Senate Bill sb2120c1

    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2120

    By the Committee on Education; and Senator Atwater





    581-2289-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Opportunity Scholarship

  3         Program; amending s. 1002.38, F.S.; changing

  4         the deadline by which a parent must notify the

  5         Department of Education of the student's

  6         acceptance into an eligible private school from

  7         July 1 to August 1 of the first year in which

  8         the student intends to use the Opportunity

  9         Scholarship Program; providing an effective

10         date.

11  

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section

15  1002.38, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16         1002.38  Opportunity Scholarship Program.--

17         (2)  OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--A public

18  school student's parent may request and receive from the state

19  an opportunity scholarship for the student to enroll in and

20  attend a private school in accordance with the provisions of

21  this section if:

22         (b)  The parent has obtained acceptance for admission

23  of the student to a private school eligible for the program

24  pursuant to subsection (4), and has notified the Department of

25  Education and the school district of the request for an

26  opportunity scholarship no later than August 1 July 1 of the

27  first year in which the student intends to use the

28  scholarship.

29  

30  The provisions of this section shall not apply to a student

31  who is enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2120
    581-2289-05




 1  providing educational services to youth in Department of

 2  Juvenile Justice commitment programs. For purposes of

 3  continuity of educational choice, the opportunity scholarship

 4  shall remain in force until the student returns to a public

 5  school or, if the student chooses to attend a private school

 6  the highest grade of which is grade 8, until the student

 7  matriculates to high school and the public high school to

 8  which the student is assigned is an accredited school with a

 9  performance grade category designation of "C" or better.

10  However, at any time upon reasonable notice to the Department

11  of Education and the school district, the student's parent may

12  remove the student from the private school and place the

13  student in a public school, as provided in subparagraph

14  (3)(a)2.

15         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

16  law.

17  

18          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
19                         Senate Bill 2120

20                                 

21  The committee substitute changes the date that parents must
    file an intent to participate in the Opportunity Scholarship
22  Program from July 1st to August 1st.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.