2015 -- S 0607

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - THE BRIGHT TODAY SCHOLARSHIP AND OPEN

ENROLLMENT EDUCATION ACT

     Introduced By: Senators Cote, Lombardi, E O`Neill, and Kettle

     Date Introduced: March 05, 2015

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. TITLE 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended

by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 105

THE BRIGHT TODAY SCHOLARSHIP AND OPEN ENROLLMENT EDUCATION ACT

     16-105-1. Short title. -- This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Bright Today

Scholarship and Open Enrollment Education Act."

     16-105-2. Purpose. -- (a) The purpose of this chapter is to provide parents of K-12

students in Rhode Island with an opportunity to enroll their child in an educational program of

their choosing, either via open enrollment in a traditional public school in their own district or in

any other public school district, or by receiving a scholarship, with designated public monies to

follow the student to the private school or private curriculum program selected by the parent.

     (b) National research demonstrates that with scholarships, similar to those provided for in

this chapter, public school districts can actually save money and in most instances also see

improved academic outcomes because of the new "parental" accountability standards they will be

held to.

     (c) Further, this chapter has been crafted to ensure that more money per pupil remains in

public school districts, even after scholarships have been awarded from the state portion of

educational funding to districts.

     16-105-3. Definition of Terms. -- As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have

the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

     (1) "Base funding" means and refers to a resident district's funding from state and local

sources to serve and educate students on a per pupil basis. Federal funds are not included.

     (2) "Bright today scholarships" (scholarships), sometimes referred to in this chapter as

"Educations savings accounts (ESAs)," means and will be offered to all students that are, or will

become, enrolled in any public, private, or home school system in the state of Rhode Island. The

scholarships allow parents to utilize certain funds that would normally be allocated to their child

at their resident school district for an educational program as determined by the parents or

guardian of the child.

     (3) "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular content area or grade

level, including any supplemental materials required by the curriculum.

     (4) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary

education (RIDE) or any other organization designated by RIDE to administer the bright today

scholarship program.

     (5) "Open enrollment" means a policy adopted and implemented by a school district

governing board to allow resident transfer pupils to enroll in any school within the school district,

to allow resident pupils to enroll in any school located within other school districts in this state, or

to allow nonresident pupils to enroll in any school within the district.

     (6) "Eligible student" means any K-12 student who meets any of the following

requirements:

     (i) Attended a public school as a full-time student in Rhode Island in the preceding

semester;

     (ii) Is beginning school in Rhode Island for the first time; or

     (iii) Attended a private school or received at-home instruction in conformance with §16-

19-1 in the preceding semester.

     (7) "Resident school district" means the public school district in which the student

resides.

     (8) "Participating school" means any private school that provides education to students in

fulfillment of any grades, K through (12), and has notified the department of its intention to

participate in the bright today scholarship program and to comply with the requirements of the

program as defined by this chapter or subsequently regulated by the department for the

implementation thereof.

     (9) "Participating student" means any eligible student or qualified student who is

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accepted into the bright today scholarship program.

     (10) "Parent" means a resident of Rhode Island who is the parent or legal guardian of an

eligible student.

     (11) "Qualified school" means a nongovernmental primary or secondary school or a

preschool for handicapped students that is located in this state and that conforms with the

requirements for such schools within Rhode Island.

     (12) "Qualified student" means a resident of this state who is an "eligible student", and

who is any of the following:

     (i) Identified as having a disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

(29 U.S.C. 794): or

     (ii) A child with a disability who is eligible to receive services from a school district

under chapter 24 of title 16.

     (13) "Qualified funding" refers to the additional funds allocated by the state for students

having a disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or chapter

24 of title 16.

     (14) "Treasurer" means the office of the Rhode Island general treasurer.

     16-105-4. Core components and requirements of the bright today scholarship

program. -- (a) Scholarships. Scholarships are established to provide options for the education of

students in Rhode Island.

     (b) Enrollment. Any parent of a participating student may enroll the student for a

scholarship by signing an agreement whereby the parent promises:

     (1) To provide an education for the participating student in at least the subjects of

reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science;

     (2) Not to enroll the participating student in a school district or charter school and release

the school district from all obligations to educate the qualified student;

     (3) To use the money deposited in the participating student's bright today scholarship

account only for the following expenses of the participating student:

     (i) Tuition or fees at a participating school or a qualified school;

     (ii) Textbooks required by a participating school, qualified school, or private tutoring

curriculum;

     (iii) Tutoring services provided by a tutor accredited by a state, regional or national

accrediting organization;

     (iv) Curriculum;

     (v) Tuition or fees for a non-public online learning program;

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     (vi) Fees for a nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test, advanced

placement examinations or any exams related to college or university admission;

