1. A. An applicant seeking to establish a charter school shall first submit a written proposal to the proposed sponsor as prescribed in subsection D of this section. The proposal shall include:

   1. 1. A mission statement for the charter school;
   2. 2. A description of the organizational structure and the governing body of the charter school;
   3. 3. A financial plan for the first three (3) years of operation of the charter school and a description of the treasurer or other officers or persons who shall have primary responsibility for the finances of the charter school. Such person shall have demonstrated experience in school finance or the equivalent thereof;
   4. 4. A description of the hiring policy of the charter school;
   5. 5. The name of the applicant or applicants and requested sponsor;
   6. 6. A description of the facility and location of the charter school;
   7. 7. A description of the grades being served;
   8. 8. An outline of criteria designed to measure the effectiveness of the charter school; and
   9. 9. A demonstration of support for the charter school from residents of the school district which may include but is not limited to a survey of the school district residents or a petition signed by residents of the school district.
2. B. A board of education of a public school district, public body, public or private college or university, private person, or private organization may contract with a sponsor to establish a charter school. A private school shall not be eligible to contract for a charter school under the provisions of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.
3. C. The sponsor of a charter school is the board of education of a local school district or a technology center school district which meets the criteria established in Section 3-132 of this title. Any board of education of a school district in the state may sponsor one or more charter schools. The physical location of a charter school sponsored by a board of education of a local school district or a technology center school district shall be within the boundaries of the sponsoring school district.
4. D. An applicant for a charter school may submit an application to a board of education of a school district or a technology center school district which shall either accept or reject sponsorship of the charter school within ninety (90) days of receipt of the application. If the board rejects the application, it shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the rejection. The applicant may submit a revised application for reconsideration to the board within thirty (30) days after receiving notification of the rejection. The board shall accept or reject the revised application within thirty (30) days of its receipt.
5. E. A board of education of a school district or a technology center school district shall notify the State Board of Education when the board accepts sponsorship of a charter school. The notification shall include a copy of the charter of the charter school.
6. F. If a board of education rejects the revised application for a charter school, the applicant may proceed to mediation or binding arbitration or both mediation and binding arbitration as provided in the Dispute Resolution Act and the rules promulgated pursuant thereto. The applicant shall contact the early settlement program for the county in which the charter school would be located. If the parties proceed to binding arbitration, a panel of three arbitrators shall be appointed by the director of the early settlement program handling the dispute. The board of education shall pay the cost for any mediation or arbitration requested pursuant to this section.

Laws 1999, HB 1759, c. 320, § 9, emerg. eff. July 1, 1999; Amended by Laws 2001, HB 1214, c. 33, § 69, emerg. eff. July 1, 2001 (superseded document available).