Bill Text: MS SB2579 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Mississippi Opportunity Scholarship Act of 2017"; establish.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2017-01-31 - Died In Committee [SB2579 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-SB2579-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Watson
Senate Bill 2579
AN ACT ENTITLED THE "MISSISSIPPI OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ACT OF 2017"; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS; TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM UNDER WHICH LOW-INCOME AND MIDDLE-INCOME STUDENTS IN PERSISTENTLY LOWEST ACHIEVING SCHOOLS AND ANY STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY MAY USE THE STATE PAYMENTS TO THEIR HOME SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PAY TUITION TO ATTEND A NONRESIDENT PUBLIC SCHOOL OR A PARTICIPATING NONPUBLIC SCHOOL; TO PROVIDE FOR A THREE-YEAR PHASE-IN OF THIS OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE STANDARDS FOR THE RECEIPT AND CALCULATION OF SUCH SCHOLARSHIPS; TO ESTABLISH AN OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP FUND; TO PROVIDE FOR THE PHASED-IN REDUCTION OF ADEQUATE EDUCATION FUND PAYMENTS IN RESIDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE AMOUNT OF SUCH SCHOLARSHIP PAYMENTS; TO ESTABLISH AND EMPOWER AN EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY BOARD WITHIN THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ADMINISTER THE OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE FOR AN OPTIONAL LOCAL TUITION GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUCH STUDENTS; TO PROVIDE FOR A MIDDLE-INCOME SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO PRESCRIBE LIMITATIONS AND REQUIRE ANNUAL REPORTING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Opportunity Scholarship Act of 2017."
SECTION 2. Opportunity scholarships. (1) The Legislature finds that:
(a) Pursuant to Section 201 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the Legislature has the responsibility to provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of this state.
(b) Parents are best suited to choose the most appropriate means of education for their school-age children.
(c) Providing diverse educational opportunities for the children of this state is a civic and civil rights imperative and a matter of serious concern.
(d) The importance of providing educational choices that will meet the needs of parents and the need to maintain and support an effective system of education make it imperative to provide for the increased availability of diverse opportunities, including both public and nonpublic programs of education, to benefit all citizens of this state.
(e) Public schools are the foundation of the system of education in this state. Further, Mississippi's long-standing tradition of local control of public education allows communities to adapt their public school programs to meet local needs. For these reasons, a robust program of interdistrict school choice is a critical means of providing families with increased educational options within the traditional public school system.
(f) The accessibility to families of nonpublic educational alternatives decreases the burden on the state and local school districts and increases the range of educational choices available to Mississippi families, thus providing a benefit to all citizens in Mississippi.
(g) It is the long-term goal of the Legislature to offer assistance to all families in this state, in order to provide every child in this state with diverse educational opportunities and options.
(h) As an initial step toward the long-term goal of offering assistance to all Mississippi families, this act provides assistance to disadvantaged school-age children in this state who would otherwise attend persistently lowest achieving schools.
(i) Many disadvantaged school-age children in this state enjoy comparatively fewer educational opportunities or options than school-age children who possess greater economic means.
(j) The programs of educational choice provided in this act are elements of an overall program of providing funds to increase the availability of educational opportunities for school-age children in this state.
(k) A comparatively far greater proportion of public funds are and, upon implementation of an educational choice program, will continue to be devoted to the benefit of children enrolled in the public schools of this state. Therefore, an Opportunity Scholarship Program that offers assistance to parents who choose to enroll their children in participating nonpublic schools should be viewed as an integral part of the state's overall program of educational funding and not as an isolated individual program.
(l) A program of financial assistance to enhance educational choice in this state, as one (1) element of the state's plan for the funding of diverse educational opportunities for the citizens of this state, will better prepare Mississippi citizens to compete for employment opportunities, will foster development of a more capable and better-educated workforce and will better enable the state to fulfill its obligation of providing children with the opportunity to receive a quality education.
SECTION 3. Definitions. The following words and phrases when used in this act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Assessment" means the Mississippi Department of Education System of School Assessment Test, an equivalent local assessment or another test established by the State Board of Education to meet accreditation requirements and required under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425) or its successor federal statute or required to achieve other standards established by the department for the public school or school district under Section 37-17-6, (relating to a single accountability system). "Assessment" shall not include any test or assessment developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) or any other assessment adopted pursuant to the Common Core Standards Initiative.
(b) "Average daily attendance" means a school district's average daily attendance as defined in the Adequate Education Program.
(c) "Board" means the Education Opportunity Board established under this act.
(d) "Department" means the State Department of Education.
(e) "Excess Scholarship Fund" or "fund" means the Excess Scholarship Fund established in this act.
