A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enhance the charter school application process; to allow charter schools to establish certain fees; to direct the Joint legislative education oversight committee to study charter school funding for students with disabilities; and to direct the Joint legislative education oversight committee to study the rules, procedures, and policies applicable to charter schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  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.  G.S. 115C‑218.50 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑218.50.  Charter school nonsectarian; student fees.
A charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations and shall not charge tuition or fees, except that a charter school, upon approval by the board of directors, may charge any fees that may be charged by a local board of education. Each year, a charter school shall submit to the Department of Public Instruction a schedule of fees charged to students. A charter school shall not be affiliated with a nonpublic sectarian school or a religious institution."
SECTION 3.(a)  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall study the funding formulas applicable to students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools and the allocation of those funds to charter schools. In addition, the Committee shall examine the provision of services to students with disabilities by charter schools to identify potential strategies to (i) improve the academic performance of these students, (ii) provide financial stability for charter schools that serve substantial numbers of these students, and (iii) increase the effectiveness of the cost of the services provided to these students.
SECTION 3.(b)  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall report its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, on the study required by this section to the 2016 Regular Session of the 2015 General Assembly.
SECTION 4.(a)  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall study the body of rules, procedures, and policies applicable to charter schools to ascertain whether those rules, procedures, and policies are necessary to carry out the purposes set forth in the charter school statutes, Article 14A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes, and whether the administrative burden on charter schools is reasonable, particularly charter schools with a small number of administrative personnel.
SECTION 4.(b)  The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall report its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, on the study required by this section to the 2016 Regular Session of the 2015 General Assembly.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law. Section 1 of this act applies to initial applications for and the renewal of a charter on or after that date.