Annual Authorizer Fee And Annual Reporting

(1) Requirements applicable to local boards of education that serve as an authorizer of a charter school(s) (i.e., district authorizers): (a) Pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-13-128, district authorizers shall receive an annual authorizer fee that is a percentage of the charter school’s per student state and local funding as allocated under T.C.A. § 49-13-112. The annual authorizer fee shall be the lesser of three percent (3%) of the annual per-student state and local allocations or $35,000 per school. (b) District authorizers shall use the annual authorizer fee exclusively for fulfilling the following authorizing obligations: 1. Charter school application approval process, including: (i) Implementation of State Board-approved quality authorizing standards; and (ii) Stipends or travel for external reviewers. 2. Interim review process required by T.C.A. § 49-13-121(k), including review of the progress of the school in achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance standards, content standards, and other terms of the approved charter agreement. 3. Charter school renewal process required by T.C.A. § 49-13-121, including: (i) Review of the renewal application; (ii) Stipends or travel for external reviewers; and (iii) Development of the renewal evaluation required to be submitted to each charter school. 4. Monitoring and oversight activities, including: (i) Development of a performance framework; (ii) Annual monitoring visits; (iii) Data meetings; CHARTER SCHOOLS CHAPTER 0520-14-01 (iv) Any software or data management tools required by the district authorizer exclusively for charter schools; (v) Monitoring of all legal requirements; and (vi) School closure responsibilities outlined in T.C.A. § 49-13-130. 5. Personnel costs for staff supporting charter schools, including: (i) Salaries and benefits for full-time or part-time personnel with exclusive charter school responsibilities; (ii) Salaries for personnel who spend a portion of their time on direct charter school responsibilities. Any funds spent on salaries must be pro-rated to reflect the amount of time spent only on charter support work. Salaries for personnel may only be paid for with authorizer fee funds if the activities and duties of the personnel are beyond the scope and capacity of the LEA charter school office or personnel; (iii) External consultants or other consultancy or legal fees to support charter authorizing obligations; and (iv) Reasonable costs associated with recruiting or hiring charter support or authorizing staff. 6. Operational expenses for staff supporting charter schools. 7. Annual reporting, including: (i) Review of annual charter school performance reports required under T.C.A. § 49-13-120; (ii) Reporting of vacant and underutilized properties owned or operated by the LEA pursuant to T.C.A § 49-13-136 and paragraph (4) of this Rule; (iii) Creation of the authorizer fee report required by T.C.A. § 49-13-128(f); and (iv) Reporting of student directory information required by T.C.A. § 49-13-132. 8. Ongoing charter school support services, including: (i) Interventions or authorizer-led supports; (ii) Maintenance of facilities or other capital outlay obligations that are not otherwise outlined in a lease agreement between the authorizer and charter school; (iii) Professional development, orientation, or onboarding of charter school employees or staff supporting charter schools; and (iv) Contract services for specialized or targeted charter school supports. (2) Requirements applicable only to state-level authorizers: (a) In accordance with T.C.A. § 49-13-128: CHARTER SCHOOLS CHAPTER 0520-14-01 1. If the ASD authorizes a public charter school, the ASD shall receive an annual authorizer fee of up to three percent (3%) of the public charter school’s per pupil state and local funding as allocated under § 49-13-112(a). By May 1 of each year, the Commissioner shall set the percentage of a public charter school’s per pupil state and local funding that the ASD shall receive as the annual authorizer fee for the next school year. (i) The ASD shall use the annual authorizer fee exclusively for fulfilling authorizing obligations set forth in subparagraph (1)(b) of this Rule. 2. If the Commission authorizes a public charter school, the Commission shall receive an annual authorizer fee of up to three percent (3%) of the public charter school’s per pupil state and local funding as allocated under § 49-13-112(a). By May 1 of each year, the Commission or the Commission’s designee shall set the percentage of a public charter school’s per student state and local funding that the Commission shall receive as the annual authorizer fee for the next school year. (i) The Commission shall use the annual authorizer fee for fulfilling authorizing obligations set forth in subparagraph (1)(b) of this Rule. Additionally, the Commission may use the annual authorizer fee to fulfill