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AB-2781 Charter schools: operation.(2003-2004)

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AB2781:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2003–2004 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2781

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Benoit

February 20, 2004

An act to amend Section 47602 of the Education Code, relating to charter schools.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2781, as introduced, Benoit. Charter schools: operation.
The Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to petition the governing board of a school district to approve a charter that permits a school to operate independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing specified goals. The existing act deems a charter school to be under the exclusive control of the officers of the public schools with regard to the appropriation of public moneys allocated to a charter school. The existing act requires a charter school to provide pupils with certain basic instructional services and to perform specified administrative functions.
The existing act further establishes the maximum number of charter schools in California for the 1998–99 school year at 250 with an additional 100 charter schools per school year thereafter. For purposes of implementing that provision, the existing act requires the State Board of Education to assign a number to each charter petition that it grants under the act.
This bill would delete the restriction on the number of charter schools that are authorized to operate in California each year and would make other conforming changes.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 47602 of the Education Code is amended to read:

47602.
 (a)(1)In the 1998–99 school year, the maximum total number of charter schools authorized to operate in this state shall be 250. In the 1999–2000 school year, and in each successive school year thereafter, an additional 100 charter schools are authorized to operate in this state each successive school year. For the purposes of implementing this section, the State Board of Education shall assign a number to each charter petition that it grants pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 47605 or Section 47605.8 and to each charter notice it receives pursuant to this part, based on the chronological order in which the notice is received. Each number assigned by the state board on or after January 1, 2003, shall correspond to a single petition that identifies a charter school that will operate within the geographic and site limitations of this part. The State Board of Education shall develop a numbering system for charter schools that identifies each school associated with a charter and that operates within the existing limit on the number of charter schools that can be approved each year. For purposes of this section, sites that share educational programs and serve similar pupil populations may not be counted as separate schools. Sites that do not share a common educational program shall be considered separate schools for purposes of this section. The limits contained in this paragraph may not be waived by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 33050 or any other provision of law.

(2)By July 1, 2003, the Legislative Analyst shall, pursuant to the criteria in Section 47616.5, report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the charter school approach authorized under this part and recommend whether to expand or reduce the annual rate of growth of charter schools authorized pursuant to this section.

(b)No A charter shall may not be granted under this part that if it authorizes the conversion of any private school to a charter school. No A charter school shall may not receive any public funds for a pupil if the pupil also attends a private school that charges the pupil’s family parent or guardian of a pupil for tuition. The State Board of Education shall adopt regulations to implement this section.