Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 701 - EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CABINET - BOARD OF EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › Chapter 8 - Charter Schools › Section 701 KAR 8:020 - Evaluation of charter school authorizers

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				158.070,
				158.649,
				160.1590,
				160.1591,
				160.1592,
				160.1593,
				160.1594,
				160.1595,
				160.1596,
				160.1597,
				160.1598,
				160.1599,
				161.141
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				160.1596 requires the Kentucky Board of
				Education to promulgate an administrative regulation to establish the process
				to be used to evaluate the performance of a charter school authorizer, based
				upon the requirements of
				KRS
				160.1590 to
				160.1599 and
				161.141, and the actions to be
				taken in response to failures in performance. This administrative regulation
				establishes requirements for the competence, performance, and evaluation
				process for charter school authorizers.
Section
			 1. Definitions.
(1)
			 "Academically behind" means at risk of academic failure.
(2) "Achievement gap" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(1) and
			 158.649(1).
(3) "Adult student" means a student who is
			 eighteen (18) years or older who is still eligible for enrollment and
			 attendance at a school program pursuant to
			 KRS
			 158.030 and
			 158.100.
(4) "Applicant" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(2).
(5) "Areas of exceptionality" means
			 categories of disabilities of students with special needs.
(6) "At risk" means at risk of academic
			 failure.
(7) "At risk of academic
			 failure" means:
(a) Attendance at a school
			 identified pursuant to
			 KRS
			 160.346(2) for targeted
			 support and improvement;
(b)
			 Attendance at a school identified pursuant to
			 KRS
			 160.346(3) for comprehensive
			 support and improvement;
(c)
			 Current achievement two (2) or more grade levels below the student's age
			 group;
(d) Demonstration of poor
			 academic skills, such as failure of two (2) or more subjects in two (2) of the
			 past four (4) school years;
(e)
			 Consistent absence or tardy and absence twenty-five (25) or more unexcused
			 student attendance days in the last two (2) school years and an overall grade
			 average below a C;
(f) Suspension
			 (in-school suspension or home suspension) two (2) or more times during the past
			 school year and an overall grade average below a C;
(g) Family history of dropping out or lack of
			 family support for the student in the completion of school;
(h) Little or no participation in school
			 cocurricular or extracurricular programs;
(i) Below grade level in reading or math
			 skills;
(j) Indication of being
			 socially isolated; or
(k) An
			 applicant's definition for this term in the applicant's authorizer approved
			 charter application, pursuant to
			 KRS
			 160.1594(2).
(8) "Authorizer" or "public charter school
			 authorizer" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(15).
(9) "Authorizer's board of directors" means:
(a) The board of education for the local
			 school district for an authorizer defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(15)(a);
			 and
(b) The boards of education
			 that have collaborated to set up a regional public charter school for an
			 authorizer defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(15)(b).
(10) "Bilingual students" means students who
			 are fluent in English and a foreign language, which may include American Sign
			 Language.
(11) "Charter" means
			 charter contract.
(12) "Charter
			 application" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(3).
(13) "Charter contract" or "contract" is
			 defined by KRS
			 160.1590(4).
(14) "Charter school" means a public charter
			 school.
(15) "Charter school board
			 of directors" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(5).
(16) "Cocurricular programs" means school
			 programs that have activities that are unequivocally instructional in nature,
			 directly related to the instructional program, and scheduled to minimize
			 absences from classroom instruction.
(17) "Comprehensive learning experiences" or
			 "Expanded learning opportunities" means daily, rigorous learning experiences
			 that build on a student's talents, challenge the student's skills and
			 understandings, and develop the student's ability to reason, problem solve,
			 collaborate, and communicate to prepare the student for success in
			 postsecondary.
(18) "Conversion
			 public charter school" or "conversion charter school" is defined in
			 KRS
			 160.1590(6).
(19) "Days" means calendar days calculated
			 pursuant to KRS
			 446.030.
(20) "District of location" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(7).
(21) "Education service provider" is defined
			 by KRS
			 160.1590(8).
(22) "Emancipated youth" means a student
			 under the age of eighteen (18) who is or has been married or has by court order
			 or otherwise been freed from the care, custody, and control of the student's
			 parents.
