Title 28A — Title 28A COMMON SCHOOL PROVISIONS

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Applicant" means a nonprofit corporation that has submitted an application to an authorizer. The nonprofit corporation must be either a public benefit nonprofit corpor…

A charter school established under this chapter:(1) Is a public school that is:(a) Open to all children free of charge and by choice; and(b) Operated separately from the common school system as an alternative to traditional common schools;(2) May offer any program or course of st…

(1) To fulfill its duty to manage and operate the charter school, and to execute the terms of its charter contract, a charter school board may:(a) Hire, manage, and discharge charter school employees in accordance with the terms of this chapter and the school's charter contract;(…

(1) A charter school must operate according to the terms of its charter contract and the provisions of this chapter.(2) A charter school must:(a) Comply with local, state, and federal health, safety, parents' rights, civil rights, and nondiscrimination laws applicable to school d…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a charter school may not limit admission on any basis other than age group, grade level, or enrollment capacity. A charter school is open to any student regardless of his or her location of residence.(2) A charter school m…

(1) School districts must provide information to parents and the general public about charter schools located within the district as an enrollment option for students.(2) If a student who was previously enrolled in a charter school enrolls in another public school in the state, t…

(1) The Washington state charter school commission is established as an independent state agency whose mission is to:(a) Authorize high quality charter public schools throughout the state, especially schools that are designed to expand opportunities for at-risk students;(b) Ensur…

The following entities may be authorizers of charter schools:(1) The commission may exercise the authority granted under this section for charter schools located anywhere in the state; and(2) A school district board of directors may exercise the authority granted under this secti…

(1) The state board of education shall establish an annual application and approval process and timelines for school districts seeking approval to become charter school authorizers. The initial process and timelines must be established by July 1, 2016.(2) At a minimum, each appli…

(1) Authorizers are responsible for:(a) Holding the charter school board of each authorized charter school accountable for: Ensuring that students in the charter school have opportunities for academic success; and exercising effective educational, operational, and financial overs…

(1) The state board of education shall establish a statewide formula for an authorizer oversight fee, which must be calculated as a percentage of the state operating funding distributed to charter schools under RCW 28A.710.220 to each charter school under the jurisdiction of an a…

(1) The state board of education is responsible for overseeing the performance and effectiveness of all authorizers.(2) Persistently unsatisfactory performance of an authorizer's portfolio of charter schools, a pattern of well-founded complaints about the authorizer or its charte…

(1)(a) Each authorizer must annually issue and broadly publicize a solicitation for proposals for charter school applicants by the date established by the state board of education under RCW 28A.710.140.(b) Each authorizer's solicitation for proposals must:(i) Present the authoriz…

(1) The state board of education must establish an annual statewide timeline for charter application submission and approval or denial that must be followed by all authorizers.(2) In reviewing and evaluating charter applications, authorizers shall employ procedures, practices, an…

(1) A maximum of forty charter public schools may be established under this chapter over the five-year period commencing with April 3, 2016. No more than eight charter schools may be established in any year during the five-year period, except that if in any year fewer than eight …

(1) The purposes of the charter application submitted under RCW 28A.710.130 are to present the proposed charter school's academic and operational vision and plans, and to demonstrate and provide the authorizer with a clear basis for evaluating the applicant's capacities to execut…

(1) The performance provisions within a charter contract must be based on a performance framework that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance indicators, measures, and metrics that will guide an authorizer's evaluations of a charter school within its jurisdic…

(1) Except as provided otherwise by this section, RCW 28A.300.0711 through 28A.300.0714 govern school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and apply to charter schools established under this chapter.(2) RCW 28A.300.0711(4) governs school operation and management under R…

(1) Each authorizer must continually monitor the performance and legal compliance of the charter schools under its jurisdiction, including collecting and analyzing data to support ongoing evaluation according to the performance framework in the charter contract.(2) An authorizer …

(1) Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, the commission shall promote the effective administration and operation of charter schools through the provision of technical assistance to requesting charter schools, charter school boards, or both.(2) The principal objective of techni…

(1)(a) By November 1, 2023, the commission shall establish and maintain on its website an online system for students who attend charter schools, and the parents of those students, to submit complaints about the operation and administration of one or more charter schools, includin…

Each charter school shall prominently post and maintain on its website information about the school's process and instructions for submitting complaints about the operation and administration of the charter school by its enrolled students and their parents. This information must …

