Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 153 (2018GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Zehnder, B.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/16/2018

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• includes deafblindness as a qualifying disability for scholarship eligibility;
• enacts provisions governing the term of a scholarship and participation in other specified education programs;
• amends requirements for eligible private schools;
• enacts language governing payment of scholarships;
• authorizes the State Board of Education to award additional scholarships in certain circumstances;
• requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules on payment procedures to eligible private schools;
• repeals outdated language; and
• makes technical and conforming amendments.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

CARSON SMITH SCHOLARSHIP AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Brian Zehnder
House Sponsor: 
Steve Eliason
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions related to the Carson Smith Scholarship Program.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ includes deafblindness as a qualifying disability for scholarship eligibility;
▸ enacts provisions governing the term of a scholarship and participation in other
specified education programs;
▸ amends requirements for eligible private schools;
▸ enacts language governing payment of scholarships;
▸ authorizes the State Board of Education to award additional scholarships in certain
circumstances;
▸ requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules on payment procedures to
eligible private schools;
▸ repeals outdated language; and
▸ makes technical and conforming amendments. 
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53F-4-302
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 2
53F-4-303
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 2
53F-4-304
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 2
53F-4-305
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 2
REPEALS:
53F-4-308
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 2
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53F-4-302
 is amended to read:
53F-4-302.
Scholarship program created -- Qualifications.
(1) The Carson Smith Scholarship Program is created to award scholarships to students
with disabilities to attend a private school.
(2) To qualify for a scholarship:
(a) the student's custodial parent or legal guardian shall reside within Utah;
(b) the student shall have one or more of the following disabilities:
(i) an intellectual disability;
(ii) deafness or being hard of hearing;
(iii) a speech or language impairment;
(iv) a visual impairment;
(v) a serious emotional disturbance;
(vi) an orthopedic impairment;
(vii) autism;
(viii) traumatic brain injury;
(ix) other health impairment;
(x) specific learning disabilities; [
or
]
(xi) deafblindness; or
[
(xi)
] 
(xii)
 a developmental delay, provided the student is at least three years of age,
pursuant to Subsection (2)(c), and is younger than eight years of age;
(c) the student shall be at least three years of age before September 2 of the year in
which admission to a private school is sought and under 19 years of age on the last day of the
school year as determined by the private school, or, if the individual has not graduated from
high school, will be under 22 years of age on the last day of the school year as determined by
the private school; and
(d) except as provided in Subsection (3), the student shall:
(i) be enrolled in a Utah public school in the school year prior to the school year the
student will be enrolled in a private school;
(ii) have an IEP; and
(iii) have obtained acceptance for admission to an eligible private school.
(3) The requirements of Subsection (2)(d) do not apply in the following circumstances:
(a) the student is enrolled or has obtained acceptance for admission to an eligible
private school that has previously served students with disabilities; and
(b) an assessment team is able to readily determine with reasonable certainty:
(i) that the student has a disability listed in Subsection (2)(b) and would qualify for
special education services, if enrolled in a public school; and
(ii) for the purpose of establishing the scholarship amount, the appropriate level of
special education services which should be provided to the student.
(4) (a) To receive a full-year scholarship under this part, a parent of a student shall
submit to the LEA where the student is enrolled an application on or before the August 15
immediately preceding the first day of the school year for which the student would receive the
scholarship.
(b) The board may waive the full-year scholarship deadline described in Subsection
(4)(a).
(c) An application for a scholarship shall contain an acknowledgment by the parent that
the selected school is qualified and capable of providing the level of special education services
required for the student.
(5) (a) The scholarship application form shall contain the following statement:
"I acknowledge that:
(1) A private school may not provide the same level of special education services that
are provided in a public school;
(2) I will assume full financial responsibility for the education of my scholarship
student if I accept this scholarship;
(3) Acceptance of this scholarship has the same effect as a parental refusal to consent
to services pursuant to Section 614(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20
U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.; and
(4) My child may return to a public school at any time."
(b) Upon acceptance of the scholarship, the parent assumes full financial responsibility
for the education of the scholarship student.
