Specifications include, but are not limited to: (1) The program manager shall administer the program, including: (a) maintaining an application website that includes information on enrollment, relevant application dates, and dates for notification of acceptance; (b) reviewing applications from and determining if a person is: (i) an eligible school under Section 53F-6-408; or (ii) an eligible service provider under Section 53F-6-409; (c) establishing an application process, including application dates opening before March 1, 2024, in accordance with Section 53F-6-402; (d) reviewing and granting or denying applications for a scholarship account; (e) providing an online portal for the parent of a scholarship student to access the scholarship student's account; (f) ensuring that scholarship funds in a scholarship account are readily available to a scholarship student; (g) requiring a parent to notify the program manager if the parent's scholarship student is no longer enrolled in or engaging a service: (i) for which the scholarship student receives scholarship funds; and (ii) that is provided to the scholarship student for an entire school year; (h) obtaining reimbursement of scholarship funds from a qualifying provider that provides the services in which a scholarship student is no longer enrolled or with which the scholarship student is no longer engaged; (i) expending all revenue from interest on scholarship funds or investments on scholarship expenses; (j) each time the program manager makes an administrative decision that is adverse to a scholarship student or the scholarship student's parent, informing the scholarship student and the scholarship student's parent of the opportunity and process to appeal an administrative decision of the program manager to the state board in accordance with the process described in Section 53F-6-404; (k) maintaining a protected internal waitlist of all eligible students who have applied to the program and are not yet scholarship students, including any student who removed the student's application from the waitlist; and (l) providing aggregate data regarding the number of scholarship students and the number of eligible students on the waitlist described in Subsection (1)(k). (2) The program manager shall: (a) contract with one or more private entities to develop and implement a commercially viable, cost-effective, and parent-friendly system to: (i) establish scholarship accounts; (ii) maximize payment flexibility by allowing: (A) for payment of services to qualifying providers using scholarship funds by electronic or online funds transfer; and (B) pre-approval of a reimbursement to a parent for a good that is a scholarship expense; and (iii) allow scholarship students and scholarship student's parents to publicly rate, review, and share information about qualifying providers; and (b) ensure that the system complies with industry standards for data privacy and cybersecurity, including ensuring compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 C.F.R. Part 99.
