Moneys paid to school districts under division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code shall be used for the following independent and fully severable purposes:

(A) To purchase such secular textbooks or digital texts as have been approved by the superintendent of public instruction for use in public schools in the state and to loan such textbooks or digital texts to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code or to their parents and to hire clerical personnel to administer such lending program. Such loans shall be based upon individual requests submitted by such nonpublic school pupils or parents. Such requests shall be submitted to the school district in which the nonpublic school is located. Such individual requests for the loan of textbooks or digital texts shall, for administrative convenience, be submitted by the nonpublic school pupil or the pupil's parent to the nonpublic school, which shall prepare and submit collective summaries of the individual requests to the school district. As used in this section:

(1) "Textbook" means any book or book substitute that a pupil uses as a consumable or nonconsumable text, text substitute, or text supplement in a particular class or program in the school the pupil regularly attends.

(2) "Digital text" means a consumable book or book substitute that a student accesses through the use of a computer or other electronic medium or that is available through an internet-based provider of course content, or any other material that contributes to the learning process through electronic means.

(B) To provide speech and hearing diagnostic services to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code. Such service shall be provided in the nonpublic school attended by the pupil receiving the service.

(C) To provide physician, nursing, dental, and optometric services to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code. Such services shall be provided in the school attended by the nonpublic school pupil receiving the service.

(D) To provide diagnostic psychological services to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code. Such services shall be provided in the school attended by the pupil receiving the service.

(E) To provide therapeutic psychological and speech and hearing services to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code. Such services shall be provided in the public school, in nonpublic schools, in public centers, or in mobile units located on or off of the nonpublic premises. If such services are provided in the public school or in public centers, transportation to and from such facilities shall be provided by the school district in which the nonpublic school is located.

(F) To provide guidance, counseling, and social work services to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code. Such services shall be provided in the public school, in nonpublic schools, in public centers, or in mobile units located on or off of the nonpublic premises. If such services are provided in the public school or in public centers, transportation to and from such facilities shall be provided by the school district in which the nonpublic school is located.

(G) To provide remedial services to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code. Such services shall be provided in the public school, in nonpublic schools, in public centers, or in mobile units located on or off of the nonpublic premises. If such services are provided in the public school or in public centers, transportation to and from such facilities shall be provided by the school district in which the nonpublic school is located.

(H) To supply for use by pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code such standardized tests and scoring services as are in use in the public schools of the state;

(I) To provide programs for children who attend nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code and are children with disabilities as defined in section 3323.01 of the Revised Code or gifted children. Such programs shall be provided in the public school, in nonpublic schools, in public centers, or in mobile units located on or off of the nonpublic premises. If such programs are provided in the public school or in public centers, transportation to and from such facilities shall be provided by the school district in which the nonpublic school is located.

(J) To hire clerical personnel to assist in the administration of programs pursuant to divisions (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), and (I) of this section and to hire supervisory personnel to supervise the providing of services and textbooks pursuant to this section.

(K) To purchase or lease any secular, neutral, and nonideological computer application software designed to assist students in performing a single task or multiple related tasks, device management software, learning management software, site-licensing, digital video on demand (DVD), wide area connectivity and related technology as it relates to internet access, mathematics or science equipment and materials, instructional materials, and school library materials that are in general use in the public schools of the state and loan such items to pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code or to their parents, and to hire clerical personnel to administer the lending program. Only such items that are incapable of diversion to religious use and that are susceptible of loan to individual pupils and are furnished for the use of individual pupils shall be purchased and loaned under this division. As used in this section, "instructional materials" means prepared learning materials that are secular, neutral, and nonideological in character and are of benefit to the instruction of school children. "Instructional materials" includes media content that a student may access through the use of a computer or electronic device.

Mobile applications that are secular, neutral, and nonideological in character and that are purchased for less than twenty dollars for instructional use shall be considered to be consumable and shall be distributed to students without the expectation that the applications must be returned.

(L) To purchase or lease instructional equipment, including computer hardware and related equipment in general use in the public schools of the state, for use by pupils attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code and to loan such items to pupils attending such nonpublic schools within the district or to their parents, and to hire clerical personnel to administer the lending program. "Computer hardware and related equipment" includes desktop computers and workstations; laptop computers, computer tablets, and other mobile handheld devices; their operating systems and accessories; and any equipment designed to make accessible the environment of a classroom to a student, who is physically unable to attend classroom activities due to hospitalization or other circumstances, by allowing real-time interaction with other students both one-on-one and in group discussion.

(M) To purchase mobile units to be used for the provision of services pursuant to divisions (E), (F), (G), and (I) of this section and to pay for necessary repairs and operating costs associated with these units.

