H. B. 3137
(By Delegate J. Miller)
[Introduced March 13, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §18-31-1, §18-31-2,
§18-31-3, §18-31-4, §18-31-5, §18-31-6, §18-31-7, §18-31-8
and §18-31-9, all relating to creating the Special Needs
Scholarship Program, with said program to be administered by
the West Virginia State Board of Education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended,
by adding thereto a new article, designated §18-31-1, §18-31-2,
§18-31-3, §18-31-4, §18-31-5, §18-31-6, §18-31-7, §18-31-8 and §18-
31-9
, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 31. SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
§18-31-1. Title.
This article shall be referred to as the Special Needs
Scholarship Program.
§18-31-2. Definitions.
Pursuant to this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Program" means the Special Needs Scholarship Program.
(b) "Eligible Student" means any elementary or secondary
student attending public school in our state with an individual
education plan, including but not limited to students who are
mentally handicapped, speech and language impaired, deaf or hard of
hearing, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, physically
impaired, emotionally handicapped, specific learning disabled,
autistic, or hospitalized or homebound due to illness or
disability.
(c) "Parent" includes a guardian, custodian or other person
with authority to act on behalf of the child.
(d) "Resident school district" means the public school
district in which the student resides.
(e) "Department" means the West Virginia State Board of
Education.
(f) "Participating school" means either a public school
outside of the resident school district or any nonpublic school
that provides education to elementary and/or secondary students
that has notified the department of their intention to participate
in the program and comply with its requirements.
§18-31-3. Basic elements Of The Special Needs Scholarship Program.
(a) Any parent of a public school special needs student who is
dissatisfied with the student's progress shall qualify for a
scholarship from the state for the child to enroll in and attend a
nonpublic school if:
(1) The special needs student has had an individual education
plan written in accordance with the rules of the department;
(2) The student has been accepted for admission at a
participating school; and
(3) The parent has requested a scholarship from the state
before the deadline established by the department.
(b) The department shall inform the resident school district
that a special needs student has requested a special needs
scholarship. The resident school district shall within three
business days provide the department with a copy of the student's
most current individual education plan.
(c) Upon receipt of the special needs student's request for a
scholarship, the department shall review the individual education
plan drafted by the student's public school to determine the amount
of the scholarship. The department shall provide the student's
parent with a timely written explanation of their determination for
the amount of the scholarship.
(d) The maximum scholarship granted an eligible student shall
be an amount equivalent to the cost of the educational program that
would have been provided for the student in the resident school district. Although the scholarship amount is a function of a
student's individual education plan, the participating school is
not required to abide by the individual education plan. The parent
and the participating school will mutually determine the best
services and educational plan for the student.
(e) The amount of the special needs scholarship shall be the
lesser of the amount calculated above in section 3(c) and (d) of
this article, or the amount of the participating school's estimated
costs for serving the student. The costs of any assessment by the
participating school of the student's special needs may be included
in the scholarship amount.
(f) Participating students shall be counted in the enrollment
of their resident school district. The funds needed to provide a
scholarship shall be subtracted from the state school aid payable
to the student's resident school district.
(g) The Special Needs Scholarship shall remain in force until
the student returns to a public school or graduates from high
school or reaches their twenty-first birthday, whichever comes
first.
(h) At any time, the student's parent may remove the student
from the participating school and place the student in another
participating school or in a public school.
§18-31-4. Responsibilities of the resident school district.
(a) A resident school district shall annually notify the parents of a special needs student of the special needs scholarship
program and offer that student's parent an opportunity to enroll
the student in a participating school of their choice.
(b) The resident school district shall provide a participating
school that has admitted an eligible student with a complete copy
of the student's school records while complying with the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Title 20 United States
Code §1232(g)).
(c) The resident school district shall provide transportation
for an eligible student to and from the participating school under
the same conditions as the resident school district is required to
provide transportation for other resident students to nonpublic
schools as per current law. The resident school district will
qualify for state transportation aid for each student so
transported.
(d) If the parent of an eligible student participating in this
program requests that the student take the statewide assessments,
the resident school district shall provide locations and times for
the student to take all statewide assessments if they are not
offered at the student's participating school.
§18-31-5. Responsibilities of the West Virginia State Board of
Education
.
(a) The department shall adopt rules and procedures regarding:
(1) The eligibility and participation of nonpublic schools, including timelines that will maximize student and public and
nonpublic school participation;
(2) The calculation and distribution of scholarships to
eligible students and participating schools; and
(3) The application and approval procedures for eligible
students and participating schools.
(b) No liability shall arise on the part of the department or
the state based on the award or use of a special needs scholarship.
(c) The department may bar a school from participation in the
program if the department establishes that the participating school
has:
(1) Intentionally and substantially misrepresented information
required under section six of this article; or
(2) Failed to refund to the state any scholarship overpayments
in a timely manner.
