Charter School Transparency, Accountability, and Quality Act

To amend the charter school programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Charter School Transparency, Accountability, and Quality Act 2. References Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. 3. State plans Section 1111(c) ( 20 U.S.C. 6311(c) (1) in paragraph (13), by striking and (2) in paragraph (14) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (15) any State educational agency with a charter school law will support high-quality public charter schools that receive funds under this title by— (A) ensuring the quality of the authorized public chartering agencies in the State by establishing— (i) a system of periodic evaluation and certification of public chartering agencies using nationally recognized professional standards; or (ii) a statewide, independent chartering agency that meets nationally recognized professional standards; and (B) including in the procedure established pursuant to subparagraph (A) requirements for— (i) the annual filing and public reporting of independently audited financial statements including disclosure of amount and duration of any nonpublic financial and in-kind contributions of support, by each public chartering agency, for each school authorized by such agency, and by each local educational agency and the State; (ii) the adoption and enforcement of employee compensation and conflict of interest guidelines for all schools authorized, which shall include disclosure of executive pay and affiliated parties with a financial interest in the management, operations, or contractual obligations of a charter school; and (iii) a legally binding charter or performance contract between each charter school and the school’s authorized public chartering agency that— (I) describes the rights, duties, and remedies of the school and the public chartering agency; and (II) for each student subgroup described in subsection (b)(2)(C)(v), bases charter renewal and revocation decisions on an accountability plan based on the statewide State accountability system described in section 1111(b)(2). . 4. Purpose Section 5201 ( 20 U.S.C. 7221 (1) by striking and (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting ; and (3) by adding at end the following: (5) carrying out national activities to support— (A) stronger charter school authorizing; and (B) the dissemination of best practices of charter schools for all schools. . 5. Applications Section 5203 ( 20 U.S.C. 7221b (1) in subsection (b)(2)— (A) by striking and (B) by striking and (C) by adding at the end the following: (D) will ensure that each charter school in the State makes publicly available information on student support services, and annual performance and enrollment data disaggregated by the categories of students identified in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v), except that such disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student; (E) will ensure that each charter school board in the State has the right to provide fiscal oversight of the education management organization that it contracts with; (F) will work with charter schools in the State on efforts to recruit students who may otherwise have limited opportunities to participate in charter schools and eliminate barriers to enrollment, including for educationally disadvantaged students, foster youth, and unaccompanied homeless youth; (G) will ensure that each charter school receiving funds under the State educational agency’s charter school grant program meet the educational needs of its students, including students with disabilities and English learners; (H) will provide technical assistance to each charter school to recruit, enroll, and retain traditionally underserved students, including students with disabilities and English learners, at rates similar to traditional public schools; and (I) will share best and promising practices between charter schools and other public schools, including, where appropriate, instruction and professional development in core academic subjects, and science, technology, engineering, and math education; and ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (e) Rule of construction Nothing in this subpart shall prohibit the Secretary from awarding grants to State educational agencies under this part that use a weighted lottery to give slightly better chances for admission to all, or a subset of, educationally disadvantaged students if— (1) the use of weighted lotteries in favor of such students is not prohibited by State law, and such State law is consistent with laws described in section 5210(1)(G); and (2) such weighted lotteries are not used for the purpose of creating schools exclusively to serve a particular subset of students. . 6. Administration Section 5204(f)(6)(A) ( 20 U.S.C. 7221c(f)(6)(A) (1) by striking and (2) by striking the period at the end of clause (iii); and (3) by adding at the end the following: (iv) community involvement during the development and operation of the school; (v) has had 3 successful consecutive annual audits that have not indicated fiscal difficulties as defined by typical accounting standards; and (vi) has maintained a student population demographically similar to the local educational agency that is closest geographically to the charter school or in which the charter school is located. . 7. National activities Section 5205(a)(2) ( 20 U.S.C. 7221d(a)(2) (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting and the local educational agency that is closest geographically to the charter school or in which the charter school is located , including information regarding (2) by striking and (3) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting a semicolon; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (C) the impact of charter schools on the finances of local educational agencies; (D) demographic trends in enrollment in both the traditional public school and charter school sectors; (E) increasing or easing segregation of students within the two sectors; and (F) the representation of students with special needs in either sector. .

Summary: Charter School Transparency, Accountability, and Quality Act Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require a state's school improvement plan to include assurances that its authorized public chartering agencies: meet nationally recognized professional standards; annually file and disclose independently audited financial statements for the charter schools they authorize, adopt and enforce employee compensation and conflict of interest guidelines for such schools, and enter into a legally binding charter or performance contract with each such school that bases charter renewal and revocation decisions on the state's school improvement accountability system. Requires each state that seeks a grant under part B (Public Charter Schools) of title V of the ESEA to: ensure that each charter school in the state makes available to the public information on student support services and annual performance and enrollment data for specified student subgroups and the student body as a whole; ensure that each charter school board in the state has the right to fiscally oversee the education management organization it contracts with; work with charter schools to help them recruit, enroll, and retain traditionally underserved students; ensure that each charter school that receives funds under the state's charter school grant program meets its students' educational needs; and share best and promising practices between charter schools and other public schools. Allows state grantees to use a weighted lottery to give slightly better chances for admission to educationally disadvantaged students. Expands the eligibility criteria for each charter school to receive part B funds from its state for the purpose of assisting other schools in adapting the charter school's program, or of disseminating information about the charter school, to include: community involvement in the school's development and operation; three successful consecutive annual audits without any indication of fiscal difficulties, as defined by typical accounting standards; and maintenance of a student population that is demographically similar to the local educational agency (LEA) that encompasses the school or is geographically closest to it. Requires national studies on the impact of charter schools on the LEAs that encompass them or that are geographically closest to them.