obligations consistent with the authority of the Commission as set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49, Chapter 13. (3) Requirements applicable to all authorizers: (a) The authorizer fee shall be paid by a charter school to its authorizer in accordance with the payment process issued by the Department of Education. (b) The annual authorizer fee collected by an authorizer shall be recorded in the general ledger using the appropriate revenue code as determined by the Tennessee Comptroller and shall be subject to all audit and reporting requirements. (c) By December 1 of each year, each authorizer that collects an annual authorizer fee shall report to the State Board the total amount of authorizer fees collected in the previous school year and the authorizing obligations fulfilled using the fee. Reports shall be submitted on a reporting form developed by the State Board. (d) Each authorizer fee report shall be posted on the authorizer’s website and the State Board’s website. (e) If, for any school year, the total amount of authorizer fees collected by the authorizer exceeds the amount used by the authorizer to perform its authorizing obligations and responsibilities, the authorizer shall distribute the amount remaining to its authorized public charter schools. (f) Any excess funds collected by an authorizer shall be distributed to its authorized charter schools in the school year immediately following the school year in which the excess fees were collected by the authorizer and in accordance with the process established by the Department of Education. (g) If the State Board determines funds were used by the authorizer for activities other than the authorizing obligations outlined in this Rule, the State Board shall direct the Department of Education to withhold an amount equal to the misallocated funds in the CHARTER SCHOOLS CHAPTER 0520-14-01 following school year from the authorizer and shall distribute the misallocated funds directly to the authorizer’s charter schools. (h) If an authorizer does not receive timely payment from an authorized charter school in accordance with this Rule, the authorizer shall be entitled to any past due amount from the authorized charter school in accordance with the payment process issued by the Department of Education. (i) Each charter school shall receive a proportionate share of any excess or misallocated funds collected by the authorizer based on the actual amount of authorizer fee funds paid to the authorizer by each charter school. (j) Authorizers shall annually provide a projected charter school office budget for the upcoming school year to the State Board by August 1. The State Board shall annually post each projected budget to its website by August 15. (4) Requirements applicable to LEAs in which one (1) or more public charter schools operate: (a) Annually by May 1, the LEA shall publish the information required in T.C.A. § 49-13- 136(c)(1) on the LEA’s website and submit a comprehensive listing of all vacant or underutilized property to the Department and the Comptroller of the Treasury. 1. Vacant property, as defined in T.C.A. § 49-13-104, means a building, with or without improvements, which is closed or no longer used for direct academic instruction for students in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve (pre-K-12), or any combination thereof, including, but not limited to, spaces suitable for classroom use that are currently being used for storage of any kind and does not include real property on which a building or permanent structure has not been erected. 2. Underutilized property, as defined in T.C.A. § 49-13-104, means a building or portion thereof, with or without improvements, which is not used or is used irregularly or intermittently for K-12 instructional or program purposes, including, but not limited to, spaces suitable for classroom use that are currently being used for storage of any kind. K-12 instructional purposes include spaces used for providing direct instruction to students. K-12 program purposes include spaces used in support of K-12 instructional programming, such as faculty professional development, employee offices, and other similar uses but do not include spaces suitable for classroom use that are currently being used for storage of any kind. For public school facilities that, by their nature, are characterized by irregular or intermittent use, such as auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and athletic facilities, irregular or intermittent use means the facility is used for K-12 instructional or programming purposes less than ten (10) times per school year. For all other public school facilities, irregular or intermittent use means the facility is used for K-12 instructional or programming purposes fewer than ninety (90) days per school year or the facility is used at less than 55% capacity, to be calculated in accordance with the Department’s guidance and reporting template.