HB 202: Local Charter School Authorization and Support Act of 2025; enact

House Bill 202

By: Representatives Hilton of the 48th, Jones of the 47th, Dubnik of the 29th, Jones of the 25th, Rice of the 139th, and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Article 31 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Charter Schools Act of 1998," so as to enact the "Local Charter School Authorization and Support Act of 2025"; to provide for the State Charter Schools Commission to establish a program for the purposes of promoting and supporting the approval of new local charter school petitions by local boards of education and to provide incentive grants to local boards of education that approve new local charter school petitions; to provide for the award and use of such incentive grants; to provide for the Office of Charter School Compliance to implement and administer such incentive programs and to provide technical assistance to local school systems; to require local boards of education to provide certain written statements to the State Board of Education and the Office of Charter School Compliance upon denying a local charter school petition whereupon the corresponding state charter school petition is approved by the State Charter Schools Commission, subject to an exception; to provide for accountability for local boards of education that deny two or more local charter school petitions whereupon the corresponding state charter school petition is approved by the State Charter Schools Commission during a certain period; to provide for local boards of education to reconsider the denial of local charter school petitions; to require the Office of Charter School Compliance to prepare guidelines for local boards of education for the evaluation of charter school petitions; to revise reporting; to provide for related matters; to provide for legislative findings and intent; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

(a) The General Assembly finds that charter schools, including locally authorized charter schools, provide innovative and effective educational opportunities for students in Georgia.

(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to:

(1) Encourage local school systems to serve as local authorizers of charter schools;

(2) Provide financial incentives to local school systems that authorize and oversee charter schools; and

(3) Ensure accountability for local school systems that consistently deny charter petitions that are subsequently approved by the State Charter Schools Commission.

SECTION 2.

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Local Charter School Authorization and Support Act of 2025."

SECTION 3.

Article 31 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Charter Schools Act of 1998," is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-2064, relating to approval or denial of petition, as follows:

"20-2-2064.

(a) A charter petitioner seeking to create a conversion charter school must shall submit a petition to the local board of the local school system in which the proposed charter school will be located. The local board must shall by a majority vote approve or deny a petition no later than 90 days after its submission unless the petitioner requests an extension; provided, however, that a denial of a petition by a local board shall not preclude the submission to the local board of a revised petition that addresses deficiencies cited in the denial; and provided, further, that the local board shall not act upon a petition for a conversion charter school, including, but not limited to, a conversion charter for a high school cluster, until such petition:

(1)(A) Has been freely agreed to, by secret ballot, by a majority of the faculty and instructional staff members of the petitioning local school at a public meeting called with two weeks' advance notice for the purpose of deciding whether to submit the petition to the local board for its approval; and

(B) Has been freely agreed to, by secret ballot, by a majority of the parents or guardians of students enrolled in the petitioning local school present at a public meeting called with two weeks' advance notice for the purpose of deciding whether to submit the petition to the local board for its approval; or

(2) If for a high school cluster, has been approved by a majority of the school councils in the high school cluster and has been freely agreed to, by secret ballot, by at least 60 percent of the combined vote of the faculty and instructional staff members of the high school cluster and the parents or guardians of students who reside in the attendance zone of such high school cluster present at a public meeting called with two weeks' advance notice for the purpose of deciding whether to submit the petition to the local board for its approval. Each school council within the high school cluster shall appoint two representatives to a committee that shall conduct the vote.

The provisions of this This subsection shall not apply to a system charter school petitioning to be a conversion charter school.

(b) A charter petitioner seeking to create a start-up charter school must shall submit a petition to the local board of the local school system in which the proposed charter school will be located. The local board must shall by a majority vote approve or deny a petition no later than 90 days after its submission unless the petitioner requests an extension. A denial of a petition by a local board shall not preclude the submission to the local board of a revised petition to the local board that addresses deficiencies cited in the denial.

(c) A system charter school's school council or governing council, as applicable, may petition to become a conversion charter school. The petition shall be submitted to the local board of the charter system in which the school is located. The local board must shall by a majority vote approve or deny a petition no later than 90 days after its submission unless the petitioner requests an extension; provided, however, that a denial of a petition by a local board shall not preclude the submission to the local board of a revised petition to the local board that addresses deficiencies cited in the denial.

(d)(1) A local board shall approve a petition that complies with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures promulgated in accordance with Code Section 20-2-2063 and the provisions of this title and is in the public interest.

(2) If a local board denies a petition, it must shall within 60 ten days provide a written statement of denial to the charter petitioner, the state board, and the Office of Charter School Compliance specifically state stating the reasons for the denial, list and listing all deficiencies with respect to Code Section 20-2-2063, detailing existing access to school choice options for students in the local school system, and assessing the academic performance of existing local schools in the area the charter school proposed to serve. Within three days of such written statement being received by the Office of Charter School Compliance, such written statement shall be published on the public website of the Office of Charter School Compliance and provide a written statement of the denial to the charter petitioner and the state board.

