HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 98
BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH
SCHOOLS/CHARTER: Provides relative to local charter authorizers and Type 1B charter
schools
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 17:3973(2)(a) and (3), 3982(B)(1) and (2)(a), 3983(A)(4)(a) and
3 (d) and (B)(2), 3991(H), 3995(A)(1)(introductory paragraph) and (c), (3)(b), and
4 (4)(a)(i) and (H), 3996(G), and 4001(A) and (C)(1) and (2) and to repeal R.S.
5 17:3973(2)(b)(vi) and (4), 3974(A), 3981.1, 3981.2, and 3983(A)(2)(d), (D)(2), and
6 (E)(3), relative to charter schools; to revise the definition of a chartering authority;
7 to remove the authority of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
8 to certify certain entities as local charter authorizers; to remove the authority of local
9 charter authorizers to approve charter proposals and to enter into charters; to
10 eliminate certain types of charter schools; and to provide for related matters.
11Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
12 Section 1. R.S. 17:3973(2)(a) and (3), 3982(B)(1) and (2)(a), 3983(A)(4)(a) and (d)
13and (B)(2), 3991(H), 3995(A)(1)(introductory paragraph) and (c), (3)(b), and (4)(a)(i) and
14(H), 3996(G), and 4001(A) and (C)(1) and (2) are hereby amended and reenacted to read as
15follows:
16 §3973. Definitions
17 As used in this Chapter, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have
18 the meanings ascribed to them in this Section except when the context clearly
19 indicates a different meaning:
20 * * *
Page 1 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 (2)(a) "Charter school" means an independent public school that provides a
2 program of elementary or secondary education, or both, established pursuant to and
3 in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter to provide a learning environment
4 that will improve pupil achievement. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to
5 prohibit a Type 1, Type 1B, Type 2, Type 3, Type 3B, or Type 4 charter school from
6 having a residential component.
7 * * *
8 (3) "Chartering authority" means either a local school board, a local charter
9 authorizer, or the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
10 * * *
11 §3982. Local school boards; duties; Orleans Parish School Board; immovable
12 property; sale or lease
13 * * *
14 B.(1) Local school boards shall make available to chartering groups any
15 vacant school facilities or any facility slated to be vacant for lease or purchase up to
16 fair market value. In the case of a Type 1B or a Type 2 charter school created as a
17 result of a conversion, the facility and all property within the existing school shall
18 be made available to that chartering group. In return for the use of the facility and
19 its contents, the chartering group shall pay a proportionate share of the local school
20 board's bonded indebtedness to be calculated in the same manner as set forth in R.S.
21 17:1990(C)(2)(a)(i). If such facilities were constructed at no cost to the local school
22 board, then such facilities including all equipment, books, instructional materials,
23 and furniture within such facilities shall be provided to the charter school at no cost.
24 (2)(a) The Orleans Parish School Board shall make available to chartering
25 groups, for lease or purchase up to fair market value, any school facility or other
26 immovable property, whether improved or unimproved, that is owned by the school
27 board and that is vacant or slated to be vacant. In the case of a Type 1B or a Type
28 2 charter school created as a result of a conversion, the immovable property,
29 including any unimproved property, and all other school board property within the
Page 2 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 existing school shall be made available to that chartering group. In return for the use
2 of the facility and its contents, the chartering group shall pay a proportionate share
3 of the local school board's bonded indebtedness to be calculated in the same manner
4 as set forth in R.S. 17:1990(C)(2)(a)(i). If such facilities were constructed at no cost
5 to the local school board, then such facilities including all equipment, books,
6 instructional materials, and furniture within such facilities shall be provided to the
7 charter school at no cost.
8 * * *
9 §3983. Chartering process by type; eligibility; limitations; faculty approval; parental
10 approval
11 A.
12 * * *
13 (4)(a) A local school board and a local charter authorizer may enter into any
14 charter it finds valid, complete, financially well-structured, and educationally sound
15 after meeting the requirements of this Chapter. Each such charter entered into shall
16 be reported by the local school board or local charter authorizer to the state board not
17 less than two business days following the event.
18 * * *
19 (d) Prior to the consideration of a charter school proposal by any local school
20 board, a local charter authorizer, or the state board, each charter applicant shall be
21 afforded the opportunity to provide a written response to the independent evaluation
22 conducted in accordance with R.S. 17:3981(4), 3981.2(A)(1)(a), or 3982(A)(1)(a)(i),
23 as applicable. Such response shall be available to the independent reviewers for
24 consideration prior to issuing a final recommendation to the chartering authority.
25 However, if a proposal is not approved by the local school board or local charter
26 authorizer and then also not approved by the state board within the same approval
27 cycle, then the proposal shall be submitted to the local school board or a local charter
Page 3 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 authorizer for its consideration during the next approval cycle prior to being
2 submitted to the state board.
