Sec. 10-66ee. Charter school funding. Special education students. Transportation. Contracts.
Sec. 10-66ee. Charter school funding. Special education students. Transportation. Contracts. (a) For the purposes of education equalization aid under section 10-262h a student enrolled (1) in a local charter school shall be considered a student enrolled
in the school district in which such student resides, and (2) in a state charter school shall
not be considered a student enrolled in the school district in which such student resides.
(b) The local board of education of the school district in which a student enrolled
in a local charter school resides shall pay, annually, in accordance with its charter, to
the fiscal authority for the charter school for each such student the amount specified in
its charter, including the reasonable special education costs of students requiring special
education. The board of education shall be eligible for reimbursement for such special
education costs pursuant to section 10-76g.
(c) (1) The state shall pay in accordance with this subsection, to the fiscal authority
for a state charter school for each student enrolled in such school, for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2006, seven thousand six hundred twenty-five dollars, for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 2007, eight thousand dollars, for the fiscal year ending June 30,
2008, eight thousand six hundred fifty dollars, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009,
nine thousand three hundred dollars. Such payments shall be made as follows: Twenty-five per cent of the amount not later than July fifteenth and September fifteenth based
on estimated student enrollment on May first, and twenty-five per cent of the amount
not later than January fifteenth and the remaining amount not later than April fifteenth,
each based on student enrollment on October first. If the total amount appropriated for
grants pursuant to this subdivision exceeds eight thousand six hundred fifty dollars per
student for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and exceeds nine thousand three hundred
dollars for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, the amount of such grants payable per
student shall be increased proportionately, except that such per student increase shall
not exceed seventy dollars. Any amount of such appropriation remaining after such per
student increase may be used by the Department of Education for supplemental grants
to interdistrict magnet schools pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section
10-264l to pay for a portion of the audit required pursuant to section 10-66ll, to pay for
expenses incurred by the Department of Education to ensure the continuity of a charter
school where required by a court of competent jurisdiction and, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, to pay expenses incurred in the
creation of a school pursuant to section 10-74g. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005,
such increase shall be limited to one hundred ten dollars per student. (2) In the case of
a student identified as requiring special education, the school district in which the student
resides shall: (A) Hold the planning and placement team meeting for such student and
shall invite representatives from the charter school to participate in such meeting; and
(B) pay the state charter school, on a quarterly basis, an amount equal to the difference
between the reasonable cost of educating such student and the sum of the amount received by the state charter school for such student pursuant to subdivision (1) of this
subsection and amounts received from other state, federal, local or private sources calculated on a per pupil basis. Such school district shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g. The charter school a student requiring special education attends
shall be responsible for ensuring that such student receives the services mandated by
the student's individualized education program whether such services are provided by
the charter school or by the school district in which the student resides.
(d) On or before October fifteenth of the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2001, and
July 1, 2002, the Commissioner of Education shall determine if the enrollment in the
program for the fiscal year is below the number of students for which funds were appropriated. If the commissioner determines that the enrollment is below such number, the
additional funds shall not lapse but shall be used by the commissioner for (1) grants for
interdistrict cooperative programs pursuant to section 10-74d, (2) grants for open choice
programs pursuant to section 10-266aa, or (3) grants for interdistrict magnet schools
pursuant to section 10-264l.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, if at the
end of a fiscal year amounts received by a state charter school, pursuant to subdivision
(1) of subsection (c) of this section, are unexpended, the charter school (1) may use, for
the expenses of the charter school for the following fiscal year, up to ten per cent of
such amounts, and (2) may (A) create a reserve fund to finance a specific capital or
equipment purchase or another specified project as may be approved by the commissioner, and (B) deposit into such fund up to five per cent of such amounts.
(f) The local or regional board of education of the school district in which the charter
school is located shall provide transportation services for students of the charter school
who reside in such school district pursuant to section 10-273a unless the charter school
makes other arrangements for such transportation. Any local or regional board of education may provide transportation services to a student attending a charter school outside
of the district in which the student resides and, if it elects to provide such transportation,
shall be reimbursed pursuant to section 10-266m for the reasonable costs of such transportation. Any local or regional board of education providing transportation services
under this subsection may suspend such services in accordance with the provisions of
section 10-233c. The parent or guardian of any student denied the transportation services
required to be provided pursuant to this subsection may appeal such denial in the manner
provided in sections 10-186 and 10-187.
(g) Charter schools shall be eligible to the same extent as boards of education for
any grant for special education, competitive state grants and grants pursuant to sections
10-17g and 10-266w.
