School districts must involve charter schools in building funding plans

Districts considering ballot questions about school building projects must ask each charter school for a proposal about its building needs. The process concerns charter school building projects funded through district borrowing or property taxes. Proposals must explain the need, building standards, costs, completion time, management responsibilities, and funding plans. The formal process is not required when a district voluntarily seeks voter approval for charter school building funding and both sides agree on the proposal's contents. A proposal does not guarantee a place on the ballot or voter approval. Written requests must arrive at least 120 days before ballot approval and allow at least 45 days to respond. Charter schools must present proposals at a public board or planning committee meeting at least 45 days before ballot approval.

District planning committees must keep at least one seat for a charter school representative and clearly share their meeting schedules. These requirements cover long-range planning committees, if they exist, and other district committees that assess or rank school building needs. A body other than the school board that recommends building projects for a ballot question must seek and fairly consider charter schools' building needs. Charter schools must cooperate to appoint their representatives.

School boards must review every submitted charter school proposal, and superintendents must notify those schools of funding decisions in writing. Boards must also publish how they considered all schools' building needs and detailed reasons for selecting or excluding every project considered. Boards must prioritize a charter school's building needs and include them in the upcoming ballot question when its assessed needs rank higher than other district schools' needs. Boards need not prioritize charter schools on probation with the district or initially authorized within the previous three years. Exclusion notices must give specific reasons tied to the proposal's merits and an opportunity to address concerns. The reasons are for information only. Written decisions must reach charter schools at least 30 days before ballot approval. Boards must post their explanations in a prominent, accessible place on their websites within 30 days after selecting projects.