NRS386.570. Count of pupils for apportionment; deposit of money; payment of quarterly sponsorship fee to sponsor; request by charter school for reduction in sponsorship fee; distribution in first year of operation; payment of remaining apportionments upon cessation of operation; solicitation and acceptance of donations and grants.

      1.  Each pupil who is enrolled in a charter school, including, without limitation, a pupil who is enrolled in a program of special education in a charter school, must be included in the count of pupils in the school district for the purposes of apportionments and allowances from the State Distributive School Account pursuant to NRS 387.121 to 387.126, inclusive, unless the pupil is exempt from compulsory attendance pursuant to NRS 392.070. A charter school is entitled to receive its proportionate share of any other money available from federal, state or local sources that the school or the pupils who are enrolled in the school are eligible to receive. If a charter school receives special education program units directly from this State, the amount of money for special education that the school district pays to the charter school may be reduced proportionately by the amount of money the charter school received from this State for that purpose. The State Board shall prescribe a process which ensures that all charter schools, regardless of the sponsor, have information about all sources of funding for the public schools provided through the Department, including local funds pursuant to NRS 387.1235.

      2.  All money received by the charter school from this State or from the board of trustees of a school district must be deposited in an account with a bank, credit union or other financial institution in this State. The governing body of a charter school may negotiate with the board of trustees of the school district and the State Board for additional money to pay for services which the governing body wishes to offer.

      3.  Upon completion of each school quarter, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall pay to the sponsor of a charter school one-quarter of the yearly sponsorship fee for the administrative costs associated with sponsorship for that school quarter, which must be deducted from the quarterly apportionment to the charter school made pursuant to NRS 387.124. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the yearly sponsorship fee for the sponsor of a charter school must be in an amount of money not to exceed 2 percent of the total amount of money apportioned to the charter school during the school year pursuant to NRS 387.124.

      4.  If the governing body of a charter school satisfies the requirements of this subsection, the governing body may submit a request to the sponsor of the charter school for approval of a sponsorship fee in an amount that is less than 2 percent but at least 1 percent of the total amount of money apportioned to the charter school during the school year pursuant to NRS 387.124. The sponsor of the charter school shall approve such a request if the sponsor of the charter school determines that the charter school satisfies the requirements of this subsection. If the sponsor of the charter school approves such a request, the sponsor shall provide notice of the decision to the governing body of the charter school and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. If the sponsor of the charter school denies such a request, the governing body of the charter school may appeal the decision of the sponsor to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Upon appeal, the sponsor of the charter school and the governing body of the charter school are entitled to present evidence. The decision of the Superintendent of Public Instruction on the appeal is final and is not subject to judicial review. The governing body of a charter school may submit a request for a reduction of the sponsorship fee pursuant to this subsection if:

      (a) The charter school satisfies the requirements of subsection 1 of NRS 386.5515; and

      (b) There has been a decrease in the duties of the sponsor of the charter school that justifies a decrease in the sponsorship fee.

      5.  To determine the amount of money for distribution to a charter school in its first year of operation, the count of pupils who are enrolled in the charter school must initially be determined 30 days before the beginning of the school year of the school district, based on the number of pupils whose applications for enrollment have been approved by the charter school. The count of pupils who are enrolled in the charter school must be revised on the last day of the first school month of the school district in which the charter school is located for the school year, based on the actual number of pupils who are enrolled in the charter school. Pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 387.124, the governing body of a charter school may request that the apportionments made to the charter school in its first year of operation be paid to the charter school 30 days before the apportionments are otherwise required to be made.

      6.  If a charter school ceases to operate as a charter school during a school year, the remaining apportionments that would have been made to the charter school pursuant to NRS 387.124 for that year must be paid on a proportionate basis to the school districts where the pupils who were enrolled in the charter school reside.

      7.  The governing body of a charter school may solicit and accept donations, money, grants, property, loans, personal services or other assistance for purposes relating to education from members of the general public, corporations or agencies. The governing body may comply with applicable federal laws and regulations governing the provision of federal grants for charter schools. The State Public Charter School Authority may assist a charter school that operates exclusively for the enrollment of pupils who receive special education in identifying sources of money that may be available from the Federal Government or this State for the provision of educational programs and services to such pupils.

      (Added to NRS by 1997, 1852; A 1999, 3300; 2001, 3134; 2005, 2403; 2007, 2576; 2009, 935; 2011, 765, 2368, 3056; 2013, 1600)