Menu
2020 Special Session I

Budget Amendments - SB5015 (Floor Request)

View Budget Item
View Budget Item amendments

Chief Patron: Newman
Co-Patron(s): Chafin, Chase, Cosgrove, DeSteph, Dunnavant, Hanger, Kiggans, McDougle, Norment, Obenshain, Peake, Pillion, Reeves, Ruff, Stanley, Stuart, Suetterlein, Vogel
Coronavirus Relief Fund - Education Reimbursements for Parents (language only)

Item 479.10 #4s

Item 479.10 #4s

Central Appropriations
Central Appropriations

Language

Page 204, after line 9, insert:

E. 1. It is the intent of the General Assembly that $300,000,000 from the federal Coronavirus Relief Funds be provided to localities to reimburse parents for educational expenditures and childcare costs incurred in response to the COVID-19 emergency disrupting in-person instruction for the 2020-21 school year. Such program shall provide parents a reimbursement payment for each child enrolled in the local public school division and engaged in instruction delivered by the local public school division either remotely or in a hybrid manner. These reimbursement payments may be up to $500 per child based on the calculation in paragraph E.2. Such program may reimburse parents for (i) educational therapies or services for the qualified student from a practitioner or provider, including paraprofessionals or educational aides; (ii) computer hardware and software; (iii) childcare costs; (iv) tutoring services; and (v) consumable educational supplies or any other education-related goods or services, such as Internet access, that are necessary for the provision of the qualified student's education. Localities establishing such a program shall not reduce any local funding apportioned to the local public school division from local revenues.

2. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall collect applications from localities seeking to establish such a program for a period of two weeks upon enactment of this act. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall calculate the per child reimbursement payment based on the total number of eligible students in the localities seeking these funds, and shall notify participating localities of the the per child reimbursement amount and the total amount of funds available to the locality no later than two weeks after the application deadline. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is authorized to establish any guidelines and collect any necessary information from localities to comply with any federal Coronavirus Relief Fund requirements. Localities shall disburse all eligible reimbursements by December 14, 2020. Any federal relief funds not disbursed to parents or allocated to localities for this purpose by December 14, 2020 shall be returned to the state treasury, and the Governor is hereby authorized to allocate and expend the remaining federal relief funds."



Explanation

(This amendment provides $300.0 million from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund for localities to provide reimbursements to parents for educational and childcare costs incurred in response to the COVID-19 emergency disrupting in-person instruction. Reimbursements payments would be available for each child that is receiving instruction from the local public school division either remotely or in a hybrid manner. The reimbursement amount may be up to $500 per child with the Department of Education calculating the final per child reimbursement amount based on the total number of eligible students in the localities applying for these funds. The Governor is authorized to allocate and expend any remaining federal funds for this purpose after December 14, 2020.)