§ 16-77-6 - Budgets and funding. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 16-77-6

   § 16-77-6  Budgets and funding. – (a) It is the intent of the general assembly that funding pursuant to thischapter shall be neither a financial incentive nor a financial disincentive tothe establishment of a charter school. Funding for each charter public schoolshall consist of state revenue and municipal or district revenue in the sameproportions that funding is provided for other schools within the schooldistrict in which the charter public school is located.

   (b) The amount of funding which shall be allocated to thecharter public school by the school district shall be equal to a percentage ofthe total budgeted expenses of the district which is determined by dividing thenumber of students enrolled in the charter public school by the total residentaverage daily number of students in the school district.

   (c) Funding additional to that authorized from the schooldistrict by subsection (b) may be allocated to the charter public school fromthe school district to the extent that the combined percentage of studentseligible for free or reduced cost lunch, students with limited Englishproficiency, and students requiring special education exceed the combinedpercentage of those students in the school district as a whole. Thecommissioner of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate rules andregulations consistent with this section regarding the allocation of funds fromschool districts to charter public schools within those districts.

   (d) All services centrally or otherwise provided by theschool district in which the charter public school is located which the charterpublic school decides to utilize including, but not limited to, transportation,food services, custodial services, maintenance, curriculum, media services,libraries, nursing, and warehousing, shall be subject to negotiation between acharter public school and the local school district and paid for out of therevenues of the charter school. Disputes with regard to cost of servicesrequested from local districts will be adjudicated by the commissioner ofelementary and secondary education.

   (e) A charter public school shall be eligible to receiveother aids, grants, Medicaid revenue, and other revenue according to RhodeIsland law, as though it were a school district. Federal aid received by thestate shall be used to benefit students in the charter public school, if theschool qualifies for the aid, as though it were a school district.

   (f) A charter public school may negotiate and contractdirectly with third parties for the purchase of books, instructional materials,and any other goods and services which are not being provided by the schooldistrict pursuant to the charter.

   (g) Any career/technical charter public school enrollingspecial education students from outside school districts with verifiableindividual education program (IEP) designations shall receive from the sendingdistrict the average per pupil special education cost of the sending district.