(a) The board may propose legislative rules for legislative approval pursuant to 29A-3-1 et seq. of this code for the auditing of individual Hope Scholarship accounts and shall conduct or contract for the random auditing of individual Hope Scholarship accounts as needed to ensure compliance with the requirements of this article and rules promulgated pursuant to this article.
(b) As part of the auditing process, the board may remove a parent or eligible recipient from the Hope Scholarship program and close a Hope Scholarship account for failure to comply with the terms of the parental agreement required by 18-31-5 of this code, failure to comply with the applicable laws, failure of the student to remain eligible, or intentional and fraudulent misuse of Hope Scholarship funds: Provided, That the board shall create procedures to ensure that a fair process exists to determine the removal of a parent or eligible recipient from the Hope Scholarship program and a parent or Hope Scholarship student may appeal the decision to make the student ineligible for funds to the board.
(c) The board may conduct or contract for the audit of education service providers accepting payments from Hope Scholarship accounts if it determines that the education service provider has:
(1) Intentionally and substantially misrepresented information or failed to refund any overpayments in a timely manner; or