OK
Oklahoma Senate Bill SB366

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB366 Compare Versions

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5353 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
5454
5555 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
5656
5757 SENATE BILL 366 By: Hines
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6363 AS INTRODUCED
6464
6565 An Act relating to charter schools; amending 70 O.S.
6666 2021, Section 3-134, as last amended by Section 6,
6767 Chapter 323, O.S.L. 2023 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section
6868 3-134), which relates to charter school applications;
6969 removing language requiring a charter school
7070 application to be first submitted to certain school
7171 district; requiring charter school applications to be
7272 submitted to a proposed sponsor beginning on certain
7373 date; updating statutory language; providing an
7474 effective date; and declaring an emergency .
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7979 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
8080 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3 -134, as
8181 last amended by Section 6, Chapter 323, O.S.L. 2023 (70 O.S. Supp.
8282 2024, Section 3-134), is amended to read as follows:
8383 Section 3-134. A. For written applications filed after July 1,
8484 2024, prior to submission of the application to a proposed sponsor
8585 seeking to establish a c harter school or to the Statewide Charter
8686 School Board to establish a virtual charter school, the applicant
8787 shall be required to complete training which shall not exceed ten
8888 (10) hours provided by the Statewide Charter School Board on the
8989 process and requirements for establishing a charter school or
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141141 virtual charter school. The sponsor of a charter school that enters
142142 into a new or renewed sponsorship contract on or after July 1, 2024,
143143 shall be required to complete training provided b y the Statewide
144144 Charter School Board or an organization approved by the Statew ide
145145 Charter School Board on the oversight duties of the sponsor. The
146146 Board shall develop and implement the training and publish a list of
147147 organizations approved to provide train ing by July 1, 2024. The
148148 Board and organizations approved by the Board may provide the
149149 training in any format and manner determined to be efficient and
150150 effective including, but not limited to, web -based training.
151151 B. Except as otherwise provided for in Se ction 3-137 of this
152152 title, an applicant seeking to establish a virtual charter school
153153 shall submit a written application to the Statewide Charter School
154154 Board, and an applicant seeking to establish a charter school shall
155155 submit a written application to the proposed sponsor as provided for
156156 in subsection E of this section. The application shall include:
157157 1. A mission statement for the charter school or virtual
158158 charter school;
159159 2. A description including, but not limited to, background
160160 information of the orga nizational structure and the governing board
161161 of the charter school or virtual charter school;
162162 3. A financial plan for the first five (5) years of operation
163163 of the charter school or virtual charter school and a description of
164164 the treasurer or other officer s or persons who shall have primary
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216216 responsibility for the finances of the charter school or virtual
217217 charter school. Such person shall have demonstrated experience in
218218 school finance or the equivalent thereof;
219219 4. A description of the hiring policy of the charter school or
220220 virtual charter school;
221221 5. The name of the applicant or app licants and requested
222222 sponsor;
223223 6. A description of the facility and location of the charter
224224 school;
225225 7. A description of the grades being served;
226226 8. An outline of criteria desi gned to measure the effectiveness
227227 of the charter school or virtual charter school;
228228 9. Documentation that the applicants completed training as set
229229 forth in subsection A of this section;
230230 10. A description of the minimum and maximum enrollment planned
231231 per year for each term of the charter contract;
232232 11. The proposed calendar for the charter school or virtual
233233 charter school and sample daily schedule;
234234 12. Unless otherwise authorized by law or regulation, a
235235 description of the academic program aligned with stat e standards;
236236 13. A description of the instructional design of the charter
237237 school or virtual charter school including the type of learning
238238 environment, class size and structure, curriculum overview, and
239239 teaching methods;
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291291 14. The plan for using internal an d external assessments to
292292 measure and report student progress on the performan ce framework
293293 developed by the applicant in accordance with Section 3 -136 of this
294294 title;
295295 15. The plans for identifying and successfully serving students
296296 with disabilities, studen ts who are English language learners, and
297297 students who are academically behind;
298298 16. A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs
299299 and how they will be funded and delivered;
300300 17. Plans and time lines for student recruitment and enrollment
301301 including lottery procedures;
302302 18. The student discipline policies for the charter school or
303303 virtual charter school including those for special education
304304 students;
305305 19. An organizational chart that clearly presents the
306306 organizational structure of the charter sc hool or virtual charter
