2008 Legislation
Print Friendly

HOUSE BILL NO. 685<br /> – Charter schools, support units

HOUSE BILL NO. 685

View Bill Status

View Bill Text

View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



Text to be added within a bill has been marked with Bold and
Underline. Text to be removed has been marked with
Strikethrough and Italic. How these codes are actually displayed will
vary based on the browser software you are using.

This sentence is marked with bold and underline to show added text.

This sentence is marked with strikethrough and italic, indicating
text to be removed.

Bill Status



H0685..........................................................by EDUCATION
CHARTER SCHOOLS - Amends existing law relating to public charter school
financial support to remove the limit on increases in public charter school
support units.

03/25    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
    Rpt prt - to 2nd rdg
03/26    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/27    3rd rdg - PASSED - 62-4-4
      AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black,
      Block, Bock, Bolz, Bowers, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez,
      Chew, Clark, Collins, Crane, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart, Harwood,
      Henbest, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Lake, Loertscher, Luker,
      Marriott, Mathews, Mortimer, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick,
      Pence, Raybould, Ringo, Roberts, Ruchti, Rusche, Schaefer,
      Shepherd(02), Shepherd(08), Shirley, Shively, Smith(30), Smith(24),
      Snodgrass, Stevenson, Thayn, Thomas, Trail, Vander Woude, Wills,
      Wood(27), Wood(35), Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- Boe, Durst, LeFavour, Sayler
      Absent and excused -- Henderson, Labrador, McGeachin, Moyle
    Floor Sponsor - Thayn
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/27    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Educ
03/28    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/31    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
    Rls susp - FAILED - 14-19-2
      AYES -- Bair, Bastian, Davis, Fulcher, Geddes, Goedde, Hammond,
      Heinrich, Jorgenson, Lodge, McGee, McKague, Richardson, Siddoway
      NAYS -- Andreason, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett, Cameron, Coiner,
      Corder, Darrington, Gannon(Gannon), Hill, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst,
      Little, Malepeai(Sagness), Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Werk
      Absent and excused -- McKenzie, Pearce
    Floor Sponsor - Bastian
    Ret'd to House
    Filed in Office of the Chief Clerk

Bill Text




                                                                       
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2008

                                                                       

                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 685

                                   BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT; AMENDING SECTION 33-5208,
  3        IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVE THE LIMIT ON INCREASES IN PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL SUP-
  4        PORT UNITS.

  5    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

  6        SECTION 1.  That Section 33-5208, Idaho Code, be, and the same  is  hereby
  7    amended to read as follows:

  8        33-5208.  PUBLIC  CHARTER  SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT. Except as provided in
  9    subsection (8) of this section, from the state educational support program the
 10    state department of education shall make the following apportionment  to  each
 11    public charter school for each fiscal year based on attendance figures submit-
 12    ted in a manner and time as required by the department of education:
 13        (1)  Per  student  support.  Computation  of support units for each public
 14    charter school shall be calculated as if it were a separate  school  according
 15    to the schedules in section 33-1002(4), Idaho Code, except that public charter
 16    schools with fewer than one hundred (100) secondary ADA shall use a divisor of
 17    twelve  (12)  and  the  minimum  units  shall not apply, and no public charter
 18    school shall receive an increase in support units  that  exceeds  the  support
 19    units it received in the prior year by more than thirty (30). Funding from the
 20    state  educational  support  program  shall be equal to the total distribution
 21    factor, plus the salary-based apportionment provided in chapter 10, title  33,
 22    Idaho  Code. Provided however, any public charter school that is formed by the
 23    conversion  of  an  existing  traditional  public  school  shall  be  assigned
 24    divisors, pursuant to section 33-1002, Idaho Code, that are no lower than  the
 25    divisors  of  the  school  district  in which the traditional public school is
 26    located, for each category of pupils listed.
 27        (2)  Special education. For each student enrolled in  the  public  charter
 28    school  who  is  entitled to special education services, the state and federal
 29    funds from the exceptional child education program for that student that would
 30    have been apportioned for that student to the school  district  in  which  the
 31    public charter school is located.
 32        (3)  Alternative  school support. Public charter schools may qualify under
 33    the provisions of sections 33-1002 and 33-1002C, Idaho Code, provided the pub-
 34    lic charter school meets the necessary statutory  requirements,  and  students
 35    qualify  for  attendance  at  an alternative school as provided by rule of the
 36    state board of education.
 37        (4)  Transportation support. Support shall be paid to the  public  charter
 38    school  as  provided in chapter 15, title 33, Idaho Code, and section 33-1006,
 39    Idaho Code. Each public charter school shall furnish the  department  with  an
 40    enrollment  count as of the first Friday in November, of public charter school
 41    students living more than one and one-half (1 1/2) miles from the school.  For
 42    charter schools in the initial year of operation, the petition shall include a
 43    proposal  for  transportation  services with an estimated first year cost. The

