Compare Program Policies

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This user-friendly platform is designed to help you navigate the diverse landscape of Education Savings Accounts across different states. This tool offers a comprehensive comparison of ESA policies.

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First choose the specific policy you want to compare. Then from the list of state, you can choose the specific state policies you would like to compare. The results will show you the bill language of the particular policy feature included in the the program.

With this tool, you can compare state programs, analyze program features, and make informed decisions.

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MISSISSIPPI: Equal Opportunity for Special Needs Program

ESA comparison by Policy Hits: 109
  • Fund Administrator:
    • Synopsis:

      Department of Education

      , Statute Language:

      § 37-181-9. Responsibilities of department [Repealed effective July 1, 2024].
      (1) The department shall create a standard form that parents of students submit to establish their student’s eligibility for an Education Scholarship Account. The department shall ensure that the application is readily available to interested families through various sources, including the department’s website and the copy of procedural safeguards annually given to parents.
      (2) The department shall provide parents of participating students with a written explanation of the allowable uses of Education Scholarship Accounts, the responsibilities of parents and the duties of the department. This information shall also be made available on the department’s website.
      (3) The department shall annually notify all students with an IEP of the existence of the ESA program and shall ensure that lower-income families are made aware of their potential eligibility.
      (4) The department may deduct an amount up to a limit of six percent (6%) from appropriations used to fund Education Scholarship Accounts to cover the costs of overseeing the funds and administering the ESA program.
      -5
      (a) The department shall make a determination of eligibility, and shall approve the application, within twenty-one (21) business days of receiving an application for participation in the ESA program, subject to the provisions of Section 37-181-3(b).
      (b) The department shall provide for a procedure that children with a ruling of hearing impairment or children suspected of a hearing loss shall receive a comprehensive educational assessment which may include the areas of cognitive development, language/speech, audiological and academic achievement from the state-funded Mississippi Assistance Center for Hearing Loss. Children with a ruling of visual impairment or children suspected of a visual impairment shall receive a comprehensive low vision evaluation from the state-funded Low Vision Clinic.
      (6) The home school district shall provide the parent of a participating student with a complete copy of the student’s school records, while complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 USCS Section 1232(g)). The record shall be provided no later than thirty (30) days after a parent signs an agreement to participate in the ESA program.
  • Funding Mechanism:
    • Synopsis:

      Direct

      , Statute Language:

      (a) The department shall develop a system for payment of benefits, including, but not limited to, allowing educational service providers to invoice the department for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2), or allowing the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application to seek reimbursement for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2).
      (b) The department may make payments to educational service providers or reimbursement to the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application via check or warrant or electronic funds transfer or any other means of payment deemed to be commercially viable or cost-effective.
  • Program Administrator (Gov't):
    • Synopsis:

      Department of Education

      , Statute Language:

      (a) The department shall develop a system for payment of benefits, including, but not limited to, allowing educational service providers to invoice the department for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2), or allowing the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application to seek reimbursement for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2).
      (b) The department may make payments to educational service providers or reimbursement to the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application via check or warrant or electronic funds transfer or any other means of payment deemed to be commercially viable or cost-effective.
      (c) The department may also establish by rule that some payments to educational service providers will be made on a quarterly basis, rather than an annual basis, if the educational services will be rendered over an extended period of time.
      (3) The department shall adopt a process for removing educational service providers that defraud parents and for referring cases of fraud to law enforcement.
      (4) The department shall establish or contract for the establishment of an online anonymous fraud reporting service.
      (5) The department shall establish or contract for the establishment of an anonymous telephone hotline for fraud reporting.
  • Third Party Administrator:
    • Synopsis:

      None
  • Role of DOE:
    • Synopsis:

      Program Administrator

      , Statute Language:

      (a) The department shall develop a system for payment of benefits, including, but not limited to, allowing educational service providers to invoice the department for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2), or allowing the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application to seek reimbursement for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2).
      (b) The department may make payments to educational service providers or reimbursement to the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application via check or warrant or electronic funds transfer or any other means of payment deemed to be commercially viable or cost-effective.
      (c) The department may also establish by rule that some payments to educational service providers will be made on a quarterly basis, rather than an annual basis, if the educational services will be rendered over an extended period of time.
      (3) The department shall adopt a process for removing educational service providers that defraud parents and for referring cases of fraud to law enforcement.
      (4) The department shall establish or contract for the establishment of an online anonymous fraud reporting service.
      (5) The department shall establish or contract for the establishment of an anonymous telephone hotline for fraud reporting.
  • Application Window/Dates:
    • Synopsis:

      Rolling

      , Statute Language:

      (a) The department shall make a determination of eligibility, and shall approve the application, within twenty-one (21) business days of receiving an application for participation in the ESA program, subject to the provisions of Section 37-181-3(b).
  • Fund Disbursement Frequency:
    • Synopsis:

      Quarterly

      , Statute Language:

      (c) The department may also establish by rule that some payments to educational service providers will be made on a quarterly basis, rather than an annual basis, if the educational services will be rendered over an extended period of time.
  • Average Per-Pupil Funding:
    • Synopsis:

      $7,829

      , Statute Language:

      (1) The ESA program created in this chapter shall be limited to five hundred (500) students in the school year 2015-2016, with new enrollment limited to five hundred (500) additional students each year thereafter. Subject to appropriation from the General Fund, each student’s ESA shall be funded at $6,500.00 for school year 2015-2016. For each subsequent year, this amount shall increase or decrease by the same proportion as the base student cost under Section 37-151-7(1)(b) is increased or decreased.
  • Income Limit:
    • Synopsis:

      None

      , Statute Language:

      (b) “Eligible student” means any student who has had an active Individualized Education Program (IEP) within the past three (3) years and has maintained eligibility.
  • Prior Year Public School Requirement:
    • Synopsis:

      Yes, with exceptions

      , Statute Language:

      (b) “Eligible student” means any student who has had an active Individualized Education Program (IEP) within the past three (3) years and has maintained eligibility.
      (c) “Participating student” means any student who meets the qualifications of an eligible student as defined in paragraph (b) of this section and is participating in an ESA program at an eligible school.
  • Geographic Limit:
    • Synopsis:

      Statewide

      , Statute Language:

      (d) “Parent” means a resident of this state who is a parent, legal guardian, custodian or other person with the authority to act on behalf of the eligible student.
  • Additional Eligibility Check:
    • Synopsis:

      IEP

      , Statute Language:

      (8) Every three (3) years after initial enrollment in the ESA program, a parent of a participating student, except a student diagnosed as being a person with a permanent disability, shall document that the student continues to be identified by the school district, a federal or state government agency, or a licensed physician or psychometrist as a child with a disability, as defined by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 USCS Section 1401(3)).
  • Homeschool Compatible:
    • Synopsis:

      No

      , Statute Language:

      (b) “Eligible student” means any student who has had an active Individualized Education Program (IEP) within the past three (3) years and has maintained eligibility.
  • Enrollment Cap:
    • Synopsis:

      3,500

      , Statute Language:

      (1) The ESA program created in this chapter shall be limited to five hundred (500) students in the school year 2015-2016, with new enrollment limited to five hundred (500) additional students each year thereafter. Subject to appropriation from the General Fund, each student’s ESA shall be funded at Six Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($6,500.00) for school year 2015-2016. For each subsequent year, this amount shall increase or decrease by the same proportion as the base student cost under Section 37-151-7(1)(b) is increased or decreased.
  • Lottery:
    • Synopsis:

      None
  • Testing:
    • Synopsis:

      None
  • Authorized Use of Funds:
    • Synopsis:

      Private School Tuition
      Education Therapies
      Private Tutoring
      Textbooks
      Curricula and Supplementary Materials
      Computers/Technology
      Testing Fees
      College Tuition/Fees
      College Textbooks

      , Statute Language:

      § 37-181-5. Parental obligations to qualify eligible student for program participation; use of Education Scholarship Account funds [Repealed effective July 1, 2024].
      (1) An eligible student shall qualify to participate in the ESA program if the parent signs an agreement promising:
      (a) To provide an organized, appropriate educational program with measurable annual goals to their participating student and to provide an education for the participating student in at least the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science;
      (b) To document their participating student’s disability at intervals and in a manner required under subsection (8) of this section;
      (c) Not to enroll their participating student in a public school and to acknowledge as part of the agreement that the eligible school has provided clear notice to the parent that the participating student has no individual entitlement to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) from their home school district, including special education and related services, for as long as the student is participating in the ESA program;
      (d) Not to file for their participating student a certificate of enrollment indicating participation in a home instruction program under Section 37-13-91, Mississippi Code of 1972; and
      (e) Not to participate in the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program or the Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship for Students with Speech-Language Impairments Program while participating in the ESA program.
      (2) Parents shall use the funds deposited in a participating student’s ESA for any of the following qualifying expenses, which shall be incurred within the awarded ESA school year, to educate the student using any of the below methods or combination of methods that meet the requirement in subsection (1)(a) of this section:
      (a) Tuition and/or academic fees at an eligible school;
      (b) Textbooks related to academic coursework;
      (c) Payment to a tutor, as defined in Section 37-181-3(h);
      (d) Payment for purchase of curriculum, including any supplemental materials required by the curriculum;
      (e) Fees for nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement tests, including alternate assessments; and fees for Advanced Placement examinations or similar courses and any examinations related to college or university admission;
      (f) Educational services or therapies from a licensed or certified practitioner or provider, including licensed or certified paraprofessionals or educational aides;
      (g) Tuition and fees related to dual enrollment at a postsecondary institution;
      (h) Textbooks related to academic coursework at a postsecondary institution;
      (i) Surety bond payments if required by the department;
      (j) No more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) in annual consumable school supplies necessary for educational services and therapies, daily classroom activities, and tutoring;
      (k) Computer hardware and software and other technological devices if an eligible school, licensed or certified tutor, licensed or certified educational service practitioner or provider, or licensed medical professional verifies in writing that these items are essential for the student to meet annual, measurable educational and academic goals or goals within the scope of the eligible student’s IEP. Once a student is no longer participating in the ESA program, computer hardware and software and other technological devices purchased with ESA funds shall be donated to a public school or public library. Qualifying expenses for computer hardware and software include only those expenses incurred within the awarded ESA school year.
      (3) Neither a participating student, nor anyone on the student’s behalf, may receive cash or cash-equivalent items, such as gift cards or store credit, from any refunds or rebates from any provider of services or products in the ESA program. Any refunds or rebates shall be credited directly to the participating student’s ESA. The funds in an ESA may only be used for education-related purposes as defined in this chapter.