115C-590. North Carolina Personal Education Student Accounts for Children with Disabilities Program established. There is established the North Carolina Personal Education Student Accounts for Children with Disabilities Program to provide the option for a parent to better meet the individual educational needs of the parent’s child. (2017-57, s. 10A.4(a); 2021-180, s. 8A.3(l).)
115C-591. Definitions. The following definitions apply in this Article: (1) Authority. – Defined in G.S. 116-201. (2) Division. – The Division of Nonpublic Education, Department of Administration. (2a) Educational technology. – As defined annually by the Authority, an item, piece of equipment, material, product, or system which may be purchased commercially off the shelf, modified, […]
115C-592. Award of scholarship funds for a personal education student account. (a) Application Selection. – The Authority shall make available no later than February 1 of each year applications to eligible students for the award of scholarship funds for a personal education student account to be used for qualifying education expenses to attend a nonpublic […]
115C-593. Student continuing eligibility. After the initial disbursement of funds, the Authority shall ensure that the student’s continuing eligibility is assessed at least every three years by one of the following: (1) The local education agency. – The local education agency shall assess if the student continues to be a child with a disability and […]
115C-594. Verification of eligibility; information from other State agencies. (a) Verification of Information. – The Authority may seek verification of information on any application for the award of scholarship funds for a personal education student account. The Authority shall establish rules for the verification process. If a household fails to cooperate with verification efforts, the […]
115C-595. Parental agreement; use of funds. (a) Parental Agreement. – The Authority shall provide the parent of a scholarship recipient with a written agreement, applicable for each year the eligible student receives scholarship funds under this Article, to be signed and returned to the Authority prior to receiving the scholarship funds. The agreement shall be […]
115C-596. Identification of nonpublic schools and distribution of personal education student account information. (a) List of Nonpublic Schools. – The Division shall provide annually by February 1 to the Authority a list of all nonpublic schools operating in the State that meet the requirements of Part 1, 2, or 3 of Article 39 of this […]
115C-597. Administration. (a) Rules and Regulations. – The Authority shall establish rules and regulations for the administration of the program, including the following: (1) The administration and awarding of scholarship funds, including a lottery process for the selection of recipients within the criteria established by G.S. 115C-592(a), if necessary. (2) Requiring a surety bond or […]
115C-598. Reporting requirements. The Authority shall report annually, no later than October 15, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information from the prior school year: (1) Total number, grade level, race, ethnicity, and sex of eligible students receiving scholarship funds. (2) Total amount of scholarship funding awarded. (3) Number of students […]
115C-599. Duties of State agencies. (a) The State Board, as part of its duty to monitor all local education agencies to determine compliance with this Article and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400, et seq., (2004), as amended, and federal regulations adopted under that act, as provided in G.S. 115C-107.4, shall […]
115C-600. Funds for Personal Education Student Accounts. The General Assembly finds that due to the continued growth and ongoing need in this State to provide opportunity for school choice for children with disabilities, it is imperative that the State provide an increase in funds of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) each fiscal year for […]