307307 school, including lines of authority and reporting between the
308308 governing board, staff, any related bodies such as advisory bodies
309309 or parent and teacher councils, and any external organizations that
310310 will play a role in managing the s chool;
311311 20. A clear description of the roles and responsibilities for
312312 the governing board, the leadership and management team for the
313313 charter school or virtual charter school, and any other entities
314314 shown in the organizational chart;
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366366 21. The leadership an d teacher employment policies for the
367367 charter school or virtual charter school;
368368 22. Proposed governing bylaws;
369369 23. Explanations of any partnerships or contractual
370370 partnerships central to the operations or mission of the charter
371371 school or virtual charter school;
372372 24. The plans for providing transportation, food service, and
373373 all other significant operational or ancillary services;
374374 25. Opportunities and expectations for parental involvement;
375375 26. A detailed school start -up plan that identifies tasks, time
376376 lines, and responsible individuals;
377377 27. A description of the financial plan and policies for the
378378 charter school or virtual charter school including financial
379379 controls and audit requirements;
380380 28. A description of the insurance coverage the charter school
381381 or virtual charter school will obtain;
382382 29. Start-up and five-year budgets with clearly stated
383383 assumptions;
384384 30. Start-up and first-year cash-flow projections with clearly
385385 stated assumptions;
386386 31. Evidence of anticipated fundraising contributions, if
387387 claimed in the application;
388388 32. A sound facilities plan including backup or contingency
389389 plans if appropriate;
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441441 33. A requirement that the charter school or virtual charter
442442 school governing board meet no fewer than ten (10) months of the
443443 year in the state and th at for those charter schools outside of
444444 counties with a population of five hun dred thousand (500,000) or
445445 more, that a minimum of two (2) members are residents within the
446446 geographic boundary of the charter school;
447447 34. A requirement that the charter school or virtual charter
448448 school follow the requirements of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and
449449 Oklahoma Open Records Act; and
450450 35. A copy of any proposed contract between the governing board
451451 of a charter school or virtual charter school and an educational
452452 management organization, as defined by Section 5 -200 of this title,
453453 which meets the requirements of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.
454454 C. A board of education of a public school district, public
455455 body, public or private college or university, private person, or
456456 private organization may contract with a sponsor to establish a
457457 charter school or virtual charter school. A private school shall
458458 not be eligible to contract for a charter school or virtual charter
459459 school under the provisions of the Oklahoma Charter Schools A ct.
460460 D. The sponsor of a charter school is the board of education of
461461 a school district, a higher education institution, a private
462462 institution of higher learning accredited pursuant to Section 4103
463463 of this title, a federally recognized Indian tribe which me ets the
464464 criteria established in Section 3 -132 of this title, or beginning
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516516 July 1, 2024, the Statewide Charter School Board. Any sponsor
517517 authorized pursuant to subsection A of Section 3 -132 of this title
518518 may sponsor one or more charter schools. The physic al location of a
519519 charter school sponsored by a board of education of a school
520520 district shall be within the boundaries of the sponsoring school
521521 district. The physical location of a charter school sponsored by
522522 the Statewide Charter School Board pursuant to paragraph 6 of
523523 subsection A of Section 3 -132 of this title shall be in the school
524524 district in which the application originated.
525525 E. 1. Beginning July 1, 2024 2025, any application seeking to
526526 establish a charter school in this state shall be submitted first to
527527 the school district in which the proposed charter school is to be
528528 located. The school district board of education shall approve or
529529 deny the application within sixty (60) days of receipt of the
530530 application. If the charter school application is denied , nothing
531531 shall prohibit an applicant from submitting a revised application to
532532 the school district board of education, which shall approve or deny
533533 the revised application within sixty (60) days of receipt of the
534534 application.
535535 2. An applicant for a charter school that has been denied
536536 pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection may sub mit an application
537537 to a proposed sponsor listed in paragraphs 2 through 6 of subsection
538538 A of Section 3-132 of this title, which shall either accept or
539539 reject sponsorship of the c harter school within ninety (90) days of
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591591 receipt of the application. If the proposed sponsor rejects the
592592 application, it shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons
593593 for the rejection. The applicant may submit a revised application
594594 for reconsideration to the proposed sponsor within thirty (30) days
595595 after receiving notifica tion of the rejection. The proposed sponsor
596596 shall accept or reject the revised application within thirty (30)
597597 days of its receipt.
