To amend chapter 160, RSMo, by enacting eight new sections relating to education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Chapter 160, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto eight new sections, to be known as sections 160.565, 160.568, 160.571, 160.574, 160.577, 160.580, 160.583 and 160.586, to read as follows:

160.565. This act shall be known as the "Charter Schools Act", and is enacted to authorize charter schools which:

(1) Improve pupil learning;

(2) Increase learning opportunities for pupils;

(3) Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;

(4) Require the measurement of learning outcomes and create different and innovative forms of measuring outcomes;

(5) Establish new forms of accountability for schools; and

(6) Create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site.

160.568. 1. A school board or boards may sponsor a charter school.

2. (1) A sponsor may authorize by written contract under subsection 4 of this section, one or more persons to form and operate a charter school.

(2) The charter school shall be in the charge of a board of directors who shall be named in the written contract. If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors, the remaining members of the board of directors shall name a replacement subject to the approval of the sponsor.

3. The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide technical assistance to sponsors for review of proposed contracts. Prior to submitting any proposed contract for technical review by the department, the sponsor shall have the contract reviewed by an attorney and a certified public accountant. Before a board may operate a charter school under sections 160.565 to 160.586, the sponsor must file a copy of the approved written contract with the state board of education.

4. The contract for a charter school shall contain at a minimum the following:

(1) A description of a program that carries out one or more of the purposes enumerated in section 160.565;

(2) Specific outcomes that pupils are to achieve under section 160.583;

(3) Admission policies and procedures;

(4) A comprehensive plan for management and administration of the school;

(5) Requirements and procedures for program and financial audits;

(6) Assumption of liability by the board of the charter school;

(7) Type and amounts of insurance coverage to be obtained by the board of the charter school;

(8) The term of the contract which may be up to five years;

(9) Specific provisions and requirements regarding purchase and ownership of equipment to ensure that any such equipment purchased by the sponsor shall remain the property of the sponsor;

(10) A declaration that the school shall function as a public nonsectarian school;

(11) Tuition to be charged to pupils residing in nonsponsoring districts;

(12) The amount of aid per eligible pupil to be provided to the school by the sponsor;

(13) The names and addresses of each member of the board of directors.

5. The department of education shall provide, to all school districts, information on how to form and operate a charter school and how to utilize the offerings of a charter school.

160.571. 1. Except as otherwise provided in sections 160.565 to 160.586, a charter school and the board of a charter school are exempt from all statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to a school board or school district.

2. (1) A charter school shall meet the same health and safety requirements required of a school district under chapter 167, RSMo and section 177.031, RSMo.

(2) The school shall be located in Missouri. Its specific location may be prescribed or limited by a sponsor in the approved written contract.

(3) The school shall be nonsectarian and shall not engage in any unfair treatment based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex or age in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations. A sponsor may not authorize a charter school or program that is affiliated with a nonpublic school or a religious institution.

(4) The primary focus of the school must be to provide a comprehensive program of instruction for at least one grade or age group from five years through eighteen years of age. Instruction may be provided to people younger than five years and older than eighteen years of age.

(5) The school may not charge tuition to pupils residing in any of the sponsoring districts.

(6) The school is subject to the same financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements as a school district. The audit must be consistent with the requirements of sections 165.111 and 165.121, RSMo. The department of elementary and secondary education, the state auditor, or the committee on legislative research may conduct financial, program, or compliance audits.

(7) The board of directors is a school board for the purposes of tort liability under chapter 537, RSMo.

(8) The school shall comply with chapters 162 and 178, RSMo, and rules relating to the education of handicapped pupils as though it were a school district.

(9) A charter school shall provide at least the minimum number of days and hours of actual pupil attendance in a term as required by section 163.021, RSMo.

(10) The sponsor shall ensure that the assessment system of the school meets the requirements adopted by the state board of education for assessment systems. The achievement levels of the assessments contained in the contract may exceed the achievement levels of any model assessments adopted by the state board.

3. (1) The written contract may limit admission for:

(a) Pupils within an age group or grade level;

(b) Pupils who sign, and whose parent or legal guardian signs, a written commitment of time or effort or both.

(2) The school shall enroll an eligible pupil who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. In this case, pupils shall be accepted by lot with first priority to pupils residing in sponsoring districts. Pupils residing in nonsponsoring districts will be accepted only if the school has already accepted all pupils who reside in sponsoring districts and have submitted timely applications.

(3) Admission of pupils to the school may not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or athletic ability.

160.574. 1. The board of directors shall employ and contract with any person needed to meet the administrative requirements of the written contract. All teachers employed by the board shall be certified pursuant to state law. The board of directors may discharge any teacher or other employee as provided by law.

2. The board of directors also shall decide matters related to the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum and operating procedures.

3. The board of directors shall report at least annually to its sponsor and the state board of education the information required in the written contract.

160.577. The board of directors may lease space from a school board or from a public or private nonprofit, nonsectarian organization.

160.580. 1. If a teacher employed by a school district makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to teach at a charter school established under sections 160.565 to 160.586, the school district shall grant the leave. The school district shall grant a leave for any number of years requested by the teacher up to the length of the term of its contract with the charter school, and shall extend the leave at the teacher's request. The school district may require that the request for a leave or extension of leave be made up to ninety days before the teacher would otherwise have to report for duty.

2. During a leave, the teacher shall continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the public school teacher's retirement system by paying contributions as provided in the contract between the teacher and the charter school.

160.583. 1. The duration of the contract with a sponsor shall be for the term contained in the contract according to sections 160.565 to 160.586. The sponsor may elect not to renew a contract at the end of the term for any cause listed in subsection 4 of this section.

2. A sponsor or the state board may unilaterally terminate a contract during the term of the contract for any ground listed in subsection 4 of this section.

     3. Commencing on the first day of the last year of the contract period, the sponsor and the board shall conduct a review of the charter school. The review shall include, at a minimum, the performance criteria specified in section 160.565. The review shall be completed at least sixty days prior to the last day of the school year, and shall state whether the contract is to be renewed or terminated.

4. The sponsor shall notify the board of directors in writing at least sixty days before not renewing or terminating the contract. The notice shall state the cause or causes for the proposed action and shall state that the school may request in writing an informal hearing before the sponsor within fourteen days of receiving notice of nonrenewal or termination of the contract. Upon receiving a timely written request for a hearing, the sponsor shall give reasonable notice to the school of the hearing date. The sponsor shall conduct an informational hearing before taking final action. The sponsor shall take final action to renew or not renew a contract by the last day of classes in the school year.

5. A contract may be terminated or not renewed upon any of the following causes:

(1) Failure to meet the requirements for pupil performance contained in the contract;

(2) Failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management;

(3) For violations of law; or

(4) Other good cause shown.

160.586. 1. The board of directors of a charter school may sue and be sued.

2. The board of directors of a charter school may not levy taxes or issue bonds.

3. A charter school is eligible to receive other aids, grants, and revenue as provided in the written contract with the sponsor. Federal aid received by the state must be paid to the school, if it qualifies for the aid, as though it were a school district.