[complete report]

LAW

Year Passed

1991; last amended in 2009.

Rank

2nd strongest of the nation's 41 charter laws.

Grade

A

GENERAL DATA

• New authorizer accountability enacted in 2009 will improve school quality

• Schools afforded great amount of freedom to innovate

• Equitable funding and lease aid

INDEPENDENT OR MULTIPLE AUTHORIZERS - YES (3)

Approval

School boards, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations that meet certain criteria, subject to final commissioner of education approval.

Appeal

Yes. Applications denied by the school board may be appealed to the State Board of Education.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ALLOWED

Cap

No cap.

OPERATIONAL AUTONOMY

State

Yes. Blanket waiver from the state's rules and regulations. Virtual schools are allowed.Management contracts with ESPs are not restricted. All current and would-be authorizers must re-apply to state board according to new criteria, and many school boards and universities are choosing to end sponsorship.

Local

Yes. Charter schools are their own LEAs. Blanket waiver from rules and regulations apply to local school districts.

Teacher Freedom

Yes. Teachers may remain covered by district collective bargaining agreement if all parties agree, or may negotiate as a separate unit with the governing body, or work independently. During leave, the teacher may continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the teachers' retirement association account by paying both the employer and employee contributions based upon the annual salary of the teachers for the last full pay period before the leave began.

EQUITY

Student Funding

• Schools are intended to receive all special education funds, and other aids, grants and revenue as if it were a school district.

• Charters cannot use state money to purchase land or buildings.

• Funds pass through the state.

"General education revenue must be paid to a charter school as though it were a district. The general education revenue for each adjusted marginal cost pupil unit is the state average general education revenue per pupil unit, plus the referendum equalization aid allowance in the pupil's district of residence, minus an amount equal to the product of the formula allowance according to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, times .0485, calculated without basic skills revenue, extended time revenue, alternative teacher compensation revenue, transition revenue, and transportation sparsity revenue, plus basic skills revenue, extended time revenue, basic alternative teacher compensation aid according to section 126C.10, subdivision 34, and transition revenue as though the school were a school district. The general education revenue for each extended time marginal cost pupil unit equals $4,378." [MN 2009 Statute 124D.11]

Facilities Funding

Yes. $1,200 dollars per pupil or 90 percent of actual lease cost goes to charters in the form of lease aid. [MN 2009 Statute 124D.11 Subd4]