A. The secretary, upon receipt of a notice of appeal or upon the secretary's own motion, shall review decisions of a chartering authority concerning charter schools in accordance with the provisions of this section.

B. A charter applicant or governing body that wishes to appeal a decision of the chartering authority concerning the denial, nonrenewal, suspension or revocation of a charter school or the imposition of conditions that are unacceptable to the charter school or charter school applicant shall provide the secretary with a notice of appeal within thirty days after the chartering authority's decision. The charter school applicant or governing body bringing the appeal shall limit the grounds of the appeal to the grounds for denial, nonrenewal, suspension or revocation or the imposition of conditions that were specified by the chartering authority. The notice shall include a brief statement of the reasons the charter school applicant or governing body contends the chartering authority's decision was in error. Except as provided in Subsection E of this section, the appeal and review process shall be as follows within sixty days after receipt of the notice of appeal, the secretary, at a public hearing that may be held in the school district in which the charter school is located or in which the proposed charter school has applied for a charter, shall review the decision of the chartering authority and make findings. If the secretary finds that the chartering authority acted arbitrarily or capriciously, rendered a decision not supported by substantial evidence or did not act in accordance with law, the secretary may reverse the decision of the chartering authority and order the approval of the charter with or without conditions. The decision of the secretary shall be final.

C. The secretary, on the secretary's own motion, may review a chartering authority's decision to grant a charter. Within sixty days after the making of a motion to review by the secretary, the secretary, at a public hearing that may be held in the school district in which the proposed charter school that has applied for a charter will be located, shall review the decision of the chartering authority and determine whether the decision was arbitrary or capricious or whether the establishment or operation of the proposed charter school would:

(1) violate any federal or state laws concerning civil rights;

(2) violate any court order; or

(3) threaten the health and safety of students within the school district.

D. If the secretary determines that the charter would violate the provisions set forth in Subsection C of this section, the secretary shall deny the charter application. The secretary may extend the time lines established in this section for good cause. The decision of the secretary shall be final.

E. If a chartering authority denies an application or refuses to renew a charter because the public school capital outlay council has determined that the facilities do not meet the standards required by Section 22-8B-4.2 NMSA 1978, the charter school applicant or charter school may appeal the decision to the secretary as otherwise provided in this section; provided that the secretary shall reverse the decision of the chartering authority only if the secretary determines that the decision was arbitrary, capricious, not supported by substantial evidence or otherwise not in accordance with the law.

F. A person aggrieved by a final decision of the secretary may appeal the decision to the district court pursuant to the provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 1999, ch. 281, § 7; 2005, ch. 221, § 5; 2006, ch. 94, § 34.

Cross references. — For the Public School Capital Outlay Council, see 22-24-6 NMSA 1978.

For the secretary of public education, see 9-24-5 NMSA 1978.

For the secretary of public education, see 9-24-5 NMSA 1978.

For appeals to the district court, see 1-074 NMRA.

The 2006 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, changed "local school board" to "chartering authority" in Subsections A through C and E; in Subsection B, deleted the provision which provided for remand of the decision of the local school board if the secretary finds the decision contrary to the best interests of the students, school district or community with directions to approve the application and added a new provision which provides for the reversal of a decision of the chartering authority if the decision is arbitrary, capricious, not supported by substantial evidence or not in accordance with the law; deleted the provision of former Paragraph (2) of Subsection B which provided that within thirty days after remand the application shall be approved; deleted Paragraph (4) of Subsection C which provided for review to determine if the charter school would violate Section 22-8B-11 NMSA 1978; and added Subsection F to provide for an appeal to the district court.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, changed "state board" to "secretary"; provided in Subsection B that the appellant shall limit the grounds of the appeal to grounds that include the imposition of conditions that were specified by the local school board, that the notice shall include a statement of the reasons the governing board contends the local school board's decision was in error, and that except as provided in Subsection E, the appeal and review process shall consist of the procedure specified in Subsections B(1) and (2); provided in Subsection B(1) that the hearing shall be held in the school district in which the charter school is located; and added Subsection E to provide for the appeal by a charter school of a decision to deny an application or to refuse to renew a charter because the public school capital outlay council has determine the facilities does not meet statutory standards and to prescribe a standard of review by the secretary.