1.This Act may be cited as
the Charter School Quality Act of
2011
.
2.Section 5201 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221) is amended—
(1)in paragraph (3), by striking
and
after the semicolon;
(2)in paragraph (4),
by striking the period and inserting ; and
; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(5)promoting
high-quality professional authorizing standards and
practices.
.
3.Section 5202 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221a) is
amended—
(1)in subsection
(c)(2)(C), by striking section 5204(f)(6)(B)
and inserting
section 5205
; and
(2)in subsection
(e)—
(A)in paragraph (1), by striking
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (3)
and inserting
subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), or (I) of paragraph
(3)
;
(B)in paragraph (2),
by inserting ensures that each authorized public chartering agency holds
every charter school that the agency oversees to student performance standards
set forth in the charter school’s performance contract, holds each public
chartering agency accountable under the evaluation system developed under
paragraph (3)(G), and
after that the State
; and
(C)in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the
following:
(D)The State
has—
(i)a
statewide authorized public chartering agency with authority to—
(I)offer a statewide
authorizing option for charter applicants;
(II)assume
authorizing responsibilities from another authorizer that has been determined
through a State’s authorizer oversight process, as described in subparagraph
(G), to be underperforming; or
(III)become the
authorizer, upon appeal, for a school for which another authorizer has refused
to approve a charter application that the statewide authorized public
chartering agency determines deserves to be authorized under the statewide
authorized public chartering agency’s own application process; and
(ii)a funding
mechanism in place to adequately support the operations of its statewide
authorized public chartering agency.
(E)The State works
cooperatively with its authorized public chartering agency to streamline data
collection and reporting and avoid duplicative reporting requirements.
(F)The State ensures
that authorized public chartering agencies follow high-quality standards that
reflect research-based best practices.
(G)The State has
developed a transparent process for accrediting, training, or evaluating the
effectiveness of the State’s authorized public chartering agencies, or each
authorized public chartering agency in the State has implemented such a
process, including—
(i)a
process for annually reviewing and periodically evaluating the performance of
the authorized public chartering agencies in the State in authorizing or
approving public charter schools, including a process that enables the
authorized public chartering agencies to respond to any State concerns or
deficiencies regarding such authorizing or approving; and
(ii)any other
necessary policies to ensure effective charter school authorizing in the State
that are developed in conjunction with the State’s charter school community in
accordance with the principles of quality charter school authorizing, as
determined by the State in consultation with the charter school community and
stakeholders.
(H)The State’s
authorizer evaluation process described in subparagraph (G) is accessible to
the public via online methods that school leaders, policymakers, parents, and
other stakeholders can easily understand. The evaluation system tracks each
authorizer’s performance over time and in determining each authorizer’s annual
rating, examines such factors as the following:
(i)The academic and
financial (including annual audits) performance of all operating public charter
schools overseen by the authorizer, according to the performance expectations
for public charter schools set forth in each charter as well as determined by
the State standardized assessments administered to all public schools and any
additional testing mutually agreed upon between each school and authorizer
clearly delineated in each school’s charter.
(ii)The status of
each authorizer’s public charter school portfolio, identifying all public
charter schools in each of the following categories:
(I)Approved (but not
yet open).
(II)Operating.
(III)Renewed.
(IV)Transferred.
(V)Revoked.
(VI)Not
renewed.
(VII)Voluntarily
closed.
(VIII)Never
opened.
(iii)Any additional
factors necessary to ensure authorizers continually work towards building
charter school quality.
(I)The State has
laws, policies, or procedures in place requiring that student academic
achievement for all groups of students described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) be
a primary factor in authorizer decisions around charter school approval,
renewal, and revocation, and the State has a record of, or demonstrated
commitment to, effective authorizer oversight and revoking or not renewing the
charters of low-performing charter
schools.
.
4.Improving
subgrant procedures and authorizer transparencySection 5203 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221b) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(b)—
(A)in paragraph
(2)(C), by striking and
after the semicolon;
(B)by redesignating
paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
(C)by inserting
after paragraph (2) the following:
(3)describe the
criteria that the State educational agency will use to award subgrants to
eligible applicants to ensure high-quality charter schools, including through
competitive subgrant competitions; and
;
and
(D)in paragraph (4)
(as redesignated by subparagraph (B)), by striking subparagraph (D) and
inserting the following:
(D)a description of
the administrative relationship between the charter school and the authorized
public chartering agency, including—
(i)how the school
and authorizer will report publically the authorizing functions (such as
approval, monitoring, and oversight) provided by the authorized public
chartering agency to the public charter schools authorized or approved by such
agency, including the authorizer’s operating costs and expenses detailed in
annual audited financial statements that conform with generally accepted
accounting principles; and
(ii)how the services
purchased (such as accounting, transportation, or data management and analysis)
from the public chartering agency by the public charter schools authorized or
approved by such agency will be reported publically, including an itemized
accounting of the actual costs of these
services;
;
and
(2)in subsection
(d)(1), by striking subsection (b)(3)
and inserting
subsection (b)(4)
.
