HB 0515

AN ACT establishing parental choice scholarships.

SPONSORS: Rep. Cox, Rock 24; Rep. Alger, Graf 9; Rep. Rabideau, Rock 16; Rep. Winter, Merr 2; Rep. Bruno, Hills 4

This bill establishes a scholarship program to assist eligible parents in paying certain expenses of primary and secondary education.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Education; School Boards, Transportation and Instruction of Pupils; Definitions; Average Daily Membership in Residence; Parental Choice Scholarship Students Added. Amend RSA 189:1-d, IV to read as follows:

IV. "Average daily membership in residence" means the average daily membership of students enrolled in public schools within the district or students attending a public or private school with parental choice scholarship assistance from the district or students whose tuition is being paid by the district to another approved public or private school for a given school district in a given school year.

2 New Chapter; Parental Choice Scholarships. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 194-C the following new chapter:

I. Ensure that school-age children of low-income families have current access to schools that are satisfactory to the parents.

II. Allow more parents to choose among public and nonpublic schools best suited to their children's needs and talents and the parents' educational philosophy regardless of family income and place of residence.

III. Encourage the establishment and operation of diverse learning environments designed to meet the individual educational needs and talents of New Hampshire's children.

IV. Encourage all schools to reach beyond educational adequacy to educational excellence.

194-D:2 Definition. In this chapter, "parent" means a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody of a child.

I. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 198:2 or any other law to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a parent shall be eligible to receive a parental choice scholarship if:

(a) The public school within the district or the school to which the child has been assigned has average scores in the bottom 1/3 on a statewide basis in the state assessment tests for both of the 2 years preceding the parent's initial application for a scholarship; or

(b) If the number of parents representing less than one percent of the total pupil enrollment of any school in the district have applied for parental choice scholarship assistance from the school district; or

(c) If the number of parents representing one percent or more of the total pupil enrollment of any school in the district have applied for parental choice scholarship assistance from the district, and such scholarships have been authorized by a vote of the school district governing body or legislative body, subject to the provisions of paragraph VIII.

II.(a) No parent shall receive a parental choice scholarship whose total household adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes is greater than 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

(b) Parents whose total household adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes is not greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services shall be eligible for 100 percent of the parental scholarship award amount established in RSA 194-D:4, II.

(c) Parents whose total household adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes is greater than 200 percent but not greater than 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services shall be eligible for 75 percent of the parental scholarship award amount established in RSA 194-D:4, II.

(d) Parents whose total household adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes is greater than 250 percent but not greater than 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services shall be eligible for 50 percent of the parental scholarship award amount established in RSA 194-D:4, II.

(e) Parents whose total household adjusted gross income for federal income tax purposes is greater than 275 percent but not greater than 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services shall be eligible for 25 percent of the parental scholarship award amount established in RSA 194-D:4, II.

III. No parent shall apply for a parental choice scholarship from a school district other than the district of the child's legal residence, as defined in RSA 193:12.

IV. No parental choice scholarship shall be awarded in violation of a tuition contract or an area plan under RSA 195-A existing on the effective date of this section. Tuition contracts and area plans approved and adopted after the effective date of this section shall not preclude receipt of a school choice scholarship by an otherwise eligible parent.

V. Parents shall apply for parental choice scholarships during the November or December before the academic year, unless the time limitation is waived.

VI. Once a parent receives a parental choice scholarship, the parent shall remain eligible for future scholarships until the child completes the final grade offered at the school to which the child was originally assigned, so long as the child remains a resident of the district and the parent meets the requirements of paragraph II.

VII. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, school districts operating a parental choice program on the effective date of this section may continue to operate such program.

VIII. Parental choice scholarships shall be granted for no more than 5 percent of the total students assigned to the school. Scholarships shall be awarded to qualifying parents in the order that the applications are received by the school district.

I. Parental choice scholarships shall be applied to tuition, textbooks, curricular materials, services, and expenses paid for kindergarten through grade 12 at a public or nonpublic school within or outside the state.