(h) If the commissioner finds that any charter school uses a grant under this section
for a purpose that is inconsistent with the provisions of this part, the commissioner may
require repayment of such grant to the state.
(i) Charter schools shall receive, in accordance with federal law and regulations,
any federal funds available for the education of any pupils attending public schools.
(j) The governing council of a charter school may (1) contract or enter into other
agreements for purposes of administrative or other support services, transportation, plant
services or leasing facilities or equipment, and (2) receive and expend private funds or
public funds, including funds from local or regional boards of education and funds
received by local charter schools for out-of-district students, for school purposes.
(k) If in any fiscal year, more than one new state charter school is approved pursuant
to section 10-66bb and is awaiting funding pursuant to the provisions of this section,
the State Board of Education shall determine which school is funded first based on a
consideration of the following factors in order of importance as follows: (1) Whether
the applicant has a demonstrated record of academic success by students, (2) whether
the school is located in a school district with a demonstrated need for student improvement, and (3) whether the applicant has plans concerning the preparedness of facilities,
staffing and outreach to students.
(l) Within available appropriations, the state may provide a grant in an amount not
to exceed seventy-five thousand dollars to any newly approved state charter school that
assists the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff,
et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the Commissioner of Education,
for start-up costs associated with the new charter school program.
(P.A. 96-214, S. 5; P.A. 97-290, S. 9, 29; P.A. 98-168, S. 24, 26; P.A. 99-289, S. 6, 11; P.A. 00-48, S. 1, 12; 00-187,
S. 23, 75; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 27, 54; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 14; P.A. 04-254, S. 8; P.A. 05-245, S. 38;
P.A. 06-135, S. 26; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 11, 16; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 54; P.A. 08-170, S. 10.)
History: P.A. 97-290 amended Subsec. (c) to change the payment schedule and to add the provisions on special education
students, added new Subsecs. (d) and (g) re unexpended funds and repayment and redesignated remaining Subsecs.,
amended Subsec. (e) to provide for reimbursement pursuant to Sec. 10-266m and amended Subsec. (i) to add funds received
by local charter schools for out-of-district students, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-168 amended Subsec. (c) to change the
state payment to $6,500 per student from an amount equal to 105% of the foundation level pursuant to Sec. 10-262f and
made the same change for the purpose of calculating the school district payment for a special education student, effective
July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-289 amended Subsec. (b) to add provisions relating to special education costs, amended Subsec. (c)
to substitute amount based on per cent of the foundation for a specific dollar amount, to substitute July fifteenth and
September fifteenth for "in July and September", January fifteenth for "in January" and not later than April fifteenth for
"in April", and add requirement for charter school to ensure that special education students receive services mandated in their
individualized education programs and amended Subsec. (e) to add provision concerning appeal of denial of transportation
services, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-48 amended Subsec. (c) to specify that payment for special education students be
made by the school district on a quarterly basis, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 00-187 amended Subsec. (c) to change the
amount of the state payments to $7,000 for each student, effective July 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 redesignated
Subsecs. (d) to (i) as Subsecs. (e) to (j), making a technical change in Subsec. (e), and added new Subsec. (d) re determination
of enrollment numbers and use of any additional funds, effective July 1, 2001; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec.
(c)(1) by increasing amount of per student grant from $7,000 to $7,250 and adding provision re proportional increase,
effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 04-254 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to provide for a maximum increase in grants payable per
student for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-245 amended Subsec. (c)(1) by increasing
amount of per pupil grant for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, to $7,625 and by adding language re per pupil grant of
$8,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, and each fiscal year thereafter, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-135 amended
Subsec. (c)(1) by replacing $7,250 with $8,000 re total amount per student appropriated for grants and providing that
supplemental per pupil grants shall not exceed $70 with any amount remaining to be used for supplemental grants for
interdistrict magnet schools, effective July 1, 2006; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to make technical
changes, to increase the per pupil grant to $8,650 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and $9,300 for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2009, to make permissive the requirement that commissioner spend unallocated funds for supplemental
grants for interdistrict magnet schools and to permit commissioner to use such funds to pay for audits and added Subsec.
(k) re priority for funding of new schools, effective July 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to
provide that unallocated funds may be used to pay expenses incurred by department to ensure continuity of a charter school
when required by a court and to pay expenses incurred when creating a CommPACT school, effective October 6, 2007;
P.A. 08-170 added Subsec. (l) re start-up costs for charter schools in support of stipulation re Sheff v. O'Neill, effective
July 1, 2008.
Subsec. (f):
Does not require charter school to provide transportation services to preschool children. 278 C. 326.