6) How are charter schools funded? May a charter school charge additional costs for specific services?
Charter schools receive both state and local educational funds based upon student enrollment. Charter schools do not receive additional funding for facilities.
Charter schools must provide without cost extra instructional time for at-risk students, summer school and other services required to be provided pursuant to the state accountability laws.
Charter schools may not charge tuition, however, there may be select additional services such as before and after school care for which there could be a charge.
This information is courtesy the Department of Education Charter School FAQ - http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/schools/charterschools/Reports/charter_DECharterSchoolFAQ-Apr06.pdf This document is required to be distributed to Parents/Guardians when they enroll their student in a Delaware Charter School.
If you were required to pay for summer school for your at-risk student or child who required ESY or Extended School year as part of their IEP or 504, I strongly urge you to contact the Delaware Charter School Office for clarification on the matter, (302)735-4020.
9 comments:
Very interesting as one very popular charter school in our community DOES charge for summer school.
OUCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like refunds are due !
Imagine an $850 summer school bill from a charter school??? Not talking enrichment camp or something - actual core classes needed b/c the student was unsuccessful during the regular school year. Remediation. Basic credit recovery.
Some charter schools give good charters a bad rep!
Un-freakn'n-believable!
What in the world is wring with people??!!!!
Jodi, I was flabbergasted when I was presented with email outlining a $850 charge levied to a family whose at-risk child required summer school remediation.
I understand schools that charge fees for summer camps run as enrichment programs and thoroughly optional to families to choose to participate. Newark Charter has this model and based on feedback, its very successful for kids who want to continue to be academically challenged during the summer. I think this is a fantastic offering!
But for another charter to manipulate or reinterpret the laws and rules to charge parents of children who have failed a core class or classes to remediate those credits is incredible and disgusting!
You're on a board of charter - do you have any deeper perspective on the laws that govern charters in regards to remediation? I'd love to hear your thoughts! How does your school handle things like appropriating funds for summer expenses related to summer remediation?
Our school did a summer "camp" this year. It was a wonderful balance between summer fun and academic enrichment which I was very happy to pay for. It was a very affordable option for us and I'm looking forward to seeing how my daughter transitions into 2nd grade this fall. This is TOTALLY DIFFERENT than what you are talking about, of course - and I fail to understand how a school could justify charging for remediation programs. In my mind, if it generates a grade that counts towards your credits or whether or not you advance to the next grade level, it's summer school and NOT billable to the student. I'll be honest - our school is still very small and this is something that we just haven't had to accommodate yet but this was probably the last summer. Going forward, I would expect appropriate staff to be retained for the summer (as a contractor, most likely? Would have to research that) to teach the necessary classes in a manner on par with coursework during the academic year. I suppose you'd have some discretion about what year's funding the money actually comes from but bottom line, I don't understand how it's justifiable to charge for it. Are they trying somehow to charge under the guise of calling it "tutoring"? I don't get it.
Thank You Jodi. It sounds like Reach ran a great program this summer! Going forward - b/c Reach is just one school - someone - your IEP coordinator should keep the board apprised of any students who require Extended School Year Services (ESY), 12 month programming (which you are not likely to encounter) or summer school. For students with IEPs - this can be fairly predictable. For students who are at-risk but without a identified disability, it requires teachers to really dial down to determine if they have a student that needs a summer program. I think about it this way - If a student was "assigned" and not "promoted," this could be an indicator that the student would see huge benefits from summer school. Unfortunately, funding from the state all around does not address this litmus test. Where you tend to see credit recovery issues is at the secondary level and really 9-12 with state mandated core classes. But, engaging struggling elementary and middle school students earlier may help head off the need for credit recovery later.
That all said - the law is clear - schools, charter or traditiona, cannot charge for credit recovery or remediation. It seems some charter schools get it, so where's the disconnect???
We'll get a report on IEPs for the year at our next board meeting, and from there, we get periodic updates on how those are going through the year - and also how we are doing with those students who seem to be struggling, those working with our specialists, etc. Vigilance is key. Still can't wrap my head around a school charging for a mandatory summer course.
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