Bill Text: IN SB0214 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Choice scholarship administration.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - First reading: referred to Committee on Education and Career Development [SB0214 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2012-SB0214-Introduced.html
Citations Affected: IC 20-32; IC 20-39; IC 20-51.
Synopsis: Choice scholarship administration. Requires choice
scholarship students to be administered an ISTEP program test, and
provides for the publication and distribution of the results of these
tests. Requires compliance with financial standards and audits of
eligible schools that enroll eligible individuals on a choice scholarship.
Limits the amount of a choice scholarship that may be used for
administrative expenses.
Effective: July 1, 2012.
January 4, 2012, read first time and referred to Committee on Education and Career
Development.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
education.
(1) Public schools.
(2) Nonpublic schools that voluntarily have become accredited under IC 20-19-2-8.
IC 20-32-5-17 applies to a nonpublic school that enrolls an eligible individual on a choice scholarship granted under IC 20-51-4.
(1) the ISTEP program test; and
(2) the scoring reports used by the department.
(b) The nonpublic school
(1) administer the ISTEP program test to its students at the same time that school corporations administer the test; and
(2) make available to the department the results of the ISTEP program testing.
(c) A nonpublic school that enrolls an eligible individual who enrolls in the nonpublic school on a choice scholarship granted under IC 20-51-4 shall administer the ISTEP program test to eligible individuals who enroll in the nonpublic school on the same basis as students who enroll in a school corporation. The nonpublic school shall report to the department the results of each assessment administered to a choice scholarship student under this section. This section does not require a nonpublic school to administer an ISTEP program test to any student who is not enrolled in the nonpublic school on a choice scholarship granted under IC 20-51-4.
(d) The department annually shall compile the scores attained by eligible individuals granted choice scholarships under IC 20-51-4. The scores of choice scholarship students must be aggregated as follows:
(1) By state.
(2) By school district, which must include all choice scholarship students who have legal settlement in the school district.
(3) By nonpublic school or school corporation in which the choice scholarship students are enrolled.
(e) The department shall disaggregate the choice scholarship student performance data described in subsection (d) according to the following categories:
(1) Age.
(2) Race and ethnicity.
(3) Gender.
(4) Students who have participated in the choice scholarship program at least three (3) years.
(5) Students who have participated in the choice scholarship program for more than one (1) year and less than three (3) years.
(6) Students who have participated in the choice scholarship program for not more than one (1) year.
(7) Economically disadvantaged students category described in IC 20-51-4-4(2)(A) and IC 20-51-4-4(2)(B).
(f) The department shall:
(1) post the student performance data required under subsection (d) and (e) on its Internet web site;
(2) submit to the legislative council a report containing the data in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6; and
(3) by the first day of February each year distribute the data to the parent of each eligible individual who received a choice scholarship.
In reporting student performance data under this subsection, the department may not include any data that is statistically unreliable or that could result in the identification of individual students. For this purpose, the department may not report performance data for any group that contains fewer than ten (10) students. When the executive director of the legislative services agency receives the report under subdivision (2), the executive director shall send a copy of the report to each member of the legislative council, using the member's senate or house of representatives electronic mail address.
(g) The department shall provide the parent of each choice scholarship student with information comparing the student's performance on the assessments administered under this section with the average performance of similar students enrolled in the school operated by the school corporation where the student has legal settlement that the choice scholarship student would otherwise attend. In calculating the performance of similar students, the department shall consider age, grade, race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status.
(b) A nonpublic school that enrolls an eligible individual on a choice scholarship granted under IC 20-51-4 shall adopt and implement uniform financial accounting standards as prescribed by the state board and the state board of accounts.
submit to the department all the following:
(1) An independent financial audit of the nonpublic school
conducted by an independent certified public accountant
licensed under IC 25-2.1, accompanied by the auditor's
statement that the report is free of material misstatements
and fairly presents pupil costs. The audit under this
subdivision is limited in scope to those records that are
necessary for the department to make payments under
IC 20-51-4. The auditor shall conduct the audit, including
determining sample sizes and evaluating financial viability, in
accordance with standards for the competent practice of
accounting, as determined under the rules adopted by the
state board of accountancy. The department may not require
an auditor to comply with standards that exceed the scope of
the standards for the competent practice of accounting, as
determined under the rules adopted by the state board of
accountancy.
(2) Evidence of sound fiscal and internal control practices, as
prescribed by the state board and the state board of accounts
by rule. An auditor engaged to evaluate the nonpublic school's
fiscal and internal control practices shall conduct the
evaluation, including determining sample sizes, in accordance
with the attestation standards for the competent practice of
accounting, as determined under the rules adopted by the
state board of accountancy.
(b) An eligible school shall abide by the school's written admission policy fairly and without discrimination with regard to students who:
(1) apply for; or
(2) are awarded;
scholarships under this chapter.
(c) If the number of applicants for enrollment in an eligible school under a choice scholarship exceeds the number of choice scholarships available to the eligible school, the eligible school must draw at random in a public meeting the applications of applicants who are
entitled to a choice scholarship from among the applicants who meet
the requirements for admission to the eligible school.
(d) An eligible school may use not more than three percent (3%)
of the amount provided under a choice scholarship each year for
the administrative expenses of carrying out the school's
educational program, including:
(1) determining the eligibility of students to participate;
(2) providing information about the program and the schools
involved to parents of eligible students;
(3) selecting students to receive scholarships;
(4) determining the amount of scholarships and issuing the
scholarships to eligible students;
(5) compiling and maintaining financial and programmatic
records; and
(6) providing funds to assist parents in meeting expenses that
might otherwise preclude the participation of their child in
the program.
(d) (e) The department shall make random visits to at least five
percent (5%) of eligible schools and charter schools to verify that the
eligible school or charter school complies with the provisions of
IC 20-51-4, this chapter, the Constitutions Constitution of the State
of Indiana, and the Constitution of the United States.
(e) (f) Each eligible school, public school, and charter school shall
grant the department reasonable access to its premises, including
access to the school's grounds, buildings, and property.
(f) (g) Each year the principal of each eligible school shall certify
under penalties of perjury to the department that the eligible school is
complying with the requirements of this chapter, IC 20-32-5-17,
IC 20-39-1-1, and IC 20-39-2-4. The department shall develop a
process for eligible schools to follow to make certifications.
