Funding For Educational Opportunities

The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $723 million from the general fund to the state education fund for the 2022-23 budget year.

The bill repeals the budget stabilization factor starting in the 2023-24 budget year, and for each budget year thereafter.

The bill creates the Hope Scholarship Program (program) in the department of education (department). The purpose of the program is to meet the educational needs of every eligible student by assisting with certain education expenses. The bill requires:

• The department to contract with an entity that will administer the program (administering entity);
• The department to transfer to the administering entity an amount equal to 125% of the prior budget year's average state share of per pupil revenues for an eligible student who receives a scholarship;
• The department to prorate the amount transferred to the administering entity based on the amount of time remaining in the budget year, and deduct the amount transferred from the amount that the department distributes to the eligible student's school district of residence for the budget year in which an account is created, subject to limitations;
• The parent of an eligible student to apply to the administering entity for a scholarship;
• A parent of an eligible student to only spend scholarship money on defined eligible expenses; and
• The administering entity to oversee the program and perform an audit to ensure scholarship money is spent on defined eligible expenses.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)