SB318 - Revises provisions relating to charter schools. (BDR 34-89)

EXEMPT (Reprinted with amendments adopted on May 29, 2025) SECOND REPRINT S.B. 318 - *SB318_R2* SENATE BILL NO. 318–SENATORS DALY; DOÑATE, LANGE AND TAYLOR MARCH 11, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Education SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to charter schools. (BDR 34-89) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact. Effect on the State: Yes. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to education; revising provisions relating to projects for the new construction, repair or reconstruction of certain buildings, facilities and property of a charter school; providing administrative penalties; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Under existing law, a charter school is a public body to which the provisions 1 governing public works apply to its projects for new construction, repair or 2 reconstruction. (Chapter 338 of NRS; NRS 388A.320) Existing law authorizes a 3 charter school to: (1) enter into a contract with specified governmental entities for 4 the provision of facilities to operate the charter school; (2) use any public facility 5 located within the school district in which the charter school is located; or (3) 6 acquire and construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, equip and furnish any 7 building, structure or property and complete related improvements for the use of 8 any of its educational purposes. (NRS 388A.378) Section 10 of this bill requires a 9 charter school to provide to the sponsor of the charter school: (1) written notice of 10 any project for the new construction, repair or reconstruction of any building, 11 structure, facility or property, regardless of its ownership, which the charter school 12 uses for any of its educational purposes if the estimated cost exceeds $100,000; (2) 13 documentation of compliance with the requirements for competitive bidding for 14 such a project; and (3) records relating to compliance with the requirements for the 15 payment of prevailing wages on such a project. Section 4 of this bill requires the 16 sponsor of the charter school to ensure that a charter school from which it receives 17 notification for a project pursuant to section 10 complies with the provisions 18 relating to the payment of prevailing wages and, with certain exceptions, 19 competitive bidding with respect to the project, and provides penalties for the 20 failure of a sponsor to comply with this requirement. 21 – 2 – - *SB318_R2* THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. (Deleted by amendment.) 1 Sec. 2. (Deleted by amendment.) 2 Sec. 3. (Deleted by amendment.) 3 Sec. 4. NRS 388A.223 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4 388A.223 1. Each sponsor of a charter school shall carry out 5 the following duties and powers: 6 (a) Evaluating applications to form charter schools as prescribed 7 by NRS 388A.249 . [;] 8 (b) Approving applications to form charter schools that the 9 sponsor determines are high quality, meet the identified educational 10 needs of pupils and will serve to promote the diversity of public 11 educational choices in this State . [;] 12 (c) Declining to approve applications to form charter schools 13 that do not satisfy the requirements of NRS 388A.249 . [;] 14 (d) Negotiating, developing and executing charter contracts 15 pursuant to NRS 388A.270 . [;] 16 (e) Monitoring, in accordance with this chapter and in 17 accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable charter 18 contract, the performance and compliance of each charter school 19 sponsored by the entity . [;] 20 (f) Determining whether the charter contract of a charter school 21 that the entity sponsors merits renewal or whether the renewal of the 22 charter contract should be denied or whether the charter contract 23 should be terminated or restarted, as applicable, in accordance with 24 NRS 388A.285, 388A.300 or 388A.330, as applicable . [;] 25 (g) Determining whether the governing body of a charter school 26 should be reconstituted in accordance with NRS 388A.330 . [;] 27 (h) Adopting a policy for appointing a new governing body of a 28 charter school for which the governing body is reconstituted in 29 accordance with NRS 388A.330 . [; and] 30 (i) Conducting site evaluations of each campus of a charter 31 school it sponsors during the first, third and fifth years after entering 32 into or renewing a charter contract. Such evaluations must include, 33 without limitation, evaluating pupil achievement and school 34 performance at each campus of the charter school and identifying 35 any deficiencies relating to pupil achievement and school 36 performance. The sponsor shall develop a plan with the charter 37 school to correct any such deficiencies. A sponsor may conduct a 38 brief evaluation of a charter school in the third year if the charter 39 school receives, in the immediately preceding year, one of the two 40 highest ratings of performance pursuant to the statewide system of 41 accountability for public schools. 42 – 3 – - *SB318_R2* (j) Ensuring that each charter school complies with the 1 provisions of NRS 338.013 to 338.090, inclusive, and, except as 2 otherwise provided in NRS 388A.635, with the provisions of 3 chapter 338 of NRS regarding competitive bidding for any project 4 for which the charter school provides written notification to the 5 sponsor pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 388A.378. If the sponsor 6 of a charter school fails to ensure that the charter school complies 7 with the provisions of: 8 (1) NRS 338.013 to 338.090, inclusive, the sponsor may be 9 liable for an administrative penalty imposed by the Labor 10 Commissioner, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, of 11 not more than $5,000 for each violation of those provisions by the 12 charter school. 