(a)  A “mayoral academy” means a charter school created by a mayor of any city or town within the State of Rhode Island, acting by, or through, a nonprofit organization established for said purpose (regardless of the time said nonprofit organization is in existence), that enrolls students from more than one city or town, including both urban and non-urban communities, and that offers an equal number of enrollments to students on a lottery basis; provided, further, that such mayoral academies shall have a board of trustees or directors that is comprised of representatives from each included city or town and is chaired by a mayor of an included city or town. The mayor from each city or town, or in the absence of a mayor, the city or town council via a resolution or ordinance, shall approve the participation in the mayoral academy’s catchment area for a proposed charter or an amendment to a charter for expansion. For purposes of this chapter, the term “mayor” shall include any elected town administrator.

(b)  No child shall be required to attend a mayoral academy, nor shall any teacher be required to teach in a mayoral academy. The school committee of the district in which a mayoral academy is located shall make accommodations to facilitate the transfer of students who do not wish to participate in a mayoral academy into other public schools. It shall also make accommodations for those students who wish to transfer into the mayoral academy as space permits. If the total number of students who are eligible to attend and apply to a mayoral academy is greater than the number of spaces available, the mayoral academy shall conduct a lottery to determine which students shall be admitted.