5.Section 5204 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221c) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)—
(A)in paragraph (6), by striking
and
after the semicolon;
(B)in paragraph (7)—
(i)by striking
subsection (f)(6)(B),
and inserting section 5205
;
and
(ii)by striking the period and inserting
; and
; and
(C)by adding at the end the following:
(8)the rigor of the State’s subgrant
competition to ensure that subgrants are awarded only to high-quality
applicants that are likely to create high-performing charter
schools.
;
(2)in subsection
(b)(7), by striking subsection (f)(6)(B),
and inserting
section 5205
; and
(3)in subsection
(f)—
(A)in paragraph (1),
by striking paragraph (6)
and inserting section
5205
; and
(B)by striking
paragraph (6).
6.Section 5205 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221d) is
amended—
(1)in subsection (a), in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking The Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal
year the greater of 5 percent or $5,000,000 of the amount appropriated to carry
out this subpart, except that in no fiscal year shall the total amount so
reserved exceed $10,000,000, to carry out the following activities:
and
inserting The Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year the necessary
sums from amounts appropriated to carry out this subpart, except that in no
fiscal year shall the total amount so reserved exceed 15 percent of such amount
appropriated, to carry out the following activities:
; and
(2)by adding at the end the following:
(d)
(1)From amounts appropriated to carry out this subpart for a
fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not more than $10,000,000 to award
grants to entities to carry out activities under this subsection.
(2)In
order to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an entity
shall—
(A)be—
(i)a
charter school that has been in operation for not less than 3 consecutive years
and has demonstrated overall success, including—
(I)substantial
progress in improving student academic achievement;
(II)high levels of
parent satisfaction; and
(III)the management
and leadership necessary to overcome initial start-up problems and establish a
thriving, financially viable charter school;
(ii)a high-quality
public chartering agency;
(iii)a nonprofit
entity with a track record of success in meeting the objective of this
subsection; or
(iv)a consortium of
entities described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii); and
(B)submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require.
(3)Criteria for
awarding grantsThe Secretary shall award grants under this
subsection on the basis of—
(A)the quality of
the applicant and application;
(B)the capacity of
the applicant to execute the application; and
(C)the scale of the
expected impact of the application.
(4)An
entity that receives a grant under this subsection shall use funds received
under the grant to assist other schools, authorized public chartering agencies,
charter support organizations, and eligible entities in the grant recipient’s
State and in other States in adopting successful innovations, or to disseminate
information about innovations, through activities such as—
(A)assisting other
entities with the planning, start-up, and improvement of 1 or more new public
schools, including charter schools, or new authorized public chartering
agencies;
(B)developing
partnerships designed to improve student academic achievement, including
implementation and improvement plans for partnerships funded with dissemination
grants;
(C)developing
systems or materials that promote increased student achievement and are based
on successful practices at charter schools, authorized public chartering
agencies, charter support organizations, or eligible entities;
(D)conducting
evaluations and developing materials that document successful practices at
charter schools, authorized public chartering agencies, charter support
organizations, or eligible entities and that are designed to improve student
performance in other schools; and
(E)training,
regarding the innovative practices developed at the original site, for
personnel that are adopting innovations or successful
practices.
.
7.Section 5210 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221i) is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(1)—
(A)by striking
subparagraph (I) and inserting the following:
(I)agrees to conduct
an annual, independent, and timely financial audit that is filed with the
charter school’s authorized public chartering agency and carried out in
accordance with applicable Federal and State
requirements;
;
(B)in subparagraph
(K), by striking and
after the semicolon;
(C)by striking
subparagraph (L) and inserting the following:
(L)has a written,
legally-binding performance contract or charter with an authorized public
chartering agency in the State that—
(i)includes a
description of how student performance and growth will be measured in the
charter school pursuant to State assessments that are required of other schools
and pursuant to any other assessments mutually agreeable to the authorized
public chartering agency and the charter school;
(ii)describes the
obligations and responsibilities of the school and of the authorized public
chartering agency;
(iii)identifies the
material aspects of the charter school’s operations;
(iv)describes the
school's educational objectives and outcomes and how such objectives and
outcomes will be measured;
(v)articulates the
autonomies the charter school will have; and
(vi)is negotiated
and executed by 2 separate legal entities, the charter school and the
authorized public chartering agency, capable of entering into and enforcing the
contract or charter; and
;
and
(D)by adding at the
end the following:
(M)is governed by a
governing board that is independent from the authorized public chartering
agency and has autonomy over decisions, including matters concerning finance,
personnel, scheduling, curriculum, and
instruction.
;
and
(2)in paragraph
(4)—
(A)in the heading,
by inserting or
authorizer
after chartering
agency
;
(B)by inserting
or authorizer
after chartering agency
; and
(C)by adding after
charter school
the following: and that uses student
performance and growth, at the whole school level and for each subgroup
described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) served by the school as a primary factor
when assessing the performance of charter schools and when determining whether
to renew or revoke a school’s charter, in addition to other
criteria
.