(a) Status and use of state funds.
  (1) State funds received by a charter holder are public funds for all purposes under state law, and may be used only for a purpose for which a school district may use local funds under Texas Education Code (TEC), §45.105(c). Any other use or application of such funds constitutes misuse and misapplication of public funds and is subject to the civil and criminal laws governing misuse or misapplication of Texas public funds.
  (2) State funds received by a charter holder are held by the charter holder in trust for the benefit of the students of the charter school. In their use of public funds, the governing body of a charter holder, and the governing body and officers of a charter school, shall be held to the standard of care and fiduciary duties that a trustee owes a beneficiary under Texas law.
  (3) A charter school shall accept tuition for students holding certain student visas as described in TEC, §25.0031(a).
(b) Depository contract. Pending their use, state funds received by a charter holder must be deposited into a bank with which the charter holder has entered into a depository contract. Each year within the period prescribed by §100.1007 of this title (relating to Annual Report on Open-Enrollment Charter Governance) for filing articles of incorporation, the charter holder must file a copy of the depository contract with the Texas Education Agency division responsible for school financial audits; however, if there has been no change since the last filing, the charter holder may file a statement to this effect in lieu of a copy of the depository contract.
  (1) State funds received by a charter holder must be deposited into an account owned and controlled exclusively by the charter holder pending their use. Once properly deposited, the charter holder may immediately use the funds for any purpose described in subsection (a)(1) of this section, subject to the standard of care and fiduciary duties described in subsection (a)(2) of this section.
  (2) A "bank" is defined by TEC, §45.201. Although the term excludes a bank the deposits of which are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), deposits exceeding FDIC-insured amounts need not be collateralized for the institution to constitute a "bank" under this subsection.
  (3) Notwithstanding this subsection, if required by a contract executed prior to September 1, 2001, state funds may be deposited into an account managed by a bond trustee acting on behalf of a charter holder for the sole purpose of complying with debt service obligations of the charter holder on a bond issued under TEC, Chapter 53.

Source Note: The provisions of this §100.1043 adopted to be effective April 18, 2002, 27 TexReg 3110; amended to be effective April 6, 2005, 30 TexReg 1911; amended to be effective September 18, 2014, 39 TexReg 7295