0001|                            HOUSE BILL 231
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0002|     43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003|                            INTRODUCED BY
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0004|                         W. C. "DUB" WILLIAMS
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0005|     
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0006|                                   
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0007|     
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0008|                                   
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0009|     
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0010|                                AN ACT
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0011|     RELATING TO EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
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0012|     SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS.
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0013|     
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0014|     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0015|          Section 1.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0016|     enacted to read:
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0017|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as
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0018|     the "Elementary and Secondary School Scholarship Act"."
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0019|          Section 2.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0020|     enacted to read:
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0021|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.--
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0022|               A.  The legislature finds that:
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0023|                    (1)  every family in New Mexico should have
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0024|     the option to take advantage of the best educational
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0025|     opportunities available to their school-age children;
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0001|                    (2)  providing families in New Mexico a choice
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0002|     between schools leads to competition that benefits students
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0003|     and improves the quality of public schools;
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0004|                    (3)  students should be allowed to improve
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0005|     their learning potential through educational opportunities
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0006|     that are best suited to their individual needs and interests;
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0007|     and
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0008|                    (4)  a family of a low economic status should
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0009|     not be denied educational choices for their school-age
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0010|     children.
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0011|               B.  The purpose of the Elementary and Secondary
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0012|     School Scholarship Act is to establish a scholarship program
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0013|     that provides New Mexico's students the opportunity to attend
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0014|     private schools."
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0015|          Section 3.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0016|     enacted to read:
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0017|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Elementary
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0018|     and Secondary School Scholarship Act:
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0019|               A.  "family income" means the income of a student's
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0020|     parent or legal guardian who resides with the student at the
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0021|     student's principal residence;
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0022|               B.  "federal poverty guidelines" means the level of
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0023|     income defining poverty by family size published annually in
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0024|     the federal register by the United States department of health
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0025|     and human services;
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0001|     
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0002|               C.  "private school" means an elementary or
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0003|     secondary school that is not part of a school district or a
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0004|     charter school; and
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0005|               D.  "program" means the elementary and secondary
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0006|     school scholarship program."
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0007|          Section 4.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0008|     enacted to read:
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0009|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM--ADOPTING
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0010|     RULES.--
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0011|               A.  The department of education shall establish and
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0012|     bear the cost of administering the elementary and secondary
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0013|     school scholarship program.
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0014|               B.  The department of education shall promulgate
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0015|     rules to implement and operate the program.
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0016|               C.  A private school shall not be required to
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0017|     participate in the program.
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0018|               D.  The department of education in cooperation with
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0019|     the school districts shall embark on a public awareness
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0020|     campaign to inform the public about the program using the
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0021|     schools, other government agencies and the media."
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0022|          Section 5.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0023|     enacted to read:
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0024|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.--
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0025|               A.  A student who is a resident of New Mexico and
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0001|     is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. September 1
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0002|     of the school year or is a developmentally disabled three- or
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0003|     four-year-old child is eligible to participate in the program
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0004|     if his family meets the following criteria:
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0005|                    (1)  for the 1998-99 school year, the
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0006|     student's family income in 1997 does not exceed one hundred
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0007|     eighty-five percent of the 1997 federal poverty guidelines;
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0008|                    (2)  for the 1999-00 school year, the
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0009|     student's family income in 1998 does not exceed two hundred
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0010|     thirty-five percent of the 1998 federal poverty guidelines;
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0011|     and
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0012|                    (3)  for the 2000-01 school year, the
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0013|     student's family income in 1999 does not exceed three hundred
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0014|     percent of the 1999 federal poverty guidelines.
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0015|               B.  For the 2001-02 school year and subsequent
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0016|     years, all students shall be eligible to participate in the
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0017|     program."
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0018|          Section 6.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0019|     enacted to read:
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0020|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] ELIGIBLE PRIVATE SCHOOLS.--
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0021|               A.  If a private school has existed for two school
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0022|     years or more, it is eligible to participate in the program if
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0023|     it is accredited by the state board, association of Christian
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0024|     schools international, independent schools association of the
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0025|     southwest, international Christian accrediting association,
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0001|     New Mexico north central association, southwestern association
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0002|     of Episcopal schools, national association for education of
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0003|     young children, Navajo north central association or other
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0004|     educational accrediting body approved by the state board.
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0005|               B.  If a private school has existed for fewer than
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0006|     two school years, it is eligible to participate if it applies
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0007|     for accreditation by the state board, association of Christian
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0008|     schools international, independent schools association of the
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0009|     southwest, international Christian accrediting association,
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0010|     New Mexico north central association, southwestern association
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0011|     of Episcopal schools, national association for education of
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0012|     young children, Navajo north central association or other
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0013|     educational accrediting body approved by the state board and
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0014|     the anticipated date of accreditation is not later than the
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0015|     end of the second school year during which the private school
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0016|     has accepted scholarship students.
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0017|               C.  To be eligible to participate in the program, a
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0018|     private school shall:
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0019|                    (1)  register with the superintendent of a
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0020|     local school district as an eligible private school;
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0021|                    (2)  develop anti-discrimination policies to
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0022|     prevent discrimination on the basis of race, age, religion,
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0023|     color, national origin, ancestry, sex, physical or mental
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0024|     handicap or serious medical condition; and
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0025|                    (3)  develop policies that do not discriminate
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0001|     against students who are recipients of elementary and
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0002|     secondary school scholarships.
