HAR §8-517-3. Transfer application and process

(a) The board shall develop an application form and process for charter transfers in accordance with this chapter. The charter transfer application and approval process shall provide for and include, at a minimum, the following elements: (1) The submission of a charter transfer application to the board; (2) An opportunity for the public to comment on any proposed charter transfer; and (3) A timely decision by the board on whether to allow the transfer. (b) The following requirements shall apply to any and all charter transfers: (1) No charter school shall be allowed to transfer its charter contract to another authorizer in an attempt to reduce the level of oversight or accountability to which the charter school is currently subject or to avoid possible revocation or nonrenewal of its charter contract; (2) No authorizer shall be allowed to transfer a charter contract to another authorizer in an attempt to improve the overall performance of its own portfolio of charter schools or to avoid possible revocation or nonrenewal of the charter contract; (3) An authorizer shall not agree to accept a charter transfer nor shall it deny a charter transfer based on any financial incentives a larger portfolio of schools may provide to that authorizer; (4) A charter school whose authorizer has initiated a closure of the school shall not be allowed to secure a charter contract from another authorizer; (5) Existing charter schools shall not be allowed to apply for a charter school under another authorizer as a way of de facto transferring oversight of the school from one authorizer to another and circumventing the charter transfer process; provided that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent existing charter schools from applying to another authorizer for replication or expansion purposes; (6) Authorizers shall share among themselves information on charter schools that are transferring between them; and (7) All charter transfers shall be in the best interest of students. [Eff FEB 18, 2017] (Auth: HRS §302A-1112) (Imp: HRS §§302D-11, 302D-20)