(a)Repealed by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 8.25(e), effective August 7, 2014.
(b)The Authority shall report annually, no later than October 15, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information from the prior school year:
(1)Total number, grade level, race, ethnicity, and sex of eligible students receiving scholarship grants.
(2)Total amount of scholarship grant funding awarded.
(3)Repealed by Session Laws 2023-134, s. 8A.6(f), effective July 1, 2023.
(4)Nonpublic schools in which scholarship grant recipients are enrolled, including numbers of scholarship grant students at each nonpublic school.
(5)Nonpublic schools deemed ineligible to receive scholarships.
(c)The Authority shall report annually, no later than December 1, to the Department of Public
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(a) Repealed by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 8.25(e), effective August 7, 2014.
(b) The Authority shall report annually, no later than October 15, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following information from the prior school year:
(1) Total number, grade level, race, ethnicity, and sex of eligible students receiving scholarship grants.
(2) Total amount of scholarship grant funding awarded.
(3) Repealed by Session Laws 2023-134, s. 8A.6(f), effective July 1, 2023.
(4) Nonpublic schools in which scholarship grant recipients are enrolled, including numbers of scholarship grant students at each nonpublic school.
(5) Nonpublic schools deemed ineligible to receive scholarships.
(c) The Authority shall report annually, no later than December 1, to the Department of Public Instruction and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the following:
(1) Learning gains or losses of students receiving scholarship grants. The report shall include learning gains or losses of participating students on a statewide basis and shall compare, to the extent possible, the learning gains or losses of eligible students by nonpublic school to the statewide learning gains or losses of public school students with similar socioeconomic backgrounds, using aggregate standardized test performance data provided to the Authority by nonpublic schools and by the Department of Public Instruction. The report shall, at a minimum, analyze the aggregate performance of students receiving scholarship grants in grades three, eight, and 11 on the designated nationally standardized test in comparison to national outcomes for that test.
(2) Competitive effects on public school performance as a result of the scholarship grant program. The report shall analyze the impact of the availability of scholarship grants on public school performance by local school administrative units to the extent possible, and shall provide comparisons of the impact by geographic region and between rural and urban local school administrative units.
This report shall be conducted by an independent research organization to be selected by the Authority, which may be a public or private entity or university. The independent research organization shall report to the Authority on the results of its research. The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee shall review reports from the Authority and shall make ongoing recommendations to the General Assembly as needed regarding improving administration and accountability for nonpublic schools accepting students receiving scholarship grants.
(d) For any fiscal year in which the Authority uses funds from the Reserve as provided under G.S. 115C-562.8(e), the Authority shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly by April 1 of that fiscal year on at least the following:
(1) The methodology used by the Authority for determining the awards for the school year, including the number of eligible students and the amount of scholarship grants that were awarded under G.S. 115C-562.2.
(2) The actual number of eligible students and the amount of scholarship grants received by eligible students for that school year.
(3) The amount of funds used from the Reserve, as permitted under G.S. 115C-562.8(e), to fully fund the awards.
(4) Any legislative recommendations, including funding amounts, for the scholarship grant program for the next fiscal year.
(e) No later than October 15 of each year, the Authority shall provide the following information to the Department of Public Instruction:
(1) The information described in subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section.
(2) For each scholarship grant recipient, award amounts and sufficient personally identifiable information to track the recipient's continued enrollment in a nonpublic school. This information is confidential and not a public record under G.S. 132-1.
(f) The Department of Public Instruction shall report no later than April 1 of each year to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the cumulative difference in the current school year between the scholarship grant award amount for each prior public school attendee enrolled in a nonpublic school and the average State per pupil allocation for average daily membership for a student in a public school unit. For purposes of this subsection, a "prior public school attendee" is any scholarship grant recipient who was in membership in a public school unit for a majority of the first or second month of the school year immediately prior to enrollment in a nonpublic school, beginning with students enrolled in a public school unit the 2023-2024 school year or subsequent school years. (2013-360, s. 8.29(a); 2014-100, s. 8.25(e), (f); 2018-5, s. 10A.1(e); 2023-134, ss. 7.82(a), 8A.6(f).)