112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the DC opportunity scholarship program, and 

for other purposes. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scholarships for Op3 portunity and Results Act’’ or the ‘‘SOAR Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Parents are best equipped to make decisions 

7 for their children, including the educational setting 

8 that will best serve the interests and educational 

9 needs of their child. 

10 (2) For many parents in the District of Colum11 bia, public school choice provided under the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as well 

13 as under other public school choice programs, is in14 adequate. More educational options are needed to 

15 ensure all families in the District of Columbia have 

16 access to a quality education. In particular, funds 

17 are needed to provide low-income parents with en18 hanced public opportunities and private educational 

19 environments, regardless of whether such environ20 ments are secular or nonsecular. 

21 (3) While the per student cost for students in 

22 the public schools of the District of Columbia is one 

23 of the highest in the United States, test scores for 

24 such students continue to be among the lowest in 

25 the Nation. The National Assessment of Educational 

26 Progress (NAEP), an annual report released by the 
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1 National Center for Education Statistics, reported in 

2 its 2009 study that students in the District of Co3 lumbia were being outperformed by every State in 

4 the Nation. On the 2009 NAEP, 56 percent of 

5 fourth grade students scored ‘‘below basic’’ in read6 ing, and 44 percent scored ‘‘below basic’’ in mathe7 matics. Among eighth grade students, 49 percent 

8 scored ‘‘below basic’’ in reading and 60 percent 

9 scored ‘‘below basic’’ in mathematics. On the 2009 

10 NAEP reading assessment, only 17 percent of the 

11 District of Columbia fourth grade students could 

12 read proficiently, while only 13 percent of the eighth 

13 grade students scored at the proficient or advanced 

14 level. 

15 (4) In 2003, Congress passed the DC School 

16 Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–199; 

17 118 Stat. 126), to provide opportunity scholarships 

18 to parents of students in the District of Columbia to 

19 enable them to pursue a high-quality education at a 

20 public or private elementary or secondary school of 

21 their choice. The DC Opportunity Scholarship Pro22 gram (DC OSP) under such Act was part of a com23 prehensive 3-part funding arrangement that also in24 cluded additional funds for the District of Columbia 

25 public schools, and additional funds for public char-
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1 ter schools of the District of Columbia. The intent 

2 of the approach was to ensure that progress would 

3 continue to be made to improve public schools and 

4 public charter schools, and that funding for the op5 portunity scholarship program would not lead to a 

6 reduction in funding for the District of Columbia 

7 public and charter schools. Resources would be avail8 able for a variety of educational options that would 

9 give families in the District of Columbia a range of 

10 choices with regard to the education of their chil11 dren. 

12 (5) The DC OSP was established in accordance 

13 with the Supreme Court decision, Zelman v. Sim14 mons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), which found 

15 that a program enacted for the valid secular purpose 

16 of providing educational assistance to low-income 

17 children in a demonstrably failing public school sys18 tem is constitutional if it is neutral with respect to 

19 religion and provides assistance to a broad class of 

20 citizens who direct government aid to religious and 

21 secular schools solely as a result of their genuine 

22 and independent private choices. 

23 (6) Since the inception of the DC OSP, it has 

24 consistently been oversubscribed. Parents express 

25 strong support for the opportunity scholarship pro-
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1 gram. Rigorous studies of the program by the Insti2 tute of Education Sciences have shown significant 

3 improvements in parental satisfaction and in reading 

4 scores that are more dramatic when only those stu5 dents consistently using the scholarships are consid6 ered. The program also was found to result in sig7 nificantly higher graduation rates for DC OSP stu8 dents. 

9 (7) The DC OSP is a program that offers fami10 lies in need, in the District of Columbia, important 

11 alternatives while public schools are improved. This 

12 program should be reauthorized as 1 of a 3-part 

13 comprehensive funding strategy for the District of 

14 Columbia school system that provides new and equal 

15 funding for public schools, public charter schools, 

16 and opportunity scholarships for students to attend 

17 private schools. 

