La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § CXXXIX-1903

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section CXXXIX-1903 - Material Amendments for BESE-Authorized Charter Schools

A. A material amendment to a charter contract or proposed charter prior to the execution of the charter contract is an amendment that makes substantive changes to a charter school's governance, operational, or academic structure. Material amendments include:

1. creation of or change in corporate partnership, assignment of charter contract, or addition of or changes in management organization;

2. the addition of new grade levels;

3. changes in student enrollment which result in enrollment in excess of 120 percent of the total number of students set forth in the schools charter, as applicable;

4. changes in admission requirements other than the removal of one or more admission requirements, if applicable;

5. changes in any option expressed in the charter contract exhibit with respect to collective bargaining;

6. changes in LEA status for type 4 charter schools in Orleans Parish pursuant to §2303 of this bulletin;

7. changes in school location for Type 2 charter schools; and

8. any changes to the charter contract not specifically identified as non-material amendments that the state superintendent determines to be material changes.

B. A material amendment to a charter must be approved by an affirmative vote of at least a majority of the membership of BESE.

C. The charter operator shall submit a request for a material amendment to its charter in compliance with all timelines and pursuant to all guidance, forms, and/or applications developed and set forth by the Department of Education.

D. The LDE shall make recommendations to BESE on each material amendment request it receives from a charter operator that requires BESE approval.

E. BESE shall delegate authority to the department to approve a material amendment regarding the addition of new grade levels or changes in student enrollment which result in enrollment in excess of 120 percent of the total number of students set forth in the schools charter, for any charter school meeting the following conditions, as determined by the department:

1. The charter school has:

a. a current letter grade of "C" or higher or an equivalent SPS, or

b. a current letter grade of "D" or higher or an equivalent SPS, and a progress index equivalent to a letter grade of "A"; and

2. The charter schools most recent designations for financial and organizational performance under the charter school performance compact are "Meets Most Expectations" or "Meets All Expectations."

F. Should the state superintendent deny the charter operators request pursuant to Subsection E of this section, the charter operator may subsequently seek approval from BESE.

G. When time is of the essence and circumstances require immediate consideration of a material amendment request, a committee composed of the state superintendent, BESE president, and School Innovation and Turnaround Committee shall have interim authority to consider material amendment requests. All approvals or denials of material amendment requests pursuant to this Subsection shall be ratified by BESE at the following BESE meeting.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § CXXXIX-1903

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in LR 34:1369 (July 2008), amended LR 37:873 (March 2011), LR 37:2389 (August 2011), LR 38:752 (March 2012), repromulgated LR 38:1394 (June 2012), amended LR 38:3120 (December 2012), LR 39:3067 (November 2013), LR 40:1324 (July 2014), Amended LR 43635 (4/1/2017), Amended LR 44240 (2/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6(A)(10), R.S. 17:3981, and R.S. 17:3992.