School Finance: Charter Schools

Charter schools are independent public schools designed to encourage innovative educational practices. Charter schools are funded by tuition charges assessed against the school districts where the students reside. The state provides partial reimbursement to the sending districts for the tuition costs incurred.

Charter School Office home page

1. Charter School Legislation and Regulations

   01/25/2005 603 CMR 1.00: Charter Schools 09/17/2004 Section 31 of Chapter 352 of the Acts of 2004 07/11/1997 Chapter 46 of the Acts of 1997 01/01/1993 MGL Chapter 71§89: Charter Schools

2. Grants for Charter Schools

   08/23/2007 Charter School Developer Program (Fund Code 534) 07/11/2007 Charter School Dissemination Grants (Fund Code 537) 06/22/2007 Start-Up Assistance (Fund Code 535)

3. Tuition, Rates & Reimbursements

   Tuition and Reimbursement Calculation Guidelines 02/16/2007     Calculation and Disbursement of Commonwealth Charter School Tuition 06/19/2006  Charter Tuition Rate Summary 03/13/2006 Update on FY06 Charter Tuition Calculations 06/14/2005 Good Faith Estimates of Quarterly Tuition Payments 02/09/2005 Important Notice Regarding Advance Certification of Quarterly Tuition Payments to Commonwealth Charter Schools 04/01/1998 District Reimbursement of Charter School Tuition

   State Summary, FY96 to Present 04/07/2008    Commonwealth Charter School Profile, FY99 - FY09

   FY 2009 04/07/2008 Q1 Charter School FY09 Tuition and Enrollment Projections

   FY 2008 03/14/2008 Q3 Preliminary Charter School FY08 Tuition and Enrollment 12/18/2007 Q2 Preliminary Charter School FY08 Tuition and Enrollment 08/07/2007 Q1 Charter School FY08 Tuition and Enrollment Projections

   FY 2007 06/15/2007 Q4 Final Charter School FY07 Tuition and Enrollment 03/20/2007 Q3 Preliminary Charter School FY07 Tuition and Enrollment 12/20/2006 Q2 Preliminary Charter School FY07 Tuition and Enrollment 07/13/2006 Q1 Charter School FY07 Tuition and Enrollment Projections

   Prior year tuition, rates and reimbursements archive

4. Enrollment

   Enrollment Guidelines and Restrictions 02/01/2008 2008-2009 Pre-Enrollment, Significant Expansion, and NSS Near-Cap Information and Deadlines 02/06/2007 2007-2008 Pre-Enrollment, Significant Expansion, and NSS Near-Cap Information and Deadlines 02/01/2006 2006-2007 Pre-Enrollment and NSS Near-Cap Information 11/07/2005 Managing Charter School Enrollment and the Net School Spending Cap 03/14/2005 Deadline Extended for the Submission of 2005-2006 Charter School Significant Expansion Data 03/02/2005 2005-2006 Pre-Enrollment Update and Enrollment Restrictions, Part 2 01/31/2005 2005-2006 Pre-Enrollment Update and Enrollment Restrictions 02/12/2004 Enrollment Restrictions for 2004-05 School Year 01/29/2004 Enrollment Policies

   Charter School Pre-Enrollment 04/01/2008 2008-2009 Charter School Pre-Enrollment 03/30/2007 2007-2008 Charter School Pre-Enrollment 03/31/2006 2006-2007 Charter School Pre-Enrollment 03/31/2005 2005-2006 Charter School Pre-Enrollment 04/01/2004 2004-2005 Charter School Pre-Enrollment 04/01/2003 2003-2004 Charter School Pre-Enrollment 03/29/2002 Notification of Projected Enrollment in Charter Schools in School Year 2002-2003 04/01/2001 Notification of Projected Enrollment in Charter Schools: 2001 - 2002

5. Charter School Audit Guide and End of Year Financial Report

   09/19/2007 FY2007 Charter School Audit and End of Year Financial Report 08/10/2006 FY2006 Charter School Audit and End of Year Financial Report 11/09/2005 FY2005 Charter School Audit Requirements Reminder 07/11/2005 Massachusetts Charter School Audit Guide - Revised June 2005 ** EFFECTIVE FOR FY06 AUDITS ** 07/01/2003 Massachusetts Charter School Recommended Audit Guide - July 2003: ** REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR FY05 AUDITS **

6. Charter School Recommended Fiscal Policies and Procedures

   11/15/2005   Massachusetts Charter School Recommended Fiscal Policies and Procedures Guide - November 2005 - (Including a Recommended Chart of Accounts)

7. Reports and Reviews of Charter School Finance

   6/15/2004  State Auditor's Report on Establishing Standardized Accounting and Reporting Methods for Massachusetts's Charter Schools Pursuant to Chapter 46 of the Acts of 1997 10/22/2001  Independent State Auditor's Report on the Activities of the Executive Office of Education's and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Administration of the Charter School Program 10/30/1998  State Auditor's Report on Establishing Standardized Accounting and Reporting Methods for Massachusetts's Charter Schools Pursuant to Chapter 46 of the Acts of 1997 06/01/1998 Study of Charter School Tuition Rate Calculations conducted by KPMG Peat Marwick