Tennessee Code 49-13-142 – Oversight and monitoring of charter schools authorized by state board upon appeal from denial of approval of a charter school application by certain LEAs
(a) This section shall only apply to charter schools authorized by the state board of education upon appeal from a denial of approval of a charter school application by an LEA that contains at least one (1) priority school on the current or last preceding priority school list.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-13-142
Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
Authorizer: means : (A) A local board of education, the Tennessee public charter school commission, or the achievement school district as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Charter agreement: means a fixed-term renewable agreement between a public charter school and the authorizer that outlines the rights, responsibilities, and performance expectations of each party. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Governing body: means the organized group of persons who will operate a public charter school or schools by deciding matters, including, but not limited to, budgeting, curriculum and other operating procedures for the public charter school and by overseeing management and administration of a public charter school. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
Public charter school: means a public school in this state that is established and operating under the terms of a charter agreement and in accordance with this chapter. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(3), oversight and monitoring of charter schools authorized by the state board of education shall be performed by the state board. As requested, the department of education shall assist the state board with general oversight of any charter school authorized by the state board.(2) A charter school authorized by the state board shall continue to be overseen and monitored by the state board notwithstanding the subsequent removal of all schools in an LEA from the priority school list; provided, however, that in the case of a charter school authorized by the state board but renewed by the LEA in accordance with § 49-13-121, the LEA becomes the authorizer and shall be responsible for oversight and monitoring of the charter school.(3) A charter school authorized by the state board and the LEA in which the charter school is located may, within thirty (30) calendar days of such authorization, mutually agree that the charter school shall be overseen and monitored by the LEA. Any such agreement shall be filed with the state board in a manner prescribed by the state board. This subdivision (b)(3) shall also apply to charter schools renewed on appeal by the state board.(c)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (c)(2), for accountability purposes under § 49-1-602, the performance of a charter school authorized by the state board of education shall not be attributable to the LEA.(2) If a charter school authorized by the state board and the LEA in which the charter school is located mutually agree that the charter school shall be overseen and monitored by the LEA pursuant to subdivision (b)(2), then, for accountability purposes under § 49-1-602, the performance of the charter school shall be attributable to the LEA.(d) The state board shall receive from the department of education or from the LEA in which the charter school is located, as appropriate, an amount equal to the per student state and local funds received by the department or the LEA in which the charter school is located for the students enrolled in a charter school authorized by the state board. The state board shall receive for the charter schools it authorizes all appropriate allocations of federal funds as do other LEAs under federal law or regulations, including, but not limited to, Title I, IDEA, and ESEA funds. All funding allocations and disbursements shall be made in accordance with procedures developed by the department. Funding for charter schools authorized by the state board shall be in accordance with §§ 49-13-112 and 49-13-118.(e) The department shall determine the amount of the state BEP non-classroom component for capital outlay to be distributed, according to § 49-13-112(c), to a charter school authorized by the state board. The LEA shall pay to the department one hundred percent (100%) of the required local match under the BEP for capital outlay as a nonclassroom component for distribution to the charter school.(f) A charter school authorized by the state board may contract with the LEA in which the school operates for school support services or student support services, including, but not limited to, food services and transportation.(g) The state board of education is the LEA for all charter schools it authorizes.(h)(1) On July 1, 2021, all charter agreements for which the state board of education is the authorizer shall be transferred, for the remainder of the unexpired term of the charter agreement, to the commission if documentation of mutual agreement to the transfer has been executed by the public charter school‘s governing body and the commission.(2) Documentation of mutual agreement must be in the form of a written agreement between the public charter school’s governing body and the commission. The agreement must include any modification or amendment of the charter agreement as may be mutually agreed upon by the public charter school’s governing body and the commission.(3) On July 1, 2021, subject to documentation of mutual agreement, the commission shall assume all authorizer rights under charter agreements executed by the state board of education.(4) The state board of education shall transfer to the commission all student records and public charter school performance data collected and maintained in the performance of the state board of education’s duties as an authorizer.(5) The commission, in consultation with the governing body of a public charter school that is operating under a charter agreement that is to be transferred under this subsection (h), shall provide for timely notification of the transfer of the charter agreement, and any modifications or amendments to the charter agreement that are included in the written agreement executed under subdivision (h)(2), to parents or guardians of students enrolled in a public charter school affected by the transfer.(6) If a public charter school’s governing body and the commission cannot reach a mutual agreement before July 1, 2021, then the charter agreement authorized by the state board of education terminates on July 1, 2021.(i) Subsections (a)-(g) are repealed on July 1, 2021.
