This bill proposes significant updates to current statutes regarding charter schools in Arizona, enhancing transparency and accountability. Key new compliance requirements include mandates for charter schools to post notices, agendas, and minutes of public meetings on their websites and the state board for charter schools' websites. The bill also prohibits charter school sponsors from contracting with for-profit organizations to establish charter schools starting January 1, 2026, and requires annual independent audits of financial statements, which must be made publicly available. Additionally, it ensures that charter holder governing boards consist of at least three members and imposes restrictions on immediate family members serving simultaneously. Moreover, the bill introduces the term "charter school" into various sections to ensure consistent regulations with school districts, clarifies the definition of "gift or benefit," and mandates compliance with audit requirements for both entities. It also enhances the responsibilities of the auditor general by requiring reviews of audit recommendation implementations and allowing access to records and executive sessions. Overall, these updates aim to improve governance and oversight in Arizona's charter school system, collectively known as the "Charter School Transparency and Accountability Act."

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15-181, 15-183, 15-183.02, 15-184, 15-189.02, 15-189.03, 15-189.08, 15-213, 15-914.02, 41-1279.03, 41-1279.04, 15-185, 41-1750, 92-544, 15-505, 15-512, 41-1758.03, 114-95, 108-446, 15-550, 15-203, 15-741.01, 1-216, 15-341, 15-914, 11-952.01, 41-621.01, 41-1092.08, 3-365, 15-808, 15-154, 15-771, 15-421, 15-189.0, 11-255, 15-342, 15-382, 15-765, 41-2535, 41-2576, 41-2577, 41-2565, 41-2616, 15-914.01, 41-2631, 42-6106, 42-6107, 28-6392, 28-6533