§ 16-77-4 - Procedure for creation of charter schools. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 16-77-4

   § 16-77-4  Procedure for creation ofcharter schools. – (a) Any group eligible to establish a charter public school may apply to thecommissioner of elementary and secondary education and the school committee ofthe district.

   (b) The commissioner of education may recommend to the boardof regents for elementary and secondary education granting of a charter for apublic school upon receiving a completed application which contains all of theinformation which he or she deems necessary to fully address the followingissues. The application shall:

   (1) Be submitted to the commissioner and to the local schoolcommittee by not later than December 1 of the school year before the schoolyear in which the charter public school is to be established;

   (2) Describe a plan for education, including the mission,objective, method of providing a basic education, measurable student academicgoals that the charter public school will meet, and process for improvingstudent learning and fulfilling the charter and fulfilling state and nationaleducational goals and standards;

   (3) Provide a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days ofinstruction to students per year;

   (4) Indicate performance criteria that will be used tomeasure student learning and to comply with the charter, state, and nationaleducational goals and standards;

   (5) Include an agreement to provide a yearly report toparents, the community, the local school committee, and the commissioner ofelementary and secondary education, which indicates the progress made by thecharter public school during the previous year in meeting the charterobjectives;

   (6) Present a plan for the governance, administration, andoperation of the charter public school, including the manner in which thegoverning board of the school will be chosen, the nature and extent ofparental, professional educator, and community involvement in the governanceand operation of the charter public school, and the means of ensuringaccountability to the commissioner of education, the local school district, andthe board of regents;

   (7) Identify the building that will house the charter publicschool and from whom and under what terms and conditions it is to be provided;

   (8) Describe what support services will be provided by theschool district and under what terms and conditions those services are to beprovided, and describe what support services the charter public school willobtain directly from third parties and, to the extent known, under what termsand conditions those services are to be provided;

   (9) Explain the procedures that will be followed to ensurethe health and safety of pupils and staff;

   (10) Describe enrollment procedures including thenondiscriminatory criteria for admission in accordance with applicable stateand federal law, along with a program to encourage the enrollment of a diversestudent population. The makeup of the charter public school must be reflectiveof the student population of the district, including but not limited to specialeducation children, children at risk, children eligible for free or reducedcost lunch, and limited English proficient students. No charter shall beauthorized for a school with a student population that does not includestudents eligible for free or reduced cost lunch, students with limited Englishproficiency, and special education students in a combined percentage which isat least equal to the combined percentage of those student populations enrolledin the school district as a whole;

   (11) Explain the student discipline procedures;

   (12) Explain the relationship that will exist between theproposed charter public school and its employees, including the terms andconditions of employment and the qualifications that the employees must meet.Teachers and administrators in charter public schools must be certifiedpursuant to state law and regulation. With the exception of mayoral academies,teachers and administrators in charter schools shall be entitled to prevailingwages and benefits as enjoyed by other public school teachers andadministrators within the school district, and shall be subject to the stateteacher retirement system under chapter 8 of title 36. With the exception ofmayoral academies, employment in a charter school shall be considered "service"as that term is defined in chapter 16 of this title. With the exception ofmayoral academies, all employees and prospective employees of a charter schoolshall be deemed to be public school employees, having the same rights,including retirement, under Rhode Island and federal law as employees andprospective employees at a non-chartered public school. Each mayoral academyestablished pursuant to this chapter may nevertheless, by written notice to thecommissioner of elementary and secondary education, elect to have thissubsection apply to its teachers, administrators and employees.

   (13) Identify with particularity the state statutes, stateregulations, and school district rules from which variances are sought in orderto facilitate operation of the charter public school. Explain the reasons foreach variance and the alternative method by which the concern that gave rise tothe regulation or provision will be addressed;

   (14) Provide a financial plan including a proposed budget forthe term of the charter, and an annual audit of the financial andadministrative operations of the charter public school, and the manner in whichthe funds allocated to the charter public school will be managed and disbursed;

   (15) Provide procedures by which teaching personnel andparents can legally challenge decisions of the governing board of the schoolwhich do not conform to the school's charter; and

   (16) Provide a copy of the proposed bylaws of the charterpublic school.