H.F. 124 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256J.1 Charter schools. 1 1. The board of directors of a school district, the 2 administrators of an accredited nonpublic school, the board of 3 directors of a community college, the state board of regents, 4 an accredited private institution as defined in section 261.9, 5 or a private nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 504 6 may submit an application to the state board to establish a 7 charter school. The state board shall adopt rules specifying 8 the criteria for approval of charter schools. The department 9 shall develop an application process. The applicant shall 10 specify in its application all of the following: 11 a. Mission and instructional focus of the school. 12 b. Organizational structure and management of the school. 13 c. Impact of labor agreements and contracts on the success 14 of the school. 15 d. Roles and responsibilities of all involved 16 constituencies. 17 e. Arrangements for special needs students. 18 f. Connection of the school to the school district. 19 g. Facility and operation costs. 20 h. Methods for measuring results, including but not limited 21 to student achievement results. 22 2. For purposes of this section, “charter school” means a 23 school that is nonsectarian in its program, admission policies, 24 employment practices, and all other operations. The school is 25 a public school and is part of the state’s system of public 26 education. The primary focus of a charter school shall be to 27 provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one 28 grade or age group from five through eighteen years of age. 29 Charter schools may be designed to provide significant autonomy 30 for the schools. However, charter schools shall be accountable 31 for significant results, including but not limited to student 32 achievement levels higher than the statewide average. 33 3. Except as provided in this subsection, charter schools 34 are exempt from all statutes and rules applicable to a school, 35 -1- LSB 1428YH (4) 84 kh/rj 1/ 5

H.F. 124 a school board, or a school district, although a charter school 1 may elect to comply with one or more provisions of statute 2 or rule. A charter school shall meet all applicable state 3 and local health and safety requirements; the provisions of 4 chapters 21 and 22 shall apply to meetings and records of a 5 charter school board; and a charter school is subject to and 6 shall comply with chapters 216 and 216A relating to civil and 7 human rights, sections 275.55A, 279.9A, 280.17B, 280.21B, and 8 282.4, relating to suspension and expulsion of a student, 9 and chapter 285 relating to the transportation of students. 10 The charter school shall employ or contract with necessary 11 teachers, as defined in section 272.1, who hold a valid license 12 with an endorsement for the type of service for which the 13 teacher is employed. Charter schools are subject to the same 14 financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements as 15 a school district. The audits shall be consistent with the 16 requirements of sections 11.6, 11.14, 11.19, 256.9, subsection 17 20, and section 279.29, except to the extent deviations are 18 necessary because of the program at a charter school. The 19 department, auditor of state, or the legislative services 20 agency may conduct financial, program, or compliance audits. 21 The provisions of chapter 20 shall not apply to the board of 22 directors of a charter school or its employees. 23 4. A student enrolled in a charter school shall be counted, 24 for state school foundation aid purposes, in the student’s 25 district of residence. A student’s residence, for purposes 26 of this section, means a residence under section 282.1. The 27 board of directors of the district of residence shall pay to 28 the charter school the state cost per pupil for the previous 29 school year, plus any moneys received for the student as a 30 result of the non-English speaking weighting under section 31 280.4, subsection 3, for the previous school year multiplied by 32 the state cost per pupil for the previous year. 33 Sec. 2. Section 282.9, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -2- LSB 1428YH (4) 84 kh/rj 2/ 5