(c) Acceptance of a scholarship has the same effect as a parental refusal to consent to
services pursuant to Section 614(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20
U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.
(d) The creation of the scholarship program or granting of a scholarship does not:
(i) imply that a public school did not provide a free and appropriate public education
for a student; or
(ii) constitute a waiver or admission by the state.
(6) (a) [
A
] 
Except as provided in Subsection (6)(b), a
 scholarship shall remain in force
for 
the lesser of:
(i)
 three years[
.
]
; or
(ii) until the student is determined ineligible for special education services.
(b) If a student is determined ineligible for special education services as described in
Subsection (6)(a)(ii) before the end of a school year, the student may remain enrolled at the
private school and qualifies for the scholarship until the end of the school year.
[
(b)
] 
(c)
 A scholarship shall be extended for an additional three years, if:
(i) the student is evaluated by an assessment team; and
(ii) the assessment team determines that the student would qualify for special education
services, if enrolled in a public school.
[
(c)
] 
(d)
 The assessment team shall determine the appropriate level of special education
services which should be provided to the student for the purpose of setting the scholarship
amount.
[
(d)
] 
(e)
 A scholarship shall be extended for successive three-year periods as provided
in Subsections (6)(a) and [
(b)
] 
(c)
:
(i) until the student graduates from high school; or
(ii) if the student does not graduate from high school, until the student is age 22.
(7) A student's parent, at any time, may remove the student from a private school and
place the student in another eligible private school and retain the scholarship.
(8) A scholarship student
:
(a) may participate in the Statewide Online Education Program described in Part 5,
Statewide Online Education Program; and
(b)
 may not participate in a dual enrollment program pursuant to Section 
53G-6-702
.
(9) The parents or guardians of a scholarship student have the authority to choose the
private school that will best serve the interests and educational needs of that student, which
may be a sectarian or nonsectarian school, and to direct the scholarship resources available for
that student solely as a result of their genuine and independent private choices.
(10) (a) An LEA shall notify in writing the parents or guardians of students enrolled in
the LEA who have an IEP of the availability of a scholarship to attend a private school through
the Carson Smith Scholarship Program.
(b) The notice described under Subsection (10)(a) shall:
(i) be provided no later than 30 days after the student initially qualifies for an IEP;
(ii) be provided annually no later than February 1 to all students who have an IEP; and
(iii) include the address of the Internet website maintained by the board that provides
prospective applicants with detailed program information and application forms for the Carson
Smith Scholarship Program.
(c) An LEA or school within an LEA that has an enrolled student who has an IEP shall
post the address of the Internet website maintained by the board that provides prospective
applicants with detailed program information and application forms for the Carson Smith
Scholarship Program on the LEA's or school's website, if the LEA or school has one.
Section 2. Section 
53F-4-303
 is amended to read:
53F-4-303.
Eligible private schools.
(1) To be eligible to enroll a scholarship student, a private school shall:
(a) have a physical location in Utah where the scholarship students attend classes and
have direct contact with the school's teachers;
(b) (i) (A) obtain an audit and report from a licensed independent certified public
accountant that conforms with the following requirements:
(I) the audit shall be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards;
(II) the financial statements shall be presented in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles; and
(III) the audited financial statements shall be as of a period within the last 12 months;
or
[
(B) contract with a licensed independent certified public accountant to perform an
agreed upon procedure as follows:
]
[
(I) the agreed upon procedure shall be to determine that the private school has
adequate working capital to maintain operations for the first full year; and
]
[
(II) working capital shall be calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current
assets; and
]
(B) contract with an independent licensed certified public accountant to conduct an
Agreed Upon Procedures engagement, as adopted by the board; and
(ii) submit the audit report or report of the agreed upon procedure to the board when
the private school applies to accept scholarship students;
(c) comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d;
(d) meet state and local health and safety laws and codes;
(e) [
disclose
] 
provide a written disclosure
 to the parent of each prospective student,
before the student is enrolled[
,
] 
of:
(i)
