SUMMARY:   LC 33 5041S  "Parent and Teacher Empowerment Act", also known as the Parent Trigger Bill:

• allows a petition to be submitted to convert any local school to a charter school
• allows a petition to be submitted to the local board to impose one or more turnaround models (see below) on a low-achieving school which is defined as:
  • a public school that has received an unacceptable rating under the accountability system adopted by the state board of education
  • a public school in the lowest 20% of all public schools in the state based upon performance as determined by the Department of Education
  • a public elementary or middle school in which less than 65% of students meet or exceed performance standards on the CRCT in reading or mathematics
  • a public high school that has a graduation rate of less than 65% for the preceding school year
• a petition may be submitted beginning with the 2014-15 school year.
• The petition may be submitted by:
  • a majority of parents of students enrolled in the school or cluster
  •  May sign a petition OR
  • Majority of parents at a public meeting called with 2 weeks' notice may vote by secret ballot to submit petition
  • One vote per household
  • a majority of the faculty and instructional staff of the school or high school cluster
  • May sign a petition OR
  • Vote by secret ballot at a public meeting called for that purpose with 2 weeks' notice
  • the initiator of the petition is responsible for verifying that all signatures are valid and correct and that no for-profit entity participated in the initiation of the petition or collection of the signatures
  • the local baord must confirm the names within 30 days and notify the petitioner group within ten days that the confirmation has been made
• If the petition is for a conversion charter, the charter petition will be submitted to the local board within 90 days
• Any public charter management company selected to operate a school shall not have any schools that the company has operated for at least five years that are in the bottom 50% of the schools in the state on the CRCT in reading and math
• the following turnaround models can be specified in the petition:
  • remove school personnel, including the principal, whose performance has not produced student achievement gains
  • complete reconstitution of the school by removing all personnel
  • give parents the option to move students to other public schools in the system from a list of available options provided by the school system
  • employ a monitor, master, or management team for the school
  • prepare and implement an intensive student achievement improvement plan
  • restructure the school's governance arrangement
• the local board has 60 days in which to approve or deny the petition. If the petition is submitted by 60% of parents or faculty, denial takes a 2/3 vote of the board.
• the local board may deny a petition only if:
  • implementation is logistically impossible
  • is illegal
  • does not promote school governance
  • is not in the public interest
• an approved turnaround model must be implemented within 180 days; if the petition was received after March 1, it goes into effect no later than the school year beginning the next calendar year.  Turnaround models go into effect only at the beginning of a school year.
• by majority vote, the local board can one or more of the turnaround models, different from the one (s) specified in the petition but must state the reasons for choosing to do so
• the state board may mediate between the local board and the petitioners
• if provisions of a petition are implemented, another petition for the same school may not be submitted for a two period
• the provisions of this legislation do not apply to charter schools, schools under intervention status by DOE, or a school slated for closure within 3 years.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon approval by the General Assembly and Governor.