H.B. 618
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Apr 13, 2023
SESSION 2023 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH40336-NH-55B
Short Title: Charter School Review Board. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Cotham.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO CONVERT THE CHARTER SCHOOLS ADVISORY BOARD INTO THE
3 CHARTER SCHOOLS REVIEW BOARD, TO SHIFT THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE
4 CHARTERS FROM THE STATE BOARD TO THE REVIEW BOARD, AND TO
5 CREATE A RIGHT OF APPEAL TO THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION FROM
6 REVIEW BOARD DECISIONS.
7 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
8 SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-218 reads as rewritten:
9 "§ 115C-218. Purpose of charter schools; role of State Board of Education; establishment
10 of North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Review Board and North Carolina
11 Office of Charter Schools.
12 …
13 (a1) State Board of Education. – The State Board of Education shall have the following
14 duties regarding charter schools:
15 (1) Rulemaking. – To establish all rules for the operation and approval of charter
16 schools. Any rule adopted by the State Board must first be approved by the
17 Charter Schools Review Board.
18 (2) Funding. – To allocate funds to charter schools.
19 (3) Appeals. – To hear appeals from decisions of the Charter Schools Review
20 Board under G.S. 115C-218.9.
21 (4) Accountability. – To ensure accountability from charter schools for school
22 finances and student performance.
23 (b) North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Review Board. –
24 (1) Advisory Review Board. – There is created the North Carolina Charter
25 Schools Advisory Review Board, hereinafter referred to in this Article as the
26 Advisory Review Board. The Advisory Review Board shall be located
27 administratively within the Department of Public Instruction and shall report
28 to the State Board of Education.
29 (2) Membership. – The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, or the
30 Superintendent's designee, shall be the secretary of the Advisory Board and a
31 nonvoting member. Review Board. The Advisory Review Board shall consist
32 of the following 11 12 voting members:
33 a. Repealed by Session Laws 2016-126, 4th Ex. Sess., s. 17, effective
34 January 1, 2017.
35 a1. The Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Superintendent's
36 designee.
*DRH40336-NH-55B*
 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023
1 b. Four members appointed by the General Assembly upon the
2 recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, in
3 accordance with G.S. 120-121.
4 c. Four members appointed by the General Assembly upon the
5 recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in
6 accordance with G.S. 120-121.
7 d. Two members appointed by the State Board of Education who are not
8 current members of the State Board of Education and who are charter
9 school advocates in North Carolina.
10 e. The Lieutenant Governor or the Lieutenant Governor's designee.
11 (3) Covered board. – The Advisory Review Board shall be treated as a board for
12 purposes of Chapter 138A of the General Statutes.
13 (4) Qualifications of members. – Members appointed to the Advisory Review
14 Board shall collectively possess strong experience and expertise in public and
15 nonprofit governance, management and finance, assessment, curriculum and
16 instruction, public charter schools, and public education law. All appointed
17 members of the Advisory Review Board shall have demonstrated an
18 understanding of and a commitment to charter schools as a strategy for
19 strengthening public education.
20 …
21 (6) Presiding officers and quorum. – The Advisory Review Board shall annually
22 elect a chair and a vice-chair from among its membership. The chair shall
23 preside over the Advisory Review Board's meetings. In the absence of the
24 chair, the vice-chair shall preside over the Advisory Review Board's meetings.
25 A majority of the Advisory Review Board constitutes a quorum.
26 (7) Meetings. – Meetings of the Advisory Review Board shall be held upon the
27 call of the chair or the vice-chair with the approval of the chair.
28 (8) Expenses. – Members of the Advisory Review Board shall be reimbursed for
29 travel and subsistence expenses at the rates allowed to State officers and
30 employees by G.S. 138-6(a).
31 (9) Removal. – Any appointed member of the Advisory Review Board may be
32 removed by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the Advisory
33 Review Board at any duly held meeting for any cause that renders the member
34 incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of the office.
