SB 558

Abstract

School choice educational savings accounts. Permits the parents of qualified students to apply to the Department of Education for a renewable school choice education savings account, consisting of a monetary amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the qualified student resides, from which the parent of such student may use the funds to make education-related qualifying expenditures, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks and instructional materials, at (i) a private elementary or secondary school located in the Commonwealth, (ii) certain nonpublic online learning programs, and (iii) institutions of higher education and requires the Department of Education to establish certain policies, procedures, and processes relating to the savings accounts. The bill defines the term "qualified student" to provide for the annual expansion of the students who are eligible to receive savings accounts, from including for the 2024–2025 school year only students who meet a limited set of criteria and gradually expanding to declare eligible for the 2028–2029 school year and each year thereafter any student who (a) is deemed to reside in a school division in the Commonwealth, (b) for whom compulsory attendance is required pursuant to relevant law, (c) is eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth, and (d) is entering kindergarten or was enrolled at and attended a public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth during the two semesters immediately preceding the semester for which the child's parent initially applies for a savings account. The bill contains several provisions relating to the terms and conditions to which the parent of any qualified student is required to agree to receive a savings account, requirements relating to renewal of savings accounts and the management of funds remaining when accounts are closed or become inactive, and the consequences of noncompliance with the terms and conditions. The bill also provides that the Department of Education shall be responsible for the administration of the savings accounts, including (1) making quarterly disbursements in the appropriate amount to each savings account and managing retained savings; (2) developing informational materials for interested parents relating to the savings accounts; and (3) developing policies and procedures relating to the administration and management of the savings accounts, the application process, quarterly reviews and annual audits of each savings account, and addressing incidents of intentional and substantial misrepresentation, fraud, or noncompliance in relation to expenditures from savings accounts.