22.1-212.6 - Establishment and operation of public charter schools; requirements. - Virginia Statutes

§ 22.1-212.6. Establishment and operation of public charter schools;requirements.

A. A public charter school shall be subject to all federal and state laws andregulations and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on thebasis of disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion,ancestry, or need for special education services and shall be subject to anycourt-ordered desegregation plan in effect for the school division or, in thecase of a regional public charter school, any court-ordered desegregationplan in effect for relevant school divisions.

Enrollment shall be open to any child who is deemed to reside within therelevant school division or, in the case of a regional public charter school,within any of the relevant school divisions, as set forth in § 22.1-3,through a lottery process on a space-available basis. A waiting list shall beestablished if adequate space is not available to accommodate all studentswhose parents have requested to be entered in the lottery process. Suchwaiting list shall also be prioritized through a lottery process and parentsshall be informed of their student's position on the list.

B. A public charter school shall be administered and managed by a managementcommittee, composed of parents of students enrolled in the school, teachersand administrators working in the school, and representatives of anycommunity sponsors, in a manner agreed to by the public charter schoolapplicant and the local school board. Pursuant to a charter contract and asspecified in § 22.1-212.7, a public charter school may operate free fromspecified school division policies and state regulations, and, as publicschools, shall be subject to the requirements of the Standards of Quality,including the Standards of Learning and the Standards of Accreditation.

C. Pursuant to a charter agreement, a public charter school shall beresponsible for its own operations, including, but not limited to, suchbudget preparation, contracts for services, and personnel matters as arespecified in the charter agreement. A public charter school may negotiate andcontract with a school division, the governing body of a public institutionof higher education, or any third party for the use of a school building andgrounds, the operation and maintenance thereof, and the provision of anyservice, activity, or undertaking which the public charter school is requiredto perform in order to carry out the educational program described in itscharter. Any services for which a public charter school contracts with aschool division shall not exceed the division's costs to provide suchservices.

D. In no event shall a public charter school be required to pay rent forspace which is deemed available, as negotiated by contract, in schooldivision facilities. All other costs for the operation and maintenance of thefacilities used by the public charter school shall be subject to negotiationbetween the public charter school and the school division or, in the case ofa regional public charter school, between the regional public charter schooland the relevant school divisions.

E. A public charter school shall not charge tuition.

(1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2004, c. 530.)