RSA 77-G:1 · Definitions

77-G:1 Definitions. – The following definitions shall apply in this chapter:

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I.

"Adequacy cost" means the total cost of the opportunity for an adequate education as defined in RSA 198:40-a.

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II.

"Adequacy grant" means the grant calculated under RSA 198:41, or for a chartered public school, the amount calculated under RSA 194-B:11.

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III.

"Business organization" shall be as defined in RSA 77-A:1, I.

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IV.

"Business enterprise" shall be as defined in RSA 77-E:1, III.

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V.

[Repealed.]

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VI.

"Educational expenses" means the tuition cost of an eligible student to attend a public or nonpublic school, excluding students who were placed into a nonpublic school by their school district, the cost of college or university, accredited tutor or tutoring facility, or distance education program. Educational expenses shall not include fees or expenses related to participation in athletic programs, transportation expenses, or the cost of a parent's time expended in the home schooling of his or her child.

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VII.

"Education tax credit application" means a document developed by the department of revenue administration and submitted by a business organization, business enterprise, or individual that contains at a minimum:

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(a)

The business organization's, business enterprise's, or individual's name, address, and federal taxpayer identification number.

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(b)

A contact person's name, title, and phone number.

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(c)

The requested donation amount.

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(d)

A signed statement certifying that the business organization, business enterprise, or individual agrees to make donations in accordance with the requirements established in this chapter.

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VIII.

"Eligible student" means a New Hampshire resident who is at least 5 years of age and no more than 20 years of age, who has not graduated from high school, and (a)(1) Who is currently attending a New Hampshire public school, including a chartered public school, and for whom the adequacy grant in the next school year would be reduced if the student were removed from the average daily membership calculation, or who is entering kindergarten or first grade; or

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(2)

Who received a scholarship under subparagraph (1) or this subparagraph in the prior program year; or

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(3)

Who does not qualify under subparagraph (1) or (2); and

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(b)

Whose annual household income is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as updated annually in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. section 9902(2). The scholarship organization shall verify eligibility under this subparagraph. VIII-a. "Individuals," for purposes of being granted credits under this chapter, shall include any entity having taxable interest and dividend income as described in RSA 77:3.

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IX.

"Nonpublic school" shall be as defined in RSA 193:1, I(a) and (d).

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X.

"Owner or operator" means an owner, president, officer, or director of an eligible nonprofit scholarship organization or a person with equivalent decision making authority over an eligible nonprofit scholarship organization.

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XI.

"Parent" means the natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian of a child.

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XII.

"Program year" means the year beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

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XIII.

"Receipt" means proof of payment received by a school from a scholarship organization or, in the case of a home educated student, a document that is issued by the parent of a home educated student, to the scholarship organization which makes payment for educational expenses on behalf of an eligible student and that contains, at a minimum and where applicable:

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(a)

The name and address of a parent of a home educated student.

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(b)

The name and address of the eligible student for whom the expense has been paid.

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(c)

The name of the payee and the date and amount of the expense paid.

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XIV.

"Receiving school" means a public or nonpublic school which the eligible student seeks to attend.

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XV.

"Release of information form" means a document developed by a receiving school, signed by the parent or guardian of an eligible student, and which acknowledges the consent of the parent or guardian to release of information contained in the receipt.

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XVI.

"Scholarship impact survey" means a document developed by the department of education and given to the parents of students who have exited a public school under the provisions of RSA 77-G:8. The survey shall solicit the reasons for seeking the scholarship, and any suggested improvements desired in the public school they are leaving.

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XVII.

"Scholarship organization" means a charitable organization incorporated or qualified to do business in this state that:

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(a)

Is exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

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(b)

Complies with applicable state and federal antidiscrimination and privacy laws;

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(c)

Is registered with the director of charitable trusts; and

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(d)

Has been approved by the department of revenue administration for the purpose of issuing scholarships as provided in this chapter.

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XVIII.

