SB 54 - Educational Grants - charter schools
Georgia Senate - 1995/1996 Sessions
SB 54 - Educational Grants - charter schools
Page Numbers - 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5
1. Taylor 12th 2. Brown 26th 3. Middleton 50th
Senate Comm: Ed / House Comm: Ed /
Senate Vote: Yeas 50 Nays 1
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Senate Action House
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1/11/95 Read 1st time 2/3/95
1/31/95 Favorably Reported 3/10/95
Sub Committee Amend/Sub
2/1/95 Read 2nd Time 2/6/95
2/2/95 Read 3rd Time 3/14/95
2/2/95 Passed/Adopted 3/14/95
CS/FA Comm/Floor Amend/Sub FA
3/17/95 Amend/Sub Agreed To
3/30/95 Sent To Governor
4/7/95 Signed by Governor
252 Act/Veto Number
7/1/95 Effective Date
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Code Sections amended: 20-2-255
SB 54 95 SB54/AP
SENATE BILL 54
By: Senators Taylor of the 12th, Brown of the 26th and
Middleton of the 50th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1- 1 To amend Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the
1- 2 Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to grants for
1- 3 educational programs and charter schools, so as to
1- 4 substantially change provisions relating to charter schools;
1- 5 to change the period of time for which academic and or
1- 6 vocational performance based school contract charters shall
1- 7 remain in effect; to provide requirements for operation of
1- 8 charter schools; to change the period of time for which
1- 9 charters may be renewed; to change the required majority for
1-10 approval of certain actions related to school charters; to
1-11 provide for preference in funding for charter schools; to
1-12 provide for other matters related to charter schools; to
1-13 repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
1-14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
1-15 Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official
1-16 Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to grants for
1-17 educational programs and charter schools, is amended by
1-18 striking Code Section 20-2-255, relating to charter schools,
1-19 and inserting in its place a new Code section to read as
1-20 follows:
1-21 "20-2-255. (Index)
1-22 (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that this
1-23 Code section provide a means whereby local schools may
1-24 choose to substitute a binding academic and or vocational
1-25 performance based contract approved by both state and
1-26 local boards of education, called a charter, for state and
1-27 local rules, regulations, policies, and procedures and the
1-28 applicability of the other provisions of this title.
1-29 (b) For purposes of this Code section, the term:
1-30 (1) 'Charter' means an academic and or vocational
1-31 performance based contract between the state board, a
1-32 local board of education, and a local school, the terms
S. B. 54
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SB54/AP
2- 1 of which are approved by the local board of education
2- 2 and by the state board for an initial three-year period
2- 3 of up to five years. Each academic and or vocational
2- 4 performance based contract will exempt a school from
2- 5 state and local rules, regulations, policies, and
2- 6 procedures and from the provisions of this title
2- 7 according to the terms of the contract.
2- 8 (2) 'Charter school' means a school that is operating
2- 9 under the terms of a charter granted by the state board.
2-10 (3) 'Local board' means a county or independent board of
2-11 education exercising control and management of a local
2-12 school system pursuant to Article VIII, Section V of the
2-13 Constitution.
2-14 (4) 'Local school' means a public school in Georgia
2-15 which is under the management and control of a local
2-16 board.
2-17 (5) 'Petition' means a proposal to enter into a
2-18 performance based contract between the state board and a
2-19 local school whereby the local school obtains charter
2-20 school status.
2-21 (6) 'State board' means the State Board of Education.
2-22 (c) Any local school may petition the state board for
2-23 charter school status in accordance with a schedule
2-24 approved by the state board. Such petitions must:
2-25 (1) Be approved by the local board of education;
2-26 (2) Be freely agreed to by over two-thirds a majority of
2-27 the faculty and instructional staff members by secret
2-28 ballot at the school initiating the petition;
2-29 (3) Be agreed to by over two-thirds a majority of the
2-30 parents present at a meeting called for the purpose of
2-31 deciding whether to initiate the petition;
2-32 (4) Describe a plan for school improvement that
2-33 addresses how the school proposes to work toward
2-34 improving student learning and meeting the America 2000
2-35 national goals and state education goals;
2-36 (5) Outline proposed academic and or vocational
2-37 performance criteria that will be used during the
2-38 initial three-year period of the charter to measure
2-39 progress of the school in improving student learning and
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3- 1 in meeting the America 2000 national goals and state
3- 2 education goals;
3- 3 (6) Describe how the faculty, instructional staff, and
3- 4 parents of students enrolled in the school will be
3- 5 involved in developing the petition, developing and
3- 6 implementing the improvement plan, and identifying an
3- 7 academic and or vocational performance criteria; and
3- 8 (7) Describe how the concerns of faculty, instructional
3- 9 staff, and parents of students enrolled in the school
3-10 will be solicited and addressed in evaluating the
3-11 effectiveness of the improvement plan.
