CHAPTER 7. FISCAL MATTERS - Indiana Statutes

IC 20-24-7
     Chapter 7. Fiscal Matters

IC 20-24-7-1
Organizer as fiscal agent
     Sec. 1. (a) The organizer is the fiscal agent for the charter school.
    (b) The organizer has exclusive control of:
        (1) funds received by the charter school; and
        (2) financial matters of the charter school.
    (c) The organizer shall maintain separate accountings of all funds received and disbursed by the charter school.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8.

IC 20-24-7-2
Charter school student information; distribution of state funds; calculation of share of local funds
     Sec. 2. (a) Not later than the date established by the department for determining ADM, and after May 31 each year, the organizer shall submit to the department the following information on a form prescribed by the department:
        (1) The number of students enrolled in the charter school.
        (2) The name and address of each student.
        (3) The name of the school corporation in which the student has legal settlement.
        (4) The name of the school corporation, if any, that the student attended during the immediately preceding school year.
        (5) The grade level in which the student will enroll in the charter school.
The department shall verify the accuracy of the information reported.
    (b) This subsection applies after December 31 of the calendar year in which a charter school begins its initial operation. The department shall distribute to the organizer the state tuition support distribution. The department shall make a distribution under this subsection at the same time and in the same manner as the department makes a distribution of state tuition support under IC 20-43-2 to other school corporations.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.2-2006, SEC.106; P.L.146-2008, SEC.460.

IC 20-24-7-3
Calculation and distribution of state funds to conversion charter school; advance from charter school advancement account
     Sec. 3. (a) This section applies to a conversion charter school.
    (b) Beginning not more than sixty (60) days after the department receives the information reported under section 2(a) of this chapter, the department shall distribute to the organizer:
        (1) tuition support and other state funding for any purpose for students enrolled in the conversion charter school;
        (2) a proportionate share of state and federal funds received:
            (A) for students with disabilities; or             (B) for staff services for students with disabilities;
        enrolled in the conversion charter school; and
        (3) a proportionate share of funds received under federal or state categorical aid programs for students who are eligible for the federal or state categorical aid and are enrolled in the conversion charter school;
for the second six (6) months of the calendar year in which the conversion charter school is established. The department shall make a distribution under this subsection at the same time and in the same manner as the department makes a distribution to the governing body of the school corporation in which the conversion charter school is located. A distribution to the governing body of the school corporation in which the conversion charter school is located is reduced by the amount distributed to the conversion charter school. This subsection does not apply to a conversion charter school after December 31 of the calendar year in which the conversion charter school is established.
    (c) This subsection applies during the second six (6) months of the calendar year in which a conversion charter school is established. A conversion charter school may apply for an advance from the charter school advancement account under IC 20-49-7 in the amount determined under STEP FOUR of the following formula:
        STEP ONE: Determine the result under subsection (d) STEP ONE (A).
        STEP TWO: Determine the difference between:
            (A) the conversion charter school's current ADM; minus
            (B) the STEP ONE amount.
        STEP THREE: Determine the quotient of:
            (A) the STEP TWO amount; divided by
            (B) the conversion charter school's current ADM.
        STEP FOUR: Determine the product of:
            (A) the STEP THREE amount; multiplied by
            (B) the quotient of:
                (i) the subsection (d) STEP TWO amount; divided by
                (ii) two (2).
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.2-2006, SEC.107; P.L.146-2008, SEC.461.

IC 20-24-7-4
Costs of services provided by school corporation; administrative fee for state educational institution serving as sponsor
     Sec. 4. (a) Services that a school corporation provides to a charter school, including transportation, may be provided at not more than one hundred three percent (103%) of the actual cost of the services.
    (b) This subsection applies to a sponsor that is a state educational institution described in IC 20-24-1-7(2). In a calendar year, a state educational institution may receive from the organizer of a charter school sponsored by the state educational institution an administrative fee equal to not more than three percent (3%) of the total amount the organizer receives during the calendar year from

basic tuition support (as defined in IC 20-43-1-8).
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.2-2006, SEC.108; P.L.146-2008, SEC.462.

IC 20-24-7-5
Grants and private and federal funds
     Sec. 5. (a) An organizer may apply for and accept for a charter school:
        (1) independent financial grants; and
        (2) funds from public or private sources other than the department.
    (b) An organizer shall make all applications, enter into all contracts, and sign all documents necessary for the receipt by a charter school of aid, money, or property from the federal government.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8.

IC 20-24-7-6
Distribution of share of school corporation's capital project fund
     Sec. 6. With the approval of a majority of the members of the governing body, a school corporation may distribute a proportionate share of the school corporation's capital project fund to a charter school.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8.

