Senate Bill 2826 Summary

• Eliminates the lottery selection method for ESA program participants and replaces it with priority-based waiting list selection favoring students with active IEPs, those waiting longest, and low-income students.

• Requires tutors to hold a current valid Mississippi teaching certificate, complete participation agreements, and limits full-time tutoring to 720 hours annually for grades K-3 and 900 hours for grades 4-12, with a maximum of five students per tutor.

• Mandates direct semiannual billing and payment of tuition/fees from eligible schools to ensure funds go directly to schools rather than through reimbursement processes.

• Requires the Department of Education to develop and report accountability system recommendations by December 1, 2019, including student progress toward IEP goals, standardized test performance, graduation and college acceptance rates, and nonpublic school compliance.

• Establishes an appeals procedure for parents or guardians disputing eligibility decisions or reimbursement determinations, and requires study of whether to grant reappropriation authority for unobligated ESA program balances.