(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in section 22-30.5-506 (2), the institute shall receive and review all applications for institute charter schools. An application for an institute charter school may be submitted by one or more individuals, by a nonprofit, governmental, or other entity or organization, or by an existing charter school authorized by a district. An entity applying for an institute charter school shall file an application with the institute by a date determined by rule of the institute board to be eligible for consideration for the following school year. An application is considered filed when the institute receives the institute charter application from the institute charter applicant either in hard copy or electronically. Prior to any change in the application deadline, the institute shall notify each known institute charter school applicant of the proposed change by certified letter. Within fifteen days after receiving an institute charter school application, the institute shall determine whether the application contains the minimum components specified in section 22-30.5-509 (1) and is therefore complete. If the application is not complete, the institute shall notify the applicant within the fifteen-day period and provide a list of the information required to complete the institute charter application. The applicant has fifteen days after the date it receives the notice to provide the required information to the institute for review. The institute is not required to take action on the institute charter application if the applicant does not provide the required information within the fifteen-day period. The institute may request additional information during the review period and provide reasonable time for the applicant to respond. The institute may, but is not required to, accept any additional information the applicant provides that the institute does not request.
(a.3) An application to convert an existing charter school authorized by a school district to an institute charter school shall include evidence that an adequate number of parents, teachers, or pupils or any combination thereof support the conversion to an institute charter school.
(a.5) The institute's approval of an application from an existing charter school shall not relieve the charter school of any preexisting contractual obligations or relationships, including obligations of the charter school to the school district that oversees the charter school; except that the charter school shall no longer be subject to the oversight and control of the school district. The transfer of oversight of a charter school from a school district to the institute shall not be deemed a dissolution or other event that empowers or obligates the school district to wind down the charter school's affairs or to dispose of the charter school's assets.
(a.7) (I) If a district charter school converts to an institute charter school, the institute shall calculate the converted school's funding as it was calculated before the conversion using the applicable formulas specified in part 1 of this article; except that this paragraph (a.7) does not apply if the converted school was authorized by a small rural school district, as described in section 22-54-108 (3)(b)(IV), before the conversion.
(II) This paragraph (a.7) is repealed, effective July 1, 2021.
(b) The institute board shall set forth by rule all necessary procedures for the application process and for application review by the institute and the institute board. The rules shall describe a rigorous review of the application that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following key evaluative areas involving the institute charter school:
The number of at-risk students that the institute charter school anticipates serving,both as an absolute number and as a percentage of the entire student body expected to enroll at the institute charter school;
Curriculum and instructional program;
Nonacademic program characteristics;
Financial viability;
Appropriate governance model and proposed practices;
Appropriate, consistent, clear, and measurable accountability systems;
The extent to which the instructional program fits the mission statement of theinstitute charter school;
Whether the institute charter school will provide an educational option that substantially differs from the educational opportunities provided by existing schools of the school district that have capacity to accommodate additional students;
The institute charter school's plan for outreach and recruitment of students whoserace, gender, and ethnicity reflect the demographics of the community that the institute charter school intends to serve; and
The institute charter school's plan for identifying and reducing the academic achievement gaps among its student population.
The rules described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) shall require the applicantto provide written notification of the application to the school district board of education and the school district accountability committee of the school district in which the proposed institute charter school is to be located. The rules shall permit the board of education and the accountability committee to submit to the institute written comments concerning the institute charter school application.
When the institute determines that it has received a complete application for an institute charter school, the institute shall send notice to the local board of education and the school district accountability committee for the school district in which the proposed institute charter school is to be located. At a minimum, the notice shall include the following information:
The schedule by which the institute will review the application and determine whether to authorize the institute charter school;
The dates and locations of meetings at which the institute will consider the application, including at least one meeting within the school district;
Instructions specifying how the local board may request information from the institute regarding:
The location of the proposed institute charter school, if known; and
Enrollment projections for the proposed institute charter school, including the projected number of at-risk students; and
(IV) An invitation to the local board of education to send comments to the institute regarding the school district's concerns with any portion of the application, including any comments concerning whether the proposed new institute charter school substantially differs from existing educational options within the school district that have the capacity to accommodate additional students.
(2) (a) Prior to ruling on the application for an institute charter school, one or more representatives of the institute board shall hold a public meeting in the school district in which the institute charter school would be located. At the meeting, the representatives of the institute board, at a minimum, shall take public testimony regarding whether to approve or disapprove the application for an institute charter school.
The institute board shall rule by resolution on the application for an institute charterschool in a public hearing, following reasonable public notice, within ninety days after receiving the application filed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. At the public hearing, prior to adopting the resolution, the institute board shall make available to persons in attendance at the hearing a written summary of the testimony received at the meeting held pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) and, on the record, shall consider the testimony and its application to the institute board's decision.
All negotiations between the institute charter school and the institute on the chartercontract shall be concluded, and all terms of the charter contract agreed upon, no later than fortyfive days after the institute board approves the application for an institute charter school.
The institute charter school applicant and the institute may jointly waive the deadlines set forth in this section.
If the institute denies an institute charter school application, it shall state its reasonsfor the denial. Within thirty days after the denial, the entity that submitted the institute charter school application may submit to the state board a notice of appeal, stating the grounds for the appeal.
Within sixty days after receipt of a notice of appeal by the state board and afterreasonable public notice, the state board shall review the decision of the institute and determine whether the decision was arbitrary and capricious. The state board shall remand the matter to the institute with instructions to approve or deny the institute charter school application. The decision of the state board shall be final and not subject to appeal.
Source: L. 2004: Entire part added, p. 1607, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2008: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (2) amended and (1)(a.3), (1)(a.5), and (1)(d) added, p. 493, § 8, effective April 17. L. 2010:
(2)(b) amended, (SB 10-111), ch. 170, p. 603, § 9, effective August 11. L. 2012: (1)(a) and (2)(b) amended, (SB 12-061), ch. 109, p. 381, § 7, effective April 13. L. 2016: (1)(a.7) added, (SB 16-208), ch. 271, p. 1125, § 5, effective August 10.