Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 3rd edition.

Deletes all provisions of the 3rd addition and now provides as follows.

Replaces the long title with AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE CHARTER SCHOOL LAWS.

Changes the short title.

Amends GS 115C-218.5 by removing provisions of subsection (d), concerning the renewal of charters for a period of 10 years, as well as all of subsections (e) and (f), concerning material and non-material revisions of charters. 

Enacts new GS 115C-218.6 to provide for the review and renewal of charters, new GS 115C-218.7 to provide for the material revisions of charters, and new GS 115C-218.8 to provide for the non-material revisions of charters.

New GS 115C-218.6 requires the State Board of Education (Board) to review the operations of each charter school at least once prior to the expiration of its charter (previously, in GS 115C-218.6(d), was once every five years) to ensure that the school is meeting the expected academic, financial, and governance standards. Moves identical language removed from GS 115C-218.5(d), with subdivisions (1) through (3), to new GS 115C-218.6(b), which requires the Board to renew a charter upon request of the chartering entity for subsequent periods of ten years, unless subdivisions (1) through (3) apply. Makes clarifying changes.  Establishes that, if one of the conditions set forth in subdivisions (1) through (3) of the statute applies, then the Board may renew the charter for a period of less than 10 years or not renew the charter.

New GS 115C-218.7 recodifies the provisions removed from GS 115C-218.5(e) as subsections (a) and (b) of the new statute. Provides that a material revision of the provisions of a charter are to be made only upon approval of the Board. Establishes that enrollment growth of greater than 20% is to be considered a material revision of the charter. Authorizes the Board to approve such additional enrollment growth of greater than 20% only if it finds that subdivisions (1) through (5) apply; these are the same five stipulations that were in GS 115C-218.5(e).

Enacts new provisions in subsections (c) and (d) of new GS 115C-218.7. Grants the Board discretion to investigate and determine whether subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of the statute, which requires the actual enrollment of the charter school to be within 10% of its maximum authorized enrollment, may be waived to grant the school's material revision request to allow the capital expansion to move forward in the event a charter school pursuing a material revision of enrollment growth, based on a proposed capital expansion of the charter school, fails to meet the requirement of (b)(1). Requires the charter school to supply the Board with documentation to show evidence that demonstrates sufficiently in the Board's discretion that (1) the requested increase in enrollment growth is within a reasonable margin of the threshold necessary to support the requested material revision and (2) the charter school has secured financing for its proposed capital expansion conditioned on its obtaining the requested material revision of enrollment growth. Provides that, in the event the Board grants the request for material revision of enrollment growth based on a proposed capital expansion and the school is not able to realize that capital expansion within two years of the grant of the material revision, the charter must reflect the maximum authorized enrollment immediately preceding that material revision.

New GS 115C-218.8 recodifies all of the language removed from GS 115C-218.5(f), including subdivisions (1) through (3), concerning non-material revisions of charters. Changes the third subdivision, now subsection (c), as follows. Allows a charter school, without prior approval of the Board, to expand to offer one grade higher or lower than the charter school currently offers if the charter school has (1) operated for at least three years; (2) has not been identified as continually low-performing as provided in GS 115C-218.94, as enacted by the act; and (3) has been in financial compliance as required by the Board.

Amends GS 115C-218.45(f), authorizing a charter school to give enrollment priority to four categories of persons, by adding two new categories of persons who may be given priority: (1) a student who was enrolled in another charter school in the State in the previous school year that does not offer the student's new grade level and (2) a student who was enrolled in another charter school in the State in the previous school year that does not offer the student's next grade level and both of the charter schools have an enrollment articulation agreement to accept students or are governed by the same board of directors.

Enacts new GS 115C-218.94 to direct the Board to identify low-performing charter schools on an annual basis. Defines low-performing charter schools as those that receive a school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of met expected growth or not met expected growth as defined in GS 115C-83.15. Directs the Board to identify continually low-performing charter schools on an annual basis. Defines a continually low-performing charter school as a charter school that has been designated by the State Board as low-performing for at least two of three consecutive years.

Amends GS 115C-218.95 by repealing subsection (b), which directed the Board to adopt criteria for adequate performance by a charter school and identify charter schools with inadequate performance, and enacting new subsection (b1). Authorizes the Board to terminate, not renew, or seek applicants to assume the charter through a competitive bid process established by the Board if a charter school is continually low-performing. Prohibits the Board from terminating or not renewing the charter of a continually low-performing charter school solely for its continually low-performing status if the charter school has met growth in each of the immediately preceding three school years or if the charter school has implemented a strategic improvement plan approved by the Board and is making measurable progress toward student performance goals. Requires the Board to develop rules on the assumption of a charter by a new entity that includes all aspects of the operations of the charter school, including the status of employees. Provides that public assets will transfer to the new entity and not revert to the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is located pursuant to GS 115C-218.100(b).

Makes conforming change to the statutory reference in GS 135-5.3(b7)(3).

Provides that a charter school identified as inadequate that developed and is following a strategic plan required by GS 115C-218.95(b)(1), as repealed by Section 1 of the act, is not required to continue the strategic plan during the 2016-17 school year and thereafter if that charter school has not been identified as low-performing under GS 115C-105.94, as enacted by the act.

Makes conforming change to GS 115C-218.105(a) to replace the statutory reference to GS 115C-218.5(d) with GS 115C-218.7 and GS 115C-218.8, as enacted by the act.

Amends GS 115C-218.105(d), concerning the requirements of a local administrative unit when it transfers a per-pupil share of its local current expense fund to a charter school, by adding additional requirements as follows. Requires the local school administrative unit to provide to the Board all of the information required by subsection (d) for each charter school to which it transfers a per-pupil share of its local current expense fund. Requires the information to be provided to the Board by November 1 of each year. Directs the Board to adopt a policy to govern the collection of this required information. Requires the Board to issue a letter of non-compliance to a local school administrative unit that does not provide the Board with the required information.

Effective when the act becomes law and applies beginning with the 2016-17 school year, except as otherwise provided.

Amends SL 2014-101, Section 6.5, to establish that the State Board of Education must ensure that the rules for a fast-track replication process, provided for in Section 6.5, provide that decisions by the Board on whether to grant a charter through the replication process are completed in less than 90 days from the application submission date (was, 150 days). Adds that the Board is to provide a decision no later than October 15 of the year immediately preceding the year of the proposed school opening. Establishes that the Board must adopt rules and procedures required by the section within 90 days of the effective date of the act (was, by December 15, 2014), and report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee within 120 days of the effective date of the act (was, by February 15, 2015). Applies beginning with applications submitted for fast-track replication of schools opening in the 2017-18 school year.