HB1449: relative to the requirements for filing a charter school application.

HB 1449 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

12Mar2014… 0779h

2014 SESSION

14-2145

04/03

HOUSE BILL 1449

AN ACT relative to the requirements for filing a charter school application.

SPONSORS: Rep. Frazer, Merr 13; Rep. Myler, Merr 10; Rep. Gorman, Hills 31; Rep. Grassie, Straf 11; Rep. Burke, Straf 2

COMMITTEE: Education

ANALYSIS

This bill makes changes to the educational mission requirement of a chartered public school application.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12Mar2014… 0779h

14-2145

04/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen

AN ACT relative to the requirements for filing a charter school application.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Chartered Public Schools; Application. Amend RSA 194-B:3, II(a) to read as follows:

(a) Educational mission statement, which provides the foundation for all other elements in the application and which shall include details of the specific purpose and goals of the school. The educational mission statement shall count for not less than 50 percent in the criteria for evaluating a chartered public school application. The mission statement shall make a clear and documented case that the proposed school will serve a student population in a geographic area where chartered public schools are not present or reasonably accessible, or will meet a need not currently being met in the school district in which it will be located by broadening learning opportunities for an underserved student population, offering an alternative curriculum, employing an alternative and innovative methodology, or some combination of the same. The application shall demonstrate that the school’s academic program will vary from those of the other schools in the district serving the same grade levels as follows:

(1) If innovation is cited in the educational mission statement as a justification for applying for a charter, there shall be a clear and specific description of the innovations to be used and evidence that such innovations do not duplicate those already in use in the other public schools in the district.

(2) If specialization in a certain disciplinary area, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects, or the arts, is cited in the educational mission statement as a justification for applying for a charter, there shall be a clear and specific description of the academic program for each area of specialization and evidence that the program will differ from those in the other public schools in the district.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.