SB290 By Senators Glover and Albritton RFD Finance and Taxation Education Rd 1 09-MAR-17

SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, the Alabama Accountability Act provides a means for K-12 students who are enrolled in or assigned to attend failing public schools to transfer to nonfailing public schools, under certain conditions.

This bill would authorize public nonfailing schools who have accepted and enrolled students from failing schools, with due process, to rescind the transfer of those students who create discipline or conduct problems.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

To amend Sections 16-6D-8 and 16-6D-9, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the Alabama Accountability Act; to authorize local public school systems, with due process, to rescind the transfer of students who create discipline or conduct problems.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 16-6D-8 and 16-6D-9 of the Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§16-6D-8.

"(a) To provide educational flexibility and state accountability for students in failing schools:

"(1) For tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2013, an Alabama income tax credit is made available to the parent of a student enrolled in or assigned to attend a failing school to help offset the cost of transferring the student to a nonfailing public school or nonpublic school of the parent's choice. The income tax credit shall be an amount equal to 80 percent of the average annual state cost of attendance for a public K-12 student during the applicable tax year or the actual cost of attending a nonfailing public school or nonpublic school, whichever is less. The actual cost of attending a nonfailing public school or nonpublic school shall be calculated by adding together any tuition amounts or mandatory fees charged by the school to the student as a condition of enrolling or of maintaining enrollment in the school. The average annual state cost of attendance for a public K-12 student shall be calculated by dividing the state funds appropriated to the Foundation Program pursuant to Section 16-13-231(b)(2) by the total statewide number of pupils in average daily membership during the first 20 scholastic days following Labor Day of the preceding school year. For each student who was enrolled in and attended a failing school the previous semester whose parent receives an income tax credit under this section, an amount equal to 20 percent of the average annual state cost of attendance for a public K-12 student during the applicable tax year shall be allocated, for as long as the parent receives the tax credit, to the failing school from which the student transferred if the student transfers to and remains enrolled in a nonpublic school. No such allocation shall be made in the event the student transfers to or enrolls in a nonfailing public school. The Department of Education shall determine the best method of ensuring that the foregoing allocation provisions are properly implemented. A parent is allowed a credit against income tax for each taxable year under the terms established in this section. If income taxes owed by such a parent are less than the total credit allowed under this subsection, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a refund or rebate, as the case may be, equal to the balance of the unused credit with respect to that taxable year.

"(2) Any income tax credit due a parent under this section shall be granted or issued to the parent only upon his or her making application therefor, at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed from time to time by the Department of Revenue. The application process shall include, but not be limited to, certification by the parent that the student was enrolled in or was assigned to attend a failing school, certification by the parent that the student was subsequently transferred to, and was enrolled and attended, a nonfailing public school or nonpublic school of the parent's choice, and proof, satisfactory to the Department of Revenue, of the actual cost of attendance for the student at the nonfailing public school or nonpublic school. For purposes of the tax credit authorized by this section, costs of attendance does not include any such costs incurred for an academic year prior to the 2013-2014 academic year. The Department of Revenue shall also prescribe the various methods by which income tax credits are to be issued to taxpayers. Income tax credits authorized by this section shall be paid out of sales tax collections made to the Education Trust Fund, and set aside by the Comptroller in the Failing Schools Income Tax Credit Account created in subsection (c), in the same manner as refunds of income tax otherwise provided by law, and there is hereby appropriated therefrom, for such purpose, so much as may be necessary to annually pay the income tax credits provided by this section.

"(3) An application for an income tax credit authorized by this section shall be filed with the Department of Revenue within the time prescribed for filing petitions for refund under Section 40-2A-7.

"(4) The Department of Revenue shall promulgate reasonable rules to effectuate the intent of this subsection.

"(b)(1) The parent of a public school student may request and receive an income tax credit pursuant to this section to reimburse the parent for costs associated with transferring the student from a failing school to a nonfailing public school or nonpublic school of the parent's choice, in any of the following circumstances:

"a. By assigned school attendance area, if the student spent the prior school year in attendance at a failing school and the attendance of the student occurred during a school year in which the designation was in effect.

"b. The student was in attendance elsewhere in the Alabama public school system and was assigned to a failing school for the next school year.

"c. The student was notified that he or she was assigned to a failing school for the next school year.

"(2) This section does not apply to a student who is enrolled in the Department of Youth Services School District.