(f) "Federal poverty line" means the official federal poverty line as defined in Section 673(2) of Subtitle B of the Community Services Block Grant Act (Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 511), as adjusted from time to time.
(g) "Household income" means income as used for the purposes of determining eligibility for a free lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (60 Stat. 230, 1751 et seq.).
(h) "Kindergarten" means a one-year formal kindergarten program that occurs during the school year immediately prior to First Grade.
(i) "Local scholarship" means a scholarship that is both:
(i) Funded by the local revenues of a low-income child's resident school district in an amount equal to at least thirty-five percent (35%) of the school district's share of its total revenue per average daily membership; and
(ii) Applied toward the low-income child's tuition to attend a nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school.
(j) "Low-income child" means a school-age child with a household income that does not exceed one and three tenths (1.3) times the federal poverty line for the school year preceding the school year for which an opportunity scholarship is to be distributed.
(k) "Middle-income child" means a school-age child with a household income that does not exceed three (3) times the federal poverty level for the school year immediately preceding the school year for which an opportunity scholarship is to be distributed.
(l) "Middle-income scholarship" means a middle-income scholarship awarded to a middle-income child under this act to pay tuition for the child to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school.
(m) "Middle-income scholarship recipient" means a middle-income child who is awarded a middle-income scholarship under this act.
(n) "Nonpublic school" means a school, other than a public school, located within this state where a Mississippi resident may legally fulfill the compulsory school attendance requirements of Section 37-13-91, and that meets the applicable requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241). The term also includes a full-time or part-time kindergarten program operated by a nonpublic school.
(o) "Nonresident public school" means a public school outside a child's resident school district.
(p) "Nonresident school district" means a school district other than the school district in which a school-age child resides.
(q) "Nonresident student" means a school-age child attending a public school outside the child's resident school district.
(r) "Opportunity scholarship" means an opportunity scholarship awarded to a low-income child under this act to pay tuition for the child to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school.
(s) "Opportunity Scholarship Program" or "program" means the Opportunity Scholarship Program established under this act.
(t) "Opportunity scholarship recipient" means a low-income child who is awarded an opportunity scholarship under this act.
(u) "Parent" means a Mississippi resident who is a parent or guardian of a compulsory-school-age child.
(v) "Participating nonpublic school" means a nonpublic school located in this state and offering a program of instruction for Kindergarten through 12th Grade, or a combination of grades, that certifies to the board under Section 6 of this act that it meets the following criteria:
(i) The nonpublic school is a nonprofit entity that is exempt from federal taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514, 26 USC Section 1 et seq.);
(ii) The nonpublic school does not discriminate in its admission policies or practices for opportunity scholarship applicants on the basis of measures of achievement or aptitude or status as a handicapped person; provided, however, that an applicant may be required to meet established eligibility criteria for participation in magnet schools or in schools with specialized academic missions; and
(iii) The nonpublic school is in full compliance with all federal and state laws applicable to nonpublic schools on the date prior to the effective date of this act.
(w) "Persistently lowest achieving school" means a public elementary or secondary school within this state that is among the lowest performing twenty percent (20%) of schools. To determine the lowest performing twenty percent (20%) of schools, the State Department of Education shall:
(i) Consider all public schools in this state, with the exception of charter schools, area vocational-technical schools, schools that do not draw their student body from a particular attendance boundary, and schools with specialized academic programs with specific admissions criteria;
(ii) Exclude schools that have made adequate yearly progress or were determined to be making progress for at least one (1) of the two (2) most recent school years or that have not been measured for adequate yearly progress in one (1) of the two (2) most recent school years;
(iii) Rank all remaining schools based upon their performance on the most recent assessment for which data is posted on the department's publicly accessible internet website; and
(iv) Include the lowest performing ten (10) schools ranked under subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph on a list of persistently lowest achieving schools.
(x) "Resident school district" means the school district in which a school-age child resides.
(y) "School-age child" means a compulsory-school-age child enrolling in Grades 1 through 12 pursuant to Section 37-13-91.
(z) "Student with a disability" means a school-age child who has been identified, in accordance with special education services and programs, as a "child with a disability," as defined in 34 CFR Section 300.8 (relating to a child with a disability).
(aa) "Total revenue per average daily attendance" means a school district's total revenue per average daily attendance minus the amount of reimbursement to the school district from the Adequate Education Program for pupil transportation.
SECTION 4. Opportunity Scholarship Program. (1) Establishment. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the Opportunity Scholarship Program shall be established to provide scholarships to help low-income children pay tuition to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school.
