Bill Text: GA HB654 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

Georgia House Bill 654 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Locally Initiated Funding for Educational-Choice (LIFE) Act; enact

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-09 - House Second Readers [HB654 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-HB654-Introduced.html

11 LC 33 4289ER

House Bill 654

By: Representatives Setzler of the 35th, Ehrhart of the 36th, Casas of the 103rd, Jerguson of the 22nd, Jacobs of the 80th, and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to provide for the establishment of grant programs by local school systems; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for definitions; to authorize local boards of education to make available to its students grants to attend participating schools; to provide for the amount of the grants and the method of providing payments; to provide for student eligibility; to provide for eligibility requirements for participating schools; to provide for administration and reporting; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, is amended by revising Article 14, which is reserved, as follows:

"ARTICLE 14

20-2-640.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Locally Initiated Funding for Educational-Choice (LIFE) Act.'

20-2-641.

The General Assembly finds that:

(1) All children merit educational alternatives which will allow them to learn in a setting and manner which is most appropriate to their development;

(2) Parents are best equipped and have a fundamental right to make decisions for their children, including the educational setting that will best serve their children's interests and educational needs;

(3) The grant program established in this article pursuant to Article VIII, Section VII of the Constitution of Georgia is for the valid secular purpose of tailoring a student's education to that student's specific needs and enabling families to make genuine and independent private choices to direct available resources to the setting most appropriate to their child;

(4) Children, parents, and families are the primary beneficiaries of the grant program authorized in this article, and any benefit to private schools, sectarian or otherwise, is purely incidental; and

(5) It is well within the scope of public education for local boards of education to utilize privately delivered educational services, including private schools of this state, to provide publicly funded education to students.

20-2-642.

As used in this article, the term:

(1) 'Department' means the Georgia Department of Education.

(2) 'Eligible student' means a student who is a Georgia resident enrolled in a Georgia secondary or primary public school or eligible to enroll in a qualified kindergarten program.

(3) 'Grant' means a grant awarded pursuant to this article.

(4) 'Grant program' means a grant program established by a local board of education pursuant to this article.

(5) 'Grant student' means a student who receives a grant pursuant to this article.

(6) 'Local board of education' means the elected board of education of any county or independent school system in existence in this state.

(7) 'Local school system' means any county or independent school system in existence in this state.

(8) 'Parent' means a biological parent, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of a child.

(9) 'Participating school' means a nonpublic, sectarian or nonsectarian, primary school or secondary school that has notified the department of its intention to participate in a grant program and that complies with the eligibility requirements provided in Code Section 20-2-646.

(10) 'Resident school system' means the public school system in which the student would be enrolled based on his or her residence.

(11) 'State board' means the State Board of Education.

20-2-643.

(a) Pursuant to the provisions of this article, a local board of education may by official act establish a grant program that shall be available to all eligible students residing in the geographic boundaries of the local school system. Such grant program shall be established for the purpose of providing such eligible students a public education grant to be expended by the parent of the eligible student for the purpose of paying or otherwise defraying the cost of tuition at a participating school.

(b) Grants provided pursuant to this article shall be available, upon application, to all eligible students living in the attendance zone of the local school system without respect to race, disability, family income, or otherwise as provided by the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d.

(c) Any such grant program shall remain in effect until the local board of education by official act discontinues the grant program pursuant to the provisions of this article. However, notwithstanding the elimination of a grant program, any grant student shall remain eligible to receive a grant until he or she graduates high school or becomes ineligible to attend a secondary school due to age, pursuant to the laws of this state.

(d) Any grant program in effect on April 1 of a given year shall be deemed to be in effect through the final day of the following school year.

(e) In opting to establish a grant program, no requirement in addition to those provided in this article may be prescribed by local boards of education or the State Board of Education as a condition of the grant program regarding student eligibility, participating schools, levels of funding, curriculum, testing, or the number of students who may participate in the grant program.

(f) Consistent with a local school system's responsibility for management and control of a grant program, local school systems may enter into intergovernmental agreements with the department or any other local school systems to assist in the administration of grant programs established pursuant to this article.

20-2-644.

(a) Grant funding shall be made directly to the parent of the eligible child in a manner consistent with the provisions of this article.

(b) The amount of funding to be paid by the local school system for each grant student shall be as follows:

(1) The total of state and local funds expended by the local school system in the previous fiscal year divided by the total full-time equivalent students in the local school system in the previous fiscal year. Such cost totals shall include all staff salaries and benefits, operations and maintenance, technology, textbooks, student transportation, food services, contract services, and annualized depreciation costs for capital outlay of the local school system;

(2) Grant funding shall not include any federal funds, and local school systems shall retain all such funds; and

(3) Local school systems may retain up to 3 percent of grant funds allocated pursuant to this article for administrative costs necessary for the effective management and control of the grant program.

(c) For purposes of state funding pursuant to Code Section 20-2-161, grant students shall be counted in the enrollment of their resident school system; provided, however, that grant students shall not be included as enrolled for purposes of state or federal accountability requirements, including, but not limited to, the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110).

(d) Upon proper documentation provided by the parent, the local school system shall make quarterly grant payments to the parents of grant students on dates established by the department during each academic year in which the grant program is in effect. The initial payment shall be made upon evidence of admission to the participating school, and subsequent payments shall be made on evidence of continued enrollment and attendance at the participating school.