3-12 (d) The state board is authorized and directed to
3-13 establish criteria and procedures for charter schools.
3-14 Each year, the state board must review petitions for
3-15 charter school status received from local schools. The
3-16 state board is directed to approve such petitions and to
3-17 grant charter school status to local schools whose
3-18 petitions, in the opinion of the state board:
3-19 (1) Provide a plan for improvement at the school level
3-20 for improving student learning and for meeting the
3-21 national and state education goals;
3-22 (2) Include a set of academic and or vocational
3-23 performance based objectives and student outcome
3-24 achievement based objectives for the term of the charter
3-25 and the means for measuring those objectives on at least
3-26 a yearly basis;
3-27 (3) Include an agreement to provide a yearly report to
3-28 parents, the community, the local board, and the state
3-29 board which indicates the progress made by the charter
3-30 school in the previous year in meeting the academic and
3-31 or vocational performance objectives; and
3-32 (4) Include a proposal to directly and substantially
3-33 involve the parents of students enrolled in the school
3-34 as well as the faculty, instructional staff, and the
3-35 broader community in the process of creating the
3-36 petition and in carrying out the terms of the charter.
3-37 (e) The state board may allow local schools to resubmit
3-38 petitions for charter school status if the original
3-39 petition was, in the opinion of the state board, deficient
3-40 in one or more respects. The Department of Education is
3-41 authorized and directed to provide technical assistance to
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SB54/AP
4- 1 the faculty and instructional staff of local schools in
4- 2 the creation or modification of these petitions.
4- 3 (f) The state board will include in the terms of each
4- 4 charter:
4- 5 (1) A mechanism for declaring the charter null and void
4- 6 if over two-thirds a majority of the faculty, and, and parents present
4- 8 at a meeting called for the purpose of deciding whether
4- 9 to declare the charter null and void request the state
4-10 board to withdraw the charter or if, at any time, in the
4-11 opinion of the state board, the school enjoying charter
4-12 school status fails to fulfill the terms of the charter;
4-13 (2) Clear academic and or vocational performance based
4-14 and student outcome achievement based objectives and the
4-15 means to measure those objectives on at least a yearly
4-16 basis;
4-17 (3) A mechanism for updating the terms of each charter,
4-18 agreed to by all parties and subject to the approval of
4-19 over two-thirds a majority of the faculty, and
4-20 instructional staff, and parents present at a meeting
4-21 called for the purpose of deciding whether to update the
4-22 terms of the charter, based upon the yearly progress
4-23 reports given the state board by the charter school;
4-24 (4) A provision that the expenditure controls contained
4-25 in Code Section 20-2-167 may be relaxed only for those
4-26 direct instructional expenditures actually made by each
4-27 charter school for the students of that school; and
4-28 (5) A provision to exempt the school from state rules,
4-29 regulations, policies, and procedures and from other
4-30 provisions of this title, unless otherwise specified.
4-31 (g) Any request for petition to obtain charter school
4-32 status sent by a local school to a local school board
4-33 shall be forwarded by the local school board to the State
4-34 Board of Education. If a local school board disapproves a
4-35 local school's request for petition, the local school
4-36 board must inform the faculty of the local school of the
4-37 reasons for such disapproval, and a copy of these reasons
4-38 must be forwarded to the state board. The state board
4-39 may, at its discretion, request a hearing to receive
4-40 further information from the local school board and the
4-41 local school faculty.
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SB54/AP
5- 1 (h) The state board is authorized to renew charters on a
5- 2 one-year or multiyear basis, not to exceed three five
5- 3 years, for local schools after the initial three-year
5- 4 period, provided all parties to the original charter
5- 5 approve such renewal with a vote of over two-thirds a
5- 6 majority of the faculty, and instructional staff andparents present at a meeting called for the purpose of
5- 8 deciding whether to renew the charter.
5- 9 (i) Charter schools will be given special preference by
5-10 the state board in receiving grant funds for alternative
5-11 schools, classroom technology, school improvement
5-12 programs, mentoring programs, or other grant programs
5-13 designed to improve local school performance.
5-14 (i)(j) The state board will report to the General Assembly
5-15 each year on the status of the charter school program."
SECTION 2.
5-16 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
5-17 repealed.
S. B. 54
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Office of the Secretary of the Senate
Frank Eldridge, Jr., Secretary of the Senate
Last Updated on 01/02/97