KRS § 141.504 — KY Code / Title XI / Chapter 141 / Section 141.504
141.504 Uniform process for education opportunity account allocation -- Qualifying expenses -- Provision for eligible student in county with population of 90,000 or more -- Duration of education opportunity account -- Prioritization of funding -- Restrictions. (See LRC Note below)
Status: reserved

141.504 Uniform process for education opportunity account allocation --

Qualifying expenses -- Provision for eligible student in county with population

of 90,000 or more -- Duration of education opportunity account --

Prioritization of funding -- Restrictions. (See LRC Note below)

(1) Each AGO shall create a uniform process for determining the amount allocated to

each eligible student’s EOA with the following limitations:

(a) For eligible students that intend to use the funds in the EOA to pay tuition at a

nonpublic school or tuition as described in KRS 158.120(2), the EOA funds

shall not exceed the lesser of:

1. Their parents' demonstrated financial need as determined by an

independent financial analysis performed by an organization that is:

a. Experienced in evaluating a student's need for financial aid; and

b. Included on the department's list of approved organizations as

required by KRS 141.514(2)(a); or

2. The actual amount of tuition and required fees charged by the school to

students who do not receive assistance under this program;

(b) For all other eligible students, the EOA funds shall not exceed the lesser of:

1. The expected cost of educational services to be provided during the

succeeding school year; or

2. The Commonwealth’s guaranteed SEEK base amount for the

immediately preceding school year reduced by the percentage equal to

one-fourth (1/4) of the percentage by which the applicant’s household

income exceeds the applicable federal reduced lunch household income

threshold; and

(c) For students in the foster care system, the AGO shall assume that the student’s

parents have no income or ability to pay for educational services for the

purposes of prioritizing the students and determining the amount of assistance

provided under this program.

(2) (a) The funds in an EOA shall not be used for athletics or any associated fees and

shall only be used to pay for the tuition and fee expenses permitted by

paragraph (b) of this subsection and the following qualifying expenses if

covered by the AGO and incurred for the purpose of educating an EOA

student:

1. Tuition or fees to attend a prekindergarten to grade twelve (12) public

school;

2. Tuition or fees for online learning programs;

3. Tutoring services provided by an individual or a tutoring facility;

4. Services contracted for and provided by a public school, including but

not limited to individual classes and extracurricular activities and

programs;

5. Textbooks, curriculum, or other instructional materials, including but

not limited to any supplemental materials or associated online

instruction required by either a curriculum or an education service

provider;

6. Computer hardware or other technological devices that are primarily

used to help meet an EOA student’s educational needs;

7. Educational software and applications;

8. School uniforms;

9. Fees for nationally standardized assessments, advanced placement

examinations, examinations related to college or university admission,

and tuition or fees for preparatory courses for these;

10. Tuition or fees for summer education programs and specialized after-

school education programs, excluding after-school childcare;

11. Tuition, fees, instructional materials, and examination fees at a career or

technical school;

12. Educational services and therapies, including but not limited to

occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language, and audiology

therapies provided by a licensed professional;

13. Tuition and fees at an institution of higher education for dual credit

courses; and

14. Fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider

for the student to travel to and from an education service provider.

(b) In addition to the variety of education-related expenses for public and

nonpublic schools in the Commonwealth as provided by paragraph (a) of this

subsection, EOA students that are residents of counties with a population of

ninety thousand (90,000) or more, as determined by the 2010 decennial report

of the United States Census Bureau, shall be permitted to use funds received

through the EOA program for tuition and fees to attend nonpublic schools,

because students in these counties have access to substantial existing

nonpublic school infrastructure and there is capacity in these counties to either

grow existing tuition assistance programs or form new nonprofits from

existing networks that can provide tuition assistance to students over the

course of the pilot program. Pursuant to KRS 141.524, the General Assembly

shall assess whether the purposes of the EOA program are being fulfilled.

(3) EOA funds shall not be refunded, rebated, or shared with a parent or EOA student

in any manner. Any refund or rebate for materials or services purchased with EOA

funds shall be credited directly to the student’s EOA.

(4) Parents may make payments for the costs of educational materials and services not

covered by the funds in their student’s EOA, but personal deposits into an EOA

shall not be permitted.

(5) Funds allocated to an EOA shall not constitute taxable income to the parent or the

EOA student.

(6) (a) An EOA shall remain in force, unless the EOA is closed because of a

substantial misuse of funds, and any unused funds shall roll over from quarter

to quarter and from year to year until:

1. The parent withdraws the EOA student from the EOA program;

2. The EOA student receives a high school diploma or equivalency

certificate; or

3. The end of the school year in which the student reaches twenty-one (21)

years of age;

whichever occurs first.

(b) When an EOA is closed, any unused funds shall revert to the AGO that

granted the EOA and be allocated by that AGO to fund other EOAs. If the

AGO that granted the EOA is no longer operating, the funds shall be

transferred to another AGO operating in good standing with the

Commonwealth.

(7) An AGO shall first prioritize funding EOAs for students, their siblings, and foster

children living in the same household who received an EOA in the previous

academic year and then to first-time applicants in accordance with subsection (8) of

this section.

(8) For first-time applicants, an AGO shall prioritize awarding EOAs to the applicants

as follows:

(a) A majority of funds available for first-time applicants shall be reserved for

students whose household income does not exceed that necessary to establish

eligibility for reduced-price meals based on size of household as determined

annually by the United States Department of Agriculture applicable to the

Commonwealth, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. secs. 1751 to 1789. Within in this

group of applicants, the funds shall be further prioritized to fund EOAs in the

order of the applicants with the most demonstrated financial need; and

(b) The remaining unfunded first-time applicants shall be selected for funding

based on a random lottery until all remaining funds are allocated to EOAs.

(9) An AGO may define and limit the services that the EOA funds may cover.

(10) An AGO shall not accept a contribution from an eligible taxpayer if the eligible

taxpayer designates that the contribution shall be used to award an EOA to a

particular student.

(11) Dependents of the AGO’s board of directors, its staff, and its donors are ineligible

to receive an EOA.