| 1 | Representative Traviesa offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment to Senate Amendment (973310) (with directory and |
| 4 | title amendments) |
| 5 | Remove lines 88-223 and insert: |
| 6 | (6) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP-FUNDING |
| 7 | ORGANIZATIONS.--An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding |
| 8 | organization: |
| 9 | (d) Must provide scholarships, from eligible |
| 10 | contributions, to eligible students for the cost of: |
| 11 | 1. Tuition and fees or textbook expenses for, or |
| 12 | transportation to, an eligible private school. At least 75 |
| 13 | percent of the scholarship funding must be used to pay tuition |
| 14 | expenses; or |
| 15 | 2. Transportation expenses to a Florida public school that |
| 16 | is located outside the district in which the student resides or |
| 17 | to a lab school as defined in s. 1002.32. |
| 18 | (i)1. May use up to 3 percent of eligible contributions |
| 19 | received during the state fiscal year in which such |
| 20 | contributions are collected for administrative expenses if the |
| 21 | organization has operated under this section for at least 3 |
| 22 | state fiscal years and did not have any negative financial |
| 23 | findings in its most recent audit under paragraph (l). Such |
| 24 | administrative expenses must be reasonable and necessary for the |
| 25 | organization's management and distribution of eligible |
| 26 | contributions under this section. No more than one-third of the |
| 27 | funds authorized for administrative expenses under this |
| 28 | subparagraph may be used for expenses related to the recruitment |
| 29 | of contributions from corporate taxpayers. |
| 30 | 2. Must expend for annual or partial-year scholarships an |
| 31 | amount equal to or greater than 75 percent of the net eligible |
| 32 | contributions remaining after administrative expenses during the |
| 33 | state fiscal year in which such contributions are collected. No |
| 34 | more than 25 percent of such net eligible contributions may be |
| 35 | carried forward to the following state fiscal year. Any amounts |
| 36 | carried forward shall be expended for Must obligate, in the same |
| 37 | fiscal year in which the contribution was received, 100 percent |
| 38 | of the eligible contribution to provide annual or partial-year |
| 39 | scholarships; however, up to 25 percent of the total |
| 40 | contribution may be carried forward for expenditure in the |
| 41 | following state fiscal year. Net eligible contributions |
| 42 | remaining on June 30 of each year that are in excess of the 25 |
| 43 | percent that may be carried forward shall be returned to the |
| 44 | State Treasury for deposit in the General Revenue Fund. |
| 45 | 3. A scholarship-funding organization Must, before |
| 46 | granting a scholarship for an academic year, document each |
| 47 | scholarship student's eligibility for that academic year. A |
| 48 | scholarship-funding organization may not grant multiyear |
| 49 | scholarships in one approval process. No portion of eligible |
| 50 | contributions may be used for administrative expenses. All |
| 51 | interest accrued from contributions must be used for |
| 52 | scholarships. |
| 53 |
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| 54 | Any and all information and documentation provided to the |
| 55 | Department of Education and the Auditor General relating to the |
| 56 | identity of a taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution |
| 57 | under this section shall remain confidential at all times in |
| 58 | accordance with s. 213.053. |
| 59 | (8) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.--An |
| 60 | eligible private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and |
| 61 | must: |
| 62 | (c) Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting |
| 63 | the educational needs of the student by: |
| 64 | 1. At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a |
| 65 | written explanation of the student's progress. |
| 66 | 2. Annually administering or making provision for students |
| 67 | participating in the scholarship program to take one of the |
| 68 | nationally norm-referenced tests identified by the Department of |
| 69 | Education. Students with disabilities for whom standardized |
| 70 | testing is not appropriate are exempt from this requirement. A |
| 71 | participating private school must report a student's scores to |
| 72 | the parent and to the independent research organization selected |
| 73 | by the Department of Education as described in paragraph (9)(j). |
| 74 | 3. Cooperating with the scholarship student whose parent |
| 75 | chooses to have the student participate in the statewide |
| 76 | assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22 1008.32. |
| 77 |
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| 78 | The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of |
| 79 | this subsection shall constitute a basis for the ineligibility |
| 80 | of the private school to participate in the scholarship program |
| 81 | as determined by the Department of Education. |
| 82 | (11) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT AND PAYMENT.-- |
| 83 | (a) The amount of a scholarship provided to any student |
| 84 | for any single school year by an eligible nonprofit scholarship- |
| 85 | funding organization from eligible contributions shall be for |
| 86 | total costs authorized under paragraph (6)(d), not to exceed the |
| 87 | following annual limits: |
| 88 | 1. Three thousand nine hundred fifty dollars Three |
| 89 | thousand seven hundred fifty dollars for a scholarship awarded |
| 90 | to a student enrolled in an eligible private school for the |
| 91 | 2008-2009 state fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter. |
| 92 | 2. Five hundred dollars for a scholarship awarded to a |
| 93 | student enrolled in a Florida public school that is located |
| 94 | outside the district in which the student resides or in a lab |
| 95 | school as defined in s. 1002.32. |
| 96 | (b) Payment of the scholarship by the eligible |
| 97 |
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| 98 |
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| 99 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 100 | D I R E C T O R Y A M E N D M E N T |
| 101 | Remove lines 7-12 and insert: |
| 102 | subsection (5), paragraphs (d) and (i) of subsection (6), |
| 103 | paragraph (c) of subsection (8), and subsection (11) of section |
| 104 | 220.187, Florida Statutes, are amended, and |
| 105 |
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| 106 |
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| 107 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 108 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 109 | Remove lines 305-318 and insert: |
| 110 | of scholarship funds; revising provisions relating to |
| 111 | expenditure of contributions received by a scholarship-funding |
| 112 | organization during a state fiscal year; authorizing expenditure |
| 113 | of contributions for specified administrative expenses by |
| 114 | certain scholarship-funding organizations; providing for the |
| 115 | annual return of specified eligible contributions to the State |
| 116 | Treasury; correcting a cross-reference; revising scholarship |
| 117 | amounts; revising |