Legislative Report

April 4, 2007 by Baker.

The Legislature passed, and the governor signed, H.B. 148, Education Vouchers, which
creates a program to award scholarships to students to attend a private school. The bill:
- specifies criteria for qualifying for a scholarship;
- specifies criteria for private schools to enroll scholarship students;
- specifies the amount, timing, and form of scholarship payments;
- requires the State Board of Education to make rules;
- gives the State Board of Education enforcement authority;
- requires the Legislature to annually appropriate money from the General Fund for scholarship payments;
- allows a school district to continue to receive a portion of state funding for a student who transfers to a private school for a five-year period; and
- appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund for fiscal year 2006-07 to the State Board of Education.

The Legislature passed, and the governor signed, H.B. 174, Education Voucher Amendments, which modifies a program to award scholarships to students to attend a private school. The bill includes many of the same provisions as H.B. 148 and includes the following modifications:
- parents of scholarship students shall acknowledge they are responsible for transportation costs;
- private schools accepting scholarship students shall employ teachers who have complete criminal background checks;
- the State Board of Education shall made rules providing for the verification of parental income of scholarship students; and
- the legislative auditor general shall conduct a review of the scholarship program after the 2011-12 school year.

The Legislature passed, and the governor signed, S.B. 3, Appropriations Adjustments, which makes various appropriations for the operation of state government, including the following:
“Item 135 To State Board of Education - Parent Choice in Education Act From General Fund 9,300,000
From General Fund, One-time 3,000,000 Schedule of Programs:
Administration 100,000 Scholarships 12,200,000
To implement the provisions of Education Vouchers (House Bill 148, 2007 General Session).”

• A referendum to place H.B. 148, Education Vouchers, to a vote of the people is currently in process. If a sufficient number of registered voters sign the petition, H.B. 148 will not go into effect until voters approve the bill at a special election (called by the governor) or at the next general election (November, 2008).

• The referendum does not affect the sections enacted in H.B. 174, but the funding for the voucher program is tied to H.B. 148 and may not be transferred to a program established in accordance with the sections enacted in H.B. 174 without further legislative action.

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