(e) Payment to the parents shall be made by individual warrant made payable to the student's parent and mailed by the local school system to the participating school of the parent's choice, and the parent shall restrictively endorse the warrant to the participating school for deposit into the account of such participating school.

(f) A person, on behalf of a participating school, shall not accept a power of attorney from a parent to sign a warrant, and a parent of a grant student shall not give a power of attorney designating a person, on behalf of a participating school, as the parent's attorney in fact.

(g) If the participating school requires partial payment of tuition prior to the start of the academic year to reserve space for grant students admitted to the school, that partial payment may be paid by the local school system prior to the first quarterly payment of the year in which the grant is awarded, up to a maximum of $1,000.00, and deducted from subsequent grant payments. If a student decides not to attend the participating school, the partial reservation payment shall be returned to the local school system by the participating school. Only one reservation payment per grant student may be made per year.

20-2-645.

(a) Local school systems shall annually notify not later than 60 days prior to the beginning of each school year the parents of all students enrolled in the local school system the grant options available to their children under this article.

(b) For an eligible student to obtain a grant pursuant to this article, the eligible student's parent shall provide to the local school system proof of the eligible student's eligibility to receive the grant, proof of acceptance to a participating school, and a signed affidavit certifying that the parent, upon receipt of the grant, assumes full financial responsibility for his or her child attending the participating school and full responsibility to comply with the rules and policies of the participating school.

(c) There shall be no requirement for the parent to provide advance notice of his or her intent to obtain a grant for his or her child to enroll in a participating school. However, any student who obtains a grant after the start of the school year shall receive a pro rata grant amount, calculated based on the number of instructional days remaining in the school year divided by the total number of annual instructional days of the participating school.

(d) Students enrolled in a school operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice shall not be eligible for a grant program established pursuant to this article.

(e) For students with disabilities, acceptance of a grant shall have the same effect as a parental refusal to consent to services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.A. Section 1400, et seq.

(f) The establishment of a grant program or the issuance of a grant pursuant to this article shall not be construed to imply that a local school system did not provide a free and appropriate public education for a student or constitute a waiver or admission by the state.

(g) Any grant directed to a participating school is so directed wholly as a result of the genuine and independent private choice of the parent.

(h) Any parent who fails to comply with the provisions of this article and department regulations relating to the grant program shall be subject to forfeiting the grant.

(i) The department shall be authorized to promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this article.

20-2-646.

(a) To be eligible to enroll a grant student pursuant to this article, a participating school shall:

(1) Have a physical location in Georgia where the grant students attend classes and provide students with direct physical contact with the participating school's teachers;

(2) Be accredited or in the process of becoming accredited by one or more entities listed in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6.1) of Code Section 20-3-519;

(3) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d and the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964;

(4) Comply with all provisions of Code Section 20-2-690 and any other state law applicable to private schools;

(5) Provide reports to the parent and the local school system on the grant student's attendance and academic performance pursuant to Code Section 20-2-647; and

(6) Employ or contract with teachers who hold a bachelor's degree or higher degree or have at least three years of experience in education or health and annually provide to the parents the relevant credentials of the teachers who will be teaching their students.

(b) A home school operating under the provisions of Code Section 20-2-690 shall not be eligible to enroll grant students.

(d) Neither the provisions of this article nor the creation of a grant program pursuant to this article shall be construed to expand the regulatory authority of the state, its officers, or any local board of education to impose any additional regulation of nonpublic schools beyond those reasonably necessary to enforce the requirements of this article.

(e) A participating school intending to enroll grant students shall apply to the department by June 30 of the school year preceding the school year in which it intends to enroll grant students. The application shall specify the grade levels being offered and the services the participating school has available for students with disabilities.

(f) The state board shall approve a participating school's application to enroll grant students if such school meets the eligibility requirements of this article. The state board shall make available to local school systems and the public a list of participating schools.

(g) The state board shall adopt rules to administer the grant program regarding eligibility and participation of participating schools, including, but not limited to, timelines that will maximize student and private school participation, the calculation and distribution of grants to eligible students and participating schools, and the application and approval procedures for eligible students and participating schools. The department shall develop and utilize a compliance form for completion by participating schools. The department shall be authorized to require any pertinent information as it deems necessary from participating schools for the purpose of implementing the grant program. Participating schools shall be required to complete such forms and certify their accuracy.

(h) No liability shall arise on the part of the state or of any local school system based on the award or use of a grant awarded pursuant to this article.

(i) The department may bar a school from participation in a grant program if the department determines that such school has intentionally and substantially misrepresented information or failed to refund to a local school system any grant overpayments in a timely manner.

20-2-647.

(a) At least once per school year, participating schools shall administer for each grant student in grades three through 12 either a nationally norm-referenced test or a criterion referenced competency test designated by the participating school as a measure of student achievement. The scores on each student's test shall be made available to the student's parent and the local school system. Aggregated scores of all grant students by subject and by grade shall be made available to the public for each participating school.

(b) Attendance records and test scores of grant students participating in assessments pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall not be applied to the system averages of the local school system for data reported for federal or state requirements.

(c) The Office of Student Achievement, in conjunction with the department, shall provide the General Assembly and make available to the public not later than December 1 of each year a report regarding all grant programs from the previous fiscal year.

(d) For the purpose of reporting to the state the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled for allocation of QBE funding, all grant students within a local school system shall be reported by the local school system in the same manner as if they were attending a public school within the local school system."

SECTION 2.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.