New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico Senate Bill SB286 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	underscored material = new
2	2	[bracketed material] = delete
3	3	1
4	4	2
5	5	3
6	6	4
7	7	5
8	8	6
9	9	7
10	10	8
11	11	9
12	12	10
13	13	11
14	14	12
15	15	13
16	16	14
17	17	15
18	18	16
19	19	17
20	20	18
21	21	19
22	22	20
23	23	21
24	24	22
25	25	23
26	26	24
27	27	25
28	28	SENATE BILL 286
29	29	57
30	30	TH LEGISLATURE
31	31	-
32	32
33	33	STATE
34	34
35	35	OF
36	36
37	37	NEW
38	38
39	39	MEXICO
40	40
41	41	-
42	42	FIRST SESSION
43	43	,
44	44
45	45	2025
46	46	INTRODUCED BY
47	47	Craig W. Brandt and James G. Townsend and William E. Sharer
48	48	and Larry R. Scott and Steve D. Lanier
49	49	AN ACT
50	50	RELATING TO EDUCATION; ENACTING THE EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNT
51	51	ACT; PROVIDING POWERS AND DUTIES; PROVIDING FOR EDUCATION
52	52	FREEDOM ACCOUNTS; PROVIDING ALLOWABLE USES; PROVIDING
53	53	PROCEDURES AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PARENTS AND
54	54	EDUCATION SERVICE PROVIDERS; CREATING A REVIEW COMMISSION;
55	55	MAKING APPROPRIATIONS.
56	56	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
57	57	SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is
58	58	enacted to read:
59	59	"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
60	60	"Education Freedom Account Act"."
61	61	SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is
62	62	enacted to read:
63	63	"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Education
64	64	.229271.2 underscored material = new
65	65	[bracketed material] = delete
66	66	1
67	67	2
68	68	3
69	69	4
70	70	5
71	71	6
72	72	7
73	73	8
74	74	9
75	75	10
76	76	11
77	77	12
78	78	13
79	79	14
80	80	15
81	81	16
82	82	17
83	83	18
84	84	19
85	85	20
86	86	21
87	87	22
88	88	23
89	89	24
90	90	25
91	91	Freedom Account Act:
92	92	A. "curriculum" means a complete course of study
93	93	for a particular primary or secondary content area or grade
94	94	level;
95	95	B. "education" means a primary or secondary
96	96	education;
97	97	C. "education freedom account" means the account
98	98	into which money is deposited by the department to pay for
99	99	qualifying educational expenses of a participating student;
100	100	D. "education service provider" means a private
101	101	school located in New Mexico that is qualified to provide
102	102	educational goods and services to participating students and
103	103	that receives payments from education freedom accounts;
104	104	provided that "education service provider" does not mean an
105	105	online school;
106	106	E. "eligible student" means a school-age person who
107	107	is a resident of New Mexico, who has not received a high school
108	108	diploma or a high school equivalency credential, who is
109	109	eligible for enrollment or re-enrollment in a public school and
110	110	whose family's income is at or below two hundred percent of the
111	111	federal poverty level;
112	112	F. "participating student" means a student who is
113	113	participating in the program;
114	114	G. "program" means the education freedom account
115	115	program; and
116	116	.229271.2
117	117	- 2 - underscored material = new
118	118	[bracketed material] = delete
119	119	1
120	120	2
121	121	3
122	122	4
123	123	5
124	124	6
125	125	7
126	126	8
127	127	9
128	128	10
129	129	11
130	130	12
131	131	13
132	132	14
133	133	15
134	134	16
135	135	17
136	136	18
137	137	19
138	138	20
139	139	21
140	140	22
141	141	23
142	142	24
143	143	25
144	144	H. "qualifying educational expenses" means
145	145	authorized expenditures from a participating student's
146	146	education freedom account and includes those expenses
147	147	enumerated in Paragraphs (1) through (7) of Subsection B of
148	148	Section 3 of the Education Freedom Account Act."