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

19 The purpose of this Act is to provide low-income par20 ents residing in the District of Columbia, particularly par21 ents of students who attend elementary schools or sec22 ondary schools identified for improvement, corrective ac23 tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elemen24 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

25 6316), with expanded opportunities for enrolling their 
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1 children in other schools in the District of Columbia, at 

2 least until the public schools in the District of Columbia 

3 have adequately addressed shortfalls in health, safety, and 

4 security, and the students in the District of Columbia pub5 lic schools are testing in mathematics and reading at or 

6 above the national average. 

7 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

8 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—From funds appropriated 

10 under section 14(a)(1), the Secretary shall award 

11 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities with 

12 approved applications under section 5 to carry out a 

13 program to provide eligible students with expanded 

14 school choice opportunities. The Secretary may 

15 award a single grant or multiple grants, depending 

16 on the quality of applications submitted and the pri17 orities of this Act. 

18 (2) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary 

19 may make grants under this subsection for a period 

20 of not more than 5 years. 

21 (b) DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND CHARTER

22 SCHOOLS.—From funds appropriated under paragraphs 

23 (2) and (3) of section 14(a), the Secretary shall provide 

24 funds to the Mayor of the District of Columbia, if the 
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1 Mayor agrees to the requirements described in section 

2 11(a), for— 

3 (1) the District of Columbia public schools to 

4 improve public education in the District of Colum5 bia; and 

6 (2) the District of Columbia public charter 

7 schools to improve and expand quality public charter 

8 schools in the District of Columbia. 

9 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive a grant under 

11 section 4(a), an eligible entity shall submit an application 

12 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom13 panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—The Secretary may not approve the 

15 request of an eligible entity for a grant under section 4(a) 

16 unless the entity’s application includes— 

17 (1) a detailed description of— 

18 (A) how the entity will address the prior19 ities described in section 6; 

20 (B) how the entity will ensure that if more 

21 eligible students seek admission in the program 

22 of the entity than the program can accommo23 date, eligible students are selected for admission 

24 through a random selection process which gives 

25 weight to the priorities described in section 6; 
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1 (C) how the entity will ensure that if more 

2 participating eligible students seek admission to 

3 a participating school than the school can ac4 commodate, participating eligible students are 

5 selected for admission through a random selec6 tion process; 

7 (D) how the entity will notify parents of el8 igible students of the expanded choice opportu9 nities in order to allow the parents to make in10 formed decisions; 

11 (E) the activities that the entity will carry 

12 out to provide parents of eligible students with 

13 expanded choice opportunities through the 

14 awarding of scholarships under section 7(a); 

15 (F) how the entity will determine the 

16 amount that will be provided to parents under 

17 section 7(a)(2) for the payment of tuition, fees, 

18 and transportation expenses, if any; 

19 (G) how the entity will seek out private el20 ementary schools and secondary schools in the 

21 District of Columbia to participate in the pro22 gram; 

23 (H) how the entity will ensure that each 

24 participating school will meet the reporting and 

25 other program requirements under this Act; 
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1 (I) how the entity will ensure that partici2 pating schools submit to site visits by the entity 

3 as determined to be necessary by the entity, ex4 cept that a participating school may not be re5 quired to submit to more than 1 site visit per 

6 school year; 

7 (J) how the entity will ensure that partici8 pating schools are financially responsible and 

9 will use the funds received under section 7 ef10 fectively; 

11 (K) how the entity will address the renewal 

12 of scholarships to participating eligible stu13 dents, including continued eligibility; and 

14 (L) how the entity will ensure that a ma15 jority of its voting board members or governing 

16 organization are residents of the District of Co17 lumbia; and 

18 (2) an assurance that the entity will comply 

19 with all requests regarding any evaluation carried 

20 out under section 9(a). 

