79-2304.

Appropriations; legislative intent; use; assistance to institutions; payments.

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate seven hundred fifty thousand dollars from the General Fund for fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15, and any amount determined by the Legislature for any fiscal year thereafter, to the State Department of Education. Such funds shall be used by the department to provide assistance to institutions that offer high school equivalency programs and for expanding services and programs to support the completion of the general educational development program. Each such institution shall offer to eligible individuals adult dropout recovery services, including recruitment and learning plan development, and provide proactive coaching and mentoring to such individuals, culminating in qualification for a high school diploma. For purposes of this section, eligible individuals include adults and out-of-school youths sixteen years of age or older who are not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under state law and who have not previously earned a high school diploma or diploma of high school equivalency. Assistance shall be provided based on participation in an institution's high school equivalency program as follows:

(a) Each such institution shall receive one assistance payment for each participant who enrolled in its high school equivalency program in the most recently completed fiscal year;

(b) Each such institution shall receive one assistance payment for each enrolled participant who took an initial examination for a diploma of high school equivalency in the most recently completed fiscal year; and

(c) Each such institution shall receive one assistance payment for each participant not enrolled in the institution's high school equivalency program who took the examination for a diploma of high school equivalency in the most recently completed fiscal year.

(2) An institution shall receive additional assistance for any enrolled participant who failed his or her initial examination for a diploma of high school equivalency and requires additional training and testing.