HSB 243

This bill establishes a student first scholarship program for certain pupils attending a nonpublic school. Under the bill, the following pupils who attend a nonpublic school are eligible to receive a student first scholarship: (1) a pupil eligible to enroll in kindergarten who, if enrolled in the pupil’s district of residence, would attend a public school identified for comprehensive support and improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. 114-95, or an equivalent federal standard; (2) a pupil eligible to enroll in grade through grade if the pupil has attended a public school identified for comprehensive support and improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. 114-95, or an equivalent federal standard, for the equivalent of the two immediately preceding semesters; and (3) a pupil who received a student first scholarship for the immediately preceding school budget year and who is eligible to enroll in grade through grade 12. By January preceding the school year for which the student first scholarship is requested, the parent or guardian of the pupil requesting to receive a student first scholarship must submit an application to the department of education indicating that the parent or guardian intends to enroll the pupil in a nonpublic school for the entirety of the school year. _____ student first scholarship and the amount of the student first scholarship for the pupil, as specified in the bill. Student first scholarships must be approved for each school year and applications must be submitted each year. The bill creates a student first scholarship fund in the state treasury under the control of the department of education consisting of moneys appropriated to the department of education for the purpose of providing student first scholarships. For the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2022, and each succeeding fiscal year, the bill appropriates from the general fund of the state to the department of education for deposit in the fund the amount necessary to pay all student first scholarships approved for that fiscal year. For each pupil approved for a student first scholarship, the department of education must establish an account for that pupil in the student first scholarship fund. The amount of the pupil’s student first scholarship is deposited into the pupil’s account on July and such amount is available for use by parents and guardians for the payment of qualified educational expenses, as defined in the bill, incurred by the parent or guardian for the pupil during that fiscal year. The bill authorizes the department of education to contract with a private financial management firm to manage the student first scholarship fund, in collaboration with the treasurer of state, including providing for the disbursement of student first scholarships in the form of an electronic debit card or checks that are payable directly from the pupil’s account within the fund. _____ under the bill. Under the bill, for each pupil with a positive balance in the pupil’s account in the student first scholarship fund upon graduation from high school or reaching years of age, whichever occurs first, the department of education is required to transfer such remaining moneys for deposit in the general fund of the state. The bill establishes procedures for parent or guardian appeals to the state board of education and provides that a person who makes a false claim for the purpose of obtaining a student first scholarship or who knowingly receives the scholarship or makes a payment from an account in the student first scholarship fund without being legally entitled to do so is guilty of a fraudulent practice and is subject to a criminal penalty. The bill directs the department of education to recover scholarships and amounts improperly awarded or paid and requires the closure of the pupil’s account and transfer of all remaining moneys to the general fund of the state. The bill also establishes requirements and procedures for parents or guardians and for the department of education when a pupil receiving a student first scholarship withdraws or is expelled from the nonpublic school prior to the end of the required attendance period of the school year, including requirements for disposition of the pupil’s account within the student first scholarship fund and recovery of scholarship funds. The bill provides that a student first scholarship received by a taxpayer is not taxable income for purposes of state individual income taxation. This provision of the bill applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. The section of the bill enacting the student first scholarship program applies to school budget years and fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2022.