§302D-24 Occupancy and use of facilities of department schools. (a) When the department considers whether to close any particular department school, the department shall submit a notice of possible availability of a department school or notice of vacancy of a department school to the board pursuant to section 302A-1151.5(b); provided that the department has not elected to use the department school to support education programs.
(b) If a charter school exclusively or jointly occupies or uses buildings or facilities of a department school immediately prior to converting to a charter school, upon conversion that charter school shall be given continued exclusive or joint use of the buildings or facilities; provided that:
(1) The State may reclaim some or all of the buildings or facilities if it demonstrates a tangible and imperative need for such reclamation; and
(2) The State and the conversion charter school voluntarily enter into an agreement detailing the portion of those buildings or facilities that shall be reclaimed by the State and a timetable for the reclamation. If a timetable cannot be reached, the State may petition the board for the reclamation, and the board may grant the petition only to the extent that it is not possible for the conversion charter school and the State to jointly occupy or use the buildings or facilities.
(c) Upon receipt of a notice pursuant to section 302A-1151.5(b), the board shall solicit applications from charter schools interested in using and occupying all or portions of the facilities of the department school by:
(1) Promptly notifying all charter schools that the department school is being considered for closure; and
(2) Affording each charter school an opportunity to submit an application with a written explanation and justification of why the charter school should be considered for possible occupancy and use of the facilities of the department school.
(d) After fully considering each charter school's application and based on the applications received and on other considerations, the board shall:
(1) Provide a written response to each charter school's application after each application has been fully considered;
(2) Compile a prioritized list of charter schools; and
(3) Make a final determination of which charter school, if any, shall be authorized to use and occupy the department school facilities.
(e) Upon the selection of a charter school to use a vacant department school facility or portion of a department school facility, the department and the charter school's authorizer shall enter into necessary agreements within ninety days of the selection to carry out the purposes of this section; provided that any agreement between the authorizer and the department shall stipulate that a charter school that uses and occupies a department school facility or portion of a department school facility shall be responsible for the full or pro rata share of the repair and maintenance costs for that facility or portion of the facility, as the case may be.
(f) The board shall adopt policies and procedures necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including but not limited to:
(1) Procedures for charter schools to apply in writing to use vacant department school facilities;
(2) Criteria for the board to use in determining which charter schools to include on the prioritized list to be submitted to the department; and
(3) Procedures for the board to notify charter school applicants that are granted or denied the use of vacant department school facilities. [L 2012, c 130, pt of §2; am L 2014, c 99, §15]
Note
The reference to §302A-1151.5(b), relating to notice of public school site availability, in subsections (a) and (c) is to former §302A-1151.5(b) that was deleted by L 2012, c 133, §22.