22.1-212.9 - Review of public charter school applications.

§ 22.1-212.9. Review of public charter school applications.

A. Public charter school applications shall be received and reviewed by theBoard of Education and local school boards or, in the case of a regionalpublic charter school, by all of the relevant school boards, as provided insubsection C.

The Board of Education and each local school board shall establish proceduresfor receiving, reviewing, and, in the case of local school boards, rulingupon applications. The Board of Education and local school boards shall posttheir procedures on their websites and make a copy of the proceduresavailable to all interested parties upon request. If any such board finds thepublic charter school application is incomplete, the board shall request thenecessary information from the charter applicant.

B. To provide appropriate opportunity for input from parents, teachers,citizens, and other interested parties and to obtain information to assistlocal school boards in their decisions to grant or deny a public charterschool application, local school boards shall establish a procedure forpublic notice and to receive comment on public charter school applications. Alocal school board shall give at least 14 days' notice of its intent toreceive public comment on an application.

C. Prior to submission of an application to a local school board for review,the public charter school applicant shall submit its proposed charterapplication to the Board of Education for its review, comment, and adetermination as to whether the application meets the approval criteriadeveloped by the Board. The Board's review shall examine such applicationsfor feasibility, curriculum, financial soundness, and other objectivecriteria as the Board may establish, consistent with existing state law. TheBoard's review and comment shall be for the purpose of ensuring that theapplication conforms with such criteria, and the Board shall make adetermination as to whether the application meets the approval criteriadeveloped by the Board. Nothing in this section shall prevent a local schooldivision from working with a charter school applicant before the applicationis submitted to the Board of Education for review and recommendation.

(1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2001, cc. 438, 469; 2002, c. 851;2004, c. 530; 2010, cc. 393, 650.)