Senator FANNING proposed the following amendment (VR\935C002.NBD.VR22):
Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 2, by striking Section 59-8-110(12) and inserting:
/(12) 'Qualifying expense' means:
(a) tuition and fees of an education service provider;
(b) textbooks, curriculum, or other instructional materials including, but not limited to, any supplemental materials or associated online instruction required by either a curriculum or an education service provider;
(c) educational services for pupils with disabilities from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider including, but not limited to, occupational, behavioral, physical, and speech-language therapies; or
(d) fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider for the scholarship student to travel to and from an eligible provider as defined in this section, but not to exceed seven hundred and fifty dollars for each school year./
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, SECTION 2, Section 59-8-150, by adding an appropriately lettered subsection to read:
/( )(1) To obtain approval from the department to provide such services as a qualifying expense, a tutoring services program must:
(a) offer instruction and methods of instruction that are age and ability appropriate for the child;
(b) have sufficient facilities and materials or access to other facilities and additional materials as necessary to provide an appropriate education;
(c) have facilities and operations that comply with local, state, and federal requirements pertaining to the health and safety of children;
(d) employ an adequate number of professional staff for the population served, and these staff members are qualified by training and experience in the areas in to which they are assigned;
(e) ensure that its teachers who provide or supervise the provision of special education have licensure and endorsement as would be required for the equivalent work in a public school in this State;
(f) ensure that its professional staff have relevant experience, training, or both in the duties to which they are assigned;
(g) maintain a register of the daily attendance of each of its students and reports the attendance to the responsible LEA;
(h) maintain an operating schedule that includes instruction for no less than ten hours for each week unless doing so is inconsistent with medical recommendations, educational recommendations, or both, and which must be sufficient to ensure that the instructional services provided will address the individual needs of a child with disabilities and are consistent with the IEP of the child;
(i) have the financial capacity to carry out its educational purposes for the period of approval; and
(j) meet standards that apply to state and local education agencies as evidenced by the maintenance and implementation of written policies or procedures, as appropriate, in the areas of admissions, discipline, and significant change in placement.
(2) With respect to the approval of rates for tutoring services providers:
(a) each tutoring services provider shall report its rates for tuition, related services, and room and board, if applicable, to the department on a form prescribed for that purpose;
(b) the rates that a tutoring services provider charges for tuition, related services, and room and board must be reasonably related to the actual costs of the services provided based on generally accepted accounting principles; and
(c) the department shall review the annual rate report of each tutorial program. If the department concludes that the rates of a tutoring services provider are not reasonably related to the services provided, the department shall make a determination as to the maximum rate that public school districts and the department would pay to the tutoring services provider for those services and offer the tutoring services provider an opportunity for explanation regarding why the maximum rate the department would pay is not adequate. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the department shall refer the matter to the State Board of Education. Upon receipt of the referral, the board shall conduct a formal proceeding on the matter, and its determination is final. /