Charter schools; authorize state universities and community colleges to issue charters and revise various other provisions.

An Act To Amend Section 37-28-7, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize State Institutions Of Higher Learning And Community And Junior Colleges, In Addition To The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, To Authorize Charter Schools; To Require State Institutions Of Higher Learning And Community And Junior Colleges Desiring To Authorize Charter Schools To Establish An Office Specifically For That Purpose; To Require The Chair Of The Charter School Authorizer Board To Be Selected From Among The Members Appointed To The Board By The Governor And Lieutenant Governor; To Amend Section 37-28-5, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Revise Definitions Used In The Mississippi Charter Schools Act In Conformity To The Preceding Provisions; To Amend Section 37-28-9, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize Charter School Authorizers To Amend Charter School Contracts In Order To Approve Mergers, Consolidations And Reconfigurations Without Closing A Charter School; To Amend Section 37-28-11, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Prohibit An Authorizer That Receives An Appropriation For Its Operational Support From Retaining A Portion Of Per-pupil Allocations For Its Support; To Amend Section 37-28-13, Mississippi Code Of 1972, In Conformity To The Provisions Of This Act; To Amend Section 37-28-15, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize Charter School Authorizers To Limit The Information Initially Submitted By A Charter School Applicant To That Which The Authorizer Deems Essential; To Amend Section 37-28-19, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize Certain Applicants That Are Denied A Charter To Remedy The Application's Deficiencies And Reapply Before The Next Regular Application Process; To Amend Section 37-28-21, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize Charter Schools To Apply For Oversight With A Different Authorizer During The Term Of An Existing Charter Contract; To Amend Section 37-28-23, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Revise The Manner In Which A Charter School's Underserved Population Is Compared To That Of The Local School District And To Authorize An Enrollment Preference For Children Transferring To A Charter School From Another School Chartered By The Same Authorizer; To Amend Section 37-28-29, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Limit Comparisons To A Local School District's Academic Performance To Five Percent Of The Overall Academic Evaluation Of A Charter School; To Amend Section 37-28-33, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Authorize Charter Schools That Receive A Renewal Contract Of Less Than Five Years To Appeal The Decision In The Same Manner That Nonrenewals And Revocations Are Appealed; To Amend Section 37-28-37, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Eliminate Annual Peer Committee Reports On The Sufficiency Of Charter School Funding And To Require Additional Reports From Charter School Authorizers; To Amend Section 37-28-47, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Exclude Provisionally Licensed Teachers And Teachers Out Of Field From The 25% Limitation On Charter School Teachers Exempt Fro