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LAW |
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Year Passed |
1998; last amended in 2008.
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Rank |
4th strongest of the nation's 40 charter laws. |
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Grade |
B |
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GENERAL DATA |
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Steadily improving charter climate, with new active authorizer added in 2004
Freedoms are limited but funds are funding base is strong |
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MULTIPLE AUTHORIZERS - YES (2) |
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Approval |
School boards and the Utah State Charter School Board. (This board is independent but gains its authority from the State Board of Education.) |
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Appeal |
Yes. Applications denied by the school board or the Utah State Charter School Board may be appealed to the State Board of Education. The state board's decision is final. |
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NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ALLOWED |
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Cap |
No cap. There is an enrollment cap on the total number of students that may attend charters, which was 32,921 students in 2008-09. Each year, the cap increases by 1.4 percent of total school district enrollment. |
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OPERATIONAL AUTONOMY |
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State |
Limited. Waiver requests considered on a case-by-case basis. State restrictions such as curriculum and scheduling rules, keeps charters from being truly independent. Virtual schools are allowed. Management contracts with ESPs are not restricted. |
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Local |
Limited. Waiver requests considered on a case-by-case basis Employment and personnel decisions are left up to the charter school. |
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Teacher Freedom |
Yes. Teachers are employees of charter school, and are not required to be district employees. Charter schools may participate in state's retirement system, or may opt out of the state's system and establish their own retirement system for its employees. |
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EQUITY |
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Student Funding |
Schools receive same funding streams as conventional public schools.
Funds pass through the state. State sends local share directly to schools after deducting from the district.
Average per pupil revenue - $5,690
"Except as provided in Subsection (3)(b), a charter school shall receive state funds, as applicable, on the same basis as a school district receives funds. (b) In distributing funds under Title 53A, Chapter 17a, Minimum School Program Act, to charter schools, charter school pupils shall be weighted, where applicable, as follows: (4) (a) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(a)(ii), a school district shall allocate a portion of school district revenues for each resident student of the school district who is enrolled in a charter school on October 1 equal to 25% of the lesser of
(b) The State Board of Education shall: (i) deduct an amount equal to the allocation provided under Subsection (4)(a) from state funds the school district is authorized to receive under Title 53A, Chapter 17a, Minimum School Program Act; (ii) remit the money to the student's charter school.
" [Utah Code Ann. ง 53A-1a-513] |
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Facilities Funding |
Yes. The Local Revenue Replacement Program provides per pupil funding to replace some of the local property tax revenue charters do not receive. A minimum of 10 percent of this money must be used on facilities. For FY 2009, charters received $143 per pupil. [Utah Code Ann. ง53A-21-401] |