3 * * *
4 B.
5 * * *
6 (2) Additionally, each approved charter may be approved subject to whatever
7 other resolutory or suspensive conditions the chartering authority requires provided
8 those entering into the charter agree with the conditions. If the local board or local
9 charter authorizer seeks to amend the charter agreement in a manner that is
10 unacceptable to the charter school or if the charter school finds requested terms for
11 charter renewal to be unacceptable, the charter school may petition the state board
12 to convert to a Type 2 charter school. Upon receipt of such request, the state board
13 shall notify the local board or local charter authorizer of the request and shall permit
14 the local board or local charter authorizer to provide a response prior to any action
15 on such request.
16 * * *
17 §3991. Charter schools; requirements; limitations; renewal; amendment; revocation
18 * * *
19 H. Any assets acquired by a Type 1, 1B, 2, 3, 3B, or 5 charter school are the
20 property of that charter school for the duration of that school's charter agreement.
21 Any assets acquired by a Type 4 charter school are the property of the local school
22 board. If the charter agreement of any Type 1, 1B, 2, 3, 3B, or 5 charter school is
23 revoked or the school otherwise ceases to operate, all assets purchased with any
24 public funds become the property of the chartering authority. Assets that become the
25 property of a local charter authorizer pursuant to this Subsection shall be used solely
26 for purposes of operating charter schools. Charter schools are to maintain records
27 of any assets acquired with any private funds which remain the property of the
28 nonprofit group operating the charter school.
29 * * *
Page 4 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 §3995. Charter school funding
2 A.(1) For the purpose of funding, a Type 1, Type 3, Type 3B not acting as
3 its own local education agency, and Type 4 charter school shall be considered an
4 approved public school of the local school board entering into the charter agreement.
5 Type 1B and Type 2 charter schools and a Type 3B charter school acting as its own
6 local education agency shall receive a per pupil amount each year authorized by the
7 state board each year as provided in the approved minimum foundation program
8 formula. The per pupil amount provided to a Type 1, 1B, 2, 3, 3B, or 4 charter
9 school shall be computed annually and shall be equal to the per pupil amount
10 provided through the minimum foundation program formula, determined by the
11 allocation weights in the formula based upon student characteristics or needs,
12 received by the school district in which the student resides from the following
13 sources based on the district's membership count used in the minimum foundation
14 program formula:
15 * * *
16 (c) The provisions of this Paragraph permitting the calculation of the per
17 pupil amount to be provided to a Type 1, 1B, 2, 3, 3B, or 4 charter school to exclude
18 any portion of local revenues specifically dedicated by the legislature or by voter
19 approval to capital outlay or debt service, shall be applicable only to a charter school
20 housed in a facility or facilities provided by the district in which the charter school
21 is located.
22 * * *
23 (3) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and unless otherwise
24 provided for in the approved minimum foundation program formula:
25 * * *
26 (b) Beginning July 1, 2016, for a district with one or more Type 3B charter
27 schools in a parish that contains a municipality with a population of three hundred
28 thousand or more persons according to the latest federal decennial census, the total
29 amount of minimum foundation program formula funds allocated to the local school
Page 5 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 board and to Type 1, 1B, 3, 3B, 4, and 5 charter schools that are located within the
2 district shall be allocated using a district-level computation based on student
3 characteristics or needs as determined by the state board. The state Department of
4 Education shall facilitate a collaborative process that includes representatives from
5 the Recovery School District, the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools,
6 any affected local school board and any organization representing its authorized
7 charter schools, and advocates for students with disabilities in the development of
8 the district-level allocation policy that shall take effect on July 1, 2016.
9 (4)(a)(i) The state board, and a local school board, and a local charter
10 authorizer may annually charge each charter school they authorize a fee in an amount
11 equal to two percent of the total per pupil amount as defined by this Subsection that
12 is received by a charter school for administrative overhead costs incurred by the
13 chartering authority for considering the charter application and any amendment
14 thereto, providing monitoring and oversight of the school, collecting and analyzing
15 data of the school, and for reporting on school performance. Such fee amount shall
16 be withheld from the per pupil amount in monthly increments and shall not be
17 applicable to any federal money or grants received by the charter school.
18 Administrative overhead costs shall not include any cost incurred by the chartering
19 authority to provide purchased services to the charter school. As provided by
20 Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, a chartering authority or the Recovery School
21 District, if applicable, may provide other services for a charter school and charge the
22 actual cost of providing such services, but no such arrangement shall be required as
23 a condition for authorizing the charter school.
24 * * *
25 H. Any Type 1B, 2, or 5 charter school shall be considered the local
26 education agency for funding purposes and statutory definitions pursuant to rules
27 adopted by the state board.
28 * * *
Page 6 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 §3996. Charter schools; exemptions; requirements
2 * * *
3 G. All charter schools established and operated in accordance with the
4 provisions of this Chapter shall comply with the provisions of R.S. 39:1301 through
5 1315. Each Type 1, 3, 3B, and 4 charter school annually shall submit its budget to
6 the local school board that approved its charter, and such board shall submit the
7 charter school's budget to the state superintendent of education in accordance with
8 the provisions of R.S. 17:88. Each Type 1B charter school annually shall submit its
9 budget to its authorizer. Each Type 2 and Type 5 charter school annually shall
10 submit its budget directly to the state superintendent of education.
