Charter schools: establishment prohibition and renewal procedures., the official text

An act to amend Sections 47607.2 and 47612.7 of the Education Code, relating to charter schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

(1) Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, authorizes the establishment, operation, and governance of charter schools. Existing law authorizes a charter school that has an approved charter to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education, as specified. The act prohibits, from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction, as specified.
This bill would extend that prohibition to continue through January 1, 2027.
(2) Existing law, until January 1, 2026, sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school, including, among other things, the use of verified data, as provided. Existing law sets out revised standards and procedures that are operative on and after January 1, 2026, that, among other things, no longer requires a chartering authority to use verified data and instead requires a chartering authority to use only the data reported on the California School Dashboard in making a renewal decision, as provided.
This bill would extend, until January 1, 2027, the operation of the performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools that would otherwise be inoperative on January 1, 2026, and would delay the operation of the revised standards and procedures until January 1, 2027. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 47607.2 of the Education Code, as amended by Section 57 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:
47607.2.
(a) (1) The chartering authority shall not renew a charter if either of the following apply for two consecutive years immediately preceding the renewal decision:
(A) The charter school has received the two lowest performance levels schoolwide on all the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5 for which it receives performance levels.
(B) For all measurements of academic performance, the charter school has received performance levels schoolwide that are the same or lower than the state average and, for a majority of subgroups performing statewide below the state average in each respective year, received performance levels that are lower than the state average.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the two consecutive years immediately preceding the renewal decision include the 2019–20 or 2020–21 school year, the chartering authority shall not renew a charter if either of the following apply for two of the most recent years for which state data is available preceding the renewal decision:
(A) The charter school has received the two lowest performance levels schoolwide on all the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5 for which it receives performance levels.
(B) For all measurements of academic performance, the charter school has received performance levels schoolwide that are the same or lower than the state average and, for a majority of subgroups performing statewide below the state average in each respective year, received performance levels that are lower than the state average.
(3) A charter school that meets the criteria established by this subdivision and paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 47607 shall only qualify for treatment under this subdivision.
(4) The chartering authority shall consider the following factors, and may renew a charter that meets the criteria in paragraph (1) or (2) only upon making both of the following written factual findings, specific to the particular petition, setting forth specific facts to support the findings:
(A) The charter school is taking meaningful steps to address the underlying cause or causes of low performance, and those steps are reflected, or will be reflected, in a written plan adopted by the governing body of the charter school.
(B) There is clear and convincing evidence showing either of the following:
(i) The school achieved measurable increases in academic achievement, as defined by at least one year’s progress for each year in school.
(ii) Strong postsecondary outcomes, as defined by college enrollment, persistence, and completion rates equal to similar peers.
(C) Clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B) shall be demonstrated by verified data, as defined in subdivision (c).
(5) Verified data, as defined in subdivision (c), shall be considered by the chartering authority until June 30, 2026, for a charter school pursuant to this subdivision, operating on or before June 30, 2020, only for the charter school’s next two subsequent renewals.
(6) For a charter renewed pursuant to this subdivision, the chartering authority may grant a renewal for a period of two years.
(b) (1) For all charter schools for which paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 47607 and subdivision (a) of this section do not apply, the chartering authority shall consider the schoolwide performance and performance of all subgroups of pupils served by the charter school on the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5 and the performance of the charter school on the local indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5.
(2) The chartering authority shall provide greater weight to performance on measurements of academic performance in determining whether to grant a charter renewal.
(3) In addition to the state and local indicators, the chartering authority shall consider clear and convincing evidence showing either of the following:
(A) The school achieved measurable increases in academic achievement, as defined by at least one year’s progress for each year in school.
(B) Strong postsecondary outcomes, as defined by college enrollment, persistence, and completion rates equal to similar peers.
(4) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3) shall be demonstrated by verified data, as defined in subdivision (c).
(5) Verified data, as defined in subdivision (c), shall be considered by the chartering authority for the next two subsequent renewals until January 1, 2027, for a charter school pursuant to this paragraph.
(6) The chartering authority may deny a charter renewal pursuant to this subdivision only upon making written findings, setting forth specific facts to support the findings, that the charter school has failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward meeting standards that provide a benefit to the pupils of the school, that closure of the charter school is in the best interest of pupils and, if applicable pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3), that its decision provided greater weight to performance on measurements of academic performance.
(7) For a charter renewed pursuant to this subdivision, the chartering authority shall grant a renewal for a period of five years.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, “verified data” means data derived from nationally recognized, valid, peer-reviewed, and reliable sources that are externally produced. Verified data shall include measures of postsecondary outcomes.
(2) By January 1, 2021, the state board shall establish criteria to define verified data and identify an approved list of valid and reliable assessments that shall be used for this purpose.
(3) No data sources other than those adopted by the state board pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be used as verified data.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), a charter school under consideration for renewal before the state board’s adoption pursuant to paragraph (2) may present data consistent with this subdivision.
(5) Adoption of the criteria pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(6) The state board may adopt and make necessary revisions to the criteria in accordance with the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(7) Upon adoption of a pupil-level academic growth measure for English language arts and mathematics, the state board may reconsider criteria adopted pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.
Section 47607.2 of the Education Code, as added by Section 9 of Chapter 486 of the Statutes of 2019, is amended to read:
47607.2.
(a) (1) The chartering authority shall not renew a charter if either of the following apply for two consecutive years immediately preceding the renewal decision:
(A) The charter school has received the two lowest performance levels schoolwide on all the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5 for which it receives performance levels.
(B) For all measurements of academic performance, the charter school has received performance levels schoolwide that are the same or lower than the state average and, for a majority of subgroups performing statewide below the state average in each respective year, received performance levels that are lower than the state average.
(2) A charter school that meets the criteria established by this subdivision and paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 47607 shall only qualify for treatment under this subdivision.
(3) The chartering authority shall consider the following factors, and may renew a charter that meets the criteria in paragraph (1) only upon making a written factual finding, specific to the particular petition, setting forth specific facts to support the finding that the charter school is taking meaningful steps to address the underlying cause or causes of low performance, and those steps are reflected, or will be reflected, in a written plan adopted by the governing body of the charter school.
(4) For a charter renewed pursuant to this subdivision, the chartering authority may grant a renewal for a period of two years.
(b) (1) For all charter schools for which paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 47607 and subdivision (a) of this section do not apply, the chartering authority shall consider the schoolwide performance and performance of all subgroups of pupils served by the charter school on the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5 and the performance of the charter school on the local indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to Section 52064.5.
(2) The chartering authority shall provide greater weight to performance on measurements of academic performance in determining whether to grant a charter renewal.
(3) The chartering authority may deny a charter renewal pursuant to this subdivision only upon making written findings, setting forth specific facts to support the findings, that the charter school has failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward meeting standards that provide a benefit to the pupils of the school, that closure of the charter school is in the best interest of pupils and, if applicable pursuant to paragraph (2), that its decision provided greater weight to performance on measurements of academic performance.
(4) For a charter renewed pursuant to this subdivision, the chartering authority shall grant a renewal for a period of five years.
(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2027.

