6c6f9896_nce_for_Public_Charter_Schools__Charter_Law_Description
[State] California [Score] 8 [Charter Law Description] 
California is in the midst of changing how it funds all public schools, including public charter schools. Previously the law provided for charter schools to receive 100 percent of state and district operational funding, based on enrollment, in the form of a general purpose entitlement and a categorical block grant. In 2013, California enacted a completely new funding formula for public education that similarly affects public charter schools and school districts. California law requires all special education funds to flow through an intermediate unit (SELPA) that receives special education funds for all local education agencies in that SELPA. A national study of charter school funding (University of Arkansas, Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, 2014) found that California charter schools were receiving on average $7,821 per pupil in public funds, while districts would have received an estimated $10,446 per pupil to educate those same students — a gap of $2,625 per pupil, or 25.1 percent. This comparison includes all sources of funding. However, this gap is expected to decrease as new data are gathered that reflect the state's new funding system for all public schools. The assessment of funding equity for California’s charter schools is largely based on data from the 2010–11 school year — one of the worst for school funding in California. Since the enactment of the Local Control Funding Formula and new school revenues as a result of Proposition 30, California charter schools have made significant gains in their level of funding and in funding equity compared to school districts serving similar student populations. While we acknowledge this change in this report, the recent impact of these changes is not fully reflected in the score or ranking.
18. Equitable Operational Funding and Equal Access to All State and Federal Categorical Funding | National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Charter Law Description