149	149	SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is
150	150	enacted to read:
151	151	"[NEW MATERIAL] EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNT PROGRAM--
152	152	CREATED--FUNDING USES.--
153	153	A. The "education freedom account program" is
154	154	created in the department to allow the department, in contract
155	155	with parents of participating students, to pay for private
156	156	school and other qualifying educational expenses through
157	157	"education freedom accounts". The department:
158	158	(1) shall establish education freedom accounts
159	159	for students who qualify for the program;
160	160	(2) shall determine the amount each
161	161	participating student is eligible to receive, which amount is
162	162	equal to the average amount spent by school districts and
163	163	charter schools on public school students in the same grade,
164	164	weighted by special education and at-risk program units, if
165	165	applicable; provided that a participating student shall not
166	166	receive more than the student's qualifying educational
167	167	expenses;
168	168	(3) shall make monthly deposits into each
169	169	.229271.2
170	170	- 3 - underscored material = new
171	171	[bracketed material] = delete
172	172	1
173	173	2
174	174	3
175	175	4
176	176	5
177	177	6
178	178	7
179	179	8
180	180	9
181	181	10
182	182	11
183	183	12
184	184	13
185	185	14
186	186	15
187	187	16
188	188	17
189	189	18
190	190	19
191	191	20
192	192	21
193	193	22
194	194	23
195	195	24
196	196	25
197	197	education freedom account; and
198	198	(4) may contract for financial management
199	199	services for education freedom accounts.
200	200	B. Money in a participating student's education
201	201	freedom account shall be used by the department, in contract
202	202	with parents of participating students, only in accordance with
203	203	the provisions of the Education Freedom Account Act and only
204	204	for the following qualifying educational expenses:
205	205	(1) tuition and fees at a private primary or
206	206	secondary school that teaches, among other courses, reading,
207	207	language arts, mathematics, science and social studies
208	208	appropriate for the grade level of the participating student;
209	209	(2) tutoring services provided by a qualified
210	210	person;
211	211	(3) textbooks and other instructional
212	212	materials, including computer hardware and software, required
213	213	by the education service provider to deliver education to the
214	214	participating student;
215	215	(4) fees for nationally standardized
216	216	assessments, advanced placement examinations and other
217	217	assessments required by the education service provider;
218	218	(5) tuition or fees for summer and after-
219	219	school primary or secondary programs;
220	220	(6) public transportation to and from school;
221	221	and
222	222	.229271.2
223	223	- 4 - underscored material = new
224	224	[bracketed material] = delete
225	225	1
226	226	2
227	227	3
228	228	4
229	229	5
230	230	6
231	231	7
232	232	8
233	233	9
234	234	10
235	235	11
236	236	12
237	237	13
238	238	14
239	239	15
240	240	16
241	241	17
242	242	18
243	243	19
244	244	20
245	245	21
246	246	22
247	247	23
248	248	24
249	249	25
250	250	(7) other educational charges approved by the
251	251	department.
252	252	C. The department and the parent of a participating
253	253	student shall enter into an annual contract that specifies what
254	254	qualifying educational expenses will be purchased each semester
255	255	or other term, the cost of the educational services to be
256	256	provided and by whom the educational services will be provided.
257	257	The department shall not deposit into an education freedom
258	258	account more than the combined cost of educational services
259	259	provided to the participating student in that year. A parent
260	260	shall not pay more for educational services than the parent of
261	261	a similarly situated school-age person pays. Money in an
262	262	education freedom account shall not be refunded, rebated or
263	263	shared with a parent or participating student in any manner. A
264	264	refund or rebate for educational services purchased through an
265	265	education freedom account shall be credited directly to that
266	266	account. A parent may make payments for the cost of
267	267	educational services not covered by an education freedom
268	268	account, but in no case shall a parent deposit personal funds
269	269	into a participating student's account.
270	270	D. Money in a participating student's education
271	271	freedom account shall be issued at the direction of the
272	272	participating student's parent to an education service provider
273	273	in the name of the student.
274	274	E. If an education service provider requires
275	275	.229271.2
276	276	- 5 - underscored material = new
277	277	[bracketed material] = delete
278	278	1
279	279	2
280	280	3
281	281	4
282	282	5
283	283	6
284	284	7
285	285	8
286	286	9
287	287	10
288	288	11
289	289	12
290	290	13
291	291	14
292	292	15
293	293	16
294	294	17
295	295	18
296	296	19
297	297	20
298	298	21
299	299	22
300	300	23
301	301	24
302	302	25
303	303	partial payment of tuition or fees prior to the start of the
304	304	academic year to reserve space for a participating student
305	305	admitted to the education service provider, such partial
306	306	payment may be paid by the department prior to the start of the
307	307	school year in which the education freedom account is awarded
308	308	and deducted in an equitable manner from subsequent monthly
309	309	account deposits to ensure that adequate funds remain available
310	310	throughout the school year; provided that if the participating
311	311	student does not attend the education service provider to which
312	312	partial payment was made, the partial payment shall be returned
313	313	to the department by the education service provider for credit
314	314	to the account.
