281—20.4(257) Administration, accountability, monitoring, and enforcement.
	20.4(1) The department will take reasonable efforts to verify eligibility of parents, students, nonpublic schools, and providers to participate in this chapter, including verifying information with other state agencies.
	20.4(2) The department will make an equal distribution of funds under this chapter to a third-party entity, for distribution to eligible students’ accounts, after confirming enrollment at the start of the academic year and enrollment and attendance at the midpoint of the academic year.
	20.4(3) The department’s actions under Iowa Code section 257.11B(5)“e” and “f” as enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, House File 68, section 7, may be any action consistent with the department’s authority under Iowa Code section 256.1.
	20.4(4) The department must recover all improperly paid ESA funds. The department and its director have flexibility to engage in voluntary collection activities if overpayments were based on a good faith error. For purposes of this chapter, a “false claim” is a statement made in conjunction with this program that is knowingly false or in reckless disregard of the truth.
	20.4(5) A parent or guardian may appeal to the state board of education any administrative decision the department or third-party entity makes pursuant to this chapter, including determinations of eligibility, allowable expenses, and removal from the program. An appeal under this subrule must be signed and in writing. Electronic submissions and signatures are allowed. Any appeals under this subrule are timely if filed within 30 days of the date of the administrative decision and are governed by 281—Chapter 6.
[ARC 7061C, IAB 8/23/23, effective 9/27/23]