North Carolina General Statutes 115C-597. Administration
(a) Rules and Regulations. – The Authority shall establish rules and regulations for the administration of the program, including the following:
(1) The administration and awarding of scholarship funds, including a lottery process for the selection of recipients within the criteria established by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-592(a), if necessary.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 115C-597
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) Requiring a surety bond or insurance to be held by account holders.
(3) Use of the funds and the reporting of expenditures.
(4) Monitoring and control of spending scholarship funds deposited in a personal education savings account.
The Authority shall provide recipients of scholarship funds with the annual list of defined educational technology for which scholarship funds may be used.
(b) Contract for Management of PESAs. – The Authority may contract with a private financial management firm or institution to manage PESAs in accordance with this Article.
(c) Annual Audits. – The Authority shall conduct annual audits of PESAs and may audit a random sampling of PESAs as needed to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Article. The Authority may contract with an independent entity to conduct these audits. The Authority may remove a parent or eligible student from the program and close a personal education student account for failure to comply with the terms of the parental agreement, for failure to comply with applicable laws, or because the student is no longer an eligible student.
(d) Administration Costs. – Of the funds allocated to the Authority to award scholarship funds under this Article, the Authority may retain the lesser of four percent (4%) of the funds appropriated or two million dollars ($2,000,000) each fiscal year for administrative costs associated with the program, including contracting with non-State entities for administration of certain components of the program. (2017-57, s. 10A.4(a); 2021-180, s. 8A.3(l).)