315	315	F. Funds deposited in an education freedom account
316	316	shall not constitute taxable income for state tax purposes of
317	317	the parent or the participating student.
318	318	G. Except as provided in Subsection H of this
319	319	section, any unexpended or unencumbered balance in an education
320	320	freedom account may remain in the account until one of the
321	321	following occurs, at which time the department shall close the
322	322	account and the unexpended or unencumbered balance shall revert
323	323	to the general fund:
324	324	(1) the parent withdraws the participating
325	325	student from the program;
326	326	(2) the student graduates from high school; or
327	327	(3) the account is closed by the department
328	328	.229271.2
329	329	- 6 - underscored material = new
330	330	[bracketed material] = delete
331	331	1
332	332	2
333	333	3
334	334	4
335	335	5
336	336	6
337	337	7
338	338	8
339	339	9
340	340	10
341	341	11
342	342	12
343	343	13
344	344	14
345	345	15
346	346	16
347	347	17
348	348	18
349	349	19
350	350	20
351	351	21
352	352	22
353	353	23
354	354	24
355	355	25
356	356	because of misuse of funds as determined by the department.
357	357	H. The department shall revert unexpended or
358	358	unencumbered balances every two years unless it waives the
359	359	reversion of a specific education freedom account for
360	360	extenuating circumstances.
361	361	I. Nothing in the Education Freedom Account Act
362	362	shall be construed to require a participating student to be
363	363	enrolled only in a private school, but the participating
364	364	student must be in compliance with the Attendance for Success
365	365	Act."
366	366	SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is
367	367	enacted to read:
368	368	"[NEW MATERIAL] EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNT--APPLICATION
369	369	PROCESS--RENEWAL--SUSPENSION.--
370	370	A. A parent may apply to the department to
371	371	establish an education freedom account for an eligible student.
372	372	B. The department shall accept and approve
373	373	applications year-round and shall establish procedures and
374	374	rules for approving applications in an expeditious manner.
375	375	C. The department shall create a standard form that
376	376	parents shall submit to establish a student's eligibility for
377	377	the program and shall ensure that the application is publicly
378	378	available and may be submitted through various sources,
379	379	including the internet.
380	380	D. The department shall approve an application for
381	381	.229271.2
382	382	- 7 - underscored material = new
383	383	[bracketed material] = delete
384	384	1
385	385	2
386	386	3
387	387	4
388	388	5
389	389	6
390	390	7
391	391	8
392	392	9
393	393	10
394	394	11
395	395	12
396	396	13
397	397	14
398	398	15
399	399	16
400	400	17
401	401	18
402	402	19
403	403	20
404	404	21
405	405	22
406	406	23
407	407	24
408	408	25
409	409	an education freedom account if:
410	410	(1) the parent submits an application for an
411	411	education freedom account in accordance with the application
412	412	procedures established by the department;
413	413	(2) the student, on whose behalf the parent is
414	414	applying, is an eligible student;
415	415	(3) funds are available for the program or the
416	416	education freedom account; and
417	417	(4) the parent signs a contract with the
418	418	department agreeing:
419	419	(a) to provide an education for the
420	420	participating student in at least the subjects of reading,
421	421	language arts, mathematics, science and social studies;
422	422	(b) not to enroll the student as a full-
423	423	time student in a public school while participating in the
424	424	program;
425	425	(c) to use the funds in the education
426	426	freedom account only for qualifying educational expenses to
427	427	educate the student; and
428	428	(d) to comply with the rules and
429	429	requirements of the program.
430	430	E. The department shall annually renew a student's
431	431	education freedom account if funds are available.
