Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an eligible entity receiving a grant under § 38-1853.04(a) shall use the grant funds to provide eligible students with scholarships to pay the tuition, fees, and transportation expenses, if any, to enable the eligible students to attend the District of Columbia private elementary school or secondary school of their choice beginning in school year 2011-2012. Each such eligible entity shall ensure that the amount of any tuition or fees charged by a school participating in such entity’s program under this chapter to an eligible student participating in the program does not exceed the amount of tuition or fees that the school charges to students who do not participate in the program. An eligible entity receiving a grant under § 38-1853.04(a) shall make scholarship payments under the entity’s program under this chapter to the parent of the eligible student participating in the program, in a manner which ensures that such payments will be used for the payment of tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if any), in accordance with this chapter. Subject to the other requirements of this section, an eligible entity receiving a grant under § 38-1853.04(a) may award scholarships in larger amounts to those eligible students with the greatest need. The amount of assistance provided to any eligible student by an eligible entity under the entity’s program under this chapter for school year 2011-2012 may not exceed— $ 8,000 for attendance in kindergarten through grade 8; and $ 12,000 for attendance in grades 9 through 12. Beginning with school year 2012-2013, the Secretary shall adjust the maximum amounts of assistance described in clause (i) for inflation, as measured by the percentage increase, if any, from the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. None of the funds provided under this chapter for opportunity scholarships may be used by an eligible student to enroll in a participating private school unless the participating school— has and maintains a valid certificate of occupancy issued by the District of Columbia; makes readily available to all prospective students information on its school accreditation; in the case of a school that has been operating for 5 years or less, submits to the eligible entity administering the program proof of adequate financial resources reflecting the financial sustainability of the school and the school’s ability to be in operation through the school year; agrees to submit to site visits as determined to be necessary by the eligible entity pursuant to § 38-1853.05(b)(1)(I) ; has financial systems, controls, policies, and procedures to ensure that funds are used according to this chapter; ensures that, with respect to core academic subjects (as such term was defined in section 9101(11) of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 7801(11) on the day before December 10, 2015), participating students are taught by a teacher who has a baccalaureate degree or equivalent degree, whether such degree was awarded in or outside of the United States ensures that each teacher of core subject matter in the school has a baccalaureate degree or equivalent degree, whether such degree was awarded in or outside of the United States; is provisionally or fully accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency that is recognized in § 38-1802.02(16)(A) -(G) or any other accrediting body deemed appropriate by the Office of the State Superintendent for Schools for the purposes of accrediting an elementary or secondary school; or in the case of a school that is a participating school as of the day before December 15, 2015 and, as of such day, does not meet the requirements of clause (i)— by not later than 1 year after such date of enactment, is pursuing accreditation by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized in § 38-1802.02(16)(A) -(G) or any other accrediting body deemed appropriate by the Office of the State Superintendent for Schools for the purposes of accrediting an elementary or secondary school; and by not later than 5 years after such date of enactment, is provisionally or fully accredited by such accrediting agency, except that an eligible entity may grant not more than one 1-year extension to meet this requirement for each participating school that provides evidence to the eligible entity from such accrediting agency that the school's application for accreditation is in process and the school will be awarded accreditation before the end of the 1-year extension period; conducts criminal background checks on school employees who have direct and unsupervised interaction with students; and complies with all requests for data and information regarding the reporting requirements described in § 38-1853.10 . If a school is not a participating school as of December 15, 2015, the school shall not become a participating school and none of the funds provided under this division for opportunity scholarships may be used by an eligible student to enroll in that school unless the school— is actively pursuing provisional or full accreditation by a national or regional accrediting agency that is recognized § 38-1802.02(16)(A) -(G) or any other accrediting body deemed appropriate by the Office of the State Superintendent for Schools for the purposes of accrediting an elementary or secondary school; and meets all of the other requirements for participating schools under this chapter. An eligible entity shall assist the parents of a participating eligible student in identifying, applying to, and enrolling in an another participating school for which opportunity scholarship funds may be used, if— such student is enrolled in a participating private school and may no longer use opportunity scholarship funds for enrollment in that participating private school because such school fails to meet a requirement under paragraph 4, or any other requirement of this chapter; or a participating eligible student is enrolled in a school that ceases to be a participating school. An eligible entity receiving a grant under § 38-1853.04(a) may use not more than 3 percent of the amount provided under the grant each year for the administrative expenses of carrying out its program under this chapter during the year, including— determining the eligibility of students to participate; selecting eligible students to receive scholarships; determining the amount of scholarships and issuing the scholarships to eligible students; compiling and maintaining financial and programmatic records; and conducting site visits as described in § 38-1853.05(b)(1)(I) . An eligible entity receiving a grant under § 38-1853.04(a) may use not more than 2 percent of the amount provided under the grant each year for the expenses of educating parents about the entity’s program under this chapter, and assisting parents through the application process, under this chapter, including— providing information about the program and the participating schools to parents of eligible students; providing funds to assist parents of students in meeting expenses that might otherwise preclude the participation of eligible students in the program; and streamlining the application process for parents. An eligible entity receiving a grant under § 38-1853.04(a) may use not more than 1 percent of the amount provided under the grant each year for expenses to provide tutoring services to participating eligible students that need additional academic assistance. If there are insufficient funds to provide tutoring services to all such students in a year, the eligible entity shall give priority in such year to students who previously attended an elementary school or secondary school that was implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 1111(d) [20 U.S.C. § 6311(d)] of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
‹ Prev All District Of Columbia sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.