Sec 15-976. Assistance for school districts for children whose parents are employed by certain state institutions; expenditure limitation

A. The superintendent of public instruction shall assist school districts in educating children whose parents or legal guardians are employed by and domiciled at the following state institutions and stations: the state hospital, the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind, intellectual disability centers, port of entry inspection stations and institutions and facilities maintained by the state department of corrections. The school enrollment is deemed for the purpose of determining student count to be enrollment in the school district of actual attendance. The assistance shall be by payment of tuition as follows:

1. For group B children with disabilities, as provided in section 15-825, subsection D.

2. For children other than group B children with disabilities, the costs per student count as prescribed in section 15-824, subsection G minus the amount generated by the equalization base as determined in section 15-971, subsection A for those pupils, except that the tuition for any pupil shall not exceed an amount equal to seven thousand dollars minus the amount generated by the equalization base as determined in section 15-971, subsection A.

B. Claims for such payments shall be made by the school districts through the county school superintendent to the superintendent of public instruction.

C. The total amount of state monies that may be spent in any fiscal year by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to subsection A of this section shall not exceed the amount appropriated or authorized by section 35-173 for that purpose. This section shall not be construed to impose a duty on an officer, agent or employee of this state to discharge a responsibility or to create any right in a person or group if the discharge or right would require an expenditure of state monies in excess of the expenditure authorized by legislative appropriation for that specific purpose.