Indiana Code
Chapter 7.1. Transfers of Vacant School Buildings to Charter Schools
20-26-7.1-4. Notification Requirements; Timeline

Sec. 4. (a) Not later than ten (10) days after passing a resolution or taking other official action to close, no longer use, or no longer occupy a school building that was previously used for classroom instruction under section 3 of this chapter, the governing body shall:
(1) notify the department of the official action and the effective date that the school building will be closed, no longer used, or no longer occupied;
(2) make the school building available for inspection by a charter school or state educational institution that notifies the department that it is interested in leasing or purchasing the school building described under section 3 of this chapter; and
(3) make the following information available to a charter school or state educational institution described in subdivision (2):
(A) Estimates of the operating expenses for the school building for the past three (3) years.
(B) Written information regarding the condition of the building, including the age of the roof and the HVAC system, and any known conditions which, in the governing body's opinion, require prompt repair or replacement.
(C) A legal description of the property.
(b) Within five (5) days of receiving notice under subsection (a)(1), the department shall provide written notification to each state educational institution, charter school authorizer (excluding school corporation authorizers as defined in IC 20-24-1-2.5(1)), and statewide organizations representing charter schools in Indiana of the school corporation's resolution or official action described in subsection (a), including the date when the school building will close, no longer be used, or become vacant.
(c) The school corporation shall lease the school building to a charter school or state educational institution for one dollar ($1) per year for as long as the state educational institution uses the building for an academic purpose or the charter school uses the school building for classroom instruction, for a term at the state educational institution's or charter school's discretion, or sell the school building for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or state educational institution does the following:
(1) Within thirty (30) days of receiving the department's notice under subsection (b), a charter school or state educational institution must submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease the school building.
(2) Subject to subsection (d), within ninety (90) days of receiving the department's notice under subsection (b), a charter school or state educational institution must submit to the school corporation the following information:
(A) The name of the charter school or state educational institution that is interested in leasing or purchasing the vacant or unused school building.
(B) A time frame, which may not exceed two (2) years from the date that the school building is to be closed, no longer used, or no longer occupied, in which the:
(i) charter school intends to begin providing classroom instruction in the vacant or unused school building; or
(ii) state educational institution intends to begin using the building for an academic purpose.
(C) A resolution, adopted by the board of the charter school or state educational institution stating that the board of the charter school or the state educational institution has determined that, after the charter school or state educational institution has made any necessary repairs or modifications, the school building will be sufficient to meet the charter school's or state educational institution's needs and can be operated within the charter school's or state educational institution's budget.
(D) This clause applies to a vacant or unused school building with more than two hundred thousand (200,000) gross square feet. In addition to the information provided in clauses (A) through (C), a charter school shall submit the following:
(i) The charter school's projected enrollment when all of the grade levels are added.
(ii) A letter from the charter school's authorizer or prospective authorizer that indicates that the charter school's authorizer or prospective authorizer has reviewed the items described in clauses (B) through (C) and that the projected enrollment of the charter school when all of the grade levels are added or fully implemented will be at least sixty percent (60%) of the maximum annual student enrollment of the school building during the past twenty-five (25) years as validated by records maintained or created by the department.
(d) If the department does not receive any preliminary requests to purchase or lease a school building within the time frame described in subsection (c)(1) and except as provided in section 7 of this chapter, the department shall send notification to the school corporation that the department has not received any preliminary requests to purchase or lease the school building. Upon receipt of the notification under this subsection, the school corporation may sell or otherwise dispose of the school building in accordance with IC 36-1-11, IC 20-25-4-14, IC 20-26-5-4(a)(7), and section 8 of this chapter.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (g), in the event that two (2) or more charter schools but no state educational institutions, submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease a school building within the time frame described in subsection (c)(1), the department shall send notification to an authorizer described in IC 20-24-1-2.5(3) and each statewide charter school authorizer and statewide organization representing charter schools in Indiana (excluding school corporation authorizers as defined in IC 20-24-1-2.5(1)) and the school corporation that the department has received two (2) or more preliminary requests under this section. An authorizer committee shall be established, with each statewide authorizer that has authorized one (1) or more charter schools appointing a representative, and the committee shall establish the chairperson and procedures for the committee. Within sixty (60) days of receiving notice under this subsection, the committee shall select which charter school may proceed under subsection (c)(2) to purchase or lease the school building or determine if two (2) or more charter schools should co-locate within the school building. The committee shall give priority to a charter school located within one (1) mile of the vacant or unused school building. In the event that the committee determines that two (2) or more charter schools should co-locate in the school building and, if applicable, that the combined enrollment of the charter schools will meet or exceed the requirements in subsection (c)(2)(D), the charter schools have sixty (60) days to submit a memorandum of understanding stating that the charter schools shall be jointly and severally liable for the obligations related to the sale or lease of the school building, and specifying how the charter schools will utilize the school building and share responsibility for operational, maintenance, and renovation expenses. If the charter schools are unable to agree, the charter schools shall be deemed to have revoked their prior request regarding the lease or sale of the school building.
(f) If two (2) or more state educational institutions but no charter schools submit timely preliminary requests under subsection (c)(1) regarding a school building, the secretary of education shall appoint three (3) representatives of other state educational institutions. The appointed representatives shall act as a committee to determine which of the state educational institutions that have submitted preliminary requests as described in this subsection is best able to meet the needs of the students in the locality in which the school building is located. Not later than sixty (60) days after the date that the secretary of education appoints the committee of representatives under this subsection, the committee of representatives shall:
(1) select which state educational institution may proceed to purchase or lease the building; or
(2) determine if two (2) or more state educational institutions should co-locate within the school building.
(g) If one (1) or more charter schools and one (1) or more state educational institutions submit timely preliminary requests under subsection (c)(1) regarding a school building, the charter school shall be provided preference to the school building. If more than one (1) charter school submits timely preliminary requests under subsection (c)(1) regarding a school building, the determination of which charter school may obtain the school building shall be resolved in the manner prescribed in subsection (e).
(h) A school corporation shall lease the school building for one dollar ($1) per year to the charter school or the state educational institution for as long as the charter school uses the school building for classroom instruction for any combination of kindergarten through grade 12 or a state educational institution uses the building for an academic purpose. The term of the lease shall be established at the charter school's or state educational institution's discretion and include an option for the state educational institution or charter school to purchase the school building for one dollar ($1). Alternatively, the school corporation shall sell the school building to the charter school or the state educational institution for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or the state educational institution has met the requirements set forth in subsection (c) and uses the vacant or unused school building in the manner prescribed by this subsection. If a charter school or state educational institution has not met the requirements under subsection (c), the school corporation may, subject to section 7 of this chapter, sell or otherwise dispose of the school building in accordance with IC 36-1-11, IC 20-25-4-14, IC 20-26-5-4(a)(7), and section 8 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.270-2019, SEC.13. Amended by P.L.32-2021, SEC.51; P.L.155-2021, SEC.3.