(a) (1) In addition to the authority provided by Section 47605.5, a county board of education may also approve a petition for the operation of a charter school that operates at one or more sites within the geographic boundaries of the county and that provides instructional services that are not generally provided by a county office of education. A county board of education may approve a countywide charter only if it finds, in addition to the other requirements of this section, that the educational services to be provided by the charter school will offer services to a pupil population that will benefit from those services and that cannot be served as well by a charter school that operates in only one school district in the county. A petition for the establishment of a countywide charter school pursuant to this subdivision may be circulated throughout the county by any one or more persons seeking to establish the charter school. The petition may be submitted to the county board of education for review after either of the following conditions is met: (A) The petition is signed by a number of parents or guardians of pupils residing within the county that is equivalent to at least one-half of the number of pupils that the charter school estimates will enroll in the school for its first year of operation and each of the school districts where the charter school petitioner proposes to operate a facility has received at least 30 daysâ notice of the petitionerâs intent to operate a charter school pursuant to this section. (B) The petition is signed by a number of teachers that is equivalent to at least one-half of the number of teachers that the charter school estimates will be employed at the school during its first year of operation and each of the school districts where the charter school petitioner proposes to operate a facility has received at least 30 daysâ notice of the petitionerâs intent to operate a charter school pursuant to this section. (2) An existing public school shall not be converted to a charter school in accordance with this section. (3) After receiving approval of its petition, a charter school that proposes to establish operations at additional sites within the geographic boundaries of the county board of education shall notify the school districts where those sites will be located. The charter school shall also request a material revision of its charter by the county board of education that approved its charter and the county board of education shall consider whether to approve those additional locations at an open, public meeting, held no sooner than 30 days following notification of the school districts where the sites will be located. If approved, the location of the approved sites shall be a material revision of the charter schoolâs approved charter. (4) A petition shall include a prominent statement indicating that a signature on the petition means that the parent or guardian is meaningfully interested in having their child or ward attend the charter school, or in the case of a teacherâs signature, means that the teacher is meaningfully interested in teaching at the charter school. The proposed charter shall be attached to the petition. (b) No later than 60 days after receiving a petition, in accordance with subdivision (a), the county board of education shall hold a public hearing on the provisions of the charter, at which time the county board of education shall consider the level of support for the petition by teachers, parents or guardians, and the school districts where the charter school petitioner proposes to place school facilities. Following review of the petition and the public hearing, the county board of education shall either grant or deny the charter within 90 days of receipt of the petition. However, this date may be extended by an additional 30 days if both parties agree to the extension. A petition is deemed received by the county board of education for purposes of commencing the
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