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S. B. No. 12As IntroducedAs Introduced
125th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2003-2004 |
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SENATORS Randy Gardner, Robert Gardner, Harris, Mumper, Prentiss
A BILL
To amend section 3314.02 of the Revised Code to remove the prohibition on establishing a conversion community school as an Internet- or computer-based community school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3314.02 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3314.02. (A) As used in this chapter: (1)
"Sponsor" means
an entity listed in division
(C)(1)
of
this
section, which has been approved by the department
of education to sponsor community schools and
with which the
governing
authority of the
proposed
community school enters into a
contract pursuant to this
section. (2)
"Pilot project area" means
the school districts
included
in the territory of the former community
school pilot project
established by former Section 50.52 of Am. Sub. H.B. No. 215
of
the 122nd general assembly. (3)
"Challenged school district"
means any of the following: (a) A school district that is part of the pilot project
area; (b) A school district that is
either in a state of academic
emergency
or in a state of academic watch under section 3302.03 of
the Revised
Code; (c) A big eight school district; (d) An urban school district. (4)
"Big eight school district" means
a school district that
for fiscal year 1997 had
both of the following: (a) A percentage of children residing in the
district and
participating in the predecessor of
Ohio works first greater than
thirty per cent, as reported pursuant to section 3317.10 of the
Revised
Code; (b) An average daily membership greater than
twelve
thousand, as reported pursuant to former division
(A) of section
3317.03 of the
Revised Code. (5)
"New start-up school" means a community school other
than
one created
by converting all or part of an existing public
school, as designated in the
school's contract pursuant to
division (A)(17) of section 3314.03
of the Revised Code. (6)
"Urban school district" means one of the state's
twenty-one
urban school districts as defined in division (O) of
section 3317.02
of the Revised Code as that section existed prior
to July 1, 1998.
(7) "Internet- or
computer-based community school" means a
community school
established under this chapter in which the
enrolled students work primarily from their residences on
assignments provided via an internet- or other computer-based
instructional method that does not rely on regular classroom
instruction. (B) Any person or group of
individuals may initially propose
under this
division the conversion of all or a portion of a public
school to a community
school.
No conversion community school shall
be an internet- or computer-based community school. The proposal
shall be made to the
board of education of
the city, local, or
exempted village school
district
in
which the public school is
proposed to be converted.
Upon receipt of a
proposal, a board may
enter into a preliminary
agreement with the person or
group
proposing the conversion of the
public school, indicating the
intention of the board of education
to
support the conversion to a
community school. A proposing
person or group
that has a
preliminary
agreement under this
division may proceed to finalize
plans for the school,
establish a
governing authority for the
school, and negotiate a contract with
the board of education.
Provided the proposing person or group
adheres to the
preliminary
agreement and all provisions of this
chapter, the board of
education shall negotiate in good faith to
enter into a contract
in accordance
with section 3314.03 of the
Revised Code and
division (C) of this section. (C)(1) Any person or group of
individuals may propose under
this division the
establishment of a new start-up school to be
located in
a challenged
school district. The proposal may be
made
to
any of the following
entities: (a) The board of education of the
district in which the
school is proposed to be
located; (b) The board of education of any joint
vocational school
district with territory in the county in which is
located the
majority
of the territory of the district in which the
school is
proposed to be located; (c) The board of education of any other
city, local, or
exempted village school district having
territory in the same
county where the
district in which the school is proposed to be
located has the major
portion of its territory; (d) The
governing
board of
any educational service
center
as long as the proposed school will be
located in a county within the territory of the service center or
in a county contiguous to such county;
(e) A
sponsoring
authority designated by the
board
of
trustees of
any of the thirteen state universities listed in section
3345.011 of the Revised Code
or the board of
trustees itself
as
long as a mission of the proposed school to be specified in the
contract under division (A)(2) of section 3314.03 of the Revised
Code and as approved by the department of education under division
(B)(2) of section 3314.015 of the Revised Code will be the
practical demonstration of teaching methods,
educational
technology, or other teaching practices that are
included in the
curriculum of the university's teacher preparation
program
approved by the state board of education;
(f) Any qualified tax-exempt entity under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as long as all of the
following conditions are satisfied:
(i) The entity has been in operation for at least five
years prior to applying to be a community school sponsor.
(ii) The entity has assets of at least five hundred
thousand dollars.
(iii) The department of education has determined that the
entity is an education-oriented entity under division (B)(3) of
section 3314.015 of the Revised Code.
Until July 1, 2005, any entity described in division
(C)(1)(f) of this section may sponsor only schools that formerly
were sponsored
by the state board of education under division
(C)(1)(d) of this
section, as it existed prior to the effective
date of this
amendment April 8, 2003. After July 1, 2005, such entity may
sponsor any new or
existing school.
Any entity
described in division (C)(1) of this
section may enter
into a
preliminary agreement
pursuant
to
division (C)(2) of this
section with the proposing
person or
group. (2) A preliminary agreement indicates the
intention of
an entity described in division (C)(1)
of this section
to
sponsor the community school. A proposing person or
group that
has such a preliminary agreement may proceed to
finalize plans for
the school, establish a governing authority
as described in
division (E) of this section
for the school, and
negotiate a
contract with the
entity. Provided the
proposing person or
group adheres to the
preliminary agreement and
all provisions of
this chapter, the
entity shall negotiate
in good faith to
enter into a
contract in accordance with section
3314.03 of the
Revised
Code. (3) A new start-up school that is established in a school
district while that district is
either in a state of academic
emergency
or in a state of academic watch under section
3302.03 of
the Revised Code may
continue in
existence once the school
district is no longer
in a
state of
academic emergency
or academic
watch, provided there is a valid
contract between
the
school and a
sponsor.
(4) A copy of every preliminary agreement entered into under
this
division shall be filed with the superintendent of public
instruction. (D) A majority vote of
the board of a sponsoring
entity
and a
majority vote of the members of the
governing authority of a
community school shall be required to
adopt a contract and
convert
the public school to a community
school or establish the new
start-up school.
Up to the
statewide limit prescribed in section 3314.013 of the Revised
Code, an unlimited number
of
community schools
may be
established
in any school district
provided that a contract is
entered into
for each community school
pursuant to
this chapter. (E) As used in this division, "immediate relatives" are
limited to spouses, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, and
in-laws. Each new start-up community school established under
this
chapter shall be under the direction of a governing authority
which shall consist of a board of not less than five individuals
who are not owners or employees, or immediate relatives of owners
or employees, of any for-profit firm that
operates or
manages a
school for the governing authority.
No person shall serve on the governing authority or
operate the community school under contract with the governing
authority so long as the person owes the state any money or is in
a dispute over whether the person owes the state any money
concerning the operation of a community school that has closed. (F) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit the
establishment of a community school in more than one school
district under the same contract.
Section 2. That existing section 3314.02 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
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