20-2-2064. Approval or denial of petition.

A charter petitioner seeking to create a conversion charter school 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 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. (1)

   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#

   2. (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. (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.#

3. (3)

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

A charter petitioner seeking to create a start-up charter school 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 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 of a revised petition to the local board that addresses deficiencies cited in the denial.#

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 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 of a revised petition to the local board that addresses deficiencies cited in the denial.#

1. (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. (2)

   If a local board denies a petition, it shall within 20 business days provide a written statement of denial to the charter petitioner, the state board, and the Office of Charter School Compliance specifically stating the reasons for the denial 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.#

3. (3)

   If a local board denies a local charter school petition with a single-school system attendance zone and the corresponding state charter school petition with single-school system attendance zones is subsequently approved by the State Charter Schools Commission as provided in Code Section 20-2-2084:#

   1. (A)

      The Office of Charter School Compliance shall notify the local board of such approval; and#

   2. (B)

      The state board and the Office of Charter School Compliance may, 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. (4)

   1. (A)

      Except as provided for in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, if the local board of a local school system with enrollment of 10,000 to 60,000 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 with single-school system attendance zones, and the corresponding state charter school petitions with single-school system attendance zones 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.#

   2. (B)

      Except as provided for in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, if the local board of a local school system with enrollment of more than 60,000 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 three or more local charter school petitions with single-school system attendance zones, and the corresponding state charter school petitions with single-school system attendance zones 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.#

   3. (C)

      The provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 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.#

5. (5)

   This paragraph and paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection shall stand automatically repealed on July 1, 2035.#

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.#