Relating to education savings account program eligibility and payments for children enrolled in an accredited nonpublic school’s program for four-year-old children and including effective date provisions

This bill relates to education savings account (ESA) program eligibility and payments for children enrolled in an accredited nonpublic school’s program for four-year-old children. The ESA program is a program established to assist pupils who attend nonpublic schools in paying for qualified educational expenses including but not limited to tuition, tutoring or cognitive skill training fees, educational therapy costs, software expenses, and expenses related to course materials. Under current law, students enrolled in a preschool program are not eligible for the ESA program. The bill defines “approved nonpublic program” as an accredited nonpublic school’s program for four-year-old children approved by the department of education to provide high-quality preschool instruction. The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules to define the requirements for an accredited nonpublic school preschool program to be approved for the purposes of qualifying for payments from an ESA. The bill prohibits such rules from requiring an approved nonpublic program to retain the services of a licensed teacher for the approved nonpublic program, partner or collaborate with a school district, or partner or collaborate with community stakeholders. The bill provides that all children eligible to participate in preschool programming provided by a school district through the statewide voluntary preschool program are eligible to participate in an approved nonpublic program. The bill makes tuition for an approved nonpublic program a qualified expense for the purposes of the ESA program. The bill makes resident pupils who are eligible to enroll in an approved nonpublic program eligible for the ESA program for school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2024. The bill sets ESA payments for pupils enrolled in an approved nonpublic school in an amount equal to the regular program state cost per pupil for the school budget year multiplied by percent, which is the same amount per pupil a school district receives for preschool students. The bill allows the state board of education to adopt emergency rules to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill takes effect upon enactment.