(A) For purposes of this chapter, an Alternative Education Campus (AEC) is any charter school with an explicit mission and purpose as outlined in its charter to serve an enrolled student population with:

(1) severe limitations that preclude appropriate administration of the assessments administered pursuant to federal and state requirements;

(2) fifty percent or more of students having Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in accordance with federal regulations or a demonstrated need for specific services or specialized instruction as defined in Section 59-40-50, and the school shall provide the needed evidence-based specialized instruction, interventions, services, support, and accommodations based on the needs of the students; or

(3) eighty-five percent or more of enrolled students meeting the definition of a "high-risk" student including students who:

(a) have been adjudicated as juvenile delinquents or who are awaiting disposition of charges that may result in adjudication;

(b) have dropped out of school or who have not been continuously enrolled and regularly attending any school for at least one semester before enrolling in this school;

(c) have been expelled from school or who have engaged in behavior that would justify expulsion;

(d) have documented histories of personal drug or alcohol use or who have parents or guardians with documented dependencies on drugs or alcohol;

(e) have documented histories of personal street gang involvement or who have immediate family members with documented histories of street gang involvement;

(f) have documented histories of child abuse or neglect;

(g) have parents or guardians in prison or on parole or probation;

(h) have documented histories of domestic violence in the immediate family;

(i) have documented histories of repeated school suspensions;

(j) are under the age of twenty years who are parents or pregnant women;

(k) are homeless, as defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; or

(l) have a documented history of a serious psychiatric or behavioral disorder including, but not limited to, an eating disorder or a history of suicidal or self-injurious behaviors.

(B) Such schools must be classified as AECs by their sponsor.

(C) A high-poverty rating alone shall not qualify any charter school for status as an AEC.

(D) Charter school applicants seeking such a designation shall provide sufficient information in their charter application to allow the authorizer to make a determination as to whether that classification applies.

(E) Charter schools already in operation may seek AEC classification by petitioning their sponsor.

(F) Charter schools receiving an AEC designation either before or after opening, shall be held to applicable state and federal accountability standards along with the academic performance standards and expectations established by written agreement between the sponsor and the school that takes into account the school's specialized mission and student population with comparisons to any available nationally normed data with similar subsets of students and is included in their annual report in accordance with Section 59-40-140(H) and is included in the school report card compiled by the Education Oversight Committee.

HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 288 (H.3853), Section 1, eff June 12, 2014; 2016 Act No. 219 (S.1262), Section 2, eff June 3, 2016.

Effect of Amendment

2016 Act No. 219, Section 2, in (A)(1), inserted "and purpose"; in (A)(2), added the text following "in accordance with federal regulations"; and in (F), added the text following "specialized mission and student population".