DAR File No. 40672

Education, Administration

Rule R277-421

Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement

Notice of Proposed Rule

(New Rule)

DAR File No.: 40672
Filed: 08/15/2016 07:45:58 PM

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The purpose of this new Rule R277-421 is to provide procedures for the cost of out-of-state tuition reimbursement to school districts.

Summary of the rule or change:

This new rule provides procedures for school districts to obtain Utah State Board of Education (Board) approval for reimbursement of out-of-state tuition expenses, calculating reimbursement costs, and recording out of state students in school district records.

Statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

• Section 53A-2-204
• Art X, Sec 3
• Section 53A-1-401

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

There is likely no cost or savings to the state budget as a result of this new rule. School districts will only be reimbursed for out-of-state tuition costs if the Board approves a request for reimbursement and if there are sufficient funds to cover the reimbursement.

local governments:

There is likely no cost or savings to local government as a result of this new rule. School districts will be reimbursed for out-of-state tuition costs if the Board approves a request for reimbursement and if there are sufficient funds to cover the reimbursement.

small businesses:

There is likely no cost or savings to the small businesses as a result of this new rule. School districts will only be reimbursed for out-of-state tuition costs if the Board approves a request for reimbursement and if there are sufficient funds to cover the reimbursement.

persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:

There is likely no cost or savings to persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local government entities. School districts will only be reimbursed for out-of-state tuition costs if the Board approves a request for reimbursement and if there are sufficient funds to cover the reimbursement.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There is likely no compliance costs for affected persons as a result of this new rule. School districts will only be reimbursed for out-of-state tuition costs if the Board approves a request for reimbursement and if there are sufficient funds to cover the reimbursement.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

To the best of my knowledge, there should be no fiscal impact on businesses resulting from this new rule.

Sydnee Dickson, State Superintendent

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Office of Administrative Rules, or at:

Education
Administration
250 E 500 S
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84111-3272

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

• Angela Stallings at the above address, by phone at 801-538-7656, by FAX at 801-538-7768, or by Internet E-mail at angie.stallings@schools.utah.gov

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

10/03/2016

This rule may become effective on:

10/10/2016

Authorized by:

Angela Stallings, Associate Superintendent, Policy and Communication

R277. Education, Administration.

R277-421. Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement.

R277-421-1. Authority and Purpose.

(1) This rule is authorized by:

(a) Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, which vests general control and supervision over public education in the Board;

(b) Section 53A-1-401, which allows the Board to make rules to execute the Board's duties and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution and state law; and

(c) Section 53A-2-204, which outlines when a school district may pay out-of-state tuition for a resident student to attend a school district out of state.

(2) The purpose of this rule is to establish procedures for:

(a) obtaining Board approval for reimbursement of out-of-state tuition expenses;

(b) calculating reimbursement costs; and

(c) recording out of state students in district records.

 

R277-421-2. Definitions.

(1) "ADM" means average daily membership.

(2) "Minimum school program" or "MSP" means the same as that term is defined in Section 53A-17a-103.

(3) "NESS" means the Necessarily Existent Small Schools Fund.

(4) "Utah eTranscript and Records Exchange" or "UTREx" means a system that allows individual detailed student records to be exchanged electronically between public education districts and the Superintendent, and allows electronic transcripts to be sent to any post-secondary institution, private or public, in-state or out-of-state, that participates in the e-transcript service.

(5) "WPU" means the weighted pupil unit.

 

R277-421-3. Board Review of Out-of-State Tuition Agreements.

(1) A district shall submit to the Superintendent an agreement to pay tuition to an out-of-state district in accordance with Subsection 53A-2-204(1) by June 30.

(2) A district requesting reimbursement for excess tuition costs under Subsection 53A-2-204(3) shall submit a request to the Superintendent by June 30 including:

(a) an estimate of ADM for out of state students for the upcoming school year; and

(b) an estimate of tuition payment amounts for the upcoming school year.

(3)(a) The Board shall review a request submitted under Subsection (2) no later than August 30.

(b) The Board may deny a request submitted under Subsection (2) if there are insufficient funds to cover the reimbursement.

 

R277-421-4. Calculation of Out-of-State Tuition Reimbursement.

(1) The Superintendent shall calculate out-of-state reimbursement to a district by subtracting state funds that are calculated based on the WPU generated by an out-of-state resident student's ADM from the total tuition payment per student:

(a) Kindergarten WPU;

(b) Grade 1-12 WPU;

(c) Professional Staff Costs;

(d) NESS;

(e) District Administrative Costs;

(fi) Class-Size Reduction;

(g) Flexible Allocation;

(h) Gifted and Talented program;

(i) K-3 Reading Improvement program;

(j) Voted and Board Local Levy Guarantee programs; and

(k) Applicable Special Education programs.

(2) A district shall not include out-of-state tuition payments in any other MSP formula.

(3) The Superintendent may include in a calculation under Subsection (1) mileage costs reimbursed by a district to parents for transporting students to the nearest bus stop in accordance with Section R277-600-7.

(4) The Superintendent shall reserve the estimated funds identified by a district under Subsection R277-421-3(2)(a) from the new year NESS appropriation, and pay Board-authorized reimbursement payments from reserved funds.

 

R277-421-5. Recording Student Membership for Out-of-State Students.

(1) A district shall record student membership for students receiving out-of-state tuition reimbursement in accordance with District enrollment and membership policies.

(2) A district shall report students in UTREx for whom they are paying out-of-state tuition using codes identified by the Superintendent.

(3) A district shall report ADM for students attending school out-of-state pursuant to a tuition agreement under Section 53A-2-204 in the same manner as the district calculates ADM for students attending the district's schools.

 

KEY: out-of-state, tuition, reimbursements

Date of Enactment of Last Substantive Amendment: 2016

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec 3; 53A-1-401