HB 1162

This bill authorizes a public charter school to operate outside the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is authorized to locate in its charter agreement, if: (1) T he public charter school needs additional space, facilities, or buildings to serve the students of the public charter school; and (2) The public charter school enters into a written agreement for the lease of buildings or facilities, or portions thereof, that are located in the same county as the LEA in which the public charter school is authorized to locate in its charter agreement; provided, that the buildings or facilities, or portions thereof, leased by the public charter school are used for educatio n al purposes. Present law generally requires that, in order for a county LEA to operate a school located within the geographic boundaries of a municipal LEA, the municipal LEA and the county LEA must enter into a written agreement for such purpose by July 1 prior to the start of the school year immediately following the creation of the municipal LEA. This bill specifies that a public charter school that is authorized by a county LEA may operate within the geographic boundaries of a municipal LEA pursuant to (1) and (2) above and the requirements applicable to written agreements for the operation of a county school inside a municipal LEA do not apply to the public charter school. Under present law, a public charter school that is authorized by the public charter school commission must operate within the geographic boundaries of the local board of education that denied approval of the initial public charter school application. This bill specifies that such limitation does not apply if the requirements of ( 1) and (2) above are met. This bill clarifies that out-of-district enrollment at charter schools will continue to be governed by a public charter school's charter agreement. Present law requires an LEA in which one or more public charter schools is ope rated to annually publish a descriptive inventory of its buildings and creates a right of first refusal for a public charter school to acquire vacant or underutilized property from the LEA. This bill specifies that such requirements only apply to an LEA i n which one or more public charter schools operate pursuant to a charter agreement that authorizes the public charter school to locate within the geographic boundaries of that LEA. ON APRIL 16, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1162, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to permit a public charter school authorized in the county LEA for a county in which only one city school system operates to use available buildings or facilities located within the geographic boundaries of the city school system located in the same county if: (1) The public charter school needs additional space, facilities, or buildings to serve the students of the public charter school; (2) The buildings or facilities are not located in an LEA that has entered into a written agreement to allow a county LEA to operate within the city system's boundaries was established on or after January 1, 2014; and (3) The public charter school enters into a written agreement for the lease of the buildings or fac ilities, or portions thereof, for educational purposes. A public charter school's use of facilities located within the geographic boundaries of a city school system pursuant to this amendment does not alter or expand the operation, control, management, or enrollment jurisdiction of the public charter school, its authorizer, or the local board of education for the county LEA in which the public charter school is authorized. Students who reside in the county and who are enrolled in a public charter schoo l that is using facilities located within the geographic boundaries of a city school system pursuant to this amendment are the students of the public charter school's authorizer and must not be considered out-of-district students for any purpose. Present law establishes the order in which enrollment preferences must be given when an enrollment lottery is conducted for admission to a public charter school. The fifth order of priority includes students residing within the geographic boundaries of the LEA i n which the public charter school is located who were enrolled in another public school during the previous school year. This amendment adds that, if the public charter school is authorized in a county LEA, then such preference includes students who resid e in the county and who were enrolled in the previous school year in another LEA located in the same county. Present law generally requires LEAs in which a public charter school operates to annually publish certain information concerning buildings operate d by the LEA. This amendment specifies that an LEA in which a public charter school has not been authorized, but in which one or more public charter schools are using available buildings or facilities pursuant to this amendment, is not required to comply with such reporting requirement.