(a) An open-enrollment public charter school shall:

1. (1) Be governed by an eligible entity that is fiscally accountable under the governing structure as described by the charter;
2. (2) Provide instruction to students at one (1) or more elementary or secondary grade levels as provided by the charter;
3. (3) Retain the authority to operate under the charter contingent on satisfactory student performance as provided by the charter in accordance with the Arkansas Quality Charter Schools Act of 2013, Arkansas Code § 6-23-101 et seq., and this part;
4. (4) Have no authority to impose taxes;

5. (5)

   1. (A) Not incur any debts without the prior review and approval of the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.
   2. (B) Requests for approval of debt must be submitted to the commissioner by the open-enrollment public charter school no later than thirty (30) days prior to the date upon which the debt will be incurred.
   3. (C)

(i) Under circumstances involving imminent peril to the health, welfare, or safety of students, or under circumstances that may negatively impact the continuation of educational services offered by the public charter school, and upon written request from the public charter school, the commissioner may waive the thirty (30) day deadline set forth in subdivision (a)(5)(B) of this section.

1. (ii) The decision of whether to grant such a waiver is within the sole discretion of the commissioner;

2. (6)

   1. (A) Not enter into any short-term line of credit, or receive any funds from a short-term line of credit, without prior notice to the commissioner.

   2. (B) Notice of a short-term line of credit must identify the:

      1. (i) Lender or creditor;
      2. (ii) Principal amount;
      3. (iii) Interest rate; and
      4. (iv) Payment terms.
   3. (C) No public funds may be used to repay any short-term line of credit unless prior notice of the line of credit was given to and received by the commissioner;
3. (7) Not charge students tuition or fees that would not be allowable charges in the public school districts; and
4. (8) Not be religious in its operations or programmatic offerings.

(b) An open-enrollment public charter school is subject to any prohibition, restriction, or requirement imposed by Title 6 of the Arkansas Code and any rule promulgated by the State Board of Education under Title 6 of the Arkansas Code relating to:

1. (1) Monitoring compliance with Title 6 of the Arkansas Code, as determined by the commissioner;
2. (2) Public school accountability under Title 6 of the Arkansas Code;
3. (3) High school graduation requirements as established by the state board;
4. (4) Special education programs as provided by Title 6 of the Arkansas Code;
5. (5) Conducting criminal background checks for employees as provided by Title 6 of the Arkansas Code;

6. (6) Health and safety codes as established by:

   1. (A) The state board; and
   2. (B) Local governmental entities;

7. (7) Ethical guidelines and prohibitions as established by:

   1. (A) Arkansas Code § 6-24-101 et seq.; and

   2. (B) Any other controlling state or federal law regarding:

      1. (i) Ethics; or
      2. (ii) Conflicts of interest; and

8. (8) Reporting through the Arkansas Public School Computer Network applications as provided under Title 6 of the Arkansas Code.

   1. (c) An open-enrollment public elementary charter school is subject to the requirements of Arkansas Code § 6-16-102(a) concerning recess and may only seek a waiver of those requirements if the school:

9. (1) Submits to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval of an alternative plan for recess that:

   1. (A) Exceeds the required minimum amount of minutes combined for physical activity under Arkansas Code § 6-16-132 and recess under Arkansas Code § 6-16-102(a); and
   2. (B) Provides for both structured and unstructured social time; or
10. (2) Is approved by the division to operate as a virtual school.