Charter schools: accountability.

(1) The Charter Schools Act of 1992 (Charter Schools Act) authorizes any one or more persons to submit a petition to the governing board of a school district to establish a charter school that operates independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing specified goals. The act prohibits the governing board of a school district from denying a charter petition unless it makes one of several specified written factual findings, including, among others, that the petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive descriptions of several specified items. This bill would add various items to that list requiring reasonably comprehensive descriptions, as specified. (2) The Charter Schools Act allows a charter petitioner to submit a charter petition that was denied by the governing board of a school district to the county board of education, and requires the county board to review the petition. If the county board then denies the petition, the act allows the petitioner to submit the petition to the State Board of Education. The act also allows a charter petitioner to submit a renewal application pursuant to these same appeal procedures if the application is denied by the chartering authority. This bill would delete the authority for a petitioner to appeal a petition denial or renewal denial to the state board. (3) The Charter Schools Act authorizes a charter petition to be submitted directly to a county board of education in the same manner as a petition submitted directly to a school district if the proposed charter school will serve pupils for whom the county office of education would otherwise be responsible for providing direct education and related services. This bill would delete that provision.