SUMMARY:

            This bill would amend Titles 20 and 48 of O.C.G.A. to revise definitions, address eligibility of student scholarship organizations; revise duties and powers of such organizations; provide a maximum scholarship amount; provide for testing; revise income tax credit; and related matters.

REQUIREMENTS:

• It would further restrict an “eligible student” to one who is a Georgia resident and has been enrolled in a Georgia secondary or primary public school for at least one year; it removes pre-kindergarten students as eligible; and it adds "who is eligible for free or reduced price lunch" to the eligibility requirements.
• It would up the requirement for a student scholarship organization to allocate 97 percent of its annual revenue to scholarships rather than 90 percent.
• It would expand the scholarships from schools to programs.
• It would add the following to establish eligibility to student scholarship organization:
• • Background checks on owners and operators
  • Requirement of documentation of eligibility based on preceding academic year
• It would prohibit an owner or operator of a scholarship organization from also serving as the owner or operator of a qualified school or program.
• It would require the scholarship organization to report to DOE the number of students receiving scholarships from the organization and the qualified schools or programs where they are enrolled.
• The amount of a scholarship could not exceed the average QBE formula amount per full-time equivalent student, all grades and all programs.
• The schools that receive scholarships would have to administer annually a nationally-normed test approved by the SBOE and report the results to the DOE.
• It would reduce the allowable amount expended for a tax credit from
  $2500 to $2000.