(2) Phase-in. The Opportunity Scholarship Program shall be phased in as follows:
(a) During the 2017-2018 school year, the Opportunity Scholarship Program shall be available to low-income children who satisfy both of the following:
(i) Either attended a persistently lowest achieving school during the 2016-2017 school year or will be a kindergarten student during the 2017-2018 school year; and
(ii) Will reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school as of the first day of classes of the 2017-2018 school year; or
(iii) Student has a documented disability under the federal IDEA law and requires services that are available in a nonresident or nonpublic special purpose school, as determined by the State Department of Education.
(b) During the 2018-2019 school year, the Opportunity Scholarship Program shall be available to children who qualified for the program for the 2017-2018 school year under paragraph (a) of this subsection and to low-income children who will reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school as of the first day of classes of the 2018-2019 school year.
(c) (i) During the 2019-2020 school year and each school year thereafter, the Opportunity Scholarship Program shall be available to all low-income children residing in this state, provided that the aggregate amount of all opportunity scholarships awarded for the 2019-2020 school year and for each school year thereafter to low-income children who do not reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school as of the first day of classes of the school year shall not exceed Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00).
(ii) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit the amount of opportunity scholarships awarded to low-income children who were eligible for opportunity scholarships in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years or who reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school as of the first day of classes of a school year.
(3) List of persistently lowest achieving schools to be published. By July 1, 2017, and by February 1 of each year thereafter, the department shall publish on the department's publicly accessible Internet website a list of persistently lowest achieving schools that will be in effect for purposes of this act for the following school year. The department shall publish the list based upon the most recent school year for which data is available.
(4) Notice. (a) For each school year, by a date established by the board, each school district in this state shall post on its publicly accessible Internet website notice of the following:
(i) A description of the Opportunity Scholarship Program.
(ii) Instructions for applying for an opportunity scholarship.
(iii) Instructions for applying for a local scholarship where the school district has elected to provide a local scholarship under Section 5 of this act.
(iv) A statement as to whether any schools in the school district have been designated by the department as persistently lowest achieving schools.
(v) Notice that a parent must contact directly the nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school in which the parent's child seeks to enroll for application instructions.
(b) The notice shall be in a form provided by the board.
SECTION 5. Opportunity scholarship to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school. (1) Eligibility. A low-income child who is eligible to participate in the Opportunity Scholarship Program may receive an opportunity scholarship to pay tuition to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school that accepts a child's enrollment application under subsection (4) of this section.
(2) Local scholarship. A school district may elect to provide a local scholarship to low-income children residing within the school district to pay tuition to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school that accepts a child's enrollment application under subsection (4) of this section. A school district that elects to provide a local scholarship shall:
(a) By a date established by the board, notify all residents of the school district of the availability and amount of the local scholarship for the following school year and the process by which a low-income child may apply to the board to receive the opportunity and local scholarships. The school district shall post the notice on the school district's publicly accessible Internet website. The notice may be incorporated into the notice the school district is required to provide under Section 4 of this act.
(b) By a date established by the board, notify the board of the availability and amount of the local scholarship for the following school year.
(c) When directed to do so by the board, pay to the board the local scholarship for each low-income child residing in the district who the board determines to be eligible for the local scholarship and who the board confirms has enrolled in a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school.
(d) Comply with all guidelines developed by the board under Section 10 of this act.
(3) Application for opportunity and local scholarships. (a) By a date established by the board and pursuant to guidelines developed by the board under Section 10 of this act, the parent of a low-income child may apply to the board:
(i) For an opportunity scholarship for the following school year.
(ii) For a local scholarship for the following school year, where the low-income child's resident school district has elected to provide a local scholarship under subsection (2) of this section.
(b) By a date established by the board, the board shall notify parents whether the scholarships for which the student applied will be awarded for the following school year.
(4) Application for enrollment in a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school. (a) By a date established by the board, the parent of a low-income child who has been awarded a scholarship under subsection (3) of this section may apply to one or more nonresident public schools or a participating nonpublic school for enrollment of the child for the following school year. The application shall be on a form provided by the nonresident school district.
(b) (i) By a date established by the board, the nonresident school district shall provide written notice to the parent and the board as to whether the child will be offered enrollment in the requested nonresident public school for the following school year.
(ii) By a date established by the board, the parent must provide written notice to the board, the resident school district and the nonresident school district whether the offer of enrollment will be accepted.
(iii) By a date established by the board, the board shall provide the resident school district and the nonresident school district with written confirmation of the opportunity scholarship recipient's enrollment in the nonresident school district.
(iv) If the child is not enrolled in a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school, the child's resident school district shall determine the public school within the resident school district to which the child will be assigned.
