2005 Idaho Code - 33-5208 — PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT

                                  TITLE  33
                                  EDUCATION
                                  CHAPTER 52
                            PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
    33-5208.  PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUPPORT. Except as provided in
subsection (8) of this section, from the state educational support program the
state department of education shall make the following apportionment to each
public charter school for each fiscal year based on attendance figures
submitted in a manner and time as required by the department of education:
    (1)  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, and 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 twenty (20). 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.
    (2)  Special education. For each student enrolled in the public charter
school who is entitled to special education services, the state and federal
funds from the exceptional child education program for that student that would
have been apportioned for that student to the school district in which the
public charter school is located.
    (3)  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.
    (4)  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 living more than one and one-half (1 1/2) miles from the school. For
charter schools in the initial year of operation, the petition shall include a
proposal for transportation services with an estimated first year cost. The
state department of education is authorized to include in the annual
appropriation to the charter school eighty percent (80%) of the estimated
transportation cost. The final appropriation payment in July shall reflect
eighty-five percent (85%) of the actual cost.
    (5)  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 has an increase of
student population in any given year of twenty (20) students or more, to
assist the school with initial start-up costs or payroll obligations.
    (a)  For a state 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 one-time 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: section 33-1003B, Idaho Code, relating to guaranteed minimum
support; that portion of section 33-1004, Idaho Code, relating to reduction of
the administrative and instructional 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.
    (6)  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any private
person or organization from providing funding or other financial assistance to
the establishment or operation of a public charter school.
    (7)  Nothing in this chapter shall prevent a public charter school from
applying for federal grant moneys.
    (8)  (a) For the period July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2005, all public
    virtual schools shall be assigned divisors, pursuant to section 33-1002,
    Idaho Code, that are no higher than the median divisor shown for each
    respective category of pupils, among the possible divisors listed, for
    each respective category of pupils that contains more than one (1)
    divisor. If there is an even number of possible divisors listed for a
    particular category of pupils, then the lesser of the two (2) median
    divisors shall be used. For the period July 1, 2005, through June 30,
    2007, all public virtual schools shall be assigned divisors, pursuant to
    section 33-1002, Idaho Code, that are no higher than the second highest
    divisor  shown, among the possible divisors listed, for each respective
    category of pupils that contains more than one (1) divisor. The divisor
    provisions contained herein shall only be applicable to the number of
    pupils in average daily attendance in such public virtual schools for the
    period July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004. If the number of pupils in
    average daily attendance in any particular category of pupils increases,
    during the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, to a number above
    that which existed in the prior fiscal year, then those additional pupils
    in average daily attendance shall be assigned the divisor, pursuant to
    section 33-1002, Idaho Code, that would have otherwise been assigned to
    the school district or public charter school had this section not been in
    force.
    (b)  Each student in attendance at a public virtual school shall be funded
    based upon 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.
    (c)  All federal educational funds shall be administered and distributed
    to public charter schools, including public virtual schools, that have
    been designated by the state board of education as a local education
    agency (LEA), as provided in section 33-5203(7), Idaho Code.
    (9)  Nothing in this section prohibits separate face-to-face learning
activities or services.