A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS LOCATED under the state board of education; to MODIFY the CHARTER SCHOOL ADVISORY BOARD; and to enhance the charter school application PROCESS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 115C‑218 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑218.  Purpose of charter schools; establishment of North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board and North Carolina Office of Charter Schools.
(a)	Purpose of Charter Schools. – The purpose of this Article is to authorize a system of charter schools to provide opportunities for teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to establish and maintain schools that operate independently of existing schools, as a method to accomplish all of the following:
(1)	Improve student learning;
(2)	Increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for students who are identified as at risk of academic failure or academically gifted;
(3)	Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;
(4)	Create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunities to be responsible for the learning program at the school site;
(5)	Provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system; and
(6)	Hold the schools established under this Article accountable for meeting measurable student achievement results, and provide the schools with a method to change from rule‑based to performance‑based accountability systems.
(b)	North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board. –
(1)	Advisory Board. – There is created the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board, hereinafter referred to in this Article as the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall be located administratively under and shall report to the State Board of Education.
(2)	Membership. – The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, or the Superintendent's designee, shall be the secretary of the Advisory Board and a nonvoting member. The Chair of the State Board of Education shall appoint a member of the State Board to serve as a nonvoting member of the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall consist of the following 11 voting members:
a.	Three members appointed by the Governor.
b.	Three members appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, in accordance with G.S. 120‑121.
c.	Three members appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in accordance with G.S. 120‑121.
d.	One member appointed by the State Board of Education who is not a current member of the State Board of Education and who is a charter school advocate in North Carolina.
e.	The Lieutenant Governor or the Lieutenant Governor's designee.
(3)	Covered board. – The Advisory Board shall be treated as a board for purposes of Chapter 138A of the General Statutes.
(4)	Qualifications of members. – Members appointed to the Advisory Board shall collectively possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit governance, management and finance, assessment, curriculum and instruction, public charter schools, and public education law. All appointed members of the Advisory Board shall have demonstrated an understanding of and a commitment to charter schools as a strategy for strengthening public education.
(5)	Terms of office and vacancy appointments. – Appointed members shall serve four‑year terms of office beginning on July 1. No appointed member shall serve more than eight consecutive years. Vacancy appointments shall be made by the appointing authority for the remainder of the term of office.
(6)	Presiding officers and quorum. – The Advisory Board shall annually elect a chair and vice‑chair from among its membership. The chair shall preside over the Advisory Board's meetings. In the absence of the chair, the vice‑chair shall preside over the Advisory Board's meetings. A majority of the Advisory Board constitutes a quorum.
(7)	Meetings. – Meetings of the Advisory Board shall be held upon the call of the chair or the vice‑chair with the approval of the chair.
(8)	Expenses. – Members of the Advisory Board shall be reimbursed for travel and subsistence expenses at the rates allowed to State officers and employees by G.S. 138‑6(a).
(9)	Removal. – Any appointed member of the Advisory Board may be removed by a vote of at least two‑thirds of the members of the Advisory Board at any duly held meeting for any cause that renders the member incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of the office.
(10)	Powers and duties. – The Advisory Board shall have the following duties:
a.	To make recommendations to the State Board of Education on the adoption of rules regarding all aspects of charter school operation, including time lines, standards, and criteria for acceptance and approval of applications, monitoring of charter schools, and grounds for revocation of charters.
b.	To review applications and make recommendations to the State Board for final approval of charter applications.
c.	To make recommendations to the State Board on actions regarding a charter school, including renewals of charters, nonrenewals of charters, and revocations of charters.
d.	To undertake any other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the State Board.
(11)	Duties of the chair of the Advisory Board. – In addition to any other duties prescribed in this Article, the chair of the Advisory Board or the chair's designee shall advocate for the recommendations of the Advisory Board at meetings of the State Board upon the request of the State Board.