21 SEC. 6. PRIORITIES. 

22 In awarding grants under section 4(a), the Secretary 

23 shall give priority to applications from eligible entities that 

24 will most effectively— 
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1 (1) in awarding scholarships under section 7(a), 

2 give priority to— 

3 (A) eligible students who, in the school 

4 year preceding the school year for which the eli5 gible students are seeking a scholarship, at6 tended an elementary school or secondary 

7 school identified for improvement, corrective ac8 tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the 

9 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316); 

11 (B) students who have been awarded a 

12 scholarship in a preceding year under this Act 

13 or the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 

14 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), 

15 as such Act was in effect on the day before the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, but who have 

17 not used the scholarship, including eligible stu18 dents who were provided notification of selec19 tion for a scholarship for school year 2009- 

20 2010, which was later rescinded in accordance 

21 with direction from the Secretary of Education; 

22 and 

23 (C) students whose household includes a 

24 sibling or other child who is already partici25 pating in the program of the eligible entity 
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1 under this Act, regardless of whether such stu2 dents have, in the past, been assigned as mem3 bers of a control study group for the purposes 

4 of an evaluation under section 9(a); 

5 (2) target resources to students and families 

6 that lack the financial resources to take advantage 

7 of available educational options; and 

8 (3) provide students and families with the 

9 widest range of educational options. 

10 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 

11 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

13 and (3), an eligible entity receiving a grant under 

14 section 4(a) shall use the grant funds to provide eli15 gible students with scholarships to pay the tuition, 

16 fees, and transportation expenses, if any, to enable 

17 the eligible students to attend the District of Colum18 bia private elementary school or secondary school of 

19 their choice beginning in school year 2011–2012. 

20 Each such eligible entity shall ensure that the 

21 amount of any tuition or fees charged by a school 

22 participating in such entity’s program under this Act 

23 to an eligible student participating in the program 

24 does not exceed the amount of tuition or fees that 
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1 the school charges to students who do not partici2 pate in the program. 

3 (2) PAYMENTS TO PARENTS.—An eligible entity 

4 receiving a grant under section 4(a) shall make 

5 scholarship payments under the entity’s program 

6 under this Act to the parent of the eligible student 

7 participating in the program, in a manner which en8 sures that such payments will be used for the pay9 ment of tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if 

10 any), in accordance with this Act. 

11 (3) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 

12 (A) VARYING AMOUNTS PERMITTED.—Sub13 ject to the other requirements of this section, 

14 an eligible entity receiving a grant under sec15 tion 4(a) may award scholarships in larger 

16 amounts to those eligible students with the 

17 greatest need. 

18 (B) ANNUAL LIMIT ON AMOUNT.— 

19 (i) LIMIT FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2011– 

20 2012.—The amount of assistance provided 

21 to any eligible student by an eligible entity 

22 under the entity’s program under this Act 

23 for school year 2011–2012 may not ex24 ceed— 
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1 (I) $8,000 for attendance in kin2 dergarten through grade 8; and 

3 (II) $12,000 for attendance in 

4 grades 9 through 12. 

5 (ii) CUMULATIVE INFLATION ADJUST6 MENT.—Beginning the school year fol7 lowing the school year of the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

9 adjust the maximum amounts of assistance 

10 described in clause (i) for inflation, as 

11 measured by the percentage increase, if 

12 any, from the preceding fiscal year in the 

13 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con14 sumers, published by the Bureau of Labor 

15 Statistics of the Department of Labor. 

16 (4) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 None of the funds provided under this Act for op18 portunity scholarships may be used by an eligible 

19 student to enroll in a participating private school 

20 unless the participating school— 

21 (A) has and maintains a valid certificate of 

22 occupancy issued by the District of Columbia; 

23 (B) makes readily available to all prospec24 tive students information on its school accredi25 tation; 
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1 (C) in the case of a school that has been 

2 operating for 5 years or less, submits to the eli3 gible entity administering the program proof of 

4 adequate financial resources reflecting the fi5 nancial sustainability of the school and the 

6 school’s ability to be in operation through the 

7 school year; 

8 (D) agrees to submit to site visits as deter9 mined to be necessary by the eligible entity pur10 suant to section 5(b)(1)(I); 

11 (E) has financial systems, controls, poli12 cies, and procedures to ensure that funds are 

