Senate Bill 16-187: Charter School Operations

• Charter schools operating under a school performance plan may submit a new plan every 2 years instead of annually.

• State board of education may consider applications to regain exclusive chartering authority only between November 1 and December 31 each year, and parties may challenge exclusive authority only on grounds of a demonstrated pattern of non-compliance with charter school law.

• Institute charter schools established with local board permission continue under state institute oversight regardless of subsequent local board actions, unless the school voluntarily converts to a district charter school.

• State board is prohibited from automatically waiving statutory requirements for minimum teacher-pupil contact hours.

• Charter school networks may complete a single network-wide financial audit instead of individual audits for each school, and charter school networks are excluded from the definition of education management providers.