432	432	F. Upon notice to the department, a participating
433	433	student may choose to stop receiving education freedom account
434	434	.229271.2
435	435	- 8 - underscored material = new
436	436	[bracketed material] = delete
437	437	1
438	438	2
439	439	3
440	440	4
441	441	5
442	442	6
443	443	7
444	444	8
445	445	9
446	446	10
447	447	11
448	448	12
449	449	13
450	450	14
451	451	15
452	452	16
453	453	17
454	454	18
455	455	19
456	456	20
457	457	21
458	458	22
459	459	23
460	460	24
461	461	25
462	462	funding and enroll full time in a public school. Enrolling as
463	463	a full-time student in a public school shall result in the
464	464	immediate suspension of payment of additional funds into the
465	465	student's education freedom account; provided that, for
466	466	education freedom accounts that have been open for at least one
467	467	full school year, the department may allow an education freedom
468	468	account to remain open and active for the parent to pay
469	469	qualifying educational expenses to educate the student from
470	470	money remaining in the account. The department shall revert
471	471	unexpended or unencumbered balances in a student's education
472	472	freedom account and close the education freedom account at the
473	473	beginning of the next school year if the student is enrolled in
474	474	a public school.
475	475	G. If an eligible student decides to return to the
476	476	program, payments into the student's education freedom account
477	477	may resume if the education freedom account is still open and
478	478	active. A new education freedom account may be established if
479	479	the student's education freedom account is closed.
480	480	H. The department may adopt rules to provide the
481	481	least disruptive process for a student who chooses to stop
482	482	participating in the program and enroll full time in a public
483	483	school."
484	484	SECTION 5. A new section of the Public School Code is
485	485	enacted to read:
486	486	"[NEW MATERIAL] ADDITIONAL POWERS AND DUTIES--ALLOWABLE
487	487	.229271.2
488	488	- 9 - underscored material = new
489	489	[bracketed material] = delete
490	490	1
491	491	2
492	492	3
493	493	4
494	494	5
495	495	6
496	496	7
497	497	8
498	498	9
499	499	10
500	500	11
501	501	12
502	502	13
503	503	14
504	504	15
505	505	16
506	506	17
507	507	18
508	508	19
509	509	20
510	510	21
511	511	22
512	512	23
513	513	24
514	514	25
515	515	USES OF FUNDS--EDUCATION SERVICE PROVIDERS.--
516	516	A. The department shall:
517	517	(1) maintain an updated list of qualified
518	518	education service providers and ensure that the list is
519	519	publicly available through various sources, including the
520	520	internet;
521	521	(2) provide parents with a written explanation
522	522	of the allowable uses of education freedom account funds, the
523	523	responsibilities of parents in ensuring the education of their
524	524	children, the duties of the department and the role of any
525	525	private financial management firms or other private
526	526	organizations that the department may contract with to
527	527	administer the program or any aspect of the program;
528	528	(3) ensure that parents of students with
529	529	disabilities receive notice that participation in the program
530	530	is a parental placement pursuant to the federal Individuals
531	531	with Disabilities Education Act, along with an explanation of
532	532	the rights that parentally placed students may possess under
533	533	federal law and any applicable state laws and rules;
534	534	(4) implement a commercially viable, cost-
535	535	effective and user-friendly system for processing payments for
536	536	services from an education freedom account to an education
537	537	service provider by electronic or online funds transfer;
538	538	provided that the department:
539	539	(a) provides flexibility to parents by
540	540	.229271.2
541	541	- 10 - underscored material = new
542	542	[bracketed material] = delete
543	543	1
544	544	2
545	545	3
546	546	4
547	547	5
548	548	6
549	549	7
550	550	8
551	551	9
552	552	10
553	553	11
554	554	12
555	555	13
556	556	14
557	557	15
558	558	16
559	559	17
560	560	18
561	561	19
562	562	20
563	563	21
564	564	22
565	565	23
566	566	24
567	567	25
568	568	facilitating direct payments to education service providers as
569	569	well as requests for preapproval of and reimbursements for
570	570	qualifying educational expenses; and
571	571	(b) may contract with private
572	572	institutions to develop the payment system;
573	573	(5) implement, as soon as practicable, a
574	574	commercially viable, cost-effective and user-friendly system,
575	575	as part of the same system that facilitates the electronic or
576	576	online funds transfers, for parents to publicly rate, review
577	577	and share information about education service providers;
578	578	(6) continue making deposits into a student's
579	579	education freedom account until the:
580	580	(a) department has been notified or
581	581	determines that the student is no longer a participating
582	582	student;
583	583	(b) department determines that there was
584	584	misuse of the funds in the education freedom account;
585	585	(c) student withdraws from the program;
586	586	(d) student enrolls full time in a
587	587	public school; or
588	588	(e) student graduates from high school;
589	589	(7) audit individual education freedom
590	590	accounts;
591	591	(8) make a parent or participating student
592	592	ineligible for the program in the event of misuse of education
593	593	.229271.2
594	594	- 11 - underscored material = new
595	595	[bracketed material] = delete
596	596	1
597	597	2
598	598	3
599	599	4
600	600	5
601	601	6
602	602	7
603	603	8
604	604	9
605	605	10
606	606	11
607	607	12
608	608	13
609	609	14
610	610	15
611	611	16
612	612	17
613	613	18
614	614	19
615	615	20
616	616	21
617	617	22
618	618	23
619	619	24
620	620	25
621	621	freedom account funds; provided that if a parent is determined
622	622	to be ineligible for the program and the participating student
623	623	is free from personal misconduct, that student may be eligible
624	624	for an education freedom account if placed with a new guardian
625	625	or other person with the legal authority to act on behalf of
626	626	the student;
627	627	(9) refer suspected cases of misuse of
628	628	education freedom account funds to law enforcement if evidence
629	629	of fraudulent use of education freedom account funds exists;
630	630	(10) create procedures to ensure that a fair
631	631	process exists to determine whether a misuse of education
632	632	freedom account funds has occurred; and
633	633	(11) create procedures to ensure that a fair
634	634	process exists to determine whether an education service
635	635	provider may be barred from receiving payments from education
636	636	freedom accounts; provided that an education service provider
637	637	may appeal the department's decision to bar the education
638	638	service provider from receiving payments from education freedom
639	639	accounts; and provided further that if the department bars an
640	640	education service provider from receiving payments, the
641	641	department shall notify parents of participating students of
642	642	the department's decision.
643	643	B. The department may:
644	644	(1) contract with private organizations to
645	645	administer the program or specific functions of the program,
646	646	.229271.2
647	647	- 12 - underscored material = new
648	648	[bracketed material] = delete
649	649	1
650	650	2
651	651	3
652	652	4
653	653	5
654	654	6
655	655	7
656	656	8
657	657	9
658	658	10
659	659	11
660	660	12
661	661	13
662	662	14
663	663	15
664	664	16
665	665	17
666	666	18
667	667	19
668	668	20
669	669	21
670	670	22
671	671	23
672	672	24
673	673	25
674	674	including contracting with private financial management firms
675	675	to manage education freedom accounts;
676	676	(2) withhold from deposits or deduct from an
677	677	education freedom account an amount to cover the costs of
678	678	administering the program, in an amount up to a maximum of five
679	679	percent annually in the first two years of the program and up
680	680	to a maximum of three percent annually thereafter;
681	681	(3) bar an education service provider from
682	682	accepting payments from education freedom accounts if the
683	683	department determines that the education service provider has:
684	684	(a) substantially misrepresented
685	685	information or failed to refund any overpayments in a timely
686	686	manner; or
687	687	(b) failed to provide participating
688	688	students with sufficient educational goods or services;
689	689	(4) accept gifts, grants and donations from
690	690	any source to cover administrative costs, to inform the public
691	691	about the program or to fund additional education freedom
692	692	accounts; and
693	693	(5) adopt rules in accordance with the State
694	694	Rules Act that are consistent with the Education Freedom
695	695	Account Act and necessary for the administration of that act,
696	696	including rules:
697	697	(a) establishing or contracting for the
698	698	establishment of an online anonymous fraud reporting service;
699	699	.229271.2
700	700	- 13 - underscored material = new
701	701	[bracketed material] = delete
702	702	1
703	703	2
704	704	3
705	705	4
706	706	5
707	707	6
708	708	7
709	709	8
710	710	9
711	711	10
712	712	11
713	713	12
714	714	13
715	715	14
716	716	15
717	717	16
718	718	17
719	719	18
720	720	19
721	721	20
722	722	21
723	723	22
724	724	23
725	725	24
726	726	25
727	727	(b) establishing an anonymous telephone
728	728	hotline for fraud reporting;
729	729	(c) requiring a surety bond for
730	730	education service providers receiving more than one hundred
731	731	thousand dollars ($100,000) in education freedom account funds;
732	732	or
733	733	(d) for refunding payments from
734	734	education service providers to education freedom accounts."
735	735	SECTION 6. A new section of the Public School Code is
736	736	enacted to read:
737	737	"[NEW MATERIAL] EDUCATION SERVICE PROVIDERS--
738	738	APPLICATIONS--AUTONOMY--NOT ACTING FOR THE STATE.--
739	739	A. The department by rule shall provide the
740	740	application process and procedures for prospective education
741	741	service providers to apply for listing as an eligible education
742	742	service provider. An application form signed by a prospective
743	743	education service provider warrants that the education service
744	744	provider:
745	745	(1) shall not refund, rebate or share money
746	746	from education freedom accounts with parents or participating
747	747	students and shall return refunds to the department; and
748	748	(2) shall provide the education services
749	749	contained in the agreement entered into with a parent.
750	750	B. An education service provider is not an agent of
751	751	the state or federal government, a local school board or school
752	752	.229271.2
753	753	- 14 - underscored material = new
754	754	[bracketed material] = delete
755	755	1
756	756	2
757	757	3
758	758	4
759	759	5
760	760	6
761	761	7
762	762	8
763	763	9
764	764	10
765	765	11
766	766	12
767	767	13
768	768	14
769	769	15
770	770	16
771	771	17
772	772	18
773	773	19
774	774	20
775	775	21
776	776	22
777	777	23
778	778	24
779	779	25
780	780	district or governing authority or charter school. No action
781	781	of an education service provider shall be construed as an
782	782	action by the state or any of its departments, institutions or
783	783	political subdivisions.
784	784	C. An education service provider shall not be
785	785	required to alter its creed, practices, admissions policy or
786	786	curriculum to accept payments pursuant to the Education Freedom
787	787	Account Act except as provided in that act."
788	788	SECTION 7. A new section of the Public School Code is
789	789	enacted to read:
790	790	"[NEW MATERIAL] STUDENT RECORDS.--Upon being notified that
791	791	a participating student is enrolled with an education service
792	792	provider, a public school that previously enrolled the
793	793	participating student shall provide the education service
794	794	provider with the student's school records. The public school
795	795	and the education service provider shall comply with the
796	796	provisions of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy
797	797	Act of 1974 when sharing student records."
798	798	SECTION 8. A new section of the Public School Code is
799	799	enacted to read:
800	800	"[NEW MATERIAL] EDUCATION FREEDOM REVIEW COMMISSION.--
801	801	A. The department shall create the "education
802	802	freedom review commission" to assist the department in
803	803	determining what expenditures meet the requirements to be
804	804	considered qualifying educational expenses to educate a
805	805	.229271.2
806	806	- 15 - underscored material = new
807	807	[bracketed material] = delete
808	808	1
809	809	2
810	810	3
811	811	4
812	812	5
813	813	6
814	814	7
815	815	8
816	816	9
817	817	10
818	818	11
819	819	12
820	820	13
821	821	14
822	822	15
823	823	16
824	824	17
825	825	18
826	826	19
827	827	20
828	828	21
829	829	22
830	830	23
831	831	24
832	832	25
833	833	participating student and to provide recommendations to the
834	834	department on how to implement, administer and improve the
835	835	program.
836	836	B. The education freedom review commission shall
837	837	consist of nine voting members who shall be:
838	838	(1) five parents of participating students and
839	839	represent no fewer than four counties of the state; and
840	840	(2) four New Mexico licensed educators.
841	841	C. The voting members shall be appointed by the
842	842	secretary and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.
843	843	The secretary, or the secretary's designee, shall serve as the
844	844	nonvoting chair of the education freedom review commission.
845	845	D. The department may request that the education
846	846	freedom review commission meet, in person or through a virtual
847	847	or telephonic platform, to:
848	848	(1) determine whether an expenditure from an
849	849	education freedom account is or was a qualifying educational
850	850	expense; and
851	851	(2) review appeals of denials of an education
852	852	service provider and make a recommendation to the secretary.
