1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for expanded charter 
  1.3             school law; providing referendum revenue for charter 
  1.4             schools; providing integration revenue for charter 
  1.5             schools; increasing the building lease aid; 
  1.6             eliminating the real estate taxes paid by charter 
  1.7             schools on leased facilities; establishing a payment 
  1.8             schedule for charter school start-up cost funding; 
  1.9             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.10            sections 124D.10, subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, and by 
  1.11            adding a subdivision; 124D.11, subdivisions 4, 8, and 
  1.12            by adding a subdivision; 124D.86, subdivision 3; and 
  1.13            272.02, subdivision 8. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.10, 
  1.16  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 3.  [SPONSOR; GRANT.] (a) A school board, 
  1.18  intermediate school district school board, education cooperative 
  1.19  board, town or city governing entity, private college, community 
  1.20  college, state university, technical college, or the University 
  1.21  of Minnesota may sponsor one or more charter schools. 
  1.22     (b) A sponsor may receive a grant of up to $2,500 a year 
  1.23  for each authorized school it sponsors. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.10, is 
  1.25  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.26     Subd. 3a.  [CHARTER SCHOOL APPEALS BOARD.] The commissioner 
  1.27  shall appoint a charter school appeals board of nine members.  
  1.28  The board must review and approve or disapprove charter school 
  1.29  applications and requests for waivers.  The board must provide 
  2.1   outreach and technical assistance to sponsors. 
  2.2      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.10, 
  2.3   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.4      Subd. 4.  [FORMATION OF SCHOOL.] (a) A sponsor may 
  2.5   authorize one or more licensed teachers under section 122A.18, 
  2.6   subdivision 1, to operate a charter school subject to approval 
  2.7   by the state board.  A board must vote on charter school 
  2.8   application for sponsorship no later than 60 days after receipt 
  2.9   of the application.  After 60 days, the applicant may apply to 
  2.10  the state board.  If a board elects not to sponsor a charter 
  2.11  school, the applicant may appeal the board's decision to the 
  2.12  state board if two members of the board voted to sponsor the 
  2.13  school.  If the state board authorizes the school, the state 
  2.14  board must sponsor the school according to this section.  The 
  2.15  school must be organized and operated as a cooperative under 
  2.16  chapter 308A or nonprofit corporation under chapter 317A.  
  2.17     (b) Before the operators may form and operate a school, the 
  2.18  sponsor must file an affidavit with the state board stating its 
  2.19  intent to authorize a charter school.  The affidavit must state 
  2.20  the terms and conditions under which the sponsor would authorize 
  2.21  a charter school.  The state board must approve or disapprove 
  2.22  the sponsor's proposed authorization within 60 days of receipt 
  2.23  of the affidavit.  Failure to obtain state board approval 
  2.24  precludes a sponsor from authorizing the charter school that was 
  2.25  the subject of the affidavit.  
  2.26     (c) The operators authorized to organize and operate a 
  2.27  school must hold an election for members of the school's board 
  2.28  of directors in a timely manner after the school is operating.  
  2.29  Any staff members who are employed at the school, including 
  2.30  teachers providing instruction under a contract with a 
  2.31  cooperative, and all parents of children enrolled in the school 
  2.32  may participate in the election.  Licensed teachers employed at 
  2.33  the school, including teachers providing instruction under a 
  2.34  contract with a cooperative, must be a majority of the members 
  2.35  of the board of directors, unless the state board waives the 
  2.36  requirement for the school.  A provisional board may operate 
  3.1   before the election of the school's board of directors.  Board 
  3.2   of director meetings must comply with section 471.705. 
  3.3      (d) The granting or renewal of a charter by a sponsoring 
  3.4   entity must not be conditioned upon the bargaining unit status 
  3.5   of the employees of the school.  
  3.6      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.10, 
  3.7   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  3.8      Subd. 5.  [CONVERSION OF EXISTING SCHOOLS.] A board may 
  3.9   convert one or more of its existing schools to charter schools 
  3.10  under this section if 90 percent the majority of the full-time 
  3.11  teachers at the school sign a petition seeking conversion.  The 
  3.12  conversion must occur at the beginning of an academic year.  