(c) Each school district shall develop guidelines setting forth the terms and conditions under which it will enroll nonresident students receiving opportunity and local scholarships and shall develop an enrollment application form and process. If a school district determines to enroll nonresident students receiving opportunity and local scholarships, the school district must enroll such nonresident students on a random basis from a pool of applicants who meet the application deadline established by the board, provided that:
(i) The nonresident student's enrollment in the nonresident school district would not place either the nonresident school district or the resident school district in violation of a valid and binding desegregation order;
(ii) The nonresident student has not been expelled nor is the nonresident student in the process of being expelled under applicable regulations of the State Board of Education;
(iii) The nonresident student has not been recruited by the school district or its representatives for athletic purposes; or
(iv) The nonresident student meets the established eligibility criteria for participation in a magnet school or in a public school with a specialized academic mission.
(d) A nonresident school district may give priority in enrollment to a nonresident student who has been awarded a local scholarship.
(5) State payments. The state shall make payment pursuant to the schedule contained in Section 7 of this act to each school district or area vocational-technical school that accepts a nonresident student under the provisions of this act subject to the following terms and conditions:
(a) The state shall pay to each school district or area vocational-technical school that accepts a nonresident student, on a tuition basis, the amount determined under Section 7 of this act.
(b) (i) For a nonresident student who is an opportunity scholarship recipient and defined as a "student with a disability," services provided to the opportunity scholarship recipient shall be charged against the state's special education payments to the resident school district, provided that the resident school district shall not be charged more for services provided to the opportunity scholarship recipient by the nonresident school district than the difference between the current year cost of the services had the opportunity scholarship recipient remained in the resident school district and the sum of the opportunity scholarship, the local scholarship and the per-pupil special education funding following the opportunity scholarship recipient.
(ii) The resident school district shall provide the board with documentation of the prior year's cost of services provided to the opportunity scholarship recipient and an estimate of the cost of providing those services in the current year had the opportunity scholarship recipient remained in the resident school district. Any cost not covered by this funding shall be paid by the nonresident school district enrolling the opportunity scholarship recipient.
(c) An opportunity scholarship recipient shall be included in the average daily attendance of the opportunity scholarship recipient's resident school district.
(d) In the event an opportunity scholarship recipient withdraws from a nonresident school district prior to the completion of the school year, the following shall apply:
(i) The nonresident school district shall, within fifteen (15) days of the opportunity scholarship recipient's withdrawal from the nonresident school district, provide the board with written notice of the opportunity scholarship recipient's withdrawal from the nonresident school district.
(ii) The resident school district, nonresident school district or participating nonpublic school in which the opportunity scholarship recipient subsequently enrolls shall notify the board within five (5) days of the opportunity scholarship recipient's enrollment.
(iii) Within thirty (30) days after receiving the notice required under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the board shall do the following:
1. If the opportunity scholarship recipient enrolls in the resident school district or a nonresident school district, pay the resident school district or nonresident school district the full amount of the opportunity scholarship payment reduced on a pro rata basis for the portion of the school year in which the opportunity scholarship recipient was enrolled in another school.
2. If the opportunity scholarship recipient enrolls in a participating nonpublic school, pay the opportunity scholarship recipient's parent the full amount of the opportunity scholarship payment reduced on a pro rata basis for the portion of the school year in which the opportunity scholarship recipient was enrolled in another school. Such payment shall be made to the parents of the opportunity scholarship recipient pursuant to the provisions of Section 6(2)(c)(i)1 of this act.
(6) Limitation. The tuition charged by a nonresident school district to an opportunity scholarship recipient under this section shall not exceed the sum of the opportunity scholarship and the local scholarship, if applicable, awarded to the opportunity scholarship recipient.
(7) Transportation. (a) Notwithstanding any provisions of Section 37-41-1 to the contrary, a school district that provides its resident public school pupils with transportation to and from the resident public schools or to and from any points within or without this state in order to provide field trips shall provide a student who resides within the school district but regularly attends a nonresident public school, including a charter school, that is located not more than ten (10) miles from the student's resident school district by the nearest public highway, with transportation to and from such nonresident public school or to and from any points within or without this state in order to provide field trips.
(b) Transportation of a student under this subsection shall be subject to reimbursement.
SECTION 6. Opportunity scholarship to attend a participating nonpublic school. (1) Eligibility. The parent of a low-income child who is eligible to receive an opportunity scholarship under Section 4 of this act and desires to apply for an opportunity scholarship to attend a participating nonpublic school must:
(a) By a date established by the board, apply to the board for an opportunity scholarship for the following school year pursuant to guidelines developed by the board under Section 10 of this act. By a date established by the board, the board shall notify parents whether the opportunity scholarship will be awarded for the following school year.
(b) Apply for enrollment directly to the participating nonpublic school pursuant to application procedures developed by the participating nonpublic school. By a date established by the board, a participating nonpublic school shall provide written confirmation to the board of each opportunity scholarship recipient whose application for enrollment has been accepted for the following school year. By a date established by the board, the board shall provide the opportunity scholarship recipient's resident school district with written confirmation of the opportunity scholarship recipient's enrollment in the participating nonpublic school.
