Section 17-1729-A - Causes for nonrenewal or termination(a) During the term of the charter or at the end of the term of the charter, the local board of school directors may choose to revoke or not to renew the charter based on any of the following: (1) One or more material violations of any of the conditions, standards or procedures contained in the written charter signed pursuant to section 1720-A. (2) Failure to meet the requirements for student performance set forth in 22 Pa. Code Ch. 5 (relating to curriculum) or subsequent regulations promulgated to replace 22 Pa.Code Ch. 5 or failure to meet any performance standard set forth in the written charter signed pursuant to section 1716-A. (3) Failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management or audit requirements.(4) Violation of provisions of this article.(5) Violation of any provision of law from which the charter school has not been exempted, including Federal laws and regulations governing children with disabilities.(6) The charter school has been convicted of fraud.(a.1) When a charter school located in a school district of the first class is in corrective action status and seeks renewal of its charter, if the governing body of the school district of the first class renews the charter, it may place specific conditions in the charter that require the charter school to meet specific student performance targets within stated periods of time subject to the following: (i) The performance targets and the periods of time in which the performance targets must be met shall be reasonable.(ii) The placement of conditions in a charter as specified in this subsection shall not be considered an adjudication and may not be appealed to the State Charter School Appeal Board.(iii) If the charter school fails to meet the performance targets within the stated period of time, such failure shall be sufficient cause for revocation of the charter.(b) A member of the board of trustees who is convicted of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude shall be immediately disqualified from serving on the board of trustees.(c) Any notice of revocation or nonrenewal of a charter given by the local board of school directors of a school district shall state the grounds for such action with reasonable specificity and give reasonable notice to the governing board of the charter school of the date on which a public hearing concerning the revocation or nonrenewal will be held. The local board of school directors shall conduct such hearing, present evidence in support of the grounds for revocation or nonrenewal stated in its notice and give the charter school reasonable opportunity to offer testimony before taking final action. Formal action revoking or not renewing a charter shall be taken by the local board of school directors at a public meeting pursuant to the act of July 3, 1986 (P.L. 388, No. 84) , known as the "Sunshine Act," after the public has had thirty (30) days to provide comments to the board. All proceedings of the local board pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to 2 Pa.C.S. Ch. 5 Subch. B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies). Except as provided in subsection (d), the decision of the local board shall not be subject to 2 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 Subch. B (relating to judicial review of local agency action).(d) Following the appointment and confirmation of the appeal board, but not before July 1, 1999, the charter school may appeal the decision of the local board of school directors to revoke or not renew the charter to the appeal board. The appeal board shall have the exclusive review of a decision not to renew or revoke a charter. The appeal board shall review the record and shall have the discretion to supplement the record if the supplemental information was previously unavailable. The appeal board may consider the charter school plan, annual reports, student performance and employe and community support for the charter school in addition to the record. The appeal board shall give due consideration to the findings of the local board of directors and specifically articulate its reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with those findings in its written decision(e) If the appeal board determines that the charter should not be revoked or should be renewed, the appeal board shall order the local board of directors to rescind its revocation or nonrenewal decision.(f) Except as provided in subsection (g), the charter shall remain in effect until final disposition by the appeal board.(g) In cases where the health or safety of the school's pupils, staff or both is at serious risk, the local board of school directors may take immediate action to revoke a charter.(h) All decisions of the charter school appeal board shall be subject to appellate review by the Commonwealth Court.(i) When a charter is revoked, not renewed, forfeited, surrendered or otherwise ceases to operate, the charter school shall be dissolved. After the disposition of any liabilities and obligations of the charter school, any remaining assets of the charter school, both real and personal, shall be distributed on a proportional basis to the school entities with students enrolled in the charter school for the last full or partial school year of the charter school. In no event shall such school entities or the Commonwealth be liable for any outstanding liabilities or obligations of the charter school.(j) When a charter is revoked or is not renewed, a student who attended the charter school shall apply to another public school in the student's school district of residence. Normal application deadlines will be disregarded under these circumstances. All student records maintained by the charter school shall be forwarded to the student's district of residence.1949, March 10, P.L. 30, No. 14, art. XVII-A, § 1729-A, added 1997, June 19, P.L. 225, No. 22, § 1, imd. effective. Amended 2004, July 4, P.L. 536, No. 70, § 19, imd. effective; 2008, July 9, P.L. 846, No. 61, § 14, retroactive effective 7/1/2008.