1. (a) A school corporation shall notify the department not later than thirty (30) days after the date the governing body elects to close a covered school building and include with the notification whether the school corporation contends that the building should or should not be made available as provided by this chapter. The school corporation shall notify the department in the annual report required under IC 20-26-7-48 that the school corporation elects to or is required under IC 20-26-7-47 to close a covered school building. The notice must be in the annual report submitted under IC 20-26-7-48 after the school elects to or is required to close the covered school building. The department shall notify interested persons concerning the availability of a covered school building under subsection (d).

2. (b) Not later than fifteen (15) days after:

   1. (1) the department receives the earliest notice under subsection (a); or

   2. (2) if the department determines that a covered school building qualifies for closure under IC 20-26-7-47 , the date a final order to close a covered school building is issued under IC 20-26-7-47 ;

      the governing body shall take the actions specified by this subsection and subsection (c). The department shall order a school corporation to comply with this subsection and subsection (c) and request that the attorney general enforce the order under section 9(a) of this chapter.

3. (c) The governing body shall do the following:

   1. (1) Make the covered school building available for inspection by a charter school or state educational institution that notifies the department that it is interested in leasing or purchasing the covered school building.

   2. (2) Make the following information available to a charter school or state educational institution described in subdivision (1):

      1. (A) Estimates of the operating expenses for the covered school building for the past three (3) years.
      2. (B) Written information regarding the condition of the covered school building, including the age of the roof and the HVAC system, and any known conditions which, in the governing body's opinion, require prompt repair or replacement.
      3. (C) A legal description of the property.

4. (d) Not later than fifteen (15) days after the earlier of:

   1. (1) receiving the earliest notice under subsection (a); or

   2. (2) if the department determines that a covered school building qualifies for closure under IC 20-26-7-47 , the date a final unappealable order to close a covered school building is issued under IC 20-26-7-47 ;

      the department shall place a notice on the department's website that the covered school building is available for purchase or lease under this chapter and provide written notification to each interested person, including the date when the covered school building will close, no longer be used, or become vacant.

5. (e) The school corporation shall lease the covered school building to a charter school or state educational institution for one dollar ($1) per year for as long as the state educational institution uses the covered school building for an academic purpose or the charter school uses the covered school building for classroom instruction, for a term at the state educational institution's or charter school's discretion, or sell the covered school building for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or state educational institution does the following:

   1. (1) Within ninety (90) days of receiving the department's notice under subsection (d), a charter school or state educational institution must submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building.

   2. (2) Subject to subsection (f), within ninety (90) days of receiving the department's notice under subsection (d), a charter school or state educational institution must submit to the school corporation the following information:

      1. (A) The name of the charter school or state educational institution that is interested in leasing or purchasing the covered school building.

      2. (B) A time frame, which may not exceed two (2) years from the date that the covered school building is to be closed, no longer used, or no longer occupied, in which the:

         1. (i) charter school intends to begin providing classroom instruction in the covered school building; or
         2. (ii) state educational institution intends to begin using the covered school building for an academic purpose.
      3. (C) A resolution, adopted by the board of the charter school or state educational institution stating that the board of the charter school or state educational institution has determined that, after the charter school or state educational institution has made any necessary repairs or modifications, the covered school building will be sufficient to meet the charter school's or state educational institution's needs and can be operated within the charter school's or state educational institution's budget.
6. (f) If the department does not receive any preliminary requests to purchase or lease a covered school building within the time frame described in subsection (e)(1), the department shall send notification to the school corporation that the department has not received any preliminary requests to purchase or lease the covered school building. Upon receipt of the notification under this subsection, the school corporation may sell or otherwise dispose of the covered school building in accordance with IC 36-1-11 , IC 20-25-4-14 , and IC 20-26-5-4 (a)(7).

