53A-1a-706. Scholarship payments.
(1) (a) Scholarships shall be awarded by the board subject to the availability of money
appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose.
(b) The Legislature shall annually appropriate money to the board from the General Fund
to make scholarship payments.
(c) (i) If monies are not available to pay for all scholarships requested, the scholarships
shall be allocated on a random basis except that preference shall be given to students who
received scholarships in the previous school year.
(ii) If monies are insufficient in a school year to pay for all the continuing scholarships,
new scholarships may not be awarded during that school year and the monies available for
scholarships shall be prorated among the eligible students who received scholarships in the
previous year.
(2) Full-year scholarships shall be awarded in the following amounts:
(a) for a student who received an average of 180 minutes per day or more of special
education services in a public school before transferring to a private school, an amount not to
exceed the lesser of:
(i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 2.5; or
(ii) the private school tuition and fees; and
(b) for a student who received an average of less than 180 minutes per day of special
education services in a public school before transferring to a private school, an amount not to
exceed the lesser of:
(i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 1.5; or
(ii) the private school tuition and fees.
(3) The scholarship amount for a student enrolled in a half-day kindergarten program
shall be the amount specified in Subsection (2)(a) or (b) multiplied by .55.
(4) (a) The scholarship amount for a student who receives a waiver under Subsection
53A-1a-704(3) shall be based upon the assessment team's determination of the appropriate level
of special education services to be provided to the student.
(b) (i) If the student requires an average of 180 minutes per day or more of special
education services, a full-year scholarship shall be equal to the amount specified in Subsection
(2)(a).
(ii) If the student requires less than an average of 180 minutes per day of special
education services, a full-year scholarship shall be equal to the amount specified in Subsection
(2)(b).
(iii) If the student is enrolled in a half-day kindergarten program, a full-year scholarship
is equal to the amount specified in Subsection (3).
(5) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), upon review and receipt of
documentation that verifies a student's admission to, or continuing enrollment and attendance at,
a private school, the board shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no later than
September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 15 of each school year in which a scholarship is
in force.
(b) In accordance with board rule, the board may make a scholarship payment before the
first quarterly payment of the school year, if a private school requires partial payment of tuition
before the start of the school year to reserve space for a student admitted to the school.
(6) A parent of a scholarship student shall notify the board if the student does not have
continuing enrollment and attendance at an eligible private school.
(7) Before scholarship payments are made, the board shall cross-check enrollment lists of
scholarship students, school districts, and youth in custody to ensure that scholarship payments
are not erroneously made.
(8) (a) Scholarship payments shall be made by the board by individual warrant made
payable to the student's parent and mailed by the board to the private school. The parent shall
restrictively endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the account of the private
school.
(b) A person, on behalf of a private school, may not accept a power of attorney from a
parent to sign a warrant referred to in Subsection (8)(a), and a parent of a scholarship student
may not give a power of attorney designating a person, on behalf of a private school, as the
parent's attorney-in-fact.
(9) (a) Scholarships shall be retroactively awarded to students with disabilities for
attendance at a private school in the 2004-05 school year, if:
(i) the student meets the qualifications for a scholarship under Section 53A-1a-704 and is
awarded a scholarship under this section; and
(ii) the private school meets the eligibility requirements of Section 53A-1a-705,
including submitting an application to enroll scholarship students in the 2005-06 school year.
(b) Subsection (5) does not apply to retroactive scholarship payments.
Enacted by Chapter 35, 2005 General Session
Download Code Section Zipped WordPerfect 53A01a070600.ZIP 3,682 Bytes
Sections in this Chapter|Chapters in this Title|All Titles|Legislative Home Page
Last revised: Thursday, May 28, 2009