(1) A charter contract may be renewed by the authorizer, at the request of the charter school, for successive five-year terms. The authorizer, however, may vary the term based on the performance, demonstrated capacities, and particular circumstances of a charter school, and may g…

(1) An authorizer may revoke a charter contract at any time, or may refuse to renew it, if the authorizer determines that the charter school did any of the following or otherwise failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter:(a) Committed a material and substantial violati…

(1) Before making a decision to not renew or to revoke a charter contract, an authorizer must develop a charter school termination protocol to ensure timely notification to parents, orderly transition of students and student records to new schools, as necessary, and proper dispos…

(1) Charter schools must report student enrollment in the same manner, and based on the same definitions of enrolled students and annual average full-time equivalent enrollment, as other public schools. Charter schools must comply with applicable reporting requirements to receive…

(1) Charter schools are eligible for state funding for school construction. However, such appropriations may not be made from the common school construction fund.(2) If a school district decides to sell or lease the public school facility or property pursuant to RCW 28A.335.040 o…

Years of service in a charter school by certificated instructional staff shall be included in the years of service calculation for purposes of the statewide salary allocation schedule under RCW 28A.150.410. This section does not require a charter school to pay a particular salary…

(1) By March 1st of each year beginning in the first year after there have been charter schools operating for a full school year, the state board of education, in collaboration with the commission, must issue a report on the performance of the state's charter schools during the p…

The charter schools oversight account is hereby created in the state treasury. All moneys received by the commission under RCW 28A.710.110 must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used on…

The state legislature shall, at each regular session in an odd-numbered year, appropriate from the Washington opportunity pathways account for the current use of charter public schools amounts as determined in accordance with RCW 28A.710.280, and amounts authorized under RCW 28A.…

(1) The legislature intends that state funding for charter schools be distributed equitably with state funding provided for other public schools.(2) For eligible students enrolled in a charter school established and operating in accordance with this chapter, the superintendent of…

(1) Members of the commission must file personal financial affairs statements with the public disclosure commission.(2) Members of a charter school board must file personal financial affairs statements with the public disclosure commission.[ 2016 c 241 s 130.]

(1) The eligibility of a charter school student to participate in interschool athletic activities or other interschool extracurricular activities governed by the Washington interscholastic activities association is subject to rules adopted by the Washington interscholastic activi…

The administrator of a charter public school governed by this chapter must comply with the notification provisions of RCW 28A.320.163 that apply to superintendents, designees of superintendents, and principals.[ 2020 c 167 s 3.]

(1) A function of the school employees' benefits board established under RCW 41.05.740 is to design and approve insurance benefit plans and to establish eligibility criteria for participation in insurance benefit plans by January 1, 2020. In order for the school employees' benefi…

RCW 28A.320.1241, 28A.400.345, 28A.320.1242, and 28A.320.124 govern school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and apply to charter schools established under this chapter.[ 2021 c 38 s 7.]Notes:Findings—Intent—2021 c 38: See note following RCW 28A.400.345.

RCW 28A.343.100 and 28A.415.445 govern school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and apply to charter schools established under chapter 28A.710 RCW [this chapter].[ 2021 c 197 s 9.]Notes:Finding—Intent—2021 c 197: See note following RCW 28A.415.443.

RCW 28A.160.185 governs school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and applies to charter schools established under this chapter.[ 2021 c 234 s 4.]Notes:Intent—Effective date—2021 c 234: See notes following RCW 28A.160.185.

RCW 28A.600.510 (1) and (2), related to provision of information about the office of the education ombuds, governs school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and apply to charter schools established under this chapter.[ 2022 c 222 s 4.]Notes:Intent—2022 c 222: See note…

RCW 28A.230.305, related to arts instruction, governs school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and applies to charter schools with more than 200 enrolled students established under this chapter.[ 2022 c 250 s 4.]Notes:Intent—2022 c 250: See note following RCW 28A.230…

RCW 28A.183.040 and 28A.183.050 govern school operation and management under RCW 28A.710.040 and apply to charter schools established under this chapter.[ 2022 c 107 s 7.]Notes:Findings—Intent—2022 c 107: See note following RCW 28A.183.010.

This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [April 3, 2016].[ 2016 c 241 s 302.]