Existing law establishes the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program. (NRS 388D.250-388D.280) Under existing law, financial institutions, certain mining businesses and other employers are required to pay an excise tax (the modified business tax) on the wages paid by them. (NRS 363A.130, 363B.110) The Program establishes a credit against the modified business tax paid by certain businesses equal to an amount which is approved by the Department of Taxation and which must not exceed the amount of any donation of money which is made by a taxpayer to a scholarship organization that provides grants on behalf of pupils who are members of a household with a household income which is not more than 300 percent of the federally designated level signifying poverty to attend schools in this State, including private schools, chosen by the parents or legal guardians of those pupils. (NRS 363A.130, 363A.139, 363B.110, 363B.119, 388D.270) Existing law authorizes the Department, each fiscal year, to approve applications for the credit under the Program until the total amount of credits authorized and approved by the Department is $6,655,000. (NRS 363A.139, 363B.119) Sections 11 and 12 of this bill increase the total amount of credits that the Department is authorized to approve to $8,725,000 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and $10,725,000 for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 and each subsequent fiscal year. Existing law requires each school in which a pupil is enrolled for whom a grant is provided by a scholarship organization to maintain a record of the academic progress of the pupil in such a manner that the information may be aggregated and reported for all such pupils if reporting is required by the Department of Education. (NRS 388D.270) Section 10 of this bill requires each school in which a pupil is enrolled for whom a grant is provided by a scholarship organization to submit to the Department of Education, on or before August 1 of each year, a report on the academic progress of all such pupils during the immediately preceding school year. Section 10 requires the report to include certain information regarding such pupils and be accompanied by a statement from the owner, executive head or chair of the governing body of the school certifying that the information included in the report is complete and accurate. Section 10 requires the Department of Education to compile and analyze the data included in such reports to evaluate the impact of the Program and submit an anonymized summary of the data to the Governor, the State Board of Education and, in alternating years, the Legislature and the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education. Section 10 authorizes the Department of Education to suspend or disqualify a school from receiving grants on behalf of pupils if the school fails to comply with the reporting requirement. Section 10 prohibits a scholarship organization from making a grant to a school that has been suspended or disqualified from receiving grants. Existing regulations include provisions governing the operation of the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program. (NAC 388D.030-388D.130) Sections 2-7 of this bill codify certain provisions of these regulations into the Nevada Revised Statutes. Section 2 requires a scholarship organization to register with the Department of Education by submitting certain information. Section 3 requires: (1) a registered scholarship organization to provide to the Department of Education certain information concerning each pupil on behalf of whom it awards a grant; and (2) the Department of Education to compile certain information submitted by each scholarship organization and review the information to determine whether to recommend a change to the Legislature in the priority for awarding grants. Section 4 requires a registered scholarship organization to: (1) provide to the Department of Education certain financial statements; (2) notify the Department of Education if the scholarship organization ceases to qualify as a scholarship organization or ceases to exist; and (3) allow the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his or her designee to inspect the records of the scholarship organization. Section 5 requires a registered scholarship organization to notify the Department of Taxation of each donation received and prohibits a scholarship organization from carrying forward a donation for more than 5 years. Section 6 requires the Department of Education to: (1) maintain a directory of each scholarship organization registered with the Department; (2) submit a list of scholarship organizations registered with the Department to the Department of Taxation quarterly; and (3) submit a summary of certain reports made to the Department of Education to certain entities annually. Section 7 authorizes the parent or guardian of a pupil to apply directly to a scholarship organization for a grant and establishes the order of priority in which a scholarship organization is required to award grants. Section 7 also requires a scholarship organization to establish written procedures for determining whether a pupil is qualified to receive a grant and awarding grants on behalf of pupils. Section 8 of this bill adds sections 2-7 to the provisions that may be cited as the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program and section 9 of this bill applies the existing definition of “scholarship organization” to those sections.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 388D.250, 388D.260, 388D.270, 363A.139, 363B.119
BDR: 388D.250, 388D.260, 388D.270, 363A.139, 363B.119