 the special education services that will be provided to the student, including the cost
of those services;
(ii) tuition costs;
(iii) additional fees a parent will be required to pay during the school year; and
(iv) the skill or grade level of the curriculum that the student will be participating in;
(f) (i) administer an annual assessment of each scholarship student's academic
progress;
(ii) report the results of the assessment 
described in Subsection (1)(f)(i)
 to the student's
parent; and
(iii) make the results available to the assessment team evaluating the student pursuant
to Subsection 
53F-4-302
(6);
(g) employ or contract with teachers who:
(i) hold baccalaureate or higher degrees;
(ii) have at least three years of teaching experience in public or private schools; or
(iii) have the necessary special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to
provide instruction:
(A) in the subjects taught; and
(B) to the special needs students taught;
(h) maintain documentation demonstrating that teachers at the private school meet the
qualifications described in Subsection (1)(g);
[
(h)
] 
(i)
 require the following individuals to submit to a nationwide, fingerprint-based 
criminal background check and ongoing monitoring, in accordance with Section 
53G-11-402
,
as a condition for employment or appointment , as authorized by the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-248 :
(i) an employee who does not hold a current Utah educator license issued by the board
under Title 53E, Chapter 6, Education Professional Licensure;
(ii) a contract employee; and
(iii) a volunteer who is given significant unsupervised access to a student in connection
with the volunteer's assignment; and
[
(i)
] 
(j)
 provide to parents the relevant credentials of the teachers who will be teaching
their students.
(2) A private school is not eligible to enroll scholarship students if:
(a) the private school requires a student to sign a contract waiving the student's rights
to transfer to another eligible private school during the school year;
[
(a)
] 
(b)
 the audit report submitted under Subsection (1)(b) contains a going concern
explanatory paragraph; or
[
(b)
] 
(c)
 the report of the agreed upon procedure submitted under Subsection (1)(b)
shows that the private school does not have adequate working capital to maintain operations for
the first full year, as determined under Subsection (1)(b).
(3) A home school is not eligible to enroll scholarship students.
(4) Residential treatment facilities licensed by the state are not eligible to enroll
scholarship students.
(5) A private school intending to enroll scholarship students shall submit an application
to the board by May 1 of the school year preceding the school year in which it intends to enroll
scholarship students.
(6) The board shall:
(a) approve a private school's application to enroll scholarship students, if the private
school meets the eligibility requirements of this section; and
(b) make available to the public a list of the eligible private schools.
(7) An approved eligible private school that changes ownership shall submit a new
application to the board and demonstrate that it continues to meet the eligibility requirements
of this section.
Section 3. Section 
53F-4-304
 is amended to read:
53F-4-304.
Scholarship payments.
(1) (a) [
Scholarships shall be awarded by the board
] 
The board shall award
scholarships
 subject to the availability of money appropriated by the Legislature for that
purpose.
(b) The Legislature shall annually appropriate money to the board from the General
Fund to make scholarship payments.
(c) [
Beginning with the 2013-14 school year, the
] 
The
 Legislature shall annually
increase the amount of money appropriated under Subsection (1)(b) by an amount equal to the
product of:
(i) the average scholarship amount awarded as of December 1 in the previous year; and
(ii) the product of:
(A) the number of students in preschool through grade 12 in public schools statewide
who have an IEP on December 1 of the previous year; and
(B) 0.0007.
(d) If the number of scholarship students as of December 1 in any school year equals or
exceeds 7% of the number of students in preschool through grade 12 in public schools
statewide who have an IEP as of December 1 in the same school year, the Public Education
Appropriations Subcommittee shall study the requirement to increase appropriations for
scholarship payments as provided in this section.
(e) (i) If money is not available to pay for all scholarships requested, the [
scholarships
shall be allocated
] 
board shall allocate scholarships
 on a random basis except that [
preference
shall be given
] 
the board shall give preference
 to students who received scholarships in the
previous school year.
(ii) If money is insufficient in a school year to pay for all the continuing scholarships,
[
new scholarships may not be awarded
] 
the board may not award new scholarships
 during that
school year and the 
board shall prorate
 money available for scholarships [
shall be prorated
]
among the eligible students who received scholarships in the previous year.
