Funding and Apportionment Issues
Responses to these frequently asked questions are advisory only. Charter schools and charter authorizers are encouraged to review the actual laws and regulations that provide the basis for these responses and consult with their own legal counsel regarding the application of any of these issues to a specific situation.
Q.1. How can a new charter school first
receive state apportionment funds?
Q.2. Can a charter school send the estimated
average daily attendance (a.d.a.) survey directly to the California
Department of Education (CDE)?
Q.3. Why does the amount of the new charter
school special apportionment appear low?
Q.4. Will a new charter
school that received the first special apportionment receive the
November through January payment if it fails to report actual
a.d.a.?
Q.5. What if a new charter
school failed to submit estimated attendance at the beginning
of the year, but is able to report attendance for the first 20
school days. Would that school receive funding for the
months November through January?
Q.6. If the charter school is a conversion school
(of an already existing public school), as distinguished from
a start-up school, can it still receive the special apportionment
based on estimated a.d.a.?
Q.7. Traditional public
schools are funded on the greater of current or prior year a.d.a. Does this also apply to a charter school?
How can a new charter school first receive state apportionment funds?
A “new” charter school means a charter school that has received local or State Board approval, been assigned a State Board of Education (SBE) number, and has statutory authority to receive funding based on an estimate of the number of pupils who will be in attendance during the school year. In order for the charter school to receive timely state apportionment, it must be numbered by the SBE typically no later than the SBE’s May meeting. The California Department of Education (CDE) provides the “Information Sheet and Funding Survey,” which is sent out in early May for reporting the estimated pupil population. The Funding Survey must be submitted to the CDE by May 31 prior to the affected school year, and the special or advanced apportionment is typically allocated to new charter schools in late August. A charter school without SBE numbering approval by July may not be eligible for advance funding. If the charter school misses this deadline, the next principal apportionment will be released in February of the following year.
Reference: Education Code Section 47652
Can a charter school send the estimated a.d.a. survey directly to the CDE?
No. For new charter schools, the estimate of a.d.a. must be certified on the Information Sheet and Funding Survey by the charter authorizer and, if different from the authorizer, by the county office of education (COE). Once the a.d.a. is certified, it may be sent to the CDE. Continuing schools are not required to submit their a.d.a. on the Information Sheet and Funding Survey to the CDE. The Funding Survey may be found at the following Web site http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cs/re/csabout.asp .
For continuing charter schools that wish to change funding selection options, it is only necessary to notify the charter granting agency on the Information Sheet and Funding Survey. The CDE also recommends notifying the COE to assure uninterrupted follow of funding whenever the charter school makes a funding change (e.g., from locally funding to direct funded or vice versa).
Reference: Education Code Section 47652
Why does the amount of the new charter school special apportionment appear low?
The special apportionment may appear low for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is the expectation that the charter school will receive the full entitlement from the state. The state allocates only the state aid portion of the general-purpose entitlement. The charter school should receive another portion of the general-purpose entitlement from the local educational agency sponsoring the charter. That portion is funding in-lieu of property taxes. In-lieu taxes and state aid together equal the total entitlement.
Funding is apportioned on a monthly basis with the monthly percentage of the total amount specified in law. The special apportionment in late August provides 34 percent of the state aid portion in a single allocation, covering payment from July through October. New charter schools will then receive a second special apportionment for the months November through January, in late November, which provides an additional 24 percent of the annual entitlement, for a total 58 percent of the annual entitlement.
Will a new charter school that received the first special apportionment receive the November through January payment if it fails to report actual a.d.a.?
No. New charter schools are required to report to the CDE actual attendance for the first 20 school days in order to be included in the second special apportionment (the report is typically due in mid to late October). Charter schools that do not submit attendance for that period must wait until the first principal apportionment in February for the next payment.
What if a new charter school failed to submit estimated attendance at the beginning of the year, but is able to report attendance for the first 20 school days. Would that school receive funding for the months November through January?
Yes, provided the charter school has completed 20 school days prior to the attendance-reporting deadline. The charter school would receive funding for the months July through January, to catch up to 58 percent of the annual amount that is apportioned to all schools through January.
If the charter school is a conversion school (of an already existing public school), as distinguished from a start-up school, can it still receive the special apportionment based on estimated average daily attendance?
Yes. A conversion charter school should use the same special apportionment process as a start-up charter school.
Traditional public schools are funded on the greater of current or prior year a.d.a. Does this also apply to a charter school?
No. Charter school funding is based on current-year a.d.a. The one exception to this rule is for a district that has converted all of its schools to charter status, becoming an all-charter district.
Currently, non-charter school districts do not receive a declining enrollment allowance for any pupil who in the current year attends a charter school of the district, but in the prior year attended a traditional school of the district.
Reference: Education Code sections 47613.1 and 47664
