1 HB487
2 209185-1
3 By Representative Collins
4 RFD: Education Policy
5 First Read: 02-MAR-21
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1 209185-1:n:03/02/2021:KMS/cr LSA2021-114
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8 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, the Alabama School
9 Choice and Student Opportunity Act provides for the
10 establishment of public charter schools in the
11 state.
12 This bill would revise the manner of
13 appointing and terms of office of members of the
14 Alabama Public Charter School Commission.
15 This bill would also revise the methods of
16 providing operational funding to public charter
17 schools.
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19 A BILL
20 TO BE ENTITLED
21 AN ACT
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23 To amend Sections 16-6F-6 and 16-6F-10, Code of
24 Alabama 1975, relating to the Alabama School Choice and
25 Student Opportunity Act; to revise the manner of appointing
26 members to the Alabama Public Charter School Commission; to
27 increase the length of the terms of office of members from two
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1 to four years; and to revise the methods of providing
2 operational funding to public charter schools.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
4 Section 1. Sections 16-6F-6 and 16-6F-10 of the Code
5 of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
6 "16-6F-6.
7 "(a) Eligible authorizing entities.
8 "(1) A public charter school shall not be
9 established in this state unless its establishment is
10 authorized by this section. No governmental entity or other
11 entity, other than an entity expressly granted chartering
12 authority as set forth in this section, may assume any
13 authorizing function or duty in any form. The following
14 entities shall be authorizers of public charter schools:
15 "a. A local school board, for chartering of schools
16 within the boundaries of the school system under its
17 jurisdiction, pursuant to state law.
18 "b. The Alabama Public Charter School Commission,
19 pursuant to this section.
20 "(2) A local school board that registers as an
21 authorizer may approve or deny an application to form a public
22 charter school within the boundaries of the local school
23 system overseen by the local school board.
24 "(3) All authorizing entities shall prioritize those
25 applications that are focused on serving at-risk students.
26 "(4) A decision made by a local school board shall
27 be subject to appeal to the commission. The commission may
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1 hear an application for the formation of a public charter
2 school by an applicant only if one of the following factors is
3 met:
4 "a. An application to form a public charter school
5 is denied by the local school board overseeing that system and
6 the applicant chooses to appeal the decision of the local
7 school board to the commission.
8 "b. The applicant wishes to open a start-up public
9 charter school in a public school system that has chosen not
10 to register as an authorizer.
11 "(b) Public charter school cap.
12 "(1) Authorizers may not approve more than 10
13 start-up public charter schools in a fiscal year.
14 "(2) Upon receiving notice of approval of the tenth
15 start-up public charter school to be approved in a fiscal
16 year, the department shall provide notice to all authorizers
17 that the cap has been reached and no new start-up public
18 charter schools may be approved in that fiscal year.
19 "(3) The cap expires on April 1 immediately
20 following the conclusion of the fiscal year beginning October
21 1, 2020.
22 "(4) At the conclusion of the fiscal year beginning
23 October 1, 2020, the department shall submit a report to the
24 Legislature outlining the performance of both start-up and
25 conversion public charter schools. This report shall include,
26 at a minimum, academic performance of all public charter
27 schools in the state, a detailed update on the authorizing
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1 process, and recommendations for adjustments to public charter
2 school governance and oversight.
3 "(5) There is no limit on the number of conversion
4 public charter schools that may be approved.
5 "(c) The Alabama Public Charter School Commission.
6 "(1) The commission is established as an independent
7 state entity.
8 "(2) The mission of the commission is to authorize
9 high quality public charter schools, in accordance with the
10 powers expressly conferred on the commission in this chapter.
11 "(3)a. The initial membership of the commission
12 shall be composed of a total of 11 members. The State Board of
13 Education shall appoint 10 members, made up of four appointees
14 recommended by the Governor, one appointee recommended by the
15 Lieutenant Governor, two appointees recommended by the
16 President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and three appointees
17 recommended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
18 The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the President Pro
19 Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
20 Representatives shall each recommend a list of no fewer than
21 two nominees for each initial appointment to the commission.
