§407.27. The Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program; early childhood development and enrichment activity classes; financial assistance

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any public or private entity, including any nonprofit organization, may make a directed donation to any participating school district for a student who is enrolled in Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program classes.

B.(1) Recognizing the success and growth of the Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program and in order to maintain the long-term financial stability of the program, private businesses, industry, foundations, charities, and other groups may ask the division of administration for, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, authority to create privately funded scholarship programs to make payments to participating school districts on behalf of qualified students. If the division of administration authorizes a private scholarship program, scholarship funds received by a participating school district from a private scholarship program on behalf of a student shall cause a reduction in the dollar amount of the allocation to the participating school district such that the allocation shall be an amount that is equal to the dollar amount that the allocation would have been if no private scholarship funds had been received less the amount of private scholarship funds received by the participating school district.

(2) This Subsection shall in no way be interpreted in such a manner that a participating school district would receive less benefits from a combination of the allocation from the program and the private scholarship funds received than it would have received solely from the allocation if there had been no private scholarship funded. Therefore, to the extent that any privately funded scholarship funds provided for in this Subsection made to a participating school district are for an amount less than the amount the participating school district would have otherwise received as an allocation if no such private scholarship funds had been paid under this Subsection, then the participating school district shall receive that difference as an allocation under the program.

(3) As provided in this Subsection, when a participating school district receives privately funded scholarship funds pursuant to this Subsection, the annual appropriation of state funds for the Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program shall be reduced by the amount of the private scholarship program funds so received. The commissioner of administration shall determine and specify the amount of the reduction from the source of the funds to provide the maximum benefit to the state from the privately funded scholarship program. The state treasurer shall deposit the amount of the reduction as specified by the commissioner of administration into the Overcollections Fund created in R. S. 39:100.21 and credit the deposit to an account within the fund hereby established and created to be known as the "Program Participation Savings Account".

C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed or implemented in a manner that would cause the loss of any federal or other funding for any early childhood programs or services, including but not limited to the Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program and the Child Care and Development Fund.

Acts 2014, No. 780, §1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 297, §1.