HB 5695 Summary

• Requires public school academies, urban high school academies, schools of excellence, and strict discipline academies to obtain independent real estate appraisals and board approval for all property leases reflecting market conditions.

• Prohibits these academies from leasing real property from educational management organizations (EMOs) with which they have management agreements or from affiliated real estate holding companies.

• Establishes cyber schools as schools of excellence providing full-time instruction through online learning, requiring certified teachers for each course to handle instruction, assessment, grading, and progress reporting.

• Mandates cyber schools provide at least 1,098 hours of educational services annually and requires reporting to the superintendent of public instruction and legislature after the second year of operation.

• Caps per-pupil state school aid for cyber schools at 50% of the foundation allowance of the school district where the cyber school is located.