Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 6 - EDUCATION (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-87-104) › Subtitle 2 - ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION GENERALLY (§§ 6-10-101 — 6-28-206) › Chapter 21 - SCHOOL PROPERTY AND SUPPLIES (§§ 6-21-101 — 6-21-817) › Subchapter 8 - ARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMIC FACILITIES PROGRAM ACT (§§ 6-21-801 — 6-21-817) › Section 6-21-815 - Right of access to unused or underutilized public school facilities - Definition

(a)
As used in this section and in §
6-21-816
, "public charter school" means:
(1)
An open-enrollment public charter school as defined in §
6-23-103
;
(2)
An eligible entity as defined in §
6-23-103
that applies to authorize, amend, or renew a charter for an open-enrollment public charter school; and
(3)
A legal entity that is affiliated with or acting on behalf of an open-enrollment public charter school or eligible entity.
(b)
Annually by March 1 the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall publish a list on its website identifying all unused or underutilized public school facilities.
(c)
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a school district shall make unused or underutilized public school facilities available for lease or purchase for no more than fair market value to any public charter school located within the geographical boundaries of the school district.
(2)
Once a public school facility or other real property is identified by the division as an unused or underutilized public school facility, a public charter school may give notice of its intent to purchase or lease the public school facility or other real property from the school district no earlier than the later of:
(A)
The date the public school facility or other real property is first identified by the division as an unused or underutilized public school facility; or
(B)
If the public school facility or other real property has already been designated in the school district's facilities master plan to be reused, renovated, or demolished as part of a specific committed project or planned new construction project, two (2) years from the date the public school facility or other real property is first identified by the division as an unused or underutilized public school facility.
(3)
(A)
If the public charter school and school district are unable to agree on terms and execute the sale or lease within sixty (60) days of the notice of intent, the public charter school may petition the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation for an order directing the school district to lease the public school facility to the public charter school for fair market value.
(B)
The lease shall be for a term of between five (5) and thirty (30) years, as determined by the public charter school.
(4)
The commission may deny the petition if the school district makes an affirmative showing by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(A)
The public school facility, or the property to which the public school facility is attached, will be needed by the school district to accommodate future growth of the school district; or
(B)
Use of the public school facility or other real property by a public charter school would have a materially negative impact on the overall educational environment of an educational campus located within five hundred feet (500') of the public school facility or other real property sought to be leased.
(d)
(1)
Upon the execution of a lease, the public charter school shall be responsible for all direct expenses related to the public school facility, including without limitation:
(A)
Utilities;
(B)
Insurance;
(C)
Maintenance;
(D)
Repairs; and
(E)
Renovation.
(2)
The school district shall remain responsible for any bonded debt incurred or mortgage liens that attached to the public school facility or other real property before a sale or lease.
(3)
The public charter school shall take no actions that have a materially negative impact on:
(A)
Any bond rights attached to the public school facility or other real property; or
(B)
Any tax-exempt financing related to the public school facility or other real property.
(4)
The public charter school shall indemnify the school district for any mortgages, liens, or debt that attach to the public school facility or other real property by the public charter school's action or inaction.
(e)
The terms of a lease executed under this section shall provide that the lease shall be cancelled and be of no effect if:
(1)
The public charter school fails to use the public school facility or other real property for direct student instruction or administrative purposes within two (2) years of the effective date of the lease;
(2)
The public charter school closes, has its charter revoked, or has its charter application denied by the authorizer; or
(3)
The public charter school initially uses the public school facility or other real property, but then leaves the public school facility or other real property unused for more than one hundred eighty (180) days.
(f)
(1)
The division may classify a school district that fails to comply with this section as being in academic facilities distress under §
6-21-811
.
(2)
The charter school authorizer may take action under §
6-23-105
on the charter of a public charter school that fails to comply with this section.
(g)
The commission shall promulgate rules to implement this section, including without limitation a standard lease form.
Added by Act 2017, No. 542,§ 3, eff. 8/1/2017.