Subdivision 1.Teachers.

A charter school, excluding its preschool or prekindergarten program established under section 124E.06, subdivision 3, must employ or contract with necessary teachers, as defined by section 122A.06, subdivision 2, or contract with a cooperative formed under chapter 308A to provide necessary teachers, who hold valid licenses to perform the particular service for which they are employed in the school. A charter school’s preschool or prekindergarten program must employ or contract with teachers knowledgeable in early childhood curriculum content, assessment, native and English language programs, and instruction established under section 124E.06, subdivision 3. The commissioner may reduce the charter school’s state aid under section 127A.43 if the school employs a teacher who is not appropriately licensed or approved by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. The school may employ necessary employees who are not required to hold teaching licenses to perform duties other than teaching and may contract for other services. The school may discharge teachers and nonlicensed employees. The charter school board is subject to section 181.932 governing whistle-blowers. When offering employment to a prospective employee, a charter school must give that employee a written description of the terms and conditions of employment and the school’s personnel policies.

Subd. 2.Administrators.

(a) A person, without holding a valid administrator’s license, may perform administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership duties. The board of directors shall establish qualifications for all persons who hold administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership roles. The qualifications shall cover at least: instruction and assessment; human resource and personnel management; financial management; legal and compliance management; effective communication; and board, authorizer, and community relationships. The board of directors shall use those qualifications as the basis for job descriptions, hiring, and performance evaluations of those who hold administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership roles.

(b) The board of directors and an individual who does not hold a valid administrative license and who serves in an administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership position shall develop a professional development plan. The school’s annual report must include public personnel information documenting the professional development plan.

Subd. 3.Collective bargaining.

Employees of the board of directors of a charter school may, if otherwise eligible, organize under chapter 179A and comply with its provisions. The board of directors of a charter school is a public employer, for the purposes of chapter 179A, when forming one or more bargaining units at the school. Bargaining units at the school must be separate from any other units within an authorizing district, except that bargaining units may remain part of the appropriate unit within an authorizing district if the employees of the school, the board of directors of the school, the exclusive representative of the appropriate unit in the authorizing district, and the board of the authorizing district agree to include the employees in the appropriate unit of the authorizing district. The board of directors of a charter school with employees organized under this subdivision must comply with sections 471.6161 governing group insurance and 471.895 governing gifts.

Subd. 4.Teacher and other employee retirement.

(a) Teachers in a charter school must be public school teachers for the purposes of chapters 354 and 354A governing the Teacher Retirement Act.

(b) Except for teachers under paragraph (a), employees in a charter school must be public employees for the purposes of chapter 353 governing the Public Employees Retirement Act.

Subd. 5.Group health insurance.

(a) A charter school board with at least 25 employees or a teacher cooperative of licensed teachers providing instruction under a contract between a school and a cooperative that provides group health insurance coverage shall:

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(1) request proposals for group health insurance coverage from a minimum of three sources at least every two years; and

(2) notify employees covered by the group health insurance coverage before the effective date of the changes in the group coverage policy contract.

(b) A charter school board or a cooperative of teachers that provides group health insurance coverage must establish and publish on its website the policy for purchasing group health insurance coverage. A charter school board policy must include a sealed proposal process, which requires all proposals to be opened at the same time. Upon opening the proposals according to the school or cooperative policy, the proposals become public data under chapter 13.

Nothing in this subdivision supersedes the right of an exclusive representative to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment.

Subd. 6.Leave to teach in a charter school.

If a teacher employed by a district makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to teach at a charter school, the district must grant the leave. The district must grant a leave not to exceed a total of five years. Any request to extend the leave shall be granted only at the discretion of the school board. The district may require a teacher to make the request for a leave or extension of leave before February 1 in the school year preceding the school year in which the teacher intends to leave, or February 1 of the calendar year in which the teacher’s leave is scheduled to terminate. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision and section 122A.46, subdivision 7, governing employment in another district, the leave is governed by section 122A.46, including, but not limited to, reinstatement, notice of intention to return, seniority, salary, and insurance.

During a leave, the teacher may continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the Teachers’ Retirement Association account under chapters 354 and 354A, consistent with subdivision 4.