1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; amending charter schools 
  1.3             provisions; obligating charter school operators to 
  1.4             incorporate before entering into contracts; making 
  1.5             teachers a majority of the members of the charter 
  1.6             school board of directors by the end of a school's 
  1.7             third year of operation; increasing the amount 
  1.8             available to a sponsor to evaluate the performance of 
  1.9             a charter school in its first three years of 
  1.10            operation; establishing criteria the commissioner must 
  1.11            use to approve or disapprove a charter school's 
  1.12            application for building lease aid; amending Minnesota 
  1.13            Statutes 2000, sections 124D.10, subdivisions 4, 15; 
  1.14            124D.11, subdivision 4. 
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.10, 
  1.17  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.18     Subd. 4.  [FORMATION OF SCHOOL.] (a) A sponsor may 
  1.19  authorize one or more licensed teachers under section 122A.18, 
  1.20  subdivision 1, to operate a charter school subject to approval 
  1.21  by the commissioner.  A board must vote on charter school 
  1.22  application for sponsorship no later than 90 days after 
  1.23  receiving the application.  After 90 days, the applicant may 
  1.24  apply to the commissioner.  If a board elects not to sponsor a 
  1.25  charter school, the applicant may appeal the board's decision to 
  1.26  the commissioner.  If the commissioner authorizes the school, 
  1.27  the commissioner must sponsor the school according to this 
  1.28  section.  The school must be organized and operated as a 
  1.29  cooperative under chapter 308A or nonprofit corporation under 
  1.30  chapter 317A and the provisions under the applicable chapter 
  2.1   shall apply to the school except as provided in this section.  
  2.2      (b) Before the operators may form and operate a school, the 
  2.3   sponsor must file an affidavit with the commissioner stating its 
  2.4   intent to authorize a charter school.  The affidavit must state 
  2.5   the terms and conditions under which the sponsor would authorize 
  2.6   a charter school.  The commissioner must approve or disapprove 
  2.7   the sponsor's proposed authorization within 60 days of receipt 
  2.8   of the affidavit.  Failure to obtain commissioner approval 
  2.9   precludes a sponsor from authorizing the charter school that was 
  2.10  the subject of the affidavit.  
  2.11     (c) The operators authorized to organize and operate a 
  2.12  school, before entering into a contract or other agreement for 
  2.13  professional or other services, goods, or facilities, must hold 
  2.14  an election for members of the school's board of directors in a 
  2.15  timely manner after the school is operating incorporate as a 
  2.16  cooperative under chapter 308A or as a nonprofit corporation 
  2.17  under chapter 317A and must establish a board of directors 
  2.18  composed of at least five members until a timely election for 
  2.19  members of the charter school board of directors is held 
  2.20  according to the school's articles and bylaws.  Any staff 
  2.21  members who are employed at the school, including teachers 
  2.22  providing instruction under a contract with a cooperative, and 
  2.23  all parents of children enrolled in the school may participate 
  2.24  in the election for members of the school's board of directors.  
  2.25  Licensed teachers employed at the school, including teachers 
  2.26  providing instruction under a contract with a cooperative, must 
  2.27  be a majority of the members of the board of directors before 
  2.28  the school completes its third year of operation, unless the 
  2.29  commissioner waives the requirement for the school a majority of 
  2.30  licensed teachers on the board.  A provisional board may operate 
  2.31  before the election of the school's board of directors.  Board 
  2.32  of director meetings must comply with chapter 13D. 
  2.33     (d) The granting or renewal of a charter by a sponsoring 
  2.34  entity must not be conditioned upon the bargaining unit status 
  2.35  of the employees of the school.  
  2.36     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for the 
  3.1   2001-2002 school year and later. 
  3.2      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.10, 
  3.3   subdivision 15, is amended to read: 
  3.4      Subd. 15.  [REVIEW AND COMMENT.] The department must review 
  3.5   and comment on the evaluation, by the sponsor, of the 
  3.6   performance of a charter school before the charter school's 
  3.7   contract is renewed.  A sponsor shall monitor and evaluate the 
  3.8   fiscal and student performance of the school, and may for this 
  3.9   purpose annually assess the school a charter school:  (1) in its 
  3.10  first, second, or third year of operation up to $10 $30 per 
  3.11  student up to a maximum of $3,500 $10,000; and (2) in its fourth 
  3.12  or a subsequent year of operation up to $10 per student up to a 
  3.13  maximum of $3,500.  The information for the review and comment 
  3.14  shall be reported by the sponsor to the commissioner of 
  3.15  children, families, and learning in a timely manner.  
  3.16  Periodically, the commissioner shall report trends or 
  3.17  suggestions based on the evaluation of charter school contracts 
  3.18  to the education committees of the state legislature.  
  3.19     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001. 
  3.20     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 124D.11, 
  3.21  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.22     Subd. 4.  [BUILDING LEASE AID.] When a charter school finds 
  3.23  it economically advantageous to rent or lease a building or land 
  3.24  for any instructional purposes and it determines that the total 
  3.25  operating capital revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 13, 
  3.26  is insufficient for this purpose, it may apply to the 
  3.27  commissioner for building lease aid for this purpose.  Criteria 
  3.28  for aid approval and revenue uses shall be as defined for the 
  3.29  building lease levy in section 126C.40, subdivision 1, 
  3.30  paragraphs (a) and (b).  The commissioner must review and either 
  3.31  approve or deny a lease aid application using the following 
  3.32  criteria: 
  3.33     (1) the reasonableness of the price based on current market 
  3.34  values; 
  3.35     (2) the appropriateness of the space for the proposed 
  3.36  activity; 
  4.1      (3) the extent to which the lease conforms to applicable 
  4.2   state laws and rules; and 
  4.3      (4) the appropriateness of the proposed lease in the 
  4.4   context of the space needs and financial circumstances of the 
  4.5   charter school.  
  4.6   A charter school must not use the building lease aid it receives 
  4.7   for custodial, maintenance service, utility, or other operating 
  4.8   costs.  The amount of building lease aid per pupil unit served 
  4.9   for a charter school for any year shall not exceed the lesser of 
  4.10  (a) 90 percent of the approved cost or (b) the product of the 
  4.11  pupil units served for the current school year times $1,500. 
  4.12     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001.