CHAPTER 202
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 285
AS AMENDED BY
HOUSE AMENDMENT NOS. 2,3,4,5 & 6
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS AND SAME-GENDER EDUCATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Section 1. Amend § 506(a)(3) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection “c.” to read as follows:
“c. By gender in the case of a same-gender school. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, the Department of Education, with approval of the State Board of Education, shall be considered the approving authorizer of Prestige Academy, a same-gender school, and shall provide oversight to such school. The Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board, may waive any provisions in this Chapter that would limit the school from opening for the 2008-09 school year. Any subsequent same-gender charter school shall make its application to the Department of Education and the State Board of Education.”
Section 2. Amend § 506(a)(4) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding the words “except in the case of a same-gender school” after the word “sex” as it appears in that Section.
Section 3. Amend § 506(a)(3) by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
“(d) Within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the Department of Education, but no longer than two years after commencement of operations of any same-gender charter school in the State of Delaware, there shall be approved and operating a same-gender charter school of the opposite gender, substantially equal to the prior-approved, same-gender charter school, matching in grade-level and marketed towards similar demographics of the prior-approved, same-gender charter school. The Department of Education shall work with the education community on a plan for recruitment and technical assistance for applicants of a same-gender charter school of the opposite gender. The Department of Education shall provide such report regarding the recruitment plan to the Legislature on an annual basis.”
Section 4. Amend § 506(a)(3) by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
“(e) The same-gender charter school provisions shall sunset, for any new charter applications, on June 30, 2013, unless the General Assembly has otherwise acted to extend such date prior to its expiration.”
Section 5. Amend § 506(a)(3) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection “f” to read as follows:
“(f) The Department of Education shall provide a written report to the Governor and the respective Education Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate with a proposal for an experienced research and evaluation entity to conduct an evaluation of single-gender charter schools in the State of Delaware. The study proposal shall cause to be examined factors including, but not limited to, academic results, social factors, and psychological factors. The cost of the evaluation shall be included in the Department of Education’s proposal and provided to the Governor for consideration for inclusion in the FY10 state budget. The Department of Education is encouraged also to seek grant funding for the evaluation.”
Section 6. Amend § 506(a)(3) of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection “g” to read as follows:
“g. A single-gender charter school shall report on an annual basis, with the first report to be provided to the Department of Education and the respective Education Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate within one calendar year after commencement of operations by the charter school, and such report shall include, among other things, the efforts made by the charter school to further advancement of its students’ education, as well as quantitative analysis of its efforts and results in recruiting and retaining economically-disadvantaged students, regardless of race.”