(a) A mission statement for the school and a description of an
educational program that implements one or more of the purposes
described in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of
this article.
(b) A description of student achievement goals for the school's
educational program and the chosen methods of evaluating that students
have attained the skills and knowledge specified for those goals. Such
educational program shall meet or exceed the student performance
standards adopted by the board of regents for other public schools.
(c) The proposed governance structure of the school, including a list
of members of the initial board of trustees, a description of the
qualifications, terms and method of appointment or election of trustees,
the organizational structure of the school, a procedure for conducting
and publicizing monthly board of trustee meetings at each charter
school, and the processes to be followed by the school to promote
parental and staff involvement in school governance.
(d) Admission policies and procedures for the school, which shall be
consistent with the requirements of subdivision two of section
twenty-eight hundred fifty-four of this article.
(e) A proposed budget and fiscal plan for the school, including
supporting evidence that the fiscal plan is sound and that sufficient
start-up funds will be available to the charter school.
(f) Requirements and procedures for programmatic and independent
fiscal audits at least once annually, with such audits being comparable
in scope to those required of other public schools.
(g) The hiring and personnel policies and procedures of the school,
including the qualifications to be used in the hiring of teachers,
school administrators and other school employees, and a description of
staff responsibilities.
(h) The rules and procedures by which students may be disciplined,
including but not limited to expulsion or suspension from the school,
which shall be consistent with the requirements of due process and with
federal laws and regulations governing the placement of students with
disabilities.
(i) The number of students to be served by the school, which number
shall be at least fifty at a single site and the minimum number of
teachers to be employed at the school, which shall be at least three.
Provided, however, that a charter school may serve fewer than fifty
students or employ fewer than three teachers in the school's first year
of operation or if the applicant presents a compelling justification,
such as the school would serve a geographically remote region.
(j) Information regarding the facilities to be used by the school,
including the location of the school, if known, and the means by which
pupils will be transported to and from the school. If the facilities to
be used by the proposed school are not known at the time the application
is submitted, the applicant shall notify the charter entity and, if
applicable, the board of regents within ten business days of acquiring
facilities for such school; provided, however, that the charter school
must obtain a certificate of occupancy for such facilities prior to the
date on which instruction is to commence at the school.
(k) The name of the proposed charter school, which shall include the
words "charter school" and which shall not include the name or
identification of a for-profit business or corporate entity.
(l) A description of the ages and grade levels to be served by the
school.
(m) Identification and background information on all applicants and
proposed members of the board of trustees.
(n) The school calendar and school day schedule, which shall provide
at least as much instruction time during a school year as required of
other public schools.
(o) Types and amounts of insurance coverage to be obtained by the
school, which shall include adequate insurance for liability, property
loss and the personal injury of students. The commissioner and the
superintendent of financial services may jointly promulgate regulations
to implement the provisions of this paragraph.
(p) The term of the proposed charter, which shall not exceed five
years; provided however, in the case of charters issued pursuant to
subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this
article the term of such proposed charter shall not exceed five years in
which instruction is provided to pupils plus the period commencing with
the effective date of the charter and ending with the opening of the
school for instruction.
(q) Evidence of adequate community support for and interest in the
charter school sufficient to allow the school to reach its anticipated
enrollment, and an assessment of the projected programmatic and fiscal
impact of the school on other public and nonpublic schools in the area.
(r) A description of the health and food services to be provided to
students attending the school.
(s) Methods and strategies for serving students with disabilities in
compliance with all federal laws and regulations relating thereto.
(t) Procedures to be followed in the case of the closure or
dissolution of the charter school, including provisions for the transfer
of students and student records to the school district in which the
charter school is located and for the disposition of the school's assets
to the school district in which the charter school is located or another
charter school located within the school district. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law or of a charter to the contrary, such procedures
shall ensure that upon dissolution of a charter school, any funds
remaining in the possession of the charter school that can be attributed
to public funding, after all of its debts and obligations have been
paid, shall be paid over to each school district having resident
children served by the charter school in the school year in which the
charter was dissolved or the last year in which students were enrolled
in the charter school, in the same proportion as the number of students
placed by each school district and served by the charter school in the
last school year in which children were served by the charter school,
bears to the total number of students served by the charter school in
such school year. Provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision
shall be construed to require a charter school to pay to such districts
any remaining funds that can be attributed to gifts, donations, grants
or other authorized charitable contributions.