(2) Payment of opportunity scholarship awards. The state shall provide payment of an opportunity scholarship to the parents of each opportunity scholarship recipient who is enrolled in a participating nonpublic school under the provisions of this section subject to the following terms and conditions:
(a) Opportunity scholarships shall be awarded only for the payment of costs of tuition at a participating nonpublic school within this state. Opportunity scholarships shall not be awarded for enrollment in a home education program defined under Section 37-13-91.
(b) Opportunity scholarships shall be paid to the parents of an opportunity scholarship recipient upon the board's receipt of written confirmation of enrollment from the participating nonpublic school selected by the recipient. The opportunity scholarship award shall be paid by check which may be endorsed by the parents only for payment of tuition at the participating nonpublic school at which the opportunity scholarship recipient's enrollment has been confirmed.
(c) In the event an opportunity scholarship recipient withdraws from a participating nonpublic school prior to the completion of the school year, the following shall apply:
(i) The participating nonpublic school shall, within fifteen (15) days of the opportunity scholarship recipient's withdrawal from the participating nonpublic school:
1. Provide the board with written notice of the opportunity scholarship recipient's withdrawal from the participating nonpublic school; and
2. Return to the board the full amount of the opportunity scholarship payment reduced on a pro rata basis by the tuition for the portion of the school year in which the opportunity scholarship recipient was enrolled.
(ii) If the participating nonpublic school fails to submit to the board the amount required to be paid under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the board shall impose interest on the unpaid amount, calculated from the due date at the rate determined by the Commissioner of Revenue for interest payments on overdue taxes or the refund of taxes.
(iii) If the opportunity scholarship recipient enrolls in another participating nonpublic school within the school year for which the opportunity scholarship was awarded, the board shall pay the parent of the opportunity scholarship recipient the opportunity scholarship award prorated for the remaining portion of the school year.
(d) In the event an opportunity scholarship recipient is expelled from a participating nonpublic school prior to the completion of the school year and the opportunity scholarship recipient subsequently enrolls in his resident school district, the board shall pay the resident school district the opportunity scholarship award prorated for the remaining portion of the school year. The resident school district shall apply this amount toward providing educational services for the opportunity scholarship recipient, which may include, but shall not be limited to, an alternative assignment or alternative education services.
(e) Penalties. (i) Each opportunity scholarship check issued under this section shall contain the following statement:
"FAILURE TO ENDORSE THIS CHECK AS DIRECTED BY THE BOARD MAY SUBJECT THE ENDORSER TO CIVIL PENALTIES AND CRIMINAL PROSECUTION."
(ii) A parent's endorsement or use of an opportunity scholarship check in a manner other than as directed by the department may subject the parent to the following penalties:
1. A civil penalty equal to three hundred percent (300%) of the full amount of the annual opportunity scholarship award made to the parent.
2. Disqualification from future eligibility for an opportunity scholarship.
3. Criminal prosecution.
(3) Enrollment requirements. The following shall apply to a participating nonpublic school which admits an opportunity scholarship recipient:
(a) The participating nonpublic school shall not discriminate on any basis that is illegal under federal or state laws applicable to nonpublic schools on the date prior to the effective date of this act.
(b) The participating nonpublic school shall prohibit discrimination in enrollment on the basis of race or color.
(c) The participating nonpublic school may not recruit any public school student to enroll for athletic purposes.
(d) For each school year, by a date established by the board, a nonpublic school that desires to enroll opportunity scholarship recipients under this act shall certify to the board that it satisfies the definition of "participating nonpublic school" in Section 3 of this act. Such certification shall be on a form developed by the board.
(4) Policies. Upon request, a participating nonpublic school shall make available for review by the parents of any opportunity scholarship recipient seeking enrollment, its written school policies and procedures related to tuition charges, admissions, academic offerings and requirements, discipline, religious instruction, parent involvement, standardized testing, the release of results of standardized tests administered by the participating nonpublic school, and extracurricular activities, and suspension and expulsion of students, including educational accommodations and counseling offered to students and parents.
(5) Assessments. (a) (i) Each participating nonpublic school shall administer annually an assessment or a nationally normed standardized achievement test in reading/language arts and mathematics to each opportunity scholarship recipient attending the participating nonpublic school in Grades 3, 5, 8 and 11.
(ii) To comply with this paragraph, a participating nonpublic school may either administer an assessment or administer a nationally normed standardized achievement test chosen by the participating nonpublic school from a list established under paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(b) The board shall establish a list of at least eight (8) nationally normed standardized achievement tests from which the participating nonpublic school shall select a test to be administered if the participating nonpublic school does not choose to administer an assessment.