(2) [
Full-year
] 
Except as provided in Subsection (4), the board shall award full-year
scholarships [
shall be awarded
] in the following amounts:
(a) for a student who received an average of 180 minutes per day or more of special
education services in a public school before transferring to a private school, an amount not to
exceed the lesser of:
(i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 2.5; or
(ii) the private school tuition and fees; and
(b) for a student who received an average of less than 180 minutes per day of special
education services in a public school before transferring to a private school, an amount not to
exceed the lesser of:
(i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 1.5; or
(ii) the private school tuition and fees.
(3) The scholarship amount for a student enrolled in a half-day kindergarten or part-day
preschool program shall be the amount specified in Subsection (2)(a) or (b) multiplied by .55.
(4) If a student leaves a private school before the end of a fiscal quarter:
(a) the private school is only entitled to the amount of scholarship equivalent to the
number of days that the student attended the private school; and
(b) the private school shall remit a prorated amount of the scholarship to the board in
accordance with the procedures described in rules adopted by the board in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(5) For the amount of funds remitted under Subsection (4)(b), the board shall:
(a) make the amount available to the student to enroll immediately in another
qualifying private school; or
(b) refund the amount back to the Carson Smith Scholarship Program account to be
available to support the costs of another scholarship.
(6) (a) The board shall make an additional allocation on a random basis before June 30
each year only:
(i) if there are sufficient remaining funds in the program; and
(ii) for scholarships for students enrolled in a full-day preschool program.
(b) If the board awards a scholarship under Subsection (6)(a), the scholarship amount
or supplement may not exceed the lesser of:
(i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 1.0; or
(ii) the private school tuition and fees.
(c) The board shall, when preparing annual growth projection numbers for the
Legislature, include the annual number of applications for additional allocations described in
Subsection (6)(a).
[
(4)
] 
(7)
 (a) The scholarship amount for a student who receives a waiver under
Subsection 
53F-4-302
(3) shall be based upon the assessment team's determination of the
appropriate level of special education services to be provided to the student.
(b) (i) If the student requires an average of 180 minutes per day or more of special
education services, a full-year scholarship shall be equal to the amount specified in Subsection
(2)(a).
(ii) If the student requires less than an average of 180 minutes per day of special
education services, a full-year scholarship shall be equal to the amount specified in Subsection
(2)(b).
(iii) If the student is enrolled in a half-day kindergarten or part-day preschool program,
a full-year scholarship is equal to the amount specified in Subsection (3).
[
(5)
] 
(8)
 (a) Except as provided in Subsection [
(5)
] 
(8)
(b), upon review and receipt of
documentation that verifies a student's admission to, or continuing enrollment and attendance
at, a private school, the board shall make scholarship payments quarterly in four equal amounts
in each school year in which a scholarship is in force.
(b) In accordance with board rule, the board may make a scholarship payment before
the first quarterly payment of the school year, if a private school requires partial payment of
tuition before the start of the school year to reserve space for a student admitted to the school.
[
(6)
] 
(9)
 A parent of a scholarship student shall notify the board if the student does not
have continuing enrollment and attendance at an eligible private school.
[
(7)
] 
(10)
 Before scholarship payments are made, the board shall cross-check
enrollment lists of scholarship students, LEAs, and youth in custody to ensure that scholarship
payments are not erroneously made.
[
(8) (a) Scholarship payments shall be made by the board by individual warrant made
payable to the student's parent and mailed by the board to the private school. The parent shall
restrictively endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the account of the private
school.
]
[
(b) A person, on behalf of a private school, may not accept a power of attorney from a
parent to sign a warrant referred to in Subsection (8)(a), and a parent of a scholarship student
may not give a power of attorney designating a person, on behalf of a private school, as the
parent's attorney-in-fact.
]
Section 4. Section 
53F-4-305
 is amended to read:
53F-4-305.
Board to make rules.
In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
board shall make rules consistent with this part establishing:
(1) the eligibility of students to participate in the scholarship program; [
and
]
(2) the application process for the scholarship program[
.
]
; and
(3) payment procedures to eligible private schools.
Section 5. 
Repealer.
This bill repeals:
Section 
53F-4-308
,
Review by Legislative Auditor General.