If the federal government in any year ceases to provide federal impact aid or reduces the amount of federal impact aid to those school districts of this State which provide public school education for children who reside on a military base or on another federal establishment in the district wherein local property taxes are not levied, the governing body of the district in that year shall be authorized to charge a tuition fee to such students who attend schools of the district. The amount of the tuition fee shall be set by the governing body of the district and shall be approved by the State Board of Education.

The tuition fee per child shall be the same regardless of the school attended and the aggregate amount of the tuition fees charged in any one year shall not exceed the amount of the loss in federal impact aid from the previous year plus or minus a cost-of-living adjustment on the amount of impact aid provided in the previous year which shall be equal to the rise or fall in the consumer price index as it existed at the end of the previous year. If tuition fees are imposed in any year and the federal impact aid cut is later reinstated and paid after the tuition fees have been collected, such fees shall be refunded in full.

The State Board of Education shall be authorized to promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section and the appropriate officials of the school district shall be authorized to refuse admittance to any child who has not paid the tuition fee required herein.

For purposes of this section:

(a) "Consumer price index" means the average over a twelve-month period of the consumer price index published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor.

(b) "Year" means the fiscal year of the school district concerned.

HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 387, Section 1.