N.Y. Education Law § 2851: Eligible applicants; applications; submission

§ 2851. Eligible applicants; applications; submission. 1. An

application to establish a charter school may be submitted by teachers,

parents, school administrators, community residents or any combination

thereof. Such application may be filed in conjunction with a college,

university, museum, educational institution, not-for-profit corporation

exempt from taxation under paragraph 3 of subsection (c) of section 501

of the internal revenue code or for-profit business or corporate entity

authorized to do business in New York state. Provided however,

for-profit business or corporate entities shall not be eligible to

submit an application to establish a charter school pursuant to

subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this

article, or operate or manage a charter school for a charter issued

pursuant to subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two

of this article. For charter schools established in conjunction with a

for-profit business or corporate entity, the charter shall specify the

extent of the entity's participation in the management and operation of

the school.

2. The information provided on the application shall be consistent

with the provisions of this article and other applicable laws, rules and

regulations. Such information shall include:

(a) A mission statement for the school and a description of an

educational program that implements one or more of the purposes

described in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of

this article.

(b) A description of student achievement goals for the school's

educational program and the chosen methods of evaluating that students

have attained the skills and knowledge specified for those goals. Such

educational program shall meet or exceed the student performance

standards adopted by the board of regents for other public schools.

(c) The proposed governance structure of the school, including a list

of members of the initial board of trustees, a description of the

qualifications, terms and method of appointment or election of trustees,

the organizational structure of the school, a procedure for conducting

and publicizing monthly board of trustee meetings at each charter

school, and the processes to be followed by the school to promote

parental and staff involvement in school governance.

(d) Admission policies and procedures for the school, which shall be

consistent with the requirements of subdivision two of section

twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this article.

(e) A proposed budget and fiscal plan for the school, including

supporting evidence that the fiscal plan is sound and that sufficient

start-up funds will be available to the charter school.

(f) Requirements and procedures for programmatic and independent

fiscal audits at least once annually, with such audits being comparable

in scope to those required of other public schools.

(g) The hiring and personnel policies and procedures of the school,

including the qualifications to be used in the hiring of teachers,

school administrators and other school employees, and a description of

staff responsibilities.

(h) The rules and procedures by which students may be disciplined,

including but not limited to expulsion or suspension from the school,

which shall be consistent with the requirements of due process and with

federal laws and regulations governing the placement of students with

disabilities.

(i) The number of students to be served by the school, which number

shall be at least fifty at a single site and the minimum number of

teachers to be employed at the school, which shall be at least three.

Provided, however, that a charter school may serve fewer than fifty

students or employ fewer than three teachers in the school's first year

of operation or if the applicant presents a compelling justification,

such as the school would serve a geographically remote region.

(j) Information regarding the facilities to be used by the school,

including the location of the school, if known, and the means by which

pupils will be transported to and from the school. If the facilities to

be used by the proposed school are not known at the time the application

is submitted, the applicant shall notify the charter entity and, if

applicable, the board of regents within ten business days of acquiring

facilities for such school; provided, however, that the charter school

must obtain a certificate of occupancy for such facilities prior to the

date on which instruction is to commence at the school.

(k) The name of the proposed charter school, which shall include the

words "charter school" and which shall not include the name or

identification of a for-profit business or corporate entity.

(l) A description of the ages and grade levels to be served by the

school.

(m) Identification and background information on all applicants and

proposed members of the board of trustees.

(n) The school calendar and school day schedule, which shall provide

at least as much instruction time during a school year as required of

other public schools.

(o) Types and amounts of insurance coverage to be obtained by the

school, which shall include adequate insurance for liability, property

loss and the personal injury of students. The commissioner and the

superintendent of financial services may jointly promulgate regulations

to implement the provisions of this paragraph.

(p) The term of the proposed charter, which shall not exceed five

years; provided however, in the case of charters issued pursuant to

subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this

article the term of such proposed charter shall not exceed five years in

which instruction is provided to pupils plus the period commencing with

the effective date of the charter and ending with the opening of the

school for instruction.

(q) Evidence of adequate community support for and interest in the

charter school sufficient to allow the school to reach its anticipated

enrollment, and an assessment of the projected programmatic and fiscal

impact of the school on other public and nonpublic schools in the area.

(r) A description of the health and food services to be provided to

students attending the school.

(s) Methods and strategies for serving students with disabilities in

compliance with all federal laws and regulations relating thereto.