IC 20-24-7-7
Building projects; applicability of bidding and wage determination laws
     Sec. 7. When a charter school uses public funds for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or renovation of a public building, bidding and wage determination laws and all other statutes and rules apply.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8.

IC 20-24-7-8
Sponsor's right to receive financial reports from organizer
     Sec. 8. A sponsor may request and receive financial reports concerning a charter school from the organizer at any time.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8.

IC 20-24-7-9
Termination of charter; distribution of funds; repayment of obligations
     Sec. 9. (a) This section applies if:
        (1) a sponsor:
            (A) revokes a charter before the end of the term for which the charter is granted; or
            (B) does not renew a charter; or
        (2) a charter school otherwise terminates its charter before the end of the term for which the charter is granted.     (b) Any state funds that remain to be distributed to the charter school in the calendar year in which an event described in subsection (a) occurs shall be distributed as follows:
        (1) First, to the common school loan fund to repay any existing obligations of the charter school under IC 20-49-7.
        (2) Second, to the entities that distributed the funds to the charter school. A distribution under this subdivision shall be on a pro rata basis.
    (c) If the funds described in subsection (b) are insufficient to repay all existing obligations of the charter school under IC 20-49-7, the state shall repay any remaining obligations of the charter school under IC 20-49-7 from the amount appropriated for state tuition support distributions.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.2-2006, SEC.109; P.L.146-2008, SEC.463.

IC 20-24-7-10
Federal funds for charter schools; department's responsibilities
     Sec. 10. (a) The department shall carry out a program to identify all federal funds for which a charter school is eligible.
    (b) The department shall apply for all federal funds that are available for charter schools and for which Indiana is eligible.
    (c) Upon receiving notice under IC 20-5.5-3-9 from a sponsor that a charter has been approved, the department shall immediately inform the organizer of the organizer's potential eligibility for federal charter school start-up grants.
    (d) The department shall distribute federal charter school start-up grants to eligible organizers in a timely manner according to the department's published guidelines for distributing the grants.
    (e) The department shall compile a biannual report and submit the report to the state office of federal grants and procurement and to charter school organizers and sponsors. The report submitted under this subsection must contain the following information for grants distributed under this section:
        (1) Beginning and end dates for each grant cycle.
        (2) The dates on which:
            (A) grant applications and requests for renewal were received; and
            (B) grants were awarded.
        (3) The amount of each grant awarded.
As added by P.L.169-2005, SEC.14.

IC 20-24-7-11
Matching funds for federal grants to charter schools
     Sec. 11. (a) If the United States Department of Education approves a new competition for states to receive matching funds for charter school facilities, the department shall pursue this federal funding.
    (b) The department shall use the common school fund interest balance to provide state matching funds for the federal funding

described in subsection (a) for the benefit of charter schools.
    (c) To increase the state's opportunity to receive matching funds from the United States Department of Education, the department shall develop a facilities incentive grants program before January 1, 2010.
    (d) The department shall use the priority criteria set forth in 21 U.S.C. 7221d(b) and 34 CFR 226.12 through 34 CFR 226.14 to develop the facilities incentive grants program.
As added by P.L.169-2005, SEC.15 and P.L.246-2005, SEC.129. Amended by P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.314.

IC 20-24-7-12
Repealed
    (Repealed by P.L.146-2008, SEC.807.)

IC 20-24-7-13
Virtual charter schools
     Sec. 13. (a) As used in this section, "virtual charter school" means any charter school, including a conversion charter school, that provides for the delivery of more than fifty percent (50%) of instruction to students through:
        (1) virtual distance learning;
        (2) online technologies; or
        (3) computer based instruction.
    (b) The department shall establish a pilot program to provide funding for a statewide total of up to two hundred (200) students who attend virtual charter schools in the school year ending in 2010 and five hundred (500) students who attend virtual charter schools in the school year ending in 2011. The department shall choose an entity or entities to operate the virtual charter school. The pilot program must focus on children who have medical disabilities or circumstances that prevent them from attending school or for whom a virtual charter school is a better alternative than a traditional school. At least seventy-five percent (75%) of the students enrolled in virtual charter schools under this section must have been included in the ADM count for the previous school year.
    (c) A virtual charter school is entitled to receive funding from the state in an amount equal to the product of:
        (1) the number of students included in the virtual charter school's ADM who are participating in the pilot program; multiplied by
        (2) eighty percent (80%) of the statewide average basic tuition support.
    (d) The department shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to govern the operation of virtual charter schools.
    (e) Beginning in 2009, the department shall before December 1 of each year submit an annual report to the budget committee concerning the program under this section.
As added by P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.315. As amended by P.L.1-2010, SEC.78.