Signed by Governor Patrick McCrory

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that authorizes charter school expansion without approval of the State Board of Education.

Highlights:

• Specifies that it is not a revision of a charter application for charter schools to perform any of the following actions without prior approval of the State Board of Education (Sec. 2):
• Increase enrollment by up to 20 percent of the school’s previous year’s enrollment during the school’s second year of operation and annually thereafter;
• Increase enrollment according to planned growth as authorized in its charter during the school’s second year of operation and annually thereafter; and
• Expand to offer 1 grade higher if the school has operated for at least 3 years and has not been identified as having “inadequate performance”.

• Authorizes charter schools to give enrollment priority to individuals including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1):
• Siblings of currently enrolled students;
• Siblings of students that have completed the highest grade level offered by the school; and
• Children of the school’s full-time employees and the charter school’s board of directors. 

• Specifies that within 1 year after a charter school begins operation, that charter school is required to make efforts for the population of the school to reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population residing within the local school administrative district in which the school is located, and will be subject to any court-ordered desegregation plan if deemed necessary by the local school administrative unit (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that authorizes charter school expansion without approval of the State Board of Education.

Highlights:

• Specifies that it is not a revision of a charter application for charter schools to perform any of the following actions without prior approval of the State Board of Education (Sec. 2):
• Increase enrollment by up to 20 percent of the school’s previous year’s enrollment during the school’s second year of operation and annually thereafter;
• Increase enrollment according to planned growth as authorized in its charter during the school’s second year of operation and annually thereafter; and
• Expand to offer 1 grade higher if the school has operated for at least 3 years and has not been identified as having “inadequate performance”.

• Authorizes charter schools to give enrollment priority to individuals including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1):
• Siblings of currently enrolled students;
• Siblings of students that have completed the highest grade level offered by the school; and
• Children of the school’s full-time employees and the charter school’s board of directors. 

• Specifies that within 1 year after a charter school begins operation, that charter school is required to make efforts for the population of the school to reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the general population residing within the local school administrative district in which the school is located, and will be subject to any court-ordered desegregation plan if deemed necessary by the local school administrative unit (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text