KRS 160.1596: Board of directors of public charter schools -- Required elements of

charter contract with authorizer -- Calculation of daily average attendance --

Proportional transfer of funds -- Services -- Negotiation by collaborative --

Calculations for fi rst year -- Authorizer fee -- Schedule for funds transfer --

Grants -- Share of state and federal funds -- Distribution of closed school's

assets -- Administrative regulations -- Annual report by authorizer.

(1) (a) For purposes of this section, a member of the board of directors of a public

charter school shall be considered an officer under KRS 61.040 and shall,

within sixty (60) days of final approval of an application, take an oath of

office as required under KRS 62.010.

(b) Within seventy -five (75) days of the final approval of an application, the

board of directors and the authorizer shall enter into a binding charter contract

that establishes the academic and operational performance expectations and

measures by which the public charter school will be evaluated.

(c) The executed charter contract shall become the final authorization for the

public charter school. The charter contract shall include:

1. The term of the contract;

2. The agreements relating to each item required under KRS 160.1592(3)

and 160.1593(3), as modified or supplemented during the approval

process;

3. The rights and duties of each party;

4. The administrative relationship between the authorizer and the public

charter school;

5. The allocation of state, local, and federal funds , and the schedule to

disburse funds to the public charter school by the authorizer;

6. The process the authorizer will use to provide ongoing oversight,

including a process to conduct annual site visits;

7. The specific commitments of the public charter s chool authorizer

relating to its obligations to oversee, monitor the progress of, and

supervise the public charter school;

8. The process and criteria the authorizer will use to annually monitor and

evaluate the overall academic, operating, and fiscal cond itions of the

public charter school, including the process the authorizer will use to

oversee the correction of any deficiencies found in the annual review;

9. The process for revision or amendment to the terms of the charter

contract agreed to by the auth orizer and the board of directors of the

public charter school;

10. The process agreed to by the authorizer and the board of directors of the

public charter school that identifies how disputes between the authorizer

and the board will be handled; and

11. Any other terms and conditions agreed to by the authorizer and the board

of directors, including pre -opening conditions. Reasonable conditions

shall not include enrollment caps or operational requirements that place

undue constraints on a public charter sc hool or are contradictory to the

provisions of KRS 160.1590 to 160.1599 and 161.141. Such conditions,

even when incorporated in a charter contract, shall be considered

unilaterally imposed conditions.

(d) 1. The performance provisions within a charter contract shall be based on a

performance framework that sets forth the academic and operational

performance indicators, measures, and metrics to be used by the

authorizer to evaluate each public charter school. The performance

framework shall include at a minimum indicators, measures, and metrics

for:

a. Student academic proficiency;

b. Student academic growth;

c. Achievement gaps in both student proficiency and student growth

for student subgroups, including race, sex, socioeconomic status,

and areas of exceptionality;

d. Student attendance;

e. Student suspensions;

f. Student withdrawals;

g. Student exits;

h. Recurrent enrollment from year to year;

i. College or career readiness at the end of grade twelve (12);

j. Financial performance and sustainability; and

k. Board of directors' performance and stewardship, including

compliance with all applicable statutes, administrative regulations,

and terms of the charter contract.

2. The performance framework shall allow the inclusion of additional

rigorous, valid, and r eliable indicators proposed by a public charter

school to augment external evaluations of its performance. The proposed

indicators shall be consistent with the purposes of KRS 160.1590 to

160.1599 and 161.141 and shall be negotiated with the authorizer.

3. The performance framework shall require the disaggregation of student

performance data by subgroups, including race, sex, socioeconomic

status, and areas of exceptionality.

4. The authorizer shall be responsible for collecting, analyzing, and

reporting to the state board all state -required assessment and

achievement data for each public charter school it oversees.

(e) Annual student achievement performance targets shall be set, in accordance

with the state accountability system, by each public charter scho ol in

conjunction with its authorizer, and those measures shall be designed to help

each school meet applicable federal, state, and authorizer goals.

