Tuition & Fees

This section includes answers to frequently asked questions related to determining resident district, determining the district fiscally responsible for tuition payment, and calculating tuition. Regular education tuition, other than open enrollment, is based on the district cost per pupil of the attending district. The district cost per pupil is also called the Maximum Tuition Rate.

Tuition and Fees FAQ

Maximum Tuition Rates - multiple years - Includes the maximum tuition rates that attending districts may charge resident districts for regular education. It includes the district cost per pupil rates from FY14 through the current year. Each year appears in a different tab in this document. Special education is based on the actual cost of the special education program rather than the maximum tuition rate.

Open Enrollment Tuition

Open Enrollment tuition is based on the state cost per pupil from the previous fiscal year. The amount of open enrollment tuition for the 2022–2023 school year for a regular education student is $7,227. In addition, districts will bill and pay for open enrollment for Teacher Leadership. This amount is $349.07 for 2022–2023. For a student served pursuant to an IEP, open enrollment tuition is calculated as the actual costs of the special education instructional program rather than the prior year's state cost per pupil amount and billed through the Tuition In Billing application. A district must bill separately for the Teacher Leadership amount for any open enrolled student served pursuant to an IEP. Open enrollment tuition is billed and paid twice during the school year (on or before February 15 and July 15) at the same time as other tuition. Under special circumstances that terminate or suspend open enrollment status, it is necessary to prorate tuition and the Teacher Leadership amount for payment on a per diem basis.

More Open Enrollment Information

Tuition Chart

Tuition information is included in Chapter 4 of the Uniform Administrative Procedures manual.

Tuition chart - This chart is an excerpt from chapter 4 of the UAP manual and covers the most common tuition situations.

Non-immigrant Foreign Students

Foreign Students FAQ - This document answers questions related to enrollment and tuition for non-immigrant students; that is, students who are not residents of the United States and who are in this country temporarily, generally on a J-1 or F-1 visa. If a student who is not a citizen of the United States lives in Iowa with his or her parents, the school district is required to provide a tuition-free education to that student. This is true even if the parents of the student are in this country illegally.

Links

Student Activity Fund Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions - A large guidance document on student activities. It includes a section on allowed and unallowed charges and fees to students.

Placement of Children with Disabilities Outside Resident District School Sites - Guidance for IEP teams and school officials about placements outside resident school district sites, including placements made by other agencies for non-educational reasons.