Sec. 2. (a) The board may enter into an agreement with an organizer to reconstitute an eligible school as a participating innovation network charter school or to establish a participating innovation network charter school at a location selected by the board within the boundary of the school corporation. Notwithstanding IC 20-26-7.1, a participating innovation network charter school may be established within a vacant school building.
(b) The terms of the agreement entered into between the board and an organizer must specify the following:
(1) A statement that the organizer authorizes the department to include the charter school's performance assessment results under IC 20-31-8 when calculating the school corporation's performance assessment under rules adopted by the state board.
(2) The amount of state funding, including tuition support (if the participating innovation network charter school is treated in the same manner as a school operated by the school corporation under subsection (d)(2)), and money levied as property taxes that will be distributed by the school corporation to the organizer.
(3) The performance goals and accountability metrics agreed upon for the charter school in the charter agreement between the organizer and the authorizer.
(c) If an organizer and the board enter into an agreement under subsection (a), the organizer and the board shall notify the department that the agreement has been made under this section within thirty (30) days after the agreement is entered into.
(d) Upon receipt of the notification under subsection (c), for school years starting after the date of the agreement:
(1) the department shall include the participating innovation network charter school's performance assessment results under IC 20-31-8 when calculating the school corporation's performance assessment under rules adopted by the state board;
(2) the department shall treat the participating innovation network charter school in the same manner as a school operated by the school corporation when calculating the total amount of state funding to be distributed to the school corporation unless subsection (e) applies; and
(3) if requested by a participating innovation network charter school that reconstitutes an eligible school, the department may use student growth as the state board's exclusive means to determine the innovation network charter school's category or designation of school improvement under 511 IAC 6.2-10-10 for a period of three (3) years. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the department may not use student growth as the state board's exclusive means to determine an innovation network charter school's category or designation of school improvement. This subdivision expires July 1, 2023.
(e) If a participating innovation network school was established before January 1, 2016, and for the current school year has a complexity index that is greater than the complexity index for the school corporation that the innovation network school has contracted with, the innovation network school shall be treated as a charter school for purposes of determining tuition support. This subsection expires June 30, 2023.
As added by P.L.214-2015, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.179-2016, SEC.6; P.L.217-2017, SEC.99; P.L.250-2017, SEC.25; P.L.86-2018, SEC.174; P.L.269-2019, SEC.5; P.L.270-2019, SEC.6; P.L.108-2019, SEC.212; P.L.156-2020, SEC.75; P.L.165-2021, SEC.153.