13 used according to this Act; and 

14 (F) ensures that each teacher of core sub15 ject matter in the school has a baccalaureate 

16 degree or equivalent degree, whether such de17 gree was awarded in or outside of the United 

18 States. 

19 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An eligible entity 

20 receiving a grant under section 4(a) may use not more 

21 than 3 percent of the amount provided under the grant 

22 each year for the administrative expenses of carrying out 

23 its program under this Act during the year, including— 

24 (1) determining the eligibility of students to 

25 participate; 
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1 (2) selecting eligible students to receive scholar2 ships; 

3 (3) determining the amount of scholarships and 

4 issuing the scholarships to eligible students; 

5 (4) compiling and maintaining financial and 

6 programmatic records; and 

7 (5) conducting site visits as described in section 

8 5(b)(1)(I). 

9 (c) PARENTAL ASSISTANCE.—An eligible entity re10 ceiving a grant under section 4(a) may use not more than 

11 2 percent of the amount provided under the grant each 

12 year for the expenses of educating parents about the enti13 ty’s program under this Act, and assisting parents 

14 through the application process, under this Act, includ15 ing— 

16 (1) providing information about the program 

17 and the participating schools to parents of eligible 

18 students; 

19 (2) providing funds to assist parents of stu20 dents in meeting expenses that might otherwise pre21 clude the participation of eligible students in the 

22 program; and 

23 (3) streamlining the application process for par24 ents. 
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1 (d) STUDENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE.—An eligible 

2 entity receiving a grant under section 4(a) may use not 

3 more than 1 percent of the amount provided under the 

4 grant each year for expenses to provide tutoring services 

5 to participating eligible students that need additional aca6 demic assistance. If there are insufficient funds to provide 

7 tutoring services to all such students in a year, the eligible 

8 entity shall give priority in such year to students who pre9 viously attended an elementary school or secondary school 

10 that was identified for improvement, corrective action, or 

11 restructuring under section 1116 of the Elementary and 

12 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316). 

13 SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS 

14 FOR PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity or a school par16 ticipating in any program under this Act shall not dis17 criminate against program participants or applicants on 

18 the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. 

19 (b) APPLICABILITY AND SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, 

20 CLASSES, OR ACTIVITIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, the prohibition of sex discrimina23 tion in subsection (a) shall not apply to a partici24 pating school that is operated by, supervised by, con25 trolled by, or connected to a religious organization to 
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1 the extent that the application of subsection (a) is 

2 inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the 

3 school. 

4 (2) SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR ACTIVI5 TIES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other 

6 provision of law, a parent may choose and a school 

7 may offer a single sex school, class, or activity. 

8 (3) APPLICABILITY.—For purposes of this Act, 

9 the provisions of section 909 of the Education 

10 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply 

11 to this Act as if section 909 of the Education 

12 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) were part of 

13 this Act. 

14 (c) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—Nothing in this 

15 Act may be construed to alter or modify the provisions 

16 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

17 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

18 (d) RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED SCHOOLS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, a school participating in any pro21 gram under this Act that is operated by, supervised 

22 by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organi23 zation may exercise its right in matters of employ24 ment consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act 
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1 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1 et seq.), including the 

2 exemptions in such title. 

3 (2) MAINTENANCE OF PURPOSE.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, funds made 

5 available under this Act to eligible students, which 

6 are used at a participating school as a result of their 

7 parents’ choice, shall not, consistent with the first 

8 amendment of the Constitution, necessitate any 

9 change in the participating school’s teaching mis10 sion, require any participating school to remove reli11 gious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols, or pre12 clude any participating school from retaining reli13 gious terms in its name, selecting its board members 

14 on a religious basis, or including religious references 

15 in its mission statements and other chartering or 

16 governing documents. 

17 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A scholarship (or any 

18 other form of support provided to parents of eligible stu19 dents) under this Act shall be considered assistance to the 

20 student and shall not be considered assistance to the 

21 school that enrolls the eligible student. The amount of any 

22 scholarship (or other form of support provided to parents 

23 of an eligible student) under this Act shall not be treated 

24 as income of the parents for purposes of Federal tax laws 
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1 or for determining eligibility for any other Federal pro2 gram. 

3 (f) REQUESTS FOR DATA AND INFORMATION.—Each 

4 school participating in a program funded under this Act 

5 shall comply with all requests for data and information 

6 regarding evaluations conducted under section 9(a). 

7 (g) RULES OF CONDUCT AND OTHER SCHOOL POLI8 CIES.—A participating school, including the schools de9 scribed in subsection (d), may require eligible students to 

10 abide by any rules of conduct and other requirements ap11 plicable to all other students at the school. 

12 (h) NATIONALLY NORM-REFERENCED STANDARD13 IZED TESTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each participating school 

15 shall comply with any testing requirements deter16 mined to be necessary for evaluation under section 

17 9(a)(2)(A)(i). 

18 (2) MAKE-UP SESSION.—If a participating 

19 school does not administer a nationally norm-ref20 erenced standardized test or the Institute of Edu21 cation Sciences does not receive data on a student 

22 who is receiving an opportunity scholarship, then the 

23 Secretary (through the Institute of Education 

24 Sciences of the Department of Education) shall ad25 minister such test at least one time during a school 
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1 year for each student receiving an opportunity schol2 arship. 

3 SEC. 9. EVALUATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY AND THE

6 MAYOR.—The Secretary and the Mayor of the Dis7 trict of Columbia shall— 

8 (A) jointly enter into an agreement with 

9 the Institute of Education Sciences of the De10 partment of Education to evaluate annually the 

11 performance of students who received scholar12 ships under the 5-year program under this Act; 

13 (B) jointly enter into an agreement to 

14 monitor and evaluate the use of funds author15 ized and appropriated for the District of Co16 lumbia public schools and the District of Co17 lumbia public charter schools under this Act; 

18 and 

19 (C) make the evaluations described in sub20 paragraphs (A) and (B) public in accordance 

21 with subsection (c). 

22 (2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec23 retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 

24 agreement, shall— 
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1 (A) ensure that the evaluation under para2 graph (1)(A)— 

3 (i) is conducted using the strongest 

4 possible research design for determining 

5 the effectiveness of the opportunity schol6 arship program under this Act; and 

7 (ii) addresses the issues described in 

8 paragraph (4); and 

9 (B) disseminate information on the impact 

10 of the program— 

11 (i) in increasing the academic growth 

12 and achievement of participating eligible 

13 students; and 

14 (ii) on students and schools in the 

15 District of Columbia. 

16 (3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

17 SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education Sciences of 

18 the Department of Education shall— 

19 (A) use a grade appropriate, nationally 

20 norm-referenced standardized test each school 

21 year to assess participating eligible students; 

22 (B) measure the academic achievement of 

23 all participating eligible students; and 

24 (C) work with the eligible entities to en25 sure that the parents of each student who ap-
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1 plies for a scholarship under this Act (regard2 less of whether the student receives the scholar3 ship) and the parents of each student partici4 pating in the scholarship program under this 

5 Act, agree that the student will participate in 

6 the measurements given annually by the Insti7 tute of Educational Sciences for the period for 

8 which the student applied for or received the 

9 scholarship, respectively, except that nothing in 

10 this subparagraph shall affect a student’s pri11 ority for an opportunity scholarship as provided 

12 under section 6. 

13 (4) ISSUES TO BE EVALUATED.—The issues to 

14 be evaluated under paragraph (1)(A) shall include 

15 the following: 

16 (A) A comparison of the academic growth 

17 and achievement of participating eligible stu18 dents in the measurements described in para19 graph (3) to the academic growth and achieve20 ment of the eligible students in the same grades 

21 who sought to participate in the scholarship 

22 program under this Act but were not selected. 

23 (B) The success of the program in expand24 ing choice options for parents of participating 

25 eligible students, improving parental and stu-
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1 dent satisfaction of such parents and students, 

2 respectively, and increasing parental involve3 ment of such parents in the education of their 

4 children. 

