Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 28 - MISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT OF 2013 (§§ 37-28-1 — 37-28-63) › Section 37-28-55 - Charter school funding; adequate education program payments; local funding; federal and state categorical aid program monies; state transportation funding; disbursement of Education Enhancement Funds

(1)
(a)
The State Department of Education shall make payments to charter schools for each student in net enrollment at the charter school, as determined under Section
37-151-207
, equal to the state share of total funding formula payments for each student , as determined under Section
37-151-211
.
(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 total funding formula 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 pursuant to this section and the total funding formula. Enrollment projections made under Section
37-151-207
to determine the net enrollment of a charter school for calculating the state share payment must be reconciled with a charter school's net enrollment using months two (2) and three (3) for the year for which total funding formula funds are being appropriated, and any necessary adjustments must be made to payments during the school's following year of operation. Any necessary adjustment must be based on the state share of the per pupil amount in effect for the year for which net membership did not meet enrollment projections and not any new amount appropriated for the year in which the adjustment will be made. If a charter school is closed by the authorizer before the following year, it must pay to the state any amounts due before completion of the closure.
(2)
(a)
For students attending a charter school located in the school district in which the student resides, the school district in which the charter school is located shall pay directly to the charter school an amount as follows: the sum of the local pro rata amount, as calculated by the State Department of Education in accordance with Section
37-151-211(2)(b)
(local contribution), and the local pro rata amount, as calculated by the State Department of Education in accordance with Section
37-57-105
(school district operational levy), multiplied by the number of resident students enrolled in the charter school, based on the charter school's months two (2) and three (3) net enrollment of resident students for the current school year. However, the amount to the charter school 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.
(b)
The amount must be paid by the school district to the charter school before January 16 of the current fiscal year. If the local school district does not pay the required amount to the charter school before January 16, the State Department of Education shall reduce the local school district's January transfer of total funding formula funds by the amount owed to the charter school and shall redirect that amount to the charter school. Any such payments made under this paragraph by the State Department of Education to a charter school must be made at the same time and in the same manner as total funding formula payments are made to school districts under Sections
37-151-101
and
37-151-103
.
(3)
(a)
For students attending a charter school located in a school district in which the student does not reside, the State Department of Education shall pay to the charter school in which the students are enrolled an amount as follows: the sum of the local pro rata amount, as calculated by the State Department of Education in accordance with Section
37-151-211(2)(b)
(local contribution), and the local pro rata amount, as calculated by the State Department of Education in accordance with Section
37-57-105
(school district operational levy), multiplied by the number of students enrolled in the charter school but residing in that district, based on the charter school's months two (2) and three (3) net enrollment of these students for the current school year. However, the amount to the charter school 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.
(b)
The State Department of Education shall reduce the school district's January transfer of total funding formula funds by the amount owed to the charter school and shall redirect that amount to the charter school. Any such payments made under this subsection (3) by the State Department of Education to a charter school must be made at the same time and in the same manner as total funding formula payments are made to school districts under Sections
37-151-101
and
37-151-103
.
(4)
(a)
The State Department of Education shall direct the proportionate share of monies generated under federal programs, including, but not limited to, special education, vocational, English Language Learner, and other programs, to charter schools serving students eligible for such funding. The department shall ensure that charter schools with rapidly expanding enrollments are treated equitably in the calculation and disbursement of all federal 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.
(5)
(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 .
(b)
A charter school may enter into a contract with a school district or private provider to provide transportation to the school's students.
(6)
The State Department of Education shall disburse Education Enhancement Funds for classroom supplies, instructional materials and equipment, including computers and computer software to all eligible charter school teachers on the same basis and in the same manner as it is paid to school districts under Section
37-61-33(3)(a)(iii)
for the purpose of issuing procurement cards or credentials for a digital solution to eligible teachers.
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 484, HB 4130,§ 69, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 415, HB 1173,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by Laws, 2016, ch. 420, SB 2161, 5, eff. 7/1/2016.
Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 428, HB 859, 1, eff. 3/31/2015.
Added by Laws, 2013, ch. 497, HB 369, 28, eff. 7/1/2013.