SB 1318 Summary

• Charter schools, governing bodies, sponsors, and management organizations must comply with open meeting requirements (title 38, chapter 3) and public records requirements (title 39, chapter 1), with notices, agendas, and minutes posted prominently on school and state board websites.

• Beginning January 1, 2024, charter school sponsors may not contract with for-profit organizations to establish charter schools.

• Charter schools must adopt procurement policies prohibiting purchases from governing board members and their immediate family members unless approved by disinterested board members, and purchases exceeding $50,000 must be documented as in the school's best interest and subject to public bidding requirements.

• Charter schools must conduct independent annual audits in a standard format by state-based auditors with Arizona expertise, with individual audits completed separately for each charter entity, and must post detailed governance and financial information on sponsor websites including board member names, revenues, expenses, related-party transactions, and spending by category.

• Charter holder and school governing bodies must have at least three members with restrictions on immediate family members serving simultaneously, and charter schools must allow parent classroom visits under policies posted on their websites.