Delaware-2013-HB183-Draft

SPONSOR:	Rep. Kowalko

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 2

HOUSE BILL NO. 165

AMEND House Bill No. 165 by striking lines 122 through 126 in their entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

(c) Charter school applications shall be submitted to a local school board or the Department for approval as an approving authority.Whenever a charter school seeks a charter from the Department as approving authority, such approval shall require the assent of both the Secretary and the State Board, as shall any action pursuant to §§515 and 516 of this title.The approving authority shall be responsible for approval of the charter school pursuant to this section and for continuing oversight of each charter school it approves.

(1) All charter school applications shall be submitted to a local school board, in which the charter school will be located, for the initial review and consideration of the application.As part of the review process, the local school board to whom a charter school application is submitted shall hold a face-to-face meeting with the charter school applicant to review and discuss the application.The local school board shall take action on the application within 60 days from the receipt of the application.In the event that a local school board denies an application, it shall do so in writing and shall include an impact statement addressing:

a. the potential effects of the applicant charter school on the enrollment and financial condition of the three public school districts from which the charter school expects to recruit the largest number of students and, in the case of a secondary level charter school, the vocational technical school district in the county in which the charter school will be located;

b. the extent to which the programs and services provided by the applicant charter school are already offered by the public school districts; and

c. the most recent demographic information regarding school-aged children for the county and the school district in which the charter will be located.

The school district must also send a copy of the denial letter and impact statement to the Department of Education.

(2) A charter school applicant whose application is denied by the local school board may submit a written request to the Department of Education to consider its application within 30 days of its receipt of the local school board decision including the above-required impact statement.Approval of a charter school application by the Department shall require the assent of both the Secretary and the State Board.In addition to the criteria contained in § 512 of this title, the Department shall consider the impact statement prepared by the local school district.