  3.13     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.10, 
  3.14  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.15     Subd. 6.  [CONTRACT.] The sponsor's authorization for a 
  3.16  charter school must be in the form of a written contract signed 
  3.17  by the sponsor and the board of directors of the charter 
  3.18  school.  The contract must be completed within 45 days of the 
  3.19  state board approval of the sponsor's proposed authorization.  
  3.20  The contract for a charter school must be in writing and contain 
  3.21  at least the following: 
  3.22     (1) a description of a program that carries out one or more 
  3.23  of the purposes in subdivision 1; 
  3.24     (2) specific outcomes pupils are to achieve under 
  3.25  subdivision 10; 
  3.26     (3) admission policies and procedures; 
  3.27     (4) management and administration of the school; 
  3.28     (5) requirements and procedures for program and financial 
  3.29  audits; 
  3.30     (6) how the school will comply with subdivisions 8, 13, 16, 
  3.31  and 23; 
  3.32     (7) assumption of liability by the charter school; 
  3.33     (8) types and amounts of insurance coverage to be obtained 
  3.34  by the charter school; 
  3.35     (9) the term of the contract, which may be up to three 
  3.36  years; and 
  4.1      (10) if the board of directors or the operators of the 
  4.2   charter school provide special instruction and services for 
  4.3   children with a disability under sections 125A.03 to 125A.24, 
  4.4   and 125A.65, a description of the financial parameters within 
  4.5   which the charter school will operate to provide the special 
  4.6   instruction and services to children with a disability. 
  4.7      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.10, 
  4.8   subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
  4.9      Subd. 11.  [EMPLOYMENT AND OTHER OPERATING MATTERS.] A 
  4.10  charter school must employ or contract with necessary teachers, 
  4.11  as defined by section 122A.15, subdivision 1, who hold valid 
  4.12  licenses to perform the particular service for which they are 
  4.13  employed in the school.  If the majority of the licensed 
  4.14  teachers agree, then up to 20 percent of the school's full-time 
  4.15  equivalent may be provided by nonlicensed teachers.  Any 
  4.16  nonlicensed teacher must be supervised by a licensed teacher.  
  4.17  The school may employ necessary employees who are not required 
  4.18  to hold teaching licenses to perform duties other than teaching 
  4.19  and may contract for other services.  The school may discharge 
  4.20  teachers and nonlicensed employees. 
  4.21     The board of directors also shall decide matters related to 
  4.22  the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum and 
  4.23  operating procedures.  
  4.24     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.11, is 
  4.25  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.26     Subd. 1a.  [REFERENDUM REVENUE.] If the voters of a 
  4.27  district choose to increase the revenue of a district at a 
  4.28  referendum, according to section 126C.17, or if the district has 
  4.29  an existing referendum, the revenue raised by that referendum 
  4.30  must be paid to the charter school attended by each pupil of 
  4.31  that district who chooses to attend a charter school.  The 
  4.32  referendum revenue paid to a charter school for each pupil 
  4.33  attending a charter school must be equal to the amount of the 
  4.34  referendum revenue raised by a district divided by the total 
  4.35  number of public school and charter school pupils residing in 
  4.36  the district. 
  5.1      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.11, 
  5.2   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  5.3      Subd. 4.  [BUILDING LEASE AID.] When a charter school finds 
  5.4   it economically advantageous to rent or lease a building or land 
  5.5   for any instructional purposes and it determines that the total 
  5.6   operating capital revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 13, 
  5.7   is insufficient for this purpose, it may apply to the 
  5.8   commissioner for building lease aid for this purpose.  Criteria 
  5.9   for aid approval and revenue uses shall be as defined for the 
  5.10  building lease levy in section 126C.40, subdivision 1, 
  5.11  paragraphs (a) and (b).  The amount of building lease aid per 
  5.12  pupil unit served for a charter school for any year shall not 
  5.13  exceed the lesser of (a) 80 90 percent of the approved cost or 
  5.14  (b) the product of the pupil units served for the current school 
  5.15  year times the sum of the state average debt redemption fund 
  5.16  revenue plus capital revenue, according to section 126C.40, per 
  5.17  pupil unit served for the current fiscal year $1,200. 
  5.18     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.11, 
  5.19  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  5.20     Subd. 8.  [START-UP COSTS.] During the first two years of a 
  5.21  charter school's operation, the charter school is eligible for 
  5.22  aid to pay for start-up costs and additional operating costs. 
