A proposed law that would allow the Minneapolis Public Schools, and other districts, to boost enrollment by partnering with charter schools could get a look in the next legislative session.

At least four DFL lawmakers support the "Collaborative Charter School" law, which would allow the district to partner with charter schools or charter school organizers, Minneapolis schools lobbyist Jim Grathwol recently told school board members.

"It is the direction of school reform nationally," said Brian Sweeney, director of external affairs for Charter School Partners, a Minnesota-based organization that lends support to charter school startups.

Charter schools in Minneapolis and elsewhere operate independently, siphoning students and money the districts would prefer to keep.

Under the legislation charter school students would count in a school district's enrollment and academic achievement reporting. In Minneapolis, students would receive a Minneapolis Public Schools diploma.

The change could bring thousands more students to Minneapolis, the state's third largest district. More than 10,500 students attend 35 charter schools in Minneapolis, said Eugene Piccolo, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools.

The district already authorizes two charter schools, Friendship Academy of Fine Arts and the Minnesota School of Science, with the potential for another, Minneapolis College Preparatory, to open next fall.

The participating charter schools would receive student funding directly from the state Department of Education, retain control over teaching methods and still employ and dismiss their own employees.

The charters also would have access to referendum revenue and the district's facilities plus shelter from the state aid shifts that have hit charter charter schools hard, forcing them freeze teacher hiring, take out loans and draw heavily from their savings, school district lobbyist Jim Grathwol told school board members.

Without property tax money that many district rely on, charter schools often struggle to stay afloat financially, Piccolo said.

The legislation will be part of the Minneapolis' 2012 legislative agenda after languishing last session.

"There wasn't a lot of opposition [last session]," Sweeney said. "It was a victim of scheduling; the time just ran out."

Sen. Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-Minneapolis) and Rep. Linda Slocum (DFL-Richfield) are co-sponsors of the bill, House Bill No. 1460 and Senate No. 1185. Reps. Sandra Peterson (DFL-New Hope) and Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) also support the legislation, Grathwol told school board members.

Charter School Legislation