House Study Bill 243 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE
ON EDUCATION BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON HITE)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act establishing a student first scholarship program for
2 certain pupils attending nonpublic schools, establishing
3 a student first scholarship fund, providing an income tax
4 exemption, making appropriations, providing penalties, and
5 including applicability provisions.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 256.9, Code 2021, is amended by adding
2 the following new subsection:
3 NEW SUBSECTION. 63. Adopt rules relating to the
4 administration of and applications for the student first
5 scholarship program pursuant to section 257.11B, including but
6 not limited to application processing timelines and information
7 required to be submitted by a parent or guardian.
8 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 257.11B Student first scholarship
9 program.
10 1. a. For the school budget year beginning July 1, 2022,
11 and each succeeding school budget year, the following resident
12 pupils who are attending a nonpublic school, as defined in
13 section 285.16, shall be eligible to receive a student first
14 scholarship in the manner provided in this section:
15 (1) A pupil eligible to enroll in kindergarten who, if
16 enrolled in the pupil’s district of residence, would attend
17 a public school identified for comprehensive support and
18 improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub.
19 L. No. 114-95, or an equivalent objective federal standard.
20 (2) A pupil eligible to enroll in grade one through grade
21 twelve if the pupil has attended a public school identified for
22 comprehensive support and improvement under the federal Every
23 Student Succeeds Act, Pub. L. No. 114-95, or an equivalent
24 objective federal standard, for the equivalent of the two
25 immediately preceding semesters for which the student first
26 scholarship is requested and if the pupil is not otherwise
27 ineligible under this section.
28 (3) A pupil who received a student first scholarship for
29 the immediately preceding school budget year, who is eligible
30 to enroll in grade one through grade twelve, and who is not
31 otherwise ineligible under this section.
32 b. Student first scholarships shall be made available to
33 parents and guardians in the manner authorized under subsection
34 4, paragraph “c”, for the payment of qualified educational
35 expenses as provided in this section.
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1 c. For purposes of this subsection, “resident” means the
2 same as defined in section 282.1, subsection 2.
3 2. a. (1) By January 1 preceding the school year for
4 which the student first scholarship is requested, the parent or
5 guardian of the pupil requesting a student first scholarship
6 shall submit an application to the department of education, on
7 application forms developed by the department of education,
8 indicating that the parent or guardian intends to enroll the
9 pupil in a nonpublic school for the entirety of the school
10 year.
11 (2) In addition to such information deemed appropriate by
12 the department of education, the application shall require
13 certification from the nonpublic school of the pupil’s
14 enrollment for the following school year.
15 b. By February 1 preceding the school year for which the
16 student first scholarship is requested, the department of
17 education shall determine the number of pupils in each school
18 district approved to receive a scholarship for the following
19 school year and shall notify the parent or guardian of each
20 pupil approved for the following school year to receive a
21 scholarship and the amount of the scholarship for the pupil.
22 c. Student first scholarships shall only be approved for
23 one school year and applications must be submitted annually for
24 student first scholarships in subsequent school years.
25 3. The department of education shall assign each pupil a
26 student first scholarship in an amount equal to the sum of all
27 the following for the same school budget year:
28 a. The product of the pupil’s weighted enrollment that
29 would otherwise be assigned to the pupil under this chapter if
30 the pupil was enrolled in the pupil’s district of residence
31 multiplied by the difference between eighty-seven and
32 five-tenths percent of the regular program state cost per pupil
33 and the statewide average foundation property tax per pupil.
34 b. The total teacher salary supplement district cost per
35 pupil for the pupil’s district of residence.
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1 c. The total professional development supplement district
2 cost per pupil for the pupil’s district of residence.
3 d. The total early intervention supplement district cost per
4 pupil for the pupil’s district of residence.
5 e. The total area education agency teacher salary supplement
6 district cost per pupil for the pupil’s district of residence.
7 f. The total area education agency professional development
8 supplement district cost per pupil for the pupil’s district of
9 residence.
10 g. The total teacher leadership supplement district cost per
11 pupil for the pupil’s district of residence.
12 4. A student first scholarship fund is created in the
13 state treasury under the control of the department of
14 education consisting of moneys appropriated to the department
15 of education for the purpose of providing student first
16 scholarships under this section. For the fiscal year
17 commencing July 1, 2022, and each succeeding fiscal year, there
18 is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
19 department of education to be credited to the fund the amount
20 necessary to pay all student first scholarships approved for
21 that fiscal year. The director of the department of education
22 has all powers necessary to carry out and effectuate the
23 purposes, objectives, and provisions of this section pertaining
24 to the fund, including the power to do all of the following:
25 a. Make and enter into contracts necessary for the
26 administration of the fund.
27 b. Procure insurance against any loss in connection with the
28 assets of the fund or require a surety bond.
29 c. Contract with a private financial management firm to
30 manage the fund, in collaboration with the treasurer of state,
31 including providing for the disbursement of student first
32 scholarships in the form of an electronic debit card or checks
33 that are payable directly from the pupil’s account within the
34 fund.
35 d. Conduct audits or other reviews necessary to properly
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1 administer the program.
2 e. Adopt rules for the administration of the fund and
3 accounts within the fund.
4 5. a. For each pupil approved for a student first
5 scholarship, the department of education shall establish an
6 account for that pupil in the student first scholarship fund.
7 The amount of the pupil’s student first scholarship shall be
8 deposited into the pupil’s account on July 1, and such amount
9 shall be immediately available for the payment of qualified
10 educational expenses incurred by the parent or guardian for
11 the pupil during that fiscal year using the payment method
12 authorized under subsection 4, paragraph “c”.
13 b. A nonpublic school that accepts payment from a parent
14 or guardian using funds from a pupil’s account in the student
15 first scholarship fund shall not refund, rebate, or share any
16 portion of such payment with the parent, guardian, or pupil.
17 c. Moneys remaining in a pupil’s account upon conclusion
18 of the fiscal year shall remain in the pupil’s account in the
19 student first scholarship fund for the payment of qualified
20 educational expenses in future fiscal years during which the
21 pupil participates in the program until the pupil becomes
22 ineligible under the program or until the remaining amounts are
23 transferred to the state general fund under subsection 8.
24 6. a. For purposes of this section, “qualified educational
25 expenses” includes tuition and fees at a nonpublic school,
26 textbooks, fees or payments for educational therapies,
27 including tutoring or cognitive skills training, curriculum
28 fees, software, and materials for a course of study for a
29 specific subject matter or grade level, tuition or fees for
30 nonpublic online education programs, tuition for vocational and
31 life skills education approved by the department of education,
32 education materials and services for pupils with disabilities,
33 including the cost of paraprofessionals and assistants who are
34 trained in accordance with state law, standardized test fees,
35 advanced placement examinations or examinations related to
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1 postsecondary education admission or credentialing, qualified
2 education expenses, as defined in section 12D.1, excluding
3 room and board expenses, and other expenses incurred by the
4 parent or guardian that are directly related to the education
5 of the pupil at a nonpublic school, including a nonpublic
6 school accredited by an independent accrediting agency approved
7 by the department of education. The cost of one computer or
8 other portable computing device shall be allowed as a qualified
9 educational expense for a pupil if the computer or portable
10 computing device is used primarily for the education of the
11 pupil and if such a purchase has not been made using funds from
12 that pupil’s account in any of the three immediately preceding
13 fiscal years.
14 b. “Qualified educational expenses” does not include
15 transportation costs for the pupil, the cost of food or
16 refreshments consumed by the pupil, the cost of clothing for
17 the pupil, or the cost of disposable materials, including
18 but not limited to paper, notebooks, pencils, pens, and art
19 supplies.
20 7. a. A person who makes a false claim for the purpose
21 of obtaining a student first scholarship provided for in this
22 section or who knowingly receives the scholarship or makes a
23 payment from an account within the student first scholarship
24 fund without being legally entitled to do so is guilty of a
25 fraudulent practice under chapter 714. The false claim for a
26 student first scholarship or a payment from an account shall
27 be disallowed. The department of education shall also close
28 the pupil’s account in the student first scholarship fund and
29 transfer any remaining moneys in the account for deposit in the
30 general fund of the state. If the improperly obtained amounts
31 from the scholarship have been disbursed from the applicable
32 account in the student first scholarship fund, the department
33 of education shall recover such amounts from the parent or
34 guardian, including by initiating legal proceedings to recover
35 such amounts, if necessary. A parent or guardian who commits
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1 a fraudulent practice under this section is prohibited from
2 participating in the student first scholarship program in the
3 future.
4 b. If, prior to the end of the required attendance
5 period of the school year, a pupil who receives a student
6 first scholarship withdraws from enrollment in the nonpublic
7 school or is expelled, the nonpublic school shall notify the
8 department of education in writing of the pupil’s withdrawal
9 or expulsion, and the pupil’s parent or guardian shall notify
10 the department of education of the pupil’s withdrawal or
11 expulsion from the nonpublic school. A pupil’s expulsion
12 from the nonpublic school prior to the end of the required
13 attendance period for the school year shall invalidate the
14 pupil’s eligibility for the student first scholarship for the
15 school budget year. A pupil’s withdrawal from a nonpublic
16 school prior to the end of the required attendance period of
17 the school year shall invalidate the pupil’s eligibility for
18 the student first scholarship for the school budget year unless
19 the withdrawal is the result of a change in residence of the
20 pupil and the pupil, following written notice by the parent
21 or guardian and certification by the new nonpublic school to
22 the department of education, enrolls in a different nonpublic
23 school in this state for the remainder of the school year.
24 c. (1) Upon receipt of a notice of expulsion under
25 paragraph “b”, the department of education shall close the
26 pupil’s account in the student first scholarship fund and
27 transfer any remaining moneys in the account for deposit in
28 the general fund of the state. In addition, if amounts from
29 the scholarship for the school budget year during which the
30 pupil is expelled have been disbursed from the expelled pupil’s
31 account in the student first scholarship fund, the department
32 of education shall recover such amounts from the parent or
33 guardian, including by initiating legal proceedings to recover
34 such amounts, if necessary.
35 (2) Upon receipt of a notice of withdrawal under paragraph
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1 “b” and a determination that the pupil’s withdrawal was
2 not the result of a change in residence, the department of
3 education shall cease disbursements of remaining moneys in
4 the pupil’s account in the student first scholarship fund,
5 close the pupil’s account, and transfer any moneys remaining
6 in the pupil’s account for deposit in the general fund of
7 the state. In addition, if amounts from the scholarship for
8 the school budget year during which the withdrawal occurs
9 have been disbursed from the pupil’s account in the student
10 first scholarship fund, the department of education shall
11 recover such amounts from the parent or guardian to the extent
12 the amount disbursed exceeds the amount of the scholarship
13 proportionate to the remaining portion of the school year
14 following the withdrawal, including by initiating legal
15 proceedings to recover such amounts, if necessary.
16 (3) Upon receipt of a notice of withdrawal under paragraph
17 “b” and a determination that the withdrawal was the result of
18 a change in residence but that the pupil did not enroll in
19 a different nonpublic school in this state for the remainder
20 of the school year, the department of education shall cease
21 disbursements of remaining moneys in the pupil’s account in
22 the student first scholarship fund, close the pupil’s account,
23 and transfer any moneys remaining in the pupil’s account for
24 deposit in the general fund of the state.
25 (4) If a pupil’s eligibility is invalidated under the
26 provisions of paragraph “b”, the pupil shall be ineligible for a
27 student first scholarship for the following school budget year
28 under subsection 1, paragraph “a”, subparagraphs (2) and (3).
29 8. Moneys remaining in a pupil’s account when the pupil
30 graduates from high school or turns twenty-one years of age,
31 whichever occurs first, shall be transferred by the department
32 of education for deposit in the general fund of the state.
33 9. a. A parent may appeal to the state board of education
34 any administrative decision the department of education
35 makes pursuant to this section, including but not limited
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1 to determinations of eligibility, allowable expenses, and
2 removal from the program. The department shall notify the
3 parent or guardian in writing of the appeal process at the same
4 time the department notifies the parent or guardian of the
5 administrative decision. The state board of education shall
6 establish the appeals process consistent with chapter 17A and
7 shall post such appeal process information on the state board
8 of education’s internet site.
9 b. The state board of education shall refer cases of
10 substantial misuse of student first scholarship funds to the
11 attorney general for the purpose of collection or for the
12 purpose of a criminal investigation if the state board of
13 education obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account.
14 10. This section shall not be con