(f) The charter contract shall be signed by the chair of the governing board of the

authorizer and the cha ir of the board of directors of the public charter school.

An approved charter application shall serve as a charter contract for the public

charter school.

(g) No public charter school may commence operations without a charter contract

executed according t o this section and approved in an open meeting of the

governing board of the authorizer.

(2) Within five (5) days after entering into a charter contract, a copy of the executed

contract shall be submitted by the authorizer to the commissioner of education.

(3) For the purposes of local and state funding, a public charter school shall serve as a

school of the district of location.

(4) For the purposes of federal funding, a public charter school shall serve as a local

education agency.

(5) All students enroll ed in a public charter school shall be included in the average

daily attendance calculation under KRS 157.360 and the aggregate and average

daily attendance of transported pupils calculation under KRS 157.370 of the district

of location in the same manner as any other public schools in the district and shall

be reported by the public charter schools to the school district and state Department

of Education for purposes of calculating the state and local share of funding for

each public charter school.

(6) Notwithstanding the formula for allocating district funds under KRS 160.345(8) and

any other statute governing a district's funding of schools, unless an authorizing

district agrees to provide a larger sum of funding in the charter contract, after local

capital outlay funds that are restricted in use pursuant to KRS 157.420(4) and funds

under KRS 157.440(1)(b) and 157.621 necessary to meet debt service obligations

on bonds or other financing mechanisms for new construction and renovation

projects for school f acilities are excluded, and before any other funds are budgeted

for district use, a district shall transfer to each of the public charter schools located

within the district:

(a) The amount that is proportional to the public charter school's enrollment or

average daily attendance in comparison with the overall district qualifying

numbers for:

1. Funds that are related to students' attendance and enrollment and

allocated to the district of location pursuant to KRS 157.360;

2. Any add-on or funding factors provided for in the state budget;

3. Any add-on or funding factors provided for by the Kentucky Department

of Education; and

4. Funds pursuant to KRS 157.360(2)(a) and (b) and (13)(a).

For each funding source identified in this paragraph, the transfer amount shall

be based on the public charter school's qualifying student enrollment or

average daily attendance, depending on the method used in the funding

source's calculation;

(b) On a proportionate per pupil basis:

1. Education funds allocated to the school district pursuant to KRS

157.440(1)(a) and (2)(a), or pursuant to any applicable federal statute;

and

2. All taxes and payments in lieu of taxes transferred to the district of

location or levied and collected by the district of location; and

(c) On a proportionate per pupil transported basis, transportation funds calculated

pursuant to KRS 157.360(2)(c) and 157.370 and distributed to the district of

location, unless the school dist rict provides transportation to students

attending the public charter school under written terms agreed upon by the

district and the public charter school in either the charter contract or, if the

district is not the public charter school's authorizer, a separate agreement.

(7) (a) If transportation funds are transferred under this section to a public charter

school, then the public charter school receiving those funds shall provide

transportation services to the enrolled students residing within the distri ct of

location.

(b) If funds designated for providing additional services to specific students are

transferred under this section, then the public charter school receiving those

funds shall provide those services in the same manner as the district of

location.

(c) If transportation services are not provided by the public charter school and no

written agreement to provide transportation services with the district of

location exists, then no transportation funds shall be transferred and the

district of location shall not be responsible for providing transportation to the

public charter school's students.

(8) Notwithstanding the identification of funds to be transferred in this section, a

collaborative among local school boards authorizing a public charter scho ol may

negotiate among the local boards and a charter applicant to identify the amount of

funds to be transferred to the public charter school. The agreement shall be detailed

in the charter contract.