(3) If a local board denies a local charter school petition and the corresponding state charter school petition is subsequently approved by the State Charter Schools Commission as provided in Code Section 20-2-2084:

(A) The Office of Charter School Compliance shall notify the local board of such approval; and

(B) The state board and the Office of Charter School Compliance shall, upon review of the local school system's written statement of denial provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsection and the State Charter Schools Commission's rationale for approving the charter petition, provide guidance to or recommend authorizer training for the local school system, as appropriate.

(4)(A) Except as provided for in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, if the local board of a local school system with enrollment of more than 10,000 students, based on such local school system's full-time equivalent program count calculated as provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-160, denies two or more local charter school petitions, and the corresponding state charter school petitions are subsequently approved by the State Charter Schools Commission as provided in Code Section 20-2-2084 during the same term of such local school system's charter system contract or strategic waivers school system contract, such local school system shall not be eligible or authorized to renew its charter system status granted under Code Section

20-2-2063.2 or any strategic waivers granted under Article 4 of this chapter for up to three years following the termination or expiration of its current charter system contract or strategic waivers school systems contract, or until the state board determines the local school system has demonstrated its commitment to increasing student performance and encouraging innovation through high quality local charter petition authorizations.

(B) The provisions of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply to a local school system with a charter system contract or strategic waivers school system contract that, according to the terms of such contract in place on January 1, 2025, will expire on or before July 1, 2025, until the term of such local school system's new or renewed charter system contract or strategic waivers school system contract begins.

(e) The state board or the Charter Advisory Committee, if directed by the state board to do so, may mediate between the local board and a charter petitioner whose petition was denied to assist in resolving issues which led to denial of the petition by the local board."

SECTION 4.

Said article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:

"20-2-2064.2.

(a) The State Charter Schools Commission shall establish a program for the purposes of promoting and supporting the approval of new local charter school petitions by local boards of education and to provide incentive grants to local boards of education that approve new local charter school petitions. The State Charter Schools Commission shall promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions and intent of this Code section.

(b)(1) Subject to appropriations, for each new local charter school petition approved by a local board of education after June 30, 2025, such local board of education shall receive an incentive grant of $100,000.00 by August 1 of each of the three years following such approval, provided that such local charter school remains authorized by such local board of education. In the event that available appropriations are not sufficient to cover the total amount of such incentive grants provided for in this subsection, the amount of each such grant shall be reduced proportionally, providing incentive grants in equal amounts to each such local board of education.

(2) Incentive grants provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be provided only for the approval of new local charter school petitions and not for the approval or renewal of an existing local charter school.

(c) Incentive grants awarded pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section may be used by the receiving local board of education for expenses incurred by the local board of education in its role as a local charter school authorizer, which may include, but shall not be limited to, hiring qualified personnel and providing for oversight, compliance monitoring, and professional development related to local charter school authorization.

(d) The Office of Charter School Compliance shall implement and administer the incentive grant program provided for in subsection (b) of this Code section and shall provide technical assistance necessary to local school systems in support of compliance with the requirements of this Code section."

SECTION 5.

Said article is further amended in Code Section 20-2-2069, relating to the Office of Charter School Compliance and the Office of District Flexibility, by revising subsection (a) as follows:

"(a) There is established within the State Charter Schools Commission an Office of Charter School Compliance, which shall be staffed with personnel as provided for in subsection

(d.1) of Code Section 20-2-2082, who shall report directly to the State Board of Education for purposes of this subsection. The responsibilities of such office shall be to:

(1) Prepare charter school guidelines to be approved by the state board;

(2) Distribute charter school petition information to inquiring parties;

(3) Process all charter school petitions and coordinate with the Charter Advisory Committee established pursuant to Code Section 20-2-2063.1 to facilitate its review and recommendations to the state board;

(4) Administer any state or federal charter school implementation grant program;

(5) Contract with an independent party to evaluate the performance of charter schools, as such performance relates to fulfilling the terms of their charters;

(6) Compile information necessary to produce the annual report required by Code Section 20-2-2070, which shall include, but shall not be limited to, information regarding the effectiveness of the incentives and the adherence of local school systems to the requirements provided for in Code Sections 20-2-2064 and 20-2-2064.2; and

(7) Prepare guidelines for local boards of education for the evaluation of charter school petitions. Such guidelines shall be published on the public website of the Department of Education and shall include:

(A) Criteria for evaluating the academic, operational, and financial plans of the charter petitioner;

(B) Best practices for conducting a thorough and objective review of charter petitions;

(C) Procedures for public hearings and community input on charter petitions; and

(D) A standardized evaluation rubric for use by local boards of education during the evaluation of charter petitions; and

(8) Provide technical assistance to Assist local school systems as charter school authorizers as challenges arise, support local school systems as needed to implement best practices in charter school authorization, and regularly engage with local school systems to promote charter school authorization at the local level."

SECTION 6.

Said article is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-2070, relating to annual report to General Assembly, as follows:

"20-2-2070.

No The state board shall report to the General Assembly no later than December 31 of each year, the state board shall submit a report on the status of the charter school program to the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the President of the Senate; the chairpersons of the House Committee on Education, the Senate Education and Youth Committee, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Appropriations Committee; and the Office of Planning and Budget."

SECTION 7.

This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.

SECTION 8.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.