H.B. 472

1

CHARTER SCHOOL BUILDING AND
2 ENROLLMENT AMENDMENTS
3 2008 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Kevin S. Garn
6 Senate Sponsor: ____________
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This bill modifies charter school provisions of the State System of Public Education.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 . modifies the reporting deadlines and requirements relating to students who have
14 accepted enrollment in a charter school;
15 . modifies provisions of the Charter School Building Subaccount within the School
16 Building Revolving Account;
17 . makes a nonlapsing appropriation; and
18 . makes technical corrections.
19 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
20 This bill appropriates:
21 . $4,000,000 from the Uniform School Fund for fiscal year 2008-09 only, to the
22 Charter School Building Subaccount within the School Building Revolving
23 Account.
24 Other Special Clauses:
25 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2008.
26 Utah Code Sections Affected:
27 AMENDS:

28 53A-1a-506.5, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 344
29 53A-21-104, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 344
30
31 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
32 Section 1. Section 53A-1a-506.5 is amended to read:
33 53A-1a-506.5. Charter school students -- Applications -- Deadlines.
34 (1) (a) The State School Board, in consultation with the State Charter School Board,
35 shall make rules describing procedures for students to follow in applying for entry into a new
36 charter school or a charter school that has increased its capacity.
37 (b) The rules under Subsection (1)(a) shall provide, as a minimum, for:
38 (i) distribution to interested parties of information about charter schools, charter school
39 opening dates, and how to apply for admission;
40 (ii) use of standard application forms prescribed by the State Board of Education;
41 (iii) submission of applications until the third Friday in February by those seeking
42 admission for the following year;
43 (iv) written notification to the student's parent or legal guardian of an offer of
44 acceptance or the rejection of an application by March 31;
45 (v) written acceptance of the offer by the student's parent or legal guardian by April 30;
46 (vi) written notification to a student's current charter school or resident school district
47 upon acceptance of that student for enrollment in a charter school; and
48 (vii) the admission of students, provided that the admission does not disqualify the
49 charter school from any federal funding, at:
50 (A) any time to protect the health or safety of a student; or
51 (B) times other than those permitted under standard policies if there are other
52 conditions of special need that warrant consideration.
53 (c) The rules under Subsection (1)(a) shall prevent the parent of a student who is
54 enrolled in a charter school or who has accepted an offer as described in Subsection (1)(b)(v)
55 from duplicating enrollment for that student in another charter school or a school district
56 without following the withdrawal procedures described in Subsection (2).
57 (2) The parent of a student enrolled in a charter school may withdraw the student from
58 that charter school for enrollment in another charter school or a school district by:

59 (a) submitting notice of intent to enroll the student in the district of residence for the
60 subsequent year to the student's charter school no later than [March 31] June 30 of the current
61 school year;
62 (b) submitting notice of intent to enroll the student in another charter school for the
63 subsequent school year to the current charter school of attendance, together with a letter of
64 acceptance from the proposed charter school of attendance, no later than [March 31] June 30 of
65 the current school year; or
66 (c) obtaining approval from both the charter school of attendance and the school
67 district or charter school in which enrollment is sought, if the parent desires to change the
68 student's enrollment during the school year or after [March 31] June 30.
69 (3) A charter school shall report to school districts, by the last business day in April,
70 May, June, July, and August, the aggregate numbers of students, sorted by their resident school
71 and grade level, who have accepted enrollment in the charter school.
72 [(3)] (4) When a vacancy occurs because a student has withdrawn from a charter
73 school, that charter school may immediately enroll a new student from its list of applicants.
74 [(4)] (5) Unless provisions have previously been made for enrollment in another
75 school, a charter school releasing a student from enrollment shall immediately notify the
76 district of residence, which shall enroll the student in the resident district and take such
77 additional steps as may be necessary to ensure compliance with laws governing school
78 attendance.
79 [(5)] (6) A school district or charter school may charge secondary students a one-time
80 $5 processing fee, to be paid at the time of application.
81 Section 2. Section 53A-21-104 is amended to read:
82 53A-21-104. School Building Revolving Account -- Access to the account.
83 (1) There is created a nonlapsing "School Building Revolving Account" administered
84 within the Uniform School Fund by the state superintendent of public instruction in accordance
85 with rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
86 (2) Monies received by a school district from the School Building Revolving Account
87 may not exceed the district's bonding limit minus its outstanding bonds.
88 (3) In order to receive monies from the account, a school district must do the
89 following:

90 (a) levy a tax of at least .0024 for capital outlay and debt service;
91 (b) contract with the state superintendent of public instruction to repay the monies,
92 with interest at a rate established by the state superintendent, within five years of their receipt,
93 using future state building monies or local revenues or both;
94 (c) levy sufficient ad valorem taxes under Section 11-14-310 to guarantee annual loan
95 repayments, unless the state superintendent of public instruction alters the payment schedule to
96 improve a hardship situation; and
97 (d) meet any other condition established by the State Board of Education pertinent to
98 the loan.
99 (4) (a) The state superintendent shall establish a committee, including representatives
100 from state and local education entities, to:
101 (i) review requests by school districts for loans under this section; and
102 (ii) make recommendations regarding approval or disapproval of the loan applications
103 to the state superintendent.
104 (b) If the committee recommends approval of a loan application under Subsection
105 (4)(a)(ii), the committee's recommendation shall include:
106 (i) the recommended amount of the loan;
107 (ii) the payback schedule; and
108 (iii) the interest rate to be charged.
109 (5) (a) There is established within the School Building Revolving Account the Charter
110 School Building Subaccount administered by the State Board of Education, in consultation
111 with the State Charter School Board, in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of
112 Education.
113 (b) The Charter School Building Subaccount shall consist of:
114 (i) money appropriated to the subaccount by the Legislature;
115 (ii) money received from the repayment of loans made from the subaccount; and
116 (iii) interest earned on monies in the subaccount.
117 (c) The state superintendent of public instruction shall make loans to charter schools
118 from the Charter School Building Subaccount to pay for the costs of:
119 (i) planning expenses;
120 (ii) constructing or renovating charter school buildings;

121 (iii) equipment and supplies; [or]
122 (iv) credit enhancement; or
123 [(iv)] (v) other start-up or expansion expenses.
124 (d) Loans to new charter schools or charter schools with urgent facility needs may be
125 given priority.
126 (6) (a) The State Board of Education shall establish a committee, which shall include
127 individuals who have expertise or experience in finance, real estate, and charter school
128 administration, one of whom shall be nominated by the governor to:
129 (i) review requests by charter schools for loans under this section; and
130 (ii) make recommendations regarding approval or disapproval of the loan applications
131 to the State Charter School Board and the State Board of Education.
132 (b) If the committee recommends approval of a loan application under Subsection
133 (6)(a)(ii), the committee's recommendation shall include:
134 (i) the recommended amount of the loan;
135 (ii) the payback schedule; and
136 (iii) the interest rate to be charged.
137 (c) The committee members may not:
138 (i) be a relative, as defined in Section 53A-1a-518 , of a loan applicant; or
139 (ii) have a pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, with a loan applicant or any person
140 or entity that contracts with a loan applicant.
141 (7) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Charter School Board,
142 shall approve all loans to charter schools under this section.
143 (8) Loans to charter schools under this section may not exceed a term of five years.
144 (9) The State Board of Education may not approve loans to charter schools under this
145 section that exceed a total of [$2,000,000] $3,000,000 in any year.
146 Section 3. One-time appropriation for the School Building Revolving Account --
147 Nonlapsing.
148 (1) There is appropriated $4,000,000 from the Uniform School Fund for fiscal year
149 2008-09 only, to the Charter School Building Subaccount within the School Building
150 Revolving Account established in Section 53A-21-104 .
151 (2) The appropriation described under Subsection (1) is nonlapsing.

152 Section 4. Effective date.
153 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2008.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-8-08 1:57 PM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel