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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to education recovery scholarship 2
accounts; creating s. 1002.4111, F.S.; establishing 3
education recovery scholarship accounts; providing the 4
purpose of the accounts; specifying eligibility 5
requirements; providing requirements for parent and 6
student participation; defining the term "curriculum"; 7
prohibiting providers from sharing scholarship account 8
moneys with parents or students; prohibiting a parent, 9
student, or provider from billing specified entities 10
for the same services that are paid for using 11
scholarship account funds; providing that parents are 12
responsible for certain unreimbursed expenses; 13
providing for administration of the scholarship ; 14
specifying Department of Education scholarship 15
obligations; specifying school district scholarship 16
obligations; providing for funding and payment of 17
scholarships; providing immunity from liability for 18
the state; authorizing the State Board of Education t o 19
adopt rules; providing an effective date. 20
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
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Section 1. Section 1002.4111, Florida Statutes, is created 24
to read: 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1002.4111 Education recovery scholarship accounts. — 26
(1) EDUCATION RECOVE RY SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS. —Education 27
recovery scholarship accounts are established to mitigate 28
learning loss by providing options for students who attend a 29
public school that has been closed because of an emergency. 30
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—Contingent upon availab le funds 31
appropriated to reading scholarship accounts under s. 1002.411, 32
and on a first-come, first-served basis, a student is eligible 33
for an education recovery scholarship account if that student 34
attends a public school that has been closed for in -person 35
learning for no less than 10 consecutive school days during the 36
school year because of an emergency as defined in s. 252.34(4) 37
and meets one of the following requirements: 38
(a) The student is in grades 3 through 5 and scored below 39
a Level 3 on the grade 3 or grade 5 statewide, standardized 40
English Language Arts or mathematics assessment in the current 41
or prior school year; or 42
(b) The student is in grades 3 through 5 and has been 43
identified as needing additional support based on the school's 44
early warning system pursuant to s. 1001.42(18)(b). 45
(3) PARENT AND STUDENT REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION. — 46
(a) For an eligible student to receive an education 47
recovery scholarship, the student's parent must: 48
1. Submit an application to an eligible nonprofit 49
scholarship-funding organization by the deadline established by 50
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such organization; and 51
2. Submit eligible expenses to the eligible nonprofit 52
scholarship-funding organization for reimbursement of qualifying 53
expenditures, which may include only: 54
a. Instructional materials. 55
b. Curriculum. As used in this sub -subparagraph, the term 56
"curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular 57
content area or grade level, including any required supplemental 58
materials and associated online instruction. 59
c. Tuition and fees for part -time tutoring services 60
provided by a person who holds a valid Florida educator's 61
certificate pursuant to s. 1012.56, a person who holds a 62
baccalaureate or graduate degree in the subject area, a person 63
who holds an adjunct teac hing certificate pursuant to s. 64
1012.57, or a person who has demonstrated a mastery of subject 65
area knowledge pursuant to s. 1012.56(5). 66
d. Fees for summer education programs designed to improve 67
mathematics, reading, or literacy skills. 68
e. Fees for after-school education programs designed to 69
improve mathematics, reading, or literacy skills. 70
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A provider of any services receiving payments pursuant to this 72
paragraph may not share any moneys from the education recovery 73
scholarship with, or provide a refund or rebate of any moneys 74
from such scholarship to, the parent or participating student in 75
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any manner. A parent, student, or provider of any services may 76
not bill an insurance company, Medicaid, or any other agency for 77
the same services that are paid for usi ng education recovery 78
scholarship funds. 79
(b) The parent is responsible for the payment of all 80
eligible expenses in excess of the amount in the account in 81
accordance with the terms agreed to between the parent and any 82
providers and may not receive any ref und or rebate of any 83
expenditures made in accordance with paragraph (a). 84
(4) ADMINISTRATION. —An eligible nonprofit scholarship -85
funding organization participating in the reading scholarship 86
account program under s. 1002.411 may establish education 87
recovery scholarship accounts for eligible students in 88
accordance with the requirements of eligible nonprofit 89
scholarship-funding organizations under this chapter. 90
(5) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS. —The Department of 91
Education shall: 92
(a) Verify, before the distribution of funds, the 93
eligibility of a student whose family has applied for a 94
scholarship under this section. 95
(b) Require each organization to verify eligible 96
expenditures before the distribution of funds for any 97
expenditures made pursuant to su b-subparagraphs (3)(a)2.a. and 98
b. Review of expenditures made for services specified in sub -99
subparagraphs (3)(a)2.c., d., and e. may be completed after the 100
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purchase is made. 101
(c) Require an annual report by each organization which 102
must include, at a minim um, the number of students participating 103
in the program; the demographics of program participants; the 104
total expenditures for the purposes specified in paragraph 105
(3)(a); and any other information deemed necessary by the 106
department. 107
(6) SCHOOL DISTRICT OB LIGATIONS.— 108
(a) A school district shall notify the parent of each 109
eligible student within 10 school days after the first day of a 110
qualifying school closure of the process to request and receive 111
an education recovery scholarship, subject to available fund s. 112
(b) No later than 20 school days after the first day of a 113
qualifying school closure, a school district shall notify the 114
department of any student at a qualifying public school who is 115
eligible for a scholarship under this section. 116
(7) ACCOUNT FUNDING AND PAYMENT.— 117
(a) The scholarship award shall be as provided in the 118
General Appropriations Act. 119
(b)1. An eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 120
organization may not distribute more than 25 percent of the 121
available remaining funds from the reading scho larships under s. 122
1002.411 before May 1 of each school year. 123
2. On May 1 and thereafter of each school year, an 124
organization may distribute any available remaining funds from 125
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the reading scholarship as education recovery scholarships to 126
students eligible under this section. 127
(c) If funds are available from the reading scholarship 128
pursuant to paragraph (b), upon notification from the eligible 129
nonprofit scholarship -funding organization that a student has 130
been determined eligible for an education recovery s cholarship, 131
the department must release the student's scholarship funds to 132
such organization to be deposited into the student's account. 133
(d) The eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 134
organization may develop a system for payment of scholarship 135
funds by funds transfer, including, but not limited to, debit 136
cards, electronic payment cards, or any other means of payment 137
that the department deems to be commercially viable or cost -138
effective. A student's scholarship award may not be reduced for 139
debit card or electronic payment fees. Commodities or services 140
related to the development of such a system must be procured by 141
competitive solicitation unless such commodities or services are 142
purchased from a state term contract pursuant to s. 287.056. 143
(e) Payment of the scholarship must be made by the 144
eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding organization no less 145
frequently than on a quarterly basis. 146
(f) Moneys received pursuant to this section do not 147
constitute taxable income to the qualified student or his or her 148
parent. 149
(g) A student's scholarship account must be closed and any 150
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remaining funds must revert to the state after: 151
1. Denial or revocation of scholarship eligibility by the 152
commissioner for fraud or abuse, including, but not limited to, 153
the student or stude nt's parent accepting any payment, refund, 154
or rebate, in any manner, from a provider of any services 155
received pursuant to subsection (3); or 156
2. One fiscal year in which an account has been inactive. 157
(h) Receipt of an education recovery scholarship does not 158
make a student ineligible for a reading scholarship under s. 159
1002.411. 160
(8) LIABILITY.—No liability shall arise on the part of the 161
state based on the award or use of an education recovery 162
scholarship account. 163
(9) RULES.—The State Board of Education may adopt rules to 164
implement this section. 165
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 166