(c) Each participating nonpublic school shall:
(i) release each opportunity scholarship recipient's individual results on the assessment or nationally normed standardized achievement test administered to opportunity scholarship recipients under paragraph (a) of this subsection to the parent of the opportunity scholarship recipient.
(ii) If the participating nonpublic school has a publicly accessible Internet website, post on the website the participating nonpublic school's aggregate results on the assessment or nationally normed standardized achievement test administered to opportunity scholarship recipients under paragraph (a) of this subsection, provided that the participating nonpublic school shall not post results that reveal the identity of any individual student.
(d) The participating nonpublic school shall bear the cost of the testing administered under this subsection and shall not impose an assessment or testing fee on an opportunity scholarship recipient.
(6) Construction. Nothing in this section shall be construed to:
(a) Prohibit a participating nonpublic school from limiting admission to a particular grade level, a single gender or to areas of concentration of the participating nonpublic school, including, but not limited to, mathematics, science and the arts.
(b) Empower the state or any of its agencies or officers or political subdivisions to impose any additional requirements on any participating nonpublic school which are not otherwise authorized under the laws of this state or to require any participating nonpublic school to enroll any opportunity scholarship recipient if the participating nonpublic school does not offer appropriate programs or is not structured or equipped with the necessary facilities to meet the special needs of the opportunity scholarship recipient or does not offer a particular program requested.
SECTION 7. Amount of opportunity scholarship. (1) Calculation. (a) The amount of the opportunity scholarship shall equal one hundred percent (100%) of the state's share of the resident school district's total revenue per average daily attendance of the prior school year.
(b) In no case shall the combined amount of the opportunity scholarship award and any additional financial assistance provided by a participating nonpublic school exceed the tuition rate for the participating nonpublic school.
(2) Limitation. No nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school may charge an opportunity scholarship recipient a higher tuition rate than the rate the nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school would have charged to a student who had not received an opportunity scholarship.
(3) Excess Scholarship Fund. (a) The Excess Scholarship Fund is established in the State Treasury and shall be funded by the amount of the opportunity scholarship awarded to an opportunity scholarship recipient under this section in excess of the amount of tuition charged to the opportunity scholarship recipient.
(b) The fund shall be administered by the board and applied as follows:
(i) During the 2017-2018 school year and each school year thereafter, money in the fund shall be applied toward the costs of the Opportunity Scholarship Program, subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.
(ii) During the 2018-2019 school year and each school year thereafter, one-half (1/2) of the money in the fund shall be applied toward costs of the following programs:
1. One-half (1/2) of the money under this subparagraph (ii) shall be applied to the public school demonstration grant program. Any unused grant funding shall be added to the total amount of funds available for the middle-income scholarship program.
2. One-half (1/2) of the money under this subparagraph shall be applied toward the costs of the middle-income scholarship program.
(4) Annual appropriations. (a) Opportunity scholarships authorized under this section shall be made from annual appropriations made by the Legislature to the department and monies available in the fund for that purpose.
(b) In the event that insufficient monies are available in any fiscal year to provide opportunity scholarships to all eligible opportunity scholarship recipients in the amount authorized, the board shall make pro rata reductions in the amount of the opportunity scholarship provided to each opportunity scholarship recipient.
(c) The total amount of opportunity scholarships provided in any fiscal year shall be limited to the amount of money appropriated for that fiscal year and monies in the fund.
(5) Nontaxable. Opportunity scholarship funds received by a parent pursuant to this section shall not be considered taxable income for purposes of Mississippi income tax provisions, nor shall such opportunity scholarships constitute financial assistance or appropriations to the participating nonpublic school attended by the opportunity scholarship recipient.
(6) Continued eligibility. (a) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, a child enrolled in a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school who received an opportunity scholarship under this section in the prior school year shall receive an opportunity scholarship in each school year of enrollment under the Opportunity Scholarship Program, provided that the child remains eligible.
(b) (i) If a child who received an opportunity scholarship under this section in the prior school year ceases to qualify as a low-income child, the child shall continue to receive a partial scholarship until completing the eighth grade, provided that the child continues to meet all other eligibility requirements.
(ii) In calculating the amount of the partial scholarship, the board shall make a pro rata reduction in the child's opportunity scholarship award based upon the child's household income.
(7) Penalties. Any person who fraudulently submits an opportunity or local scholarship application or who knowingly falsifies material information on an opportunity or local scholarship application shall be subject to the following penalties:
(a) Imposition by the board of a civil penalty of up to One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00); and
(b) Disqualification from future participation in the Opportunity Scholarship Program.
(8) Residence in more than one (1) school district within a school year. Where an opportunity scholarship recipient resides within more than one (1) school district during a school year, the amount of the opportunity scholarship shall be charged against each resident school district on a pro rata basis.
