HB 1896 -- Charter Schools

Co-Sponsors:  Campbell, Van Zandt

This bill changes charter school law.  The bill:

(1)  Sets a deadline of April 1 for the State Board of Education
to consider any charter for a school intending to open in the
coming school year; gives the state board 90 days, rather than
45, to review charters; and permits the state board to
disapprove a charter based on a finding the applicant is not
qualified to operate a school;

(2)  Specifies additional materials to be provided by the
applicant to the state board, including documentation that the
local school board has been provided a copy of the application,
a finding by the sponsor that the application meets statutory
requirements, and a monitoring plan for the sponsor to evaluate
academic performance and ensure a criminal background check has
been completed on the applicant;

(3)  Requires sponsors to report annually to the state board on
the academic performance of students in the sponsored schools;

(4)  Adds student admission and discipline to the list of
policies required to be stated in the charter and adds
governance to the list of charter school aspects that must be
nonsectarian;

(5)  Specifies student discipline, academic assessment,
transmittal of school records, and school term as part of the
minimum state educational standards with which a charter school
must comply and adds compliance with certain local ordinances as
specified in Section 177.021, RSMo;

(6)  Permits employees of entities providing contractual
services to a charter school to elect to participate in the
entity's retirement program or the district's retirement
program; and

(7)  Clarifies that if an existing district in which charter
schools are permitted is divided, charter schools will be
permitted in the new districts if their territory does not
contain territory from outside the former district.