(d) If the department decides to bar a participating school
from the program, it shall notify eligible students and their
parents of this decision as quickly as possible.
§18-31-6. Accountability for participating schools.
(a) To be eligible to participate in the special needs
scholarship program, a nonpublic school must operate in this state
and demonstrate:
(1) Administrative Accountability. -- To ensure that students
are treated fairly and kept safe, all participating schools shall:
(A) Comply with all health and safety laws or codes that apply
to nonpublic schools;
(B) Hold a valid occupancy permit if required by their
municipality;
(C) Certify that they will not discriminate in admissions on
the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion; and
(D) Comply with all state laws that apply to nonpublic schools
regarding criminal background checks for employees and exclude from
employment any people not permitted by state law to work in a
nonpublic school.
(2) Financial Accountability. -- To ensure that public funds
are spent appropriately, all participating schools shall
demonstrate their financial accountability by:
(A) Submitting a financial information report for the school
that complies with uniform financial accounting standards
established by the department and conducted by a certified public
accountant; and
(B) Having the Office of the State Auditor certify the report
is free of material misstatements. The Auditor's report shall be
limited in scope to those records that are necessary for the
department to make payments to schools for scholarships.
(b) To be eligible to participate in the special needs
scholarship program, a nonpublic school must operate in this state
and further demonstrate
their financial viability by showing they can pay any funds owed the state, if they are to receive $50,000 or
more during the school year, by:
(1) Filing with the department prior to the start of the
school year a surety bond payable to the state in an amount equal
to the aggregate amount of the Special Needs Scholarships expected
to be paid during the school year to students admitted to the
participating school; or
(2) Filing with the department prior to the start of the
school year financial information that demonstrates the school has
the ability to pay an aggregate amount equal to the amount of the
Special Needs Scholarships expected to be paid during the school
year to students admitted to the participating school.
(c) Academic Accountability. -- To ensure that schools provide
academic accountability to parents of the students in the program,
all participating schools shall regularly report to the parent on
the student's progress.
(d) Participating School Autonomy. -- A participating school
is autonomous and not an agent of the state or federal government
therefore:
(1) The department or any other state agency may not in any
way regulate the educational program of a participating school that
accepts a special needs scholarship;
(2) The creation of the special needs scholarship program does
not expand the regulatory authority of the state, its officers or any school district to impose any additional regulation of
nonpublic schools beyond those reasonably necessary to enforce the
requirements of the program; and
(3) Participating schools shall be given the maximum freedom
to provide for the educational needs of their students without
governmental control.
§18-31-7. Responsibilities of the Scholarship Students and Their
Parents
.
(a) It shall be the responsibility of a parent to select their
child's school, apply for admission, and apply for a special needs
scholarship.
(b) Any student participating in the program must comply fully
with a participating school's written code of conduct and shall
remain in attendance throughout the school year, unless excused by
the school for illness or other good cause. However, a parent may
transfer an eligible student to another participating school at any
time. The scholarship amount shall be prorated between
participating schools according to the period of attendance at each
school.
(c) A parent's decision for their student to participate in
the program constitutes a nonpublic placement for purposes of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act at Title 20 United
States Code §1400, et seq.
§18-31-8. Evaluation of Special Needs Scholarship Program.
(a) The department may contract with one or more qualified
researchers who have previous experience evaluating school choice
programs to conduct a study of the program with funds other than
state funds.
(b) The study shall assess:
(1) The level of participating student's satisfaction with the
program;
(2) The level of parental satisfaction with the program;
(3) The percentage of participating students who were
victimized because of their special needs status at their resident
school district compared to the percentage so victimized at their
participating school;
(4) The percentage of participating students who exhibited
behavioral problems at their resident school district compared to
the percentage exhibiting behavioral problems at their
participating school;
(5) The class size experienced by participating students at
their resident school district and at their participating school;
and
(6) The fiscal impact to the state and resident school
districts of the program.
(c) The researchers who conduct the study shall apply
appropriate analytical and behavioral sciences methodologies to
ensure public confidence in the study.
(d) The researchers who conduct the study shall provide the
Legislature with a final copy of the evaluation of the program.
(e) The public and nonpublic participating schools from which
students transfer to participate in the program shall cooperate
with the research effort by providing student assessment instrument
scores and any other data necessary to complete this study.
(f) The department may accept grants to assist in funding this
study.
(g) The Legislature may require periodic reports from the
researchers. The researchers must make their data and methodology
available for public review while complying with the requirements
of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act at Title 20 United
States Code §1232(g).
§18-31-9. Effective date.
The Special Needs Scholarship Program will be in effect
beginning with the fall semester of the next school year after the
effective date of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Special Needs
Scholarship Program to be administered by the West Virginia State
Board of Education.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.