FILED SENATE
Mar 29, 2023
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 406
SESSION 2023 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS15191-TCa-31A
Short Title: Choose Your School, Choose Your Future. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Lee, Barnes, and Galey (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS, TO
3 REQUIRE A SEQUENCE OF COURSES FOR EARLY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION,
4 AND TO ESTABLISH THE EARLY GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6
7 PART I. EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS
8 SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 115C-562.1(3), (3c), (5c), and (5e) are repealed.
9 SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C-562.1 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
10 "(3a) Eligible student. – A student residing in North Carolina who has not yet
11 received a high school diploma and who meets all of the following
12 requirements:
13 a. Is eligible to attend a North Carolina public school pursuant to Article
14 25 of this Chapter. A child who is the age of 4 on or before April 16 is
15 eligible to attend the following school year if the principal, or
16 equivalent, of the school in which the child seeks to enroll finds that
17 the student meets the requirements established by the Authority
18 pursuant to G.S. 115C-562.2(d) and those findings are submitted to the
19 Authority.
20 b. Has not been enrolled in a postsecondary institution as a full-time
21 student taking at least 12 hours of academic credit.
22 c. Has not been placed in a nonpublic school or facility by a public
23 agency at public expense."
24 SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 115C-562.2 reads as rewritten:
25 "§ 115C-562.2. Scholarship grants.
26 (a) The Authority shall make available no later than February 1 annually applications to
27 eligible students for the award of scholarship grants to attend any nonpublic school. school on a
28 full- or part-time basis. Information about scholarship grants and the application process shall be
29 made available on the Authority's Web site. Beginning March 15, the Authority shall begin
30 awarding scholarship grants according to the following criteria:
31 (1) First priority shall be given to eligible students who received a scholarship
32 grant for the school year prior to the school year for which the students are
33 applying if those students have applied by March 1.
34 (2) After scholarship grants have been awarded to prior recipients as provided in
35 subdivision (1) of this subsection, scholarships shall be awarded with
36 remaining funds as follows:
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023
1 a. At least fifty percent (50%) of the remaining funds shall be used to
2 award scholarship grants to eligible students residing in households
3 with an income level not in excess of the amount required for the
4 student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program.
5 b. Repealed by Session Laws 2020-97, s. 3.3(a), effective September 4,
6 2020.
7 c. Any remaining funds shall be used to award scholarship grants to all
8 other eligible students.
9 (b) Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students residing in households with an income
10 level not in excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or
11 reduced-price lunch program shall be, per year per eligible student, in an amount of up to ninety
12 percent (90%) as a full-time student or up to forty-five percent (45%) as a part-time student of
13 the average State per pupil allocation for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year.
14 Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students residing in households with an income level in
15 excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch
16 program shall be for amounts of not more than ninety percent (90%) of the required tuition and
17 fees as a full-time student or forty-five percent (45%) of the required tuition and fees as a
18 part-time student for the nonpublic school the eligible child will attend. Tuition and fees for a
19 nonpublic school may include tuition and fees for books, transportation, equipment, or other
20 items required by the nonpublic school. No scholarship grant shall exceed, per year per eligible
21 student, an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) for a full-time student or forty-five percent
22 (45%) for a part-time student of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily
23 membership in the prior fiscal year, and no scholarship grant shall exceed the required tuition
24 and fees for the nonpublic school the eligible student will attend.
25 (b1) Repealed by Session Laws 2021-180, s. 8A.3(e), effective July 1, 2021.
26 (b2) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, scholarship grants shall be awarded to
27 eligible students as follows:
28 (1) For students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the
29 amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price
30 lunch program, per year per eligible student, an amount of up to one hundred
31 percent (100%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily
32 membership in the prior fiscal year.
33 (2) For students residing in households with an income level between the amount
34 required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch
35 program and not in excess of two hundred percent (200%) of that amount, per
36 year per eligible student, an amount of up to ninety percent (90%) of the
37 average State per pupil allocation for average daily membership in the prior
38 fiscal year.
39 (3) For students residing in households with an income level of between two
40 hundred percent (200%) of the amount required for the student to qualify for
41 the federal free or reduced-price lunch program and not in excess of four
42 hundred and fifty percent (450%) of that amount, per year per eligible student,
43 an amount of up to sixty percent (60%) of the average State per pupil
44 allocation for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year.
45 (4) For all students, per year per eligible student, an amount of up to forty-five
46 percent (45%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily
47 membership in the prior fiscal year, unless the student qualifies for a higher
48 amount under this subsection.
49 (b3) Tuition and fees for a nonpublic school may include tuition and fees for books,
50 transportation, equipment, or other items required by the nonpublic school.
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1 (b4) No scholarship grant shall exceed, per year per eligible student, an amount equal to
2 one hundred percent (100%) of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily
3 membership in the prior fiscal year, and no scholarship grant shall exceed the required tuition
4 and fees for the nonpublic school the eligible student will attend.
5 …."
6 SECTION 1.(d) G.S. 115C-562.3 reads as rewritten:
7 "§ 115C-562.3. Verification of eligibility; information from other State agencies.
8 (a) To verify that the domicile requirements of G.S. 115C-366 are met for State
9 residency, the Authority shall establish a domicile determination system and shall establish rules
10 for determination of domicile within the State in accordance with this subsection. The Division
11 of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Instruction,
12 the Department of Commerce, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department
13 of Revenue, the State Board of Elections, and the State Chief Information Officer each shall
14 expeditiously cooperate with the Authority in verifying electronically, or by other similarly
15 effective and efficient means, evidence submitted to the Authority for the purposes of
16 establishing the domicile required by G.S. 115C-366 for State residency. The Authority shall
17 accept any of the following as evidence of domicile within the State:
18 (1) Verified State drivers license or State identification card.
19 (2) Verified State voter registration.
20 (3) Verified receipt of public benefits from a State agency.
21 (4) Verified filing of State income taxes for the year prior to application.
22 (5) Verified enrollment in a North Carolina public school at the time of
23 application.
24 (6) An electronically submitted copy of one of the following current documents
25 that show the name of the parent and an address within the State:
26 a. A utility bill.
27 b. A bank statement.
28 c. A government check.
29 d. A paycheck.
30 e. Any other government document.
31 (a1) The In addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, the Authority
32 may seek verification of information on any application for scholarship grants from eligible
33 students. The Authority shall select and verify six percent (6%) four percent (4%) of applications
34 for scholarship grant funds awarded under G.S. 115C-562.2(b2)(1) through (3) annually,
35 including those with apparent errors on the face of the application. The Authority shall establish
36 rules for the verification process and may use the federal verification requirements process for
37 free and reduced-price lunch applications as guidance for those rules. If a household fails to
38 cooperate with verification efforts, the Authority shall revoke the award of the scholarship grant
39 to the eligible student.
40 (b) Household members of applicants for scholarship grants shall authorize the Authority
41 to access information needed for verification efforts conducted under this section held by other
42 State agencies, including the Department of Revenue, the Department of Health and Human
43 Services, and the Department of Public Instruction. The Department of Public Instruction shall
44 provide the Authority with public school enrollment information to establish eligibility pursuant
45 to G.S. 115C-562.1(3)a., as needed.
46 (c) By December 1 of each year, the Department of Public Instruction shall provide the
47 Authority the average State per pupil allocation for that fiscal year to determine the maximum
48 scholarship amount for eligible students to be awarded in the following fiscal year in accordance
49 with G.S. 115C-562.2(b)."
50 SECTION 1.(e) G.S. 115C-562.8 reads as rewritten:
51 "§ 115C-562.8. The Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve.Fund.
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1 (a) The Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve is established as a reserve to be
2 administered by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina for the purpose of
3 allocating funds to the Authority for the award of scholarship grants in accordance with this Part.
4 The Reserve Grant Fund shall consist of monies appropriated from the General Fund to the
5 Reserve Grant Fund by the General Assembly and any interest accrued to it thereon. These funds
6 shall be used to award scholarship grants to eligible students for the school year that begins in
7 the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the appropriation is made to the Reserve. Grant
8 Fund. The Board of Governors shall only use monies in the Reserve Grant Fund in accordance
9 with the purposes set forth in this section. Funds appropriated in a particular fiscal year to be
10 used for the award of scholarships in the following that fiscal year that are unexpended at the end
11 of the fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the funds were appropriated shall be first used for
12 the purpose set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this section, if applicable. After funds
13 are used for this purpose, any unexpended funds from the funds appropriated in a particular fiscal
14 year to be used for the award of scholarships in the following that fiscal year shall be carried
15 forward for one fiscal year and may be used for the purposes set forth in this section. Funds
16 carried forward pursuant to this section that have not been spent within one fiscal year shall revert
17 to the General Fund.
18 (b) The General Assembly finds that, due to the critical need in this State to provide
19 opportunity for school choice for North Carolina students, it is imperative that the State provide
20 an increase of funds for 15 years to the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve. Fund.
21 Therefore, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Reserve Grant Fund the following
22 amounts for each fiscal year to be used for the purposes set forth in this section:
23 Fiscal Year Appropriation
24 2017-2018 $44,840,000
25 2018-2019 $54,840,000
26 2019-2020 $64,840,000
27 2020-2021 $74,840,000
28 2021-2022 $84,840,000
29 2022-2023 $94,840,000
30 2023-2024 $176,540,000
31 2024-2025 $191,540,000
32 2025-2026 $206,540,000$366,540,000
33 2026-2027 $221,540,000$419,540,000
34 2027-2028 $236,540,000$434,540,000
35 2028-2029 $251,540,000$449,540,000
36 2029-2030 $266,540,000$464,540,000
37 2030-2031 $281,540,000$479,540,000
38 2031-2032 $296,540,000$494,540,000
39 For the 2032-2033 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, there is appropriated from the
40 General Fund to the Reserve Grant Fund the sum of three hundred eleven million five hundred
41 forty thousand dollars ($311,540,000) five hundred nine million five hundred forty thousand
42 dollars ($509,540,000) to be used for the purposes set forth in this section. When developing the
43 base budget, as defined by G.S. 143C-1-1, for each fiscal year specified in this subsection, the
44 Director of the Budget shall include the appropriated amount specified in this subsection for that
45 fiscal year.
46 (c) Of the funds allocated to the Authority to award scholarship grants under this Part,
47 the Authority may retain up to two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the funds appropriated each
48 fiscal year for administrative costs associated with the scholarship grant program.
49 (d) Any unexpended funds at the end of a fiscal year from the funds appropriated in a
50 particular fiscal year to be used for the award of scholarships in the following that fiscal year
51 shall be used as follows:
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1 (1) Up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) may be used by the Authority
2 to contract with a nonprofit corporation representing parents and families for
3 outreach and scholarship education and application assistance for parents and
4 students pursuant to Part 4A of this Article.
5 (2) Any remaining funds shall be carried forward for one fiscal year pursuant to
6 subsection (a)