House Bill 1010

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-28-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER BOARD TO AUTOMATICALLY APPROVE A CHARTER APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY AN APPLICANT THAT CURRENTLY IS SATISFACTORILY OPERATING A CHARTER SCHOOL IN THE STATE; TO AMEND SECTION 37-28-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A CHARTER SCHOOL THAT IS PERFORMING SATISFACTORILY TO EXPAND ITS PROGRAMS AND INCREASE ENROLLMENT WITHOUT SEEKING APPROVAL FROM THE AUTHORIZER BOARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-28-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-28-19. (1) In reviewing and evaluating charter applications, the authorizer shall employ procedures, practices and criteria consistent with nationally recognized principles and standards for quality charter authorizing. The application review process must include thorough evaluation of each written charter application and in-person interview with the applicant group.

(2) In deciding whether to approve charter applications, the authorizer must:

(a) Grant charters only to applicants that have provided evidence of competence in each element of the authorizer's published approval criteria * * *~~, and~~. However, in the case of an applicant currently operating a charter school in Mississippi, if the performance and legal compliance of the existing charter school is deemed satisfactory by the authorizer at the time the authorizer receives an application for the operation of an additional charter school, the application for the additional charter school must be approved automatically by the authorizer. In the case of an applicant that currently operates one or more schools in * * *~~any~~ another state or nation, clear evidence that the management or leadership team of the charter school or schools currently operated by the applicant has produced statistically significant gains in student achievement or consistently produced proficiency levels as measured on state achievement tests;

(b) Base decisions on documented evidence collected through the application review process; and

(c) Follow charter-granting policies and practices that are transparent, based on merit and avoid conflicts of interest or any appearance thereof.

(3) Before the expiration of one hundred eighty (180) days after the filing of a charter application, the authorizer must approve or deny the charter application; however, an application submitted by a public historically black college or university (HBCU), in partnership with a national nonprofit public HBCU support organization, for a charter school to be operated on or near the campus of the HBCU must be considered for expedited approval by the authorizer. The authorizer shall adopt by resolution all charter approval or denial decisions in an open meeting of the authorizer board.

(4) An approval decision may include, if appropriate, reasonable conditions that the charter applicant must meet before a charter contract may be executed pursuant to Section 37-28-21.

(5) For a charter denial, the authorizer shall state clearly, for public record, its reasons for denial. A denied applicant may reapply subsequently with the authorizer.

(6) Before the expiration of ten (10) days after taking action to approve or deny a charter application, the authorizer shall provide a report to the applicant. The report must include a copy of the authorizer's resolution setting forth the action taken and reasons for the decision and assurances as to compliance with all of the procedural requirements and application elements set forth in this chapter.

SECTION 2. Section 37-28-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-28-23. (1) A charter school must be open to:

(a) Any student residing in the geographical boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located; and

(b) Any student who resides in the geographical boundaries of a school district that was rated "C," "D" or "F" at the time the charter school was approved by the authorizer board, or who resides in the geographical boundaries of a school district rated "C," or "D" or "F" at the time the student enrolls.

(2) A school district may not require any student enrolled in the school district to attend a charter school.

(3) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (8)(d) of this section, a charter school may not limit admission based on ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, or academic or athletic ability.

(4) A charter school may limit admission to students within a given age group or grade level, including pre-kindergarten students, and may be organized around a special emphasis, theme or concept as stated in the school's application. If, after its initial year of operation, a charter school is deemed to be performing satisfactorily and in a manner that is legally compliant, the charter school may expand its operations to include student groups or grades and/or emphases, themes or concepts additional to those stated in the school's application without seeking approval from the authorizer.

(5) The underserved student composition of a charter school's enrollment collectively must reflect that of students of all ages attending the school district in which the charter school is located, to be defined for the purposes of this chapter as being at least eighty percent (80%) of that population. If the underserved student composition of an applicant's or charter school's enrollment is less than eighty percent (80%) of the enrollment of students of all ages in the school district in which the charter school is located, despite the school's best efforts, the authorizer must consider the applicant's or charter school's recruitment efforts and the underserved student composition of the applicant pool in determining whether the applicant or charter school is operating in a nondiscriminatory manner. A finding by the authorizer that a charter school is operating in a discriminatory manner justifies the revocation of a charter.

(6) A charter school must enroll all students who wish to attend the school unless the number of students exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building.

(7) The total number of students a charter school may enroll must be determined annually by the governing board of the charter school and may not be restricted by the authorizer. In establishing the annual enrollment, the governing board must consider the charter school's ability to facilitate the academic success of the students, to achieve the objectives specified in the charter contract, and to ensure the enrollment does not exceed the capacity of the charter school facility. If capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who wish to attend the school based on initial application, the charter school must select students through a lottery.

(8) (a) Any noncharter public school or part of a noncharter public school converting to a charter school shall adopt and maintain a policy giving an enrollment preference to students who reside within the former attendance area of that public school. If the charter school has excess capacity after enrolling students residing within the former attendance area of the school, students outside of the former attendance area of the school, but within the geographical boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located, are eligible for enrollment. If the number of students applying for admission exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building of the charter school, the charter school must admit students on the basis of a lottery.

(b) A charter school must give an enrollment preference to students enrolled in the charter school during the preceding school year and to siblings of students already enrolled in the charter school. An enrollment preference for returning students excludes those students from entering into a lottery.

(c) A charter school may give an enrollment preference to children of the charter school's applicant, governing board members and full-time employees, so long as those children constitute no more than ten percent (10%) of the charter school's total student population.

(d) A charter school shall give an enrollment preference to underserved children as defined in Section 37-28-5 to ensure the charter school meets its required underserved student composition.

(e) This section does not preclude the formation of a charter school whose mission is focused on serving students with disabilities, students of the same gender, students who pose such severe disciplinary problems that they warrant a specific educational program, or students who are at risk of academic failure. If capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who wish to attend the school, the charter school must select students through a lottery.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.