GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 781

Short Title:  Children First/Educ. Opportunity.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Linney; Arnold, Baker, Barbee, Berry, Buchanan, Cansler, Capps, Clary, Cocklereece, Culp, Daughtry, Davis, Decker, Dickson, Dockham, Gardner, Hayes, Ives, Justus, Lemmond, McMahan, Miner, Pate, Pulley, Rayfield, Reynolds, Russell, Sexton, Tallent, Watson, Weatherly, C. Wilson, and G. Wilson.

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Referred to:  Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

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April 6, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO INCREASE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY BY AUTHORIZING THE FUNDING OF K-12 LEGISLATIVE TUITION GRANTS TO PARENTS OF SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN IN NORTH CAROLINA.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 4.  Legislative Tuition Grants
for Children Enrolled in Nonpublic Schools.
"§ 115C-567.1.  Intent.
(a)	It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide a tax expenditure neutral guarantee of educational opportunity for the children of North Carolina as a method to:
(1)	Encourage improvement in public schools and provide financial assistance to families that would like to send their children to nonpublic schools, so that every child has an expanded opportunity to be taught in the setting and manner that best help that child learn.
(2)	Replace the system of ensuring school accountability by the bureaucratic regulation of a monopoly with a system that relies on competition, performance measures, and disclosure of test scores, so that student success, not school sameness, becomes the focus of educational efforts.
"§ 115C-567.2.   Establishment of Legislative Tuition Grants.
There is established under the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the Legislative Tuition Grant Program.  The State Education Assistance Authority shall administer the Program.  The purpose of the Program is to provide financial assistance to the families of any children legally residing in and attending school in the State of North Carolina who are eligible to receive a free public education in the State of North Carolina. Children eligible to receive a free public education in the State of North Carolina may attend any school participating in this Program and have their educational expenses paid in full or in part, with a Legislative Tuition Grant.  For children attending nonpublic schools, educational expenses may include expenses such as tuition, transportation, books, and supplies.
"§ 115C-567.3.  Schools eligible to receive K-12 Legislative Tuition Grants.
(a)	All lawfully operating nonpublic schools in North Carolina, except home schools as defined in G.S. 115C-563(a), that satisfy the regulatory requirements that applied to them as of January 1, 1994, and that conform to the requirements set forth in this section, are eligible to redeem K-12 Legislative Tuition Grants.  Participation in the Legislative Tuition Grant Program by the schools is voluntary.
(b)	Any private school that is eligible to participate in the Program and that elects to participate in the Program shall disclose to parents interested in enrolling a child at that school the national percentile rank of the aggregate standardized test scores taken by that schools' students.  If the school gives the North Carolina end-of-course and end-of-grade tests, those aggregate scores shall be disclosed to prospective parents upon request.
(c)	Schools participating in the Program shall not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.
	(d)	Upon proof of violation of the provisions of this section by a school participating under this Part, and after notice and opportunity to defend, the State Education Assistance Authority may disqualify a nonpublic school from eligibility to redeem Legislative Tuition Grants.
"§ 115C-567.4.  Legislative Tuition Grant application process.
(a)	Each superintendent of a local school administrative unit shall, by July 1 preceding the school year for which the tuition grant shall apply, send a Legislative Tuition Grant certificate to the parent or guardian of any eligible student enrolled in that local school administrative unit and shall make available a Legislative Tuition Grant certificate to the parent or guardian of any eligible student living in that local school administrative unit who is not enrolled in that local school administrative unit.
(b)	Parents or guardians who elect to participate in the Program shall present their child's Legislative Tuition Grant certificate to the nonpublic school they choose for their child by September 15.
"§ 115C-567.5.  Legislative Tuition Grant certificate redemption procedures.
(a)	At the beginning of the school year for which the tuition grant applies, but not later than October 1, the participating nonpublic school shall submit to the State Education Assistance Authority the names and the tuition grant certificates of eligible students who elect to participate in the Program and who are accepted and enrolling at that school.
(b)	The State Education Assistance Authority shall verify school eligibility and forward a report to the State Board of Education with the total number and cost of the certificates presented.
(c)	The State Board of Education shall transfer to the State Education Assistance Authority funds for deposit to the Student Education Account of each student enrolled in an eligible school on the fifteenth day of October, December, February, April, and June.  The payment shall be for the scholarship amount set, calculated pursuant to G.S. 115C-567.6, divided by five for each of the five installment payments.  These payments shall continue for as long as the eligible student is enrolled.
