Funded: Charters

Charter funding policies and reporting practices within each state may vary depending on the entity that authorized the charter school. Charter schools in Texas may be approved by local school districts or the State Commissioner of Education.

Funding for some charter schools in Texas is calculated based on a formula similar to the one used to calculate funding for traditional public schools, while funding other charter schools is not subject to a specific calculation.

Like traditional public schools, charter schools authorized by the State Commissioner of Education are funded through a student-based formula that considers the characteristics of students they educate. These include English-language learners, students from low-income households, students with disabilities, gifted and talented students, and students participating in career and technical education programs. Charter schools authorized by local school districts operate as schools within the district, and funding for them is not subject to a specific calculation.

While for traditional public school districts, funding is adjusted based on regional cost of characteristics, district size, and sparsity, state authorized charters are adjusted based on the state average on these measures.

Some charter schools in Texas receive all funding directly from the state, while others receive all funding through local school districts.

Charter schools authorized by the State Commissioner of Education receive funding directly from the state while charter schools authorized by local school districts receive funding through local school districts.

State law in Texas does not specify that a share of charter funding is withheld.

Some charter schools in Texas receive a share of local tax revenue, while other charter schools receive state funding that may be meant to replace local funding.

Charter schools authorized by local school districts are part of the authorizing district and they receive funding, including local tax revenue, in the same way as other schools within the district. Charter schools authorized by the state Commissioner of Education do not have direct access to revenue raised by local school districts. However, the state provides charter schools with their entire formula amount, while local school districts are expected to cover a share based on their property values and funding history.

Some charter schools in Texas constitute their own local education agencies, while others are a part of local education agencies.

Charter schools that are authorized by the State Board of Education constitute their own local education agencies while charter schools that are authorized by a local school district are a part of the district’s local education agency.

Some charter school students in Texas are counted as students of the charter they attend for state reporting purposes, while other charter school students are counted as students of the school district where the charter school is located.

Students of charter schools that are authorized by the State Board of Education are counted as students of the charter they attend for state reporting purposes while students of charter schools authorized by a local school district are counted as students of that district.

State funding for some charter schools in Texas is reported separately while for other charter schools, state funding is reported as part of state funding for the school district where the charter school is located.

State funding for charter schools authorized by the State Board of Education is reported separately from state funding for any district. State funding for charter schools authorized by local school districts is reported as part of state funding for that district.

For some charter schools in Texas, expenditures are reported separately while for other charter schools, expenditures are reported as part of expenditures of the school district where the charter school is located.

For charter schools authorized by the state, charter expenditures are reported separately from expenditures of any school district. For charter schools that are authorized by a local school district, charter expenditures are included in expenditures for the school district that authorized the charter school.

Click here for Texas's traditional district funding information.