II. Parental scholarship award amounts shall be equal to 80 percent of the adequate education grant amount distributed to the school district pursuant to RSA 198:42 divided by the weighted average daily membership in residence or the actual costs of the school, whichever is less.

III. Parental choice scholarships shall be paid by the school district to the parent twice each school year upon submission of documentation that school services shall be provided.

IV.(a) Scholarship awards may only be applied towards attendance at a nonpublic school if the school meets the criteria set forth in the rules of the state board of education adopted pursuant to RSA 186:11, XXIX.

(b) All children attending nonpublic schools with parental choice scholarship assistance shall be given an academic achievement test chosen by the nonpublic school at least once every year. The nonpublic school shall pay the expense of the test. The test results shall be made available to the department of education upon request.

V. Parents may supplement scholarships with funds from their own or any other public or private sources, including scholarships from a school of choice.

I. A school district may enter into a contractual or other relationship with an approved nonpublic or charter school within or outside the state and may provide funds, services, equipment, materials, or personnel to a nonpublic school in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

II. A school district may enter into a tuition contract with an approved nonpublic or charter school within or outside the state.

III. For purposes of this chapter, RSA 189:6, RSA 189:8, and RSA 189:9, relative to transportation services, shall be optional for school districts.

IV. Parental choice scholarship funds shall not be applied towards attendance at a sectarian school.

I. In accordance with department of education rules, the funding and educational decision-making process for educationally disabled pupils attending nonpublic schools shall be the responsibility of the local education agency and shall retain all current options available to the parent and to such agency.

II. In order for an attending pupil's parents to be eligible for a parental choice scholarship, a nonpublic school shall certify to the department of education that the school shall not discriminate in any manner prohibited by law and shall not discriminate against educationally disabled pupils. For the purposes of this chapter and in conformance with federal regulations, nonpublic schools shall provide an appropriate education to educationally disabled pupils including the provision of auxiliary aids and services unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or would be an undue burden to the nonpublic school.

I. Except as specifically provided in this chapter, nonpublic schools shall not be required to comply with additional laws or rules as a result of attendance by pupils whose parents receive parental choice scholarship awards.

II. No nonpublic school shall be required to accept pupils whose parents receive parental choice scholarship awards.

III. No school district shall be held liable for damages in an action to recover for bodily injury, personal injury, property damage as defined in RSA 507-B:1, or failure to educate pupils, where the action arises out of a parent's exercise of options under the provisions of this chapter.

194-D:8 Construction. The provisions of this chapter shall be controlling over any provisions of law that are contradictory to or inconsistent with this chapter.

194-D:9 Rulemaking. The state board of education shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, necessary to administer the provisions of this chapter.

194-D:10 Severability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.

3 Report by Department of Education; Parental Choice Scholarship Program. The department of education shall report annually to the house and senate education committees on the parental choice scholarship program. Each report shall be submitted by November 1 and shall include, but not be limited to, the number of parental choice scholarships granted in each school district, test results of parental choice scholarship students, a statistical analysis of the incomes of parents receiving parental choice scholarships, and any information specifically requested by the committee chairpersons.

The Department of Education indicates this bill may increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount beginning in FY 2002 and continuing each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or state and county expenditures.

· the school has average statewide assessment test scores in the bottom 1/3 for both of the 2 preceding years, or

· the number of parents applying for scholarships represents less than 1% of the total pupil enrollment, or

· the number of parents applying for scholarships represents 1% or more of the total pupil enrollment, and scholarships have been authorized by vote of the school district or controlling legislative body.

The amount of the scholarship will equal 80% of the adequate education grant, divided by weighted average daily membership in residence or actual cost, whichever is less. However, eligibility for the scholarships is subject to guidelines that compare federal adjusted gross income to federal poverty guidelines, and based on the comparison, parents will receive 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the scholarship amount. In addition, scholarships cannot be granted for more than 5% of the total students in a school.

The Department cannot estimate the increase in local expenditures because it has no information on parents' income amounts.