SECTION 8. Guidelines. (1) Requirements. Within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act, the board shall establish guidelines that provide the following:
(a) Forms to apply for opportunity and local scholarships, including application and approval processes and deadlines for application and notification.
(b) Procedures to verify the accuracy of the information provided in an opportunity or local scholarship application.
(c) Procedures for school district, school and parent notification of opportunity or local scholarship awards.
(d) Procedures for administration of the opportunity and local scholarship programs.
(e) Confirmation of school enrollment by opportunity scholarship recipients.
(f) Procedures for making payment of opportunity scholarship awards, including policies and procedures to minimize the likelihood of fraud or misuse of opportunity scholarship funds. For an opportunity scholarship recipient enrolled in a participating nonpublic school, the procedures shall include restrictive endorsement of opportunity scholarship award checks to the participating nonpublic school in which the opportunity scholarship recipient is enrolled.
(g) Procedures for participating nonpublic schools to pay pro rata refunds of opportunity scholarships to the board when an opportunity scholarship recipient withdraws from a participating nonpublic school during the school year for which the opportunity scholarship was paid.
(h) Development and distribution of public information concerning the opportunity and local scholarship and interdistrict enrollment programs.
(i) Procedures to determine the eligibility of homeless students for opportunity scholarships under this section.
(j) Deadline dates for actions required to be taken by the board, the department, school districts, participating nonpublic schools and parents under this section.
(k) Such other procedures as are necessary to fully implement the opportunity and local scholarship and interdistrict enrollment programs.
(l) A list of at least eight (8) nationally normed standardized achievement tests from which a participating nonpublic school may select a test to be administered pursuant to Section 6 of this act. The initial list developed by the board shall, at a minimum, include the following: California Achievement Test, Comprehensive Testing Program (CTPIV), Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Test, Peabody Achievement Individual Test Revised Version, Stanford Achievement Test, Terra Nova and Woodcock Johnson Revised Tests of Achievement III.
(2) Publication. The guidelines shall be published as a statement of policy. The board shall post the guidelines on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
(3) State Board of Education. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the programs, procedures and guidelines authorized by this section shall not be subject to review, regulation or approval by the State Board of Education.
SECTION 9. Reduction in amount of school aid. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, beginning in the first school year of enrollment in a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school by an opportunity scholarship recipient who was enrolled in the recipient's resident school district or in a charter school when the recipient first received an opportunity scholarship under this act, the amount of Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding paid by the department to the resident school district shall be reduced by an amount equal to (a) fifty percent (50%) of the state's share of the school district's total revenue per average daily attendance, and (b) one hundred percent (100%) of the state's share of the school district's total revenue per average daily attendance in the second consecutive year of enrollment.
SECTION 10. Education Opportunity Board. (1) Establishment. An independent board to be known as the Education Opportunity Board is established to be administratively located within the department. The board shall consist of three (3) members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) Terms of members. Members of the board shall serve a term of four (4) years. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments. Members shall continue to serve after the expiration of their term until the Governor appoints a replacement who is confirmed by the Senate. All members of the board must be residents of this state.
(3) Chairperson. The Governor shall annually select a chairperson from among the membership of the board.
(4) Meetings. Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairperson or upon request in writing of a majority of the board. A majority shall constitute a quorum and a majority of such quorum shall have the authority to act upon any matter properly before the board unless otherwise specified in this act.
(5) Compensation prohibited. Members of the board shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official board duties.
(6) Executive director and staff. (a) There shall be an executive director of the board who shall serve as the executive officer and secretary of the board. The board shall employ and fix the reasonable compensation of the executive director.
(b) The executive director, with approval of the board, may employ additional professional and clerical personnel as may be necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the board.
(c) The department shall provide adequate funding, space and equipment to facilitate the activities of the board.
(7) Legal advice and assistance. The Attorney General shall provide such legal advice and assistance as the board may require.
(8) Powers and duties. The board shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Establish guidelines for the administration of the opportunity and local scholarship programs as required under this act.
(b) Administer the opportunity and local scholarship application and approval processes.
(c) Develop the opportunity and local scholarship application form and any other forms necessary to administer the opportunity and local scholarship programs, including the notice required to be provided by school districts under Section 4 of this act.
(d) Review and verify the income and residence of opportunity and local scholarship applicants.
(e) Announce the award of opportunity and local scholarships for the following school year under Sections 5 and 6 of this act.
(f) Confirm the enrollment of opportunity scholarship recipients in nonresident public schools and participating nonpublic schools and allocate opportunity scholarship funds to opportunity scholarship recipients.
(g) Make payment of opportunity scholarship awards as provided in Sections 5 and 6 of this act.
