Bill Summaries: H934 (2021)

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  • Summary date: May 12 2021 - View summary

    Directs the State Controller to transfer $170 million in nonrecurring funds from the State Fiscal Recovery Reserve established in Section 2.1 of Senate Bill 172 (Additional COVID-19 Response and Relief) to the State Fiscal Recovery Fund established in Section 2.2 of Senate Bill 172 if it becomes law.

    Appropriates $170 million in nonrecurring funds from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund to be allocated to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to establish the Student Success Program if Senate Bill 172 becomes law.

    Includes findings. Contingent on the above appropriations, directs DPI to contract with the State Education Assistance Authority (Authority) to establish and administer the Student Success Program (Program) to allow parents to use federal funds for COVID-19 mitigation for education uses of their choice to address student learning loss, provide summer learning or enrichment, and provide comprehensive after-school programs. Directs DPI to use all of the $170 million allocated above for the Program and to encourage local public school units to participate in the Program by holding $100 million of DPI’s appropriated funds in reserve so that local school units can provide a match for the federal COVID-19 mitigation funds they receive to the Authority so as to maximize awards to students.

    Establishes the Program and directs the Authority to provide a one-time grant to households with an elementary or secondary school age child in the amount of $1,000 per child, not to exceed $3,000 per household, as soon as possible, but not later than August 16, 2021.

    Directs the Authority to enter into written agreements with grant recipients prior to awarding a grant to ensure grant funds are only used for (i) participation in summer enrichment programs; (ii) before or after school academic or enrichment programs; (iii) tutoring services; (iv) textbooks or other instructional materials; (v) therapies for students with disabilities; (vi) educational programs or courses offered for a fee; and (vii) fees for national standardized assessments, entrance exams, and certification exams. Provides that recipients must spend grant funds by September 1, 2022, and any unspent funds must be returned.

    Directs the Authority to provide a match to contributions to the Program by public school units required to fund programs addressing learning loss, summer learning and enrichment, and comprehensive after-school programs. Directs the Authority to match each dollar public school units contribute to the program using the $100 million placed in reserve above on a first come, first serve basis, up to $100 million. Provides matching funds can only be provided to students residing in the county where the public school unit is located. Provides that public school units may provide matching funds until July 1, 2021, to designate how much funding to allocate to grants for this purpose, after which the remaining reserve funds will be available to provide a grant to any recipient under the Program.

    Provides that the Authority may contract with vendors for administration of the Program, including e-commerce and e-wallet providers, auditing firms, and financial institutions who can restrict the use of funds for specified purposes. Permits DPI to use up to $500,000 and the Authority to use up to $4.5 million of the funds allocated for the Program for administrative costs, including contracting with vendors.

    Provides that the reporting requirement in Section 1.2 of Senate Bill 172, if it becomes law, applies to the $170 million transfer and allocation in this bill.