A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require COMPREHENSIVE school ACCOUNTABILITY through the requirement of certain tests to assess progress of students receiving opportunity SCHOLARSHIPS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑562.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑562.5.  Obligations of nonpublic schools accepting eligible students receiving scholarship grants.
(a)	A nonpublic school that accepts eligible students receiving scholarship grants shall comply with the following:
(1)	Provide to the Authority documentation for required tuition and fees charged to the student by the nonpublic school.
(2)	Provide to the Authority a criminal background check conducted for the staff member with the highest decision‑making authority, as defined by the bylaws, articles of incorporation, or other governing document, to ensure that person has not been convicted of any crime listed in G.S. 115C‑332.
(3)	Provide to the parent or guardian of an eligible student, whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant, an annual written explanation of the student's progress, including the student's scores on standardized achievement tests.
(4)	Administer, at least once in each school year, the most recent edition of one of the following nationally normed standardized tests selected by the chief administrative officer of the nonpublic school to all eligible students whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant enrolled in grades three and higher:
a.	Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS): Iowa Assessment Form E.
b.	California Achievement Test (CAT).
c.	Stanford Achievement Test.
d.	Terra Nova Plus.
The nationally normed standardized test selected must measure achievement in the areas of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. Test performance data shall be submitted to the Authority by July 15 of each year. Test performance data reported to the Authority under this subdivision is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.
(5)	Provide to the Authority graduation rates of the students receiving scholarship grants in a manner consistent with nationally recognized standards.
(6)	Contract with a certified public accountant to perform a financial review, consistent with generally accepted accounting principles, for each school year in which the school accepts students receiving more than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in scholarship grants awarded under this Part.
(b)	A nonpublic school that accepts students receiving scholarship grants shall not require any additional fees based on the status of the student as a scholarship grant recipient.
(c)	A nonpublic school enrolling more than 10 students whose tuition and fees are paid in whole or in part with a scholarship grant shall report to the Authority on the aggregate standardized test performance of eligible students. Aggregate test performance data reported to the Authority which does not contain personally identifiable student data shall be a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. Test performance data may be shared with public or private institutions of higher education located in North Carolina and shall be provided to an independent research organization selected by the Authority for research purposes as permitted by the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g.
(c1)	A nonpublic school shall not discriminate with respect to the categories listed in 42 U.S.C. § 2000d, as that statute read on January 1, 2014.
(d)	A nonpublic school accepting students receiving scholarship grants that fails to comply with the requirements of this section shall be ineligible to receive future scholarship grants if the Authority determines that the nonpublic school is not in compliance with the requirements of this section. The nonpublic school shall notify the parent or guardian of any enrolled student receiving a scholarship grant that the nonpublic school is no longer eligible to receive future scholarship grants. A nonpublic school may appeal for reconsideration of eligibility after one year."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2017‑2018 school year.