A charter public school receives funding through the school district in which the student resides. The charter school receives the amount the district would spend on each student, after certain funds are excluded. Excluded funds are the average per student expenditure for special education programs, nonpublic school programs, adult education programs, community/junior college programs, student transportation services, facilities acquisition, construction and improvement services, debt service and fund transfers, and federal programs. The total funding for the local district from all sources (after the above exclusions) is then divided by the official enrollment of the district, thereby calculating an average expenditure per student. This is the amount a charter school receives for each student it serves. The dollars come from State subsidy and local tax dollars.

For special education students, the charter public school receives an additional per pupil amount based upon the district's special education expenditures divided by the state-determined percentage of students eligible for special education funding. Intermediate units also must provide special education services to charter public school at the same cost as services provided other schools, as requested.

Charter schools in Pennsylvania are treated as Local Education Agencies (separate school districts) and receive federal funding, such as Title I, Title II, and Title VI, directly from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.