(c)	North Carolina Office of Charter Schools. –
(1)	Establishment of the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools. – There is established the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools, hereinafter referred to in this Article as the Office of Charter Schools. The Office of Charter Schools shall be located in the Office of the State Board of Education. The Office of Charter Schools shall consist of an executive director appointed by the State Board of Education and such other professional, administrative, technical, and clerical personnel as may be necessary to assist the Office of Charter Schools in carrying out its powers and duties. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the State Board of Education at a salary established by the State Board within the funds appropriated for this purpose.
(2)	Powers and duties. – The Office of Charter Schools shall have the following powers and duties:
a.	Serve as staff to the Advisory Board and fulfill any task and duties assigned to it by the Advisory Board.
b.	Provide technical assistance and guidance to charter schools operating within the State.
c.	Provide technical assistance and guidance to nonprofit corporations seeking to operate charter schools within the State.
d.	Provide or arrange for training for charter schools that have received preliminary approval from the State Board.
e.	Assist approved charter schools and charter schools seeking approval from the State Board in coordinating services with the Department of Public Instruction.
(3)	Agency cooperation. – The Department of Public Instruction and all other State agencies and departments shall cooperate with the Office of Charter Schools in carrying out its powers and duties as necessary in accordance with this Article."
SECTION 1.(b)  The Office of Charter Schools within the Department of Public Instruction is dissolved and the duties and functions of that office are transferred to the Office of Charter Schools located in the Office of the State Board of Education, established under G.S. 115C‑218. This transfer shall have all of the elements of a Type I transfer, as defined in G.S. 143A‑6.
SECTION 1.(c)  Within 90 days of the date this act becomes law, the State Board of Education shall appoint an executive director of the Office of Charter Schools. The initial appointment of the executive director shall be upon the recommendation to the State Board of Education by a search committee comprised of the Lieutenant Governor, who will serve as chair of the committee, the vice‑chair of the State Board of Education, and one other member of the State Board of Education appointed by the State Board of Education.
SECTION 1.(d)  Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑218, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, the current members serving on the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board as of the date this act becomes law shall serve the remainder of their terms. Thereafter, as terms expire, or when a vacancy occurs prior to the expiration of a term, members on the Advisory Board shall be appointed in accordance with G.S. 115C‑218, as amended by subsection (a) of this section.
SECTION 2.  The Department of Public Instruction shall transfer to the Office of the State Board of Education nine hundred twenty‑eight thousand twenty‑eight dollars ($928,028) for the 2015‑2016 fiscal year and nine hundred twenty‑eight thousand twenty‑eight dollars ($928,028) for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year for the transfer and administration of duties and responsibilities of the Office of Charter Schools.
SECTION 2.5.(a)  G.S. 115C‑218.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(d)	As part of the application review process, the State Board of Education and the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board shall evaluate charter school applications for approval or rejection based upon the content and substance of the applications to determine whether boards of directors and charter schools may exhibit a higher likelihood of meeting the requirements set forth in G.S. 115C‑218.5(a). Format issues with an application shall not impact the substantive review of the content of an application. The State Board of Education and the Advisory Board shall provide timely notification to an applicant of any format issues or incomplete information regarding the application and provide the applicant at least five business days to correct those issues in the application. The Advisory Board shall permit an applicant to address the Advisory Board regarding the application for at least 10 minutes immediately prior to any final vote on an application."
SECTION 2.5.(b)  This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to initial applications for and the renewal of a charter on or after that date.
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑218.5(a)(3) reads as rewritten:
"(3)	Granting the application would achieve one or more of the purposes set out in G.S. 115C‑218."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law. The Chair of the State Board of Education shall make the appointment to the North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board of a nonvoting member as required by G.S. 115C‑218(b)(2), as amended by this act, within 45 days of the date this act becomes law. The North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board shall elect a chair as required by G.S. 115C‑218(b)(6), as amended by this act, within 45 days of the date this act becomes law.