MN HF57

Students attending public or charter schools for at least one year with family income at or below 185 percent of federal poverty level are eligible to enroll in qualifying nonpublic schools under the choice scholarship program.

Participating nonpublic schools must notify the commissioner, accept students randomly (except sibling preferences), comply with anti-discrimination laws, meet ADA requirements, adopt bullying and violence prevention policies, and submit performance data.

Commissioner must make quarterly payments to parents or guardians equal to the lesser of state average general education revenue per pupil unit or the nonpublic school's operating and debt service cost per pupil for educational programming.

Resident school districts are responsible for providing transportation within district borders for scholarship students and receive funding equal to actual transportation costs.

Nonpublic schools must administer statewide reading and math assessments or nationally norm-referenced exams upon student request, allow parents to review instructional materials and arrange alternative instruction, and cannot penalize students for seeking alternatives.

Program is effective for the 2022-2023 school year and later.