53E-7-402. Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program.

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Effective 5/6/2026

(1)There is established the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program under which a parent may apply to a scholarship granting organization on behalf of the parent's student for a scholarship to help cover the cost of a scholarship expense.

(2)A scholarship granting organization shall award, in accordance with this part, scholarships to eligible students.

(3)A scholarship granting organization shall determine a full-year scholarship award to pay for the cost of one or more scholarship expenses in an amount not more than, for a student who is:

(a)in kindergarten through grade 12, the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 2.5; and

(b)in preschool:

(i)for full-time enrollment, the value of the weighted pupil unit; or

(ii)for part-time enrollment, the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 0.55.

(a)A scholarship granting organization shall:

(i)establish and communicate to an eligible student a deadline by which the eligible student must accept or deny the scholarship offer; and

(ii)communicate to an eligible student that failure to respond by the deadline described in (4)(a)(i) may result in forfeiture of the scholarship offer.

(b)The State Tax Commission may, upon request, provide state individual income tax information to a scholarship granting organization for residence verification purposes regarding a given individual if:

(i)the individual voluntarily provides the individual's social security number to the scholarship granting organization; and

(ii)the individual consents in writing to the sharing of state individual income tax and residence information solely for the purpose of residency verification purposes.

(c)The State Tax Commission shall create and implement a residency verification process and tool to facilitate this verification process.

(5)Eligibility for a scholarship as determined by a multidisciplinary evaluation team under this program does not establish eligibility for an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Subchapter II, 20 U.S.C. Secs. 1400 to 1419, and is not binding on any LEA that is required to provide an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(6)The scholarship granting organizations shall prepare and disseminate information on the program to a parent applying for a scholarship on behalf of a student.

Amended by Chapter 217 , 2026 General Session