§ 21-2-904 — ESA parent agreement; ESA administration

Wyoming § 21-2-904

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 21: Education
• Ch. 2: THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE
• Art. 9: STEAMBOAT LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP ACT

Text

(a) Subject to the availability of funds as determined by
the legislature, any child who is a Wyoming resident, who meets
one (1) of the following qualifications, and subject to W.S. 21-
2-903(a), shall be eligible to receive an ESA subject to the
provisions of this act:
(i) The child has not graduated from high school or
received a high school equivalency certificate and is eligible
to attend a public school in this state; or
(ii) The child is not less than four (4) years of age
as of August 1 of the year in which the application for an ESA
is made and has not yet attained the age to attend public school
in this state.
(b) To participate in the ESA program, the custodial
parent of an ESA student shall sign an agreement with the state
superintendent that:
(i) Requires use of the ESA funds for the following
qualifying expenses to educate the ESA student:
(A) Tuition and fees at a qualified school;
(B) Tutoring services provided by an individual
or a tutoring facility. The tutoring services shall not be
provided by an ESA student's immediate family;
(C) Services contracted for and provided by a
public school district, including services provided by a public
charter school. Services under this subparagraph may include,
without limitation, individual classes and extracurricular
activities and programs;
(D) Textbooks, curriculum and 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;
(E) Computer hardware or other technological
devices that are primarily used to help meet an ESA student's
educational needs;
(F) Educational software and applications;
(G) School uniforms;
(H) Fees for nationally standardized
assessments, advanced placement examinations, examinations
related to college or university admission and tuition and fees
for preparatory courses for the exams;
(J) Tuition and fees for summer education
programs and specialized after school education programs, but
not including after school childcare programs;
(K) Tuition, fees, instructional materials and
examination fees at a career or technical school;
(M) Educational services and therapies
including, but not limited to, occupational, behavioral,
physical, speech-language and audiology therapies;
(N) Tuition and fees at an institution of higher
education;
(O) Fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-
service transportation provider for the student to travel to and
from an education service provider;
(P) Any other educational expense approved by
the state superintendent;
(Q) Tuition and fees for nongovernmental online
learning programs.
(ii) For students eligible for an ESA under paragraph
(a)(i) of this section:
(A) Requires that the ESA student receive
instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, civics, including
studies of the United States constitution and the constitution
of the state of Wyoming, history, literature and science and is
assessed on academic progress. No parent shall be required to
include any instruction that conflicts with the parent's or the
ESA student's religious doctrines;
(B) Requires that the ESA student take the
statewide assessments administered pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(a)
or a nationally normed achievement exam;
(C) Certifies that the ESA student is not, or
will not be, enrolled in a public school district upon receipt
of the ESA and releases the applicable school district from all
obligations to educate the ESA student. This subparagraph shall
not:
(I) Require an eligible student to withdraw
from a public school district before applying for or receiving
an ESA if the student withdraws from the public school district
before receiving or expending any monies in the student's ESA;
(II) Prevent a qualified student from
applying in advance for an ESA student to be funded beginning
the following school year; or
(III) Prevent a public school district from
charging an ESA for any services provided to the qualified
student to the extent authorized by law.
(c) Funds in an ESA shall not be refunded, rebated or
shared with a parent of an ESA student in any manner. Any refund
or rebate for goods or services purchased with ESA funds shall
be credited directly to the student's ESA.
(d) Parents may make payments for costs of educational
goods and services not covered by the funds in the ESA. Personal
deposits into an ESA shall not be permitted.
(e) An ESA shall remain active and any unused funds shall
not revert until the parent withdraws the ESA student from the
ESA program or until the ESA student is no longer eligible for
the ESA program, unless the ESA is closed because of a
substantial misuse of funds. When an ESA is closed, any unused
funds shall revert to the steamboat legacy scholarship program
account.
(f) Nothing in this act shall be construed to require an
ESA student to be enrolled, full-time or part-time, in a
nonpublic school. An ESA student receiving individualized
instruction in a non-school setting shall not be construed to be
a student of a home-based educational program as defined in W.S.
21-4-101(a)(v).