2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 17:3995 — Charter school funding

§3995.  Charter school funding

A.(1)  For the purpose of funding, a type 1, type 3, and type 4 charter school shall be considered an approved public school of the local school board entering into the charter agreement and shall receive a per pupil amount each year from the local school board based on the October first membership count of the charter school.  Type 2 charter schools shall receive a per pupil amount each year from the state Department of Education using state funds specifically provided for this purpose.  The per pupil amount provided to all charter schools shall be computed annually and shall be equal to no less than the per pupil amount received by the school district in which the charter school is located from the following sources based on the district's October first membership count:

(a)  The state-funded per pupil allocation received by the district pursuant to the most recent legislatively approved minimum foundation program formula resolution, including all levels.

(b)  Local revenues received during the prior year by the school district from the following sources, excluding any portion which has been specifically dedicated by the legislature or by voter approval to capital outlay or debt service:

(i)  Sales and use taxes, less any tax collection fee paid by the school district.

(ii)  Ad valorem taxes, less any tax collection fee paid by the school district.

(iii)  Earnings from sixteenth section lands owned by the school district.

(2)(a)  Initial allocation of the per pupil amount required in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be based on estimates provided by the state Department of Education using the most recent local revenue data and projected pupil counts available.  Allocations shall be adjusted during the year to reflect actual pupil counts and actual prior year local revenue collections.

(b)  In order to provide for adjustments in allocations made to Type 2 charter schools as a result of changes in enrollment, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education may provide annually for a February fifteenth pupil membership count to reflect any changes in pupil enrollment that may occur after October first of each year.  Any allocation adjustment made pursuant to this Subparagraph shall not be retroactive and shall be applicable for the period from March first through the end of the school year.  The provisions of this Subparagraph relative to an allocation adjustment shall not be applicable to any Type 2 charter school that has had an increase or decrease in student enrollment of five percent or less in any school year for which the February fifteenth membership count occurs.

(3)  Except as provided in Paragraph (4), in no case shall the per pupil amount required in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection be less than the combined state and local per pupil allocation for the district in which the charter school is located as defined by the most recent legislatively approved minimum foundation program formula resolution, including all levels.

(4)  Types 1 and 3 charter schools may agree to a lesser per pupil amount than that required in Paragraph (1) or (3) of this Subsection in exchange for specific services that the chartering authority agrees to provide to the school.  The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education may provide a lesser per pupil amount to any Type 2 charter school than that required in Paragraph (1) or (3) of this Subsection if the school's initial charter proposal contains a request for a lesser amount.  The board, upon providing such lesser amount, shall give the justification, in writing, for doing so.

(5)  Within fifteen days of the receipt of any state, local, or other funding to which the charter school is entitled or which came as a result of students enrolled in the charter school, the chartering authority shall ensure that those funds are available for use by such charter schools.

(6)(a)  A Type 2 school which has been renewed for a ten-year period, as provided in R.S. 17: 3992(A) shall annually be funded in the full amount calculated as provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.  Such full funding shall be provided as a priority prior to the allocation of state funding to any other charter school funded by the state.

(b)  The full funding required in this Subsection shall include in any calculation all pupils enrolled pursuant to any authority of a renewed Type 2 charter to increase the enrollment of such school whether caused by increasing the number of pupils in authorized grades or by adding sequential grades pursuant to the school's charter or other authority granted by the state board.

B.  For each pupil enrolled in a charter school who is entitled to special education services, any state special education funding beyond that provided in the minimum foundation program and any federal funds for special education for that pupil that would have been allocated for that pupil shall be allocated to the charter school which the pupil attends.  Any type 2 charter school shall be considered the local education agency for the purposes of any special education funding or statutory definitions, while the local school board shall remain the local education agency for any type 1, 3, or 4 charter school.

C.  Any approved charter school shall be eligible for any other federal, restricted state, and unrestricted state funding for which the school or its pupils qualify. Each charter school shall receive at a minimum their per pupil share for any state or federal grant program such as any funding provided for technology, teacher supplies, kindergarten through third grade reading and mathematics, summer school, and other remediation funding, as well as any other state or federal grant program where funding is distributed on a per pupil basis and a charter school is eligible to receive the funding under the terms of the grant.  The charter school shall comply with the terms of the grant.  The chartering authority shall ensure that such funds are made available for use by any charter school no less than fifteen days after the chartering authority receives such funding from the state or the federal government, provided the chartering authority applied for such funding directly.  A charter school may apply for and receive funding directly from the state or federal government.

D.  Any approved charter school may solicit, accept, and administer donations or any other financial assistance in the form of money, grants, property, loans, or personal services for educational purposes from any public or private person, corporation, or agency and comply with rules and regulations governing grants from the federal government or from any other person or agency, which are not in contravention of the constitution and any other law.

E.  If any charter school fails to open and serve pupils or closes for any reason, the charter school shall refund all equipment and cash on hand which can be attributed to state or local funding to the state or to the local school district as appropriate.

F.  Every pupil enrolled in a charter school shall be counted in the school's total pupil count for purposes of funding including each pupil who is pursuing a high school diploma or participating in a pre-general education development skills program as defined by policy adopted by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  No child enrolled in a prekindergarten program offered by a charter school shall be counted for purposes of funding pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A of this Section unless such funding is specifically provided for such purpose.  However, such school shall be eligible for any other funding that may become available pursuant to the provisions of Subsection C of this Section for children enrolled in prekindergarten programs.

G.  In addition to any other funds received, each charter school created as a new school rather than as a conversion school shall receive for each student based on average daily membership in the charter school for the first five years of its existence an amount equaling the average per student budgeted amount for each of those five years by the district in which the charter school is located for facility acquisition and construction services.  The provisions of this Subsection shall apply only if and to the extent that funds are appropriated therefor by the legislature.

Acts 1997, No. 477, §1, eff. June 30, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 757, §1, eff. July 2, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1210, §1; Acts 2001, No. 988, §1, eff. June 27, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 991, §1, eff. June 27, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 1076, §1, eff. June 28, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 260, §1; Acts 2004, No. 735, §1; Acts 2005, No. 305, §1.