13 (2) Chapter 338 of NRS regarding competitive bidding, the 14 contract for the project is void. 15 2. Each sponsor of a charter school shall develop policies and 16 practices that are consistent with state laws and regulations 17 governing charter schools. In developing the policies and practices, 18 the sponsor shall review and evaluate nationally recognized policies 19 and practices for sponsoring organizations of charter schools. The 20 policies and practices must include, without limitation: 21 (a) The organizational capacity and infrastructure of the sponsor 22 for sponsorship of charter schools, which must not be described as a 23 limit on the number of charter schools the sponsor will approve; 24 (b) The procedure and criteria for soliciting and evaluating 25 charter school applications in accordance with NRS 388A.249, 26 which must include, without limitation: 27 (1) Specific application procedures and timelines for 28 committees to form a charter school that plan to enter into a contract 29 with an educational management organization to operate the charter 30 school, committees to form a charter school that do not plan to enter 31 into such a contract and charter management organizations; and 32 (2) A description of the manner in which the sponsor will 33 evaluate the previous performance of an educational management 34 organization or other person with whom a committee to form a 35 charter school plans to enter into a contract to operate a charter 36 school or a charter management organization that submits an 37 application to form a charter school; 38 (c) The procedure and criteria for evaluating applications for 39 renewal of charter contracts pursuant to NRS 388A.285; 40 (d) The procedure for amending a charter contract and the 41 criteria for determining whether a request for such an amendment 42 will be approved which must include, without limitation, any 43 manner in which such procedures and criteria will differ if the 44 – 4 – - *SB318_R2* sponsor determines that the amendment is material or strategically 1 important; 2 (e) If deemed appropriate by the sponsor, a strategic plan for 3 recruiting charter management organizations, educational 4 management organizations or other persons to operate charter 5 schools based on the priorities of the sponsor and the needs of the 6 pupils that will be served by the charter schools that will be 7 sponsored by the sponsor; 8 (f) A description of how the sponsor will maintain oversight of 9 the charter schools it sponsors, which must include, without 10 limitation: 11 (1) An assessment of the needs of the charter schools that are 12 sponsored by the sponsor that is prepared with the input of the 13 governing bodies of such charter schools; and 14 (2) A strategic plan for the oversight and provision of 15 technical support to charter schools that are sponsored by the 16 sponsor in the areas of academic, fiscal and organizational 17 performance; and 18 (g) A description of the process of evaluation for the charter 19 schools it sponsors in accordance with NRS 388A.351. 20 3. Evidence of material or persistent failure to carry out the 21 powers and duties of a sponsor prescribed by this section constitutes 22 grounds for revocation of the entity’s authority to sponsor charter 23 schools. 24 4. The provisions of this section do not establish a private right 25 of action against the sponsor of a charter school. 26 Sec. 5. (Deleted by amendment.) 27 Sec. 6. (Deleted by amendment.) 28 Sec. 7. (Deleted by amendment.) 29 Sec. 8. (Deleted by amendment.) 30 Sec. 9. (Deleted by amendment.) 31 Sec. 10. NRS 388A.378 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32 388A.378 1. The governing body of a charter school may 33 contract with the board of trustees of the school district in which the 34 charter school is located or in which a pupil enrolled in the charter 35 school resides, with the Nevada System of Higher Education or with 36 a city or county for the provision of facilities to operate the charter 37 school or to perform any service relating to the operation of the 38 charter school, including, without limitation, transportation, the 39 provision of health services for the pupils who are enrolled in 40 the charter school and the provision of school police officers. If the 41 board of trustees of a school district, a college or university within 42 the Nevada System of Higher Education or a city or county is the 43 sponsor of the charter school, the governing body and the sponsor 44 must enter into a service agreement pursuant to NRS 388A.381 45 – 5 – - *SB318_R2* before the provision of such services other than for the provision of 1 school police officers when the provisions of NRS 388A.384 apply. 2 If the board of trustees of a school district provides services to a 3 charter school pursuant to this section or NRS 388A.474, it shall not 4 charge more than its cost for providing such services determined on 5 a cost per pupil basis. 6 2. A charter school may use any public facility located within 7 the school district in which the charter school is located. A charter 8 school may use school buildings owned by the school district only 9 upon approval of the board of trustees of the school district. 10 3. The board of trustees of a school district may donate surplus 11 personal property of the school district to a charter school that is 12 located within the school district. 13 4. A charter school may: 14 (a) Acquire by construction, purchase, devise, gift, exchange or 15 lease, or any combination of those methods, and construct, 16 reconstruct, improve, maintain, equip and furnish any building, 17 structure or property to be used for any of its educational purposes 18 and the related appurtenances, easements, rights-of-way, 19 improvements, paving, utilities, landscaping, parking facilities and 20 lands; 21 (b) Mortgage, pledge or otherwise encumber all or any part of 22 its property or assets; 23 (c) Borrow money and otherwise incur indebtedness; and 24 (d) Use public money to purchase real property or buildings 25 with the approval of the sponsor. 26 5. A charter school shall provide written notice to the sponsor 27 of the charter school of any project for the new construction, 28 repair or reconstruction of any building, structure, facility or 29 property, regardless of ownership, used for any of the educational 30 purposes of the charter school if the estimated cost of the project 31 exceeds $100,000. A charter school shall provide to the sponsor 32 for each such project: 33 (a) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 388A.635, 34 documentation of compliance with the requirements for 35 competitive bidding set forth in chapter 338 of NRS; and 36 (b) The record received by the charter school each month 37 pursuant to subsection 6 of NRS 338.070 for the project. 38 Sec. 11. (Deleted by amendment.) 39 Sec. 12. (Deleted by amendment.) 40 Sec. 13. (Deleted by amendment.) 41 Sec. 14. (Deleted by amendment.) 42 – 6 – - *SB318_R2* Sec. 15. This act becomes effective upon passage and 1 approval. 2 H