The bill allows a district charter school or an institute charter
school, upon approval of the authorizing school district board of education or the state charter school institute (CSI), respectively, to develop and administer an enrollment preference plan to give enrollment preference to children with disabilities. In exercising the enrollment
preference plan for children with disabilities, a charter school and an institute charter school shall ensure compliance with the obligation to provide a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A charter school or an institute charter school may allow parents to voluntarily provide information regarding the existence of a child's disability.
The bill allows the state board of education (state board) to
designate a charter school network or charter school collaborative that meets specified criteria as an administrative unit for the purpose of providing special education services to children with disabilities. If the state board designates a charter school network or charter school collaborative as an administrative unit, a charter school that is within the charter school network or is participating in the charter school collaborative is required to amend its charter contract to reflect that the charter school is participating in the administrative unit of the charter school network or charter school collaborative.
If the parents of a child with a disability remove the child in the
middle of the school year from enrollment in the alternative administrative unit in which a district or institute charter school participates, that alternative administrative unit continues to be deemed the child's administrative unit of residence for the remainder of the school year and may be required to pay the tuition charge for excess costs to the administrative unit of attendance that enrolls the child for the remainder of the school year. The bill further clarifies provisions concerning the payment of tuition for excess costs when a child with a disability is enrolled in a district or institute charter school that participates in an alternative administrative unit that is a charter school network or charter school collaborative.
The bill allows a district charter school or an institute charter
school, upon approval of the administrative unit of a charter school network or charter school collaborative, to enter into an agreement to participate in that administrative unit. The district charter school or institute charter school is required to amend its district charter contract or institute charter contract, respectively, to reflect that the district charter school or institute charter school is participating in the administrative unit of the charter school network or charter school collaborative.
The bill allows a district charter school, upon approval of the CSI,
to enter into an agreement with the CSI to participate in the CSI's administrative unit. The district charter school is required to amend its charter contract to reflect that it is participating in the CSI's administrative unit.
The bill specifies that a charter school collaborative may provide
special education and related services to participating schools as authorized by the contract creating the charter school collaborative. Participating charter schools of the charter school collaborative shall share costs and financial support for special education and related services.
The bill clarifies that a charter school is not required to pay its
authorizing school district for federally required educational services that are not available to the charter school.
