§302D-1 Definitions. Whenever used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Applicant governing board" means the initial governing board that is:
"Authorizer" means an entity established under this chapter with chartering authority to review charter applications, decide whether to approve or deny charter applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants, oversee public charter schools, and decide whether to authorize, renew, deny renewal of, or revoke charter contracts. The term may include the commission when appropriate.
"Board" means the board of education.
"Charter application" means a proposal from an applicant to an authorizer to enter into a charter contract whereby the proposed school obtains public charter school status.
"Charter contract" or "charter" means a fixed-term, bilateral, renewable contract between a public charter school and an authorizer that outlines the roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for each party to the contract.
"Charter school" or "public charter school" refers to those public schools and their respective governing boards, as defined in this section, that are holding current charter contracts to operate as charter schools under this chapter, including start-up and conversion charter schools, and that have the flexibility and independent authority to implement alternative frameworks with regard to curriculum, facilities management, instructional approach, virtual education, length of the school day, week, or year, and personnel management.
"Commission" means the state public charter school commission established pursuant to [section] 302D-3 as a statewide authorizer.
"Conversion charter school" means:
"Computer science" shall have the same meaning as in section 302A-101.
"Computer science content" shall have the same meaning as in section 302A-101.
"Computer science courses" shall have the same meaning as in section 302A-101.
"Department" means the department of education.
"Department school" means any school that falls within the definition of "public schools" as defined in section 302A-101 and that is not a charter school.
"Executive director" means the executive director of the state public charter school commission.
"Governing board" means the independent board of a public charter school that is party to the charter contract with the authorizer that:
"Nonprofit organization" means a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt entity that:
"Organizational viability" means that a charter school:
"Pre-opening charter school" means a charter school that has not yet satisfactorily fulfilled the authorizer's pre-opening assurance as required under section 302D-14.5 or has not yet commenced full operations as a charter school during its first full academic year.
"Start-up charter school" means a new charter school established under section 302D-13 that is not a conversion charter school. [L 2012, c 130, pt of §2; am L 2013, c 159, §3; am L 2014, c 99, §3; am L 2015, c 114, §1; am L 2021, c 158, §5]