853	853	E. When requested, the education freedom review
854	854	commission shall, by majority vote, recommend to the
855	855	department:
856	856	(1) if a particular use of funds constitutes a
857	857	qualifying educational expense; and
858	858	.229271.2
859	859	- 16 - underscored material = new
860	860	[bracketed material] = delete
861	861	1
862	862	2
863	863	3
864	864	4
865	865	5
866	866	6
867	867	7
868	868	8
869	869	9
870	870	10
871	871	11
872	872	12
873	873	13
874	874	14
875	875	15
876	876	16
877	877	17
878	878	18
879	879	19
880	880	20
881	881	21
882	882	22
883	883	23
884	884	24
885	885	25
886	886	(2) if an education service provider should be
887	887	allowed to receive, or continue receiving, payments from
888	888	education freedom accounts."
889	889	SECTION 9. A new section of the Public School Code is
890	890	enacted to read:
891	891	"[NEW MATERIAL] REPORT TO LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR.--The
892	892	department shall report to the legislature and the governor by
893	893	December 1 of each year on the program and its participants.
894	894	The report shall include the number, grades and ages of
895	895	participating students and where they attend school or receive
896	896	other educational services; the geographic distribution of
897	897	participating students by county; other demographic and
898	898	economic data about participating students and parents; the
899	899	number and locations of education service providers, the
900	900	services they provide and the number of students they serve;
901	901	the total amount of deposits into education freedom accounts
902	902	and the cost of financial management contracts; the total
903	903	expenditures for education service providers and the average
904	904	cost of educational services being provided to participating
905	905	students, by type of service and geographic region; and other
906	906	information requested by the legislature or governor and
907	907	considered reportable by the department."
908	908	SECTION 10. A new section of the Public School Code is
909	909	enacted to read:
910	910	"[NEW MATERIAL] EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNT FUND--CREATED.--
911	911	.229271.2
912	912	- 17 - underscored material = new
913	913	[bracketed material] = delete
914	914	1
915	915	2
916	916	3
917	917	4
918	918	5
919	919	6
920	920	7
921	921	8
922	922	9
923	923	10
924	924	11
925	925	12
926	926	13
927	927	14
928	928	15
929	929	16
930	930	17
931	931	18
932	932	19
933	933	20
934	934	21
935	935	22
936	936	23
937	937	24
938	938	25
939	939	A. The "education freedom account fund" is created
940	940	in the state treasury. The fund consists of money appropriated
941	941	by the legislature, federal money granted to the state for the
942	942	purposes of the fund, income from investment of the fund and
943	943	money otherwise accruing to the fund. Money in the fund shall
944	944	not revert to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year. The
945	945	department shall administer the fund, and money in the fund is
946	946	appropriated to the department to carry out the purposes of the
947	947	Education Freedom Account Act.
948	948	B. Money in the fund shall be disbursed on warrants
949	949	signed by the secretary pursuant to vouchers signed by the
950	950	secretary or the secretary's authorized representative."
951	951	SECTION 11. APPROPRIATIONS.--
952	952	A. The following amounts are appropriated from the
953	953	general fund to the education freedom account fund for
954	954	expenditure in fiscal year 2026 and subsequent fiscal years for
955	955	the following purposes:
956	956	(1) five hundred eighty thousand dollars
957	957	($580,000) for the public education department to administer
958	958	the education freedom account program; and
959	959	(2) one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000)
960	960	to carry out the purposes of the Education Freedom Account Act.
961	961	B. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining
962	962	at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general
963	963	fund.
964	964	.229271.2
965	965	- 18 - underscored material = new
966	966	[bracketed material] = delete
967	967	1
968	968	2
969	969	3
970	970	4
971	971	5
972	972	6
973	973	7
974	974	8
975	975	9
976	976	10
977	977	11
978	978	12
979	979	13
980	980	14
981	981	15
982	982	16
983	983	17
984	984	18
985	985	19
986	986	20
987	987	21
988	988	22
989	989	23
990	990	24
991	991	25
992	992	SECTION 12. SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of
993	993	the Education Freedom Account Act is held invalid, the
994	994	remainder or its application to other situations or persons
995	995	shall not be affected.
996	996	- 19 -
997	997	.229271.2