Section: 4009.1.Funding Subject: Independent Study ADA
Effective Date: 9/27/05 Approved By: Board of Directors
Revised Date: 7/26/07
Policy:
The Board of Directors recognizes that independent study is a viable model for pupil education. In order to secure resources for independent study programs, activities, staff and materials, as well as ensure that independent study at the school is conducted in an efficient and productive manner, independent study must meet state regulations of eligibility for Average Daily Attendance funding.
The school shall submit a determination of funding (SB740 Funding Determination) request to the state, following the guidelines and requirements of law. The school shall budget its finances to maximize its funding determination, meeting the following benchmarks:
· The school’s total expenditures for salaries and benefits for all certificated employees who work in a position to provide direct instruction or direct instructional support to students to meet 40% or more of the school’s total public revenues for the fiscal year
· The school’s total expenditures on instruction and related services to meet 80% or more of the school’s total public revenues for the fiscal year
SB 740 regulations went into effect in December 2005 which establish an alternative to the existing method for determining the pupil-teacher ratio for non-classroom-based charter schools by allowing charter schools the option of using a statewide average pupil-teacher ratio of 25 to 1 or the pupil-teacher ratio of the largest unified school district in the county or counties in which the charter school operates. A full-time certificated employee for pupil-teacher ratio purposes is defined as an “employee who is required to work a minimum six-hour day and 175 days per fiscal year. Part-time positions shall generate a partial FTE on a proportional basis.”
In order to maintain the school’s pupil-teacher ratio and meet state regulations, the full-time enrollment student load for Independent Study teacher (IST) will be no greater than 26. This will allow for that enrollment to ADA ratio. Half-time enrollment student load will be 13 and a minimum of seven students must be maintained for part-time.