§ 20-2-2114 - Qualifications for scholarship; financial responsibility; state-wide assessments; exception; compliance
O.C.G.A. 20-2-2114 (2010)
20-2-2114. Qualifications for scholarship; financial responsibility; state-wide assessments; exception; compliance
(a) 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;
(2) The student has one or more of the following disabilities:
(A) Autism;
(B) Deaf/blind;
(C) Deaf/hard of hearing;
(D) Emotional and behavioral disorder;
(E) Intellectual disability;
(F) Orthopedic impairment;
(G) Other health impairment;
(H) Specific learning disability;
(I) Speech-language impairment;
(J) Traumatic brain injury; or
(K) Visual impairment;
(3) The student has spent the prior school year in attendance at a Georgia public school and shall have had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) written by the school in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations;
(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.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) Students enrolled in a school operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice are not eligible for the scholarship.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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.
(h) Any scholarship directed to a participating school is so directed wholly as a result of the genuine and independent private choice of the parent.
(i) The parent of each student participating in the scholarship program shall comply fully with the participating school's rules and policies.
(j) Any parent who fails to comply with the provisions of this article and department regulations relating to the scholarship shall forfeit the scholarship.