(d)	The procedures set forth in this section shall also apply for a student who applies to transfer from one eligible nonpublic school to another.
(e)	If a student ceases to attend an eligible school at any time during the school year, that school shall notify the State Education Assistance Authority immediately and rebate the prorated amount of the last payment.  The State Education Assistance Authority shall withhold all further installment payments for that child to that school.
"§ 115C-567.6.  Scholarship amount.
(a)	All funding for Legislative Tuition Grants shall be provided by the State of North Carolina except for any supplemental amount provided by counties. Counties may create a supplemental tuition grant funding pool for pupils attending  eligible nonpublic schools.  Counties shall not add regulatory requirements on nonpublic schools in addition to those required in G.S. 115C-567.3.
(b)	The amount of the Legislative Tuition Grant shall be computed as follows:
(1)	Children with special needs. – The tuition grant for a child identified as a child with special needs other than an academically gifted child shall consist (i) one hundred percent (100%) of the per pupil amount allocated by the State to the local school administrative unit in which the child resides, excluding funds for children with special needs, and (ii) one hundred percent (100%) of the per pupil amount allocated by the State to the local school administrative unit in which the child resides, for children with special needs.
(2)	Other children in families with family incomes of less than one hundred seventy-five percent (175%) of the federal poverty level. – The amount of the Legislative Tuition Grant for a child in a family whose income is less than one hundred seventy-five percent (175%) of the federal poverty level who is not identified as a child with special needs or who is identified as an academically gifted child with special needs shall consist of seventy-five percent (75%) of the per pupil amount allocated by the State to the local school administrative unit in which the child resides, excluding funds for children with special needs.
(3)	Other children in families with family incomes greater than or equal to one hundred seventy-five percent (175%) of the federal poverty level. –
a.	A child in grades nine through twelve in a family whose income is greater than or equal to one hundred seventy-five percent (175%) of the federal poverty level who is not identified as a child with special needs or who is identified as an academically gifted child with special needs shall not receive a Legislative Tuition Grant for the 1995-96 school year.  For subsequent school years, the amount of the Legislative Tuition Grant shall consist of fifty percent (50%) of the per pupil amount allocated by the State to the local school administrative unit in which the child resides, excluding funds for children with special needs.
b.	A child in kindergarten through the eighth grade in a family whose income is greater than or equal to one hundred seventy-five percent (175%) of the federal poverty level who is not identified as a child with special needs or who is identified as an academically gifted child with special needs shall not receive a Legislative Tuition Grant for the 1995-96 or the 1996-97 school year.  For subsequent school years, the amount of the Legislative Tuition Grant shall consist of fifty percent (50%) of the per pupil amount allocated by the State to the local school administrative unit in which the child resides, excluding funds for children with special needs.
The State Education Assistance Authority shall adopt rules for the determination of the amount of the tuition grant to which a child is entitled.  These rules shall set out the manner in which the income level of the family is computed and may require the submission of information necessary to make the computation.
"§ 115C-567.7.  Student Education Accounts.
(a)	Any tuition grant amount shall be credited to a Student Education Account held in the student's name by the State Education Assistance Authority.  Payments for the educational expenses of the student enrolled in an eligible nonpublic school shall be made on the direction of the student's parent or guardian.
(b)	The eligible student's parents or guardians shall be able to draw upon the funds in the Student Education Account held in the student's name that are not needed to cover the educational expenses of the student in the eligible nonpublic school to obtain grants for additional or future educational services.  These services may include, but are not limited to, summer school, language or musical arts education, the higher cost of future K-12 tuition, vocational education, and college education.
(c)	The Student Education Account shall be maintained until the later of the student's 25th birthday or five years after separation from military service begun before the student's 25th birthday.  Any remaining funds shall be returned to the General Fund at that time and shall no longer be held in the student's name.
(d)	The State Education Assistance Authority shall credit to each Student Education Account any interest earned on the account."
Sec. 2.   G.S. 115C-555 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-555.  Qualification of nonpublic schools.
The provisions of this Part shall apply to any nonpublic  school which has one or more of the following characteristics:
(1)	It is accredited by the State Board of Education.
(2)	It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
(3)	It is an active member of the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools.
(4)	It receives no funding from the State of North Carolina, except for funding from the Legislative Tuition Grant Program."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.