Senator Hembree proposes the following amendment (SEDU-454.KG0004S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 59-40-40(12) and inserting:

 (12) "Replication" means the approval of a new charter school application based on the same model as mission, academic model, instructional program, and operational structure of an existing charter school.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 2, by striking Section 59-40-50(B)(3) and inserting:

  (3) adhere to the same financial laws and regulations, financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements as are applied to public schools, and post its annual budget, to include its operating budget, and audit on its website with other financial information required to be posted by law or regulation;

Amend the bill further, SECTION 3, by striking Section 59-40-55(A) and inserting:

 (A) In order to promote the quality of charter school outcomes and oversight, the charter school sponsor authorizer shall adopt national industry standards of quality charter schools and shall authorize and implement practices and implement policies, procedures, and practices to ensure good governance and accountability that are consistent with the authorizer's powers and duties as an LEA and as provided in this chapter. consistent with those standards.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 3, by striking Section 59-40-55(B)(14) and (15) and inserting:

  (14) review and notify the charter schools of any noncompliance related to management organization contracts; and
  (15) be subject to the ethics and government accountability requirements for public members and public employees in Chapter 13, Title 8. For purposes of this subsection, members of the authorizer's governing boards are considered public members, and employees of the authorizer's governing board are considered public employees;.
  (16) be subject to Section 11-35-5340 of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code or implements a procurement code which, in the written opinion of the Division of Procurement Services of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, is substantially similar to the provisions and purposes of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code; and
  (17) be subject to audits by the Legislative Audit Council. For the purpose of carrying out its audit duties, the Legislative Audit Council shall have access to the records and facilities of each authorizer during the authorizer's normal operating hours, and each authorizer must produce records requested by the Legislative Audit Council. The provisions contained in Chapter 15, Title 2, related to the Legislative Audit Council shall apply to audits conducted pursuant to this section.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 3, by striking Section 59-40-55(C) and inserting:

 (C)(1) The South Carolina Public Charter School District may shall retain no more than two percent of the total non-restricted state appropriations for each charter school it authorizes to cover the costs for overseeing its charter schools. A public or independent institution of higher learning authorizer shall retain or contract to retain two percent of the total non-restricted state appropriations for each charter school it authorizes to cover the costs for overseeing its charter schools. A statewide authorizer shall only retain or contract to retain two percent of the total state allocation distributed to charter schools, as appropriated annually through the state appropriations process, for each charter school it authorizes for the purpose of carrying out its oversight and administrative responsibilities. With approval by the Department of Education, An an authorizer may offer additional services related to charter school operations to charter schools it sponsorsauthorizes, however the charter school shall be under no obligation to purchase those services from the authorizer. A charter school may not be penalized or have its charter revoked based upon their failure to purchase offered services from the authorizer. A charter authorizer offering such services shall post a list of those services and the cost of the service in a prominent place on the authorizer's website. The sponsor's administrative fee amount retained by the authorizer does not include costs incurred in delivering services that a charter school may purchase at its discretion from the sponsorauthorizer. The sponsor's fee is not applicable to federal money or grants received by the charter school. The amount authorizers may charge claim for administration of federal funded programs or grants is subject to the terms and conditions of the federal program or grant. The sponsor authorizer shall use its funding provided pursuant to this section exclusively for the purpose of fulfilling sponsor authorizer obligations in accordance with this chapter.
  (2) If the Department of Education determines an authorizer has violated this provision, a written notice of the alleged violation shall be provided to the authorizer. The authorizer shall have thirty calendar days from receipt of the notice to submit documentation and any other relevant evidence demonstrating the authorizer is in compliance with this provision. Upon a determination by the Department of Education that a violation has occurred, the State Superintendent of Education may (1) order reimbursement of improperly charged amounts to the charter schools, (2) revoke the authorizer's authority to charter or authorize schools, and all schools may apply to transfer to a different authorizer using to the process established by the Department of Education pursuant to Section 59-40-55(D), or (3) order other appropriate relief. The authorizer may file an appeal with the State Board of Education within thirty days of the decision by the State Superintendent of Education to revoke an authorizer's authority to authorize schools. After an appeal is filed, the State Board of Education must hold a public hearing regarding the appeal within fourteen days. All appeals from the State Board of Education's decisions to terminate a public or independent institution of higher learning authorizer registration shall be made to the Administrative Law Court. The authorizer shall not demand or withhold any unspent appropriated funds held by or owed to a charter school that is transferring under the provisions of this section and may not charge fees associated with the school moving to another authorizer.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 4, by striking Section 59-40-60(H) and inserting:

 (H) Prior to November 1, 2026, Thethe Department of Education may shall develop a separate application for replication to encourage creation of additional charter schools that fulfill the purpose and mission of this chapter. The application for replication must focus on submission of data and information to demonstrate the prior record of the existing school and how such record will be repeated at the replicated school. No school that has received an overall rating of less than "Average" on the South Carolina School Report Card at any time during the preceding three years shall be eligible to apply for replication.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 5, by striking Section 59-40-70(B) and inserting:

