LAC 28:CXXXIX.503. Eligibility to Apply for a Type 2 Charter School

A. To be eligible to submit a type 2 charter school application, a group must: 1. be organized as a nonprofit corporation under Chapter 2 of Title 12 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Nonprofit Corporation Law; 2. be recognized as or have applied for recognition as a nonprofit corporation under applicable federal law; 3. have a board of directors with a minimum of three members and at least 60 percent of the board of directors shall reside in the state of Louisiana; a. At the time of application, all new operators and/or experienced operators not currently operating a charter school in Louisiana must undergo a criminal background check for each board member identified with the submission of the full application. The request for information shall be from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information and the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning whether the person has been arrested for, convicted of, or pled nolo contendere to any criminal offense. b. Subsequent board member nominations or replacements shall also be required to undergo the required criminal background check upon appointment. c. For charter operators that operate multiple schools in different communities, the application shall include a board governance participation plan for input from the community where the proposed school will be geographically located. The plan shall include how the board of directors will engage the community, how board members can be accessed, and how the community can participate in board meetings. 4. include three or more persons holding valid and current Louisiana teaching certificates in the development of the charter application; 5. except as provided in Subsections B, C, or F of this Section, has submitted a proposal for a type 1 or type 3 charter school to the local school board in whose jurisdiction the charter school is proposed to be located which: a. has been denied in the most recent application cycle, as evidenced by a motion or resolution of the local school board; or b. has conditions that have been placed on it that are unacceptable to the group proposing the charter as provided for in Paragraph D of this Section; or c. the local school board has not complied with the requirements of a local charter authorizer, as provided for in §311.C of this bulletin; or d. the local school board has made no final decision in accordance with the timelines established by BESE for consideration of type 1 and 3 charter applications by local school boards as provided for in §311 of this bulletin; and e. have met the requirement set forth in §507, if proposing to convert from a pre-existing school to a charter school. 6. Applicants who have been denied or have withdrawn an application during an application cycle to BESE for a Type 2 or 4 charter may not reapply to BESE until the subsequent calendar year, provided the applicant meets eligibility criteria in accordance with this Part. B. Applicants applying to operate a charter school which is to be located in a local school system in academic crisis, as defined in Bulletin 111, §4901, are not required to submit a type 1 charter application to such local school system and may submit a proposal for a type 2 charter school directly to BESE. C. If the local school system in which a charter group intends to apply to operate a type 1 or type 3 charter school has received a letter grade designation of “D” or “F” or any variation thereof, then a proposal for a type 2 charter school may be made to BESE. D. Type 2 Charter Appeals Based on Conditions 1. Each approved charter may be approved subject to whatever other resolutory or suspensive conditions the chartering authority requires provided the charter school agrees with the conditions. 2. If the local board seeks to amend the charter contract in a manner that is unacceptable to the charter school or if the charter school finds requested terms for charter renewal to be unacceptable, the charter school may petition BESE to convert to a Type 2 charter school. 3. A charter school may request a Type 2 charter appeal based on: a. resolutory or suspensive conditions imposed on the approved charter by the local school board that the charter school does not agree with; or b. amendments being imposed on the charter contract or new terms in the renewal contract by the local school board that the charter school finds to be unacceptable. 4. A charter school requesting an appeal under this section shall do so in accordance with timelines and procedures developed by the department. 5. The state superintendent may disqualify a charter school from submitting a type 2 charter appeal under this section to BESE if the conditions imposed by the chartering authority are required by state law or policy. E. The eligibility criteria set forth in this section shall be the minimum criteria necessary to be approved for a type 2 charter. F. Applicants applying to operate a charter school with a corporate partner, as defined in §3903 of this Part, are not required to submit a Type 1 charter application to such local school system and may submit a proposal for a Type 2 charter school directly to BESE.