5 (C) The reasons parents of participating 

6 eligible students choose for their children to 

7 participate in the program, including important 

8 characteristics for selecting schools. 

9 (D) A comparison of the retention rates, 

10 high school graduation rates, and college admis11 sion rates of participating eligible students with 

12 the retention rates, high school graduation 

13 rates, and college admission rates of students of 

14 similar backgrounds who do not participate in 

15 such program. 

16 (E) A comparison of the safety of the 

17 schools attended by participating eligible stu18 dents and the schools in the District of Colum19 bia attended by students who do not participate 

20 in the program, based on the perceptions of the 

21 students and parents. 

22 (F) Such other issues with respect to par23 ticipating eligible students as the Secretary con24 siders appropriate for inclusion in the evalua25 tion, such as the impact of the program on pub-
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1 lic elementary schools and secondary schools in 

2 the District of Columbia. 

3 (G) An analysis of the issues described in 

4 subparagraphs (A) through (F) by applying 

5 such subparagraphs by substituting ‘‘the sub6 group of participating eligible students who 

7 have used each opportunity scholarship awarded 

8 to such students under this Act to attend a par9 ticipating school’’ for ‘‘participating eligible stu10 dents’’ each place such term appears. 

11 (5) PROHIBITION.—Personally identifiable in12 formation regarding the results of the measurements 

13 used for the evaluations may not be disclosed, except 

14 to the parents of the student to whom the informa15 tion relates. 

16 (b) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

17 Committees on Appropriations, Education and the Work18 force, and Oversight and Government Reform of the 

19 House of Representatives and the Committees on Appro20 priations, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and 

21 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen22 ate— 

23 (1) annual interim reports, not later than April 

24 1 of the year following the year of the date of enact25 ment of this Act, and each subsequent year through 
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1 the year in which the final report is submitted under 

2 paragraph (2), on the progress and preliminary re3 sults of the evaluation of the opportunity scholarship 

4 program funded under this Act; and 

5 (2) a final report, not later than 1 year after 

6 the final year for which a grant is made under sec7 tion 4(a), on the results of the evaluation of the pro8 gram. 

9 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All reports and under10 lying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made 

11 available to the public upon request, in a timely manner 

12 following submission of the applicable report under sub13 section (b), except that personally identifiable information 

14 shall not be disclosed or made available to the public. 

15 (d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED.—The amount ex16 pended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any 

17 fiscal year may not exceed 5 percent of the total amount 

18 appropriated under section 14(a)(1) for the fiscal year. 

19 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

20 (a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS.—Each eligible entity re21 ceiving funds under section 4(a) during a year shall sub22 mit a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of 

23 the following year regarding the activities carried out with 

24 the funds during the preceding year. 

25 (b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the reports 

2 required under subsection (a), each eligible entity re3 ceiving funds under section 4(a) shall, not later than 

4 September 1 of the year during which the second 

5 school year of the entity’s program is completed and 

6 each of the next 2 years thereafter, submit to the 

7 Secretary a report, including any pertinent data col8 lected in the preceding 2 school years, concerning— 

9 (A) the academic growth and achievement 

10 of students participating in the program; 

11 (B) the high school graduation and college 

12 admission rates of students who participate in 

13 the program, where appropriate; and 

14 (C) parental satisfaction with the program. 

15 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

16 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

17 may contain any personally identifiable information. 

18 (c) REPORTS TO PARENTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity receiving 

20 funds under section 4(a) shall ensure that each 

21 school participating in the entity’s program under 

22 this Act during a school year reports at least once 

23 during the year to the parents of each of the school’s 

24 students who are participating in the program on— 
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1 (A) the student’s academic achievement, as 

2 measured by a comparison with the aggregate 

3 academic achievement of other participating 

4 students at the student’s school in the same 

5 grade or level, as appropriate, and the aggre6 gate academic achievement of the student’s 

7 peers at the student’s school in the same grade 

8 or level, as appropriate; 

9 (B) the safety of the school, including the 

10 incidence of school violence, student suspen11 sions, and student expulsions; and 

12 (C) the accreditation status of the school. 

