20-2-989.33. Board and Department duties; policies, rules, and regulations; certifications.

The State Board of Education shall:#

1. (1)

   Establish a program for the Department of Education to allocate funds for eligible educators to be used at the discretion of such educators for the online purchase of school supplies as provided in this part;#

2. (2)

   Establish such policies, rules, and regulations as necessary for the implementation of this part; and#

3. (3)

   Authorize the State School Superintendent, in collaboration with the Department of Administrative Services, to identify one or more authorized software services providers to offer and support a user-friendly online ecommerce platform that:#

   1. (A)

      Processes the allocation of funds by the Department of Education to the user accounts of eligible educators for the online purchase of school supplies from authorized ecommerce vendors; and#

   2. (B)

      Includes appropriate fiscal management and payment systems and reporting and training tools, as required by the State Board of Education.#

The Department of Education shall:#

1. (1)

   Ensure that purchases using program funds are restricted to online purchases of school supplies from authorized ecommerce vendors;#

2. (2)

   Promulgate guidelines and provide technical assistance to facilitate local school systems, public schools, and educators utilizing the program and to ensure program purchases are restricted to allowable expenses; and#

3. (3)

   Establish processes as necessary for the implementation of the program consistent with the provisions of this part and with the policies, rules, and regulations of the State Board of Education.#

Each local school system or public school shall certify, as required by the Department of Education, the eligibility of each educator employed by such local school system or public school who requests a user account; provided, however, that to be eligible for a user account an educator shall be employed in good standing at a public school.#