California Assembly Bill AB2607 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2607INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Roger Hernndez FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend Section 47607 of the Education Code, relating to charter schools. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2607, as introduced, Roger Hernndez. Charter schools: petition renewal. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 specifies the procedures for the submission, review, and approval or denial of a petition to establish a standard or countywide charter school. The Charter Schools Act limits the duration of charters to a period not to exceed 5 years and authorizes the chartering authority to grant one or more subsequent renewals for an additional period of 5 years for each renewal. The Charter Schools Act prescribes the requirements a charter school must comply with in order to have its charter renewed, including attaining specified measures of academic performance. The Charter Schools Act requires the chartering authority to make specified determinations regarding the academic performance of the charter school and to submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction copies of supporting documentation and a written summary of the basis for those determinations. This bill would authorize the chartering authority to submit the supporting documentation and summary in electronic form. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 47607 of the Education Code is amended to read: 47607. (a) (1) A charter may be granted pursuant to Sections 47605, 47605.5, and 47606 for a period not to exceed five years.  A charter granted by   The governing board of  a school district  governing board  , a county board of education  ,  or the state board  ,  may  be granted   grant  one or more subsequent renewals  of a charter approved  by that entity. Each renewal shall be for a period of five years. A material revision of the provisions of a charter petition may be made only with the approval of the authority that granted the charter. The authority that granted the charter may inspect or observe any part of the charter school at any time. (2) Renewals and material revisions of charters are governed by the standards and criteria in Section 47605, and shall include, but not be limited to, a reasonably comprehensive description of any new requirement of charter schools enacted into law after the charter was originally granted or last renewed. (b) Commencing on January 1, 2005, or after a charter school has been in operation for four years, whichever date occurs later, a charter school shall meet at least one of the following criteria  prior to   before  receiving a charter renewal pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a): (1) Attained its Academic Performance Index (API) growth target in the prior year or in two of the last three years, or in the aggregate for the prior three years. (2) Ranked in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API in the prior year or in two of the last three years. (3) Ranked in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API for a demographically comparable school in the prior year or in two of the last three years. (4) (A) The entity that granted the charter determines that the academic performance of the charter school is at least equal to the academic performance of the public schools that the charter school pupils would otherwise have been required to attend, as well as the academic performance of the schools in the school district in which the charter school is located, taking into account the composition of the pupil population that is served at the charter school. (B) The determination made pursuant to this paragraph shall be based upon all of the following: (i) Documented and clear and convincing data. (ii) Pupil achievement data from assessments, including, but not limited to, the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program established by Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) for demographically similar pupil populations in the comparison schools. (iii) Information submitted by the charter school. (C) A chartering authority shall submit to the Superintendent copies of supporting documentation and a written summary of the basis for any determination made pursuant to this paragraph.  The chartering authority may submit those documents in electronic form.  The Superintendent shall review the materials and make recommendations to the chartering authority based on that review. The review may be the basis for a recommendation made pursuant to Section 47604.5. (D) A charter renewal may not be granted to a charter school  prior to   before  30 days after that charter school submits materials pursuant to this paragraph. (5) Has qualified for an alternative accountability system pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 52052. (c) A charter may be revoked by the authority that granted the charter under this chapter if the authority finds, through a showing of substantial evidence, that the charter school did any of the following: (1) Committed a material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the charter. (2) Failed to meet or pursue any of the pupil outcomes identified in the charter. (3) Failed to meet generally accepted accounting principles  ,  or engaged in fiscal mismanagement. (4) Violated any provision of law. (d)  Prior to   Before  revocation, the authority that granted the charter shall notify the charter public school of any violation of this section and give the school a reasonable opportunity to remedy the violation, unless the authority determines, in writing, that the violation constitutes a severe and imminent threat to the health or safety of the pupils. (e)  Prior to   Before  revoking a charter for failure to remedy a violation pursuant to subdivision (d), and after expiration of the school's reasonable opportunity to remedy without successfully remedying the violation, the chartering authority shall provide a written notice of intent to revoke and notice of facts in support of revocation to the charter school. No later than 30 days after providing the notice of intent to revoke a charter, the chartering authority shall hold a public hearing, in the normal course of business, on the issue of whether evidence exists to revoke the charter. No later than 30 days after the public hearing, the chartering authority shall issue a final decision to revoke or decline to revoke the charter, unless the chartering authority and the charter school agree to extend the issuance of the decision by an additional 30 days. The chartering authority shall not revoke a charter, unless it makes written factual findings supported by substantial evidence, specific to the charter school, that support its findings. (f) (1) If a school district is the chartering authority and it revokes a charter pursuant to this section, the charter school may appeal the revocation to the county board of education within 30 days following the final decision of the chartering authority. (2) The county board may reverse the revocation decision if the county board determines that the findings made by the chartering authority under subdivision (e) are not supported by substantial evidence. The school district may appeal the reversal to the state board. (3) If the county board does not issue a decision on the appeal within 90 days of receipt, or the county board upholds the revocation, the charter school may appeal the revocation to the state board. (4) The state board may reverse the revocation decision if the state board determines that the findings made by the chartering authority under subdivision (e) are not supported by substantial evidence. The state board may uphold the revocation decision of the school district if the state board determines that the findings made by the chartering authority under subdivision (e) are supported by substantial evidence. (g) (1) If a county office of education is the chartering authority and the county board revokes a charter pursuant to this section, the charter school may appeal the revocation to the state board within 30 days following the decision of the chartering authority. (2) The state board may reverse the revocation decision if the state board determines that the findings made by the chartering authority under subdivision (e) are not supported by substantial evidence. (h) If the revocation decision of the chartering authority is reversed on appeal, the agency that granted the charter shall continue to be regarded as the chartering authority. (i) During the pendency of an appeal filed under this section, a charter school, whose revocation proceedings are based on paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (c), shall continue to qualify as a charter school for funding and for all other purposes of this part, and may continue to hold all existing grants, resources, and facilities, in order to ensure that the education of pupils enrolled in the school is not disrupted. (j) Immediately following the decision of a county board to reverse a decision of a school district to revoke a charter, the following shall apply: (1) The charter school shall qualify as a charter school for funding and for all other purposes of this part. (2) The charter school may continue to hold all existing grants, resources, and facilities. (3) Any funding, grants, resources, and facilities that had been withheld from the charter school, or that the charter school had otherwise been deprived of use, as a result of the revocation of the charter shall be immediately reinstated or returned. (k) A final decision of a revocation or appeal of a revocation pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be reported to the chartering authority, the county board, and the department.