S.B. 151

1

AUTHORIZATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS BY HIGHER
2 EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
3 2013 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: J. Stuart Adams
6 House Sponsor: Gregory H. Hughes
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This bill modifies provisions regarding the authorization of a charter school by a higher
11 education institution.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This bill:
14 . removes the requirement to obtain the approval of the Utah College of Applied
15 Technology Board of Trustees before a campus board of directors enters into an
16 agreement authorizing an individual or not-for-profit entity to establish and operate
17 a charter school;
18 . allows a campus board of directors of a college campus within the Utah College of
19 Applied Technology to establish procedures and criteria related to charter school
20 applications; and
21 . prohibits a higher education institution from operating a charter school.
22 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
23 None
24 Other Special Clauses:
25 None
26 Utah Code Sections Affected:
27 AMENDS:

28 53A-1a-518, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 162
29 53A-1a-521, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 139
30
31 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
32 Section 1. Section 53A-1a-518 is amended to read:
33 53A-1a-518. Regulated transactions and relationships -- Definitions -- Entities
34 prohibited from operating a charter school.
35 (1) As used in this section:
36 (a) "Charter school officer" means:
37 (i) a member of a charter school's governing board;
38 (ii) a member of a board or an officer of a nonprofit corporation under which a charter
39 school is organized and managed; or
40 (iii) the chief administrative officer of a charter school.
41 (b) (i) "Employment" means a position in which a person's salary, wages, pay, or
42 compensation, whether as an employee or contractor, is paid from charter school funds.
43 (ii) "Employment" does not include a charter school volunteer.
44 (c) "Relative" means a father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, sister, brother,
45 uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law,
46 sister-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law.
47 (2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a relative of a charter school officer
48 may not be employed at a charter school.
49 (b) If a relative of a charter school officer is to be considered for employment in a
50 charter school, the charter school officer shall:
51 (i) disclose the relationship, in writing, to the other charter school officers;
52 (ii) submit the employment decision to the charter school's governing board for the
53 approval, by majority vote, of the charter school's governing board;
54 (iii) abstain from voting on the issue; and
55 (iv) be absent from any meeting when the employment is being considered and
56 determined.
57 (3) (a) Except as provided in Subsections (3)(b) and (3)(c), a charter school officer or a
58 relative of a charter school officer may not have a financial interest in a contract or other

59 transaction involving a charter school in which the charter school officer serves as a charter
60 school officer.
61 (b) If a charter school's governing board considers entering into a contract or executing
62 a transaction in which a charter school officer or a relative of a charter school officer has a
63 financial interest, the charter school officer shall:
64 (i) disclose the financial interest, in writing, to the other charter school officers;
65 (ii) submit the contract or transaction decision to the charter school's governing board
66 for the approval, by majority vote, of the charter school's governing board;
67 (iii) abstain from voting on the issue; and
68 (iv) be absent from any meeting when the contract or transaction is being considered
69 and determined.
70 (c) The provisions in Subsection (3)(a) do not apply to a reasonable contract of
71 employment for:
72 (i) the chief administrative officer of a charter school; or
73 (ii) a relative of the chief administrative officer of a charter school whose employment
74 is approved in accordance with the provisions in Subsection (2).
75 (4) The [State Board of Education or State Charter School Board] following entities
76 may not operate a charter school[.]:
77 (a) the State Board of Education;
78 (b) the State Charter School Board; and
79 (c) a higher education institution listed in Section 53B-2-101 .
80 Section 2. Section 53A-1a-521 is amended to read:
81 53A-1a-521. Authorization of a charter school by a board of trustees of a higher
82 education institution.
83 (1) Subject to the approval of the State Board of Education [and except as provided in
84 Subsection (8)], an individual or entity identified in Section 53A-1a-504 may enter into an
85 agreement with a board of trustees of a higher education institution authorizing the individual
86 or entity to establish and operate a charter school.
87 (2) (a) An individual or entity identified in Section 53A-1a-504 applying for
88 authorization from a board of trustees of a higher education institution to establish and operate
89 a charter school shall provide a copy of the application to the State Charter School Board and

