W. Va. Code R. § 112-18-2

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 34, August 23, 2024

Section 112-18-2 - Definitions

2.1. "Academic year" means the period of time occurring between the first day of July and ending on the 30th day of June, during which a student must meet the educational requirements equivalent to an instructional term as provided in W. Va. Code § 18-8-1.

2.2. "Account" means the savings account established for an individual Hope Scholarship student, into which the Board deposits the Hope Scholarship funds allocated to said student pursuant to W. Va. Code § 18-31-6.

2.3. "Account holder" means the person designated and authorized to administer and manage a Hope Scholarship student's account according to section 5 of this rule.

2.3.1. For the purposes of a student's enrollment application, "account holder" refers to the person who applies or submits information on behalf of the potential Hope Scholarship student.

2.3.2. For the purposes of this rule, "account holder" does not include a secondary account holder unless the provision in question clearly and specifically refers to a "secondary account holder."

2.4. "ACH" means automated clearinghouse, a national EFT network which enables participating Financial Institutions to distribute electronic credit and debit entries to financial institution accounts and to settle the entries.

2.5. "Board" means the Hope Scholarship Board established in W. Va. Code § 18-31-3.

2.6. "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular content area or grade level, including any supplemental materials required.

2.7. "Education service provider" or "provider" means a person or organization that the Board authorizes to receive Hope Scholarship funds as payment for providing educational services to Hope Scholarship students.

2.8. "Elementary or secondary public school" means a county school, a public charter school, a virtual public charter school, or any other publicly supported elementary or secondary school in this state.

2.9. "EFT" means electronic funds transfer.

2.10. "Electronic transaction" means an EFT, including, but not limited to, payment by ACH, ACH based electronic check, wire transfer, and online transaction processing.

2.11. "Funds" means Hope Scholarship funds.

2.12. "Hope Scholarship Program" or "Program" means the Hope Scholarship Program, established in W. Va. Code § 18-31-1et seq.

2.13. "Hope Scholarship student" or "student" means a student who has successfully applied to the Board and is enrolled in the Hope Scholarship program.

2.14. "Hope Scholarship website" means the website created and maintained to provide program information, program documents, and program forms available to the public.

2.15. "Immediate family", as used to describe a person's relationship to a Hope Scholarship student, includes any of the following:

2.15.1. The father or mother of the student, or an ancestor of either;

2.15.2. The grandfather or grandmother of the student, or an ancestor of either;

2.15.3. A brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister of the student;

2.15.4. A first cousin of the student;

2.15.5. A stepfather or stepmother of the student;

2.15.6. A brother or sister of the father or mother of the student;

2.15.7. A son or daughter of a brother or sister of the student;

2.15.8. A father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of the student;

2.15.9. The spouse of the student; or

2.15.10. The spouse of any person described in subdivisions one through nine of this subsection.

2.15.11. Any term set forth in this subdivision means and includes such term as established through a lawful adoption, including, but not limited to, adoptions of a child or children, or other natural person, by a natural person or natural persons who are not the father, mother, or stepparent of the child or person.

2.16. "Individualized Instructional Program (IIP)" means a customized educational experience that takes place either at home or another location. Hope Scholarship students with an IIP are not enrolled in a participating school.

2.17. "Instructional term" means a period of continuous enrollment in the West Virginia public school system for the full academic year. The instructional term refers to the regular 180 instructional days of the public-school calendar in accordance with W. Va. Code § 18-5-45.

2.18. "Online portal" means the online system and interface selected and administered by the Treasurer through which parents, vendors, and service providers may complete transactions using Hope Scholarship funds.

2.19. "Scholarship disbursement" means the deposit of Hope Scholarship funds pursuant to section 7.3. of this rule.

2.20. "Student" refers to an individual who is eligible to participate in the Hope Scholarship program according to section 3 of this rule. For the purposes of meeting the application requirements in this rule, an action completed by a designated account holder is considered to be an action completed by the student.

2.21. "Transaction" means a single purchase, payment, or transfer.

2.22. "Treasurer" means the West Virginia State Treasurer or his or her designee.

W. Va. Code R. § 112-18-2