13 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

14 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

15 may contain any personally identifiable information, 

16 except as to the student who is the subject of the 

17 report to that student’s parent. 

18 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

19 months after the first appropriation of funds under section 

20 14, and each succeeding year thereafter, the Secretary 

21 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations, Edu22 cation and the Workforce, and Oversight and Government 

23 Reform of the House of Representatives and the Commit24 tees on Appropriations, Health, Education, Labor, and 

25 Pensions, and Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
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1 fairs of the Senate, an annual report on the findings of 

2 the reports submitted under subsections (a) and (b). 

3 SEC. 11. DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND DC PUBLIC CHARTER 

4 SCHOOLS. 

5 (a) CONDITION OF RECEIPT OF FUNDS.—As a condi6 tion of receiving funds under this Act on behalf of the 

7 District of Columbia public schools and the District of Co8 lumbia public charter schools, the Mayor shall agree to 

9 carry out the following: 

10 (1) INFORMATION REQUESTS.—Ensure that all 

11 the District of Columbia public schools and the Dis12 trict of Columbia public charter schools comply with 

13 all reasonable requests for information for purposes 

14 of the evaluation under section 9(a). 

15 (2) AGREEMENT WITH THE SECRETARY.— 

16 Enter into the agreement described in section 

17 9(a)(1)(B) to monitor and evaluate the use of funds 

18 authorized and appropriated for the District of Co19 lumbia public schools and the District of Columbia 

20 public charter schools under this Act. 

21 (3) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the first appropriation of funds under 

23 section 14, and each succeeding year thereafter, sub24 mit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Com25 mittee on Education and the Workforce, and the 
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1 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 

2 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

3 Appropriations, the Committee on Health, Edu4 cation, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on 

5 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

6 Senate, information on— 

7 (A) how the funds authorized and appro8 priated under this Act for the District of Co9 lumbia public schools and the District of Co10 lumbia public charter schools were used in the 

11 preceding school year; and 

12 (B) how such funds are contributing to 

13 student achievement. 

14 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—If, after reasonable notice and 

15 an opportunity for a hearing for the Mayor, the Secretary 

16 determines that the Mayor has not been in compliance 

17 with 1 or more of the requirements described in subsection 

18 (a), the Secretary may withhold from the Mayor, in whole 

19 or in part, further funds under this Act for the District 

20 of Columbia public schools and the District of Columbia 

21 public charter schools. 

22 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec23 tion shall be construed to reduce, or otherwise affect, 

24 funding provided under this Act for the opportunity schol25 arship program under this Act. 
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1 SEC. 12. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) REPEAL.—The DC School Choice Incentive Act 

3 of 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code) is 

4 repealed. 

5 (b) SPECIAL RULES.—Notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law— 

7 (1) funding appropriated to provide opportunity 

8 scholarships for students in the District of Columbia 

9 under the heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Im10 provement’’ in title IV of division D of the Omnibus 

11 Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 111–8; 123 

12 Stat. 653), the heading ‘‘Federal Payment for 

13 School Improvement’’ in title IV of division C of the 

14 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 

15 111–117; 123 Stat. 3181), or any other Act, may be 

16 used to provide opportunity scholarships under sec17 tion 7(a) for the 2011–2012 school year to students 

18 who have not previously received such scholarships; 

19 (2) the fourth and fifth provisos under the 

20 heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Improvement’’ 

21 of title IV of Division C of the Consolidated Appro22 priations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 

23 3181) shall not apply; and 

24 (3) any unobligated amounts reserved to carry 

25 out the provisos described in paragraph (2) shall be 
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1 made available to an eligible entity receiving a grant 

2 under section 4(a)— 

3 (A) for administrative expenses described 

4 in section 7(b); or 

5 (B) to provide opportunity scholarships 

6 under section 7(a), including to provide such 

7 scholarships for the 2011–2012 school year to 

8 students who have not previously received such 

9 scholarships. 

10 (c) MULTIYEAR AWARDS.—The recipient of a grant 

11 or contract under the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 

12 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), as 

13 such Act was in effect on the day before the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act, shall continue to receive funds in 

15 accordance with the terms and conditions of such grant 

16 or contract, except that— 

17 (1) the provisos relating to opportunity scholar18 ships in the Acts described in subsection (b)(1) shall 

19 not apply; and 

20 (2) the memorandum of understanding de21 scribed in subsection (d), including any revision 

22 made under such subsection, shall apply. 

23 (d) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec24 retary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall 

25 revise the memorandum of understanding entered into 
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1 under the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (sec. 

2 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), as such Act was 

3 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act, to address— 

5 (1) the implementation of the opportunity 

6 scholarship program under this Act; and 

7 (2) how the Mayor will ensure that the District 

8 of Columbia public schools and the District of Co9 lumbia public charter schools comply with all the 

10 reasonable requests for information as necessary to 

11 fulfill the requirements for evaluations conducted 

12 under section 9(a). 

13 (e) ORDERLY TRANSITION.—Subject to subsections 

14 (c) and (d), the Secretary shall take such steps as the Sec15 retary determines to be appropriate to provide for the or16 derly transition to the authority of this Act from any au17 thority under the provisions of the DC School Choice In18 centive Act of 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official 

19 Code), as such Act was in effect on the day before the 

20 date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

22 As used in this Act: 

23 (1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen24 tary school’’ means an institutional day or residen25 tial school, including a public elementary charter 
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1 school, that provides elementary education, as deter2 mined under District of Columbia law. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means any of the following: 

5 (A) A nonprofit organization. 

6 (B) A consortium of nonprofit organiza7 tions. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

9 student’’ means a student who is a resident of the 

10 District of Columbia and comes from a household— 

11 (A) receiving assistance under the supple12 mental nutrition assistance program established 

13 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

14 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or 

15 (B) whose income does not exceed— 

16 (i) 185 percent of the poverty line; or 

17 (ii) in the case of a student partici18 pating in the opportunity scholarship pro19 gram in the preceding year under this Act 

20 or the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 

21 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Offi22 cial Code), as such Act was in effect on the 

23 day before the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, 300 percent of the poverty line. 
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1 (4) MAYOR.—The term ‘‘Mayor’’ means the 

2 Mayor of the District of Columbia. 

3 (5) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 

4 meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Ele5 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 7801). 

7 (6) PARTICIPATING ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The 

8 term ‘‘participating eligible student’’ means an eligi9 ble student awarded an opportunity scholarship 

10 under this Act, without regard to whether the stu11 dent uses the scholarship to attend a participating 

12 school. 

13 (7) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘par14 ticipating school’’ means a private elementary school 

15 or secondary school participating in the opportunity 

16 scholarship program of an eligible entity under this 

17 Act. 

18 (8) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

19 has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of 

20 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 (9) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec23 ondary school’’ means an institutional day or resi24 dential school, including a public secondary charter 

25 school, that provides secondary education, as deter-
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1 mined under District of Columbia law, except that 

2 the term does not include any education beyond 

3 grade 12. 

4 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

5 means the Secretary of Education. 

6 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro8 priated $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and for each of 

9 the 4 succeeding fiscal years, of which— 

10 (1) one-third shall be made available to carry 

11 out the opportunity scholarship program under this 

12 Act for each fiscal year; 

13 (2) one-third shall be made available to carry 

14 out section 4(b)(1) for each fiscal year; and 

15 (3) one-third shall be made available to carry 

16 out section 4(b)(2) for each fiscal year. 

17 (b) APPORTIONMENT.—If the total amount of funds 

18 appropriated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year does 

19 not equal $60,000,000, the funds shall be apportioned in 
36 

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1 the manner described in subsection (a) for such fiscal 

2 year. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 30, 

2011. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the DC opportunity scholarship 

program, and for other purposes.