53A-1a-805 - Eligible private schools.
53A-1a-805. Eligible private schools.
(1) To be eligible to enroll a scholarship student, a private school shall:
(a) have a physical location in Utah where the scholarship students attend classes andhave direct contact with the school's teachers;
(b) contract with an independent certified public accountant to perform the agreed uponprocedures specified in Subsection (2) and produce a report of the results which shall besubmitted to the board at the times specified in Subsection (2);
(c) comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000d;
(d) meet state and local health and safety laws and codes;
(e) disclose to the parent of each prospective student, before the student is enrolled, thespecial education services that will be provided to the student, if any, including the cost of thoseservices;
(f) (i) annually assess the achievement of each student by administering:
(A) a norm-referenced test scored by an independent party that provides a comparison ofthe student's academic performance to other students on a national basis; or
(B) an alternative assessment of the student's achievement, if the student:
(I) has a disability or limited English proficiency; and
(II) would be exempt from taking a nationally norm-referenced achievement test ifenrolled in a Utah public school;
(ii) report the test results to the student's parents; and
(iii) upon request, make test results available to other persons, in a manner that does notreveal the identity of any student;
(g) employ or contract with teachers who have completed a criminal background checkthat complies with the requirements of Section 53A-3-410 and:
(i) hold baccalaureate or higher degrees; or
(ii) have special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to provide instructionin the subjects taught;
(h) provide to parents the teaching credentials of the school's teachers; and
(i) provide, upon request to any person, a statement indicating which, if any,organizations have accredited the private school.
(2) (a) The agreed upon procedures to be performed pursuant to Subsection (1)(b) are asfollows:
(i) (A) determine that working capital is at least 80% of average quarterly expendituresby taking total expenditures for a year and dividing it by four and then dividing average quarterlyexpenditures into working capital; and
(B) for a school in the first year of operations, use the estimated budget to estimateaverage quarterly expenditures;
(ii) (A) determine that scholarship payments are accounted for separately and reconciledto student records; and
(B) for the first year of operations, determine that procedures are in place for thisaccounting; and
(iii) (A) determine that expenditure of scholarship funds have been made for educationexpenses and is consistent with other tuition expenditures; and
(B) for the first year of operations, determine that procedures are in place for thisaccounting.
(b) (i) The independent certified public accountant's report on the agreed uponprocedures specified in Subsection (2)(a) shall be submitted to the board when the private schoolapplies to accept scholarship students and every four years thereafter, except as provided inSubsection (2)(b)(ii).
(ii) The board may, by rule, delay the date when the independent certified publicaccountant's report shall be submitted for private schools applying to accept scholarship studentsin the 2007-08 school year.
(3) The following are not eligible to enroll scholarship students:
(a) a school with an enrollment of fewer than 40 students;
(b) a school that operates in a residence;
(c) a school that encourages illegal conduct; or
(d) a residential treatment facility licensed by the state.
(4) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b), a private school intending to enrollscholarship students shall submit an application to the board by April 1 of the school yearpreceding the school year in which it intends to enroll scholarship students.
(b) A private school intending to enroll scholarship students in the 2007-08 school yearshall submit an application by June 15, 2007.
(5) The board shall:
(a) approve a private school's application to enroll scholarship students if the privateschool meets the eligibility requirements of this section; and
(b) make available to the public a list of the eligible private schools:
(i) for the 2008-09 school year and each school year thereafter, by the April 30 precedingthe school year; and
(ii) for the 2007-08 school year, by July 1, 2007.
Enacted by Chapter 30, 2007 General Session