Highlights:

• Establishes the Achievement School District within the Department of Education (Sec. 17).

• Authorizes the executive director of the Achievement School District to convert a public school to an “achievement charter school” if it meets the following criteria (Sec. 20):
• The school is an elementary or middle school in the lowest 5 percent of state schools;
• The school is a high school with a graduation rate of less than 60 percent; or
• The school’s performance or pupil achievements are deemed unsatisfactory.

• Defines “achievement charter school” as a public school operated by a charter management organization, educational management organization, or other individual contracted by the Achievement School District (Sec. 2).

• Requires the executive director of the Achievement School District to annually submit a list of at least 20 percent of schools eligible for conversion to an achievement charter school to the Board of Education (Sec. 20).

• Prohibits the executive director from converting more than 6 public schools to achievement charter schools annually (Sec. 20).

• Requires the executive director to solicit applications from education management organizations and charter management organizations to operate an achievement charter school (Sec. 21).

• Requires the executive director to monitor the performance and compliance of each achievement charter school (Sec. 21).

• Authorizes an achievement charter school to convert back to a public school if the school makes adequate improvement in pupil achievement and school performance by the sixth year it operates as an achievement charter school (Sec. 33).

• Authorizes the school district to reassign staff members of a school that is converted to an achievement charter school, outside the scope of a collective bargaining agreement (Sec. 61).

Full Bill Text