H.F. 124 1. Notwithstanding sections 275.55A , 256F.4 , and 282.18 , 1 or any other provision to the contrary, prior to knowingly 2 enrolling an individual who is required to register as a sex 3 offender under chapter 692A , but who is otherwise eligible 4 to enroll in a public school, the board of directors of a 5 school district shall determine the educational placement of 6 the individual. Upon receipt of notice that a student who 7 is enrolled in the district is required to register as a sex 8 offender under chapter 692A , the board shall determine the 9 educational placement of the student. The tentative agenda 10 for the meeting of the board of directors at which the board 11 will consider such enrollment or educational placement shall 12 specifically state that the board is considering the enrollment 13 or educational placement of an individual who is required 14 to register as a sex offender under chapter 692A . If the 15 individual is denied enrollment in a school district under this 16 section , the school district of residence shall provide the 17 individual with educational services in an alternative setting. 18 Sec. 3. Section 282.18, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 19 2011, is amended to read as follows: 20 b. For purposes of this section , “good cause” means a change 21 in a child’s residence due to a change in family residence, a 22 change in the state in which the family residence is located, 23 a change in a child’s parents’ marital status, a guardianship 24 or custody proceeding, placement in foster care, adoption, 25 participation in a foreign exchange program, or participation 26 in a substance abuse or mental health treatment program, a 27 change in the status of a child’s resident district such as 28 removal of accreditation by the state board, surrender of 29 accreditation, or permanent closure of a nonpublic school, 30 revocation closure of a charter school contract as provided in 31 section 256F.8 , the failure of negotiations for a whole grade 32 sharing, reorganization, dissolution agreement or the rejection 33 of a current whole grade sharing agreement, or reorganization 34 plan. If the good cause relates to a change in status of a 35 -3- LSB 1428YH (4) 84 kh/rj 3/ 5

H.F. 124 child’s school district of residence, however, action by a 1 parent or guardian must be taken to file the notification 2 within forty-five days of the last board action or within 3 thirty days of the certification of the election, whichever is 4 applicable to the circumstances. 5 Sec. 4. TRANSITIONAL PROVISION. A charter school 6 established pursuant to chapter 256F, Code 2011, may continue 7 to operate in compliance with chapter 256F, Code 2011, or 8 the charter school contract may be modified to meet the 9 requirements of chapter 256J as enacted in this Act. 10 Sec. 5. REPEAL. Chapter 256F, Code 2011, is repealed. 11 EXPLANATION 12 This bill provides for the establishment of charter 13 schools by any of the following: school districts, accredited 14 nonpublic schools, public and private accredited postsecondary 15 institutions, and private nonprofit corporations. The bill 16 requires the entities to apply to the state board of education, 17 directs the state board to specify criteria for the approval of 18 charter schools, directs the department of education to develop 19 an application process, and specifies what the applicant must 20 include in the application. 21 The bill defines a charter school as nonsectarian in its 22 program, admission policies, employment practices, and all 23 other operations. The school is a public school and is part 24 of the state’s system of public education. The primary focus 25 of a charter school is to provide a comprehensive program of 26 instruction for at least one grade or age group from 5-18 years 27 of age. Charter schools may be designed to provide significant 28 autonomy for the schools. However, charter schools shall 29 be accountable for significant results, including but not 30 limited to student achievement levels higher than the statewide 31 average. 32 Charter schools are exempt from all statutes and rules 33 applicable to a school, a school board, or a school district, 34 except as specified in the bill, but may elect to comply with 35 -4- LSB 1428YH (4) 84 kh/rj 4/ 5

H.F. 124 one or more provisions of statute or rule. A charter school 1 must meet all applicable state and local health and safety 2 requirements; comply with the open meetings and records laws; 3 comply with civil and human rights laws; comply with Code 4 provisions related to suspension and expulsion of a student; 5 provide for transportation of students; and employ or contract 6 with necessary teachers who hold a valid license with an 7 endorsement for the type of service for which the teacher is 8 employed. Charter schools are subject to the same financial 9 audits, procedures, and requirements as a school district, 10 except to the extent deviations are necessary because of the 11 program at the school. The provisions of Code chapter 20 12 relating to collective bargaining do not apply to the board of 13 directors of a charter school or its employees. 14 A student enrolled in a charter school shall be counted, for 15 state school foundation aid purposes, in the student’s district 16 of residence. The district of residence shall pay to the 17 charter school the state cost per pupil for the previous school 18 year, plus any moneys received for the student as a result of 19 the non-English speaking weighting for the previous school year 20 multiplied by the state cost per pupil for the previous year. 21 The bill repeals Code chapter 256F, and provides that a 22 charter school established under the repealed Code chapter 23 may continue to operate in compliance with the repealed Code 24 chapter, or the charter school contract may be modified to meet 25 the requirements of new Code chapter 256J as enacted in the 26 bill. 27 -5- LSB 1428YH (4) 84 kh/rj 5/ 5