Utah Code § 53F-4-304 — Utah Code / Title 53F / Chapter 53F-4 / § 53F-4-304
§ 53F-4-304. Scholarship payments.
Status: in_force

(1) (a) The state board shall award scholarships subject to the availability of money appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose. (b) The Legislature shall annually appropriate money to the state board from the General Fund to make scholarship payments. (c) (i) If money is not available to pay for all scholarships requested, the state board shall allocate scholarships on a random basis except that the state board shall give preference to students who received scholarships in the previous school year. (ii) If money is insufficient in a school year to pay for all the continuing scholarships, the state board may not award new scholarships during that school year and the state board shall prorate money available for scholarships among the eligible students who received scholarships in the previous year. (d) Beginning with the 2025 fiscal year, the state board shall: (i) calculate a maximum award cap that may not exceed the cost of the program including scholarship payments from the previous fiscal year; and (ii) transfer any funds in excess of the amount described in Subsection (1)(d)(i) to the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program established in Section 53E-7-402. (2) Except as provided in Subsection (4), the state board shall award full-year scholarships in the following amounts: (a) for a student who received an average of 180 minutes per day or more of special education services in a public school before transferring to a private school, an amount not to exceed the lesser of: (i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 2.5; or (ii) the private school tuition and fees; and (b) for a student who received an average of less than 180 minutes per day of special education services in a public school before transferring to a private school, an amount not to exceed the lesser of: (i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 1.5; or (ii) the private school tuition and fees. (3) The scholarship amount for a student enrolled in a half-day kindergarten or part-day preschool program shall be the amount specified in Subsection (2)(a) or (b) multiplied by .55. (4) If a student leaves a private school before the end of a fiscal quarter: (a) the private school is only entitled to the amount of scholarship equivalent to the number of days that the student attended the private school; and (b) the private school shall remit a prorated amount of the scholarship to the state board in accordance with the procedures described in rules adopted by the state board in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act. (5) For the amount of funds remitted under Subsection (4)(b), the state board shall: (a) make the amount available to the student to enroll immediately in another qualifying private school; or (b) refund the amount back to the Carson Smith Scholarship Program account. (6) (a) The state board shall make an additional allocation on a random basis before June 30 each year only: (i) if there are sufficient remaining funds in the program; and (ii) for scholarships for students enrolled in a full-day preschool program. (b) If the state board awards a scholarship under Subsection (6)(a), the scholarship amount or supplement may not exceed the lesser of: (i) the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 1.0; or (ii) the private school tuition and fees. (c) The state board shall, when preparing annual growth projection numbers for the Legislature, include the annual number of applications for additional allocations described in Subsection (6)(a). (7) (a) The scholarship amount for a student who receives a waiver under Subsection 53F-4-302(3) shall be based upon the assessment team's determination of the appropriate level of special education services to be provided to the student. (b) (i) If the student requires an average of 180 minutes per day or more of special education services, a full-year scholarship shall be equal to the amount specified in Subsection (2)(a). (ii) If the student requires less than an average of 180 minutes per day of special education services, a full-year scholarship shall be equal to the amount specified in Subsection (2)(b). (iii) If the student is enrolled in a half-day kindergarten or part-day preschool program, a full-year scholarship is equal to the amount specified in Subsection (3). (8) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (8)(b), upon review and receipt of documentation that verifies a student's admission to, or continuing enrollment and attendance at, a private school, the state board shall make scholarship payments quarterly in four equal amounts in each school year in which a scholarship is in force. (b) In accordance with state board rule, made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the state board may make a scholarship payment before the first quarterly payment of the school year, if a private school requires partial payment of tuition before the start of the school year to reserve space for a student admitted to the school. (9) A parent of a scholarship student shall notify the state board if the student does not have continuing enrollment and attendance at an eligible private school. (10) Before scholarship payments are made, the state board shall cross-check enrollment lists of scholarship students, LEAs, and youth in care to ensure that scholarship payments are not erroneously made.