"Scholarship organization application" means a document developed by the department of revenue administration and submitted by a scholarship organization that contains at a minimum:

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(a)

The scholarship organization's name, address, and federal taxpayer identification number.

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(b)

A contact person's name, title, and phone number.

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(c)

A signed statement that the scholarship organization has met the eligibility requirements of paragraph XVII, and will comply with the provisions of this chapter.

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XIX.

"Scholarship organization report" means a document developed by the department of revenue administration and submitted by a scholarship organization to the department of revenue administration that shall be a public record, notwithstanding RSA 21-J:14, and contains at a minimum:

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(a)

The number of scholarships granted under subparagraph VIII(a)(1), and the percentage of these students who were eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program in the prior year.

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(b)

The number of scholarships granted under subparagraph VIII(a)(2), and the percentage of these students who were eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program in the prior year.

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(c)

The number of scholarships granted under subparagraph VIII(a)(3), and the percentage of these students who were eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program in the prior year.

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(d)

The total dollar amount of all scholarships granted.

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(e)

The total dollar amount of donations spent on administrative expenses pursuant to RSA 77-G:5, I(f).

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(f)

The total dollar amount to be carried forward pursuant to RSA 77-G:5, I(g).

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(g)

The total dollar amount of donations used and not used for scholarships.

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(h)

The number of scholarships granted.

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(i)

The number of scholarships distributed by the organization, per school, and the dollar range of those scholarships. All home educated students shall be totaled together as a single school.

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(j)

An analysis, broken down by zip code, of the place of residence for each student receiving a scholarship under this program. (k)(1) The aggregated results from a survey, designed by the department of revenue administration, and administered by the scholarship organization, which shall solicit information from at least 90 percent of the parents or legal guardians of participating students, broken down by the number of years in the program. In each case, the respondent shall be asked to gauge their level of agreement with the statement as follows: "strongly agree," "agree," "no change," "disagree," "strongly disagree." The following statements shall be included in the survey:

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(A)

I am satisfied with the school my child is attending as compared to the school my child attended prior to the availability of the education tax credit program.

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(B)

My child has seen a measurable improvement in academic achievement.

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(C)

My child would have been unable to attend the school of his or her choice without the education tax credit program.

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(2)

The survey shall include the following question to the parent or legal guardian of a participating student: "Excluding the education tax credit scholarship, how much did you pay out of pocket for your child to attend school this year?"

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(l)

The aggregated results from a survey, designed by the department of education, and administered by the scholarship organization, which shall solicit and receive information from the parents or legal guardians of participating students who graduated or stopped attending 2 years prior. A parent's or legal guardian's response to the survey shall be optional. Results shall be aggregated by the scholarship organization and published by the department of education. The survey shall solicit the following information:

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(1)

Whether the student is attending a private, public, community, or vocational college, or otherwise employed or unemployed.

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(2)

Whether the student graduated or not.

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(m)

The number of participating students who graduated from high school in the previous year, and the number that dropped out of school.

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(n)

A signed statement that the scholarship organization acknowledges compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

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(o)

An explanation of information omitted from the report because it would reveal private data about an individual student.

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(p)

The name of any other scholarship organizations who have agreed to combine their data with the scholarship organization for the purposes set forth in RSA 77-G:2, II. The agreement shall only be considered valid if each scholarship organization lists the other scholarship organizations in the agreement.

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XX.

"Scholarship receipt" means a document developed by the department of revenue administration and submitted by a scholarship organization to the business organization, business enterprise, or individual and that contains at a minimum:

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(a)

The business organization's, business enterprise's, or individual's name, address, and federal taxpayer identification number.

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(b)

The donation amount and date received or postmarked.

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(c)

The scholarship organization's name and address. Source. 2012, 287:4, eff. June 27, 2012. 2016, 8:9, eff. Mar. 16, 2016. 2017, 63:1, 2, eff. Aug. 1, 2017. 2018, 341:1-4, eff. July 1, 2018; 357:1-3, 5, 6, eff. July 1, 2018; 357:15, 17, eff. July 1, 2018 at 12:01 a.m.

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