An Act To Amend and Clarify the Public Charter School Law
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1762
Committee Amendment CA_A_S422 (Senate)
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-G, 20-A MRSA §2405, 20-A MRSA §2403, 20-A MRSA §240, 20-A MRSA §2406, 20-A MRSA §2408, 20-A MRSA §2412, 20-A MRSA §2413

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend and Clarify the Public Charter School Law" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
emergency clause and inserting the following: 
'Sec. I. 5 MRSA §12004-G, sub-§lO-D, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, § 1, is 
amended to read: 
10-D. 
Education 
8tate-Maine Charter 
Travel Expenses 
School Commission Only 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRS A §2401, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
20-A MRSA §2405, 
sub-§8 
2-A. Catchment area. "Catchment area" means the geographic area from which a 
public charter school expects to draw the majority of its students, which may not be 
smaller than the combined enrollment areas of the 2 closest noncharter public schools 
serving students of the same grade levels as the applicant is proposing to serve, or the 
geographic area within a radius of 20 miles extending from the public charter school, 
whichever is smaller. 
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §2403, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
5. Investigation and sanction of authorizers. Consistent with the policies and 
practices established in subsection 4, the department may investigate and, as appropriate, 
institute sanctions in response to deficiencies in authorizer performance or legal 
compliance. In addition to any other sanction instituted, the commissioner may suspend a 
deficient authorizer's authority to issue new charters or renew existing charters until the 
commissioner is satisfied that the deficiencies have been corrected. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §2405, sub-§l, ,C, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
C. A collaborative among authorizing entities local school boards that forms to set 
up a regional public charter school to be located within the area managed and 
controlled by those local school boards. 
Sec. S. 20-A MRSA §240S, sub-§4, "C and D, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, 
§5, are amended to read: 
C. The status of the authorizer's public charter school portfolio of approved charter 
applications, identifying all public charter schools within that portfolio as: 
(1) Approved, but not yet open; 
(2) Operating; 
(3) Renewed; 
(4) Transferred; 
(5) Terminated; 
(6) Closed; or 
(7) Never opened; and 
D. 
The oversight and services provided by the authorizer to the public charter 
schools under the authorizer's purview;; and 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §240S, sub-§4, ~ 
is enacted to read: 
E. The total amount of funds collected from each public charter school the authorizer 
authorized pursuant to subsection 5, paragraph B and the costs incurred by the 
authorizer to oversee each public charter school. 
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §240S, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
8. 
Maine Charter School Commission. 
The State Maine Charter School 
Commission, established under Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection to-D, is referred to 
in this chapter as "the commission." 
A. The commission consists of 7 members appointed by the state board for 3-year 
terms. 
The commission shall elect a chair and such other officers as may be 
necessary to conduct its business. Four members constitute a quorum. 
(1) Three members must be members of the state board, and those 3 members 
shall nominate the other 4 members who must be approved by a majority vote of 
the state board. 
(2) 
Members appointed to the commission must have diverse professional 
experience in education, social services, youth training, business startup and 
administration, accounting and finance, strategic planning and nonprofit 
governance. The following provisions apply to the appointment of the 4 other 
members nominated and appointed by state board members pursuant to 
subparagraph (1): 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A .. to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
(a) In appointing members to the commission, the state board shall give 
proper consideration to candidates with experience in a noncharter public 
school in the State in one of the following positions: school board member, 
superintendent, teacher and special education director; 
(b) The state board shall ensure that the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters has an opportunity to 
meet and interview the candidate or candidates nominated for the 
COmInlSSlOn; 
(c) Within 10 days of meeting with the candidate or candidates, the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education 
matters shall deliver to the state board its written appraisal of the strengths 
and weaknesses of the candidate or candidates; and 
(d) The state board shall consider the appraisal of the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters prior 
to appointing a candidate or candidates to the commission. 
(3) A commission member may not serve more than 3 consecutive terms, but 
may serve again after not serving on the commission for at least one term. 
