(a) The Authority shall make available no later than May 1 annually applications to eligible students for the award of scholarship grants to attend any nonpublic school and to receive special education and related services in a nonpublic school setting. Information about scholarship grants and the application process shall be made available on the Authority's Web site. The Authority shall give priority in awarding scholarship grants to eligible students who received a scholarship grant during the previous semester. Except as otherwise provided by the Authority for prior scholarship grant recipients, scholarship grants shall be awarded to eligible students in the order in which the applications are received.
(b) Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students shall be for amounts of not more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) per semester per eligible student. Eligible students awarded grants may not be enrolled in a public school. Scholarship grants shall be awarded only for the reimbursement of tuition and special education and related services, including those services provided to home schooled students. Parents may only receive reimbursement for tuition if the parent provides documentation that the student was enrolled in nonpublic school for no less than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks reimbursement. Parents may only receive reimbursement for related services provided to home schooled students if the parent provides documentation that the student received related services for no less than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks reimbursement. The Authority shall notify parents in writing of their eligibility to receive scholarship grants for costs that will be incurred during the spring semester of the following year by December 1 and for costs incurred during the fall semester of that year by July 1. Following the conclusion of each school semester, the parent of an eligible student shall submit to the Authority any receipts or other documentation approved by the Authority to demonstrate the costs incurred during the semester as well as documentation that the student was enrolled in the nonpublic school for no less than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks reimbursement for tuition or documentation that related services were provided to a home schooled student for no less than 75 days of the semester for which the parent seeks reimbursement for related services. The Authority shall award a scholarship grant in the amount of costs demonstrated by the parent up to the maximum amount. If the costs incurred by the parent do not meet the maximum amount, the Authority shall use the remainder of those funds for the award of scholarship grants to eligible students for the following semester. The Authority shall award scholarship grants to the parents of eligible students at least semiannually.
(c) After an eligible student's initial receipt of a scholarship grant, the Authority shall ensure that the student is reevaluated at least every three years by the local educational agency in order to verify that the student continues to be a child with a disability.
(d) The Authority shall establish rules and regulations for the administration and awarding of scholarship grants. (2013-364, s. 4.)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014