Funding and Apportionment
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. Can a charter school receive funding for supplemental instruction?
Q.2. Can a charter school provide classes on Saturday?
Q.3. Can a charter school receive funding for pre-kindergarten summer school programs?
Q.4. Is the charter authorizer required to provide facilities to charter schools it approves?
Q.5. What are the audit and financial reporting requirements for charter schools?
Q.6.
Can a charter school apply for individual categorical programs?
Q.1. Can a charter school receive funding for supplemental instruction?
Yes. A charter school can receive funding for supplemental instruction. The supplemental instruction for classroom-based charter schools can be provided before school, after school, or on weekends.
Nonclassroom-based charter schools can only receive funding for supplemental instruction that is provided on non-school days. Because nonclassroom-based charter schools do not operate school days with classroom instruction of fixed time, there is no way to determine what part of the “day” is the regular school day.
Supplemental instruction may not be used for making up absences.
Q.2. Can a charter school provide classes on Saturday?
Yes. A charter school may operate on Saturdays. According to California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 5, Section 11960 (Outside Source), average daily attendance must be calculated based on each day school is in session, including Saturday.
Q.3. Can a charter school receive funding for pre-kindergarten summer school programs?
Yes. Charter schools may receive funds for a summer pre-kindergarten program. California Education Code (EC) Section 48000 (Outside Source) defines who is eligible to be served by the pre-kindergarten program. EC Section 37252 (Outside Source) allows school districts and charter schools to receive funding when offering supplemental instructional programs.
Q.4. Is the charter authorizer required to provide facilities to charter schools it approves?
Yes. EC Section 41020(m) (Outside Source) authorizes the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to require corrective action plans to ensure resolution of audit exceptions.
Q.5. What are the audit and financial reporting requirements for charter schools?
EC Section 41020(b)(1) (Outside Source) requires that the governing board of each local educational agency, which includes direct funded charter schools, provide for an audit of the books and accounts including an audit of income and expenditures by source of funds.
EC Section 47605(b)(5)(I) (Outside Source) requires that a charter school describe in its charter the manner in which annual independent financial audits will be performed and the manner in which audit exceptions and deficiencies shall be resolved to the satisfaction of the charter authorizing entity. Audits must be conducted in accordance with the auditing standards described in CCR Title 5, Section 9812 (Outside Source) .
Charter schools are included in the “Standards and Procedures for Audits of K-12 Local Educational Agencies” (Audit Guide) (Outside Source) found in CCR Title 5 sections 19810 - 19816.1 (Outside Source) and sections 19845 - 19854 (Outside Source). The Audit Guide contains state compliance procedures for audits of public schools, including charter schools.
Charter school audits should be performed in accordance with applicable Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. The audit should also be performed in accordance with any requirements established by the federal Office of Management and Budget Circulars applicable to the school.
EC Section 47605(m) (Outside Source) requires charter schools to submit a copy of their annual audit to the charter authorizing entity, the county office of education, the State Controller, and the CDE by December 15 of each year.
EC Section 47604.33 (Outside Source) requires each charter school to prepare and submit the following financial reports to the charter authorizing entity and the county superintendent of schools annually:
- On or before July 1, a preliminary budget.
- On or before December 15, an interim financial report reflecting changes through October 31.
- On or before March 15, a second interim financial report reflecting changes through January 31
- On or before September 15, a final unaudited report for the full prior year.
Charter schools that do not report in the Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) format must use the Alternative Form. CDE does not provide budget or interim reports in the alternative format. Information regarding charter school financial reporting is available on the CDE Web site.
Fiscal calendars for financial reports are available in the Resources section of the CDE Web site. The District Calendar provides both district and charter school reporting requirements along with applicable EC references.
Q.6. Can a charter school apply for individual categorical programs?
Yes. However, a charter school may not apply for a categorical program that is included in the charter school categorical block grant. The list of categorical programs from which charter schools are currently EXCLUDED is found in EC sections 47634.4(d) and (f). (Outside Source) instead of statutory reference can we find a Web site link that will keep this question as current as possible.
