Bill Text: NC H133 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Modify Special Education Scholarships
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 10-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-24 - Re-ref Com On Appropriations [H133 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2015-H133-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2015
H 1
HOUSE BILL 133
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Short Title: Modify Special Education Scholarships. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Jordan, Jones, Brockman, and Stam (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site. |
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Referred to: |
Education ‑ K‑12, if favorable, Appropriations. |
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March 4, 2015
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase the amount of the scholarship funds available to students with DISABILITIES per semester and to modify the method of payment of tuition for those students.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C‑112.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑112.6. Scholarships.
(a) Scholarship Applications. – The Authority shall make available no later than May 1 annually applications to eligible students for the award of scholarships. Information about scholarships and the application process shall be made available on the Authority's Web site. The Authority shall give priority in awarding scholarships to eligible students who received a scholarship during the previous semester. Except as otherwise provided by the Authority for prior scholarship recipients, scholarships shall be awarded to eligible students in the order in which the applications are received.
(a1) Web Site Availability. – Information about scholarships and the application process shall be made available on the Authority's Web site. The Authority shall also include information on the Web site notifying parents that federal regulations adopted under IDEA provide that no parentally placed private school child with a disability has an individual right to receive some or all of the special education and related services that the child would receive if enrolled in a public school.
(b) Scholarship Awards. – Scholarships awarded to
eligible students shall be for amounts of not more than threefour
thousand dollars ($3,000)($4,000) per semester per eligible
student. Eligible students awarded scholarships may not be enrolled in a public
school to which that student has been assigned as provided in G.S. 115C‑366.
Scholarships shall be awarded only for tuition and for the reimbursement
of tuition, special education, related services, and educational
technology, as provided in subsection (b1) of this section. The Authority shall
notify parents in writing of their eligibility to receive scholarships for
costs that will be incurred during the spring semester of the following year by
December 1 and for costs incurred during the fall semester of that year by July
1.
(b1) Disbursement of Scholarship Funds. – The Authority shall disburse scholarship funds for tuition and for the reimbursement of costs incurred by the parent of an eligible student as follows:
(1) Scholarship endorsement for tuition. – The Authority shall remit, at least two times each school year, scholarship funds awarded to eligible students for endorsement by at least one of the student's parents or guardians for tuition to attend (i) a North Carolina public school other than the public school to which that student has been assigned as provided in G.S. 115C‑366 or (ii) a nonpublic school that meets the requirements of Part 1 or Part 2 of Article 39 of this Chapter as identified by the Department of Administration, Division of Nonpublic Education. Scholarship funds shall not be provided for tuition for home‑schooled students. If the student is attending a nonpublic school, the school must be deemed eligible by the Division of Nonpublic Education, pursuant to G.S. 115C‑562.4, and the school shall be subject to the requirements of G.S. 115C‑562.5. The parent or guardian shall restrictively endorse the scholarship funds awarded to the eligible student to the school for deposit into the account of the school. The parent or guardian shall not designate any entity or individual associated with the school as the parent's attorney‑in‑fact to endorse the scholarship funds but shall endorse the scholarship funds in person at the site of the school. A parent's or guardian's failure to comply with this section shall result in forfeiture of the scholarship funds. A scholarship forfeited for failure to comply with this section shall be returned to the Authority to be awarded to another student.
(2) Scholarship Reimbursements.reimbursements
for costs. – Scholarship reimbursement for costs incurred shall be
provided as follows:
(1)a. Preapproval process. – Prior to the
start of each school semester, the parent of an eligible student may submit
documentation of the tuition, special education, related services, or
educational technology the parent anticipates incurring costs on in that
semester for preapproval by the Authority.
(2)b. Reimbursement submissions. – Following
the conclusion of each school semester, the parent of an eligible student shall
submit to the Authority any receipts or other documentation approved by the
Authority to demonstrate the costs incurred during the semester. In addition,
parents shall provide documentation of the following to seek reimbursement:
a. Tuition reimbursement. – Parents may only
receive reimbursement for tuition if the parent provides documentation that the
student was enrolled in nonpublic school or public school for which payment of
tuition is required for no less than 75 days of the semester for which the
parent seeks reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement shall not be provided for
home schooled students.
b.1. Special education reimbursement. –
Parents may only receive reimbursement for special education if the parent
provides documentation that the student received special education for no less
than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks reimbursement. Special
education reimbursement shall not be provided for special education instruction
provided to a home schooled student by a member of the household of a home
school, as defined in G.S. 115C‑563(a).
c.2. Related services reimbursement. –
Parents may only receive reimbursement for related services if the parent
provides documentation that the student also received special education for no
less than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks reimbursement for
the related services. Related services reimbursement shall not be provided for
related services provided to a home schooled student by a member of the
household of a home school, as defined in G.S. 115C‑563(a).
d.3. Educational technology reimbursement.
– Parents may only receive reimbursement for educational technology if the
parent provides documentation that the student used the educational technology
for no less than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks
reimbursement.
(3)c. Scholarship award. – The Authority
shall award a scholarship in the amount of costs demonstrated by the parent up
to the maximum amount. If the costs incurred by the parent do not meet the
maximum amount, the Authority shall use the remainder of those funds for the
award of scholarships to eligible students for the following semester. The
Authority shall award scholarships to the parents of eligible students at least
semiannually.
(c) Student Reevaluation. – After an eligible student's initial receipt of a scholarship, the Authority shall ensure that the student is reevaluated at least every three years by the local educational agency in order to verify that the student continues to be a child with a disability.
(d) Rule Making. – The Authority shall establish rules and regulations for the administration and awarding of scholarships. The Authority shall annually develop a list of educational technology for which scholarships may be used and shall provide scholarship recipients with information about the list.
(e) Public Records Exception. – Scholarship applications and personally identifiable information related to eligible students receiving scholarships shall not be a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. For the purposes of this section, personally identifiable information means any information directly related to a student or members of a student's household, including the name, birthdate, address, Social Security number, telephone number, e‑mail address, financial information, or any other information or identification number that would provide information about a specific student or members of a specific student's household."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to scholarships awarded for the 2015‑2016 school year.