(4) 
A commission member may not receive compensation, but may be 
reimbursed for tfa:Vel. expenses. 
(5) A commission member who is a member of the state board serves on the 
commission only during that person's membership on the state board. Upon 
expiration of that person's state board membership, the position on the 
commission becomes vacant and must be filled in the manner provided for filling 
vacancies. 
The term of a member who is approved by the state board and 
reviewed by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over education matters ends on June 30th of the final year of the member's term. 
(6) A vacancy on the commission must be filled in the same manner as the 
position in which the vacancy occurs is regularly filled, including, if applicable, a 
review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
education matters. A vacancy is filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. 
If the person serves more than 1 112 years of an unexpired term, that service 
counts as one term for purposes of the limitation set forth in subparagraph (3). 
(7) A member of the commission may be removed for failure to perform the 
duties of office, as specified in commission rules, by a majority vote of the state 
board. 
B. 
The commission shall adopt rules for the organization and operation of the 
commission and to develop, implement and refine its procedures for authorizing 
public charter schools in this State. Rules adopted by the commission pursuant to this 
paragraph before June 30, 2014 are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A. Beginning June 30, 2014, rules adopted by the commission 
pursuant to this paragraph are major substantive rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
C. The commission shall, in keeping with its authorizing responsibilities: 
(1) Engage professional and administrative staff, separate from the department; 
(2) Convene stakeholder groups and engage experts; and 
(3) Seek and receive state, federal and private funds. 
D. The commission is the sole authorizer in this State for virtual public charter 
schools, except that a local school board may authorize a public charter school within 
its jurisdiction that integrates online and on-site instruction. 
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §2405, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
9. Transition period. The public charter school program set out in this chapter must 
begin with a 10-year transition period, beginning on the effective date of this chapter. 
During the transition period, the commissioner shall register the charters approved by all 
authorizers in chronological order by date of approval under this chapter. During the 
transition period, only 10 public charter schools may be approved by authorizers other 
than loeal sehool boards the commission. Once the cap is reached, the commissioner may 
not accept further registrations from authorizers other than loeal sehool boards the 
commission and only local school boards and collaboratives of local school boards may 
approve charters until the end of the transition period. 
This subsection is repealed July 1, 2022. 
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §2406, sub-§2, W, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
F. 
A request for proposals must require applications to provide or describe 
thoroughly, at a minimum, all of the following essential elements of the proposed 
public charter school plan: 
(1) The proposed public charter school's vision, including: 
(a) An executive summary; 
(b) The mission and vision of the proposed public charter school, including 
identification of the targeted student population and the community the 
school hopes to serve; and 
(c) Evidence of need and community support for the proposed public charter 
school, including infonnation on discussions with the school administrative 
unit where the public charter school will be located concerning recruitment 
and operations of the public charter school and possible collaboration with 
nearby school administrative units; 
(2) The proposed public charter school's governance plan, including: 
(a) Background infonnation on proposed board members and any assurances 
or certifications required by the authorizer; 
(b) Proposed governing bylaws; 
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(c) An organization chart that clearly presents the school's organizational 
structure, including lines of authority and reporting between the governing 
board, staff and any related bodies such as advisory bodies or parent and 
teacher councils, and any external organizations that will play a role in 
managing the school; 
(d) A clear description of the roles and responsibilities for the governing 
board, the school's leadership and management team and any other entities 
shown on the organization chart; 
(e) Identification of the proposed founding governing board members and, if 
identified, the proposed school leader or leaders; and 
(f) Background information on the school's leadership and management team, 
if identified; 
(3) The proposed public charter school's plan of organization, including: 
(a) 
The location or geographic area of the school and the proposed 
catchment area of the school, which may not be designed to exclude areas 
with high rates of poverty, English language learners, at-risk students or 
students with disabilities; 