7. (g) If only one (1) charter school submits a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building, the department shall notify the school corporation of the identity of the charter school and direct the school corporation to complete a sale or lease to the charter school in accordance with subsection (k). In the event that two (2) or more charter schools submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease a covered school building within the time frame described in subsection (e)(1), the department shall send notification to each interested person and the school corporation that the department has received two (2) or more preliminary requests under this section. An authorizer committee shall be established, with each statewide authorizer that has authorized one (1) or more charter schools appointing a representative, and the committee shall establish the chairperson and procedures for the committee. Within sixty (60) days of receiving notice under this subsection, the committee shall select which charter school may proceed under subsection (k) to purchase or lease the covered school building or determine if two (2) or more charter schools should co-locate within the covered school building. The committee shall base the committee's decision on the following criteria:

   1. (1) Preference shall be given to existing charter schools that have a proven track record of student academic performance.

   2. (2) If two (2) or more charter schools of proven academic performance are competing and only one (1) charter school is operating in the county in which the covered school building is located, the charter school in the same county as the covered school building shall be given preference.

      In the event that the committee determines that two (2) or more charter schools should co-locate in the covered school building, the charter schools have sixty (60) days to submit a memorandum of understanding stating that the charter schools shall be jointly and severally liable for the obligations related to the sale or lease of the covered school building, and specifying how the charter schools will utilize the covered school building and share responsibility for operational, maintenance, and renovation expenses. If the charter schools are unable to agree, the charter schools shall be deemed to have revoked their prior request regarding the lease or sale of the covered school building. The committee shall give notice of the committee's decision to the school corporation and each interested person. A charter school that is not selected by the committee may appeal the decision to the state board not more than thirty (30) days after receipt of the committee's decision. The state board shall issue a final order in the appeal not more than sixty (60) days after receipt of a properly filed appeal. Notice of the appeal and the final order in the appeal must be given to the school corporation.

8. (h) If a charter school does not submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building and only one (1) state educational institution submits a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building, the department shall:

   1. (1) notify the school corporation of the identity of the state educational institution; and
   2. (2) direct the school corporation to complete a sale or lease to the state educational institution in accordance with subsection (k).
9. (i) If one (1) or more state educational institutions submit preliminary requests to purchase or lease a covered school building, a selection committee shall be established consisting of one (1) member appointed by the executive of the largest city or town in the county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the city or town council of the largest city or town in the county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the county commissioners of the county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the county council of the county in which the covered school building is located, and one (1) member appointed by the chamber of commerce of the county in which the covered school building is located.

10. (j) Not later than sixty (60) days after the date that a member is appointed under subsection (i), the committee shall:

    1. (1) select which state educational institution may proceed to purchase or lease the covered school building; or

    2. (2) determine whether more than one (1) state educational institution should co-locate within the covered school building.

       In making the committee's determination, the committee shall give preference to a state educational institution whose proposed use of the covered school building is assessed as having the greatest educational benefit for prekindergarten through grade 12 education. A committee determination under this subsection may not be appealed.

11. (k) A school corporation shall lease the covered school building for one dollar ($1) per year to the charter school or state educational institution for as long as the:

    1. (1) charter school uses the covered school building for classroom instruction for any combination of kindergarten through grade 12; or

    2. (2) state educational institution uses the covered school building for an academic purpose.

       The term of the lease shall be established at the charter school's or state educational institution's discretion and include an option for the state educational institution or charter school to purchase the covered school building for one dollar ($1). Alternatively, the school corporation shall sell the covered school building to the charter school or state educational institution for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or state educational institution has met the requirements set forth in subsection

    3. (e) and uses the covered school building in the manner prescribed by this subsection. If the charter school or state educational institution selected to lease or purchase the covered school building has met the requirements under subsection (e), the school corporation has not more than ninety (90) days after the date notice of a final unappealable decision is received by the school corporation to complete the lease or sale of the covered school building to the charter school or state educational institution. If the transaction is not completed within ninety
    4. (90) days, the department or the selected charter school or state educational institution may, under section 9 of this chapter, request that the attorney general enforce the sale or lease or may file suit to enforce the sale or lease. If a charter school or state educational institution has not met the requirements under subsection (e), the school corporation may sell or otherwise dispose of the covered school building in accordance with IC 36-1-11 , IC 20-25-4-14 , and IC 20-26-5-4 (a)(7).

As added by P.L.270-2019, SEC.13. Amended by P.L.32-2021, SEC.51; P.L.155-2021, SEC.3; P.L.189-2023, SEC.16.