"(3) For the purposes of continuity of educational choice, the tax credit shall be available to parents for those grade levels of the failing school from which the student transferred. The parent of a student who transfers from a failing school may receive income tax credits for those grade levels enrolled in and attended in the nonfailing public school or nonpublic school of the parent's choice transferred to that were included in the failing school from which the student transferred, whether or not the failing school becomes a nonfailing school during those years. The parent of such a student shall no longer be eligible for the income tax credit after the student completes the highest grade level in which he or she would otherwise have been enrolled at the failing school. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as long as the student remains enrolled in or assigned to attend a failing school, the parent may again transfer the student to a nonfailing public school or nonpublic school of the parent's choice and request and receive an income tax credit as provided in this section.

"(4) A local school system, for each student enrolled in or assigned to a failing school, shall do all of the following:

"a. Timely notify the parent of the student of all options available under this section as soon as the school of attendance is designated as a failing school.

"b. Offer the parent of the student an opportunity to enroll the student in another public school within the local school system that is not a failing school or a failing school to which the student has been assigned.

"(5) The parent of a student enrolled in or assigned to a school that has been designated as a failing school, who decides to transfer the student to a nonfailing public school, shall first attempt to enroll the student in a nonfailing public school within the same local system in which the student is already enrolled or assigned to attend before attempting to enroll the student in a nonfailing public school that has available space in any other local school system in the state. A local school system may accept the student on whatever terms and conditions the system establishes and report the student for purposes of the local school system's funding pursuant to the Foundation Program.

"(6) For students in the local school system who are participating in the tax credit program, the local school system shall provide locations and times to take all statewide assessments required by law.

"(7) Students with disabilities who are eligible to receive services from the local school system under federal or state law, and who participate in the tax credit program, remain eligible to receive services from the local school system as provided by federal or state law.

"(8) If a parent enrolls a student in a nonfailing public school within the same local school system, and that system provides transportation services for other enrolled students, transportation costs to the nonfailing public school shall be the responsibility of the local school system. Local school systems may negotiate transportation options with a parent to minimize system costs. If a parent enrolls a student in a nonpublic school or in a nonfailing public school within another local school system, regardless of whether that system provides transportation services for other enrolled students, transportation of the student shall be the responsibility of the parent.

"(9) The State Department of Education shall promulgate reasonable rules to effectuate the intent of this subsection. Rules shall include penalties for noncompliance.

"(c) There is created within the Education Trust Fund a separate account named the Failing Schools Income Tax Credit Account. The Commissioner of Revenue shall certify to the Comptroller the amount of income tax credits due to parents under this section and the Comptroller shall transfer into the Failing Schools Income Tax Credit Account only the amount from sales tax revenues within the Education Trust Fund that is sufficient for the Department of Revenue to use to cover the income tax credits for the applicable tax year. The Commissioner of Revenue shall distribute the funds in the Failing Schools Income Tax Credit Account to parents pursuant to this section.

"(d)(1) Nothing in this section or chapter shall be construed to force any public school, school system, or school district or any nonpublic school, school system, or school district to enroll any student.

"(2) A public school, school system, or school district or any nonpublic school, school system, or school district may develop the terms and conditions under which it will allow a student whose parent receives an income tax credit pursuant to this section to be enrolled, but such terms and conditions may not discriminate on the basis of the race, gender, religion, color, disability status, or ethnicity of the student or of the student's parent.

"(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the violation of or supersede the authority of any court ruling that applies to the public school, school system, or school district, specifically any federal court order related to the desegregation of the local school system's student population.

"(4) A public school, school system, or school district may develop the terms and conditions under which a student whose parent receives an income tax credit pursuant to this section may rescind the transfer of a student based on the conduct or discipline problems of the student. The terms and conditions may not discriminate on the basis of the race, gender, religion, color, disability status, or ethnicity of the student or of the parent of the student and shall comply with all due process requirements contained in the written policy on student discipline and behavior of the local school system developed pursuant to Chapter 28A.

§16-6D-9.

"(a)(1) An individual taxpayer who files a state income tax return and is not claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer, a taxpayer subject to the corporate income tax levied by Chapter 18 of Title 40, an Alabama S corporation as defined in Section 40-18-160, or a Subchapter K entity as defined in Section 40-18-1 may claim a credit for a contribution made to a scholarship granting organization. If the credit is claimed by an Alabama S corporation or Subchapter K entity, the credit shall pass through to and may be claimed by any taxpayer eligible to claim a credit under this subdivision who is a shareholder, partner, or member thereof, based on the taxpayer's pro rata or distributive share, respectively, of the credit.