(N) To reimburse costs the district incurred to store the records of a chartered nonpublic school that closes. Reimbursements under this division shall be made one time only for each chartered nonpublic school described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code that closes.

(O) To purchase life-saving medical or other emergency equipment for placement in nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code or to maintain such equipment.

(P) To procure and pay for security services from a county sheriff or a township or municipal police force or from a person certified through the Ohio peace officer training commission, in accordance with section 109.78 of the Revised Code, as a special police, security guard, or as a privately employed person serving in a police capacity for nonpublic schools in the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code.

(Q) To provide language and academic support services and other accommodations for English learners attending nonpublic schools within the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code.

Clerical and supervisory personnel hired pursuant to division (J) of this section shall perform their services in the public schools, in nonpublic schools, public centers, or mobile units where the services are provided to the nonpublic school pupil, except that such personnel may accompany pupils to and from the service sites when necessary to ensure the safety of the children receiving the services.

All services provided pursuant to this section may be provided under contract with educational service centers, the department of health, city or general health districts, or private agencies whose personnel are properly licensed by an appropriate state board or agency.

Transportation of pupils provided pursuant to divisions (E), (F), (G), and (I) of this section shall be provided by the school district from its general funds and not from moneys paid to it under division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code unless a special transportation request is submitted by the parent of the child receiving service pursuant to such divisions. If such an application is presented to the school district, it may pay for the transportation from moneys paid to it under division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code.

No school district shall provide health or remedial services to nonpublic school pupils as authorized by this section unless such services are available to pupils attending the public schools within the district.

Materials, equipment, computer hardware or software, textbooks, digital texts, and health and remedial services provided for the benefit of nonpublic school pupils pursuant to this section and the admission of pupils to such nonpublic schools shall be provided without distinction as to race, creed, color, or national origin of such pupils or of their teachers.

No school district shall provide services, materials, or equipment that contain religious content for use in religious courses, devotional exercises, religious training, or any other religious activity.

As used in this section, "parent" includes a person standing in loco parentis to a child.

Notwithstanding section 3317.01 of the Revised Code, payments shall be made under this section to any city, local, or exempted village school district within which is located one or more nonpublic elementary or high schools described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code and any payments made to school districts under division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code for purposes of this section may be disbursed without submission to and approval of the controlling board.

The allocation of payments for materials, equipment, textbooks, digital texts, health services, and remedial services to city, local, and exempted village school districts shall be on the basis of the state board of education's estimated annual average daily membership in nonpublic elementary and high schools located in the district described in division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code.

Payments made to city, local, and exempted village school districts under this section shall be equal to specific appropriations made for the purpose. All interest earned by a school district on such payments shall be used by the district for the same purposes and in the same manner as the payments may be used.

The department of education shall adopt guidelines and procedures under which such programs and services shall be provided, under which districts shall be reimbursed for administrative costs incurred in providing such programs and services, and under which any unexpended balance of the amounts appropriated by the general assembly to implement this section may be transferred to the auxiliary services personnel unemployment compensation fund established pursuant to section 4141.47 of the Revised Code. The department shall also adopt guidelines and procedures limiting the purchase and loan of the items described in division (K) of this section to items that are in general use in the public schools of the state, that are incapable of diversion to religious use, and that are susceptible to individual use rather than classroom use. Within thirty days after the end of each biennium, each board of education shall remit to the department all moneys paid to it under division (E)(1) of section 3317.024 of the Revised Code and any interest earned on those moneys that are not required to pay expenses incurred under this section during the biennium for which the money was appropriated and during which the interest was earned. If a board of education subsequently determines that the remittal of moneys leaves the board with insufficient money to pay all valid expenses incurred under this section during the biennium for which the remitted money was appropriated, the board may apply to the department of education for a refund of money, not to exceed the amount of the insufficiency. If the department determines the expenses were lawfully incurred and would have been lawful expenditures of the refunded money, it shall certify its determination and the amount of the refund to be made to the director of job and family services who shall make a refund as provided in section 4141.47 of the Revised Code.

Each school district shall label materials, equipment, computer hardware or software, textbooks, and digital texts purchased or leased for loan to a nonpublic school under this section, acknowledging that they were purchased or leased with state funds under this section. However, a district need not label materials, equipment, computer hardware or software, textbooks, or digital texts that the district determines are consumable in nature or have a value of less than two hundred dollars.

Amended by 133rd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §101.01, eff. 10/17/2019.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 64, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2015.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01. See act for effective dates.

Effective Date: 07-01-2001; 07-01-2005; 06-30-2006; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007.