(t) Procedures to be followed in the case of the closure or

dissolution of the charter school, including provisions for the transfer

of students and student records to the school district in which the

charter school is located and for the disposition of the school's assets

to the school district in which the charter school is located or another

charter school located within the school district. Notwithstanding any

other provision of law or of a charter to the contrary, such procedures

shall ensure that upon dissolution of a charter school, any funds

remaining in the possession of the charter school that can be attributed

to public funding, after all of its debts and obligations have been

paid, shall be paid over to each school district having resident

children served by the charter school in the school year in which the

charter was dissolved or the last year in which students were enrolled

in the charter school, in the same proportion as the number of students

placed by each school district and served by the charter school in the

last school year in which children were served by the charter school,

bears to the total number of students served by the charter school in

such school year. Provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision

shall be construed to require a charter school to pay to such districts

any remaining funds that can be attributed to gifts, donations, grants

or other authorized charitable contributions.

(u) Requirements for the grant of a diploma, if the school serves the

twelfth grade.

(v) A code of ethics for the charter school, setting forth for the

guidance of its trustees, officers and employees the standards of

conduct expected of them including standards with respect to disclosure

of conflicts of interest regarding any matter brought before the board

of trustees.

(w) A description of the residential facilities, if any, provided by

the charter school.

(x) Any other information relevant to the issuance of a charter

required by the charter entity.

3. An applicant shall submit the application to a charter entity for

approval. For purposes of this article, a charter entity shall be:

(a) The board of education of a school district eligible for an

apportionment of aid under subdivision four of section thirty-six

hundred two of this chapter, provided that a board of education shall

not approve an application for a school to be operated outside the

school district's geographic boundaries and further provided that in a

city having a population of one million or more, the chancellor of any

such city school district shall be the charter entity established by

this paragraph;

(b) The board of trustees of the state university of New York; or

(c) The board of regents.

The board of regents shall be the only entity authorized to issue a

charter pursuant to this article. Notwithstanding any provision of this

subdivision to the contrary, an application for the conversion of an

existing public school to a charter school shall be submitted to, and

may only be approved by, the charter entity set forth in paragraph (a)

of this subdivision. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the

contrary, any such application for conversion shall be consistent with

this section but shall not be subject to the process pursuant to

subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this

article, and the charter entity shall require that the parents or

guardians of a majority of the students then enrolled in the existing

public school vote in favor of converting the school to a charter

school.

4. Charters may be renewed, upon application, for a term of up to five

years in accordance with the provisions of this article for the issuance

of such charters pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of

this article; provided, however, that a renewal application shall

include:

(a) A report of the progress of the charter school in achieving the

educational objectives set forth in the charter.

(b) A detailed financial statement that discloses the cost of

administration, instruction and other spending categories for the

charter school that will allow a comparison of such costs to other

schools, both public and private. Such statement shall be in a form

prescribed by the board of regents.

(c) Copies of each of the annual reports of the charter school

required by subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven

of this article, including the charter school report cards and the

certified financial statements.

(d) Indications of parent and student satisfaction.

(e) The means by which the charter school will meet or exceed

enrollment and retention targets as prescribed by the board of regents

or the board of trustees of the state university of New York, as

applicable, of students with disabilities, English language learners,

and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price

lunch program which shall be considered by the charter entity prior to

approving such charter school's application for renewal. When developing

such targets, the board of regents and the board of trustees of the

state university of New York shall ensure (1) that such enrollment

targets are comparable to the enrollment figures of such categories of

students attending the public schools within the school district, or in

a city school district in a city having a population of one million or

more inhabitants, the community school district, in which the charter

school is located; and (2) that such retention targets are comparable to

the rate of retention of such categories of students attending the

public schools within the school district, or in a city school district

in a city having a population of one million or more inhabitants, the

community school district, in which the proposed charter school would be

located.

Such renewal application shall be submitted to the charter entity no

later than six months prior to the expiration of the charter; provided,

however, that the charter entity may waive such deadline for good cause

shown.

5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the

contrary for a period of one year from the effective date of this

subdivision, a charter school approved by a charter entity listed in

subdivision three of this section may apply at any time during this

period to another charter entity, defined in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)

of subdivision three of this section to request such other charter

entity to oversee and supervise such charter school. All standards and

requirements established in the original charter agreement shall remain

in effect until the scheduled expiration of such charter agreement and

provided however that all obligations of the previous charter entity to

oversee and supervise a charter school shall terminate upon the transfer

of authorization of such charter school to a new charter entity, as

defined in subdivision five of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of

this article, and the previous charter entity shall provide in a timely

fashion information relevant to the charter as requested by such other

charter entity. A charter school that seeks to change its charter entity

must have met all other requirements of this article and cannot be in

violation of any legal requirement, in probationary status, or slated

for closure.