Authority: Discretionary Inclusion.

A.1. Out of the amounts for Governor's School Payments, the Board of Education shall provide assistance for the state share of the incremental cost of regular school year Governor's Schools based on each participating locality's composite index of local ability to pay. Participating school divisions must certify that no tuition is assessed students for participation in this program.

2. Out of the amounts for Governor's School Payments, the Board of Education shall provide assistance for the state share of the incremental cost of summer residential Governor's Schools and Foreign Language Academies to be based on the greater of the state's share of the composite index of local ability-to-pay or fifty percent. Participating school divisions must certify that no tuition is assessed students for participation in this program if they are enrolled in a public school.

3. Out of the amounts for Governor's School Payments, the Board of Education shall provide state assistance for the state share of the incremental cost to be based on the greater of the composite index or 50 percent of a summer residential Governor's School for Agriculture. The Board of Education shall use the established process for requesting proposals for summer residential Governor's Schools to determine the location of the school. Participating school divisions must certify that no tuition is assessed students for participation in this program if they are enrolled in a public school.

B. It shall be the policy of the Commonwealth that state general fund appropriations not be used for capital outlay, structural improvements, renovations, or fixed equipment costs associated with initiation of existing or proposed magnet Governor's schools. State general fund appropriations may be used for the purchase of instructional equipment for such schools, subject to certification by the Superintendent of Public Instruction that at least an equal amount of funds has been committed by participating school divisions to such purchases.

C. The Board of Education shall not take any action that would increase the state's share of costs associated with the Governor's Schools. This provision shall not prohibit the Board of Education from submitting requests for the increased costs of existing programs. This provision shall not apply to the established planning and approval process by the Board for the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School, a Governor's School serving students in Henry, Martinsville, Patrick, Danville, and Pittsylvania schools, an academic Governor's School in the Jackson River region or an academic Governor's School in the Shenandoah Valley.

D. Regular school year Governor's Schools are funded through this Item based on the state's share of the incremental per pupil cost for providing such programs for each student attending a Governor's School, up to a cap of 1,275 students per Governor's School. This incremental per pupil payment shall be adjusted for the composite index of the school division that counts such students attending an academic year Governor's School in their Average Daily Membership. It is the intent of the General Assembly that this incremental per pupil amount be in addition to the basic aid per pupil funding provided to the affected school division for such students. Therefore, local school divisions are encouraged to provide the appropriate portion of the basic aid per pupil funding to the Governor's Schools for students attending these programs, adjusted for costs incurred by the school division for transportation, administration, and any portion of the day that the student does not attend a Governor's School.

E. Out of the appropriation for Charter Schools, $2,500,000 the first year and $2,500,000 the second year is provided from federal funds.

F. Out of the amounts for Governor's School Payments, $132,759 the first year and $180,770 the second year from the general fund is provided for the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School.