SB 525

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

beginning in the 2014-15 school year, a child with a disability may receive a

scholarship to attend a public school located outside the pupil's school district of

residence, a charter school, or a private school, if all of the following conditions are

met:

1. The child has applied to attend a public school outside of his or her school

district of residence under the Open Enrollment Program and was rejected by the

school board of the nonresident school district or was prohibited from attending

school in a nonresident school district by the school board of the child's resident

school district.

2. 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.

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

is accredited.

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

5. With certain exceptions, the child attended a public school in this state in the

previous school year.

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,

plus the per pupil operating and debt service costs, 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, the total amount appropriated as state school equalization aid

is reduced by the total amount of scholarships paid by DPI to schools and school

districts under the program, as described above. A pupil attending a private school,

a public school outside the pupil's school district of residence, or an independent

charter school under the program is not counted for state aid purposes by the pupil's