§ 16-77-3 - Commissioner of elementary and secondary education and local school committee authorized to recommend the granting of a charter. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 16-77-3

   § 16-77-3  Commissioner of elementary andsecondary education and local school committee authorized to recommend thegranting of a charter. – (a) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education and/or the schoolcommittee where the charter public school is to be located are authorized inresponse to an application to recommend to the board of regents for elementaryand secondary education the granting of a revocable charter authorizingoperation of a charter public school for up to five (5) years, subject torenewal for additional five-year periods.

   (b) Persons or entities eligible to submit an application toestablish a charter school shall be limited to:

   (1) Existing public schools;

   (2) Groups of public school personnel;

   (3) Public school districts;

   (4) Established Rhode Island nonprofit organizations inaccordance with subsection (i) of this section provided that these nonprofitorganizations shall have existed for at least two (2) years and must exist fora substantial reason other than to operate a school;

   (5) A group of school districts;

   (6) Colleges and universities within the state of RhodeIsland; or

   (7) A mayor of any city or town within the state of RhodeIsland, acting by or through a nonprofit organization (regardless of the timesaid nonprofit organization is in existence) to establish a mayoral academy ashereinafter defined. For purposes of this chapter the term "mayor" shallinclude any elected town administrator.

   (c) No existing public school shall be converted into acharter public school unless a majority of the parents and/or guardians of thestudents currently assigned to the school and two-thirds (2/3) of the certifiedteaching personnel currently assigned to the school approve the proposedcharter, as provided in § 16-77-4.1.

   (d) No private or parochial schools shall be eligible forcharter school status, nor shall a charter school be affiliated in any way witha sectarian school or religious institution. Any charter school authorized bythis chapter shall be nonsectarian and nonreligious in its programs, admissionspolicies, employment practices, and all other operations. The board of regentsshall not approve a charter to a school whose overall operation or educationprogram is managed by a for profit entity.

   (e) School professionals employed by a local or regionalschool committee or the state of Rhode Island shall be entitled to a two (2)year leave of absence, without compensation, in order to be employed in acharter school, provided this leave shall be extended upon request for anadditional two (2) years. At any time during or upon completion of this leaveof absence, a school professional may return to work in the school district inthe position in which he or she was previously employed or a comparableposition. This leave of absence shall not be deemed to be an interruption ofservice for purposes of seniority and teachers' retirement.

   (f) No child shall be required to attend a charter publicschool nor shall any teacher be required to teach in a charter public school.The school committee shall make accommodations to facilitate the transfer ofstudents who do not wish to participate in the charter public school into otherpublic schools. It shall also make accommodations for those students who wishto participate to transfer into the charter public school as space permits. Ifthe total number of students who are eligible to attend and apply to a charterschool is greater than the number of spaces available, the charter school shallconduct a lottery to determine which students shall be admitted.

   (g) The commissioner is empowered to promulgate rules andregulations consistent with this chapter, in conformance with chapter 35 oftitle 42, for the creation and operation of charter public schools. These rulesand regulations shall set forth the process for rescission of state approval ofa charter school, including appropriate protections to ensure the continuedprovision of education services to the students of the charter school whosecharter is rescinded.

   (h) All charter schools shall adhere to financial recordkeeping, reporting, auditing requirements, and procedures in the same manner asrequired of local public school districts and in accordance with federal andstate laws and regulations.

   (i) Any nonprofit organization which seeks to establish acharter school must submit its financial records and financial plan foroperating the school to the auditor general, who shall review the records, thefinancial plan, and the financial integrity of the organization. At the time ofinitial charter application the financial records and financial recordkeepingsystem of the nonprofit organization and the proposed financial plan for thecharter school shall be reviewed by the auditor general and the auditor generalshall, while the application is being considered for preliminary approval bythe board of regents, provide an initial determination to the board of regents,the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, and the speaker of thehouse of representatives indicating that the auditor general is satisfied thatthe nonprofit organization is financially responsible. Final approval foroperation of the public charter school shall not be granted by the board ofregents until the auditor general has approved the financial plan and financialrecord keeping system and is satisfied that the nonprofit organization isfinancially responsible. The auditor general shall notify the board of regents,the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, and the speaker of thehouse of representatives of the findings. During the year immediately precedingthe September in which the public charter school is to begin operation, thecharter applicant shall make any additional submissions to the auditor generalprescribed by the auditor general in the initial determination. Additionalsubmissions during the year prior to the September in which the public charterschool is to begin operation shall include, but not be limited to, evidencesubmitted to the auditor general not later than June 1 prior to the opening ofthe public charter school of the existence of an agreement, option for lease orpurchase, lease agreement or purchase agreement, contingent upon generalassembly funding, for a facility in which the public charter school willoperate in its first year of operation. The auditor general shall have theauthority to review charter schools on an annual basis or require the charterschool to have an annual certified audit in accordance with the same federaland state standards that are applicable to local public school districts. If asa result of any annual audit the auditor general believes there are financialirregularities, the auditor general shall withdraw the original approval andthe board of regents shall withdraw its approval for the charter school tocontinue operation.

   (j) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Boardof Regents shall not grant final approval for any new charter school to beginoperations in the 2006-2007 or 2007-2008 school year except for mayoralacademies as hereinafter defined.

   (k) A "mayoral academy" means a charter school created by amayor of any city or town acting through a nonprofit organization establishedfor said purpose, which enrolls students from more than one city or townincluding both urban and non-urban communities and which offers an equal numberof enrollments to students on a lottery basis; provided, further, that suchmayoral academies shall have a board of trustees or directors which iscomprised of representatives from each included city or town and is chaired bya mayor of an included city or town.