Signed by Governor Mary Fallin

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that authorizes the use of charter schools in a school district, regardless of the size of its population.

Highlights:

• Repeals the requirement for a school district to have a daily enrollment of at least 5,000 students and a local population of at least 500,000 in order to open a charter school (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes a school district to open and operate a charter school within its geographical boundaries (Sec. 1).

• Amends the definition of “charter school” to include “conversion charter schools,” which are established by converting all or part of any traditional public school into a charter school (Sec. 1).

• Specifies the powers and duties of a charter school sponsor, which include, but are not limited to, providing oversight of charter schools and determining whether each charter contract merits renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation (Sec. 2).

• Expands application requirements for a charter school to include more information about its operations, including, but not limited to, the following details (Sec. 2):
• The school’s financial plan for the first 5 years of operation;
• The school’s academic program and its alignment with state standards; and
• The school’s plans for assessing and reporting student progress.

• Authorizes a charter school applicant that has been denied by a sponsor to appeal the decision to the Board of Education (Secs. 1 & 2).

• Authorizes the board to sponsor a charter school whose application has been denied by the school district in which it seeks to operate, if the charter school can show that it has a high-quality application, has clear community support, and that the denial of the application was not based on evidence and the strength of the application (Sec. 1).

• Limits the number of charter schools the board can sponsor in a county with a population below 500,000 to 5 per year in the first 5 years after the passage of this bill, and 1 charter school per year per district (Sec. 1).

• Requires the board to identify charter schools in the state that are ranked in the bottom 5 percent of all public schools, beginning in the 2016-2017 school year (Sec. 4).

• Requires a sponsor to close a charter school at the time of its charter renewal if the school is among the bottom 5 percent of public schools, or provide the board with justification for its decision to keep the charter school open, which the board may vote to overturn (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes a charter school sponsor to approve and renew a contract every 5 years with specific conditions for necessary improvements based on the school’s performance (Sec. 4).

Full Bill Text