This bill amends the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program.
This bill:
- requires scholarship granting organizations to verify Utah residency through multiple forms of documentation;
- prohibits scholarship granting organizations from charging any fees to families;
- mandates independent audits of all scholarship granting organizations regardless of scholarship amount;
- requires public disclosure of all third-party contracts and associated fees;
- establishes a formal appeals process for denied expense reimbursements;
- limits extracurricular and physical education expenses to 20% of the scholarship amount;
- requires specific deadlines be created for scholarship notification and acceptance;
- removes the requirement for home school affidavit documentation; and
- makes technical changes.

Statutes affected:
Substitute #1: 53E-7-401, 53E-7-402
Introduced: 53E-7-401, 53E-7-402, 53E-7-405