"(2) The tax credit may be claimed by an individual taxpayer or a married couple filing jointly in an amount equal to 100 percent of the total contributions the taxpayer made to a scholarship granting organization for educational scholarships during the taxable year for which the credit is claimed, up to 50 percent of the tax liability of the individual taxpayer, not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per individual taxpayer or married couple filing jointly. For purposes of this section, an individual taxpayer includes an individual who is a shareholder of an Alabama S corporation or a partner or member of a Subchapter K entity that made a contribution to a scholarship granting organization.

"(3) The tax credit may be claimed by a taxpayer subject to the Alabama corporate income tax in an amount equal to 100 percent of the total contributions the taxpayer made to a scholarship granting organization for educational scholarships during the taxable year for which the credit is claimed, up to 50 percent of the tax liability of the taxpayer.

"(4) A taxpayer subject to the Alabama corporate income tax, an individual taxpayer, or a married couple filing jointly may carry forward a tax credit earned under the tax credit scholarship program for up to three taxable years.

"(5) The cumulative amount of tax credits issued pursuant to subdivision (2) and subdivision (3) shall not exceed thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) annually, based on the calendar year. A taxpayer making one or more otherwise tax-creditable contributions before the due date, with extensions, of a timely filed 2014 tax return may elect to treat all or a portion of such contributions as applying to and creditable against its 2014 Alabama income tax liability, if the taxpayer properly reserves the credit on the website of the Department of Revenue or another method provided by the Department of Revenue. The amount creditable against the taxpayer's 2014 income tax liability shall be limited to the lesser of the amount so designated or the remaining balance, if any, of the cumulative amount of the twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of tax credits available for the 2014 calendar year. No such contribution and election by a taxpayer to reserve tax credits against the remaining balance of the cumulative amount of tax credits available for 2014 shall preclude the taxpayer from making additional contributions in 2015 and reserving those amounts against the cumulative amount of tax credits available for 2015. The Department of Revenue shall develop a procedure to ensure that this cap is not exceeded and shall also prescribe the various methods by which these credits are to be issued.

"(6) No credit may be claimed for a contribution made to a scholarship granting organization if the contribution is restricted or conditioned in any way by the donor including, but not limited to, requiring the scholarship granting organization to direct all or part of the contribution to a particular qualifying school or to grant an educational scholarship to a particular eligible student.

"(b)(1) Administrative accountability standards. All scholarship granting organizations shall do all of the following:

"a. Notify the Department of Revenue of their intent to provide educational scholarships to eligible students.

"b. Demonstrate to the Department of Revenue that they have been granted exemption from the federal income tax as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as in effect from time to time.

"c. Distribute periodic educational scholarship payments as checks made out and mailed to or directly deposited with the school where the student is enrolled.

"d. Provide a Department of Revenue approved receipt to taxpayers for contributions made to the scholarship granting organization.

"e. Ensure that all determinations with respect to the eligibility of a student to receive an educational scholarship shall be made by the scholarship granting organization. A scholarship granting organization shall not delegate any responsibility for determining the eligibility of a student for an educational scholarship or any other requirements it is subject to under this chapter to any qualifying school or an entity affiliated therewith.

"f. Ensure that at least 95 percent of their revenue from donations is expended on educational scholarships, and that all revenue from interest or investments is expended on educational scholarships. A scholarship granting organization may expend up to five percent of its revenue from donations on administrative and operating expenses in the calendar year of the donation or in any subsequent calendar year.

"g. Ensure that scholarship funds on hand at the beginning of a calendar year are expended on educational scholarships by the end of the academic year ending within the next succeeding calendar year. Any scholarship funds on hand at the beginning of a calendar year that are not expended on educational scholarships by the end of the academic year ending within the next succeeding calendar year shall be turned over to and deposited with the State Department of Education for the benefit of its At-Risk Student Program to be distributed to local boards of education on the basis determined by the State Department of Education in furtherance of support to underperforming schools.

"h. Ensure that at least 75 percent of first-time recipients of educational scholarships were not continuously enrolled in a private school during the previous academic year.

