Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
                                           Act 741 of the Regular Session
 State of Arkansas
 93rd General Assembly                        A Bill
 Regular Session, 2021                                                               SENATE BILL 89
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 By: Senator Hester
 By: Representative Evans
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                                    For An Act To Be Entitled
                AN ACT TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE
                CONCERNING THE SUCCEED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; AND FOR
                OTHER PURPOSES.
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                                               Subtitle
                         TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF THE ARKANSAS CODE
                         CONCERNING THE SUCCEED SCHOLARSHIP
                         PROGRAM.
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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        SECTION 1.        Arkansas Code  6-41-901(a), concerning definitions
 applicable to the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows:
        (a)    As used in this section subchapter:
                (1)      Foster care means the care of a child by a group home or
 group facility on a twenty-four-hour-a-day basis away from the home of the
 child's parent or parents;
                (2)      Foster parent means the responsible official or officials
 of a group home or group facility that provides foster care to a child; and
                (3)      Parent means a student's parent or foster parent.; and
                (4)      "Student with a disability" means students who have been:
                         (A)   Identified by a public school district as having a
 disability consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
 20 U.S.C.  1401 et seq.; or
                         (B)   Medically diagnosed by a licensed physician as a child
 with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20
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 U.S.C.  1401(3)(A).
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       SECTION 2.     Arkansas Code  6-41-901(b), concerning the establishment
 of and the intention behind the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended to
 read as follows:
       (b)   The Succeed Scholarship Program is established and intended to
 provide a scholarship to a private school of choice for:
             (1)    Students in foster care as defined in this section; or
             (2)    Students with disabilities who have either an: a disability.
                      (A)   Individualized education program in accordance with
 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.  1400 et seq.; or
                      (B)   Individualized service plan in accordance with the
 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.  1412(a)(10).
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       SECTION 3.     Arkansas Code  6-41-902(a), concerning student eligibility
 for the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows:
       (a)   A parent or legal guardian of a public school student in this
 state may apply for a Succeed Scholarship to enroll his or her child in a an
 approved private school in this state if:
             (1)(A)     The student is currently enrolled in a public school and
 has attended public school for at least one (1) full academic year.
                      (B)   Subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section does not apply
 if:
                             (i)    The student is a dependent of an active duty
 member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces; or
                             (ii)   The superintendent of the student's resident
 school district in this state waives the requirement;
             (2)    The student:
                      (A)   Is in foster care as defined in  6-41-901 or has been
 in the foster care system and achieved permanency through adoption,
 reunification, or permanent guardianship;
                      (B)   Has an individualized education program in accordance
 with been identified by a public school district as having a disability
 consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 
 1400 et seq., as evidenced by written notice of the decision from the public
 school district, or has been medically diagnosed by a licensed physician as a
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 child with a disability under 20 U.S.C.  1401(3)(A); or
                     (C)   Participated in the Succeed Scholarship Program during
 the prior school year and has not yet graduated from high school or attained
 twenty-one (21) years of age; or
                     (D)   Has an individualized service plan in accordance with
 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.  1412(a)(10);
            (3)    The student has been accepted for admission into a private
 school in this state that is eligible to participate in the Succeed
 Scholarship Program program;
            (4)    The parent has notified the student's current school
 district of the request for a scholarship at least sixty (60) days before the
 date of the first scholarship payment; and
            (5)(A)     For students in foster care, the Department of Human
 Services approves the student's placement in the private school.
                     (B)   The department shall approve the student's placement
 in the private school if a determination is made that placement in the
 private school is in the best interest of the student.
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      SECTION 4.     Arkansas Code  6-41-903(a)(2), concerning private school
 eligibility for participation in the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended
 to read as follows:
            (2)    If the private school intends to enroll students with
 disabilities who have an individualized education program in accordance with
 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.  1400 et seq., or
 an individualized service plan in accordance with the Individuals with
 Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.  1412(a)(10), the notice The notice
 shall specify the grade levels and services that the private school has
 available for students with severe disabilities a disability who are
 participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program program.
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      SECTION 5.     Arkansas Code  6-41-903(d)(2), concerning private school
 eligibility for participation in the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended
 to read as follows:
            (2)(A)     A student with an individual education plan or an
 individualized service plan that provides for who is determined by the
 private school to need an exemption to standardized testing due to the nature
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 of the student's disability is not required to take the test required under
 subdivision (d)(1)(A) of this section.
                        (B)   A list, in a deidentified format, of students with an
 individual education plan that provides for with an exemption to standardized
 testing under subdivision (d)(2)(A) of this section shall be provided
 annually to the state board or its designee.
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      SECTION 6.        Arkansas Code  6-41-905(b), concerning scholarship
 payments and funding under the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended to
 read as follows:
      (b)(1)     The amount of the scholarship shall be the amount calculated
 under subsection (a) of this section or the amount of tuition and fees for
 the private school, whichever is less.
               (2)(A)     As used in this subsection, "tuition and fees" means
 expenses determined by a private school to be necessary for the education of
 a student and required to be paid by a student who is enrolled in the private
 school, including without limitation expenses related to enrollment,
 supplies, equipment, access to technology, and services.
                        (B)   "Tuition and fees" does not include optional expenses
 payable to a third party.
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      SECTION 7.        Arkansas Code  6-41-906(a), concerning rules and duties of
 the State Board of Education in relation to the Succeed Scholarship Program,
 is amended to read as follows:
      (a)(1)     The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and develop
 notices and other documentation necessary to administer the Succeed
 Scholarship Program, including without limitation rules concerning the method
 for applying for a scholarship, that are in the best interest of students.
               (2)(A)     The state board may promulgate rules and develop a
 process to award scholarships using a lottery selection process if parent
 applications exceed the number of available scholarships.
                        (B)(i)     Twenty (20) scholarships shall be reserved for
 students in foster care during the initial lottery each year if a lottery
 selection process is used.
                                 (ii)   Any remaining scholarships shall be made
 available to students with a disability through the lottery process if fewer
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 than twenty (20) students in foster care apply for a scholarship and are
 eligible for a scholarship before the initial lottery.
                    (C)   A weighted lottery may only be used when necessary to
 comply with a:
                           (i)    Federal court order; or
                           (ii)   Federal administrative order issued by an
 appropriate federal agency having proper authority to enforce remedial
 measures necessary to comply with Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of
 1964, Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972, or the Equal
 Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
 Constitution.
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       SECTION 8.   Arkansas Code  6-41-908(a)(10), concerning the biennial
 study of the Succeed Scholarship Program, is amended to read as follows:
            (10)    The number of students with individualized education
 programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 
 1400 et seq., who are enrolled in the Succeed Scholarship Program program and
 have been exempted from standardized testing requirements under  6-41-903;
 and
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                                   APPROVED: 4/19/21
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Statutes affected: 
SB 89: 6-41-901(a), 6-41-901(b), 6-41-902(a), 6-41-903(a), 6-41-903(d), 6-41-905(b), 6-41-906(a), 6-41-908(a)
Act 741: 6-41-901(a), 6-41-901(b), 6-41-902(a), 6-41-903(a), 6-41-903(d), 6-41-905(b), 6-41-906(a), 6-41-908(a)