Notification requirements; timeline; determination by department; appeal; sell or lease to county or municipal government; civil action; award of injunctive relief or damages

Ind. Code § 20-26-7.1-4

in effect

Sec. 4. (a) Not later than thirty (30) days after the date a governing body of a school corporation determines at a public meeting to cease using a covered school building for classroom instruction on student instructional days (as described in IC 20-30-2-2) for a school year as required under IC 20-30-2-3, a school corporation shall provide written notice to the department regarding the date that the covered school building has ceased or will cease being used for classroom instruction as described in this subsection. (b) If the school corporation does not intend to make a covered school building available for lease or purchase in accordance with this chapter, the school corporation shall state in the notice required under subsection (a) the factual and legal basis for the school corporation's contention that the covered school building is not required to be made available under this chapter. The school corporation has the burden of going forward with the evidence and the burden of proof to demonstrate that the covered school building is not required to be made available under this chapter. Any claim for exclusion from a requirement to make the covered school building available under this chapter which is not stated in the notice under this subsection is waived. (c) If a school corporation does not provide notice to the department under subsection (a), any claim for exclusion from a requirement to make the covered school building available under this chapter is waived. (d) Not later than fifteen (15) days after the date that the department receives a notice from a school corporation under subsection (a), the department shall provide written notice to all interested persons regarding the notice from the school corporation submitted under subsection (a). (e) If a notice from a school corporation under subsection (a) acknowledges that the covered school building will be made available in accordance with this chapter, the department's notice to interested persons shall provide that any notice of interest by an interested person for the covered school building must be submitted to the department not later than sixty (60) days after the date the interested person receives the department's notice under subsection (d). (f) If a notice from a school corporation under subsection (a) includes a claim that the covered school building will not be made available under this chapter, an interested person may submit to the department, not later than thirty (30) days after the date the interested person receives the notice from the department under subsection (d), a rebuttal to the factual and legal basis for the school corporation's contention that the covered school building is not required to be made available under this chapter. (g) The department shall, not later than sixty (60) days after the date that a response is filed under IC 20-26-7-47(l) or a rebuttal is submitted under subsection (f), issue a determination to the parties to the proceeding as to whether the covered school building must be made available under this chapter. The department shall publish a copy of the determination on the department's website. (h) Not later than sixty (60) days after the date that the department issues a determination under subsection (g), a party to the proceeding may file with the state board a petition requesting review of the department's determination. An appeal to the state board shall be subject to the procedure described in IC 20-26-11-15(b). (i) The state board shall issue a final determination on an appeal filed under subsection (h) not later than forty-five (45) days after the date on which an appeal is filed. (j) If a petition requesting review under subsection (h) has not been concluded by a final determination by the state board under subsection (i) within two (2) years after the initial notice of interest in acquiring the covered school building was submitted by a party to the proceeding, a party to the proceeding may request that the department determine whether a school building: (1) is not required to be made available for lease or purchase to a party to the proceeding under this chapter; or (2) is required to be conveyed to a party to the proceeding in accordance with this chapter. The department shall make a determination on a request submitted under this subsection not later than thirty (30) days after the date the department receives the request. After the department issues an order under this subsection, the pending petition requesting review shall be deemed resolved by final order and there shall be no administrative or judicial review of the order. (k) If a party to the proceeding chooses to appeal a final determination issued by the state board under subsection (i), the appeal may only be filed in the court of appeals and must be filed not later than thirty (30) days after the date the final determination is issued by the state board. A school corporation that files an appeal of the state board's final determination and is determined to be the nonprevailing party by the court of appeals shall be responsible for the reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the prevailing party. (l) Not later than fifteen (15) days after the department provides notice to interested parties under subsection (d) that a covered school building is to be closed, the governing body shall do the following: (1) Make the covered school building available for inspection by a charter school or state educational institution that notifies the department that it is interested in leasing or purchasing the covered school building. (2) Make the following information available to a charter school or state educational institution described in subdivision (1): (A) Estimates of the operating expenses for the covered school building for the past three (3) years. (B) Written information regarding the condition of the covered school building, including the age of the roof and the HVAC system, and any known conditions which, in the governing body's opinion, require prompt repair or replacement. (C) A legal description of the property. (m) If the governing body fails to take the actions required under subsection (l), a charter school having notified the school corporation of its interest in the covered school building is entitled to an injunction requiring the governing body to take the actions under subsection (l). (n) The school corporation shall lease the covered school building to a charter school or state educational institution for one dollar ($1) per year for as long as the state educational institution uses the covered school building for an academic purpose or the charter school uses the covered school building for classroom instruction, for a term at the state educational institution's or charter school's discretion, or sell the covered school building for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or state educational institution does the following: (1) Within ninety (90) days of receiving the department's notice under subsection (d), a charter school or state educational institution must submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building. (2) Subject to subsection (o), within ninety (90) days of receiving the department's notice under subsection (d), a charter school or state educational institution must submit to the school corporation the following information: (A) The name of the charter school or state educational institution that is interested in leasing or purchasing the covered school building. (B) A time frame, which may not exceed three (3) years from the date that the covered school building is to be closed, no longer used, or no longer occupied, in which the: (i) charter school intends to begin providing classroom instruction in the covered school building; or (ii) state educational institution intends to begin using the covered school building for an academic purpose. (C) A resolution, adopted by the board of the charter school or state educational institution stating that the board of the charter school or state educational institution has determined that, after the charter school or state educational institution has made any necessary repairs or modifications, the covered school building will be sufficient to meet the charter school's or state educational institution's needs and can be operated within the charter school's or state educational institution's budget. (o) If the department does not receive any preliminary requests to purchase or lease a covered school building within the time frame described in subsection (n)(1), the department shall send notification to the school corporation that the department has not received any preliminary requests to purchase or lease the covered school building. Upon receipt of the notification under this subsection, the school corporation may sell or lease the covered school building to the county or municipal government in which the school corporation is located for a mutually agreed upon price. If the county or municipal government does not purchase or lease the covered school building, the school corporation may sell or otherwise dispose of the covered school building in accordance with IC 36-1-11, IC 20-25-4-14, and IC 20-26-5-4(a)(7). (p) If only one (1) charter school submits a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building, the department shall notify the school corporation of the identity of the charter school and direct the school corporation to complete a sale or lease to the charter school in accordance with subsection (t). In the event that two (2) or more charter schools submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease a covered school building within the time frame described in subsection (n)(1), the department shall send notification to each interested person and the school corporation that the department has received two (2) or more preliminary requests under this section. An authorizer committee shall be established, with each statewide authorizer that has authorized one (1) or more charter schools appointing a representative, and the committee shall establish the chairperson and procedures for the committee. Within sixty (60) days of receiving notice under this subsection, the committee shall select which charter school may proceed under subsection (t) to purchase or lease the covered school building or determine if two (2) or more charter schools should co-locate within the covered school building. The committee shall base the committee's decision on the following criteria: (1) Preference shall be given to existing charter schools that have a proven track record of student academic performance. (2) If two (2) or more charter schools of proven academic performance are competing and only one (1) charter school is operating in the county in which the covered school building is located, the charter school in the same county as the covered school building shall be given preference. In the event that the committee determines that two (2) or more charter schools should co-locate in the covered school building, the charter schools have sixty (60) days to submit a memorandum of understanding stating that the charter schools shall be jointly and severally liable for the obligations related to the sale or lease of the covered school building, and specifying how the charter schools will utilize the covered school building and share responsibility for operational, maintenance, and renovation expenses. If the charter schools are unable to agree, the charter schools shall be deemed to have revoked their prior request regarding the lease or sale of the covered school building. The committee shall give notice of the committee's decision to the school corporation and each interested person. A charter school that is not selected by the committee may appeal the decision to the state board not more than thirty (30) days after receipt of the committee's decision. The state board shall issue a final order in the appeal not more than sixty (60) days after receipt of a properly filed appeal. Notice of the appeal and the final order in the appeal must be given to the school corporation. (q) If a charter school does not submit a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building and only one (1) state educational institution submits a preliminary request to purchase or lease the covered school building, the department shall: (1) notify the school corporation of the identity of the state educational institution; and (2) direct the school corporation to complete a sale or lease to the state educational institution in accordance with subsection (t). (r) If one (1) or more state educational institutions submit preliminary requests to purchase or lease a covered school building, a selection committee shall be established consisting of one (1) member appointed by the executive of the largest city or town in the county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the city or town council of the largest city or town in the county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the county commissioners of the county in which the covered school building is located, one (1) member appointed by the county council of the county in which the covered school building is located, and one (1) member appointed by the chamber of commerce of the county in which the covered school building is located. (s) Not later than sixty (60) days after the date that a member is appointed under subsection (r), the committee shall: (1) select which state educational institution may proceed to purchase or lease the covered school building; or (2) determine whether more than one (1) state educational institution should co-locate within the covered school building. In making the committee's determination, the committee shall give preference to a state educational institution whose proposed use of the covered school building is assessed as having the greatest educational benefit for prekindergarten through grade 12 education. A committee determination under this subsection may not be appealed. (t) A school corporation shall lease the covered school building for one dollar ($1) per year to the charter school or state educational institution for as long as the: (1) charter school uses the covered school building for classroom instruction for any combination of kindergarten through grade 12; or (2) state educational institution uses the covered school building for an academic purpose. The term of the lease shall be established at the charter school's or state educational institution's discretion and include an option for the state educational institution or charter school to purchase the covered school building for one dollar ($1). Alternatively, the school corporation shall sell the covered school building to the charter school or state educational institution for one dollar ($1), if the charter school or state educational institution has met the requirements set forth in subsection (n) and uses the covered school building in the manner prescribed by this subsection. If the charter school or state educational institution selected to lease or purchase the covered school building has met the requirements under subsection (n), the school corporation has not more than thirty (30) days after the date notice of a final unappealable decision is received by the school corporation to complete the lease or sale of the covered school building to the charter school or state educational institution. If the transaction is not completed within thirty (30) days, the department or the selected charter school or state educational institution may, under section 9 of this chapter, request that the attorney general enforce the sale or lease or may file suit to enforce the sale or lease. If a charter school or state educational institution has not met the requirements under subsection (n), the school corporation may sell or otherwise dispose of the covered school building in accordance with IC 36-1-11, IC 20-25-4-14, and IC 20-26-5-4(a)(7). (u) In addition to a request that the attorney general enforce the sale or lease or file suit to enforce the sale or lease of a covered school building under subsection (t), if the transaction described in subsection (t) is not completed within thirty (30) days after the date the notice of a final unappealable decision is received by the school corporation, the charter school or state educational institution may bring a civil action against the school corporation. The court may award to a charter school or state educational institution that prevails in an action under this subsection the following: (1) Injunctive relief. (2) Liquidated damages computed at a rate of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day for each day that exceeds the thirty (30) day time frame described in subsection (t). (v) A lease or sale of a covered school building to a charter school or a state educational institution under this section includes transfer of: (1) those assets that are fixtures of the covered school building; and (2) adjacent parking lots and playgrounds. As added by P.L.270-2019, SEC.13. Amended by P.L.32-2021, SEC.51; P.L.155-2021, SEC.3; P.L.189-2023, SEC.16; P.L.36-2024, SEC.5; P.L.1-2025, SEC.188; P.L.151-2026, SEC.13.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/20Fetched: 10/17/2026