11 * * *
12 §4001. Louisiana Charter School Start-Up Loan Fund; creation; purpose;
13 distribution
14 A. The Louisiana Charter School Start-Up Loan Fund, hereafter referred to
15 as the "fund", is hereby created within the state treasury for the purposes of
16 providing a source for funding no-interest loans to assist both existing and new Type
17 1, Type 1B, Type 2, or Type 3 charter schools with initial start-up funding and for
18 funding the administrative and legal cost associated with the charter school program.
19 * * *
20 C.(1) The state board shall administer the use of the monies appropriated
21 from the fund and shall adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure
22 Act. The adopted rules shall specify that state board approval of any Type 2 charter
23 school proposal that includes within its budget a request for loan funding which
24 complies with the provisions of this Section and details regarding how those loan
25 funds are to be expended, shall constitute the approval of that loan amount. No
26 additional loan application paperwork shall be required. Any No Type 1 or Type 3
27 charter school approved by their its local school board and a Type 1B charter school
28 approved by a certified local charter authorizer shall be required to submit no more
29 than their its approved charter proposal and a detailed budget identifying how any
Page 7 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
1 loan funds are to be expended and how such request complies with the provisions of
2 this Section. The state board may reject any such request which does not comply
3 with terms of this Section. Such rules shall also note that any loan funding may be
4 used only to purchase tangible items such as equipment, technology, instructional
5 materials, and facility acquisition, upgrade, and repairs. Such equipment or other
6 items shall become the property of the state if the loan is not fully repaid by virtue
7 of the school ceasing to operate during the three years of automatic loan repayment
8 as noted in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection.
9 (2) Loans shall be made only to Type 1, Type 1B, Type 2, and Type 3
10 charter schools and shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars to pay for charter
11 school start-up and early operating expenses. No money lent as provided in this
12 Section may be used to pay prior debts of the nonprofit corporation which formed
13 the charter school, any of the natural persons principally involved in forming the
14 charter school, or any former or current business or nonprofit venture of any such
15 natural persons for any purchase not related to the creation of the charter school, or
16 to pay to members of the immediate family of any such natural persons, or to make
17 any investments.
18 * * *
19 Section 2. R.S. 17:3973(2)(b)(vi) and (4), 3974(A), 3981.1, 3981.2, and
203983(A)(2)(d), (D)(2), and (E)(3) are hereby repealed in their entirety.
21 Section 3. The certification of any local charter authorizer by the State Board of
22Elementary and Secondary Education is null and void.
23 Section 4. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
24signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
25by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
26vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
27effective on the day following such approval.
Page 8 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-423 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 98
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 98 Original 2016 Regular Session Smith
Abstract: Removes BESE's authority to certify local charter authorizers, thus eliminating
the possibility of local charter authorizers serving as chartering authorities and the
possibility of the establishment of Type 1B charter schools.
Present law defines a "chartering authority", relative to the establishment of charter schools,
as a local school board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE),
or a "local charter authorizer". Defines a "local charter authorizer" as a group certified by
BESE to enter into agreements with chartering groups. Authorizes any chartering authority
to enter into any charter it finds valid, complete, financially well-structured, and
educationally sound.
Proposed law eliminates local charter authorizers from the definition of "chartering
authority" and removes the authority of local charter authorizers to enter into charters, thus
providing that only local school boards and BESE have this authority.
Present law defines seven types of charter schools and provides a chartering process for each
type. Defines a Type 1B charter school as a new school or a preexisting public school
operated as the result of and pursuant to a charter between the nonprofit corporation created
to operate the school and a local charter authorizer. Proposed law eliminates Type 1B
charter schools as a type of charter school in conformity with elimination of local charter
authorizers.
Present law provides for BESE's powers and duties relative to local charter authorizers,
including certifying them as such, and for the powers and duties of local charter authorizers,
including approving or denying charter proposals. Proposed law repeals present law and
removes all other statutory references to local charter authorizers and Type 1B charter
schools. Otherwise retains present law relative to charter schools.
Proposed law provides that should BESE certify any local charter authorizer, such
certification is null and void.
Effective upon signature of governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Amends R.S. 17:3973(2)(a) and (3), 3982(B)(1) and (2)(a), 3983(A)(4)(a) and (d) and
(B)(2), 3991(H), 3995(A)(1)(intro. para.) and (c), (3)(b), and (4)(a)(i) and (H), 3996(G), and
4001(A) and (C)(1) and (2); Repeals R.S. 17:3973(2)(b)(vi) and (4), 3974(A), 3981.1,
3981.2, and 3983(A)(2)(d), (D)(2), and (E)(3))
Page 9 of 9
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.