by the department of education, the department of health, the
 
19 department of the attorney general, the department of accounting
 
20 and general services, or any other state agency, the charter
 
21 school shall reimburse the state agency for the actual costs of
 
22 the services.  The cost of these services shall be the same as
 
23 the cost to student-centered schools.  The charter school shall
 

 
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 1 be eligible to receive any financial grant or award for which any
 
 2 other public school is eligible.  All additional funds that are
 
 3 generated by the school board of the charter school shall be
 
 4 considered supplementary and may be expended at the discretion of
 
 5 the school board.
 
 6      (l)  The department of education shall require the charter
 
 7 school to conduct a self-evaluation annually.  The self-
 
 8 evaluation process shall include the following elements:
 
 9      (1)  The identification and adoption of benchmarks to
 
10           measure and evaluate administrative and instructional
 
11           programs;
 
12      (2)  The identification of any administrative and legal
 
13           barriers to meeting the benchmarks and recommendations
 
14           for improvements and modifications to address the
 
15           barriers; and
 
16      (3)  The impact of the charter school on student
 
17           achievement.
 
18      The charter school shall submit a report of its self-
 
19 evaluation to the board of education no later than sixty days
 
20 after the completion of the school year.  The department of
 
21 education shall respond within thirty days to any recommendation
 
22 regarding improvements and modifications that would directly
 
23 impact the department of education.
 

 
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 1      (m)  Moneys appropriated to carry out the purposes of this
 
 2 Act may not be reduced or restricted by the board of education
 
 3 except upon the unanimous vote of all members to which the board
 
 4 of education is entitled.  Nothing in this Act shall be construed
 
 5 to prevent the board of education from increasing funding for the
 
 6 charter school by utilizing any other source of state, federal,
 
 7 or private funding available to the department of education.  All
 
 8 federal and other financial support for the charter school shall
 
 9 be at least equal in proportion to that of all other public
 
10 schools, including student-centered schools.
 
11      (n)  The charter school shall receive an allocation of state
 
12 general funds for operational and educational needs that is
 
13 determined by the same formula for allocating state general funds
 
14 to student-centered schools.  The allocation for self-contained
 
15 special education students and for other special education
 
16 students in the charter school shall be determined by the same
 
17 formula for allocations for self-contained special education
 
18 students and for other special education students in student-
 
19 centered schools.
 
20      (o)  The State shall afford the school board of the charter
 
21 school the same protections as the State affords to the board of
 
22 education.
 

 
 
 
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 1      (p)  The department of education, through the board of
 
 2 education and the superintendent of education, shall upon request
 
 3 provide the charter school with information and technical
 
 4 assistance necessary to support the establishment and expansion
 
 5 of the charter school.
 
 6      (q)  Following consultation with school board of the charter
 
 7 school, the board of education shall represent the charter school
 
 8 in communications with the governor and with the legislature.
 
 9      (r)  The budget for the charter school shall be submitted
 
10 through the board of education and included in the overall budget
 
11 for the department of education.
 
12      (s)  All policies and rules of the charter school shall be
 
13 adopted by the school board of the charter school in an open
 
14 public meeting and shall not be subject to chapter 91, HRS.
 
15      (t)  The employment, appointment, promotion, transfer,
 
16 demotion, discharge, and job descriptions of all officers and
 
17 employees of or under the jurisdiction of the charter school
 
18 shall be determined by the charter school consistent with
 
19 relevant collective bargaining agreements.
 
20      (u)  Except as set forth in this section, the board of
 
21 education or the superintendent of education shall not have the
 
22 power to supervise or control the charter school in the exercise
 
23 of its functions, duties, and powers.
 

 
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 1      (v)  The charter school may accept any charitable gift,
 
 2 grant, device, or bequest, except if acceptance is contrary to
 
 3 law or the bylaws of the charter school.  Any accepted gift,
 
 4 grant, device, or bequest shall be considered an asset of the
 
 5 charter school to which it is given.
 
 6      (w)  Section 302A-1302, HRS, to the contrary
 
 7 notwithstanding, beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, the
 
 8 department of education shall distribute the full appropriation
 
 9 due to the charter school pursuant to section 2 directly to the
 
10 charter school.
 
11      (x)  For the purposes of this section:
 
12      "Educational resource partner" means mathematics, science,
 
13 and technology-based entities such as the Maui High Performance
 
14 Computing Center, the Pacific International Center for High
 
15 Technology Research, the high technology development corporation,
 
16 and the University of Hawaii.
 
17      "Nonprofit entity" means any agency that is incorporated in
 
18 the State of Hawaii under chapter 415B, HRS.
 
19      "Principal" includes headmaster and chief educational
 
20 officer.
 
21      "Student-centered school" means any school established
 
22 pursuant to section 302A-1123, HRS.
 
23      SECTION 3.  It is the intent of this Act not to jeopardize
 
24 the receipt of any federal aid nor to impair the obligation of
 

 
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 1 the State or any agency thereof to the holders of any bond issued
 
 2 by the State or by any such agency, and to the extent, and only
 
 3 to the extent, necessary to effectuate this intent, the governor
 
 4 may modify the strict provisions of this Act, but shall promptly
 
 5 report any such modification with reasons therefor to the
 
 6 legislature at its next session thereafter for review by the
 
 7 legislature.
 
 8      SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act, or the application
 
 9 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 
10 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
 
11 the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
 
12 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are
 
13 severable.
 
14      SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
15 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much
 
16 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000 and the sum
 
17 of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
 
18 year 2000-2001 to provide one-time start-up funding for the Maui
 
19 pilot charter school.
 
20      SECTION 6.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
21 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much
 
22 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 to provide
 
23 one-time transitional funding to the Maui departmental school
 

 
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 1 district for each public school student who enrolls in the
 
 2 charter school established under this Act.
 
 3      SECTION 7.  The sums appropriated shall be expended by the
 
 4 department of education for the purposes of this Act.
 
 5      SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.