1. A. The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall apply only to charter schools formed and operated under the provisions of the act. Charter schools shall be sponsored only as follows:

   1. 1. By a local school district with an average daily membership of five thousand (5,000) or more and which all or part of the school district is located in a county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population according to the latest federal Decennial Census; or

   2. 2. By a technology center school district only when the charter school is located in a local school district served by the technology center school district and only if the local school district has an average daily membership of five thousand (5,000) or more and which all or part of the local school district is located in a county having more than five hundred thousand (500,000) population according to the latest federal Decennial Census.

      Additional charter schools may be sponsored as provided for in Section 3-133 of this title.

      Charter schools formed pursuant to the act shall serve as a pilot program to demonstrate the potential of expanding charter schools to other parts of the state. Any charter or enterprise school operating in the state pursuant to an agreement with the board of education of a school district on July 1, 1999, may continue to operate pursuant to that agreement or may contract with the board of education of the school district pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act. Nothing in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act shall prohibit a school district from applying for exemptions from certain education-related statutory requirements as provided for in the Education Deregulation Act.

2. B. For purposes of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, "charter school" means a public school established by contract with a board of education of a school district or an area vocational-technical school district pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act to provide learning that will improve student achievement and as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 8065.
3. C. A charter school may consist of a new school site, new school sites or all or any portion of an existing school site. An entire school district may not become a charter school site.

Laws 1999, HB 1759, c. 320, § 7, emerg. eff. July 1, 1999; Amended by Laws 2000, HB 2728, c. 232, § 5, emerg. eff. July 1, 2000 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2001, HB 1214, c. 33, § 67, emerg. eff. July 1, 2001 (superseded document available).