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0003|               D.  A private school that accepts students that are
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0004|     participants in the program shall not be required to comply
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0005|     with rules that apply to public schools promulgated by either
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0006|     the state board or the local school board."
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0007|          Section 7.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0008|     enacted to read:
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0009|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] PROCEDURES FOR USING SCHOLARSHIP
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0010|     NOTES.--
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0011|               A.  Not earlier than March 1 and not later than
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0012|     July 1 prior to the beginning of a school year, a student's
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0013|     parent or legal guardian may apply to the state superintendent
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0014|     to participate in the program.  The state superintendent may
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0015|     waive the application deadline. The application shall contain
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0016|     the following information:
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0017|                    (1)  the student's name and address;
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0018|                    (2)  the student's date of birth;
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0019|                    (3)  the student's social security number;
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0020|                    (4)  the student's school attendance zone;
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0021|                    (5)  the student's grade level;
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0022|                    (6)  the name and address of the student's
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0023|     parent or legal guardian who is residing with the child;
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0024|                    (7)  copies of the student's parent or legal
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0025|     guardian's three most recent paycheck receipts for all
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0001|     employment or a signed statement by the parent or legal
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0002|     guardian's employer indicating his weekly, biweekly or annual
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0003|     gross earnings for a parent or legal guardian who resides with
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0004|     the student at the student's principal residence;
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0005|                    (8)  whether the student was enrolled in a
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0006|     class A, B, C or D special education program in the prior
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0007|     school year or, for a child entering school for the first
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0008|     time, whether the child has a diagnosed developmental
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0009|     disability or learning disorder;
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0010|                    (9)  whether the student speaks a language
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0011|     other than English as his principal language; and
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0012|                    (10)  the name, tuition, fees and address of
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0013|     the private school to which the student intends to apply. 
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0014|               B.  No later than forty-five days after the
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0015|     application is received, the state superintendent shall act on
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0016|     the application, notify the parent or legal guardian of the
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0017|     value of the scholarship note and issue the scholarship note
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0018|     if the application is approved.
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0019|               C.  The scholarship note shall be issued to the
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0020|     student in the care of the student's parent or legal guardian. 
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0021|     The scholarship note shall not be issued to the private school
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0022|     that the student chooses to attend.
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0023|               D.  The student and his parent or legal guardian
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0024|     shall solely select the private school the student chooses to
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0025|     attend.  The state shall not decide which private school a
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0001|     student may attend.  The state shall not advise or influence
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0002|     the student's selection of a private school.  
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0003|               E.  Not later than August 15 of each year, the
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0004|     state superintendent shall report to the school districts the
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0005|     ages, school attendance zones and scholarship values of
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0006|     students participating in the program."
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0007|          Section 8.  A new section of the Public School Code is
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0008|     enacted to read:
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0009|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] SCHOLARSHIP NOTES--REDEMPTION.--
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0010|               A.  The value of the scholarship note shall be
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0011|     equal to the amount of money generated by the student through
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0012|     the equalization formula if the student had attended a public
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0013|     school in his school attendance zone, excluding any size
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0014|     adjustment for the school district or the public school.  The
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0015|     department of education shall calculate the value of a
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0016|     student's scholarship note using the equalization formula set
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0017|     out in the Public School Finance Act.
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0018|               B.  The scholarship note redemption value shall not
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0019|     exceed the tuition and fees charged by a private school for
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0020|     students not participating in the program.
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0021|               C.  Within fifteen days after receiving a
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0022|     scholarship note, a private school shall certify enrollment of
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0023|     the student named on the scholarship note and shall certify
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0024|     the amount of tuition and fees charged by the private school
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0025|     to the department of education.
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0001|               D.  A private school shall redeem the value of the
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0002|     scholarship note from the department of education in monthly
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0003|     installments equal to one-ninth the value defined in
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0004|     Subsection A of this section.  The monthly installments shall
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0005|     begin on the first day of the first month of the school year.
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0006|               E.  If a private school disenrolls a student during
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0007|     the school year or if the student is absent for ten
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0008|     consecutive days without explanation from his parent or legal
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0009|     guardian, the private school shall notify the department of
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0010|     education and the monthly scholarship redemption shall cease.
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0011|               F.  If a parent or legal guardian disenrolls a
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0012|     student from a private school and enrolls the student in
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0013|     another private school or in a public school during the school
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0014|     year, the parent or legal guardian shall notify the department
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0015|     of education.  Upon receipt of proof of enrollment in another
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0016|     private school and certification of tuition and fees charged
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0017|     by the new private school, the remaining scholarship
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0018|     redemption installments shall be made to the new private
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0019|     school.  Upon proof of enrollment in a public school, the
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0020|     remaining redemption installments shall be made to the school
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0021|     district in which the public school is located.
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0022|               G.  The school district in which a student's
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0023|     attendance zone is located shall not bear the costs of
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0024|     transportation, room, board, instructional materials,
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0025|     equipment, educational technology or any other costs of
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0001|     attending a private school except for the amount of the
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0002|     scholarship note."
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