Utah

NCAI Region: Western

Total Population: 2,763,885

Native American Population: 50,064

Native American Reservation Population: 10,016

Percentage of population: 1.8%

Number of Tribes: 5

Number of Native American Charter Schools: 1

Number of Native American Charter Students: 61

Number of BIE Schools: 1

Number of BIE Tribally Controlled Schools: 1

Total Number of Native American Schools: 3

State Public Education Department: Utah State Board of Education

State Average Per Pupil Funding: $7,207

Charter Support Organizations: 1) Utah Association of Public Charter Schools2) Utah Charter Network

Year Charter Law Enacted: 1998

2020 Model Law Ranking: 21

Estimated Number of Charter Schools: 134

Estimated Number of Charter Students: 77,880

Utah law includes a local replacement fund to provide charter schools what school districts receive in property taxes. That fund combines two parts: (1) local property taxes for operations and (2) what districts spend on bonded indebtedness for school buildings. School districts provide about 25% of the funding for the fund. The state picks up the other 75%. The law provides that the amount of the local replacement fund is tied to increases school districts and the Legislature implement either as property tax hikes or as state guarantees to local property taxes. Utah law requires that a minimum of 10% of the local replacement fund must be expended for facilities.This facilities dedication is currently $270 per pupil. Utah law has established a charter school levy, which requires the local district to calculate the per pupil of the local levy for charter schools. The levy is collected by the state and distributed to charter schools. This mechanism guarantees an equal pro-rata share of local revenues are identified and designated to charter schools.
Utah law provides a charter school revolving loan fund that provides loans to charter schools for the costs of constructing, renovating, and purchasing charter school facilities. There is approximately $7.2 million in this fund.
Utah law creates the state charter school financing authority for charter facility financing. It provides charter schools with access to tax-exempt bond financing through issuers at the county and municipal levels.
Utah law creates the charter school credit enhancement program to assist qualified charter schools in obtaining favorable financing by providing the state’s moral obligation and providing a means of replenishing a qualifying charter school’s debt service reserve fund. The state appropriated $3 million to this program in FY 2013, which has been leveraged into about $450 million in credit enhanced bonds.