HB 362 Summary

• Establishes "Bryce's Law," a Missouri special needs scholarship tax credit program allowing taxpayers to claim an 80% tax credit for contributions to scholarship granting organizations, with a maximum of $800,000 in credits issued per tax year beginning January 1, 2011.

• Defines eligible students as elementary or secondary students with individualized education programs (IEPs), including those with autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, physical impairments, hearing/vision impairments, emotional handicaps, and other qualifying conditions.

• Requires scholarship granting organizations to spend at least 90% of donation revenue on educational scholarships, conduct criminal background checks on employees and board members, ensure scholarships are portable between qualified schools, and provide annual financial reports.

• Caps scholarships at 10% of Missouri students with IEPs annually, with the department tracking scholarship grants and publicly announcing when the annual limit is reached.

• Mandates the department conduct a study funded by non-state sources to evaluate program outcomes including student and parental satisfaction, bullying rates, behavioral improvements, class sizes, and fiscal impact, with results due to the legislature by December 31, 2014; program automatically sunsets after six years unless reauthorized.