SENATE 3rd Reading Unamended May 3, 2016 SENATE Amended 2nd Reading May 2, 2016Second Regular Session Seventieth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 16-1152.03 Julie Pelegrin x2700 SENATE BILL 16-188 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Hill, HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Williams and Sias Senate Committees House Committees Education A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning increasing charter schools' access to resources. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) Mill levy equalization among district public school students. Beginning in the 2017-18 budget year, the bill requires a school district to distribute revenue it receives from ongoing local property tax mill levies equally, on a per-student basis, to the school district charter schools, with exceptions for revenue that is restricted to certain uses by voters. BEST requirements for charter schools. The bill repeals certain requirements imposed on charter schools as conditions of qualifying for capital construction funding. Use of capital construction money. The bill allows a qualified charter school to use state education fund money received as capital construction assistance to maintain buildings. Availability of buildings and land. If a school district has authorized one or more charter schools and has an available or underused building or land, the bill requires the school district to provide notice to the district's charter schools and on its website of the availability of the building or land. A charter school or a charter school applicant may apply to the school district to use the building or land. The local board must review each application and, in a public meeting, approve or deny each application. If the local board denies an application, it must state the reasons at the public meeting and provide a written explanation of the reasons for denial to the applicants. Mill levy equalization - institute charter schools. The bill directs the department of education to calculate a mill levy equalization payment in the amount of the per pupil share of the mill levy overrides of the institute charter school's accounting district. The state will pay the amounts, subject to annual appropriations. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 22-30.5-112.4 as follows: 22-30.5-112.4. Charter schools - mill levy revenues - equalization - definitions. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Additional mill levy" means the number of mills that a school district levies that are in addition to the school district's total program mill levy established in section 22-54-106 (2), but not including mills that a school district may levy under section 22-40-110 or article 42 or 43 of this title, and that are authorized by voters before, on, or after the effective date of this section. (b) "Per pupil mill levy share" means an amount equal to the revenue that a school district collects from its additional mill levy for the applicable budget year divided by the school district's funded pupil count as defined in section 22-54-103 for the applicable budget year. (c) "Restricted revenue" means revenue that a school district collects from its additional mill levy, the use of which is restricted by voters to a specific program, to students enrolled in a specific grade level, or to the terms of an agreement between a third-party and the school district that governs the use of the revenue and that existed before the effective date of this section. (2) For the 2017-18 budget year, each school district that authorizes a charter school shall distribute to each charter school of the school district the greater of fifty percent or the percentage the school district distributed in the preceding budget year of the amount of additional mill levy revenue calculated for each charter school of the school district pursuant to subsection (3) of this section. For the 2018-19 budget year and each budget year thereafter, each school district that authorizes a charter school shall distribute to each charter school of the school district one hundred percent of the amount of additional mill levy revenue calculated for each charter school of the school district pursuant to subsection (3) of this section. (3) (a) For the 2017-18 budget year and each budget year thereafter, each school district that authorizes a charter school shall distribute to the charter school one hundred percent of an amount equal to the school district's per pupil mill levy share for the applicable budget year multiplied by the number of pupils, including preschool program pupils, enrolled in the charter school for the applicable budget year, as reported to the department for the applicable budget year pursuant to section 22-30.5-112 (1) (a). In counting the number of pupils enrolled in the charter school, the school district shall count a pupil enrolled in kindergarten or in a preschool program as at least a half-day pupil and may, at the school district's discretion, count a pupil who is included in the school district's online pupil enrollment, as defined in section 22-54-103. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) to the contrary, in calculating the amount due to a charter school under paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), a school district may subtract from the amount due to the charter school any portion that is restricted revenue if the charter school, during the applicable budget year, clearly does not provide the specific program for which the restricted revenue is authorized by voters or if the charter school, during the applicable budget year, does not serve students enrolled in the grade level for which the restricted revenue is authorized by voters. (c) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) to the contrary, in calculating the amount due to a charter school under paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), a school district may subtract from the amount due to the charter school any portion that is restricted revenue because it is subject to a third-party agreement that existed before the effective date of this section; except that, if the third party and the school district amend the terms of the agreement to allow distribution of the revenue to a charter school, the revenue ceases to be restricted revenue and the school district shall distribute the revenue to a charter school in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). (d) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) to the contrary, if, before the effective date of this section, a local school board has adopted a written policy that directs the school district to distribute any portion of its additional mill levy revenue to specifically benefit students enrolled in alternative education campuses, students who qualify for reduced-price meals under the federal "Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act", 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq., or students who have individualized education programs under part 1 of article 20 of this title, the school district may continue distributing the revenue for these purposes, so long as the amount distributed for