Vote Smart's Synopsis:

A vote to pass a bill that creates a voucher plan to financially support children attending private and religious schools in non-rural areas.

Highlights:

• Establishes a program in which individuals can create a state-sponsored education savings account to pay for a child’s education in a non-rural private or religious school (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that children are eligible if they were born on or before September 12, 2012 or attended public school during the entire preceding academic year (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that children may participate in the program until 3 months after high-school graduation (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the state will deposit $5,836 to a child’s account if their family earns more than double the amount allowed under free and reduced lunch, or $7,235 into a child’s account for families that make less than double the amount allowed under the free and reduced lunch program (Sec. 1).

• Clarifies that any funds remaining in a child’s account at the end of a fiscal year will be transferred to the next fiscal year (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the first payments to an account will occur no later than September 15, 2018 (Sec. 1).

• Requires school districts to provide written notice to the families of children who are eligible for assistance from organizations outside the school district to pay for education at a non-rural private or religious school (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text