1. (1)(a) For new and expanding charter schools, the Superintendent shall calculate the foundation based on the average special education ADM for the number of years the school has been in operation beyond the first year, until the charter school completes its fourth year of operation.

   1. (b)(i) A new or expanding charter school in its first operational year shall receive special education add-on funding based on estimated enrollment projections made by the CDC and approved by the Superintendent for legislative projections.

      1. (ii) The Superintendent shall initially calculate the add-on by multiplying estimated enrollment by 10% to determine the number of WPUs allocated in the legislative estimate.
      2. (iii) The Superintendent shall finally calculate the add-on by taking the actual number of special education students reported on the December 1 count.

   2. (c)(i) For the second operational year, a new or expanding charter school shall receive estimated special education add-on funding based on the December 1 count from the prior year.

      1. (ii) The final WPUs allocated from the special education add-on program in the second operational year shall equal the greater of the ADM count from the prior year or the actual number of special education students reported on the December 1 count.

   3. (d)(i)(A) In its first operational year, a new or expanding charter school shall receive estimated WPUs for the special education self-contained program equal to the average self-contained prevalence rate of all charter schools in the prior year multiplied by the CDC estimated enrollment for the school.

      1. (B) The final WPUs allocated shall be equal to the number of self-contained students reported on the December 1 count of the current school year for the new or expanding charter school.
      2. (ii) In its second operational year, a new or expanding charter school shall receive estimated special education self-contained funding based on the December 1 count of self-contained students from the prior year.
      3. (iii) The final WPUs allocated from the special education self-contained program in the second operational year shall equal the ADM count of self-contained students from the current school year.
   4. (e) For special education impact aid funding in the first operational year, a new charter school shall receive an estimated December 1 count equal to 10% multiplied by the CDC estimated enrollment of the new or expanding charter school.
   5. (f) For the special education ESY program, in the first operational year, a new charter school shall receive funding based on a program count equal to .014% multiplied by the CDC estimate.
2. (2) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), if the WPUs calculated under this section are less than the WPUs set out in Subsection (4), a charter school shall receive WPUs based on Subsection (4).
3. (3) Notwithstanding this Section R277-479-3, if a new or expanding charter school identifies a purpose and target population in its application focusing on students with disabilities, the Superintendent may use enrollment projections that are higher than those outlined in this section.

4. (4) Notwithstanding the special education add-on WPUs as calculated under Section 53F-2-307, for a charter school with a prevalence rate less than 60%, the school's special education add-on WPUs cannot exceed the following levels:

   1. (a) For the 2027 fiscal year, 2.30 multiplied by the charter school's total special education ADM count from the prior year;
   2. (b) For the 2028 fiscal year, 1.82 multiplied by the charter school's total special education ADM count from the prior year; and
   3. (c) For the 2029 fiscal year and thereafter, 1.35 multiplied by the charter school's total special education ADM count from the prior year.

KEY: charter schools, students with disabilities

Date of Last Change: April 7, 2026

Notice of Continuation: March 12, 2022

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X, Sec 3; 53E-3-501(1)(c)(vi)(A); 53E-7-206; 53E-3-401(4)