2014 Mississippi Code
Title 37 - EDUCATION
Chapter 28 - MISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT OF 2013
§ 37-28-55 - Charter school funding; adequate education program payments; local funding; federal and state categorical aid program monies; state transportation funding [Repealed effective July 1, 2020]

(1) (a) The State Department of Education shall make payments to charter schools for each student in average daily attendance at the charter school equal to the state share of the adequate education program payments for each student in average daily attendance at the school district in which the charter school is located. In calculating the local contribution for purposes of determining the state share of the adequate education program payments, the department shall deduct the pro rata local contribution of the school district in which the student resides, to be determined as provided in Section 37-151-7(2)(a).

(b) Payments made pursuant to this subsection by the State Department of Education must be made at the same time and in the same manner as adequate education program payments are made to school districts under Sections 37-151-101 and 37-151-103. Amounts payable to a charter school must be determined by the State Department of Education. Amounts payable to a charter school in its first year of operation must be based on the projections of initial-year enrollment and federal school level funding set forth in the charter contract. Such projections must be reconciled with the average daily attendance at the end of the school's first year of operation, and any necessary adjustments must be made to payments during the school's second year of operation.

(2) The school district in which a charter school is located shall pay directly to the charter school an amount for each student enrolled in the charter school equal to the ad valorem tax receipts and in-lieu payments received per pupil for the support of the local school district in which the student resides. The pro rata ad valorem receipts and in-lieu receipts to be transferred to the charter school shall include all levies for the support of the local school district under Sections 37-57-1 (local contribution to the adequate education program) and 37-57-105 (school district operational levy) and may not include any taxes levied for the retirement of the local school district's bonded indebtedness or short-term notes or any taxes levied for the support of vocational-technical education programs. In no event may the payment exceed the pro rata amount of the local ad valorem payment for the local contribution to the adequate education program under Section 37-57-1 for the school district in which the student resides. Payments made under this section by a school district to a charter school must be made before the expiration of three (3) business days after the funds are distributed to the school district by the tax collector.

(3) (a) The State Department of Education shall direct the proportionate share of monies generated under federal and state categorical aid programs, including special education, vocational, gifted and alternative school programs, to charter schools serving students eligible for such aid. The department shall ensure that charter schools with rapidly expanding enrollments are treated equitably in the calculation and disbursement of all federal and state categorical aid program dollars. Each charter school that serves students who may be eligible to receive services provided through such programs shall comply with all reporting requirements to receive the aid.

(b) A charter school shall pay to a local school district any federal or state aid attributable to a student with a disability attending the charter school in proportion to the level of services for that student which the local school district provides directly or indirectly.

(c) Subject to the approval of the authorizer, a charter school and a local school district may negotiate and enter into a contract for the provision of and payment for special education services, including, but not necessarily limited to, a reasonable reserve not to exceed five percent (5%) of the local school district's total budget for providing special education services. The reserve may be used by the local school district only to offset excess costs of providing services to students with disabilities enrolled in the charter school.

(4) (a) The State Department of Education shall disburse state transportation funding to a charter school on the same basis and in the same manner as it is paid to school districts under the adequate education program.

(b) A charter school may enter into a contract with a school district or private provider to provide transportation to the school's students.