(9) (a) For the calculation of amounts under subsection s (6) and (7) of this section

during the first school year of operation of a public charter school in a school

district, beginning with the start of instruction:

1. The public charter school's average daily attendance shall be calculated

based on a project ion of the public charter school's enrollment and the

district's overall average daily attendance;

2. The public charter school's aggregate daily attendance of students

transported shall be calculated based on a projection of the public

charter school's en rollment and transportation plan and the district's

overall aggregate daily attendance of students transported; and

3. The amounts attributable to each individual student's attendance at the

public charter school shall be calculated based on a projection o f the

public charter school's enrollment and demographics and the district's

overall enrollment and demographics.

(b) The calculations shall be adjusted in January of the first school year of

operation to reflect the first semester's actual data. Subsequen t years of

operation shall be calculated using actual data from the prior school year.

(10) (a) Funds identified for transfer under this section shall be transferred by a district

of location to each of the public charter schools located within the distric t.

However, up to three percent (3%) of the funds identified under this section

for transfer to a public charter school may be retained by an authorizer as an

authorizer fee.

(b) If the authorizer of a public charter school does not include the local boar d of

education of the district of location, then the district of location shall transfer

the authorizer fee to the public charter school's authorizer.

(c) If the Kentucky Board of Education requires the authorization of a public

charter school on appeal fr om an authorizer, the board shall receive twenty -

five percent (25%) of the authorizing fee for the duration of joint oversight

required by KRS 160.1595.

(11) Funds identified for transfer by a district of location to a public charter school under

this section shall be transferred throughout the school year according to a schedule

determined by the state board. The scheduled dates shall be within thirty (30) days

of the dates of state disbursement of funds to school districts. Failure to transfer

required funds shall, for every five (5) days late, result in a fine to the violator of not

less than five percent (5%) of the total funds per funding period to be transferred.

Fines imposed shall be transferred to the public charter school affected by the delay.

(12) A public charter school shall be eligible for federal and state competitive grants and

shall not be excluded from an opportunity to apply or participate so long as the

public charter school meets the criteria established for the respective grants. Each

public charter school that receives grant aid shall comply with all requirements to

receive such aid.

(13) A public charter school shall receive a proportionate per pupil share of any state

moneys not otherwise identified in this section that is received by the school district

of location. The public charter school shall also receive, according to federal law,

moneys generated under federal categorical aid programs for students that are

eligible for the aid and attending the public charter school. Each publi c charter

school that receives such aid shall comply with all requirements to receive such aid.

(14) The commissioner of education shall apply for all federal funding that supports

charter school initiatives for which a state must be the applicant and shall cooperate

with any public charter school in its efforts to seek federal funding.

(15) If a public c harter school closes for any reason, the assets of the school shall be

distributed first to satisfy outstanding payroll obligations for employees of the

school, then to the creditors of the school, then to the district of location or

authorizing districts if authorized by a collaborative of local boards of education. If

the assets are insufficient to satisfy outstanding obligations, the authorizer shall

petition to Circuit Court of the county in which the public charter school is located

to prioritize the distribution of assets.

(16) The state board shall promulgate administrative regulations to:

(a) Establish the process to be used to evaluate the performance of a charter

school authorizer, based upon the requirements of KRS 160.1590 to 160.1599

and 161.141 , and the actions to be taken in response to failures in

performance; and

(b) Govern the calculation and distribution of funds due to public charter schools

from school districts, the schedule of distribution of funds, and the imposition

of fines for late distribution of funds.

(17) By August 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, each public charter school authorizer

shall submit to the commissioner of education, the secretary of the Education and

Labor Cabinet, and the Interim Joint Committee on Education a report to include:

(a) The names of each public charter school operating under contract with the

authorizer during the previous academic year that:

1. Closed during or after the academic year; or

2. Had the contract nonrenewed or revoked;

(b) The names of e ach public charter school operating under contract with the

authorizer during the previous academic year that have not yet begun to

operate;

(c) The number of applications received, the number reviewed, and the number

approved;

(d) A summary of the academi c and financial performance of each public charter

school operated under contract with the authorizer during the previous

academic year; and

(e) The authorizing duties and functions performed by the authorizer during the

previous academic year.