Am. S. B. No. 12 As Reported by the House Education Committee

Senators Randy Gardner, Robert Gardner, Harris, Mumper, Prentiss, Amstutz, Schuring, Stivers

Representatives Hoops, Kearns, Taylor, Hartnett

A BILL

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       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. ~~No conversion community school shall~~ 58
~~be an internet- or computer-based community school.~~ The proposal 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 ~~the effective~~ 117
~~date of this amendment~~April 8, 2003. After July 1, 2005, such 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

Section 1. That section 3314.02 of the Revised Code be	14
amended to read as follows:	15

(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

(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

(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. ~~No conversion community school shall~~	58
~~be an internet- or computer-based community school.~~ The proposal	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 ~~the effective~~	117
~~date of this amendment~~April 8, 2003. After July 1, 2005, such	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