2.__New schools.__An application for a new charter school may be proposed by nonprofit, nonsectarian organizations.

§2413.__Chartering authorities

1.__Eligible sponsors.__The organizers may apply to and the school may be granted a charter by any of the following chartering authorities:

i.A.__A school board;

ii.

B.__The office of charter schools within the department identified to oversee charter schools; or

iii.C.__The board of a Maine nonsectarian postsecondary institution.

2.__Approval by chartering authority.__The decision on a charter school application must be made within 90 days of receipt of the application.

3.__Oversight.__A chartering authority is responsible for the following:

A.__Monitoring the operations of each charter school to which the chartering authority has granted a charter;

B.__Ensuring that each charter school to which the chartering authority has granted a charter complies with applicable laws and the charter; and

C.__Monitoring the progress of each charter school to which the chartering authority has granted a charter in meeting student academic expectations specified in the charter.

The chartering authority may require a charter school to which the chartering authority has granted a charter to produce any book, record, paper or document if the chartering authority determines that those materials are necessary for the chartering authority to carry out its functions under this chapter.

4.__Appeal.__An appeal of a denial of an application for a charter school, whether on content or process, may be made within 90 days of the decision on the application.__Appeals must be addressed to the state board.

5.__Number of schools.__The number of charter schools approved must be geographically distributed throughout the State.__In the first year of implementation, up to 5 new schools, not exceeding a total enrollment of 200 students per school, may be approved.__ There is no limitation on the number of existing schools that may convert to charter schools.

§2414.__Charter school students; eligibility; application

1.__Eligibility.__Any student residing in this State is eligible to apply to a charter school.__The school shall enroll an applicant who submits an application in a timely manner, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building. In that case, applicants must be chosen for acceptance in a manner that guarantees each applicant an equal chance of being admitted.

2.__Application.__Each charter school shall adopt application standards in accordance with the following.

iv.A.__The standards may not include requirements regarding previous academic achievement, intellectual aptitude or curricular and extra-curricular ability.

v.B.__The standards may not result in denial of admission for avi.ny physical or mental disability, handicap or condition.

vii.C.__The standards may include a demonstration of a student's interest in the specific curriculum or teaching methodology offered by the charter school.

§2415.__Requirements for charter schools

1.__Organization.__A charter school shall organize under one of the forms of organization available under the laws of the State for a nonprofit corporation or a financially autonomous cooperative.

2.__Nonsectarian.__A charter school may not be affiliated with a private sectarian school or religious institution.__The school must be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices and all other operations.

3.__Admission.__A charter school shall admit students as provided in section 2414.

4.__Accountability.__A charter school is accountable to its chartering authority for its performance as provided in the charter agreement pursuant to section 2416.

5.__Tuition.__The charter school may not charge tuition or fees beyond those allowed in a regular public kindergarten-to- grade-12 program.__However, a charter school offering a residential component may charge a fee for room and board.__A student may apply for and be granted a waiver for room and board expenses if the student and the student's parents or guardian meet financial guidelines established by the department.__Each charter school offering a residential component shall establish and maintain a fund capable of paying the room and board expenses for 1/4 of its enrolled students.__If additional funds are required to pay expenses for additional students, the fee for students paying room and board must be increased accordingly.

6.__State and local requirements.__The charter school shall meet all applicable state and local health, safety and civil rights requirements.

7.__No discrimination.__The charter school may not discriminate on the basis of color, sex, income level, proficiency in the English language or physical ability.

8.__Finances.__A charter school shall conform to the uniform financial accounting and reporting standards and processes that govern school administrative units generally. The governing entity, not the director or chief financial officer, of the charter school shall contract for an annual financial audit by a certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.__The audit must examine the validity and integrity of data reported to the State for revenue purposes including average daily attendance and enrollment and internal controls of the charter school.

