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

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. In the previous school year, the child attended a public school, attended a private school under a parental choice program (PCP), or did not attend school in this state.

The bill directs DPI to develop a document, for inclusion with an application, comparing the rights of a child with a disability and his or her parent under state and federal handicapped education law with the rights of a child with a disability under the program created by this bill and federal handicapped education law.

A school that accepts a child under the program must notify DPI. Upon receipt of the notice, DPI must notify the school board of the pupil's school district of residence and determine the amount of the child's scholarship. The amount is the lesser of the cost to the school the child is attending under the scholarship of providing regular instruction, instructional and pupil support services, special education and related services, and supplementary aids and services to the child, or an amount equal to the statewide cost per public school pupil plus the state aid per child with a disability. 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 certificate of occupancy; comply with federal law that prohibits discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, or national origin; 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 and any person who might reasonably be believed to pose a threat to the safety of others; provide to each applicant a profile of the school's special education program; and implement the child's most recent IEP.

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 or her school district of residence must provide transportation to and from the school if the school is located at least two miles from the child's residence, the child resides in the private school's attendance area, and the private school is situated within the school district of residence or not more than five miles beyond the boundaries of the school district.

If the child attends a public school under the program, the child's parent is responsible for transporting the child to and from school unless transportation is required in the child's IEP. If the latter applies, the school district that the child attends is responsible for transporting the child. The bill allows a low-income pupil to apply to DPI for reimbursement of transportation costs.

The bill authorizes DPI to bar a school from participating in the program if the school intentionally and substantially misrepresents information required under the bill, routinely fails to comply with financial standards, uses a pupil's scholarship for any purpose other than educational purposes, or fails to refund any scholarship overpayments to the state.

Finally, the bill directs the Legislative Audit Bureau to contract for a study of the program. The results of the study must be reported to the legislature by January 9, 2015.