598598 3. 2. Beginning July 1, 2024, an applicant fo r a virtual
599599 charter school shall submit an application to the Statewide Charter
600600 School Board, which shall either accept or reject sponsorship of the
601601 virtual charter school within ninety (90) days of receipt of the
602602 application. If the application is reject ed, the Statewide Charter
603603 School Board shall notify the applicant in writing o f the reasons
604604 for the rejection. The applicant may submit a revised application
605605 for reconsideration to the Statewide Charter school Board within
606606 thirty (30) days after receiving notification of the rejection. The
607607 Statewide Charter School Board shall accept or reject the revised
608608 application within thirty (30) days of its receipt.
609609 F. A board of education of a school district, a higher
610610 education institution, a private institution of higher learning
611611 accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of this title, or a fed erally
612612 recognized Indian tribe shall notify the State Board of Education
613613 and the Statewide Charter School Board when it accepts sponsorship
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665665 of a charter school. The notification shall include a copy of the
666666 charter of the charter school.
667667 G. Applicants for charter schools and virtual charter schools
668668 proposed to be sponsored by the Statewide Charter School Board may,
669669 upon rejection of a revised application, proceed to binding
670670 arbitration under the commercial rules of the American Arbitration
671671 Association with costs of the arbitration to be borne by the
672672 applicant.
673673 H. If a board of education of a school district, a higher
674674 education institution, a private institution of higher learning
675675 accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of this title, or a federally
676676 recognized Indian tribe accepts sponsorship of a charter school, the
677677 administrative, fiscal, and oversight responsibilities of the school
678678 district, the higher education institution, the pri vate institution
679679 of higher learning accredited pursuant to Section 4103 of thi s
680680 title, or the federally recognized Indian tribe shall be listed in
681681 the contract. No administrative, fiscal, or oversight
682682 responsibilities of a charter school shall be delegate d to a school
683683 district unless the school district agrees to enter into a contract
684684 to assume the responsibilities.
685685 I. A sponsor of a public charter school shall have the
686686 following powers and duties over charter schools it sponsors, and
687687 the Statewide Charte r School Board shall have the following powers
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739739 and duties over the charter sch ools and virtual charter schools it
740740 sponsors:
741741 1. Provide services and oversight of the operations of charter
742742 schools or virtual charter schools in the state through annual
743743 performance reviews and reauthorization;
744744 2. Solicit and evaluate charter applications;
745745 3. Approve quality charter applications that meet identified
746746 educational needs and promote a diversity of educational choices;
747747 4. Decline to approve weak or inadequate cha rter applications;
748748 5. Negotiate and execute sound charter contracts with each
749749 approved public charter school or virtual charter school;
750750 6. Approve or deny proposed contracts between the governing
751751 board of a charter school or virtual charter school and an
752752 educational management organization, as defined by section Section
753753 5-200 of this title;
754754 7. Monitor, in accordance with charter contract terms, the
755755 performance and legal compliance of charter schools and virtual
756756 charter schools; and
757757 8. Determine whether each charter contract merits renewal,
758758 nonrenewal, or revocation.
759759 J. Sponsors shall establish a procedure for accepting,
760760 approving, and disapproving charter school applications in
761761 accordance with subsection E of this section. The Statewide Charter
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813813 School Board shall post its application, application process, and
814814 application time frames on the Board ’s website.
815815 K. Sponsors including the Statewide Charter School Board shall
816816 develop and maintain chartering policies and practices consistent
817817 with recognized principles and standards for quality charter
818818 sponsoring in all major areas of spo nsoring responsibility including
819819 organizational capacity and infrastructure, soliciting and
820820 evaluating charter school and virtual charter school applications,
821821 performance contracting, ongoing charter school and virtual charter
822822 school oversight and evaluation, and charter contract renewal
823823 decision-making.
824824 L. Sponsors acting in their official capacity shall be immune
825825 from civil and criminal liability with respect to all activities
826826 related to a charter school with which they contract.
827827 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
828828 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
829829 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emerg ency is hereby
830830 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
831831 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
832832
833833 60-1-1111 EB 1/6/2025 8:52:48 AM