Company: North Carolina General Assembly

§ 115C‑562.2.  Scholarship grants.
(a)	The Authority shall make available no later than February 1 annually applications to eligible students for the award of scholarship grants to attend any nonpublic school. Information about scholarship grants and the application process shall be made available on the Authority's Web site. Beginning March 15, the Authority shall begin awarding scholarship grants according to the following criteria:
(1)	First priority shall be given to eligible students who received a scholarship grant for the school year prior to the school year for which the students are applying if those students have applied by March 1.
(2)	After scholarship grants have been awarded to prior recipients as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection, scholarships shall be awarded with remaining funds as follows:
a.	At least fifty percent (50%) of the remaining funds shall be used to award scholarship grants to eligible students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced‑price lunch program.
b.	Repealed by Session Laws 2020‑97, s. 3.3(a), effective September 4, 2020.
c.	Any remaining funds shall be used to award scholarship grants to all other eligible students.
(b)	Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students residing in households with an income level not in excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced‑price lunch program shall be, per year per eligible student, in an amount of up to ninety percent (90%) as a full‑time student or up to forty‑five percent (45%) as a part‑time student of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year. Scholarship grants awarded to eligible students residing in households with an income level in excess of the amount required for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced‑price lunch program shall be for amounts of not more than ninety percent (90%) of the required tuition and fees as a full‑time student or forty‑five percent (45%) of the required tuition and fees as a part‑time student for the nonpublic school the eligible child will attend. Tuition and fees for a nonpublic school may include tuition and fees for books, transportation, equipment, or other items required by the nonpublic school. No scholarship grant shall exceed, per year per eligible student, an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) for a full‑time student or forty‑five percent (45%) for a part‑time student of the average State per pupil allocation for average daily membership in the prior fiscal year, and no scholarship grant shall exceed the required tuition and fees for the nonpublic school the eligible student will attend.
(b1)	Repealed by Session Laws 2021‑180, s. 8A.3(e), effective July 1, 2021.
(c)	The Authority shall permit an eligible student receiving a scholarship grant to enroll in a different nonpublic school and remain eligible. An eligible student receiving a scholarship grant who transfers to another nonpublic school during the year may be eligible to receive a pro rata share of any unexpended portion of the scholarship grant for tuition and fees at the nonpublic school to which the student transfers.
(d)	The Authority shall establish rules and regulations for the administration and awarding of scholarship grants and shall include a rule regarding the early admission of four‑year‑old children that establishes the same factors for eligibility as the rule adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C‑364(d). The Authority may include in those rules a lottery process for selection of scholarship grant recipients within the criteria established by this section.
(e)	Scholarship applications and personally identifiable information related to eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall not be a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. For the purposes of this section, personally identifiable information means any information directly related to a student or members of a student's household, including the name, birthdate, address, Social Security number, telephone number, e‑mail address, financial information, or any other information or identification number that would provide information about a specific student or members of a specific student's household.  (2013‑360, s. 8.29(a); 2014‑100, s. 8.25(a), (b); 2016‑94, s. 11A.3(b), (e); 2018‑145, s. 1(e); 2020‑97, s. 3.3(a); 2021‑180, s. 8A.3(d), (e); 2022‑74, s. 8A.4(b).)

G.S. 115C-562.2	Page