6c6f9896_nce_for_Public_Charter_Schools__Charter_Law_Description
[State] Michigan [Score] 4 [Charter Law Description] 
Per statute, charter schools receive a “foundation allowance” (that is, basic, per-pupil operating revenue) from the state and generally have equal access to categorical funding. These provisions should result in 100 percent of state and school district operations funding following each student. In reality, the amount of foundation allowance is dependent on the district in which the charter school is located, as Michigan law provides that charter schools must receive the same foundation as the district in which they are located or a state maximum foundation allowance, whichever is less. This approach results in the majority of charters receiving a smaller foundation allowed from the state than the local district in which they are located. Michigan law does not provide transportation funding to either school districts or charter schools. In a national study of charter school funding (University of Arkansas, Charter School Funding: Inequity Exapnds, 2014), Michigan charter schools were receiving on average $9,270 per pupil in public funds, while traditional public schools would have received $12,700 for those students. As a result, the state’s charter schools were receiving $3,430 per pupil—or 27 percent—less than what the traditional public schools would have received for those students. This figure includes all sources of funding, and analysis reveals some continued inequities for operational and significant inequities for capital funding (see Component #19 for information on capital issues).
18. Equitable Operational Funding and Equal Access to All State and Federal Categorical Funding | National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Charter Law Description