  5.23  Start-up cost aid equals the greater of: 
  5.24     (1) $50,000 per charter school; or 
  5.25     (2) $500 times the charter school's pupil units served for 
  5.26  that year. 
  5.27     The department of children, families, and learning must 
  5.28  provide 90 percent of the funding for start-up costs to each 
  5.29  eligible charter school within 45 days after the first day of 
  5.30  student attendance. 
  5.31     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.86, 
  5.32  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  5.33     Subd. 3.  [INTEGRATION REVENUE.] (a) For fiscal year 1999 
  5.34  2000 and later fiscal years, integration revenue equals the 
  5.35  following amounts: 
  5.36     (1) for independent school district No. 709, Duluth, $193 
  6.1   times the resident pupil units for the school year; 
  6.2      (2) for independent school district No. 625, St. Paul, $427 
  6.3   times the resident pupil units for the school year; 
  6.4      (3) for special school district No. 1, Minneapolis, $523 
  6.5   times the resident pupil units for the school year; and 
  6.6      (4) for a district not listed in clause (1), (2), or (3) 
  6.7   that is required to implement a plan according to the 
  6.8   requirements of Minnesota Rules, parts 3535.0200 to 3535.2200, 
  6.9   the lesser of the actual cost of implementing the plan during 
  6.10  the fiscal year or $93 times the resident pupil units for the 
  6.11  school year. 
  6.12     (b) Each charter school shall receive integration revenue 
  6.13  equal to the amount of integration revenue listed in paragraph 
  6.14  (a) in which the charter school is located times the number of 
  6.15  resident pupil units attending charter school. 
  6.16     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 272.02, 
  6.17  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  6.18     Subd. 8.  [PROPERTY LEASED TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER 
  6.19  SCHOOLS.] Property that is leased or rented to a school district 
  6.20  or a charter school is exempt from taxation if it meets the 
  6.21  following requirements: 
  6.22     (1) the lease must be for a period of at least 12 
  6.23  consecutive months; 
  6.24     (2) the terms of the lease must require the school district 
  6.25  or charter school to pay a nominal consideration for use of the 
  6.26  building; 
  6.27     (3) the school district or charter school must use the 
  6.28  property to provide direct instruction in any grade from 
  6.29  kindergarten through grade 12; special education for handicapped 
  6.30  children; adult basic education as described in section 124D.52; 
  6.31  preschool and early childhood family education; or community 
  6.32  education programs, including provision of administrative 
  6.33  services directly related to the educational program at that 
  6.34  site; and 
  6.35     (4) the lease must provide that the school district or 
  6.36  charter school has the exclusive use of the property during the 
  7.1   lease period. 
  7.2      Sec. 12.  [REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.] 
  7.3      In the next and subsequent editions of Minnesota Statutes 
  7.4   references to the state board in section 124C.10 shall be 
  7.5   changed to the charter school appeals board.  The changes made 
  7.6   by the revisor shall be effective December 31, 1999. 
  7.7      Sec. 13.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  7.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND 
  7.9   LEARNING.] The sums indicated in this section are appropriated 
  7.10  from the general fund to the department of children, families, 
  7.11  and learning for the fiscal years designated. 
  7.12     Subd. 2.  [BUILDING LEASE AID.] For charter school building 
  7.13  lease aid: 
  7.14       $.,...,...     .....     2000 
  7.15       $.,...,...     .....     2001 
  7.16     Subd. 3.  [PROPERTY LEASED TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER 
  7.17  SCHOOLS.] For property leased charter school building lease aid: 
  7.18       $.,...,...     .....     2000 
  7.19       $.,...,...     .....     2001 
  7.20     Subd. 4.  [CHARTER SCHOOL INTEGRATION REVENUE.] For charter 
  7.21  school integration revenue: 
  7.22       $.,...,...     .....     2000 
  7.23       $.,...,...     .....     2001 
  7.24     Subd. 5.  [START-UP FUNDS.] For full funding of charter 
  7.25  school start-up costs: 
  7.26       $.,...,...     .....     2000 
  7.27       $.,...,...     .....     2001 
  7.28     Subd. 6.  [CHARTER SCHOOL SPONSOR GRANTS.] For charter 
  7.29  school sponsor grants: 
  7.30       $.,...,...     .....     2000 
  7.31       $.,...,...     .....     2001 
  7.32     Sec. 14.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  7.33     Section 2 is effective December 31, 1999.