TITLE 33

EDUCATION

CHAPTER 52

PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS

33-5207.  PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT. (1) Except as otherwise provided for in this section, the state department of education shall make the following apportionment to each charter school for each fiscal year based on attendance figures submitted in a manner and time as required by the state department of education.

(2)  Per student support. Computation of support units for each public charter school shall be calculated as if it were a separate school according to the schedules in section 33-1002(4), Idaho Code, except that public charter schools with fewer than one hundred (100) secondary ADA shall use a divisor of twelve (12) and the minimum units shall not apply. No public charter school shall receive an increase in support units that exceeds the support units it received in the prior year by more than forty (40), except in cases of state declared emergencies that have been approved by the authorizer as having an impact on public education. Funding from the state educational support program shall be equal to the total distribution factor, plus the salary-based apportionment provided in chapter 10, title 33, Idaho Code. Provided, however, any public charter school that is formed by the conversion of an existing traditional public school shall be assigned divisors, pursuant to section 33-1002, Idaho Code, that are no lower than the divisors of the school district in which the traditional public school is located, for each category of pupils listed.

(3)  Special education. For each student enrolled in the public charter school who is entitled to special education services, the public charter school shall receive the state and federal funds from the exceptional child education program for that student that would have been apportioned to the school district in which the public charter school is located.

(4)  Alternative school support. Public charter schools may qualify under the provisions of sections 33-1002 and 33-1002C, Idaho Code, provided the public charter school meets the necessary statutory requirements and students qualify for attendance at an alternative school as provided by rule of the state board of education.

(5)  Transportation support. Support shall be paid to the public charter school as provided in chapter 15, title 33, Idaho Code, and section 33-1006, Idaho Code. Each public charter school shall furnish the department with an enrollment count as of the first Friday in November of public charter school students who are eligible for reimbursement of transportation costs under the provisions of this subsection and who reside more than one and one-half (1 1/2) miles from the school. The state department of education is authorized to include in the annual appropriation to the charter school sixty percent (60%) of the estimated transportation cost. The final appropriation payment in July shall reflect reimbursements of actual costs pursuant to section 33-1006, Idaho Code. To be eligible for state reimbursement under the provisions of section 33-1006, Idaho Code, the student to be transported must reside within the public charter school’s primary attendance area and must meet at least one (1) of the following criteria:

(a)  The student resides within the school district in which the public charter school is physically located; or

(b)  The student resides within fifteen (15) miles by road of the public charter school. The limitations placed by this subsection on the reimbursement of transportation costs for certain students shall not apply to public virtual schools.

(6)  Facilities funds.

(a)  The state department of education shall distribute facilities funds to public charter schools for each student in which a majority of the student’s instruction is received at a physical facility that is owned or leased by the public charter school. Such funds shall be used to defray the costs associated with payments for real property used by the students or employees of the public charter school for educational or administrative purposes. Such funds shall be distributed at four hundred dollars ($400) per attending student pursuant to section 33-1003A, Idaho Code. For the purposes of this paragraph, beginning in state fiscal year 2025, "attending student" means each student in average daily attendance in kindergarten through grade 12 at such physical charter school facilities where the student is enrolled; except that, upon formal approval by the state board of education, a charter school may receive an exemption to the physical facility requirement pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph if the student would have attended a physical facility if not for a stated emergency.

(b)  For those public charter schools that do not receive facilities funds for all enrolled students, the school may submit to the state department of education a reimbursement claim for any costs for which facilities funds may be used. The state department of education shall reduce such claim by the greater of fifty percent (50%) or the percentage of the school’s enrolled students for which the school receives facilities funds and shall pay the balance. Provided, however, that the total reimbursements paid to a public charter school, in combination with any facilities stipend received by the school, shall not exceed the amount of facilities funds that would have been received by the school had the school received facilities funds for all students in average daily attendance pursuant to section 33-1003A, Idaho Code. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "real property" shall be used as defined in section 63-201, Idaho Code. A virtual public charter school authorized by the public charter school commission or authorized by a public school district on or after March 1, 2024, shall not be eligible for funds appropriated pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.

(7)  Payment schedule. The state department of education is authorized to make an advance payment of twenty-five percent (25%) of a public charter school’s estimated annual apportionment for its first year of operation, and each year thereafter, provided the public charter school is serving more grades or at least ten percent (10%) more classes than the previous year, to assist the school with initial start-up costs or payroll obligations. For a public charter school entering at least its second year of operation, the state department of education may require documentation establishing the need for such an advance payment, including comparative class schedules and proof of a commensurate increase in the number of employees.

(a)  For a public charter school to receive the advance payment, the school shall submit its anticipated fall membership for each grade level to the state department of education by June 1.

(b)  Using the figures provided by the public charter school, the state department of education shall determine an estimated annual apportionment from which the amount of the advance payment shall be calculated. Advance payment shall be made to the school on or after July 1 but no later than July 31.

(c)  All subsequent payments, taking into account the onetime advance payment made for the first year of operation, shall be made to the public charter school in the same manner as other traditional public schools in accordance with the provisions of section 33-1009, Idaho Code. A public charter school shall comply with all applicable fiscal requirements of law, except that the following provisions shall not be applicable to public charter schools: that portion of section 33-1004, Idaho Code, relating to reduction of the administrative and instructional staff allowance and the pupil service staff allowance when there is a discrepancy between the number allowed and the number actually employed; and section 33-1004E, Idaho Code, for calculation of district staff indices.

(8)  If an authorizer has reason to believe that a public charter school cannot remain fiscally sound for the remainder of its certificate term, it shall provide the state department of education with written notification of such concern. Upon receiving such notification, the state department of education shall have the authority to modify the percentage of the total appropriation to be paid to the public charter school pursuant to the provisions of section 33-1009 1., Idaho Code, such that equal percentages are paid on each of the prescribed dates.

(9)  Each public charter school shall pay an authorizer fee to its authorizer, not to initially exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or, in the case of existing charter schools, up to a five-percent (5%) increase of the previous year’s fee. Authorizers shall annually set the authorizer’s fee and in doing so shall document the fees to actual expenditures associated with authorizing.

(10) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a public charter school from:

(a)  Applying for federal grant moneys or for career technical education funding of any source; or

(b)  Receiving funding or other financial assistance for the establishment or operation of a public charter school from any private person or organization.

(11) Each student in attendance at a public virtual school shall be funded based on either the actual hours of attendance in the public virtual school on a flexible schedule or the percentage of coursework completed, whichever is more advantageous to the school, up to the maximum of one (1) full-time equivalent student.

(12) All federal educational funds shall be administered and distributed to public charter schools, including public virtual schools, that have been designated as a local education agency (LEA), as provided in section 33-5203, Idaho Code.

(13) Nothing in this section prohibits separate face-to-face learning activities or services. In order to be eligible for career technical education essential components funding, virtual schools may be required to offer some face-to-face instruction in order to meet industry standards, licensing requirements, work-based learning requirements, or other requirements set forth by law.

(14) The provisions of section 33-1021, Idaho Code, shall apply to public charter schools provided for in this chapter.

History:

[33-5207, added 2024, ch. 9, sec. 23, p. 74; am. 2024, ch. 302, sec. 5, p. 1015.]