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To amend section 3314.02 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
remove the prohibition on establishing a | 2 |
conversion community school as an Internet- or | 3 |
computer-based community school; to permit school | 4 |
districts and nonpublic schools to count any hours | 5 |
or partial hours after March 1, 2003, that schools | 6 |
are in session beyond the number of hours required | 7 |
by minimum standards, in order to make up | 8 |
"calamity days" missed due to hazardous weather | 9 |
conditions in excess of the sum of the number of | 10 |
days permitted by law and the number of days | 11 |
specified in their contingency plans; and to | 12 |
declare an emergency. | 13 |
Section 1. That section 3314.02 of the Revised Code be | 14 |
amended to read as follows: | 15 |
Sec. 3314.02. (A) As used in this chapter: | 16 |
(1) "Sponsor" means an entity listed in division (C)(1) of | 17 |
this section, which has been approved by the department of | 18 |
education to sponsor community schools and with which the | 19 |
governing authority of the proposed community school enters into a | 20 |
contract pursuant to this section. | 21 |
(2) "Pilot project area" means the school districts included | 22 |
in the territory of the former community school pilot project | 23 |
established by former Section 50.52 of Am. Sub. H.B. No. 215 of | 24 |
the 122nd general assembly. | 25 |
(3) "Challenged school district" means any of the following: | 26 |
(a) A school district that is part of the pilot project area; | 27 |
(b) A school district that is either in a state of academic | 28 |
emergency or in a state of academic watch under section 3302.03 of | 29 |
the Revised Code; | 30 |
(c) A big eight school district; | 31 |
(d) An urban school district. | 32 |
(4) "Big eight school district" means a school district that | 33 |
for fiscal year 1997 had both of the following: | 34 |
(a) A percentage of children residing in the district and | 35 |
participating in the predecessor of Ohio works first greater than | 36 |
thirty per cent, as reported pursuant to section 3317.10 of the | 37 |
Revised Code; | 38 |
(b) An average daily membership greater than twelve thousand, | 39 |
as reported pursuant to former division (A) of section 3317.03 of | 40 |
the Revised Code. | 41 |
(5) "New start-up school" means a community school other than | 42 |
one created by converting all or part of an existing public | 43 |
school, as designated in the school's contract pursuant to | 44 |
division (A)(17) of section 3314.03 of the Revised Code. | 45 |
(6) "Urban school district" means one of the state's | 46 |
twenty-one urban school districts as defined in division (O) of | 47 |
section 3317.02 of the Revised Code as that section existed prior | 48 |
to July 1, 1998. | 49 |
(7) "Internet- or computer-based community school" means a | 50 |
community school established under this chapter in which the | 51 |
enrolled students work primarily from their residences on | 52 |
assignments provided via an internet- or other computer-based | 53 |
instructional method that does not rely on regular classroom | 54 |
instruction. | 55 |
(B) Any person or group of individuals may initially propose | 56 |
under this division the conversion of all or a portion of a public | 57 |
school to a community
school.
| 58 |
59 | |
shall be made to the board of education of the city, local, or | 60 |
exempted village school district in which the public school is | 61 |
proposed to be converted. Upon receipt of a proposal, a board may | 62 |
enter into a preliminary agreement with the person or group | 63 |
proposing the conversion of the public school, indicating the | 64 |
intention of the board of education to support the conversion to a | 65 |
community school. A proposing person or group that has a | 66 |
preliminary agreement under this division may proceed to finalize | 67 |
plans for the school, establish a governing authority for the | 68 |
school, and negotiate a contract with the board of education. | 69 |
Provided the proposing person or group adheres to the preliminary | 70 |
agreement and all provisions of this chapter, the board of | 71 |
education shall negotiate in good faith to enter into a contract | 72 |
in accordance with section 3314.03 of the Revised Code and | 73 |
division (C) of this section. | 74 |
(C)(1) Any person or group of individuals may propose under | 75 |
this division the establishment of a new start-up school to be | 76 |
located in a challenged school district. The proposal may be made | 77 |
to any of the following entities: | 78 |
(a) The board of education of the district in which the | 79 |
school is proposed to be located; | 80 |
(b) The board of education of any joint vocational school | 81 |
district with territory in the county in which is located the | 82 |
majority of the territory of the district in which the school is | 83 |
proposed to be located; | 84 |
(c) The board of education of any other city, local, or | 85 |
exempted village school district having territory in the same | 86 |
county where the district in which the school is proposed to be | 87 |
located has the major portion of its territory; | 88 |
(d) The governing board of any educational service center as | 89 |
long as the proposed school will be located in a county within the | 90 |
territory of the service center or in a county contiguous to such | 91 |
county; | 92 |
(e) A sponsoring authority designated by the board of | 93 |
trustees of any of the thirteen state universities listed in | 94 |
section 3345.011 of the Revised Code or the board of trustees | 95 |
itself as long as a mission of the proposed school to be specified | 96 |
in the contract under division (A)(2) of section 3314.03 of the | 97 |
Revised Code and as approved by the department of education under | 98 |
division (B)(2) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code will be | 99 |
the practical demonstration of teaching methods, educational | 100 |
technology, or other teaching practices that are included in the | 101 |
curriculum of the university's teacher preparation program | 102 |
approved by the state board of education; | 103 |
(f) Any qualified tax-exempt entity under section 501(c)(3) | 104 |
of the Internal Revenue Code as long as all of the following | 105 |
conditions are satisfied: | 106 |
(i) The entity has been in operation for at least five years | 107 |
prior to applying to be a community school sponsor. | 108 |
(ii) The entity has assets of at least five hundred thousand | 109 |
dollars. | 110 |
(iii) The department of education has determined that the | 111 |
entity is an education-oriented entity under division (B)(3) of | 112 |
