AI-assisted research summary: This section sets how charter-school students are counted for funding and requires several payments and reporting steps between the charter school, the district of residence, and the department.
1. Each student enrolled in a charter school established under this chapter shall be counted, for state school foundation purposes, in the student’s district of residence pursuant to section 257.6, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (9), including any applicable amounts under section 256B.9. For purposes of this section, residence means a residence under section 282.1. 2. a. The charter school in which the student is enrolled shall receive under paragraph “c” an amount equal to the sum of the regular program state cost per pupil for the budget year plus the teacher leadership supplement state cost per pupil, the professional development supplement state cost per pupil, and the early intervention supplement state cost per pupil for the budget year as provided in section 257.9 plus any moneys that would be due to the school district of residence for the student as a result of the non-English speaking weighting under section 280.4, subsection 3, for the budget year multiplied by the state cost per pupil for the budget year. If a student is an eligible pupil under section 261E.6, the charter school shall pay the tuition reimbursement amount to an eligible postsecondary institution as provided in section 261E.7. b. For a student requiring special education, the school district of residence shall pay to the charter school, pursuant to the timeline in section 282.20, subsection 3, the actual costs incurred in providing the appropriate special education. c. The amount required to be paid to the charter school under paragraph “a” shall be paid by the department to the charter school during the school year for which the student is enrolled in the charter school. The amount paid to the charter school under this paragraph shall result in an equal reduction to the school district of residence’s state aid payment amount under chapter 257 for the school budget year following the school year for which the payment to the charter school is made, so long as the student was counted in the district of residence’s actual enrollment in the school year for which the student attended the charter school. d. There is appropriated annually from the general fund of the state to the department of education an amount necessary to pay all applicable amounts to charter schools under paragraph “c”. 3. The charter school shall complete and provide to the students’ school districts of residence all documentation necessary to seek Medicaid reimbursement for eligible services. 4. If necessary, and pursuant to rules adopted by the state board, funding amounts required under this section for the first school year of a new charter school shall be based on enrollment estimates for the charter school included in the charter school contract. The department shall adopt rules to establish a process for determining estimated enrollments for charter school funding purposes in school years after the first school year of a charter school. Amounts paid using estimated enrollments shall be reconciled during subsequent payments based on actual enrollment of the charter school during each school year. 2021 Acts, ch 112, §8; 2022 Acts, ch 1149, §20, 21, 23; 2024 Acts, ch 1168, §1