90 the local school board of the school district in which the proposed charter school shall be
91 located either before or at the same time it files its application with the board of trustees.
92 (b) The State Charter School Board and the local school board may review the
93 application and may offer suggestions or recommendations to the applicant or the board of
94 trustees of a higher education institution prior to its acting on the application.
95 (c) The board of trustees of a higher education institution shall give due consideration
96 to suggestions or recommendations made by the State Charter School Board or the local school
97 board under Subsection (2)(b).
98 (3) (a) If a board of trustees of a higher education institution approves an application to
99 establish and operate a charter school, the board of trustees shall submit the application to the
100 State Board of Education.
101 (b) The State Board of Education shall, by majority vote, within 60 days of receipt of
102 the application approve or deny an application approved by a board of trustees of a higher
103 education institution.
104 (c) The State Board of Education's action under Subsection (3)(b) is final action subject
105 to judicial review.
106 (4) The State Board of Education shall make a rule providing a timeline for the
107 opening of a charter school following the approval of a charter school application by a board of
108 trustees of a higher education institution.
109 (5) (a) After approval of a charter school application, the applicant and the board of
110 trustees of a higher education institution shall set forth the terms and conditions for the
111 operation of the charter school in a written contractual agreement.
112 (b) The agreement is the school's charter.
113 (6) (a) The school's charter may include a provision that the charter school pay an
114 annual fee for the board of trustees' costs in providing oversight of, and technical support to,
115 the charter school in accordance with Subsection (7).
116 (b) In the first two years that a charter school is in operation, an annual fee described in
117 Subsection (6)(a) may not exceed the product of:
118 (i) 3% of the revenue the charter school receives from the state in the current fiscal
119 year; and
120 (ii) the October 1 enrollment count of the charter school for the current fiscal year.

121 (c) Beginning with the third year that a charter school is in operation, an annual fee
122 described in Subsection (6)(a) may not exceed the product of:
123 (i) 1% of the revenue a charter school receives from the state in the current fiscal year;
124 and
125 (ii) the October 1 enrollment count of the charter school for the current fiscal year.
126 (d) An annual fee described in Subsection (6)(a) shall be:
127 (i) paid to the board of trustees' higher education institution; and
128 (ii) expended as directed by the board of trustees.
129 (7) A board of trustees of a higher education institution shall:
130 (a) annually review and evaluate the performance of charter schools authorized by the
131 board of trustees and hold the schools accountable for their performance;
132 (b) monitor charter schools authorized by the board of trustees for compliance with
133 federal and state laws, rules, and regulations; and
134 (c) provide technical support to charter schools authorized by the board of trustees to
135 assist them in understanding and performing their charter obligations.
136 [(8) (a) In addition to complying with the requirements of this section, a campus board
137 of directors of a college campus within the Utah College of Applied Technology shall obtain
138 the approval of the Utah College of Applied Technology Board of Trustees before entering into
139 an agreement to establish and operate a charter school.]
140 [(b) The Utah College of Applied Technology Board of Trustees shall establish a
141 policy for granting approval to a campus board of directors to enter into an agreement to
142 establish and operate a charter school.]
143 (8) (a) Subject to the requirements of this part, a campus board of directors of a college
144 campus within the Utah College of Applied Technology may establish:
145 (i) procedures for submitting applications to establish and operate a charter school to a
146 campus board of directors of a college campus within the Utah College of Applied Technology;
147 and
148 (ii) criteria for a campus board of directors' approval of an application to establish and
149 operate a charter school.
150 (b) The Utah College of Applied Technology Board of Trustees may not establish
151 policy governing the procedures or criteria described in Subsection (8)(a).

Legislative Review Note
as of 1-18-13 4:06 PM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

[Bill Documents]