(1) The Kentucky Public Charter School Pilot Project is hereby established to study the impact of public charter schools within the common school system.
(2) Authorizers for the pilot project shall include:

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 160.15911

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Year: means calendar year. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(a) A school board of a county school district located in a county with a consolidated local government, which shall have authorizing jurisdiction within the territory of the district’s boundaries; and
(b) Notwithstanding KRS § 160.1590, the board of regents of Northern Kentucky University, which shall have authorizing jurisdiction within any county containing four (4) or more local school districts. The board of regents shall only become a pilot project authorizer if the board adopts a resolution confirming the status by January 1, 2023. The board of regents shall send notice of the resolution to each local board within the jurisdiction, the Kentucky Board of Education, and the Legislative Research Commission. The board of regents may decline to be an authorizer by July 1, 2023, in the same manner.
(3) By July 1, 2023, each pilot project authorizer shall solicit, review, and approve at least one (1) charter application for a public charter school within the authorizer’s jurisdiction that serves as an urban academy. The charter contract shall be for a five (5) year term, but otherwise subject to KRS § 160.1590 to KRS § 160.1599. The pilot authorizers shall submit a copy of the approved charter contracts to the Legislative Research Commission.
(4) (a) If on July 1, 2023, the Northern Kentucky University board of regents is not a pilot project authorizer, then notwithstanding KRS § 160.1590, a collective of metropolitan local school boards that is composed of two (2) members from each local board of a district located in a county that contains four (4) or more local school districts shall become a substitute pilot project authorizer. Each local board shall select its members to serve on the collective.
(b) The collective shall have authorizing authority within the collective districts’ boundaries. The collective shall adopt authorizer policies as if it were a single local board and may allocate authorizer fees as necessary to support authorizer functions. The collective may contract with other governmental or nonprofit organizations to assist with public charter school oversight.
(c) By July 1, 2024, the collective shall solicit, review, and approve at least one (1) charter application for a public charter school within the authorizer’s jurisdiction that serves as an urban academy. The charter contract shall be for a five (5) year term, but otherwise subject to KRS § 160.1590 to KRS § 160.1599. The pilot authorizers shall submit a copy of the approved charter contracts to the Legislative Research Commission.
(5) By July 1 of each year the charter contract is in effect, the pilot project authorizers shall submit an annual report to the Interim Joint Committee on Education and the
Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue detailing the authorizer’s oversight activities over the previous year. The report shall have content and be in a format approved by the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee with the assistance of the Office of Education Accountability.
(6) Starting in 2024 and until the initial charter contract ends, the Office of Education Accountability shall annually review the performance of the public charter schools authorized under this section and submit the report to the Interim Joint Committee on Education and the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue. The Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee may provide guidance to the Office of Education Accountability on the content and format of the report.
(7) Upon the end of the initial term of the charter contract, the pilot authorizers shall review the reports under subsection (5) of this section and determine if the contract shall be renewed in the same manner as any other charter contract under the provisions of KRS § 160.1598. The decision shall be appealable under KRS
160.1595.
Effective: July 14, 2022
History: Created 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 213, sec. 11, effective July 14, 2022.