(u) Requirements for the grant of a diploma, if the school serves the
twelfth grade.
(v) A code of ethics for the charter school, setting forth for the
guidance of its trustees, officers and employees the standards of
conduct expected of them including standards with respect to disclosure
of conflicts of interest regarding any matter brought before the board
of trustees.
(w) A description of the residential facilities, if any, provided by
the charter school.
(x) Any other information relevant to the issuance of a charter
required by the charter entity.
3. An applicant shall submit the application to a charter entity for
approval. For purposes of this article, a charter entity shall be:
(a) The board of education of a school district eligible for an
apportionment of aid under subdivision four of section thirty-six
hundred two of this chapter, provided that a board of education shall
not approve an application for a school to be operated outside the
school district's geographic boundaries and further provided that in a
city having a population of one million or more, the chancellor of any
such city school district shall be the charter entity established by
this paragraph;
(b) The board of trustees of the state university of New York; or
(c) The board of regents.
The board of regents shall be the only entity authorized to issue a
charter pursuant to this article. Notwithstanding any provision of this
subdivision to the contrary, an application for the conversion of an
existing public school to a charter school shall be submitted to, and
may only be approved by, the charter entity set forth in paragraph (a)
of this subdivision. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the
contrary, any such application for conversion shall be consistent with
this section but shall not be subject to the process pursuant to
subdivision nine-a of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of this
article, and the charter entity shall require that the parents or
guardians of a majority of the students then enrolled in the existing
public school vote in favor of converting the school to a charter
school.
4. Charters may be renewed, upon application, for a term of up to five
years in accordance with the provisions of this article for the issuance
of such charters pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of
this article; provided, however, that a renewal application shall
include:
(a) A report of the progress of the charter school in achieving the
educational objectives set forth in the charter.
(b) A detailed financial statement that discloses the cost of
administration, instruction and other spending categories for the
charter school that will allow a comparison of such costs to other
schools, both public and private. Such statement shall be in a form
prescribed by the board of regents.
(c) Copies of each of the annual reports of the charter school
required by subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-seven
of this article, including the charter school report cards and the
certified financial statements.
(d) Indications of parent and student satisfaction.
(e) The means by which the charter school will meet or exceed
enrollment and retention targets as prescribed by the board of regents
or the board of trustees of the state university of New York, as
applicable, of students with disabilities, English language learners,
and students who are eligible applicants for the free and reduced price
lunch program which shall be considered by the charter entity prior to
approving such charter school's application for renewal. When developing
such targets, the board of regents and the board of trustees of the
state university of New York shall ensure (1) that such enrollment
targets are comparable to the enrollment figures of such categories of
students attending the public schools within the school district, or in
a city school district in a city having a population of one million or
more inhabitants, the community school district, in which the charter
school is located; and (2) that such retention targets are comparable to
the rate of retention of such categories of students attending the
public schools within the school district, or in a city school district
in a city having a population of one million or more inhabitants, the
community school district, in which the proposed charter school would be
located.
Such renewal application shall be submitted to the charter entity no
later than six months prior to the expiration of the charter; provided,
however, that the charter entity may waive such deadline for good cause
shown.
5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the
contrary for a period of one year from the effective date of this
subdivision, a charter school approved by a charter entity listed in
subdivision three of this section may apply at any time during this
period to another charter entity, defined in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)
of subdivision three of this section to request such other charter
entity to oversee and supervise such charter school. All standards and
requirements established in the original charter agreement shall remain
in effect until the scheduled expiration of such charter agreement and
provided however that all obligations of the previous charter entity to
oversee and supervise a charter school shall terminate upon the transfer
of authorization of such charter school to a new charter entity, as
defined in subdivision five of section twenty-eight hundred fifty-two of
this article, and the previous charter entity shall provide in a timely
fashion information relevant to the charter as requested by such other
charter entity. A charter school that seeks to change its charter entity
must have met all other requirements of this article and cannot be in
violation of any legal requirement, in probationary status, or slated
for closure.