§ 34-40-32 — Program Established; Award of Grants

(a) There is established the Athletic Trainer Secondary School Incentive Program. The program shall be administered by the board.
(b) The board shall award funds to local boards of education to incentivize the recruitment and retention of athletic trainers at rural secondary schools and Title I secondary schools in the state. The board shall allocate grant awards to the applicable local board of education for each successful application that meets the requirements of this article. Each grant shall be no more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500), as determined by the board based on the application.
(c) The incentive program shall be capped at two million dollars ($2,000,000) per school year.
(d) Grants may be awarded annually beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, and each school year thereafter.
(e) The grants provided by this article shall be contingent on the availability of funds. The Legislature may appropriate funds to the board for the incentive program, and the board may accept funds from nongovernmental entities to be used for the incentive program. Any monies appropriated shall be budgeted and allotted pursuant to the Budget Management Act in accordance with Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, and only in the amounts provided by the Legislature in the general appropriations act or other appropriations act. Funds not expended in any fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain with the board for use in implementing the incentive program.

Legislative History

(Act 2023-341, §2.)