Senate Bill 173 Summary

• Requires authorizing bodies to establish methods for board member selection, ensure local community representation on boards, and take necessary measures to ensure boards operate independently of educational management companies.

• Mandates authorizing bodies develop accountability processes for public school academies, urban high schools, and schools of excellence to meet academic performance standards with corrective action procedures for underperforming schools.

• Establishes automatic contract amendment or revocation requirements when schools are among the lowest achieving 5% of public schools statewide for 3 consecutive years or receive "F" grades under accountability system for 3 consecutive years.

• Creates detailed procedures for contract termination and revocation including notification timelines (10 days), asset distribution plans requiring state treasurer approval, student record transfers, and mandatory reporting to superintendent of public instruction within 90 days.

• Applies exemptions for alternative schools serving special student populations and allows state school reform/redesign officer to rescind closure notices if sufficient public school options are unavailable, requiring implementation of school improvement plans instead.