§302B-6 - Conversion charter schools; establishment.

§302B-6 Conversion charter schools;
establishment. (a) A conversion charter school may be established
pursuant to this section.

(b) Any department school, school community
council, group of teachers, group of teachers and administrators, or nonprofit
organization may submit a letter of intent to the office to convert a
department school to a charter school, establish an interim local school board
as its governing body, and develop a detailed implementation plan pursuant to
subsection (d).

(c) The conversion charter school application
process and schedule shall be determined by the panel, and shall provide for
and include the following elements:

(1) The submission of a letter of intent to convert
to a charter school;

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

(3) The timely submission to the panel of a completed
application; provided that the application shall include certification and
documentation that the application and the proposed detailed implementation
plan was approved by a majority of the votes cast by existing administrative,
support, teaching personnel, and parents of students at the proposed conversion
charter school;

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

(5) The timely resubmission of the application;

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

(7) The timely notification of the applicant of any
revisions the panel may request 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 majority
vote; provided that if the panel does not approve the application and issue a
charter, provisions requiring the panel to:

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

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

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

(10) A provision that no conversion charter school may
begin operation before obtaining panel approval of its charter.

(d) An application to become a conversion
charter school shall include a detailed implementation plan that meets the
requirements of this subsection and section 302B-9. The plan shall include the
following:

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

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

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

(4) The curriculum and instructional framework to be
used 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 general
public;

(B) Incorporates or exceeds the educational
content and performance standards developed by the department for the public
school system;

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

(D) Provides for program audits and annual
financial audits;

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

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

(8) A facilities plan.

(e) A nonprofit organization may submit a
letter of intent to the office to convert a department school to a conversion
charter school, operate and manage the school, establish a local school board
as its governing body, and develop a detailed implementation plan pursuant to
subsection (d); provided that:

(1) As the governing body of the conversion charter
school, the local school board shall be composed of the board of directors of
the nonprofit organization and not representatives of the participant groups
specified in section 302B-7. The nonprofit organization may also appoint
advisory groups of community representatives for each school managed by the
nonprofit organization; provided that these groups shall not have governing
authority over the school and shall serve only in an advisory capacity to the
nonprofit organization;

(2) The detailed implementation plan for each
conversion charter school to be operated by the nonprofit organization shall be
formulated, developed, and submitted by the nonprofit organization, and shall
be approved by a majority of the votes cast by existing administrative,
support, and teaching personnel, and parents of the students of the proposed
conversion charter school;

(3) The board of directors of the nonprofit
organization, as the governing body for the conversion charter school that it
operates and manages, shall have the same protections that are afforded to the
board in its role as the conversion charter school governing body;

(4) Any conversion charter school that is managed and
operated by a nonprofit organization shall be eligible for the same federal and
state funding as other public schools; provided that the nonprofit organization
makes a minimum annual contribution of $1 per pupil toward the operation of a
conversion charter school for every $4 per pupil allocated by the office for
the operation of the conversion charter school; provided that in no event shall
the nonprofit organization be required to contribute more than the total
required contribution per pupil per year. As used in this section, "total
required contribution" means:

(A) $1,500 for school years 2006-2007 through
2010-2011;

(B) $1,650 for school years 2011-2012 through
2015-2016; and

(5) If, at any time, the board of directors of the
nonprofit organization governing the conversion charter school votes to
discontinue its relationship with the charter school, the charter school may
submit an application with a revised detailed implementation plan to the panel
to continue as a conversion school without the participation of the nonprofit
organization.

(f) Any nonprofit organization that seeks to
manage or operate a conversion charter school as provided in subsection (e)
shall comply with the following at the time of application:

(1) Have bylaws or policies that describe the manner
in which business is conducted and policies that relate to the management of
potential conflict of interest situations;

(2) Have experience in the management and operation
of public or private schools or, to the extent necessary, agree to obtain
appropriate services from another entity or entities possessing such
experience;

(3) Comply with all applicable federal, state, and
county laws, including licensure or accreditation, as applicable; and

(4) Comply with any other requirements prescribed by
the department to ensure adherence with applicable federal, state, and county
laws, and the purposes of this chapter.

(g) Any public school or schools, programs, or
sections of existing public school populations that are part of a separate
Hawaiian language immersion program using existing public school facilities may
submit a letter of intent to the office to form a conversion charter school
pursuant to this section.

(h) In the event of a conflict between the
provisions in this section and other provisions in this chapter, this section
shall control. [L 2006, c 298, pt of §2; am L 2007, c 115, §10]