section 3314.015 of the Revised Code. | 113 |
Until July 1, 2005, any entity described in division | 114 |
(C)(1)(f) of this section may sponsor only schools that formerly | 115 |
were sponsored by the state board of education under division | 116 |
(C)(1)(d) of this
section, as it existed prior to | 117 |
118 | |
entity may sponsor any new or existing school. | 119 |
Any entity described in division (C)(1) of this section may | 120 |
enter into a preliminary agreement pursuant to division (C)(2) of | 121 |
this section with the proposing person or group. | 122 |
(2) A preliminary agreement indicates the intention of an | 123 |
entity described in division (C)(1) of this section to sponsor the | 124 |
community school. A proposing person or group that has such a | 125 |
preliminary agreement may proceed to finalize plans for the | 126 |
school, establish a governing authority as described in division | 127 |
(E) of this section for the school, and negotiate a contract with | 128 |
the entity. Provided the proposing person or group adheres to the | 129 |
preliminary agreement and all provisions of this chapter, the | 130 |
entity shall negotiate in good faith to enter into a contract in | 131 |
accordance with section 3314.03 of the Revised Code. | 132 |
(3) A new start-up school that is established in a school | 133 |
district while that district is either in a state of academic | 134 |
emergency or in a state of academic watch under section 3302.03 of | 135 |
the Revised Code may continue in existence once the school | 136 |
district is no longer in a state of academic emergency or academic | 137 |
watch, provided there is a valid contract between the school and a | 138 |
sponsor. | 139 |
(4) A copy of every preliminary agreement entered into under | 140 |
this division shall be filed with the superintendent of public | 141 |
instruction. | 142 |
(D) A majority vote of the board of a sponsoring entity and a | 143 |
majority vote of the members of the governing authority of a | 144 |
community school shall be required to adopt a contract and convert | 145 |
the public school to a community school or establish the new | 146 |
start-up school. Up to the statewide limit prescribed in section | 147 |
3314.013 of the Revised Code, an unlimited number of community | 148 |
schools may be established in any school district provided that a | 149 |
contract is entered into for each community school pursuant to | 150 |
this chapter. | 151 |
(E) As used in this division, "immediate relatives" are | 152 |
limited to spouses, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, and | 153 |
in-laws. | 154 |
Each new start-up community school established under this | 155 |
chapter shall be under the direction of a governing authority | 156 |
which shall consist of a board of not less than five individuals | 157 |
who are not owners or employees, or immediate relatives of owners | 158 |
or employees, of any for-profit firm that operates or manages a | 159 |
school for the governing authority. | 160 |
No person shall serve on the governing authority or operate | 161 |
the community school under contract with the governing authority | 162 |
so long as the person owes the state any money or is in a dispute | 163 |
over whether the person owes the state any money concerning the | 164 |
operation of a community school that has closed. | 165 |
(F) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit the | 166 |
establishment of a community school in more than one school | 167 |
district under the same contract. | 168 |
Section 2. That existing section 3314.02 of the Revised Code | 169 |
is hereby repealed. | 170 |
Section 3. A school district or nonpublic school shall not | 171 |
be considered to have failed to comply with division (B) of | 172 |
section 3317.01 of the Revised Code or the state minimum standards | 173 |
during the 2002-2003 school year because a school was closed due | 174 |
to hazardous weather conditions for a number of days exceeding the | 175 |
number permitted under sections 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of | 176 |
the Revised Code, if both of the following apply: | 177 |
(A) In the case of a school district, the district makes up | 178 |
the number of days specified in its contingency plan adopted under | 179 |
division (A) of section 3313.482 of the Revised Code in accordance | 180 |
with that plan or, in the case of a nonpublic school, the school | 181 |
makes up the number of days specified in any contingency plan | 182 |
adopted by the school's governing authority in accordance with | 183 |
that plan; | 184 |
(B) During the period beginning on March 1, 2003, the school | 185 |
was open for instruction for more hours than the required number | 186 |
of hours on a sufficient number of days to make up all remaining | 187 |
days a school was closed in excess of the number permitted by | 188 |
sections 3313.48, 3313.481, and 3317.01 of the Revised Code due to | 189 |
hazardous weather conditions. | 190 |
As used in this section, the "required number of hours" for | 191 |
any school district is five hours per day in the case of students | 192 |
in grades one through six and five and one-half hours per day in | 193 |
the case of students in grades seven through twelve, and for any | 194 |
nonpublic school is five hours per day for students in grades one | 195 |
through twelve. A public school or school district shall be deemed | 196 |
to have "made up" a day under division (B) of this section for | 197 |
each additional five hours its students in grades one through six | 198 |
are in attendance after March 1, 2003, and for each additional | 199 |
five and one-half hours its students in grades seven through | 200 |
twelve are in attendance after March 1, 2003. A nonpublic school | 201 |
shall be deemed to have "made up" a day under division (B) of this | 202 |
section for each additional five hours its students in grades one | 203 |
through twelve are in attendance after March 1, 2003. | 204 |
Section 4. Section 3314.02 of the Revised Code as amended by | 205 |
this act takes effect on the later of April 8, 2003, or the | 206 |
effective date of this act. | 207 |
Section 5. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency | 208 |
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public | 209 |
peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity lies in | 210 |
the fact that immediate action is necessary to provide school | 211 |
districts and nonpublic schools an alternative way to make up days | 212 |
missed in the current school year due to hazardous weather | 213 |
conditions in excess of the number permitted by law. Therefore, | 214 |
this act shall go into immediate effect. | 215 |