(b) The grades to be served each year for the full term of the charter; 
(c) Minimum, planned and maximum enrollment per grade per year for the 
term of the charter; 
(d) The school's proposed calendar and sample daily schedule; 
(e) Plans and timelines for student recruitment and enrollment, including 
lottery procedures; 
(f) Explanations of any partnerships or contractual relationships central to 
the school's operations or mission; 
(g) The school's proposals for providing transportation, food service and 
other significant operational or ancillary services; 
(h) A facilities plan, including backup or contingency plans if appropriate; 
(i) 
A detailed school start-up plan, identifying tasks, timelines and 
responsible individuals; and 
G) A closure protocol, outlining orderly plans and timelines for transitioning 
students and student records to new schools and for appropriately disposing 
of school funds, property and assets in the event of school closure; 
(4) The proposed public charter school's finances, including: 
(a) A description of the school's financial plan and policies, including 
financial controls and audit requirements; 
(b) Start-up and 3-year budgets with clearly stated assumptions; 
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(c) Start-up and first-year cash-flow projections with clearly stated 
assumptions; 
(d) Evidence of anticipated fund-raising contributions, if claimed in the 
application; and 
(e) A description of the insurance coverage the school proposes to obtain; 
(5) The proposed public charter school's student policy, including: 
(a) The school's plans for identifying and successfully serving students with 
the wide range of learning needs and styles typically found in noncharter 
public schools of the sending area; 
(b) The school's plans for compliance with applicable laws, rules and 
regulations; and 
(c) The school's student discipline plans and policies, including those for 
special education students; 
(6) The proposed public charter school's academic program, including: 
(a) A description of the academic program aligned with the statewide system 
of learning results under section 6209; 
(b) A description of the school's instructional design, including the type of 
learning environment, such as classroom-based or independent study, class 
size and structure, curriculum overview, teaching methods and research 
basis; 
(c) The school's plan for using internal and external assessments to measure 
and report student progress on the measures and metrics of the performance 
framework developed by the authorizer in accordance with section 2409; and 
(d) A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs and how they 
will be funded and delivered; and 
(7) The proposed public charter school's staff policy, including: 
(a) A staffing chart for the school's first year and a staffing plan for the term 
of the charter; 
(b) Plans for recruiting and developing school leadership and staff; 
(c) 
The school's leadership and teacher employment policies, including 
performance evaluation plans; and 
(d) Opportunities and expectations for parent involvement. 
Sec. 10. 20-A MRSA §2408, sub-§l, ~A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A"to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
A. After approval of an application and no later than 60 days prior to the opening 
date of the public charter school, the authorizer and the governing board shall execute 
a charter contract that sets forth: 
(1) 
Performance provisions describing the academic and operational 
performance expectations and measures by which the public charter school will 
bejudged;aae 
(2) 
Administrative provIsIOns articulating the administrative relationship 
between the authorizer and the public charter school, including each party's rights 
and duties7; and 
(3) A description of the standards and processes under which the authorizer may 
pursue revocation of the charter contract. 
Sec. 11. 20-A MRS A §2410, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
2. Notification of unsatisfactory performance or compliance. In the event that a 
public charter school's performance or legal compliance appears unsatisfactory, the 
authorizer shall promptly ft6tify provide written notice to the public charter school of 
perceived problems and provide reasonable opportunity for the school to remedy the 
problems. 
Sec. 12. 20-A MRS A §2411, sub-§6, ~C is enacted to read: 
C. The authorizer shall include in the charter contract a description of the standards 
and processes under which the authorizer may pursue revocation of the charter 
contract. The processes must comply with section 2410, subsection 2 and provide an 
opportunity for the public charter school to be heard prior to a decision on revocation. 
Sec. 13. 20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§4, ,n, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
D. A public charter school must have a plan that describes how the school will meet 
provide transportation for its students who reside in the school's catchment area and 
what assistance, if any, it will provide to meet the transportation needs of its students 
who reside outside the catchment area of the school. 
Sec. 14. 20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§5, ~C, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
C. Governing boards are subject to and must comply with sections 1002 and 1004 in 
the same manner as school boards and Title 1, chapter 13. 
