NC H569

Requires scholarship recipients and eligible non-recipients in public schools to participate in a common examination administered by an independent research organization selected by the State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA) for program evaluation purposes.

Makes participation in the common examination a condition of maintaining scholarship grant eligibility for nonpublic school students.

Requires nonpublic schools accepting scholarship students to administer or allow administration of the common examination and provide grade retention rates and graduation rates to the SEAA.

Directs an independent research organization to compare learning gains or losses of scholarship recipients against eligible public school students with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and analyze the scholarship program's competitive effects on public school performance.

Increases the SEAA's administrative cost retention from $1,500,000 to $2,150,000 annually, including up to $150,000 per year for selecting and contracting with an independent research organization to conduct evaluations beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.