35 (10) Powers and duties. – The Advisory Review Board shall have the following
36 duties:
37 a. To make recommendations to the State Board of Education on the
38 adoption of rules regarding all aspects of charter school operation,
39 including time lines, standards, and criteria for acceptance and
40 approval of applications, monitoring of charter schools, and grounds
41 for revocation of charters.
42 b. To review applications and make recommendations to the State Board
43 for final approval of charter applications.and approve or deny charter
44 applications, renewals, and revocations.
45 c. To make recommendations to the State Board on actions regarding a
46 charter school, including renewals of charters, nonrenewals of
47 charters, and revocations of charters.before the State Board on appeal
48 under G.S. 115C-218.9.
49 d. To undertake any other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the
50 State Board.
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1 (11) Duties of the chair of the Advisory Review Board. – In addition to any other
2 duties prescribed in this Article, the chair of the Advisory Review Board, or
3 the chair's designee, shall advocate for the recommendations of the Advisory
4 Review Board at meetings of the State Board upon the request of the State
5 Board.
6 (c) North Carolina Office of Charter Schools. –
7 …
8 (2) Executive Director. – The Executive Director shall report to and serve at the
9 pleasure of the Superintendent of Public Instruction at a salary established by
10 the Superintendent within the funds appropriated for this purpose. The duties
11 of the Executive Director shall include presenting the recommendations and
12 decisions of the Advisory Review Board at meetings of the State Board upon
13 the request of the State Board.
14 (3) Powers and duties. – The Office of Charter Schools shall have the following
15 powers and duties:
16 a. Serve as staff to the Advisory Review Board and fulfill any task and
17 duties assigned to it by the Advisory Review Board.
18 …."
19 SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C-218.2 reads as rewritten:
20 "§ 115C-218.2. Opportunity to correct applications; opportunity to address Advisory
21 Review Board.
22 (a) The State Board of Education and the Advisory Review Board shall provide timely
23 notification to an applicant of any format issues or incomplete information in the initial
24 application and provide the applicant at least five business days to correct those issues in the
25 initial application. If the applicant submits the corrections within the five business days, equal
26 consideration shall be given to that application.
27 (b) Before taking action regarding a charter school or charter school applicant, including
28 recommendations on preliminary or final approval of charter applications, renewals of charters,
29 nonrenewals of charters, and revocations of charters, the Advisory Review Board or a committee
30 of the Advisory Review Board shall provide an opportunity for the applicant or charter board
31 member to address the Advisory Review Board or its committee, if present, at a meeting."
32 SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 115C-218.3 reads as rewritten:
33 "§ 115C-218.3. Fast-track replication of high-quality charter schools.
34 Upon recommendations by the Office of Charter Schools and the Charter Schools Advisory
35 Review Board, the State Board of Education shall adopt a process and rules for fast-track
36 replication of high-quality charter schools currently operating in the State. The State Board of
37 Education shall not require a planning year for applicants selected through the fast-track
38 replication process. In addition to the requirements for charter applicants set forth in this Article,
39 the fast-track replication process adopted by the State Board of Education shall, at a minimum,
40 require a board of directors of a charter school to demonstrate one of the following in order to
41 qualify for fast-track replication:
42 (1) The board of directors operates charter schools and can demonstrate both of
43 the following:
44 a. The majority of charter schools in this State governed by the board of
45 directors has student academic outcomes from the three prior school
46 years that are equal to or greater than the student academic outcomes
47 in the local school administrative unit in which each charter school is
48 located.
49 b. The board of directors can provide three years of financially sound
50 audits for each school it governs.
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1 (2) The board of directors agrees to contract with an education management
2 organization or charter management organization that can demonstrate both
3 of the following:
4 a. The majority of the charter schools in this State managed by the
5 organization has student academic outcomes from the three prior
6 school years that are equal to or greater than the student academic
7 outcomes in the local school administrative unit in which each charter
8 school is located.