"i. Cooperate with the Department of Revenue to conduct criminal background checks on all of their employees and board members and exclude from employment or governance any individual who may reasonably pose a risk to the appropriate use of contributed funds.

"j. Ensure that educational scholarships are portable during the academic year and can be used at any qualifying school that accepts the eligible student according to the wishes of the parent. If an eligible student transfers to another qualifying school during an academic year, the educational scholarship amount may be prorated.

"k. Publicly report to the Department of Revenue by September 1 of each year all of the following information prepared by a certified public accountant regarding their educational scholarships funded in the previous academic year:

"1. The name and address of the scholarship granting organization.

"2. The total number and total dollar amount of contributions received during the previous academic year.

"3. The total number and total dollar amount of educational scholarships awarded and funded during the previous academic year, the total number and total dollar amount of educational scholarships awarded and funded during the previous academic year for students qualifying for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, and the percentage of first-time recipients of educational scholarships who were enrolled in a public school during the previous academic year.

"l. Publicly report to the Department of Revenue, by the 15th day after the close of each calendar quarter, all of the following information about educational scholarships granted during the quarter:

"1. The total number of scholarships awarded and funded.

"2. The names of the qualifying schools that received funding for educational scholarships, the total amount of funds paid to each qualifying school, and the total number of scholarship recipients enrolled in each qualifying school.

"3. The total number of eligible students zoned to attend a failing school who received educational scholarships from the scholarship granting organization.

"4. The total number of first time scholarship recipients who were continuously enrolled in a nonpublic school prior to receiving an educational scholarship from that scholarship granting organization.

"m. Ensure that educational scholarships are not provided for eligible students to attend a school with paid staff or board members, or relatives thereof, in common with the scholarship granting organization.

"n. Ensure that educational scholarships are provided in a manner that does not discriminate based on the gender, race, or disability status of the scholarship applicant or his or her parent.

"o. Ensure that educational scholarships are provided only to eligible students who are zoned to attend a failing school so that the eligible student can attend a qualifying school. To ensure compliance with the immediately preceding sentence, the local board of education for the county or municipality in which an eligible student applying for an educational scholarship resides, upon written request by a parent, shall provide written verification that a particular address is in the attendance zone of a specified public school. The State Department of Education shall provide written verification of enrollment in a failing school under this chapter. With respect to first time educational scholarship recipients, scholarship granting organizations shall give priority to eligible students zoned to attend failing schools over eligible students not zoned to attend failing schools. Any scholarship funds unaccounted for on July 31st of each calendar year may be made available to eligible students to defray the costs of attending a qualifying school, whether or not the student is zoned to attend a failing school. Any provision of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, once an eligible student receives an educational scholarship under this program, scholarship funds may be made available to the student for educational scholarships until the student graduates from high school or reaches 19 years of age, regardless of whether the student is zoned to attend a failing school, subject to the income eligibility requirements of paragraph b. of subdivision (4) of Section 16-6D-4.

"p. Ensure that no donations are directly made to benefit specifically designated scholarship recipients or to particular qualifying schools.

"q. Submit to the Department of Revenue annual verification of the scholarship granting organization's policies and procedures used to determine scholarship eligibility. The verification shall confirm that the scholarship granting organization, and not one or more qualifying schools accepting educational scholarship recipients or scholarship funds, is determining whether scholarship applicants are eligible to receive educational scholarships. The verification shall also confirm that the scholarship granting organization is giving priority to receive an educational scholarship to eligible students zoned to attend failing schools.

"r. Submit to the Department of Revenue annual verification that none of its actions or policies restricts a parent's educational choice by limiting or prohibiting the enrollment of eligible students in a qualifying school if those eligible students received educational scholarships from other scholarship granting organizations.

"(2) Financial accountability standards.

"a. All scholarship granting organizations shall demonstrate their financial accountability by doing all of the following:

"1. Annually submitting to the Department of Revenue a financial information report for the scholarship granting organization that complies with uniform financial accounting standards established by the Department of Revenue and conducted by a certified public accountant.

"2. Having the auditor certify that the report is free of material misstatements.

"b. All qualifying nonpublic schools shall demonstrate financial viability, if they are to receive donations of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more during the academic year, by doing either of the following:

"1. Filing with the scholarship granting organization prior to receipt of the first educational scholarship payment for that academic year a surety bond payable to the scholarship granting organization in an amount equal to the aggregate amount of scholarship funds expected to be received during the academic year.

