North Carolina § 115C-218 - 15. Charter school operation.

§ 115C-218. 15. Charter school operation.

A charter school that is approved by the State shall be a public school within the local school administrative unit in which it is located. All charter schools shall be accountable to the State Board for ensuring compliance with applicable laws and the provisions of their charters. A charter school shall be operated by a private nonprofit corporation that shall have received federal tax-exempt status no later than 24 months following final approval of the application. The board of directors of the charter schools shall adopt a conflict of interest and anti-nepotism policy that includes, at a minimum, the following: The requirements of Chapter 55A of the General Statutes related to conflicts of interest. A requirement that before any immediate family, as defined in G.S. 115C-12.2, of any member of the board of directors or a charter school employee with supervisory authority shall be employed or engaged as an employee, independent contractor, or otherwise by the board of directors in any capacity, such proposed employment or engagement shall be (i) disclosed to the board of directors and (ii) approved by the board of directors in a duly called open-session meeting. The burden of disclosure of such a conflict of interest shall be on the applicable board member or employee with supervisory authority. If the requirements of this subsection are complied with, the charter school may employ immediate family of any member of the board of directors or a charter school employee with supervisory authority. A requirement that a person shall not be disqualified from serving as a member of a charter school's board of directors because of the existence of a conflict of interest, so long as the person's actions comply with the school's conflict of interest policy established as provided in this subsection and applicable law. A charter school shall operate under the written charter signed by the State Board and the applicant. A charter school is not required to enter into any other contract. The charter shall incorporate the information provided in the application, as modified during the charter approval process, and any terms and conditions imposed on the charter school by the State Board of Education. No other terms may be imposed on the charter school as a condition for receipt of local funds. The board of directors of the charter school shall decide matters related to the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum, and operating procedures. The board of directors of the private nonprofit corporation operating the charter school may have members who reside outside of the State. However, the State Board of Education may require by policy that a majority of the board of directors and all officers of the board of directors reside within the State. History (1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 731, s. 2; 1997-430, s. 4; 2013-355, s. 1(e); 2014-101, s. 7; 2015-248, s. 6(a).) Local Modification. - Town of Cornelius: 2018-3, s. 3 (applicable to applications to establish a charter school submitted on or after June 7, 2018); town of Huntersville: 2018-3, s. 3 (applicable to applications to establish a charter school submitted on or after June 7, 2018); town of Matthews: 2018-3, s. 3 (applicable to applications to establish a charter school submitted on or after June 7, 2018); town of Mint Hill: 2018-3, s. 3 (applicable to applications to establish a charter school submitted on or after June 7, 2018). Editor's Note. - This section is former G.S. 115C-238.29E(a)-(d). It has been renumbered as this section at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes, pursuant to Session Laws 2014-101, s. 7. Session Laws 2002-159, s. 91.1, provides: "Nothing in the General Statutes or any local act entitles any charter school, prior to July 1, 2003, to recover retroactively any funds from penalties, fines, and forfeitures or supplemental school taxes." Session Laws 2013-355, s. 8, provides in part: "Nothing in this act shall be construed to affect pending litigation." Session Laws 2014-101, s. 8, provides, in part: "Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law [August 6, 2014] and applies beginning with the 2014-2015 school year." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2013-355, s. 1(e), effective July 25, 2013, in subsection (a), deleted the former second sentence, which read "It shall be accountable to the local board of education if it applied for and received preliminary approval from that local board for purposes of ensuring compliance with applicable laws and the provisions of its charter," and in the present second sentence, deleted "other" preceding "charter schools" and "except that any of these charter schools may agree to be accountable to the local board of the school administrative unit in which the charter school is located rather than to the State Board" following "charters"; substituted "State Board" for "entity to which it is accountable under subsection (a) of this section" in the first sentence of subsection (c); and added the last two sentences in the second paragraph of subsection (e). Session Laws 2015-248, s. 6(a), effective March 1, 2016, rewrote subsection (b) and added subsection (e).