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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.
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.
Back to topOpen Enrollment Tuition
Iowa Code section 282.18 grants authority for parents of a student in one district to request open enrollment into another Iowa public school district. Open enrolled students still generate state aid for resident districts the same as other students attending the district (Iowa Code § 282.18(5)”a”). Resident districts are responsible for costs related to open enrollment. Prior to FY25, this included the prior year state cost per pupil (SCPP) and supplementary weighting generated from the prior year teacher leadership and compensation supplement (TLC) state cost per pupil.
During the 2024 legislative session, Senate File 2368 (SF 2368) was passed with an effective date of July 1, 2024. The legislation amended the amount billed for open enrolled students to equal the sum of the budget (i.e., current) year SCPP and the supplement state cost per pupil amount for the following: TLC, professional development (PD), and early intervention (EI) (Iowa Code § 282.18(5)”b”(1)).
Open enrollment tuition for a student served pursuant to an IEP includes the actual cost of the special education instructional program and is billed through the Special Education Billing application. A district must bill separately for TLC, PD, and EI amounts due.
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. Tuition is billed on a per diem rate for students who attend less than a full year or under special circumstances that terminate or suspend open enrollment status.
More Open Enrollment Information
Back to topTuition 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.
Back to topNon-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.
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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.
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