22 One recommended initial appointee of the President Pro Tempore
23 of the Senate and one recommended initial appointee of the
24 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be an appointee
25 recommended by members of the Senate minority party and
26 members of the House minority party, respectively. No initial
27 commission member can may be appointed unless he or she has
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1 been recommended by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
2 President Pro Tempore of the Senate, or the Speaker of the
3 House of Representatives.
4 "b. Commencing on the effective date of the act
5 adding this paragraph, as the terms of the initial and current
6 members expire, the nominating authority for the respective
7 initial members of the commission shall be the appointing
8 authority for their successors on the commission so that the
9 Governor shall appoint four members to the commission, the
10 Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one member to the
11 commission, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall
12 appoint two members to the commission, and the Speaker of the
13 House of Representatives shall appoint three members to the
14 commission.
15 "(4) The eleventh member of the commission shall be
16 a rotating position based on the local school system where the
17 application was denied. This member appointed to the rotating
18 position shall be appointed by the local school system where
19 the applicant is seeking to open a public charter school. The
20 local school system shall appoint a member to the rotating
21 position through board action specifically to consider that
22 application.
23 "(5) The appointing authorities of the commission
24 members shall strive to select individuals that collectively
25 possess strong experience and expertise in public and
26 nonprofit governance, strategic planning, management and
27 finance, public school leadership, assessment, curriculum and
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1 instruction, and public education law. Each member of the
2 commission shall have demonstrated understanding of and
3 commitment to charter schooling as a tool for strengthening
4 public education and shall sign an agreement to hear the
5 appeal and review documents in a fair and impartial manner.
6 "(6) Membership of the commission shall be inclusive
7 and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and
8 economic diversity of the state All appointing authorities
9 shall coordinate their appointments so that diversity of
10 gender, race, and geographical areas is reflective of the
11 makeup of this state. The appointing authority shall consider
12 the eight State Board of Education districts in determining
13 the geographical diversity of the commission.
14 "(7) The initial appointments to the commission
15 shall be made no later than June 1, 2015. Two recommended
16 initial appointees of the Governor, one recommended initial
17 appointee of the Lieutenant Governor, one recommended initial
18 appointee of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
19 one recommended initial appointee of the President Pro Tempore
20 of the Senate shall serve an initial term of one year and two
21 recommended initial appointees of the Governor, two
22 recommended initial appointees of the Speaker of the House of
23 Representatives, and one recommended initial appointee of the
24 President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall serve an initial
25 term of two years. Thereafter, all appointees shall serve
26 two-year four-year terms of office. All appointments shall be
27 eligible for reappointment as determined by the appointing
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1 authority, not to exceed a total of six eight years of
2 service, unless the member was initially appointed to serve a
3 one-year term of office. If the initial term of office of an
4 appointee was one year, he or she may serve a total of five
5 nine years of service on the commission.
6 "(8) A member of the commission may be removed for
7 failure to perform the duties of the appointment. Whenever a
8 vacancy on the commission exists, the appointing authority,
9 within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, shall appoint a
10 member for the remaining portion of the term in the same
11 manner as the original appointment was made. A member of the
12 commission shall abstain from any vote that involves a local
13 school system of which he or she is an employee or which he or
14 she oversees as a member of a local school board. The
15 requirement to abstain does not apply to the rotating position
16 on the commission.
17 "(9) Six members of the commission constitute a
18 quorum, and a quorum shall be necessary to transact business.
19 Actions of the commission shall be by a majority vote of the
20 commission. The commission, in all respects, shall comply with
21 the Alabama Open Meetings Act and state record laws.
22 Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, members of the
23 commission may participate in a meeting of the commission by
24 means of telephone conference, video conference, or similar
25 communications equipment by means of which all persons
26 participating in the meeting may hear each other at the same
27 time. Participation by such means shall constitute presence in
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1 person at a meeting for all purposes, including the
2 establishment of a quorum. Telephone or video conference or
3 similar communications equipment shall also allow members of
4 the public the opportunity to simultaneously listen to or
5 observe meetings of the commission.
6 "(10) If the commission overrules the decision of a
7 local school board and chooses to authorize the establishment
8 of a public charter school in that local school system, the
9 commission shall serve as the authorizer for that public
10 charter school, pursuant to this chapter.