each student is the same regardless of whether the student is enrolled in a charter school or another school of the school district. If the school district changes the distribution of revenue for these purposes after the effective date of this section, the school district shall distribute the revenue in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). The school district shall distribute any amount of additional mill levy revenue that remains after distribution for these purposes in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). (e) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) to the contrary, if a school district authorizes a charter school that is physically located within the geographic boundaries of another school district, the chartering school district is required to distribute to the charter school an amount equal to the per pupil mill levy share multiplied only by the number of students enrolled in the charter school who reside within the authorizing school district, which amount may be adjusted as provided in paragraphs (b) to (d) of this subsection (2), as appropriate. The authorizing school district may choose to distribute a greater portion of the additional mill levy revenue to the charter school. (4) This section does not require a school district to recalculate the distribution of, or to redistribute, any additional mill levy revenue that the school district collected before the 2017-18 budget year. SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-43.7-103, amend (7) as follows: 22-43.7-103. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (7) "Charter school" means a charter school as described in section 22-54-124 (1) (f.6) (I) (A) or (1) (f.6) (I) (B). that has been chartered for at least five years on the date its authorizer forwards an application for financial assistance to the board on the charter school's behalf. SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-43.7-109, amend (3); and repeal (1) (b) as follows: 22-43.7-109. Financial assistance for public school capital construction - application requirements - evaluation criteria - local match requirements. (1) For fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2008, the board, with the support of the division and subject to the approval of the state board and, in the case of financial assistance that involves lease-purchase agreements, subject to both the preliminary approval of the state board and the final approval of the capital development committee, regarding financial assistance awards as specified in this section, shall provide financial assistance as specified in this section subject to the following limitations: (b) The board may provide financial assistance to a charter school that first occupies a public school facility on or after May 22, 2008, only if the public school facility occupied by the charter school complied with all public school facilities construction guidelines addressing health and safety issues established by the board pursuant to section 22-43.7-107 (2) (a) at the time the charter school first occupied the facility. (3) A charter school that chooses to apply for financial assistance must apply directly to the board. A charter school shall notify its authorizer that it intends to apply if the charter school applies for financial assistance. at least four months prior to the application submission deadline. The charter school shall forward its application for financial assistance to its authorizer, which shall forward the application to the board together with a letter indicating the authorizer's position on the application The authorizing school district for an applying charter school may submit a letter to the board stating its position on the application. The Colorado school for the deaf and blind shall apply for financial assistance directly. Financial assistance awarded to a charter school as a matching cash grant shall be provided to the authorizer, which shall distribute all financial assistance received as a grant to the charter school and may not retain any portion of such moneys for any purpose. All other financial assistance shall be provided in the form of lease payments made by the board directly to a lessor or trustee as required by the terms of the applicable lease-purchase agreement. SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-54-124, amend (1) (a) as follows: 22-54-124. State aid for charter schools - use of state education fund money - definitions. (1) As used in this section: (a) "Capital construction" means construction, demolition, remodeling, maintaining, financing, purchasing, or leasing of land, buildings, or facilities used to educate pupils enrolled in or to be enrolled in a charter school. SECTION 5. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-30.5-104, amend (7) (e); and add (7.5) as follows: 22-30.5-104. Charter school - requirements - authority. (7) (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection (7) any or the provisions of subsection (7.5) of this section, a school district that has space in district facilities that is unoccupied shall be allowed to may sell the facilities or use the facilities for a different purpose and shall not be is not required to maintain ownership of the facilities for potential use by a charter school. (7.5) (a) No later than November 1, 2016, and no later than November 1 each year thereafter, each school district that authorizes a charter school and that has or is expecting to have one or more vacant or underused buildings or vacant or underused land available during the next school year shall prepare a list of the vacant or underused buildings and land and provide the list, upon request, to charter schools authorized by the school district, charter school applicants, and other interested persons. The school district shall also post on its website a notice that the list of underused and vacant buildings and land is available to interested persons upon request. The school district must provide the list within two school days after receiving a request. No later than forty-five days after the school district posts the availability of the list or after receiving the list, whichever is later, a charter school of the school district or charter applicant may apply to the school district to use the building or the school district land as the location for the charter school. The local board of education shall review each application for use and, in a public meeting held no later than ninety days after the school district posts the availability of the list, approve or disapprove each application for use of the building or school district land. If the local board of education disapproves an application for use, it must explain at the public meeting and provide in writing to the applicant the reasons for disapproval. (b) For purposes of this subsection (7.5), a building is considered underused if it has unused capacity to accommodate two hundred fifty students or more. SECTION 6. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 10, 2016, if adjournment sine die is on May 11, 2016); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2016 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.