Sec. 15. 20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§5, ~~G and H are enacted to read: 
G. Public charter schools are subject to the same federal and state laws, regulations 
and rules regarding special education as noncharter public schools. Notwithstanding 
any law or rule to the contrary, a public charter school takes over responsibility for 
special education for a student transferring to the public charter school on the first 
day of school at the public charter school unless the public charter school and the 
transferring school agree to an earlier date. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
H. A public charter school student's eligibility for and the funding of the student's 
career and technical education programming are the same as if the student were 
attending school within that student's resident school administrative unit. 
If the 
public charter school is located outside the student's resident school administrative 
unit, the public charter school is responsible for ensuring that the student is 
transported to the career and technical education center or to a location from which 
the student will be transported to the career and technical education center by the 
resident school administrative unit, the career and technical education region or the 
career and technical education center. 
Sec. 16. 20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§6, ,C, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
C. Teachers at a public charter school may choose to bargain collectively or form a 
professioFlal grOlip in accordance with this paragraph. 
(1) Teachers who are employees of the public charter school have the same 
rights as other teachers in public education to organize and bargain collectively. 
Bargaining units at the public charter school must be separate from other 
bargaining units, such as a district bargaining unit. Staff at noncharter public 
schools converting to public charter schools have a right to employment benefits 
as stated in applicable collective bargaining agreements or they may vote to be 
represented in alternative ways. 
(2) A teacher who is aFl employee of the pliblic charter school may choose to be 
part of a professioFlal grOlip that operates the iFlstrnctioFlal program liFlder aFl 
agreemeFlt with the pliblic charter sohool, formiFlg a partnership or prodlicer 
cooperative that the teachers oolleotiv:ely OWFl. 
(3) Teachers who are employees of the public charter school may not be required 
to be members of any existing collective bargaining agreement between a school 
administrative unit and its employees. A public charter school may not interfere 
with civil service laws or other applicable rules protecting the rights of 
employees to organize and be free from discrimination. 
Sec. 17. 20-A MRS A §2412, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 18. 20-A MRS A §2412-A is enacted to read: 
§2412-A. Audits 
1. 
External audit. A public charter school shall adhere to generally accepted 
accounting principles and shall annually engage an external auditor to do an independent 
audit of the public charter school's finances. The public charter school shall submit the 
audit to its authorizer and to the department. The audit must include the following: 
A. An accounting of all revenues and expenditures; 
B. A determination of whether proper budgetary controls are in place; 
C. A determination of whether the annual financial data submitted to the authorizer 
and to the department is correct; 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
D. An audit of any federal programs in accordance with applicable federal law; and 
E. Any other information that the commissioner requires. 
2. Fiscal year. The fiscal year of an audit is from July 1st to June 30th, except that 
audits of federal programs must conform to federal requirements. 
3. Auditors. Audits must be conducted by qualified certified public accountants or 
public accountants licensed by the Board of Accountancy. 
4. Initial report to commissioner. On or before November 1st, a public charter 
school shall provide the commissioner with: 
A. A written determination of whether proper budgetary controls are in place; 
B. A written determination of whether the annual financial data submitted to the 
department is correct, including submission of an audited reconciliation of the annual 
financial data prepared and certified by the external auditor; and 
C. A written determination as to whether the public charter school has complied with 
applicable provisions of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act. 
5. Records. A public charter school shall keep financial records and accounts for 7 
years after the end of the fiscal year and shall make them available to the external auditor 
and any other person upon request. 
6. Report to commissioner. Within 6 months after the end of an audit under 
subsection 1, a public charter school shall provide the commissioner with: 
A. An audit report; 
B. An accounting of all revenues and expenditures; 
C. Written assurance that the audit has been conducted in accordance with applicable 
state and federal laws relating to financial and compliance audits; and 
D. Any other information that the commissioner requires. 
7. Corrective action plan. The commissioner shall review the annual audit under 
subsection 1 of a public charter school and determine if the public charter school should 
develop a corrective action plan for any audit issues specified in the annual audit. A 
corrective action plan must address those audit findings and management comments and 
recommendations that have been identified by the commissioner, and the plan must be 
filed within the time line established by the commissioner. The public charter school shall 
provide assurances to the commissioner that the public charter school has implemented its 
corrective action plan within the time line established by the commissioner. If the public 
charter school has not met the conditions for filing a corrective action plan or providing 
assurances that the public charter school has implemented the plan, the commissioner 
may withhold monthly subsidy payments from the public charter school in accordance 
with section 680 I-A. 
