Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Each
year, the department of education and workforce
will
publish a list of registered private providers and alternative public providers
who are participating in the scholarship program.
(B) To participate in the program, a private
provider
will register with the department in accordance with
procedures established by the department. No private provider
will
enroll scholarship students or receive scholarship payments until the private
provider has registered with the department. To be eligible for registration, a
private provider
will be able to demonstrate the following:
(1) That it
will not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin, regardless of
whether the provider receives federal financial assistance;
(2) That it is in compliance with sections
3319.39,
3319.391, and
3319.392 of the Revised Code
regarding background checks as if it were a school district;
(3) That the teaching and nonteaching
professionals employed by the provider hold credentials that are appropriate
for the qualified special education children enrolled in the special education
program that it operates as determined by the department. The teaching and
nonteaching professionals directly providing special education and related
services to a scholarship recipient
will meet the minimum standards of the applicable
professional organization for individual or non-school providers. The private
provider and employees
will hold appropriate credentials from the state
board of education or from a national or state board for their specific
professions, and these credentials
will be applicable to the special education or
related services that the provider or employee will be providing. If the
private provider contracts with another provider who will be providing special
education and related services to children participating in the scholarship
program, the contracted provider and any subcontractors or employees of both
will
also hold appropriate credentials from the Ohio state board of education or credentials from a
national or state board for their specific profession;
(a) If any employee referenced in paragraph
(B)(3) of this rule holds credentials issued by the Ohio state board of
education that are either currently suspended or have been revoked in
accordance with Chapter 119. and section
3319.31 of the Revised Code,
that individual
will not be permitted to provide services to a
child receiving a scholarship, regardless of whether the individual holds
credentials from a national or state board for his or her specific
profession;
(b) If any employee
referenced in paragraph (B)(3) of this rule holds appropriate credentials
issued by a state other than Ohio, those credentials shallwill be recognized as appropriate credentials under
paragraph (B)(3) of this rule unless that party holds credentials issued by the
Ohio board of education that are either currently suspended or have been
revoked in accordance with Chapter 119. and section
3319.31 of the Revised
Code;
(c) If a provider uses
volunteers to assist in providing special education and related services to a
scholarship recipient, those volunteers
will be
supervised by a person meeting the requirements in paragraph (B)(3) of this
rule.
(4) That
its educational
program
complies with program
standards prescribed by the department and located on the department's
website;
(5) That it meets
all applicable health and safety
codes;
(6) That it agrees to provide a record of
compliance with the IEP and a record of the
student's progress to the school district who wrote the IEP, in the form and
manner prescribed by the department, and to cooperate with the district during
the process of revising IEPs for scholarship students;
(7) That it agrees to retain the
documentation and information
identified in rule
3301-101-04 of the
Administrative Code and any other documentation and information directly
related to the student's scholarship application for one year from the
submission of the application.
(8)
That it agrees to notify the eligible applicant in writing of its reasons for
declining to enroll the child receiving a scholarship.
(9) That it is physically located within the
boundaries of the state of Ohio, and all children served by the provider
will be
served within the state of Ohio, unless a registered private provider is
otherwise approved by the department
to provide services in another
state to Ohio residents due to the provider's proximity to the child's school
or residence or if an out-of-state provider meets the
department's
conditions to provide on-line services to Ohio
residents.
(10) The private
provider demonstrates fiscal soundness. A private provider
will
demonstrate fiscal soundness by meeting the following
conditions:
(a)
Providing the department with
a written statement confirming that the private provider has adequate liability
and property and casualty insurance;
(b) Having no outstanding findings for
recovery from the auditor of state; and
(c) Providing the parent with a fee schedule
and description of the special education and related services that the private
provider will be providing as part of the Jon Peterson scholarship program and
making the fee schedule available to the department ;
(C) To participate in the program, an
alternative public provider
will notify the department in writing of its
intent to participate in the Jon Peterson scholarship program. The registration
conditions that apply to private providers do not
apply to an alternative public provider. An alternative provider may utilize
the scholarship program to enroll a child if the child's parent would owe fees
for the services provided by the alternative public provider.
(D) A registered private provider,chartered
nonpublic school providing a special education program, or alternative
public provider
will make the following representations to the
department in order to participate:
(1) That
it
will
annually communicate its tuition or fee structure including all discounts and
other adjustments offered or available;
(2) That it
will prepare a
profile of its special education program that contains the methods of
instruction that will be utilized to provide services to children receiving
scholarships and the qualifications of teachers, instructors, and all other
employees or subcontractors who will provide services to scholarship children,
in the form prescribed by the department;
(3) That it
will provide
the profile
under paragraph (D)(2) of this rule to eligible
applicants;
(4) In cases where it
is listed on a scholarship as the primary provider, that it,or another entity with qualifying credentials on behalf of
the primary provider,
will administer tests or alternate assessments to
students receiving scholarships and enrolled in grade levels for which tests
are regularly administered pursuant to sections
3301.0710 and
3301.0712 of the Revised Code,
and that the results of such tests
will be reported to the department pursuant to
procedures established by the department;
(5) That it
will make its
facilities and the records pertinent to the effective implementation of the
provisions established by the rules in this chapter
available at any time during regular business hours for announced or
unannounced visits by the department, or by persons under contract with the
department to perform compliance reviews;
(6) That it has established sufficient
student attendance recordkeeping procedures, including processes for
documentation of excused absences;
(7) That it has established reliable systems
to ensure confidentiality of student records;
(8) That it
will promptly
refund to the state any amounts overpaid on behalf of a student due to
ineligibility, disenrollment, expulsion, data error, or for any other
reason;
(9) That it
will
disenroll any scholarship student once a determination is made that the student
will no longer attend the school. Disenrollment
will be
recorded as the last date the student attended classes;
(10) That it
will allow the
department to monitor compliance with the provisions of this rule and of other
laws and rules as they apply to chartered nonpublic schools and
will
provide at the request of the department such information and copies of records
as may be necessary to ensure such compliance, including:
(a) Information and records related to school
staff and volunteers, including, but not limited to, license or certificate
numbers, and background check results;
(b) Information and records related to school
policies and procedures including, but not limited to, the parent or student
handbook, admissions policies, and withdrawal and transfer policies;
and
(c) Information and records
related to building, vehicle and operational safety including, but not limited
to, fire inspection reports, food service licenses, and vehicle inspection
reports.
(E)
The department may revoke the registration of a private provider if the
department determines that the private provider is in violation of any of the
provisions of section
3310.58 of the Revised Code, the
rules of this chapter, or program guidelines established by the department. In
lieu of revocation, the department may suspend a registered provider from
participating in the program until issues of noncompliance have been corrected
to the satisfaction of the department.
(F) Any alternative public provider that
fails to meet the
provisions established by the rules of this
chapter may be suspended from participation in the program for a period of time
to be determined by the department, or until such time as the alternative
public provider provides assurances to the satisfaction of the department that
such
provisions will be met.
(G) If the department revokes or suspends a
private provider's registration, the provider
will be
entitled to and may request a hearing under Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code.
