KRS 141.504 — Uniform process for education opportunity account allocation -- Qualifying expenses -- Provision for eligible student in county with population of 90,000 or more -- Duration of education opportunity account -- Prioritization of funding -- Restrictions. (See LRC Note below)

nonpublic school or tuition as described in KRS 158.120(2), the EOA funds
shall not exceed the lesser of:
1. Their parents' demonstrated financial need as determined by an
independent financial analysis performed by an organization that is:
a. Experienced in evaluating a student's need for financial aid; and
b. Included on the department's list of approved organizations as
required by KRS 141.514(2)(a); or
2. The actual amount of tuition and required fees charged by the school to
students who do not receive assistance under this program;
(b) For all other eligible students, the EOA funds shall not exceed the lesser of:
1. The expected cost of educational services to be provided during the
succeeding school year; or
2. The Commonwealth’s guaranteed SEEK base amount for the
immediately preceding school year reduced by the percentage equal to
one-fourth (1/4) of the percentage by which the applicant’s household
income exceeds the applicable federal reduced lunch household income
threshold; and
(c) For students in the foster care system, the AGO shall assume that the student’s
parents have no income or ability to pay for educational services for the
purposes of prioritizing the students and determining the amount of assistan ce
provided under this program.
(2) (a) The funds in an EOA shall not be used for athletics or any associated fees and
shall only be used to pay for the tuition and fee expenses permitted by
paragraph (b) of this subsection and the following qualifying exp enses if
covered by the AGO and incurred for the purpose of educating an EOA
student:
1. Tuition or fees to attend a prekindergarten to grade twelve (12) public
school;
2. Tuition or fees for online learning programs;
3. Tutoring services provided by an individual or a tutoring facility;
4. Services contracted for and provided by a public school, including but
not limited to individual classes and extracurricular activities and
programs;
5. Textbooks, curriculum, or other instructional materials, including but
not limited to any supplemental materials or associated online
instruction required by either a curriculum or an education service
provider;
6. Computer hardware or other technological devices that are primarily
used to help meet an EOA student’s educational needs;
7. Educational software and applications;
8. School uniforms;
9. Fees for nationally standardized assessments, advanced placement
examinations, examinations related to college or university admission,
and tuition or fees for preparatory courses for these;
10. Tuition or fees for summer education programs and specialized after -
school education programs, excluding after-school childcare;
11. Tuition, fees, instructional materials, and examination fees at a career or
technical school;
12. Educational services and therapies, including but not limited to
occupational, behavioral, physical, speech -language, and audiology
therapies provided by a licensed professional;
13. Tuition and fees at an institution of higher education for dual credit
courses; and
14. Fees for transportation paid to a fee -for-service transportation provider
for the student to travel to and from an education service provider.
(b) In addition to the variety of education -related expenses for public and
nonpublic schools in the Comm onwealth as provided by paragraph (a) of this
subsection, EOA students that are residents of counties with a population of
ninety thousand (90,000) or more, as determined by the 2010 decennial report
of the United States Census Bureau, shall be permitted t o use funds received
through the EOA program for tuition and fees to attend nonpublic schools,
because students in these counties have access to substantial existing
nonpublic school infrastructure and there is capacity in these counties to either
grow exi sting tuition assistance programs or form new nonprofits from
existing networks that can provide tuition assistance to students over the
course of the pilot program. Pursuant to KRS 141.524, the General Assembly
shall assess whether the purposes of the EOA program are being fulfilled.
(3) EOA funds shall not be refunded, rebated, or shared with a parent or EOA student
in any manner. Any refund or rebate for materials or services purchased with EOA
funds shall be credited directly to the student’s EOA.
(4) Parents may make payments for the costs of educational materials and services not
covered by the funds in their student’s EOA, but personal deposits into an EOA
shall not be permitted.
(5) Funds allocated to an EOA shall not constitute taxable income to the parent or the
EOA student.
(6) (a) An EOA shall remain in force, unless the EOA is closed because of a
substantial misuse of funds, and any unused funds shall roll over from quarter
to quarter and from year to year until:
1. The parent withdraws the EOA student from the EOA program;
2. The EOA student receives a high school diploma or equivalency
certificate; or
3. The end of the school year in which the student reaches twenty -one (21)
years of age;
whichever occurs first.
(b) When an EOA is closed, any unused funds shall revert to the AGO that
granted the EOA and be allocated by that AGO to fund other EOAs. If the
AGO that granted the EOA is no longer operating, the funds shall be
transferred to another AGO operating in good st anding with the
Commonwealth.
(7) An AGO shall first prioritize funding EOAs for students, their siblings, and foster
children living in the same household who received an EOA in the previous
academic year and then to first-time applicants in accordance with subsection (8) of
this section.
(8) For first-time applicants, an AGO shall prioritize awarding EOAs to the applicants
as follows:
(a) A majority of funds available for first -time applicants shall be reserved for
students whose household income does no t exceed that necessary to establish
eligibility for reduced -price meals based on size of household as determined
annually by the United States Department of Agriculture applicable to the
Commonwealth, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. secs. 1751 to 1789. Within in th is
group of applicants, the funds shall be further prioritized to fund EOAs in the
order of the applicants with the most demonstrated financial need; and
(b) The remaining unfunded first -time applicants shall be selected for funding
based on a random lottery until all remaining funds are allocated to EOAs.
(9) An AGO may define and limit the services that the EOA funds may cover.
(10) An AGO shall not accept a contribution from an eligible taxpayer if the eligible
taxpayer designates that the contribution s hall be used to award an EOA to a
particular student.
(11) Dependents of the AGO’s board of directors, its staff, and its donors are ineligible
to receive an EOA.