HB 0298

AN ACT relative to charter schools.

SPONSORS: Rep. Hunt, Ches 10; Sen. O'Hearn, Dist 12

This bill establishes a 10-year pilot program for the approval of up to 2 charter schools per year by the state board of education and creates certain exemptions from existing law relative to the approval process, while subjecting charter schools approved by the state board of education to the same oversight and reporting requirements found in the existing charter school laws. The bill provides that funding for charter schools shall be through reimbursement anticipation notes or cash tuition payments directly payable to the charter school.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Charter Schools and Open Enrollment Schools; Alternative Procedure for Approval of Charter Schools. Amend RSA 194-B by inserting after section 3 the following new section:

I. There is hereby established a 10-year pilot program which authorizes the state board of education to grant charter status under this section. Beginning January 1, 2002, the state board of education shall be authorized to grant no more than 2 state charter school applications each year.

II. The proposed charter school application shall be presented for approval directly to the state board of education by the applicant for the prospective charter school no later than June 15 of the year preceding intended operation. The content of such application shall conform to the requirements set forth in RSA 194-B:3, II (a)-(bb). The department of education shall notify an applicant of any missing information within 10 days of the initial filing or by June 30, whichever is earlier. The applicant shall have until July 15 to refile an application.

III. The department of education may forward the proposed application to the applicant, along with a written statement detailing any suggested amendments or modifications.

IV. By September 30 of the given year, the state board of education shall either approve or deny an application based on the criteria set forth in RSA 194-B:1-a. Approval of an application constitutes the granting of charter status and the right to operate as a charter school. The state board of education shall notify all applicants of their decision, and shall include in any notice of denial a statement that the applicant may reapply under RSA 194-B:3, RSA 194-B:4, or under this section in a subsequent year.

V.(a) The following provisions of law shall not apply to charter school applications proposed under this section, or to charter schools granted approval for operation under this section:

(b) Except as provided in this paragraph, the provisions of RSA 194-B shall apply to charter schools approved for operation by the state board of education under this section.

I. There shall be no tuition charge for any pupil attending an open enrollment or charter conversion school located in that pupil's resident district. Funding limitations in this chapter shall not be applicable to charter conversion or open enrollment schools located in a pupil's resident district. For any other charter or open enrollment school, the pupil's resident district shall pay to such school [an amount equal to not less than 80 percent of that district's average cost per pupil as determined by the department of education using the most recent available data as reported by the district to the department] tuition in an amount not less than the base cost per pupil as determined in RSA 198:40 as adjusted for grade level weights as determined in RSA 198:38. Tuition amounts shall be prorated on a per diem basis for pupils attending a school for less than a full school year. To the extent permitted by law, [~~funding for a pupil attending a charter or open enrollment school shall be paid on the same time schedule as the resident district,~~] tuition payments shall coincide with the distribution of adequacy grants under RSA 198:42 or on such other terms as [~~the school and the funding source may find~~] are mutually acceptable.

3 New Paragraph; Charter School Funding. Amend RSA 194-B:11 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraph:

IX.(a) The pupil's resident school district shall pay tuition in cash or may issue reimbursement anticipation notes as set forth in RSA 198:20-d for each year in which a resident pupil attends a charter school approved by the state board of education. Unless otherwise agreed upon, cash payment shall coincide with the schedule for grant payment set forth in RSA 198:42. The reimbursement anticipation note shall be in the amount of the average base cost per pupil of an elementary or high school pupil, as calculated under RSA 198:40, for the year of attendance at the charter school, and shall be issued to the charter school prior to the beginning of the school year of the charter school. Each reimbursement anticipation note issued shall be for a term of 3 years from the date of issue or may be redeemable by the charter school at such time as the charter school or the pupil's resident school district receives adequate education grant amounts pursuant to RSA 198:42.

(b) Upon receipt of such reimbursement anticipation notes, the charter school may elect to borrow funds for the purpose of meeting general operating and maintenance expenses for charter school operations.

(c) Not more than 5 percent of the resident pupils in any grade shall be eligible to transfer to a charter school in any school year without the approval of the local school board.

4 New Paragraph; Charter and Open Enrollment Schools; Duties of the Board of Trustees. Amend RSA 194-B:5 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:

VI. The meetings and proceedings of the board of trustees shall be held in public session pursuant to RSA 91-A:2, except for those meetings or proceedings designated as nonpublic sessions as defined in RSA 91-A:3, II.

5 Repeal. RSA 194-B:3-a, relative to direct approval of charter schools by the state board of education, is repealed.

AN ACT relative to charter schools and establishing a charter school revolving fund.

The Department of Education indicates this bill, as amended by the House, (House Amendment $2001-2016h) may increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount beginning in FY 2002 and continuing each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact to state, county and local revenue or state and county expenditures.

The Department indicates there are currently no charter schools in operation in New Hampshire. The Department states this bill allows the State Board of Education to approve up to two charter schools per year, over the next 10 years. The Department is unable to estimate the impact of this bill since the cost will depend on the number of charter schools and the number of pupils who may be attending these schools.