An Act To Support Fair Financing in Charter Schools and School Administrative Units
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0218
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: PICCHIOTTI, EDGECOMB, GUERIN, LOCKMAN, NADEAU, O'CONNOR, STETKIS, WHITTEMORE
Amends: 20-A MRSA §2413

Legislative Document 
No. 218 
H.P. 150 
House of Representatives, February 3, 2015 
An Act To Support Fair Financing in Charter Schools and School 
Administrative Units 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative PICCHIOTTI of Fairfield. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: EDGECOMB of Fort Fairfield, GUERIN of Glenburn, 
LOCKMAN of Amherst, NADEAU of Winslow, O'CONNOR of Berwick, STETKIS of 
Canaan, Senator: WHITTEMORE of Somerset. 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, for each public charter school student, the school administrative unit in 
which the student resides must forward per-pupil allocations to the public charter school; 
and 
Whereas, a public charter school is not required to reimburse the school 
administrative unit in which the student resides if a public charter school student returns 
to the school administrative unit during the school year; and 
Whereas, it is necessary that this Act take effect before the start of the 2015-2016 
school year in order to properly allocate funds between school administrative units and 
public charter schools; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §2413, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 272, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  For each public charter school student, the school administrative unit in which the 
student resides must forward the per-pupil allocation to the public charter school 
attended by the student as follows. 
(1)  The per-pupil allocation amount is the EPS per-pupil rate for the school 
administrative unit in which the student resides, as calculated pursuant to section 
15676, based on the student’s grade level and adjusted as appropriate for 
economic disadvantage and limited English proficiency pursuant to section 
15675, subsections 1 and 2.  Debt service and capital outlays may not be included 
in the calculation of these per-pupil allocations.  The department shall adopt rules 
governing how to calculate these per-pupil allocations, including those for 
targeted funds for assessment technology and kindergarten to grade 2 programs. 
(2)  For students attending public charter schools, the school administrative unit 
of residence shall forward the per-pupil allocations described in subparagraph (1) 
directly to the public charter school attended.  These per-pupil allocations must 
be forwarded to each public charter school on a quarterly basis, as follows.  For 
each fiscal year, allocations must be made in quarterly payments on September 
1st, December 1st, March 1st and June 1st.  The September and December 
payments must be based on the identity and number of students enrolled or 
anticipated to be enrolled in the public charter school at the opening of school for 
that school year. The number of students may not exceed the maximum 
enrollment approved in the charter contract for that year unless a waiver is 
obtained from the authorizer.   The March and June payments must be based on 
(3)  For transportation expenses, the average per-pupil expense in each school 
administrative unit of residence must be calculated and an amount equal to a 
proportion, up to but not more than 100%, of that per-pupil allocation amount 
must be forwarded to the public charter school attended on the same basis as the 
per-pupil allocations for operating funds.  The percentage of that per-pupil 
expense must be determined by the authorizer of the public charter school and 
must be based on the cost of transportation services provided by the public 
charter school to the student. 
(4)  The department shall pay to the public charter school any additional 
allocation assigned to the public charter school for gifted and talented students 
pursuant to section 15681-A, subsection 5 in the year in which the allocation is 
assigned. 
A school administrative unit is not required to send funds to a public charter school 
for a student enrolled in the public charter school's preschool or prekindergarten 
program if the school administrative unit of the student's residence does not offer that 
program to its own residents. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §2413, sub-§2, ¶¶A-1 and A-2 are enacted to read: 
A-1.  A school administrative unit is not required to send funds to a public charter 
school for a student enrolled in the public charter school's preschool or 
prekindergarten program if the school administrative unit of the student's residence 
does not offer that program to its own residents. 
A-2.  When a student attends a public charter school for a portion of a school year 
and attends the school administrative unit of the student's residence for another 
portion of that school year, the public charter school to which the per-pupil 
allocations are made pursuant to paragraph A, subparagraph (1) must reimburse to the 
school administrative unit a prorated amount based upon the allocations paid and the 
dates of the student's attendance.  The department shall adopt rules to implement the 
provisions of this paragraph.  Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that per-pupil allocations paid by a school administrative unit to a 
public charter school must be returned to the school administrative unit of the student's 
residence, on a prorated basis, if the student discontinues enrollment at the public charter 
school and returns to the school administrative unit during the school year. 
This bill also changes the allocation of a provision of law to clarify when a school 
administrative unit needs to transfer funds to a charter school for certain programs.