SB 62: Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Expansion

This bill passed the House 41-29 and passed the Senate 18-11.

More children need an opportunity in education.

Melissa Martinez’s daughter needed such an opportunity. Her daughter has autism and was struggling in the traditional school. Through the scholarship that she received, she was able to find a specialized education that fit the needs of her child.

Senator Lincoln Fillmore’s bill, Senate Bill 62, expands this opportunity. Siblings of scholarship recipients would be eligible to receive scholarship disbursements for their education. This relieves a burden for parents. Any parent with children in multiple schools knows the amount of time it takes to get children to and from school. Not to mention how siblings often times serve as a built in support system for their special needs sibling.

This bill also makes a number of technical changes to improve the program, including introducing a one-year income tax carry back for donors to the program, as well as clarifying how students can be determined to be eligible for the program.