1. (1) A charter school shall select its own employees.
2. (2) The charter school governing board shall determine the level of compensation and all terms and conditions of employment, except as otherwise provided in Subsections (7) and (8) and under this chapter and other related provisions.

3. (3) The following statutes governing public employees and officers do not apply to a charter school:

   1. (a) Chapter 11, Part 5, School District and Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Employee Requirements; and
   2. (b) Title 52, Chapter 3, Prohibiting Employment of Relatives.

4. (4)

   1. (a) To accommodate differentiated staffing and better meet student needs, a charter school, under rules adopted by the state board, shall employ teachers who are licensed.
   2. (b) The charter school governing board shall disclose the qualifications of its teachers to the parents of its students.

5. (5)

   1. (a) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), state board rules governing the licensing or certification of administrative and supervisory personnel do not apply to charter schools.
   2. (b) A director of special education in a charter school shall hold an appropriate license issued by the state board under Title 53E, Chapter 6, Education Professional Licensure.

6. (6)

   1. (a) An employee of a school district may request a leave of absence in order to work in a charter school upon approval of the local school board.
   2. (b) While on leave, the employee may retain seniority accrued in the school district and may continue to be covered by the benefit program of the district if the charter school and the local school board mutually agree.

7. (7)

   1. (a) A proposed or authorized charter school may elect to participate as an employer for retirement programs under:

      1. (i) Title 49, Chapter 12, Public Employees' Contributory Retirement Act;
      2. (ii) Title 49, Chapter 13, Public Employees' Noncontributory Retirement Act; and
      3. (iii) Title 49, Chapter 22, New Public Employees' Tier II Contributory Retirement Act.

   2. (b) An election under this Subsection (7):

      1. (i) shall be documented by a resolution adopted by the charter school governing board; and
      2. (ii) applies to the charter school as the employer and to all employees of the charter school.

   3. (c) The charter school governing board may offer employee benefit plans for its employees:

      1. (i) under Title 49, Chapter 20, Public Employees' Benefit and Insurance Program Act; or
      2. (ii) under any other program.
8. (8) A charter school may not revoke an election to participate made under Subsection (7).

9. (9) The charter school governing board shall ensure that, prior to the beginning of each school year:

   1. (a) each of the charter school's employees signs a document acknowledging that the employee:

      1. (i) has received:

         1. (A) the disclosure required under Section 63A-4-204.5 if the charter school participates in the Risk Management Fund; or
         2. (B) written disclosure similar to the disclosure required under Section 63A-4-204.5 if the charter school does not participate in the Risk Management Fund; and
      2. (ii) understands the legal liability protection provided to the employee and what is not covered, as explained in the disclosure; and

   2. (b)

      1. (i) at least one of the charter school's employees or another person is assigned human resource management duties, as defined in Section 17B-1-805; and
      2. (ii) the assigned employee or person described in Subsection (9)(b)(i) receives human resource management training, as defined in Section 17B-1-805.

Amended by Chapter 278, 2022 General Session