§ 115C-600.  Funds for Personal Education Student Accounts.

(a) The General Assembly finds that due to the continued growth and ongoing need in this State to provide opportunity for school choice for children with disabilities, it is imperative that the State provide an increase in funds of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) each fiscal year for 10 years for the Personal Education Student Accounts for Children with Disabilities Program. To that end, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the following amounts each fiscal year to be allocated to the Authority for the Program in accordance with this Article:

Fiscal Year Appropriation

2023-2024 $48,943,166

2024-2025 $49,943,166

2025-2026 $50,943,166

2026-2027 $51,943,166

2027-2028 $52,943,166

2028-2029 $53,943,166

2029-2030 $54,943,166

2030-2031 $55,943,166

2031-2032 $56,943,166

2032-2033 and each subsequent fiscal year thereafter $57,943,166

When developing the base budget, as defined by G.S. 143C-1-1, for each fiscal year specified in this section, the Director of the Budget shall include the appropriated amount specified in this section for that fiscal year.

(b) The Authority shall make reasonable efforts to ensure the amount of scholarship funds awarded for a school year do not exceed the funds that are available for awards to eligible students in each fiscal year. However, to ensure that as many eligible students receive scholarship funds in a timely manner as possible, at the end of each fiscal year, the Authority shall place any unexpended funds appropriated for the Program into an institutional trust fund established in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 116-36.1 to accrue a cash balance in the institutional trust fund of up to ten million dollars ($10,000,000). The Authority shall use these funds to award scholarship funds in any fiscal year that the funds required to award scholarships to eligible students for a school year exceed the funds available for the distribution of those awards. All interest earned on these funds shall also be placed in the institutional trust fund established pursuant to this subsection. For any fiscal year in which funds are expended from the institutional trust fund, the Authority shall submit a report as required by G.S. 115C-598(b). In any fiscal year in which the cash balance of the institutional trust fund is greater than ten million dollars ($10,000,000), any funds above ten million dollars ($10,000,000) remaining at the end of the fiscal year from the funds appropriated for the Program shall revert to the General Fund. (2021-180, s. 8A.3(l); 2022-74, s. 8A.1(c); 2023-134, s. 8A.13(a).)