SUMMARY:  LC 33 5457  Charter school expansion legislation.

1.  Modifies state charter schools (those created by the Commission) enrollment provisions:

• requires state charter schools to enroll any student residing in the attendance zone
• if applications exceed the capacity of the school, program, or building , all applicants shall have an equal chance of being selected through a random selection process; however enrollment preference may be granted to:
  • siblings of students already enrolled
  • students whose parents are members of the governing board
  • students whose parents are employees of the school

2.  Creates two new categories of charter schools which may be considered for approval by the State Charter Schools Commission:

• Charter school in the workplace --operates in a facility provided by one or more business partners and enrolls students who are employees of the business partners

• Charter school in a municipality-- operated by one or more municipalities and enrolls students who are children of residents of the municipality/municipalities

  In each case, students of employees of the business or students of residents of the municipality shall have priority for admission

  Note:  Petitioners for either of the categories above shall submit the petition to the local school district for information purposes only.

  EFFECTIVE DATE:  Upon approval by the General Assembly and signature by the Governor.