Sec 15-215. Petition process for regulatory exemptions; annual report

A. Notwithstanding any other law, if a school district or charter school has been assigned a letter grade of A pursuant to section 15-241 during at least two out of the last three consecutive years and has not been assigned a letter grade of C, D or F during the same three years and the school district or charter school does not have any schools under its control that have been assigned a letter grade of F pursuant to section 15-241 during the same three years, the school district or charter school may receive exemptions from statutes and rules as prescribed in this section.

B. If a school district or charter school qualifies for an exemption pursuant to subsection A of this section, the school district or charter school on approval of the charter school sponsor may identify and submit exemptions to statutes and rules relating to schools, charter schools, school district governing boards, charter school governing bodies and school districts to the state board of education for approval. The state board of education shall review and may approve the exemptions submitted by the school district or charter school, except for those statutes and rules that the state board of education determines directly apply to the following, as applicable:

1. Certification.

2. Health and safety.

3. State academic standards and assessments.

4. Requirements for the graduation of pupils from high school.

5. Special education.

6. Financial compliance and procurement requirements.

7. The school and school district accountability provisions of section 15-241.

C. The state board of education may make adjustments to the list of exemptions submitted by school districts and charter schools to comply with voter-approved mandates and federal law in the least restrictive manner allowed by law.

D. Exemptions previously issued by the state board of education pursuant to this section shall be immediately discontinued if a school district or charter school falls below the criteria prescribed in subsection A of this section.

E. The state board of education shall submit to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives on or before December 1 of each year a report that includes a list of the exemptions submitted by school districts and charter schools and a list of the exemptions that were denied by the state board. The state board shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.