Montana Code 20-6-806. Charter contract — terms
20-6-806. Charter contract — terms. (1) An initial charter must be granted for a term of 5 operating years, commencing on July 1 of the first school year the public charter school will operate. An approved public charter 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 the board of public education. The board of public education may grant or deny the extension depending on the school’s circumstances.
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-6-806
- 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.
- Board of public education: means the board created by Article X, section 9(3), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1507. See Montana Code 20-6-803
- Charter contract: means a fixed-term, renewable contract between a governing board of a public charter school and the board of public education that outlines the roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for each party to the contract. See Montana Code 20-6-803
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- district: means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the provisions of this title to provide public educational services under the jurisdiction of the trustees prescribed by this title. See Montana Code 20-6-101
- Governing board: means the elected board of trustees of a public charter school district exercising supervision and control over a charter school or the local school board that is a party to the charter contract with the board of public education and that exercises supervision and control over a charter school pursuant to the charter contract. See Montana Code 20-6-803
- Public charter school: means a public school that:
(a)has autonomy over decisions including but not limited to matters concerning finance, personnel, scheduling, curriculum, and instruction as defined in a charter contract;
(b)is governed by a local school board or, in the case of a governing board other than a local school board, by the governing board of the charter school district of which the charter school is a part;
(c)is established and operated under the terms of a charter contract;
(d)allows parents choose to enroll their children;
(e)admits students 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 general supervision of the board of public education in accordance with its charter contract; and
(i)if the school is a high school, establishes graduation requirements and has authority to award degrees and issue diplomas. See Montana Code 20-6-803
- 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
(2)Within 45 days of approval of a charter proposal, the board of public education and the governing board of the approved public charter school district shall execute a charter contract that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance expectations and measures by which the public charter school will be judged.
(3)The performance provisions of the charter contract may be refined or amended by mutual agreement after the public charter school is operating and has collected baseline achievement data for its enrolled students.
(4)The charter contract must be signed by the presiding officers of the board of public education and the public charter school’s governing board.
(5)A public charter school may not commence operations without a charter contract executed in accordance with this section and approved in an open meeting of the board of public education.
(6)The board of public education may establish reasonable preopening requirements or conditions to monitor the startup progress of a newly approved public charter 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.