(h) Notify school districts that elect to create a local scholarship when payment must be made.
(i) Beginning after the first school year of implementation of the Opportunity Scholarship Program, prepare a report to be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1 of each year, made available to the parents of opportunity scholarship recipients and placed on the department's publicly accessible Internet website that includes at least the following information for the prior school year:
(i) The total number of opportunity scholarships requested.
(ii) The total number and total dollar amount of opportunity scholarships awarded, in total and disaggregated by:
1. Whether the opportunity scholarship recipient attends a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school.
2. Grade level of the opportunity scholarship recipient.
3. Whether the opportunity scholarship recipient resides in a school district with at least one (1) persistently lowest achieving school.
(iii) The administrative costs of the Opportunity Scholarship Program.
(iv) A listing of nonresident public schools to which opportunity scholarship funds were disbursed on behalf of opportunity scholarship recipients and the amount disbursed to each nonresident public school.
(v) A listing of participating nonpublic schools in which opportunity scholarship recipients enrolled and the number of opportunity scholarship recipients who enrolled in each participating nonpublic school.
(vi) The total number and total dollar amount of local scholarships awarded, disaggregated by the resident school districts that made the local scholarship awards.
(j) For the 2019-2020 school year and each school year thereafter, administer and announce the award of public school choice demonstration grants to eligible school districts as provided under Section 12 of this act, and annually redistribute any remaining funds from the public school choice demonstration grants program to the middle-income scholarship program.
(k) For the 2018-2019 school year and each school year thereafter, administer the middle-income scholarship program.
(l) Study. Following the 2018-2019 school year, the board shall conduct a study of the effectiveness of the Opportunity Scholarship Program and shall deliver a written report of its findings, including any recommendations for changes to the program, to the Governor, the Chairman of the Education Committee of the Senate and the Chairman of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives by December 31, 2018.
SECTION 11. Optional local tuition grant program. A school district may, out of funds received from the state for educational purposes, establish a program of tuition grants to provide for the education of resident students who wish to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school on a tuition basis. A student who receives a tuition grant under this section shall be included in the average daily attendance of the student's resident school district for the purpose of providing adequate education funding and special education funding.
SECTION 12. Public school choice demonstration grant program. (1) Establishment. A school district may, out of funds received by the board under Section 7 of this act and available state and local funds, establish a program of tuition grants to provide for the education of resident students who wish to attend a nonresident public school.
(2) Limit. No grant award issued by the board to a school district under this section shall exceed Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00).
(3) Procedure. Grant applications shall only be received, reviewed and allocated by the board during an annual two-week grant review process to begin on July 1 and end on July 15 of each calendar year.
(4) Eligibility. To be eligible for grants under this program, the school district shall:
(a) Submit an application to the board at a date to be determined by the board requesting a public school choice demonstration grant.
(b) Submit a statement of the amount of the grant sought, including the estimated number of tuition grants to be distributed.
(c) Demonstrate a commitment of funds received from both local sources and the state for educational purposes of at least Three Dollars ($3.00) for every One Dollar ($1.00) of grant funds issued under Section 7 of this act.
(d) Meet any other requirements as set by the board.
(5) Average daily attendance. A student who receives a tuition grant under this section shall be included in the average daily attendance of the student's resident school district for the purpose of providing adequate education funding and special education funding.
SECTION 13. Middle-income scholarship program. (1) Establishment. Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the board shall establish a middle-income scholarship program to provide scholarships to help middle-income children in this state pay tuition to attend a nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school. The board shall make annual middle-income scholarship awards on a pro rata basis from the funding provided under Section 7 of this act.
(2) Notice. (a) By a date determined by the board, each school district in this state shall provide all residents of the school district with notice of the following:
(i) A description of the middle-income scholarship program.
(ii) Instructions for applying for a middle-income scholarship.
(iii) Notice that a parent must contact directly the nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school in which the parent's child seeks to enroll for application instructions.
(b) The school district shall provide the notice to all residents of the school district by notice posted on the school district's publicly accessible Internet website. The notice shall be in a form provided by the board.
(3) Regulations. In promulgating regulations for the administration of the middle-income scholarship, the board shall develop application and enrollment processes and procedures substantively similar to Sections 5 and 6 of this act.
(4) Limitation. (a) No nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school may charge a middle-income scholarship recipient a higher tuition rate than the rate the nonresident public school or participating nonpublic school would have charged to a student who had not received a middle-income scholarship.
(b) The combined amount of the middle-income scholarship award and any additional financial assistance provided by the participating nonpublic school shall not exceed the tuition rate for the participating nonpublic school.
(5) Applicability. The provisions of Sections 5 and 6 of this act shall apply to the middle-income scholarship program established under this section.
SECTION 14. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.