"2. Filing with the scholarship granting organization prior to receipt of the first educational scholarship payment for that academic year financial information that demonstrates the financial viability of the qualifying nonpublic school.

"(c)(1) Each scholarship granting organization shall annually collect and submit to the Department of Revenue with the annual report required by paragraph k. of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) written verification from qualifying nonpublic schools that accept its educational scholarship students that those schools do all of the following:

"a. Comply with all health and safety laws or codes that otherwise apply to nonpublic schools.

"b. Hold a valid occupancy permit if required by the municipality.

"c. Certify compliance with nondiscrimination policies set forth in 42 U.S.C. 1981.

"d. Conduct criminal background checks on employees and then do all of the following:

"1. Exclude from employment any person not permitted by state law to work in a public school.

"2. Exclude from employment any person who may reasonably pose a threat to the safety of students.

"(2) By August 1 of each year, each qualifying nonpublic school shall provide to each scholarship granting organization from which it receives educational scholarships verification that the qualifying nonpublic school is in compliance with the Alabama Child Protection Act of 1999, Chapter 22A of this title. Any qualifying nonpublic school failing to timely provide such annual verification shall be prohibited from participating in the scholarship program. Each scholarship granting organization shall annually submit to the Department of Revenue with the annual report required by paragraph k. of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) copies of the written verifications it receives from each qualifying nonpublic school.

"(3) Academic accountability standards. There shall be sufficient information about the academic impact educational scholarship tax credits have on students participating in the tax credit scholarship program in order to allow parents and taxpayers to measure the achievements of the tax credit scholarship program, and therefore:

"a. Each scholarship granting organization shall ensure that qualifying schools that accept its educational scholarship students shall do all of the following:

"1. Annually administer either the state achievement tests or nationally recognized norm-referenced tests that measure learning gains in math and language arts to all students receiving an educational scholarship in grades that require testing under the accountability testing laws of the state for public schools, in order that the state can compare the academic achievement and learning gains of students receiving educational scholarships with students of the same socioeconomic and educational backgrounds who are taking the state achievement tests or nationally norm-referenced tests.

"2. Allow the costs of the testing requirement to be covered by the educational scholarships distributed by the scholarship granting organizations.

"3. Provide the parents of each student who was tested with a copy of the results of the tests on an annual basis, beginning with the first year of testing.

"4. Provide the test results to the Department of Revenue on an annual basis, beginning with the first year of testing.

"5. Report student information that allows the state to aggregate data by grade level, gender, family income level, and race.

"6. Provide graduation rates of those students benefitting from education scholarships to the Department of Revenue or an organization chosen by the state in a manner consistent with nationally recognized standards.

"7. Ensure that a student who receives an educational scholarship conforms to the attendance requirements of the qualifying school. If a student fails to conform, the qualifying school shall immediately communicate the failure to the applicable scholarship granting organization.

"b.1. The Department of Revenue shall select an independent research organization, which may be a public or private entity or university, to analyze the results of the testing required by paragraph a. every other academic year. The cost of analyzing and reporting on the test results to the Department of Revenue by the independent research organization shall be borne by all scholarship granting organizations in proportion to the total scholarship donations received for the two calendar years prior to the report being published. Scholarship granting organizations may receive and use funds from outside sources to pay for its share of the biennial report.

"2. The independent research organization shall report to the Department of Revenue every other year on the learning gains of students receiving educational scholarships and the report shall be aggregated by the grade level, gender, family income level, number of years of participation in the tax credit scholarship program, and race of the student receiving an educational scholarship. The report shall also include, to the extent possible, a comparison of the learning gains of students participating in the tax credit scholarship program to the statewide learning gains of public school students with socioeconomic and educational backgrounds similar to those students participating in the tax credit scholarship program.

"3. The first report under this paragraph shall be submitted to the Department of Revenue by September 1, 2016. Each biennial report thereafter shall be submitted to the Department of Revenue on September 1 of the year the report is due. All biennial reports required by this paragraph shall be published on the website of the Department of Revenue.

"4. Each scholarship granting organization shall collect all test results from qualifying schools accepting its scholarship recipients and turn over such test results to the independent research organization described in this paragraph by August 15 of each calendar year.