 (B) The board of trustees or area commission from which the applicant is seeking sponsorship authorization shall rule on the application for a charter school in a public hearing, upon reasonable public notice, within ninety days after receiving the application. If there is no ruling within ninety days, the application is considered approved. Once If the application has beenis approved by the board of trustees or area commission, the charter school may open at the beginning of the following year. However, before a charter school may open, the State Department of Education shall verify the accuracy of the financial data for the school within forty-five days after approval.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 6, by striking Section 59-40-75(E)(1) and inserting:

 (E)(1) An individual is prohibited from employment by an authorizer of a charter school, if the individual, an immediate family member, or the individual's spouse is employed in a position to exercise direct or indirect financial decision-making authority with a charter school authorized by the authorizer.

Amend the bill further, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:

SECTION X. Section 59-40-140(G) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (G) The governing body of a charter school is authorized to accept gifts, donations, or grants of any kind made to the charter school and to expend or use the gifts, donations, or grants in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the donor. A gift or donation must not be required for admission. However, a gift, donation, or grant must not be accepted by the governing board of either a charter school or the authorizer if subject to a condition contrary to law or contrary to the terms of the contract between the charter school and the governing body. All gifts, donations, or grants shall be coded pursuant to the Financial Accounting Handbook provided by the Department of Education, or as otherwise directed by the Department of Education, and must be reported to the sponsor in their annual audit report as required in Section 59-40-50(B)(3).

Section 59-40-140(J) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (J)(1) Charter schools may acquire by gift, devise, purchase, lease, sublease, installment purchase agreement, land contract, option, or by any other means provided by law or otherwise, and hold and own in its own name buildings or other property for school purposes and interests in it which are necessary or convenient to fulfill its purposes. Charter schools may not hold property for any other purpose.
  (2)(a) A charter school that enters a lease ("the Lease") for a school facility (the "Lessee") shall be granted an option to purchase the facility (the "Facility") from the owner-lessor (the "Lessor"), provided that the Lessor is the charter school's management company or an entity in which the management company possesses any ownership interest, whether direct or indirect. The option to purchase shall become exercisable no later than the fifth anniversary of the date of issuance of the original certificate of occupancy for the Facility. The Facility shall include the real property, buildings, other structures, fixtures, and any personal property subject to the Lease. The date upon which the option shall be available and a timeline for the purchase transaction to be completed within one hundred eighty days shall be included in the Lease ("Option Process"). In the event the Lease does not include the Option Process, then the Lessee may exercise the Option at any time by providing written notice to the Lessor and the process for completing the Option Process shall be no longer than one hundred eighty days from the date after Lessor receives the written notice. Exercise of the option shall be conditioned only upon the absence of any material defaults under the Lease by the charter school and upon the Lessee demonstrating the financial capacity to complete the purchase, which may include evidence of financing commitment or financing pre-approval from a lender. The Lessor may not require the Lessee to repay funds loaned from the Lessor to the Lessee for operation of the charter school as a condition of exercising the option.
   (b) If the Lessee chooses to exercise the option to purchase the Facility, the Lessor shall sell the Lessee the Facility for a purchase price that shall be the greater of:
    (i) the Lessor's total investment in the Facility as evidenced by audited financial statements plus a compounded annual return of five percent; or
    (ii) the fair market value as determined by the average of three Uniform Standards of Professional Practice (USPAP) compliant appraisals completed by South Carolina licensed appraisers with experience in educational properties. One appraisal shall be obtained by the Lessee, one appraisal shall be obtained by the Lessor, and the third appraisal shall be selected by mutual agreement. If the parties are unable to agree on a third-party appraiser within ten days of the Lessee's written notice of intent to exercise the option, the third appraiser shall be appointed by the South Carolina Real Estate Appraisers Board.
   (c) If the Lessee declines to exercise the option on the date identified in the Lease, then the option shall automatically renew on the fifth anniversary of the date set forth in the Lease if the Facility is leased by the Lessee.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 10, by striking Section 59-40-155(A) and inserting:

 (A) Within one year of taking office, all persons elected or appointed as members of a charter school board of trustees or a charter school authorizer board of trustees after July 1, 20062026, shall complete successfully an orientation program in the powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board member including, but not limited to, topics on policy development, personnel, instructional programs, school finance, school law, ethics, and community relations. The orientation must be provided at no charge by the State Department of Education or an association approved by the department.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 10, Section 59-40-155, by adding a subsection to read:

 (E) In addition to the orientation program provided by the Department of Education, each authorizer shall develop and implement an annual training program specifically designed for members of charter school governing boards. After the first year of taking office, a charter school board member must attend the annual training provided by the authorizer. The training program shall include information on laws, regulations, and fiduciary responsibilities that uniquely apply to charter schools and charter school authorizers. The Department of Education shall develop procedures for ensuring compliance with this section by both charter school board members and authorizers.

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.