HB 1894 Summary

• Establishes a "Parent Trigger" process beginning in the 2012-2013 school year allowing parents of students in designated low-performing schools (in school improvement status for 3+ years) to petition for school reorganization.

• Parents can petition for one of three reorganization options: convert the school to an open-enrollment public charter school, change school leadership including replacing the principal, or close the school and transfer students to a higher-performing school.

• A petition requires signatures from at least 51% of enrolled students' parents and must specify the desired reorganization option; each parent can sign multiple times equal to the number of their children attending the school.

• School district boards must verify petition signatures and implement the reorganization option if threshold is met, with charter school applications exempt from state limitations on number and location of charter schools.

• Reorganized schools receive all prior state and local funding, may lease school facilities from the district for $1 per student annually, and cannot be subject to another Parent Trigger petition for five years following reorganization.