SEC. 3.
Section 47612.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:
47612.7.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided in subdivision (b), from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2027, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, is prohibited.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a nonclassroom-based charter school that was granted approval of its petition and providing educational services to pupils before October 1, 2019, under either of the following circumstances:
(1) If Assembly Bill 1507 of the 2019–20 Regular Session amends Section 47605.1 and becomes operative on January 1, 2020, and the charter school is required to submit a petition to the governing board of a school district or county board of education in an adjacent county in which its existing resource center is located in order to comply with Section 47605.1, as amended by Assembly Bill 1507 of the 2019–20 Regular Session, or to retain current program offerings or enrollment.
(2) If a charter school is required to submit a petition to a school district or county board of education in which a resource center is located in order to comply with the court decision in Anderson Union High School District v. Shasta Secondary Home School (2016) 4 Cal.App.5th 262, or other relevant court ruling, and the petition is necessary to retain current program offerings or enrollment.
(3) A charter school authorized by a different chartering authority pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be regarded by the department as a continuing charter school for all purposes to the extent it does not conflict with federal law. In order to prevent any potential conflict with federal law, this paragraph does not apply to covered programs as identified in Section 8101(11) of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 7801) to the extent the affected charter school is the restructured portion of a divided charter school pursuant to Section 47654.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 33050 or any other law, the state board shall not waive the restrictions described in this section.
(d) (1) No later than October 1, 2023, the Legislative Analyst and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team shall study the processes used to determine funding for nonclassroom-based charter schools.
(2) The study shall identify and make recommendations on potential improvements to the processes, including recommendations for enhancing oversight and reducing fraud, waste, and abuse.
(3) No later than March 1, 2024, the Legislative Analyst and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team shall report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, the department, and the executive director of the state board on recommendations and observations as a result of the study. These recommendations or observations shall consider the fiscal impact on the state.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 4.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.