A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for a grant program for charter schools to receive funds to cover a certain percentage of their student transportation costs.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 14A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑218.106.  Charter School Transportation Grant Program.
(a)	Purpose. – The Department of Public Instruction shall establish the Charter School Transportation Grant Program (Program). The purpose of the Program shall be to award grant funds to a charter school for the reimbursement of a certain percentage of eligible student transportation costs incurred by the school in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b)	Program Eligibility. – A charter school may apply to the Department of Public Instruction for grant funds under the Program to be reimbursed for a percentage of the eligible student transportation costs incurred by the school for each semester of the school year as follows:
(1)	A charter school with a student enrollment of at least fifty percent (50%) of its students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced‑price lunch program shall be eligible for a reimbursement of sixty‑five percent (65%) of its eligible costs.
(2)	A charter school with a student enrollment of less than fifty percent (50%) of its students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced‑price lunch program shall be eligible for a reimbursement of twenty‑five percent (25%) of its eligible costs.
(c)	Applications. – By August 1 of each year, the Department shall establish the criteria and guidelines for the grant application process for the upcoming school year, including criteria for eligible student transportation costs to be covered under the Program and any documentation required to be submitted with the application. The Department shall accept applications until December 31 for eligible student transportation costs incurred during the fall semester of the school year and until June 30 for eligible student transportation costs incurred during the spring semester of the school year.
(d)	Award of Funds. – From funds available for the Program, the Department of Public Instruction shall award grant funds under the Program to charter schools by January 15 for eligible costs incurred during the fall semester of the school year and by July 15 for eligible costs incurred during the spring semester of the prior school year. If the funds appropriated for the Program in a fiscal year are insufficient, the Department may use other funds within the State Public School Fund for this purpose.
(e)	Reporting. – The Department of Public Instruction shall report by March 15 of each year to the Fiscal Research Division and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the administration of the grant program for the prior year, including (i) the amount of grant funds awarded to charter schools, (ii) the number of charter schools that received a sixty‑five percent (65%) reimbursement of eligible student transportation costs, (iii) the number of schools that received a twenty‑five percent (25%) reimbursement of eligible student transportation costs, (iv) the types of student transportation costs eligible for reimbursement under the Program, and (v) an estimate of the cost of the Program for the upcoming fiscal year."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in recurring funds to be used to award grant funds to charter schools for the reimbursement of a percentage of eligible student transportation costs incurred by charter schools in accordance with G.S. 115C‑218.106, as enacted by Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2017.