SS/SB 869 - This act modifies provisions relating to charter school funding. This act establishes the "Charter School Funding Act."
Under the act, starting with all school years ending before July 1, 2023, and for all schools years ending before July 1, 2028, for a metropolitan school district, this act modifies the calculation of the amount a school district with one or more pupils attending a charter school shall pay to the charter school.
Provisions of current law setting forth aid payments for charter schools shall only apply to school years ending before July 1, 2023, and for school years ending before July 1, 2028, for a metropolitan school district.
The act requires school districts to pay for each pupil attending a charter school in that district based on a formula set forth in the act, which includes all state aid and local aid received by the school district divided by the total weighted average daily attendance of the school district and all charter schools within the school district. Local aid is defined as all local and county revenue received by the school district and charter schools within the school district.
The calculation of state and local aid shall only be for charter schools operated in certain districts as listed in the act.
Each charter school and each school district responsible for distributing local aid to charter schools shall include as part of their annual independent audit, an audit of pupil residency, enrollment, and attendance in order to verify pupil residency in the school district or local education agency.
A charter school that has declared itself a local educational agency shall receive all state aid calculated under the act from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and all local aid calculated under the act from the school district that the charter school operates in. A charter school shall receive an annual amount as set forth in the act.
School districts shall withhold from January local effort payments an annual administrative fee, as calculated in the act, for the administrative costs incurred related to the charter schools in the district. The Department shall calculate the amount of such fee and publish such calculation by January 15th annually.
By December 31st each year, school districts shall transmit to the Department a calculation of monthly local aid owed to the charter school. If a school district fails to make timely payments to a charter school, the Department shall impose any penalty deemed appropriate.
Each school district shall, as part of an annual audit, include a report converting the local aid received from an accrual basis to a cash basis. Such report shall be made publicly available on the district website.
The Department shall conduct an annual review of any payments made in the previous fiscal year to determine whether there has been any underpayment or overpayment. Such review shall include a calculation of the amount of local aid owed to charter schools using the first preceding year's annual audit.
If a prior year correction of the amount of local aid is necessary, the school district shall recalculate the amount owed to the charter school or provide a bill to the charter school for any overpayment amount.
Beginning February 1, 2025, each school district that contains charter schools and each charter school shall, as part of the annual audit provided to the Department, report the number of students with an individualized education plan, the costs incurred for providing special educational services as described in the act, the amount of funds reimbursed for high needs students under current law, and the amount of funds received under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
On or before February 14th of each year, the Department shall calculate the net cost for providing special educational services for each school district that has charter schools operating within the school district and for each charter school.
From each school district's February local aid payments to charter schools, such district shall withhold the annual administrative fee and the net cost for providing special educational services, as calculated under the act, for the district and each charter with total special educational services costs exceeding total special educational services funding. Each charter school shall be paid the amount withheld as such school's prior year net cost for providing special educational services by February 28th. Remaining local aid funds shall be allocated per weighted average daily attendance to the district and each charter school.
The Department shall adjust the net cost calculation based on the information reported to it under the act. Such adjustments may based on underreporting or overreporting of the number of students with an individualized education plans, the cost to provide services, failure to draw high needs funds, failure to draw all available Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds, and costs determined to be excessive by the Department.
February local aid payments shall not be considered when calculating payments or withholdings from the calculations of February local aid payments.
This act is substantially similar to SCS/HCS/HB 1552 (2022) and similar to SB 1010 (2022), SCS/SB 218 (2021), HCS/SS/SCS/SB 528 (2020), SCS/SB 734 (2020), HCS/SS/SCS/SB 570 (2020), HCS/HB 1664 (2020), and SB 527 (2020).
JAMIE ANDREWS