House Bill 353 – House Amendment 1

This Act pauses the granting of new school charters and modifications to charters in New Castle County and creates a New Castle County Charter School Reform Advisory Group (Advisory Group), to review the process and criteria for granting new charter schools and modifications to charters, and to recommend process improvements and new criteria that will improve equity and better integrate charter schools into the overall public school system for children in kindergarten through grade 12 in New Castle County. The Advisory Group’s final report is due by December 1, 2022. In addition, under this Act, effective March 1, 2022, the Department of Education may not, for a school in New Castle County, grant a new school charter or a modification to a charter until January 1, 2024. This moratorium provides an opportunity to review how the current process and criteria for granting charters can be improved for New Castle County and for decisions on future charter applications to be based upon changes implemented based on the recommendations of the Advisory Group.