HB2504

THE CONTEXT: An STO is a nonprofit organization that receives income tax contributions to fund scholarships for students to attend qualified private schools in Arizona. STOs must be certified by the Arizona Department of Revenue ( A.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would includes students placed in Arizona foster care to those eligible to receive a low-income scholarship from an STO or a scholarship from an STO that receives switcher credit contributions and specifies an STO may award a scholarship to a student in Arizona foster care any time before their high school graduation or their obtainment of a general equivalency diploma.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to give students, families, and schools a clearer statewide rule for sto scholarships. It would includes students placed in Arizona foster care to those eligible to receive a low-income scholarship from an STO or a scholarship from an STO that receives switcher credit contributions, and would also specifies an STO may award a scholarship to a student in Arizona foster care any time before their high school graduation or their obtainment of a general equivalency diploma, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.