                                       2

  1    state department of education is authorized to include in the annual appropri-
  2    ation to the charter school eighty percent (80%) of the estimated  transporta-
  3    tion  cost.  The final appropriation payment in July shall reflect eighty-five
  4    percent (85%) of the actual cost.
  5        (5)  Payment schedule. The state department of education is authorized  to
  6    make  an  advance  payment  of  twenty-five  percent (25%) of a public charter
  7    school's estimated annual apportionment for its first year of  operation,  and
  8    each  year  thereafter,  provided the public charter school has an increase of
  9    student population in any given year of twenty (20)    students  or  more,  to
 10    assist the school with initial start-up costs or payroll obligations.
 11        (a)  For a state public charter school to receive the advance payment, the
 12        school  shall  submit its anticipated fall membership for each grade level
 13        to the state department of education by June 1.
 14        (b)  Using the figures provided by the public charter  school,  the  state
 15        department  of education shall determine an estimated annual apportionment
 16        from which the amount of the advance payment shall be calculated.  Advance
 17        payment  shall  be made to the school on or after July 1 but no later than
 18        July 31.
 19        (c)  All subsequent payments, taking into  account  the  one-time  advance
 20        payment  made for the first year of operation, shall be made to the public
 21        charter school in the same manner as other traditional public  schools  in
 22        accordance with the provisions of section 33-1009, Idaho Code.
 23    A  public  charter school shall comply with all applicable fiscal requirements
 24    of law, except that the following provisions shall not be applicable to public
 25    charter schools: section 33-1003B, Idaho Code, relating to guaranteed  minimum
 26    support; that portion of section 33-1004, Idaho Code, relating to reduction of
 27    the  administrative and instructional staff allowance when there is a discrep-
 28    ancy between the number allowed and the number actually employed; and  section
 29    33-1004E, Idaho Code, for calculation of district staff indices.
 30        (6)  Nothing  in  this  chapter shall be construed to prohibit any private
 31    person or organization from providing funding or other financial assistance to
 32    the establishment or operation of a public charter school.
 33        (7)  Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a public  charter  school  from
 34    applying for federal grant moneys.
 35        (8)  (a) For  the  period  July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2005, all public
 36        virtual schools shall be assigned divisors, pursuant to  section  33-1002,
 37        Idaho  Code,  that  are  no  higher than the median divisor shown for each
 38        respective category of pupils, among the  possible  divisors  listed,  for
 39        each  respective  category of pupils that contains more than one (1) divi-
 40        sor. If there is an even number of possible divisors listed for a particu-
 41        lar category of pupils, then the lesser of the  two  (2)  median  divisors
 42        shall  be  used.  For  the period July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2007, all
 43        public virtual schools shall be assigned  divisors,  pursuant  to  section
 44        33-1002,  Idaho  Code,  that are no higher than the second highest divisor
 45        shown, among the possible divisors listed, for each respective category of
 46        pupils that contains more than one (1)  divisor.  The  divisor  provisions
 47        contained herein shall only be applicable to the number of pupils in aver-
 48        age daily attendance in such public virtual schools for the period July 1,
 49        2003,  through  June  30,  2004.  If the number of pupils in average daily
 50        attendance in any particular category  of  pupils  increases,  during  the
 51        period  July  1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, to a number above that which
 52        existed in the prior fiscal year, then those additional pupils in  average
 53        daily  attendance  shall  be  assigned  the  divisor,  pursuant to section
 54        33-1002, Idaho Code, that would have otherwise been assigned to the school
 55        district or public charter school had this section not been in force.

                                       3

  1        (b)  Each student in attendance at a public virtual school shall be funded
  2        based upon either the actual hours of attendance  in  the  public  virtual
  3        school  on a flexible schedule, or the percentage of coursework completed,
  4        whichever is more advantageous to the school, up to the maximum of one (1)
  5        full-time equivalent student.
  6        (c)  All federal educational funds shall be administered  and  distributed
  7        to    public  charter schools, including public virtual schools, that have
  8        been designated by the state board  of  education  as  a  local  education
  9        agency (LEA), as provided in section 33-5203(7), Idaho Code.
 10        (9)  Nothing  in  this  section  prohibits  separate face-to-face learning
 11    activities or services.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


  REPRINT    REPRINT   REPRINT    REPRINT    REPRINT    REPRINT

                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS 18158

The legislation removes the arbitrary cap on the number of new
support units that a charter school can receive in a given fiscal
year.  This cap was originally put in for state budget planning
purposes, but is not now necessary, due to the fact that charter
schools must be approved by no later than January 1 of the school
year prior to opening.



                           FISCAL NOTE

None.







Contact
Name: Jason Hancock, State Department of Education 
Phone: 332-6800


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                         H 685   
                                
  REPRINT    REPRINT    REPRINT    REPRINT    REPRINT    REPRINT