Bill Text: WV SB327 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing funding for Hope Scholarship Program

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-12 - To Finance [SB327 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2024-SB327-Introduced.html

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WEST virginia legislature

2024 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 327

By Senator Woelfel

[Introduced January 12, 2024; referred to

the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-31-2 and §18-31-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to providing funding for the Hope Scholarship Program and the parameters thereof; and providing definitions.  

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

 

ARTICLE 31. HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

§18-31-2. Definitions.

The following words have the meanings ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) "Account" or "scholarship" means a Hope Scholarship account, awarded pursuant to this article, to which funds are allocated by the board to the parent or parents of an eligible Hope Scholarship student in order to pay qualifying education expenses to educate the student pursuant to the requirements and conditions of this article;

(2) "Board" means the Hope Scholarship Board created pursuant to §18-31-3 of this code;

(3) "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular content area or grade level, including any supplemental materials required by the curriculum;

(4) "Education service provider" means a person or organization that receives payments from Hope Scholarship accounts to provide educational goods and services to Hope Scholarship students;

(5) "Eligible recipient" means a child who:

(A) Is a resident of this state; and

(B) Is enrolled full-time and attending a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for at least 45 calendar days during an instructional term at the time of application and until an award letter is issued by the board under §18-31-5(c) of this code, or enrolled full-time in a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for the entire instructional term the previous year, or is eligible at the time of application to enroll in a kindergarten program in this state pursuant to §18-8-1a of this code, except that if on July 1, 2024, the participation rate of the combined number of students in the Hope Scholarship Program and students eligible who have applied to participate in the Hope Scholarship program during the previous school year is less than five percent of net public school enrollment adjusted for state aid purposes for the previous school year, then, effective July 1, 2026, a child is considered to meet the requirements of this paragraph if he or she is enrolled, eligible to be enrolled, or required to be enrolled in a kindergarten program or public elementary or secondary school program in this state at the time of application;

(6) "Hope scholarship funds" means the moneys deposited in a Hope Scholarship student's account in accordance with the requirements of this article.

(7) "Hope scholarship student" means a student who receives a scholarship pursuant to this article;

(8) "Parent" means a biological parent, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of an eligible recipient or Hope Scholarship student;

(9) "Participating school" means any West Virginia based private school that provides education to elementary and/or secondary students and has notified the board of its intention to participate in the program and comply with the program's requirements;

(10) "Resident school district" means the county school district in which the student resides; and

(11) "Treasurer" means the West Virginia State Treasurer.

(12) "West Virginia based" means an entity registered to do business in West Virginia and with its principal office located in West Virginia.

 

§18-31-7. Qualifying expenses for Hope Scholarship accounts.

(a) Parents of a Hope Scholarship student shall agree to use the funds deposited in their student's Hope Scholarship account only for the following qualifying expenses to educate the student:

(1) Ongoing services provided by a public school district pursuant to §18-31-8(f) of this code, including without limitation, individual classes and extracurricular activities and programs;

(2) Tuition and fees at a participating West Virginia based school;

(3) Tutoring services provided by a West Virginia based individual or a tutoring facility: Provided, That such tutoring services are not provided by a member of the Hope Scholarship student’s immediate family;

(4) Fees for nationally standardized assessments, advanced placement examinations, any examinations related to college or university admission, and tuition and/or fees for preparatory courses for the aforementioned exams;

(5) Tuition and fees for West Virginia based programs of study or the curriculum of courses that lead to an industry-recognized credential that satisfies a workforce need;

(6) Tuition and fees for West Virginia based nonpublic online learning programs;

(7) Tuition and fees for West Virginia based alternative education programs;

(8) Fees for West Virginia based after-school or summer education programs;

(9) West Virginia based educational services and therapies, including, but not limited to, occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language, and audiology therapies;

(10) Curriculum as defined in §18-31-2 of this code;

(11) Fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider for the student to travel to and from an education service provider; and

(12) Any other qualified expenses as approved by the board established pursuant to §18-31-3 of this code.

(b) Hope Scholarship funds may only be used for educational purposes in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. Nothing in this section requires that a Hope Scholarship student be enrolled, full- or part-time, in either a private school or nonpublic online school.

(c) Hope Scholarship funds may not be refunded, rebated, or shared with a parent or student in any manner. Any refund or rebate for goods or services purchased with Hope Scholarship funds shall be credited directly to a student’s Hope Scholarship account.

(d) Nothing in this section prohibits the parents of a Hope Scholarship student from making payments for the costs of educational goods and services not covered by the funds in their student's Hope Scholarship account. However, personal deposits into a Hope Scholarship account are not permitted.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish parameters for providing funding for the Hope Scholarship Program; and providing definitions.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.