R277-552-5. Charter School Expansion Requests

  (1) A charter school may request approval for an expansion if:

  (a) the charter school satisfies the requirements of federal and state law, regulations, rule, and the charter agreement; and

  (b)(i) the charter school's charter agreement provides for an expansion consistent with the request; or

  (ii) the charter school governing board has submitted a formal amendment request to the charter school authorizer consistent with the charter school authorizer's requirements.

  (2) If the charter school authorizer approves a charter school expansion, the expansion shall be approved before October 1 of the state fiscal year prior to the school's intended expansion date.

  (3) A charter school authorizer that authorizes an expansion of the authorizer's charter school shall provide the total number of students by grade that the charter school is authorized to enroll to the Superintendent on or before October 1 of the state fiscal year prior to the charter school's intended expansion date.

  (4) When considering whether to approve a charter school's request for an expansion, an authorizer shall consider the following:

  (a) the amount of time the charter school has operated successfully meeting the terms of its charter agreement;

  (b) two years of academic performance data of students at the charter school, including whether the charter school is performing at or above:

  (i) the academic goals established in the charter school's charter agreement; and

  (ii) the average academic performance of other district and charter schools in the area, or for schools targeting specific populations, schools with similar demographics;

  (c) the financial position of the charter school, as evidenced by the charter school's financial records, including the charter school's:

  (i) most recent annual financial report (AFR);

  (ii) annual program report (APR); and

  (iii) audited financial statement;

  (d) whether the charter school has a waiting list for enrollment;

  (e) adequacy of the charter school's facility;

  (f) any student safety issues; and

  (g) ability to meet state and federal reporting requirements, including whether the charter school has regularly met Board reporting deadlines.

  (5) A charter school requesting an expansion shall provide the information described in Subsection (4) to the authorizer with the charter school's request for expansion.