I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4426 

To expand school choice in the District of Columbia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2016 

Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To expand school choice in the District of Columbia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Educational Freedom 

5 Accounts Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ad9 ministering entity’’ means the entity that receives 

10 the contract under section 3(a) for a fiscal year. 


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1 (2) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—The term 

2 ‘‘chief financial officer’’ means the Chief Financial 

3 Officer of the District of Columbia. 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

5 child’’ means a child— 

6 (A) who is a resident of the District of Co7 lumbia; 

8 (B) who is eligible to receive a free public 

9 education in the District of Columbia; 

10 (C) who— 

11 (i) was enrolled in a public school or 

12 preschool program of the District of Co13 lumbia, including a charter school, during 

14 the previous school year; or 

15 (ii) is entering prekindergarten or kin16 dergarten; 

17 (D) whose parent chooses to not enroll the 

18 child in a public elementary school, secondary 

19 school, or prekindergarten program for the 

20 school year for which the child will receive a 

21 scholarship under section 4; and 

22 (E) whose parent does not submit a notifi23 cation of home schooling described in section 

24 5202 of title 5, Code of the District of Colum25 bia Regulations (or any successor notification) 


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1 to the Office of the State Superintendent of 

2 Education of the District of Columbia for any 

3 year for which the parent enters into an agree4 ment under section 4(a)(2)(B). 

5 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

6 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

7 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

9 (5) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ means the 

10 guardian, custodian, or other person with the au11 thority to act on behalf of a child. 

12 (6) PARTICIPATING PROVIDER.—The term 

13 ‘‘participating provider’’ means an entity that— 

14 (A) is— 

15 (i) a nonpublic school located in the 

16 District of Columbia that provides edu17 cation to prekindergarten, elementary 

18 school, or secondary school students; 

19 (ii) a public school, including a char20 ter school, located in the District of Co21 lumbia, except only with respect to pro22 viding individual courses or extracurricular 

23 activities described in section 4(c)(1)(E) or 

24 transportation described in section 

25 4(c)(1)(H) to such services; 


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1 (iii) a tutor or tutoring facility; 

2 (iv) a nonpublic provider of distance 

3 learning; 

4 (v) a therapy center or other provider 

5 of special education or disability services; 

6 (vi) an institution of higher education 

7 located in the District of Columbia; or 

8 (vii) an entity that provides edu9 cational services or products; 

10 (B) notifies the administering entity of the 

11 entity’s intent to become a participating pro12 vider; and 

13 (C) agrees, as a condition of receiving 

14 funds from an education savings account estab15 lished under section 4, to comply with the re16 quirements of this Act. 

17 SEC. 3. CONTRACT AUTHORIZED. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the 2017–2018 

19 school year, the Chief Financial Officer shall carry out this 

20 Act for each school year by awarding a contract to 1 entity 

21 described in subsection (b) to enable the administering en22 tity to carry out the program under section 4 for all eligi23 ble children in the District of Columbia. 

24 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible for a con25 tract under this section, an entity shall be— 


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1 (1) exempt from Federal income tax pursuant 

2 to 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

3 (2) based within the District of Columbia; and 

4 (3) able to demonstrate an ability to meet all 

5 requirements of this Act. 

6 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a con7 tract under this section shall submit an application to the 

8 Chief Financial Officer at such time, in such manner, and 

9 containing such information as the Chief Financial Officer 

10 may require. 

11 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—From the 

12 amounts made available under the contract described in 

13 subsection (a), the administering entity may reserve an 

14 amount that is not greater than the sum of 5 percent of 

15 the funds allocated under section 4(a)(4) for each eligible 

16 child with an education savings account, to be used by the 

17 administering entity for the administrative expenses asso18 ciated with the program under this Act. 

19 SEC. 4. UNIVERSAL EDUCATIONAL CHOICE FOR DISTRICT 

20 OF COLUMBIA STUDENTS. 

21 (a) BASIC ELEMENTS OF PARENTAL CHOICE IN

22 EDUCATION.— 

23 (1) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE.—Except as pro24 vided in paragraph (6), the parent of any eligible 

25 child may enter into an agreement under paragraph 


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1 (2)(B) with the administering entity for any year 

2 during which the eligible child will be in a grade for 

3 which the District of Columbia provides free public 

4 education. 

5 (2) PROVISION OF EDUCATION SAVINGS AC6 COUNTS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning for the 

8 2017–2018 school year, the administering enti9 ty shall provide, to each eligible child whose 

10 parent enters into or renews an agreement de11 scribed in subparagraph (B) with the admin12 istering entity for the school year, an education 

13 savings account described in paragraph (3), 

14 into which scholarship amounts for the year 

15 shall be deposited in accordance with paragraph 

16 (4). 

17 (B) AGREEMENT.—The agreement re18 quired under this subparagraph shall be in a 

19 manner and on a form determined by the ad20 ministering entity and shall provide that— 

21 (i) the eligible child will receive an 

22 education savings account described in 

23 paragraph (3) and the administering entity 

24 will deposit a scholarship into the account 


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1 for each year that the agreement is in ef2 fect, in accordance with paragraph (4); 

3 (ii) the eligible child may be educated 

4 pursuant to any of the methods described 

5 in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of sub6 section (c)(1); 

7 (iii) the parent shall direct the use of 

8 the funds provided in the education savings 

9 account for educational expenses described 

10 in subsection (c), and the administering 

11 entity shall distribute such funds in ac12 cordance with paragraph (3)(B); and 

13 (iv) the parent agrees to the terms 

14 and conditions of the education savings ac15 count, including any participation nec16 essary for the accountability activities re17 quired under subsection (d)(3). 

18 (3) EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT.—An edu19 cation savings account described in this paragraph 

20 means a parent-controlled account, established exclu21 sively for the purpose of paying for the educational 

22 expenses described in subsection (c) for an eligible 

23 child who is the designated beneficiary of the ac24 count, that meets the following requirements: 


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1 (A) No funds shall be deposited into the 

2 account unless the funds are— 

3 (i) a disbursement of an annual schol4 arship from the administering entity as 

5 provided under paragraph (2)(A); or 

6 (ii) a deposit of opportunity scholar7 ship funds, in accordance with section 

8 3007(a)(2) of the Scholarships for Oppor9 tunity and Results Act (D.C. Code, sec. 

10 38–1853.07(a)(2)). 

11 (B) The funds in the account shall be dis12 tributed by the administering entity on behalf 

13 of the eligible child to 1 or more participating 

14 providers, upon direction by the parent, at the 

15 appropriate time. 

16 (C) Except as provided in subparagraph 

17 (D), any amount in the account that is attrib18 utable to a deposit provided under paragraph 

19 (2)(A) or a deposit of any opportunity scholar20 ship funds awarded under section 3007 of the 

21 Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act 

22 (D.C. Code, sec. 38–1853.07) may be paid or 

23 distributed out of the account only for the pur24 pose of paying education expenses described in 

25 subsection (c) for the eligible child. 


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1 (D) Any balance remaining in the account 

2 shall be returned to the Chief Financial Officer 

3 on the last day of the period covered by an 

4 agreement described in paragraph (2)(B) if— 

5 (i) such agreement is broken or ended 

6 by the parent during the agreement period; 

7 (ii) the parent of the eligible child 

8 does not renew the agreement for the eligi9 ble child for the immediately succeeding 

10 academic year; 

11 (iii) during the most recent year of 

12 the agreement, the parents do not use any 

13 funds in the account for eligible expenses 

14 described in subsection (c); or 

15 (iv) the child no longer qualifies as an 

16 eligible child. 

17 (4) AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP AND TRANSFER

18 OF FUNDS.— 

19 (A) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—By not later 

20 than August 1 of each school year— 

21 (i) the administering entity shall no22 tify the Chief Financial Officer of the total 

23 amount calculated under subparagraph (B) 

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1 ships to eligible children for such school 

2 year; and 

3 (ii) the Chief Financial Officer shall 

4 transfer such amount, from any funds or 

5 revenues available to the District of Co6 lumbia, to the administering entity to en7 able the administering entity to pay for the 

8 scholarships and the administration ex9 penses for the full fiscal year, in accord10 ance with subparagraphs (B) and (D) and 

11 section 3(d). 

12 (B) AMOUNT.—The total amount provided 

13 under this section for a full-year scholarship on 

14 behalf of an eligible child shall equal— 

15 (i) in the case of an eligible child from 

16 a family with an income of not more than 

17 185 percent of the poverty level described 

18 in subparagraph (C) or an eligible child 

19 who is a child with a disability, as defined 

20 in section 602 of the Individuals with Dis21 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401), 

22 90 percent of the funds that would other23 wise be allocated by the District of Colum24 bia Public Schools for such child, as deter25 mined by the uniform per student funding 


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1 formula defined in the District of Colum2 bia School Reform Act of 1995 (D.C. 

3 Code, sec. 38–804.01); 

4 (ii) in the case of an eligible child 

5 from a family with an income of more than 

6 185 percent, and not more than 300 per7 cent, of such poverty level, 85 percent of 

8 the funds that would otherwise be allocated 

9 by the District of Columbia Public Schools 

10 for such child as determined by such uni11 form per student funding formula; and 

12 (iii) in the case of an eligible child 

13 from a family with an income that equals 

14 or exceeds 300 percent of such poverty 

15 level, 80 percent of the funds that would 

16 otherwise be allocated by the District of 

17 Columbia Public Schools for such child as 

18 determined by such uniform per student 

19 funding formula. 

20 (C) CALCULATION OF POVERTY LEVEL.— 

21 In determining the poverty level for purposes of 

22 this paragraph, the administering entity shall 

23 use the criteria of poverty used by the Bureau 

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1 dated by increases in the Consumer Price Index 

2 for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bu3 reau of Labor Statistics. 

4 (D) QUARTERLY DISBURSEMENT.—The 

5 administering entity shall distribute the amount 

6 of a scholarship provided under this section to 

7 an eligible child whose parent has entered into 

8 an agreement under paragraph (2)(B) into the 

9 eligible child’s education savings account 

10 through 4 equal quarterly deposits. 

11 (5) OWNERSHIP OF THE EDUCATION SAVINGS

12 ACCOUNT.—An education savings account estab13 lished for an eligible child under this Act, and any 

14 funds deposited within the education savings ac15 count, shall belong to the eligible child. Funds avail16 able in the education savings account shall be used 

17 as directed by a parent of the eligible child, on be18 half of the child, for education expenses described in 

19 subsection (c). 

20 (6) INTERACTION WITH OPPORTUNITY SCHOL21 ARSHIPS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A) or 

22 any other provision of this Act, a child who receives 

23 an opportunity scholarship under section 3007 of the 

24 Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (D.C. 

25 Code, sec. 38–1853.07) for a school year shall not 


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1 be eligible for a scholarship under this Act for the 

2 same school year. Upon the request of any parent of 

3 an eligible child who receives an opportunity scholar4 ship and the completion of an agreement described 

5 in paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary shall establish an 

6 education savings account described in paragraph 

7 (3) for the child, in order for the parent to deposit 

8 any amount of an opportunity scholarship under sec9 tion 3007 of the Scholarships for Opportunity and 

10 Results Act (D.C. Code, sec. 38–1853.07) into the 

11 education savings account. 

12 (b) CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any bal13 ance in an educational savings account established for an 

14 eligible child under this section that is not used during 

15 an academic year shall remain available in the education 

16 savings account of the eligible child for future education 

17 expenses described in subsection (c), as long as an agree18 ment described in subsection (a)(2)(B) remains in effect 

19 for the eligible child. 

20 (c) ELIGIBLE EDUCATION EXPENSES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds available in an edu22 cation savings account established under this section 

23 for an eligible child shall only be used on behalf of 

24 such child for 1 or more of the following educational 

25 purposes: 


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1 (A) The costs of tuition and fees at a non2 public school, or distance education, provided 

3 through a participating provider. 

4 (B) Tutoring services offered by a partici5 pating provider. 

6 (C) The costs of curricula or online 

7 courses, including any supplemental materials, 

8 textbooks, or supplies necessary to administer 

9 the curriculum or to complete the course, of10 fered by a participating provider or purchased 

11 for self-study. 

12 (D) Fees for any special education or re13 lated services provided through a participating 

14 provider. 

15 (E) The costs of tuition and fees required 

16 to complete individual courses or extra17 curricular activities at a public school, including 

18 a charter school, within the District of Colum19 bia. 

20 (F) The costs of tuition and fees required 

21 to complete any dual credit courses, which are 

22 courses that qualify for both secondary and 

23 postsecondary education credit, from a partici24 pating provider in the District of Columbia. 

25 (G) Fees for any— 


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1 (i) national norm-referenced achieve2 ment examination; 

3 (ii) advanced placement or similar ex4 amination; or 

5 (iii) standardized examination re6 quired for admission to an institution of 

7 higher education. 

8 (H) Transportation required for the eligi9 ble child to travel to and from a participating 

10 provider, except that not more than $2,000 per 

11 year from the education savings account may be 

12 used for this purpose. 

13 (I) A contribution to a qualified tuition 

14 program (as defined in section 529(b) of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986) with respect to 

16 which the eligible child is a designated bene17 ficiary or a contribution to a Coverdell edu18 cation savings account (as defined in section 

19 530(b) of such Code) with respect to which the 

20 eligible child is a designated beneficiary, except 

21 that not more than a total of $2,000 per year 

22 may be used for contributions under this sub23 paragraph. 

24 (J) Any other education expenses approved 

25 by the administering entity. 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 subsection shall be construed to require an eligible 

3 child to attend a nonpublic school or a program of 

4 distance education described in paragraph (1)(A) in 

5 order to receive an academic scholarship under this 

6 section to be used for other eligible education ex7 penses described in paragraph (1). 

8 (d) GOVERNMENTAL AND ADMINISTERING ENTITY

9 RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

10 (1) NO EXTENSION OF REGULATORY AUTHOR11 ITY.—The creation of the program under this Act 

12 does not expand the regulatory authority of the 

13 Mayor of the District of Columbia, the officers of 

14 the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia 

15 Public Schools, or the Federal Government to im16 pose any additional regulations on nonpublic schools 

17 beyond the regulations necessary to enforce the re18 quirements of this Act. 

19 (2) ANNUAL LIST OF PARTICIPATING PRO20 VIDERS.— 

21 (A) CREATION OF LIST.—Beginning in 

22 academic year 2016–2017, and each year there23 after, the administering entity shall ensure that 

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1 gram under this Act for the next academic year 

2 by providing to the Chief Financial Officer, and 

3 making publicly available, a list of participating 

4 providers each school year. 

5 (B) INCLUSION ON CFO’S WEBSITE.—The 

6 Chief Financial Officer shall ensure that the 

7 annual list of participating providers prepared 

8 by the administering entity under subparagraph 

9 (A) is made publicly available on the website of 

10 the Chief Financial Officer. 

11 (3) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The administering enti12 ty and the Chief Financial Officer shall take such 

13 steps as are necessary to ensure the proper imple14 mentation of this Act, including— 

15 (A) conducting periodic audits of education 

16 savings accounts established under this section; 

17 (B) ensuring that the funds disbursed 

18 from education savings accounts are used ap19 propriately and in accordance with this Act; 

20 (C) freezing or revoking the education sav21 ings account of an eligible child if fraud is de22 tected; and 

23 (D) if appropriate, referring parents or 

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1 cation savings account funds for unlawful pur2 poses for criminal prosecution. 

3 (4) EXCHANGE OF RECORDS.—Upon request by 

4 the administering entity, the District of Columbia 

5 Public Schools shall provide, to any participating 

6 provider that is a school and that has admitted an 

7 eligible child who previously attended a public 

8 school, a complete copy of the child’s school records, 

9 following the standard procedures established by the 

10 administering entity for purposes of the program 

11 under this Act. 

12 (e) PARTICIPATING PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS AND

13 RIGHTS.— 

14 (1) REFUND AND REBATE LIMITATIONS.— 

15 (A) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—A partici16 pating provider that receives scholarship funds 

17 provided under this Act for an eligible child 

18 shall not— 

19 (i) refund or provide a rebate, of all 

20 or any portion of such funds, to the eligible 

21 child or a parent of the eligible child; and 

22 (ii) share such funds with such eligi23 ble child or parent in any manner. 

24 (B) REFUND PROCEDURES.—Any refund 

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1 turned or an item or service that has not been 

2 provided shall be provided to the administering 

3 entity and deposited into the education savings 

4 account from which the money refunded was 

5 originally paid. 

6 (2) ADMISSIONS.—A participating provider may 

7 enforce the admission requirements of the school or 

8 program offered by the provider and may accept the 

9 students best qualified to attend the school, except 

10 that a participating school may not discriminate on 

11 the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex, in ac12 cordance with subsection (f). 

13 (3) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTS.—Each partici14 pating provider that is a school shall agree, as a con15 dition of participation in the program under this 

16 Act, to provide the complete academic records of an 

17 eligible child attending the school who receives an 

18 education savings account under this Act to any 

19 other nonpublic school or public school to which the 

20 child transfers. 

21 (f) NONDISCRIMINATION AND OTHER PROVISIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participating provider 

23 shall not discriminate against program participants 

24 or applicants on the basis of race, color, national ori25 gin, or sex. 


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1 (2) APPLICABILITY AND SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, 

2 CLASSES, OR ACTIVITIES.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

4 other provision of law, the prohibition of sex 

5 discrimination in paragraph (1) shall not apply 

6 to a participating provider that is operated by, 

7 supervised by, controlled by, or connected to a 

8 religious organization to the extent that the ap9 plication of such paragraph is inconsistent with 

10 the religious tenets or beliefs of the partici11 pating provider. 

12 (B) SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR

13 ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or 

14 any other provision of law, a parent may choose 

15 and a participating provider may offer a single 

16 sex school, class, or activity. 

17 (3) RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED PARTICIPATING

18 PROVIDERS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

20 other provision of law, a participating provider 

21 that is operated by, supervised by, controlled 

22 by, or connected to a religious organization may 

23 exercise its right in matters of employment con24 sistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 


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1 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), including the 

2 exemptions in such title. 

3 (B) MAINTENANCE OF PURPOSE.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law, funds 

5 made available through education savings ac6 counts established under this section to eligible 

7 children, which are used for a participating pro8 vider as a result of the choice of the parents of 

9 such children, shall not, consistent with the 

10 first amendment of the Constitution of the 

11 United States— 

12 (i) necessitate any change in the par13 ticipating provider’s teaching mission; 

14 (ii) require any participating provider 

15 to remove religious art, icons, scriptures, 

16 or other symbols; or 

17 (iii) preclude any participating pro18 vider from retaining religious terms in its 

19 name, selecting its board members on a re20 ligious basis, or including religious ref21 erences in its mission statements and other 

22 chartering or governing documents. 

23 (4) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

24 (A) TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—For 

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1 vided under this section shall be considered as2 sistance to the child and shall not be considered 

3 assistance to the participating provider that en4 rolls the child in a school or program. The 

5 amount of any scholarship under this section 

6 shall not be treated as income of the child or 

7 the parents of the child for purposes of Federal 

8 tax laws or for determining eligibility for any 

9 other Federal program. 

10 (B) NO ABILITY TO CONTROL THE CUR11 RICULUM.—Nothing in this section shall be con12 strued to authorize any officer or employee of 

13 the Federal Government, through grants, con14 tracts, or other cooperative agreements, to man15 date, direct, or control the curriculum, program 

16 of instruction, instructional content, specific 

17 academic standards, assessments, or allocation 

18 of resources, of the District of Columbia or of 

19 any school in the District of Columbia. 

20 (g) TRANSITION.—The Chief Financial Officer and 

21 the administering entity shall take steps to ensure a 

22 smooth transition to the program under this Act, in order 

23 to ensure that academic scholarships and education sav24 ings accounts under this section are available to eligible 

25 children attending nonpublic schools through participating 


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1 providers beginning for the 2017–2018 school year. The 

2 Chief Financial Officer shall allow nonpublic schools to be3 come participating providers beginning on September 1, 

4 2016. 

5 (h) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3007(a)(2) 

6 of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (D.C. 

7 Code, sec. 38–1853.07(a)(2)) is amended by adding before 

8 the period at the end the following: ‘‘, or deposited in an 

9 education savings account established under section 4 of 

10 the Educational Freedom Accounts Act to be used for edu11 cation expenses described in subsection (c) of such sec12 tion.’’. 

Æ 


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