Bills · 2011-2012 Regular Session

AB 110

Died at session end Official bill text Atom feed

creating the Special Needs Scholarship Program for disabled pupils, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation.

Introduced, stopped here
Passes Assembly, not reached
Passes Senate, not reached
Governor signs, not reached
Law, not reached

Unfamiliar terms? Glossary

What this bill does

Plain-language analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill establishes a Special Needs Scholarship Program. Under the program,

a child with a disability may receive a scholarship to attend a public school located

outside the pupil's school district of residence, or a private school, if all of the

following conditions are met:

1. The school has notified the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) of its

intent to participate in the program and the child has been accepted by the school.

2. If the school is a private school, it is approved as a private school by DPI or

is accredited.

3. An individualized education program (IEP) has been completed for the child.

4. The child attended a public school, or did not attend school in this state, in

the previous school year.

Upon receipt of an application for a scholarship, DPI must review the child's

IEP and determine the amount of the child's scholarship. The amount is the lesser

of the cost to the child's school district of residence, or the cost to the school district

or private school that the child wishes to attend, of providing regular instruction,

instructional and pupil support services, special education and related services, and

supplementary aids and services to the child. If the child is attending for less than

a full school term, DPI must prorate the amount of the scholarship.

DPI pays the scholarship directly to the school or school district that the child

will attend. The scholarship continues while the child attends a school eligible to

participate in the program until he or she graduates from high school or until the end

of the school term in which he or she turns 21, whichever comes first.

Under the bill, a pupil attending a private school, or a public school outside the

pupil's school district of residence, under the program is counted for state aid

purposes by the pupil's school district of residence. However, the state aid paid to

that school district is reduced by the total amount of scholarships paid by DPI for

pupils who reside in that school district.

Each private school participating in the program must comply with applicable

health and safety laws; hold a valid occupancy permit, if required by the

municipality; comply with federal law that prohibits discrimination against any

person on the basis of race, color, or national origin; and conduct criminal background

investigations of its employees and exclude from employment any person not

permitted to hold a teaching license as the result of an offense any any person who

might reasonably be believed to pose a threat to the safety of others.

The private school must also annually submit to DPI a school financial report

prepared by a certified public accountant. If the private school expects to receive at

least $50,000 in scholarships during a school year, it must either file a surety bond

with DPI or provide DPI with information demonstrating that it has the ability to

pay an amount equal to the total amount of scholarships that it expects to receive.

The bill provides that if a child attends a private school under the program, his

What it would cost

Fiscal estimates filed by state agencies, as official PDFs

Fiscal Estimate From DPI

Votes

Suspending the rules (to take a vote immediately) needs a two-thirds majority — a higher bar than passing the bill, which needs a simple majority. That's why a suspension motion can show more Ayes than the passage vote that follows it. Glossary