(a) Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided in subdivision (b), from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, is prohibited.

(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a nonclassroom-based charter school that was granted approval of its petition and providing educational services to pupils before October 1, 2019, under either of the following circumstances:

(1) If Assembly Bill 1507 of the 2019-20 Regular Session amends Section 47605.1 and becomes operative on January 1, 2020, and the charter school is required to submit a petition to the governing board of a school district or county board of education in an adjacent county in which its existing resource center is located in order to comply with Section 47605.1, as amended by Assembly Bill 1507 of the 2019-20 Regular Session, or to retain current program offerings or enrollment.

(2) If a charter school is required to submit a petition to a school district or county board of education in which a resource center is located in order to comply with the court decision in Anderson Union High School District v. Shasta Secondary Home School (2016) 4 Cal.App.5th 262, or other relevant court ruling, and the petition is necessary to retain current program offerings or enrollment.

(3) A charter school authorized by a different chartering authority pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be regarded by the department as a continuing charter school for all purposes to the extent it does not conflict with federal law. In order to prevent any potential conflict with federal law, this paragraph does not apply to covered programs as identified in Section 8101(11) of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 7801) to the extent the affected charter school is the restructured portion of a divided charter school pursuant to Section 47654.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 33050 or any other law, the state board shall not waive the restrictions described in this section.

(d) (1) No later than October 1, 2023, the Legislative Analyst and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team shall study the processes used to determine funding for nonclassroom-based charter schools.

(2) The study shall identify and make recommendations on potential improvements to the processes, including recommendations for enhancing oversight and reducing fraud, waste, and abuse.

(3) No later than March 1, 2024, the Legislative Analyst and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team shall report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, the department, and the executive director of the state board on recommendations and observations as a result of the study. These recommendations or observations shall consider the fiscal impact on the state.

(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 48, Sec. 44. (SB 114) Effective July 10, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions.)