§2416.__The charter agreement

Major issues involving the operation of the school must be considered and addressed in advance of the opening of the charter school and written into the charter agreement, which must be signed by the head of the school and the chartering authority.

1.__Special education.__Before a charter is granted, a charter school must have in place a policy to comply with the policies adopted by the state board and with federal regulations relating to the education of children with special needs.__The manner in which the charter school delivers those services may be innovative and integrated into its provision of services for all students.

2.__Written agreement on issues.__The head of the charter school and the chartering authority shall establish a written agreement on the following issues and incorporate the agreement into the charter:

viii.A.__The education program, including the charter school's mission, the students to be served, the ages and grades to be included and the focus of the curriculum;

ix.

B.__The outcomes to be achieved and the method of measurement that will be used, including how the charter school will meet any state-required outcomes such as the statewide system of learning results as described in section 6209;

x.C.__The admission and dismissal procedures;

xi.D.__The ways by which the charter school will achieve a racial and ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves;

xii.E.__The manner in which the charter school will complyxiii. with state and federal requirements for the education of children with special needs, including the integration of special education services into the school's curriculum and any innovative delivery systems;

xiv.F.__The manner in which the program and financial audit will be conducted;

xv.G.__The qualifications required of the teachers in addition to those required under section 2418;

xvi.H.__The management and administration of the charter school; and

xvii.I.__The term of the agreement.

3.__Addendum to charter.__The charter school shall include as an addendum to the charter agreement a plan covering the following items, although the head of the school and the chartering authority need not reach agreement on the terms of the plan for these items:

xviii.A.__The governance structure of the charter school;

xix.B.__In the case of an existing school being converted to school charter status, alternative arrangements for current students who choose not to attend the charter school and for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter school after conversion;

xx.C.__The learning methods to be used;

xxi.D.__Any distinctive learning techniques to be employed;

xxii.E.__Internal financial controls;

xxiii.F.__How the charter school will be insuxxiv.red;

xxv.G.__The facilities to be used and their location; and

xxvi.H.__The arrangements for covering teachers and other staff for health, retirement and other employee benefits.

§2417.__Termination of the charter agreement

1.__Termination.__During the term of the charter agreement or at the end of the term, the chartering authority may act to terminate the agreement on any of the following grounds:

xxvii.A.__Failure to meet the requirements xxviii.for student performance stated in the agreement;

xxix.B.__Failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management;

xxx.C.__Violation of laws; or

xxxi.D.__Other good cause shown.

A termination is effective only at the end of a school year, unless continued operation of the charter school presents a clear and immediate threat to health and safety.

2.__Notice of termination.__At least 60 days before terminating a charter agreement, the chartering authority__shall notify the board of directors of the charter school of the proposed action in writing.__The notice must state the grounds for the proposed action in reasonable detail and that the charter school's board of directors may request in writing an informal hearing before the chartering authority within 14 days of receiving the notice.

3.__Appeal.__The charter school may appeal the chartering authority's decision to terminate the agreement to the state board.

4.__Dissolution of charter school.__When an agreement is terminated, the charter school must be dissolved as provided by state law governing nonprofit organizations.

5.__Disposition of students upon dissolution.__If an agreement is terminated, a student who attended the charter school may apply to and must be enrolled in another school.

§2418.__Teachers

1.__Selection.__The charter school shall select its teachers.

2.__Certification.__The charter school staff must include teachers holding teaching certificates.

3.__Right to organize.__Teachers may choose to bargain collectively or form a professional group in accordance with the following.

xxxii.A.__Teachers who are employees of the charter school have the same rights as teachers xxxiii.in public education to organize and bargain collectively.__Bargaining units at the charter school must be separate from other bargaining units, such as a district bargaining unit.__Staff at existing schools converting to charter school status may continue to receive perquisites or benefits granted by the district as specified in a charter, without regard to potential conflict with existing collective bargaining agreements.

xxxiv.B.__A teacher may choose to be part of a xxxv.professional group that operates the instructional program under an agreement with the charter school, forming a partnership or producer cooperative that the teachers collectively own.

