1.1.................... moves to amend H.F. No. 2691 as follows:
1.2Page 1, after line 5, insert:
1.3 "Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 124D.165, subdivision 3,
1.4is amended to read:
1.5 Subd. 3.
Administration. (a) The commissioner shall establish application
1.6timelines and determine the schedule for awarding scholarships that meets operational
1.7needs of eligible families and programs. The commissioner may prioritize applications on
1.8factors including family income, geographic location, and whether the child's family is on a
1.9waiting list for a publicly funded program providing early education or child care services.
1.10(b) Scholarships may be awarded up to $5,000 for each eligible child per year.
1.11(c) A four-star rated program that has children eligible for a scholarship enrolled
1.12in or on a waiting list for a program beginning in July, August, or September may notify
1.13the commissioner, in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, each year
1.14of the program's desire to enhance program services or to serve more children than
1.15current funding provides. The commissioner may designate a predetermined number of
1.16scholarship slots for that program and notify the program of that number.
A program
1.17qualifying under this paragraph may use its established registration process to enroll
1.18scholarship recipients and may verify a scholarship recipient's family income in the same
1.19manner as for other program participants.
1.20(d) A scholarship is awarded for a 12-month period. If the scholarship recipient has
1.21not been accepted and subsequently enrolled in a rated program within ten months of the
1.22awarding of the scholarship, the scholarship cancels and the recipient must reapply in
1.23order to be eligible for another scholarship. A child may not be awarded more than one
1.24scholarship in a 12-month period.
1.25(e) A child who receives a scholarship who has not completed development
1.26screening under sections
121A.16 to
121A.19 must complete that screening within 90
1.27days of first attending an eligible program.
2.1(f) A program enrolling scholarship recipients under paragraph (c) may apply to the
2.2commissioner, in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, for direct payment
2.3of state aid. Upon receipt of the application, the commissioner must pay each program
2.4directly for each approved scholarship recipient enrolled under paragraph (c) according to
2.5the metered payment system or another schedule established by the commissioner.
2.6EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."
2.7Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
2.8Amend the title accordingly