§302B‑5  Start-up charter schools;establishment.  (a)  New start-up charter schools may be establishedpursuant to this section. 

(b)  Any community, group of teachers, group ofteachers and administrators, or nonprofit organization may submit a letter ofintent to the office to form a charter school, establish an interim localschool board as its governing body, and develop a detailed implementation planpursuant to subsection (d).

(c)  The start-up charter school applicationprocess and schedule shall be determined by the panel, and shall provide forand include the following elements:

(1)  The submission of a letter of intent to operate astart-up charter school;

(2)  The timely transmittal of the application formand completion guidelines to the interim local school board;

(3)  The timely submission to the panel of a completedapplication;

(4)  The timely review of the application by the panelfor completeness, and notification of the interim local school board if theapplication is complete or, if the application is insufficient, a writtenstatement of the elements of the application that require completion;

(5)  The timely resubmission of the application;

(6)  Upon receipt of a completed application, theconvening of the panel by the panel chairperson to begin review of theapplication;

(7)  The timely notification of the applicant of anyrevisions the panel requests as necessary for a recommendation of approval;

(8)  Following the submission of an application,issuance of a charter or denial of the application by the panel by majorityvote; provided that if the panel does not approve the application and issue acharter, provisions requiring the panel to:

(A)  Clearly identify in writing its reasonsfor not issuing the charter, which may be used as guidelines for an amendedplan; and

(B)  Allow the interim local school board torevise its plan in accordance with the panel's guidelines, and resubmit anamended plan within ten calendar days;

(9)  A provision for a final date on which a decisionmust be made, upon receipt of an amended plan; and

(10)  A provision that no start-up charter school maybegin operation before obtaining panel approval of its charter.

(d)  An application to become a start-upcharter school shall include a detailed implementation plan that meets therequirements of this subsection and section 302B-9.  The plan shall include thefollowing:

(1)  A description of employee rights and managementissues and a framework for addressing those issues that protects the rights ofemployees;

(2)  A plan for identifying, recruiting, and retaininghighly-qualified instructional faculty;

(3)  A plan for identifying, recruiting, and selectingstudents that is not exclusive, elitist, or segregationist;

(4)  The curriculum and instructional framework to beused to achieve student outcomes, including an assessment plan;

(5)  A plan for the assessment of student,administrative support, and teaching personnel performance that:

(A)  Recognizes the interests of the generalpublic;

(B)  Incorporates or exceeds the educationalcontent and performance standards developed by the department for the publicschool system;

(C)  Includes a system of faculty and staffaccountability that holds faculty and staff both individually and collectivelyaccountable for their performance, and that is at least equivalent to theaverage system of accountability in public schools throughout the State; and

(D)  Provides for program audits and annualfinancial audits;

(6)  A governance structure for the charter schoolthat incorporates a conflict of interest policy and a plan for periodictraining to carry out the duties of local school board members;

(7)  A financial plan based on the most recent fiscalyear's per-pupil charter school allocation that demonstrates the ability tomeet the financial obligations of one-time, start-up costs and ongoing costssuch as monthly payrolls, faculty recruitment, professional development, andfacilities costs; and

(8)  A facilities plan. [L 2006, c 298, pt of §2; am L2007, c 115, §9]