All charter schools in Delaware except Newark Charter School file 990 tax forms to the Internal Revenue Service. Charters are considered 501c3 corporations. 501c3 corporations are tax-exempt companies. Most non-profits, like Rodel, fall under this category. Unless they meet very certain criteria, they are required to file Form 990 with the IRS. Could this be why Delaware Senator David Sokola, who lives in a district which also contains much of Newark Charter School’s five mile radius, is so opposed to House Bill 186? It wouldn’t be the first time Senator Sokola has gone to bat for NCS.
In 1995, before any charter schools even opened in Delaware, the IRS issued new regulations concerning 501c3 corporations. It allowed very specific exemptions from 501c3 organizations from filing their 990 form. The IRS ruling was straight forward: if you were a governmental unit and a 501 company, you didn’t have to file. There were very strict guidelines for what constitutes a “governmental unit”:
The Season Of Myths 