Section 20-2-2063.2 - Charter systems(a) The state board shall be authorized to enter into a charter with a local board to establish a local school system as a charter system.(b) A local board seeking to create a charter system must submit a petition to the state board. Prior to submitting such petition, the local board shall: (1) Adopt a resolution approving the proposed charter system petition;(2) Conduct at least two public hearings and provide notice of the hearings in the same manner as other legal notices of the local board; and(3) Send a notice to each principal within the local school system of the hearings with instructions that each school shall distribute the notice to faculty and instructional staff members and to the parent or guardian of each student enrolled in the school. The local board may revise its proposed charter system petition, upon resolution, as a result of testimony at the public hearings or for other purposes.
(c) Prior to approval or denial of a charter petition for a charter system, the state board shall receive and give all due consideration to the recommendation and input from the Office of District Flexibility established in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-2069. The state board shall approve the charter if the state board finds, after receiving input from the Office of District Flexibility, that the petition complies with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures promulgated pursuant to Code Section 20-2-2063 and the provisions of this title, is in the public interest, and promotes school level governance. A charter for a charter system shall include the interventions, sanctions, and loss of governance consequences contained in Code Section 20-14-41. A charter for a charter system shall require that the local school system has not been designated as a high-risk local school system by the Department of Audits and Accounts pursuant to Code Section 20-2-67, or if it has been designated as a high-risk local school system, the charter shall require that the local school system has a written corrective action plan in place and that local school system board members and appropriate personnel participate in required training to address the deficiencies.(d) All schools within an approved charter system shall be system charter schools except as otherwise provided in subsections (f) and (g) of this Code section.(e)(1) Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly or other available funding, the state board, after receiving input and recommendations from the Office of District Flexibility shall disburse planning grants to local school systems which desire to become charter systems. Such grants will be disbursed in accordance with any applicable guidelines, policies, and requirements established by the state board.(2) Subject to specific appropriations by the General Assembly for this purpose, the state board shall disburse implementation grants in the amount of $125,000.00 or such other amount as determined by the state board to each charter system. The state board shall be authorized to approve up to five petitions for charter systems during fiscal year 2008, and may approve up to a maximum number of petitions in following years as may be established pursuant to board rules and as subject to availability of funding for implementation grants.(f) A system charter school shall not be precluded from petitioning to become a conversion charter school, in accordance with Code Section 20-2-2064, not subject to the terms of the system charter. In the event a system charter school becomes a conversion charter school, the system charter shall be amended to reflect that such school is no longer bound by the system charter.(g) An existing conversion or start-up charter school within a local school system which is petitioning to become a charter system shall have the option of continuing under its own existing charter, not subject to the terms of the system charter, or of terminating its existing charter, upon agreement by the local board and state board, and becoming subject to the system charter as a charter system school.Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 459,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by 2020 Ga. Laws 389,§ 1-12, eff. 7/1/2021.Amended by 2017 Ga. Laws 27,§ 3-3, eff. 7/1/2017.Added by 2007 Ga. Laws 116,§ 5, eff. 7/1/2007.