TITLE 20 EDUCATION

Section 2. Elementary and Secondary Education, 20-2-1 through 20-2-2180.

ARTICLE 33 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS

20-2-2114. Qualifications for scholarship; financial responsibility; state-wide assessments; exception; compliance.

1. A student shall qualify for a scholarship under this article if:
   1. The student's parent currently resides within Georgia and has been a Georgia resident for at least one year; provided, however, that the one-year requirement shall not apply if the student's parent is an active duty military service member stationed in Georgia within the previous year;
   2. The student has one or more of the following disabilities:
      1. Autism;
      2. Deaf/blind;
      3. Deaf/hard of hearing;
      4. Emotional and behavioral disorder;
      5. Intellectual disability;
      6. Orthopedic impairment;
      7. Other health impairment;
      8. Specific learning disability;
      9. Speech-language impairment;
      10. Traumatic brain injury; or
      11. Visual impairment;
   3. The student:
      1. Has spent the prior school year in attendance at a Georgia public school; provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply if the student's parent is an active duty military service member stationed in Georgia within the previous year; and
      2. Has an Individualized Education Program written in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations; provided, however, that the State Board of Education shall be authorized to require a local board of education to expedite the development of an Individualized Education Program and to waive the prior school year requirement contained in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, in its sole discretion, on a case-by-case basis for specific medical needs of the student upon the request of a parent or guardian in accordance with state board procedures. If an expedited Individualized Education Program is required by the state board pursuant to this subparagraph, the state board may additionally require such expedited process to be completed prior to the beginning of the school year. The State Board of Education shall provide an annual report by December 31 of each year through December 31, 2015, regarding the number of waivers approved pursuant to this paragraph to the General Assembly;
   4. The parent obtains acceptance for admission of the student to a participating school; and
   5. The parent submits an application for a scholarship to the department no later than the deadline established by the department; provided, however, that the department shall provide application deadline opportunities on September 15, December 15, and February 15 of each school year for a student to transfer.
2. Upon acceptance of the scholarship, the parent assumes full financial responsibility for the education of the scholarship student, including transportation to and from the participating school.
3. For a student who participates in the program whose parents request that the student take the state-wide assessments pursuant to Code Section 20-2-281, the resident school system shall make available to the student locations and times to take all state-wide assessments. Test scores of private school students participating in the state-wide assessments shall not be applied to the system averages of the resident school system for data reported for federal and state requirements.
4. Students enrolled in a school operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice or operated by a state charter school on behalf of the Department of Juvenile Justice pursuant to Code Section 20-2-2084.1 are not eligible for the scholarship.
5. The scholarship shall remain in force until the student returns to his or her assigned school in the resident public school system, graduates from high school, or reaches the age of 21, whichever occurs first. However, at any time, the student's parent may remove the student from the participating school and place the student in another participating school or public school as provided for in Code Section 20-2-2113.
6. Acceptance of a scholarship shall have the same effect as a parental refusal to consent to services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.A. Section 1400, et seq.
7. The creation of the program or the granting of a scholarship pursuant to this article shall not be construed to imply that a public school did not provide a free and appropriate public education for a student or constitute a waiver or admission by the state.
8. Any scholarship directed to a participating school is so directed wholly as a result of the genuine and independent private choice of the parent.
9. The parent of each student participating in the scholarship program shall comply fully with the participating school's rules and policies.
10. Any parent who fails to comply with the provisions of this article and department regulations relating to the scholarship shall forfeit the scholarship.

(Code 1981, §20-2-2114, enacted by Ga. L. 2007, p. 197, § 1/SB 10; Ga. L. 2013, p. 753, § 1/HB 70; Ga. L. 2014, p. 866, § 20/SB 340; Ga. L. 2015, p. 116, § 1/HB 62; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 2-4/SB 367.)

The 2014 amendment, effective April 29, 2014, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, deleted "(IEP)" following "Individualized Education Program" in the first sentence of paragraph (a)(3).

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, inserted "provided, however, that the one-year requirement shall not apply if the student's parent is an active duty military service member stationed in Georgia within the previous year;" at the end of paragraph (a)(1); and rewrote paragraph (a)(3).

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, inserted "or operated by a state charter school on behalf of the Department of Juvenile Justice pursuant to Code Section 20-2-2084.1" near the middle of subsection (d).