9 b. The organization can provide three years of financially sound audits
10 for each school it governs.
11 The State Board of Education shall ensure that the rules for a fast-track replication process
12 provide that decisions by the State Board of Education Review Board on whether to grant a
13 charter through the replication process are completed in less than 120 days from the application
14 submission date. The State Review Board shall provide a decision no later than October 15 of
15 the year immediately preceding the year of the proposed school opening.opening, and any appeal
16 of the Review Board's decision shall be heard and decided no later than December 1 of the same
17 year."
18 SECTION 1.(d) G.S. 115C-218.5 reads as rewritten:
19 "§ 115C-218.5. Final approval of applications for charter schools.
20 (a) The State Review Board may grant final approval of an application if it finds the
21 following:
22 (1) The application meets the requirements set out in this Article and such other
23 requirements as may be adopted by the State Board of Education.
24 (2) The applicant has the ability to operate the school and would be likely to
25 operate the school in an educationally and economically sound manner.
26 (3) Granting the application would achieve one or more of the purposes set out in
27 G.S. 115C-218.
28 In reviewing applications for the establishment of charter schools within a local school
29 administrative unit, the State Review Board is encouraged to give preference to applications that
30 demonstrate the capability to provide comprehensive learning experiences to students identified
31 by the applicants as at risk of academic failure.
32 (b) The State Review Board shall make final decisions on the approval or denial of
33 applications by August 15 of a calendar year on all applications it receives prior to a date
34 established by the Office of Charter Schools for receipt of applications in that application cycle.
35 The State Review Board may make the final decision for approval contingent upon the successful
36 completion of a planning period prior to enrollment of students.
37 (c) The State Board of Education Review Board may authorize a school before the
38 applicant has secured its space, equipment, facilities, and personnel if the applicant indicates the
39 authority is necessary for it to raise working capital. The State Board shall not allocate any funds
40 to the school until the school has obtained space.
41 (d) The State Board of Education Review Board may grant the initial charter for a period
42 not to exceed 10 years.
43 (e), (f) Repealed by Session Laws 2016-79, s. 1.1, effective June 30, 2016, and applicable
44 beginning with the 2016-2017 school year.
45 (g) A charter school shall be entitled to automatically extend any deadline to begin
46 operations or commence the term of its charter until the next school year if it notifies the State
47 Review Board by June 30 that it is seeking land use or development approvals for its selected
48 site or facilities or if it is challenging the denial of any requested land use or development
49 approvals. The term of the charter issued by the State Board shall be tolled during the period of
50 any extension or extensions issued under this section."
51 SECTION 1.(e) G.S. 115C-218.6 reads as rewritten:
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1 "§ 115C-218.6. Review and renewal of charters.
2 (a) The State Board of Education Review Board shall review the operations of each
3 charter school at least once prior to the expiration of its charter to ensure that the school is meeting
4 the expected academic, financial, and governance standards.
5 (b) The State Board of Education Review Board shall renew a charter upon the request
6 of the chartering entity for subsequent periods of 10 years, unless one of the following applies:
7 (1) The charter school has not provided financially sound audits for the
8 immediately preceding three years.
9 (2) The charter school's student academic outcomes for the immediately
10 preceding three years have not been comparable to the academic outcomes of
11 students in the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is
12 located.
13 (3) The charter school is not, at the time of the request for renewal of the charter,
14 substantially in compliance with State law, federal law, the school's own
15 bylaws, or the provisions set forth in its charter granted by the State Board of
16 Education.Review Board.
17 If one of the conditions set forth in subdivisions (1) through (3) of this subsection applies,
18 then the State Review Board may renew the charter for a period of less than 10 years or not renew
19 the charter."
20 SECTION 1.(f) G.S. 115C-218.7 reads as rewritten:
21 "§ 115C-218.7. Material revisions of charters.
22 (a)