(23) "Enrollment
			 preference" means the priority of the student application from other students'
			 applications pursuant to
			 KRS
			 160.1591(5).
(24) "Extracurricular programs" means
			 voluntary programs that are offered by a school but are not part of the
			 required school program.
(25)
			 "Fiscal year" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.450.
(26) "Foreign entity" is defined by
			 KRS
			 14A.1-070(10).
(27) "Gifted" means a gifted and talented
			 student as defined by
			 KRS
			 157.200(1)(n).
(28) "Governing board of the authorizer"
			 means the authorizer's board of directors.
(29) "Governing body of the authorizer" means
			 the authorizer's board of directors.
(30) "Grade" or "Grade Level" means a single
			 elementary, middle, or high school grade of school.
(31) "Knowingly" means that a person knew
			 that in authorizing, ordering, or carrying out an act or omission that the act
			 or omission constituted a violation of a statute or administrative
			 regulation.
(32) "Local school
			 district" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(10).
(33) "Parent" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(11).
(34) "Persistently low-achieving public
			 schools" or "Persistently low-achieving noncharter public schools" means
			 noncharter schools identified for comprehensive support and improvement
			 pursuant to KRS
			 160.346.
(35) "Person with custody or charge" means
			 any adult, pursuant to
			 KRS
			 159.010, who falls within the definition for
			 interested person or entity as defined by
			 KRS
			 387.010(2) for an interested
			 person or entity and with whom the student resides.
(36) "Primary enrollment preference" means
			 any enrollment preference other than a secondary enrollment
			 preference.
(37) "Public charter
			 school" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(14).
(38) "School level" or "Level" or
			 "Educational level" means the configuration of grade levels that form
			 elementary, middle, and high schools.
(39) "Secondary enrollment preference" means
			 the priority of a student application for enrollment in a public charter
			 school, after acceptance of all the student applications with primary
			 enrollment preference, if the public charter school's capacity has not been
			 exceeded.
(40) "Start-up public
			 charter school" means a public charter school that did not exist as a
			 noncharter public school prior to becoming a public charter school.
(41) "Student" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(18) and includes
			 any person who is entitled to enrollment and attendance at a school program as
			 provided in KRS
			 158.030 and
			 158.100.
(42) "Student attendance day" is defined by
			 KRS
			 158.070(1)(e).
(43) "Students with special needs" or
			 "Special needs students" means:
(a)
			 Exceptional children and youth students, as defined in
			 KRS
			 157.200, who are eligible pursuant to the
			 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
			 20 U.S.C. secs.
			 1400 et seq. for an individual education
			 plan, as described in
			 KRS
			 157.196, or an individual education program,
			 as described in KRS
			 158.281; or
(b) Students who are eligible for services
			 under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
			 29 U.S.C. sec.
			 794, to prevent substantial limitation of one
			 (1) or more major life activities.
(44) "Substantial hardship" means a
			 significant, unique, and demonstrable economic, technological, legal, or other
			 impact on a local school district that impairs the district's ability to
			 continue to successfully meet the requirements of educational programs or
			 services for the district's students.
(45) "Superintendent" means the local school
			 district employee tasked with the duties established in
			 KRS
			 160.370.
(46) "Traditionally underperforming" means at
			 risk of academic failure.
(47)
			 "Unilateral imposition of conditions" means the authorizer has placed or
			 attempted to place conditions or requirements that are not required by
			 KRS
			 160.1590 to
			 160.1599,
			 161.141, or 701 KAR Chapter 8:
(a) On the applicant in the authorizer's
			 formal action approving the charter application; or
(b) On the charter school in the charter
			 contract or an amendment.
(48) "Unilaterally imposed conditions" or
			 "Unilateral conditions" or "Conditions unilaterally imposed" means conditions
			 or requirements not required by
			 KRS
			 160.1590 to
			 160.1599,
			 161.141, or 701 KAR Chapter 8
			 that the authorizer places or attempts to place:
(a) On the applicant in the authorizer's
			 formal action approving the charter application; or
(b) On the charter school in the charter
			 contract or an amendment.
(49) "Urban academy" is defined by
			 KRS
			 160.1590(19).
(50) "Year", "academic year", or "school
			 year" means school year as established in
			 KRS
			 158.050.