Sec. 19. 20-A MRSA §2413, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, IS 
amended to read: 
2. Revenue provisions. All state State and local operating funds follow each student 
to the public charter school attended by the student, except that the school administrative 
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unit of the student's residence may retain up to 1 % of the per-pupil allocation described in 
this subsection to cover associated administrative costs. 
A. For each public charter school student, the school administrative unit in which the 
student resides must forward the per-pupil allocation to the public charter school 
attended by the student as follows. 
(1) The per-pupil allocation amount is the EPS per-pupil rate for the school 
administrative unit in which the student resides, as calculated pursuant to section 
15676, based on the student's grade level and adjusted as appropriate for 
economic disadvantage and limited English proficiency pursuant to section 
15675, subsections 1 and 2. For transportation expenses, the average per pupil 
eJ(pense in eaeh sehool administrati'le 1:lnit of residenee m1:lst se eale1:llated and a 
per pupil alloeation of that am01:lnt Hl1:lst se forwarded to the p1:lslie eharter 
sehoo} attended on the same sasis as the per pupil alloeations for operating funds. 
Debt service and capital outlays may not be included in the calculation of these 
per-pupil allocations. 
The department shall adopt rules governing how to 
calculate these per-pupil allocations, including those for gifted and talented 
programs, vocational, technical and career education programs, anti targeted 
funds for assessment technology and kindergarten to grade 2 programs. 
(2) For students attending public charter schools, the school administrative unit 
of residence shall forward the per-pupil allocations described in subparagraph (I) 
directly to the public charter school attended. These per-pupil allocations must 
be forwarded to each public charter school on a quarterly basis, as follows. For 
each fiscal year, allocations must be made in quarterly payments on September 
1st, December 1st, March 1st and June 1st. The September payment must be 
based on the number of students enrolled or anticipated to be enrolled in the 
public charter school at the opening of school for that school year, which may not 
exceed the maximum enrollment approved in the charter contract for that year 
unless a waiver is obtained from the authorizer. In February of the school year, if 
the number of students is higher or lower than the number of students at the 
beginning of the school year, adjustments must be made in the June payment, 
with 50% of the annual per-pupil allocation added for additional students or 
subtracted if the total number of students is lower. 
(3) For transportation expenses, the average per-pupil expense in each school 
administrative unit of residence must be calculated and an amount equal to a 
proportion, up to but not more than 100%, of that per-pupil allocation amount 
must be forwarded to the public charter school attended on the same basis as the 
per-pupil allocations for operating funds. 
The percentage of that per-pupil 
expense must be determined by the authorizer of the public charter school and 
must be based on the cost of transportation services provided by the public 
charter school to the student. 
(4) 
The department shall pay to the public charter school any additional 
allocation assigned to the public charter school for gifted and talented students 
pursuant to section 15681-A, subsection 5 in the year in which the allocation is 
assigned. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
A school administrative unit is not required to send funds to a public charter school 
for a student enrolled in the public charter school's preschool or prekindergarten 
program if the school administrative unit of the student's residence does not offer that 
program to its own residents. 
B. The following provisions govern special education funding. 
(1) 
For each enrolled special education pupil, a public charter school must 
receive the average additional allocation calculated by the department under 
section 15681-A, subsection 2 for each school administrative unit for its special 
education students. These allocations must be paid on the same basis as the per-
pupil allocations for operating funds. 
(2) The school administrative unit of residence shall pay directly to the public 
charter school any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a disability 
attending the public charter school in proportion to the level of services for the 
student with a disability that the public charter school provides directly or 
indirectly. 
