160.420. Employment provisions--school district personnel may accept charter school position and remain district employees, effect--noncertificated instructional personnel, employment, supervision.
Employment provisions--school district personnel may accept charterschool position and remain district employees,effect--noncertificated instructional personnel, employment,supervision.
160.420. 1. Any school district in which charter schools may beestablished under sections 160.400 to 160.420 shall establish a uniformpolicy which provides that if a charter school offers to retain theservices of an employee of a school district, and the employee accepts aposition at the charter school, an employee at the employee's option mayremain an employee of the district and the charter school shall pay to thedistrict the district's full costs of salary and benefits provided to theemployee. The district's policy shall provide that any teacher who acceptsa position at a charter school and opts to remain an employee of thedistrict retains such teacher's permanent teacher status and retains suchteacher's seniority rights in the district for three years. The schooldistrict shall not be liable for any such employee's acts while an employeeof the charter school.
2. A charter school may employ noncertificated instructionalpersonnel; provided that no more than twenty percent of the full-timeequivalent instructional staff positions at the school are filled bynoncertificated personnel. All noncertificated instructional personnelshall be supervised by certificated instructional personnel. A charterschool that has a foreign language immersion experience as its chiefeducational mission, as stated in its charter, shall not be subject to thetwenty-percent requirement of this subsection but shall ensure that anyteachers whose duties include instruction given in a foreign language havecurrent valid credentials in the country in which such teacher received hisor her training and shall remain subject to the remaining requirements ofthis subsection. The charter school shall ensure that all instructionalemployees of the charter school have experience, training and skillsappropriate to the instructional duties of the employee, and the charterschool shall ensure that a criminal background check and child abuseregistry check are conducted for each employee of the charter school priorto the hiring of the employee. The charter school may not employinstructional personnel whose certificate of license to teach has beenrevoked or is currently suspended by the state board of education.Appropriate experience, training and skills of noncertificatedinstructional personnel shall be determined considering:
(1) Teaching certificates issued by another state or states;
(2) Certification by the National Standards Board;
(3) College degrees in the appropriate field;
(4) Evidence of technical training and competence when such isappropriate; and
(5) The level of supervision and coordination with certificatedinstructional staff.
3. Personnel employed by the charter school shall participate in theretirement system of the school district in which the charter school islocated, subject to the same terms, conditions, requirements and otherprovisions applicable to personnel employed by the school district. Forpurposes of participating in the retirement system, the charter schoolshall be considered to be a public school within the school district, andpersonnel employed by the charter school shall be public school employees.In the event of a lapse of the school district's corporate organization asdescribed in subsections 1 and 4 of section 162.081, RSMo, personnelemployed by the charter school shall continue to participate in theretirement system and shall do so on the same terms, conditions,requirements and other provisions as they participated prior to the lapse.
4. The charter school and a local school board may agree by contractfor services to be provided by the school district to the charter school.The charter school may contract with any other entity for services. Suchservices may include but are not limited to food service, custodialservice, maintenance, management assistance, curriculum assistance, mediaservices and libraries and shall be subject to negotiation between thecharter school and the local school board or other entity. Documentedactual costs of such services shall be paid for by the charter school.
5. A charter school may enter into contracts with communitypartnerships and state agencies acting in collaboration with suchpartnerships that provide services to children and their families linked tothe school.
6. A charter school shall be eligible for transportation state aidpursuant to section 163.161, RSMo, and shall be free to contract with thelocal district, or any other entity, for the provision of transportation tothe students of the charter school.
7. (1) The proportionate share of state and federal resourcesgenerated by students with disabilities or staff serving them shall be paidin full to charter schools enrolling those students by their schooldistrict where such enrollment is through a contract for services describedin this section. The proportionate share of money generated under otherfederal or state categorical aid programs shall be directed to charterschools serving such students eligible for that aid.
(2) A charter school district shall provide the special servicesprovided pursuant to section 162.705, RSMo, and may provide the specialservices pursuant to a contract with a school district or any provider ofsuch services.
8. A charter school may not charge tuition, nor may it impose feesthat a school district is prohibited from imposing.
9. A charter school is authorized to incur debt in anticipation ofreceipt of funds. A charter school may also borrow to finance facilitiesand other capital items. A school district may incur bonded indebtednessor take other measures to provide for physical facilities and other capitalitems for charter schools that it sponsors or contracts with. Upon thedissolution of a charter school, any liabilities of the corporation will besatisfied through the procedures of chapter 355, RSMo.
10. Charter schools shall not have the power to acquire property byeminent domain.
11. The governing body of a charter school is authorized to acceptgrants, gifts or donations of any kind and to expend or use such grants,gifts or donations. A grant, gift or donation may not be accepted by thegoverning body if it is subject to any condition contrary to law applicableto the charter school or other public schools, or contrary to the terms ofthe charter.
(L. 1998 S.B. 781 § 8, A.L. 2001 H.B. 660, A.L. 2005 S.B. 287)Effective 7-01-06