4.__Leave; seniority.__Teachers leaving a current position in a noncharter public school to teach in a charter school may take leave to teach.__While on leave, they retain their seniority position and continue to be covered by the benefit programs of the district in which they had been working.__A school district shall grant service credit to those teachers for teaching experience at a charter school, as long as their service at a charter school is reasonably comparable to service in the district.

5.__Retirement.__Charter school teachers not previously teaching in a public school district are eligible for membership in the Maine State Retirement System.__Alternatively, the State may add to the financing of the charter school an amount equal to the employer contribution for teacher retirement so that the charter school may establish or enroll teachers in its own program.

§2419.__Revenue provisions

1.__State funding.__For new schools to be granted charters, the State shall pay directly to the charter school the average amount per pupil spent statewide for operating purposes.__For existing public schools converting to charter schools, funding will continue to be according to chapters 606 and 606-A.

2.__Other sources of funding.__A charter school may receive other state and federal aid, grants and revenue as though it were a school administrative unit.__The charter school may receive gifts and grants from private sources in whatever manner is available to school administrative units.

3.__General authority.__A charter school may not levy taxes or issue bonds secured by tax revenues.

§2420.__Immunity and exemption

1.__Exemption from state law.__Except as provided in this chapter, a charter school is exempt from all laws and rules applicable to a school board or school district, although it may elect to comply with applicable laws or rules.

2.__Liability.__The charter school may sue and be sued, however, the chartering authority of a charter school, members of the board of the chartering authority in their official capacity and employees of a chartering authority are immune from civil or criminal liability with respect to all activities related to a charter school.

3.__Categorical education funding.__Charter schools are exempt from the restrictions normally associated with any state-funded categorical education funding program.

§2421.__Leased space

A school district may lease space or sell services to a charter school.__A charter school may lease space or secure services from another public body, nonprofit organization, private organization or individual.

§2422.__Transportation

Transportation for students residing in the district in which the charter school is located must be provided by that district.__ Students living outside the district in which the charter school is located are eligible for transportation by the district in which they live to and from the border of their district of residence.__Districts may provide transportation for nonresident students.__The charter school, at its option, may receive a proportionate share of any state or local transportation funds and arrange for its own transportation service.

§2423.__Initial costs

A chartering authority may authorize a charter school before the applicant has secured space, equipment or personnel if the applicant indicates authorizations necessary for it to raise working capital.

§2424.__Information

The department shall disseminate information to the public directly and through chartering authorities on how to form and operate a charter school and on how to enroll in charter schools once they are created.

Sec. 5. Review. The Commissioner of Education, with assistance from the State Board of Education, shall conduct a review of charter schools created under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 112 3 years after the effective date of this Act. The commissioner shall submit a report and any recommendations to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs by December 15th of the following year.

SUMMARY

This bill allows certain educational bodies to approve the establishment of charter schools, a new type of public school, to be a part of the State's program of public education.

Charter schools may be existing public schools or school units, new schools or existing nonprofit, nonsectarian schools that convert to charter status. Sponsors may include a local school board, the board of a Maine postsecondary institution or an identified governmental entity charged with approving and overseeing charter schools.

Charter schools are created to offer students and parents a choice of public schools. Charter schools are open to all students equally, though they may specialize in serving a particular age group, a specific geographic area or a student population with specific needs. A charter school may also require a demonstration of interest from students if it offers a specific curriculum or teaching methodology. Charter schools may not be affiliated with religious institutions and must be nonsectarian in their programs, practices and policies.

Charter school staff include teachers holding teaching certificates. Teachers in charter schools may be employees of the charter school and have the right to organize and bargain collectively in a separate unit; or teachers may choose to operate the charter school themselves as partners or members of a cooperative.

Funding for charter schools is paid directly by the State in an amount equal to the average amount per pupil spent statewide.