A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require that students receiving opportunity scholarships attend schools that are accredited by a national or regional ACCREDITING agency or the state board of education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑562.5(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall comply with the following:
(1)	Provide to the Authority documentation for required tuition and fees charged to the student by the nonpublic school.
(2)	Provide to the Authority a criminal background check conducted for the staff member with the highest decision‑making authority, as defined by the bylaws, articles of incorporation, or other governing document, to ensure that person has not been convicted of any crime listed in G.S. 115C‑332.
(2a)	Provide to the Authority documentation that the nonpublic school is accredited by the State Board of Education or a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the Division of Nonpublic Education, Department of Administration.
(3)	Provide to the parent or guardian of an eligible student, whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant, an annual written explanation of the student's progress, including the student's scores on standardized achievement tests.
(4)	Administer, at least once in each school year, a nationally standardized test or other nationally standardized equivalent measurement selected by the chief administrative officer of the nonpublic school to all eligible students whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant enrolled in grades three and higher. The nationally standardized test or other equivalent measurement selected must measure achievement in the areas of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. Test performance data shall be submitted to the Authority by July 15 of each year. Test performance data reported to the Authority under this subdivision is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.
(5)	Provide to the Authority graduation rates of the students receiving scholarship grants in a manner consistent with nationally recognized standards.
(6)	Contract with a certified public accountant to perform a financial review, consistent with generally accepted accounting principles, for each school year in which the school accepts students receiving more than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in scholarship grants awarded under this Part."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2017‑2018 school year.