15-891. Arizona scholarships for pupils with disabilities program; definitions

A. The Arizona scholarships for pupils with disabilities program is established to provide pupils with disabilities with the option of attending any public school of the pupil's choice or receiving a scholarship to any qualified school of the pupil's choice.

B. The parent of a public school pupil with a disability who is dissatisfied with the pupil's progress may request and receive from the state a scholarship for the child to enroll in and attend any qualified school in accordance with this section if both of the following apply:

1. The child has spent the prior school year in attendance at a public school in this state.

2. The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of the pupil to a qualified school that is eligible for the program under this article and has notified the school district of the request for a scholarship at least sixty days before the date of the first scholarship payment. The parental notification must be through a communication directly to the school district or through the department of education to the school district in a manner that creates a written or electronic record of the notification and the date of receipt of the notification.

C. This section does not apply to a pupil who is enrolled in the state educational system for committed youth pursuant to chapter 11.1 of this title.

D. A scholarship awarded pursuant to this article remains in force until the pupil returns to a public school or graduates from high school, except that the pupil's parent may remove the pupil from the qualified school at any time and place the pupil in another qualified school that is eligible for participation in the Arizona scholarships for pupils with disabilities program or in a public school as provided in this article.

E. Notwithstanding the enrollment policies or desegregation provisions prescribed in article 1.1 of this chapter, a school district or charter school shall enroll any child pursuant to this article.

F. For the purposes of this article:

1. " Pupil with a disability" means a child with a disability as defined in section 15-761 who has been issued an individualized education program as defined in section 15-761.

2. " Qualified school" means a nongovernmental primary school or secondary school or a preschool for pupils with disabilities that is located in this state and that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, disability, familial status or national origin.