Montana Code 20-11-112. Charter contract — terms
20-11-112. Charter contract — terms. (1) An initial charter contract must be granted for a term of 5 operating years, commencing on the community choice school‘s first day of operation. An approved choice school may delay its opening for 1 school year to plan and prepare for the school’s opening. If the school requires an opening delay of more than 1 school year, the school shall request an extension from its authorizer. The authorizer may grant or deny the extension depending on the school’s circumstances.
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-11-112
- Authorizer: means the commission or a local school board approved as an authorizer by the commission. See Montana Code 20-11-103
- Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
- Charter contract: means a fixed-term, renewable contract between a community choice school and an authorizer that outlines the roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for each party to the contract. See Montana Code 20-11-103
- choice school: means a public school that:
(a)has autonomy over decisions, including but not limited to matters concerning finance, board governance, personnel, scheduling, curriculum, and instruction;
(b)is governed by a governing board;
(c)is established and operated under the terms of a charter contract between the school's governing board and its authorizer;
(d)is a school in which parents choose to enroll their children;
(e)is a school that admits students based on capacity and then on the basis of a lottery if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated;
(f)provides a program of education that may include any or all grades from kindergarten through grade 12 and vocational education programs;
(g)operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives as defined in its charter contract;
(h)operates under the oversight of its authorizer in accordance with its charter contract; and
(i)establishes graduation requirements and has authority to award degrees and issue diplomas. See Montana Code 20-11-103
- Commission: means the community choice school commission provided for in 20-11-106. See Montana Code 20-11-103
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Governing board: means an independent volunteer board of trustees of a community choice school that is a party to the charter contract with the authorizer. See Montana Code 20-11-103
- school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
- Student: means a child who is eligible for attendance in a public school in the state. See Montana Code 20-11-103
- Virtual community choice school: means a community choice school headquartered in Montana that offers educational services predominantly through an online program. See Montana Code 20-11-103
(2)Within 45 days of approval of a choice school proposal, the authorizer and the governing board of the approved choice school shall execute a charter contract that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance expectations and measures by which the choice school will be judged and the administrative relationship between the authorizer and the choice school, including each party’s rights and duties.
(3)The performance provisions of the charter contract may be refined or amended by mutual agreement after the choice school is operating and has collected baseline achievement data for its enrolled students.
(4)The charter contract for a full-time virtual community choice school must include a description and agreement regarding the methods by which the school will:
(a)monitor and verify full-time student enrollment, student participation in a full course load, credit accrual, and course completion;
(b)monitor and verify student progress and performance in each course through regular, proctored assessments and submissions of coursework; and
(c)conduct parent-teacher conferences.
(5)The charter contract must be signed by the president of the authorizer’s governing body and the president of the choice school’s governing board. Within 10 days of executing a charter contract, the authorizer shall submit to the commission written notification of the charter contract execution, including a copy of the executed charter contract and any attachments.
(6)A community choice school may not commence operations without a charter contract executed in accordance with this section and approved in an open meeting of the authorizer’s governing body.
(7)Authorizers may establish reasonable pre-opening requirements or conditions to monitor the startup progress of a newly approved choice school to ensure that the school is prepared to open smoothly on the date agreed and to ensure that each school meets all building, health, safety, insurance, and other legal requirements for school opening.