(3) 
The department shall pay to the public charter school any additional 
allocation assigned to the public charter school because of a high-cost in-district 
placement in accordance with section 15681-A, subsection 2, paragraph B in the 
year in which the allocation is assigned. 
(4) The school administrative unit of residence shall pay to the public charter 
school any additional allocation assigned to the unit because of a high-cost out-
of-district placement in accordance with section 15681-A, subsection 2, 
paragraph C in the year in which the allocation is assigned to the school 
administrative unit. 
(5) If the public charter school in which the student is enrolled was authorized by 
a local school board or a collaborative of local school boards, the funds under this 
paragraph must be paid to the local school board that authorized the public 
charter school or to the designated school board of the collaborative, rather than 
directly to the public charter school. 
The local school board or boards that 
authorized the charter school are responsible for ensuring that special education 
services are provided to students in that school, pursuant to section 2412, 
subsection 2, paragraph A, 
C. 
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the State shall send applicable 
federal funds directly to public charter schools attended by eligible students. Public 
charter schools with students eligible for funds under Title I of the federal Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 United States Code, Section 6301 et seq. 
must receive and use these funds in accordance with federal and state law. During 
the first year of operation, a public charter school must receive Title I funds on the 
basis of an estimated enrollment of eligible students, as agreed with its authorizer. 
D. A public charter school may receive gifts and grants from private sources in any 
manner that is available to a school administrative unit. 
E. 
A public charter school may not levy taxes or issue bonds secured by tax 
revenues. 
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F. In the event of the failure of the school administrative unit to make payments 
required by this section, the Treasurer of State shall deduct from any state funds that 
become due to the school administrative unit. 'an amo~nt equal to the unpaid 
obligation. The Treasurer of State shall pay over the amount to the public charter 
school upon certification by the department. The department shall adopt rules to 
implement the provisions of this paragraph. 
G. Any money received by a public charter school from any source and remaining in 
the school's accounts at the end of any budget year remains in the school's accounts 
for use by the school during subsequent budget years and may not revert to the 
authorizer or to the State. 
R. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit any person or organization 
from providing funding or other assistance for the establishment or operation of a 
public charter school. The governing board of a public charter school may accept 
gifts, donations or grants of any kind made to the school and expend or use such gifts, 
donations or grants in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the donor except 
that a gift, donation or grant may not be accepted if subject to a condition that is 
contrary to any provision of law or tenn of the charter contract. 
I. Publie ehaFter sehools have the same aeeess as other flofleharter publie sehools to 
aflY risk pool for high eost speeial edaeatiofl senliees afld to aflY fufld for fiseal 
emergeflsies. 
1. The department may establish a method of transferring funds to public charter 
schools that is an alternative to the method provided in this subsection.' 
SUMMARY 
The amendment does the following: 
1. It changes the name of the charter school commission from "State Charter School 
Commission" to "Maine Charter School Commission" and allows reimbursement to 
commission members for all expenses; 
2. It defines "catchment area" as the geographic area from which a public charter 
school expects to draw a majority of its students; 
3. It adds a provision regarding catchment areas to the criteria a proposed public 
charter school's plan of organization must meet and clarifies that a catchment area may 
not be designed to exclude areas with high rates of poverty, English language learners, at-
risk students or students with disabilities; 
4. It clarifies that the tenn of a member of the commission who is not a member of 
the State Board of Education ends on June 30th of the final year of the member's tenn and 
that grounds for removing a member of the commission must be specified in the 
commission rules; 
5. It provides that beginning June 30, 2014 commission rules are major substantive 
rules; 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 607, L.D. 1762 
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6. It removes authority for teachers at a public charter school to form a professional 
group that operates an instructional program under an agreement with the public charter 
school; 
7. It adds detailed requirements for the auditing of public charter schools; 
8. 
It specifies the reimbursement procedures for high-cost in-district special 
education placement, high-cost out-of-district special education placement and gifted and 
talented students served by a public charter school; and 
9. 
It removes a provision regarding access to risk pools for high-cost special 
education services and fiscal emergencies. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT