AB 1360: Charter schools: pupil admissions, suspensions, and expulsions.

The Charter Schools Act of 1992 provides for the establishment and operation of charter schools and requires a petition for the establishment of a charter school to contain comprehensive descriptions of various procedures, including the charter schools admission, suspension, and expulsion procedures.

This bill would require the charter petition, regardless of the chartering authority, to contain a comprehensive description of procedures by which a pupil can be suspended, expelled, or otherwise involuntarily removed from the charter school that includes an explanation of how the charter school will comply with specified federal and state constitutional due process requirements. The bill would require a school district to provide certain information to a charter school in which a pupil was enrolled and who was expelled or left the charter school if the pupil is subsequently expelled or leaves the school district. To the extent the bill would impose additional requirements on local educational agencies and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires, if the number of pupils who wish to attend a charter school exceeds capacity, for attendance to be determined by a public random drawing and requires admission preferences to be extended to pupils currently attending the charter school and pupils who reside in the school district or county, depending on the applicable chartering authority. Existing law provides that other preferences may be permitted by a chartering authority on an individual school basis, as specified.

This bill would require other preferences to be approved by the chartering authority at a public hearing and would require the preferences to comply with specified other requirements. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill also would authorize a charter school to encourage parental involvement, but would require the charter school to notify the parents and guardians of applicant pupils and currently enrolled pupils that parental involvement is not a requirement for acceptance to, or continued enrollment at, the charter school.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 47605 of the Education Code proposed by AB 830 to be operative only if this bill and AB 830 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.