1. (a)

   1. (1) Each county board shall develop a public charter school policy and provide it to the State Board.

   2. (2) The policy required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include guidelines and procedures regarding:

      1. (i) Evaluation of public charter schools;
      2. (ii) Revocation of a charter;
      3. (iii) Reporting requirements; and
      4. (iv) Financial, programmatic, or compliance audits of public charter schools.
   3. (3) The policy required under paragraph (1) of this subsection, including any updates or amendments made to the policy, shall be provided to the Department and made available on request and posted on the website of the county board.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The Department shall designate a staff person to function as a contact person for the Maryland Public Charter School Program.

   2. (2) The staff person designated as a contact person under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall:

      1. (i) Provide technical assistance to the operator of a public charter school to help the school meet the requirements of federal and State laws, including 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq. and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794; and
      2. (ii) Gather information from public charter schools in the State regarding innovative approaches to education and best practices taking place at public charter schools that may be shared with and disseminated to other public schools in the State.

3. (c) The Department shall report annually by December 1 to the General Assembly in accordance with § 2-1257 of the State Government Article regarding:

   1. (1) Any updates or amendments made to a public charter school policy under subsection (a) of this section; and
   2. (2) Implementation of this title.

Added by Acts 2003, c. 358, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003. Amended by Acts 2015, c. 311, § 1, eff. June 1, 2015; Acts 2019, c. 8, § 5.