     (vii) Educational therapies or services for the qualified student from a licensed or

accredited practitioner or provider, including licensed or accredited paraprofessionals or

educational aides;

     (viii) Fees for courses at an eligible postsecondary institution, taken prior to the student's

graduation from high school or the equivalent;

     (ix) Fees for management of the scholarship account by firms selected by the general

treasurer; and

     (x) Services provided by a public school, including individual classes and extracurricular

programs;

     (4) Any unspent funds may be rolled over and shall remain in the participating student's

scholarship for use in future years during the participating student's K-(12) educational career;

     (5) Not to use monies deposited in the participating student's account for any of the

following:

     (i) Computer hardware or other technological devices, except as required in lieu of

textbooks or for the completion of specific course requirements;

     (ii) Transportation of the pupil; and

     (iii) Consumable educational supplies, including, but not limited to, paper, pens or

markers;

     (c) Parent payments. Parents will be allowed to make payments for the costs of

educational programs and services not covered by the funds in their scholarship accounts.

     (d) Department scholarship account fund. In exchange for the parent's agreement

pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the department shall transfer from the aggregate monies

that would otherwise be allocated to the participating student's resident school district a payment

for base funding or qualified funding as described in subsections (e), (f), and (g) of this section, to

the general treasurer for deposit into an individual bright today scholarship account to be

managed by the parents of the student. The department may retain a maximum of three percent

(3%) of each individual scholarship awarded in any given school year for deposit in the

department's scholarship account fund to be used for administration of the scholarship program.

     (e) Base funding - scholarship award schedule for new and switching students. Grant

amounts to scholarship accounts of families of eligible students will be determined by the

following guidelines, provided that no individual student's scholarship shall exceed six thousand

dollars ($6,000):

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     (1) For students from households qualifying for the federal free or reduced-price lunch

program, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the

resident district's base funding.

     (2) For students from households with annual income greater than the amount required to

qualify for the free or reduced lunch program but less than or equal to one and one-half (1.5)

times that amount, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to seventy-five percent (75%)

of the resident district's base funding.

     (3) For students from households with annual income of greater than one and one-half

(1.5) times the amount required to qualify for the free or reduced lunch program but less than or

equal to two (2) times that amount, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to fifty

percent (50%) of the resident district's base funding.

     (4) For students from households with annual income of greater than two (2) times the

amount required to qualify for the free or reduced lunch program but less than or equal to two and

one-half (2.5) times that amount, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to twenty-five

percent (25%) of the resident district's base funding.

     (5) For students from households with annual income of greater than two and one-half

(2.5) times the amount required to qualify for the free or reduced lunch program, each student's

scholarship amount shall be equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the resident district's base funding.

     (f) Base funding - scholarship award schedule for students attending private school or

receiving at-home instruction at the time of enactment. Grant amounts to scholarship accounts of

families of approved students pursuant to this chapter shall be equal to the scholarships for their

household income level, as set forth in subsection (e) of this section, provided that each student's

scholarship amount shall be reduced by seventy-five percent (75%).

     (g) Qualified funding - scholarship awards. For any student having a disability who is

accepted into the bright today scholarship account program, the scholarship amount will be equal

to the scholarships for their household income level, as described in this section, plus the

additional qualified funding designated for that student. The department may reduce the

additional qualified funding award by an amount sufficient to reimburse the department and the

resident school district for services assessing the student or developing an individual education

plan for that student; provided that such reimbursements shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the

additional qualified funding award.

     (h) A parent must renew the participating student's scholarship account on an annual

basis. A student who has previously qualified for a bright today scholarship account shall remain

eligible to apply for renewal until the student graduates with a high school diploma or the

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equivalent.

     (i) A participating school, qualified school, or a provider of services purchased pursuant

to §16-105- 4(b)(3) shall not share, refund, or rebate any bright today scholarship account monies

with the parent, eligible student, or qualified student in any manner.

     (j) A participating student shall be counted in the enrollment figures for his or her

resident school district for the purposes of the state funding formula under the permanent

foundation education aid set forth in chapter 7.2 of this title for as long as that student remains an

eligible student under this chapter. The department shall subsequently subtract the total aggregate

scholarship amounts awarded to students within each resident district from that district's state

school aid.

     (k) In subsequent years following enactment of this chapter, for "participating" students

who have entered the state's K-(12) educational system for the first time, fifteen percent (15%) of

the total number of such students shall be counted in the enrollment figures for his or her resident

school district for the purposes of the state funding formula under, for as long as those students

remain "eligible" students pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

     (l) Funds in the scholarship account may only be used during the student's K-(12)

educational career. Upon the participating student's graduation with a high school diploma or the

equivalent, the student's bright today scholarship account shall be closed and any remaining funds

shall be returned to the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education.

     (m) Monies received pursuant to this chapter do not constitute taxable income to the

parent of the participating student.

     16-105-5. Administration of bright today scholarship accounts. -- (a) The department

shall determine a specified "application period" that is between April 1 and June 30 of each year

during which it will accept applications for the following fiscal year.

     (b) The department shall adopt rules and policies necessary for the administration of

scholarship accounts, including policies for conducting examinations of use of account funds.

Conducting random quarterly and annual reviews of accounts, potentially including, but not

limited to, creating an online anonymous fraud reporting service, and creating an anonymous

telephone hotline for fraud reporting.

     (c) The general treasurer may contract with private financial management firms to

manage bright today scholarship accounts, provided the treasurer maintains supervision of the

process.

      (d) The department shall have the authority to conduct or contract for annual or random

audits of scholarship accounts, to ensure compliance with this chapter.

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     (e) A parent or participating student or vendor may be disqualified from program

participation if the party is found to have committed an intentional program violation consisting

of any misrepresentation or other act that materially violates a law or rule governing the program.

The department may then remove any parent or participating student from future eligibility for a

bright today scholarship account and shall notify the treasurer. A parent, student, or vendor may

appeal the department's decision pursuant to an appeal process to be established by the

department and as set forth in chapter 39 of title 16.

     (f) The department may refer cases of substantial misuse of monies to the attorney

general for investigation if the department obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account.

     (g) The department shall make quarterly transfers of the amount calculated for base

funding and qualified funding pursuant to the provisions of § 16-105-4 to the general treasurer for

deposit into the individual scholarship account of each qualified student.

     (h) A person commits savings account fraud if the person knowingly obtains by means of

a false statement or representation, by impersonation, or by other fraudulent device any of the

following:

     (1) Assistance or service to which that person is not entitled;

     (2) Assistance or service greater than that to which the person is entitled; and

     (3) Payment for services or materials not listed in §16-105-4(b)(3).

     (i) No financial institution shall be liable in any civil action for providing a scholarship

account's financial information to the department of education unless the information provided is

false and the financial institution providing the false information does so knowingly and with

malice.

     16-105-6. Administrative and academic accountability standards. -- (a) To hold

participating schools accountable and to ensure that certain administrative standards are met to

treat all students safely and fairly, participating schools shall:

     (1) Comply with all state laws dealing with health and safety that apply to private

schools;

     (2) Maintain a valid occupancy permit, as may be required by state or local laws;

     (3) Certify their compliance with nondiscrimination policies and provisions set forth in

42 U.S.C. 1981; and

     (4) Provide parents with a receipt for all qualifying expenses at the school.

     16-105-7. Academic Accountability Standards. -- (a) In order to allow parents and

taxpayers to measure the achievements of the program:

     (1) Parents shall ensure that:

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     (i) Each year, participating students within their households take either the state

achievement tests or nationally norm-referenced tests that measure learning gains in math and

language arts and provide for value-added assessment;

     (ii) The results of these tests are provided to the department on an annual basis, beginning

with the first year of testing:

     (iii) The student information is reported in a way that would allow the state to aggregate

data by grade level, gender, family income level, and race; and

     (iv) The department will be informed of the eligible student's graduation from high

school, or the equivalent.

     (2) The department shall:

     (i) Ensure compliance with all student privacy laws:

     (ii) Collect all test results from all participating students;

     (iii) Provide aggregate test results, associated learning gains, and graduation rates to the

public via a state website after the third year of test and graduation-related data collection. The

findings shall be aggregated by the students' grade level, gender, family income level, number of

years of participation in the scholarship program, and race;

     (iv) Provide graduation rates to the public via a state website after the third year of test

and test-related data collection;

     (v) Administer an annual parental satisfaction survey that shall ask parents of students

receiving scholarship accounts to express:

     (A) Their satisfaction with the program; and

     (B) Their opinions on other topics, items, or issues that the state finds would elicit

information about the effectiveness of scholarship accounts program and the number of years

their child has participated in the program.

     16-105-8. Prohibition of state control over non-public schools and homeschools. --

(a) This chapter shall not permit any government agency to exercise control or

supervision over any nonpublic school or homeschool.

     (b) Participating schools or parents or groups providing at-home instructions that accept

payments from a scholarship account pursuant to this chapter are not agents of the state or federal

governments.

     (c) A participating or qualified school shall not be required to alter its creed, practices,

admissions policies, or curricula in order to accept students whose parents pay tuition or fees

from scholarship accounts pursuant to this chapter in order to participate.

     (d) Participating private schools, providers of at-home instruction, and other education

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providers shall be given the maximum freedom to provide for the educational needs of their

students without governmental or departmental control.

     (e) In any legal proceeding challenging the application of this chapter to a participating

school, the state bears the burden of establishing that the law is necessary and does not impose

any undue burden on participating schools or providers.

     16-105-9. Responsibilities of the department. -- (a) The department shall ensure that

eligible students and their parents are informed annually of which schools will be participating in

the scholarship account program. Special attention shall be paid to ensuring that lower-income

families are made aware of the program and their options.

     (b) The department shall create a standard form that parents of eligible students can

submit to establish their students' eligibility for the scholarship account program. The department

shall ensure that the application is readily available to interested families through various sources,

including the Internet.

     (c) The department may bar a participating school or education provider from the

scholarship account program if the department establishes that the participating school or

education provider has:

     (1) Routinely failed to comply with the accountability standards established in this

chapter; or

     (2) Failed to provide the eligible student with the educational services funded by the

scholarship account.

     (d) If the department decides to bar a participating school or education provider from the

program, it shall notify eligible students and their parents of this decision as quickly as possible.

     (e) The department shall adopt rules and procedures as necessary for the administration

of the scholarship account program.

     16-105-10. Responsibilities of the resident school district. -- (a) The resident school

district shall provide a participating school or education provider that has admitted an eligible

student under this program with a complete copy of the student's school records, while complying

with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232 g).

     (b) The resident school district shall provide transportation for an eligible student to and

from the participating school or education provider under the same conditions as the resident

school district is required to provide transportation for other resident students to private schools

as per current law. The resident school district may qualify for any existing state transportation

aid for each student so transported.

     (c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as supplanting the responsibilities of

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resident districts as provided in current law.

     16-105-11. Open enrollment. -- (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, unless

the context otherwise requires:

     (1) "Nonresident pupil" means a pupil who resides in the state of Rhode Island and who

is enrolled in or is seeking enrollment in a school district other than the school district in which

the pupil resides.

     (2) "Open enrollment" means a policy adopted and implemented by a school district

governing board to allow resident transfer pupils to enroll in any school within the school district,

to allow resident pupils to enroll in any school located within other school districts in this state, or

to allow nonresident pupils to enroll in any school within the district.

     (3) "Resident transfer pupil" means a resident pupil who is enrolled in or seeking

enrollment in a school that is within the school district but outside the attendance area of the

pupil's residence.

     (4) "Receiving school district" means the school district that has accepted enrollment of a

nonresident pupil.

     (b) Enrollment policies.

     (1) School district governing boards shall establish inter-district open enrollment policies.

     (2) State funding adjustments may be arranged for nonresident pupils only if two (2)

school districts have entered into a voluntary agreement for such adjustments for certain pupils.

These policies shall include admission criteria, available capacity, application procedures, and

transportation provisions. Any and all funding adjustments will be made via associated

adjustments of the state portion of funds distributed to the mutually agreed districts.

     (3) A copy of the district policies for open enrollment shall be posted on the district's

website and shall be available to the public on request.

     (i) Each policy shall describe the opportunities for resident pupils to transfer to other

schools within the district or outside of the district and the opportunities for nonresident pupils to

transfer to schools within the district.

     (ii) Each nonresident pupil shall be counted in the enrollment figures for his or her new

"receiving school district," for the purposes of the state funding formula under chapter 7.2 of this

title.

     (iii) Resident transfer pupils and nonresident pupils shall be permitted to remain in the

school into which they were initially accepted through completion of the highest grade offered in

that school and may be given enrollment preference for other schools within the receiving school

district.

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     (iv) A school district may give enrollment preference to and reserve capacity for pupils

who are children of persons who are employed by or at a school in the school district.

     (v) The resident school district shall provide transportation for a nonresident or resident

transfer pupils to and from the participating school or education provider under the same

conditions as the resident school district is required to provide transportation for other resident

students to private schools as per current law. The resident school district may qualify for any

existing state transportation aid for each student so transported.

     (vi) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or replace specific agreements that

school districts may have with other school districts upon enactment of this chapter or to limit

their right to enter into such agreements thereafter.

     (c) District and school immunity. A school district and its employees are immune from

civil liability for decisions that concern the acceptance or rejection of a nonresident pupil for

enrollment and that are based on a good faith application of the requirements of this chapter and

the standards adopted pursuant to this chapter.

     16-105-12. Commencement of program. -- The bright today scholarship and open

enrollment program will be in effect beginning August 1, 2015.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - THE BRIGHT TODAY SCHOLARSHIP AND OPEN

ENROLLMENT EDUCATION ACT

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     This act would provide parents of K-12 students in Rhode Island with an opportunity to

enroll their child in an educational program of their choosing, either via open enrollment in a

traditional public school in their own district or any other public school district, or by receiving a

scholarship, with designated public monies to follow the student to a participating private school

or private curriculum program selected by the parent. The program combines aspects of what are

sometimes referred to as "school choice" and "school voucher" programs. The program would

begin August 1, 2015.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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