"5. The sharing and reporting of student learning gain data under this paragraph shall conform to the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g., and shall be for the sole purpose of creating the biennial report required by this paragraph. All parties shall preserve the confidentially of such information as required by law. The biennial report shall not disaggregate data to a level that could identify qualifying schools participating in the tax credit scholarship program or disclose the academic level of individual students.

"6. At the same time the biennial report under paragraph 2 is submitted to the Department of Revenue, it shall be submitted to the Chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee and the Chair of the House Education Policy Committee.

"(d)(1) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules and procedures consistent with this section as necessary.

"(2) The Department of Revenue shall provide a standardized format for a receipt to be issued by a scholarship granting organization to a taxpayer to indicate the value of a contribution received. The Department of Revenue shall require a taxpayer to provide a copy of the receipt when claiming the tax credit pursuant to this section.

"(3) The Department of Revenue shall provide a standardized format for a scholarship granting organization to report the information required in paragraphs k. and l. of subdivision (1) of subsection (b).

"(4) The Department of Revenue may conduct either a financial review or audit of a scholarship granting organization.

"(5) The Department of Revenue may bar a scholarship granting organization or a qualifying school from participating in the tax credit scholarship program if the Department of Revenue establishes that the scholarship granting organization or the qualifying school has intentionally and substantially failed to comply with the requirements in subsection (b) or subsection (c).

"(6) If the Department of Revenue decides to bar a scholarship granting organization or a qualifying school from the tax credit scholarship program, the Department of Revenue shall notify affected educational scholarship students and their parents of the decision as quickly as possible.

"(7) The Department of Revenue shall publish and routinely update, on the website of the department, a list of scholarship granting organizations in the state, by county.

"(8) The Department of Revenue shall publish and make publicly available on its website all annual and quarterly reports required to be filed with it by scholarship granting organizations under paragraphs k. and l. of subdivision (1) of subsection (b).

"(e)(1) All schools participating in the tax credit scholarship program shall be required to operate in Alabama.

"(2) All schools participating in the tax credit scholarship program shall comply with all state laws that apply to public schools regarding criminal background checks for employees and exclude from employment any person not permitted by state law to work in a public school.

"(3) All qualifying nonpublic schools participating in the tax credit scholarship program shall maintain a website that describes the school, the instructional program of the school, and the tuition and mandatory fees charged by the school, updated prior to the beginning of each semester.

"(4) The amount of a scholarship awarded a student to attend a nonpublic school may not exceed the total sum of tuition and mandatory fees normally charged a student to attend the nonpublic school for the same attendance period. The amount of a scholarship awarded a student to attend a public school may not exceed the total state appropriation provided for a student to attend the public school for the same attendance period.

"(f) The tax credit provided in this section may be first claimed for the 2013 tax year but may not be claimed for any tax year prior to the 2013 tax year.

"(g)(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed to force any public school, school system, or school district or any nonpublic school, school system, or school district to enroll any student. No qualifying school may enter into any agreement, whether oral or written, with a scholarship granting organization that would prohibit or limit an eligible student from enrolling in the school based on the identity of the scholarship granting organization from which the eligible student received an educational scholarship.

"(2) A public school, school system, or school district or any nonpublic school, school system, or school district may develop the terms and conditions under which it will allow a student who receives a scholarship from a scholarship granting organization pursuant to this section to be enrolled, but such terms and conditions may not discriminate on the basis of the race, gender, religion, color, disability status, or ethnicity of the student or of the student's parent.

"(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the violation of or supersede the authority of any court ruling that applies to the public school, school system, or school district, specifically any federal court order related to the desegregation of the local school system's student population.

"(4) A public school, school system, or school district may develop the terms and conditions under which a student who receives a scholarship from a scholarship granting organization pursuant to this section may rescind the transfer of a student based on the conduct or discipline problems of the student. The terms and conditions may not discriminate on the basis of the race, gender, religion, color, disability status, or ethnicity of the student or of the parent of the student and shall comply with all due process requirements contained in the written policy on student discipline and behavior of the local school system developed pursuant to Chapter 28A.

"(h) Nothing in this chapter shall affect or change the athletic eligibility rules of student athletes governed by the Alabama High School Athletic Association or similar association."

Section 2. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Education

Schools

Board of Education, City

Board of Education, County

Taxation

Board of Education, State

Code Amended