11 "(11) The commission may do any of the following:
12 "a. Employ professional, administrative, technical,
13 and clerical staff, appointed to serve at the pleasure of the
14 commission without regard to the state Merit System. Staff
15 employed pursuant to this paragraph shall receive compensation
16 and benefits established by the commission, payable as the
17 compensation of employees of the department.
18 "a. Utilize professional and administrative staff of
19 the department as recommended by the State Superintendent of
20 Education.
21 "b. Upon evaluation and agreement, share services,
22 facilities, supplies, and related costs with the department.
23 "b.c. Adopt rules for the operation and organization
24 of the commission.
25 "c.d. Review, at least once per year, department
26 rules and regulations concerning public charter schools and,
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1 if needed, recommend to the State Superintendent of Education
2 any rule or regulation changes deemed necessary.
3 "d.e. Convene stakeholder groups and engage experts.
4 "e.f. Seek and receive state, federal, and private
5 funds for operational expenses.
6 "f.(12) A commission member may not receive
7 compensation, but shall be reimbursed by the department for
8 travel and per diem expenses at the same rates and in the same
9 manner as state employees.
10 "g.(13) The commission shall submit an annual report
11 to the department pursuant to subsection (g).
12 (12)(14) In order to overrule the decision of a
13 local school board and authorize a public charter school, the
14 commission shall do all of the following:
15 "a. Find evidence of a thorough and high-quality
16 public charter school application from the applicant based on
17 the authorizing standards in subdivision (8) of subsection (a)
18 of Section 16-6F-7.
19 "b. Hold an open community hearing opportunity for
20 public comment within the local school system where the
21 application was denied.
22 "c. Find that the local board's denial of an
23 original charter application was not supported by the
24 application and exhibits.
25 "d. Take into consideration 1. other existing
26 charter school applications, 2. the quality of school options
27 existing in the affected community, 3. the existence of other
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1 charter schools, and 4. any other factors considered relevant
2 to ensure the establishment of high-quality charter schools in
3 accordance with the intent of this chapter.
4 "e. Find evidence that the local school board erred
5 in its application of nationally recognized authorizing
6 standards.
7 "(d) A local school board may register with the
8 department for chartering authority within the boundaries of
9 the school system overseen by the local school board. The
10 department shall publicize to all local school boards the
11 opportunity to register with the state for chartering
12 authority within the school system they oversee. By June 1 of
13 each year, the department shall provide information about the
14 opportunity, including a registration deadline, to all local
15 school boards. To register as a charter authorizer in its
16 school system, each interested local school board shall submit
17 the following information in a format to be established by the
18 department:
19 "(1) Written notification of intent to serve as a
20 charter authorizer in accordance with this chapter.
21 "(2) An explanation of the local school board's
22 capacity and commitment to execute the duties of quality
23 charter authorizing, as defined by nationally recognized
24 authorizing standards.
25 "(3) An explanation of the local school board's
26 strategic vision for chartering.
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1 "(4) An explanation of how the local school board
2 plans to solicit public charter school applicants, in
3 accordance with this chapter.
4 "(5) A description or outline of the performance
5 framework the local school board will use to guide the
6 establishment of a charter contract and for ongoing oversight
7 and evaluation of public charter schools, consistent with the
8 requirements of this chapter.
9 "(6) A draft of the local school board's renewal,
10 revocation, and nonrenewal processes, consistent with
11 subsection (c) of Section 16-6F-8.
12 "(7) A statement of assurance that the local school
13 board commits to serving as a charter authorizer and shall
14 fully participate in any authorizer training provided or
15 required by the state.
16 "(e) If a local school board chooses not to register
17 as an authorizer, all applications seeking to open a start-up
18 public charter school within that local school board's
19 boundaries shall be denied. Applicants wishing to open a
20 public charter school physically located in that local school
21 system may apply directly to the commission.
22 "(f) An authorizer may do all of the following:
23 "(1) Solicit, invite, receive, and evaluate
24 applications from organizers of proposed public charter
25 schools.
26 "(2) Approve applications that meet identified
27 educational needs.
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1 "(3) Deny applications that do not meet identified
2 educational needs.
3 "(4) Create a framework to guide the development of
4 charter contracts.
5 "(5) Negotiate and execute charter contracts with
6 each approved public charter school.
7 "(6) Monitor the academic, fiscal, and
8 organizational performance and compliance of public charter
9 schools.
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