REPORT TITLE:
New Century Charter Schools


DESCRIPTION:
Provides legal protection for new century charter school boards.
Allows groups of teachers at a school to form a charter school.
Requires the auditor to consider the advice of the superintendent
and local school boards in setting the allocation for new century
charter schools.  Appropriates funds for the establishment of
additional new century charter schools, including the hiring of
additional school personnel.  (SD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2218
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO NEW CENTURY CHARTER SCHOOLS.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that members of the local
 
 2 school board of any new charter school should be treated the same
 
 3 as their counterparts in local public school boards by receiving
 
 4 legal protection from liability.
 
 5      The legislature also finds that a school-within-a-school is
 
 6 permitted under current law subject to the approval of the
 
 7 particular school.  To provide flexibility to the option of
 
 8 forming a school-within-a-school, groups of teachers should be
 
 9 allowed to form new century charter schools.
 
10      Finally, the legislature finds that the department of
 
11 education recently demonstrated its willingness and ability to be
 
12 flexible and forward thinking by making a wholehearted commitment
 
13 to, and putting its unconditional support behind, greater local
 
14 school autonomy through the new century charter school program.
 
15 To ensure the success of local school autonomy and to lay the
 
16 foundation for the State's future--a future that is dependent on
 
17 the soundness of the kindergarten to grade twelve education
 
18 system--the legislature declares that:
 
19      (1)  There should be an increase in the operating budget of
 

 
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 1           the department of education to establish additional new
 
 2           century charter schools; and
 
 3      (2)  Financial support for charter schools should not be
 
 4           less than the average allocation for all other public
 
 5           schools.
 
 6      SECTION 2.  Section 26-35.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 8      "(a)  For purposes of this section, "member" means any
 
 9 person who is appointed, in accordance with the law, to serve on
 
10 a temporary or permanent state board, including members of the
 
11 local school board of any new charter school established under
 
12 section 302A-1182, council, authority, committee, or commission,
 
13 established by law or elected to the board of trustees of the
 
14 employees' retirement system under section 88-24; provided that
 
15 "member" shall not include any person elected to serve on a board
 
16 or commission in accordance with chapter 11."
 
17      SECTION 3.  Section 302A-1183, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
19      "(a)  As an alternative to section 302A-1182(b), any
 
20 community, group of teachers, or any program within an existing
 
21 school may submit a letter of intent to the board for the
 
22 establishment of a new century charter school."
 
23      SECTION 4.  Section 302A-1185, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 

 
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 1 amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
 
 2      "(a)  New century charter schools shall receive an
 
 3 allocation of state general funds based upon the operational and
 
 4 educational funding requirements of the schools; provided that:
 
 5      (1)  Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, and every year
 
 6           thereafter, the auditor shall determine the appropriate
 
 7           allocation based on the total department general fund
 
 8           appropriation and per pupil expenditure for the
 
 9           previous year; provided that in setting the allocation,
 
10           the auditor shall explicitly consider the advice of the
 
11           superintendent and representatives of local school
 
12           boards and indicate in the final determination the
 
13           manner in which that advice was accommodated;
 
14      (2)  Small schools shall be given a state subsidy or small
 
15           school allotment to augment the per pupil allocation
 
16           given; provided that if additional federal grant moneys
 
17           are received, the auditor shall determine the
 
18           appropriate portion of the federal grant moneys to be
 
19           used to offset the small school allotment; provided
 
20           further that the federal grant moneys shall not include
 
21           federal impact aid;
 
22      (3)  The auditor shall take into consideration any changes
 
23           to the department's budget made by the legislature or
 

 
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 1           the governor and any applicable collective bargaining
 
 2           negotiated amounts; [and]
 
 3      (4)  The allocation for self-contained special education
 
 4           students and for other special education students shall
 
 5           be adjusted appropriately to reflect the additional
 
 6           expenses incurred for students in these programs;
 
 7           provided that any increment to the per pupil allocation
 
 8           made in this paragraph shall not exceed [that] the
 
 9           increment available to all other public schools[.]; and
 
10      (5)  The auditor shall develop a methodology for allocating
 
11           funds that can be applied to various forms of
 
12           alternatives to public schools, including, but not
 
13           limited to, new century charter schools.
 
14      (b)  All federal and other financial support for new century
 
15 charter schools shall be no less than all other public schools;
 
16 provided that if administrative services are provided to the
 
17 charter school by the department, the charter school shall
 
18 reimburse the department for the actual costs of the
 
19 administrative services in an amount that does not exceed six and
 
20 one-half per cent of the charter school's allocation.
 
21      Any new century charter school shall be eligible to receive
 
22 any supplementary financial grant or award for which any other
 
23 public school may submit a proposal, or any supplemental federal
 

 
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 1 grants limited to new century charter schools; provided that if
 
 2 department administrative services, including funds management,
 
 3 budgetary, fiscal accounting, or other related services, are
 
 4 provided with respect to these supplementary grants, the charter
 
 5 school shall reimburse the department for the actual costs of the
 
 6 administrative services in an amount that does not exceed six and
 
 7 one-half per cent of the supplementary grant for which the
 
 8 services are used.
 
 9      All additional funds that are generated by the local school
 
10 [board] boards not from a supplementary grant shall be separate
 
11 and apart from allotted funds [[]and[]] may be expended at the
 
12 discretion of the local school [board.] boards."
 
13      SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
14 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so
 
15 much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001, to
 
16 establish additional new century charter schools.  The sum
 
17 appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for
 
18 the purposes of this section, including start up costs such as
 
19 the hiring of additional school personnel but excluding personnel
 
20 who transfer to a new century charter school from another school
 
21 or from the department of education.
 
22      SECTION 6.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
23 New statutory material is underscored.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000, and
 
 2 shall apply to new century charter schools beginning with the
 
 3 2000-2001 school year.