II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5458 

To allow Federal funds appropriated for kindergarten through grade 12 

education to follow the student. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2024 

Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To allow Federal funds appropriated for kindergarten 

through grade 12 education to follow the student. 

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 ‘‘Support Children Hav5 ing Open Opportunities for Learning Act of 2024’’ or the 

6 ‘‘SCHOOL Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL FUNDING UNDER THE ELEMENTARY AND 

2 SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 TO 

3 FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VIII of the Elementary and 

5 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et 

6 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘PART H—FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT 

8 ‘‘SEC. 8701. FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT.—Not11 withstanding any other provision of law and to the 

12 extent permitted under State law, a State edu13 cational agency shall allocate grant funds provided 

14 under titles I, III, IV, V, and VI, for the purposes 

15 of ensuring that funding under such titles follows 

16 children, whether learning in person or remotely, to 

17 the public school, private school, or home school they 

18 attend— 

19 ‘‘(A) among the local educational agencies 

20 in the State based on the number of eligible 

21 children enrolled in the public schools operated 

22 by each local educational agency; and 

23 ‘‘(B) directly to the eligible children, 

24 through education savings accounts, residing in 

25 the State who are enrolled in private schools or 

26 home schools. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—Funds al2 located under paragraph (1) may be used for, but 

3 not limited to— 

4 ‘‘(A) curriculum and curricular materials; 

5 ‘‘(B) books or other instructional mate6 rials; 

7 ‘‘(C) technological educational materials; 

8 ‘‘(D) online educational materials; 

9 ‘‘(E) tutoring or educational classes out10 side the home; 

11 ‘‘(F) private school tuition; 

12 ‘‘(G) extracurricular activities; 

13 ‘‘(H) testing fees; 

14 ‘‘(I) diagnostic tools; and 

15 ‘‘(J) educational therapies for student with 

16 disabilities. 

17 ‘‘(3) PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that car19 ries out allocations described in paragraph (1) 

20 shall establish a plan whereby the parent or 

21 guardian of each eligible child in the State will 

22 annually notify the relevant local educational 

23 agency of the public school or private school 

24 which the child will attend, or if the child will 

25 instead attend home school. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Information 

2 collected under this section by the State shall 

3 be used for the sole purposes of calculating the 

4 allocation of funds and distribution of funds 

5 under this section. 

6 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘eligible 

8 child’ means a child aged 5 to 17. 

9 ‘‘(2) HOME SCHOOL.—The term ‘home school’ 

10 means a home school as defined by the laws of the 

11 State in which the eligible child resides. 

12 ‘‘(c) STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 

13 PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND HOME SCHOOLS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CHIL15 DREN.—On an annual basis, on a date to be deter16 mined by the State educational agency, each local 

17 educational agency that receives grant funding in ac18 cordance with subsection (a) shall inform the State 

19 educational agency of the number of eligible children 

20 enrolled in public schools served by the local edu21 cational agency and private schools and home 

22 schools located in the school district served by the 

23 local educational agency in order to provide alloca24 tions for each eligible child in equal amounts regard25 less of where the child attends school in the State. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

2 AGENCIES AND ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.—Based on the 

3 identification of eligible children in paragraph (1), 

4 the State educational agency shall provide— 

5 ‘‘(A) to a local educational agency an 

6 amount equal to the sum of the amount avail7 able for each eligible child in the State multi8 plied by the number of eligible children identi9 fied by the local educational agency under para10 graph (1) enrolled in public schools served by 

11 the local educational agency; and 

12 ‘‘(B) to an eligible child residing in the 

13 State who is enrolled in a private school or 

14 home school, through an education savings ac15 count, an amount equal to the sum of the 

16 amount available for an eligible child in the 

17 State. 

18 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.— 

19 Each local educational agency that receives funds 

20 under paragraph (2)(A) shall distribute such funds 

21 to the public schools served by the local educational 

22 agency— 

23 ‘‘(A) based on the number of eligible chil24 dren enrolled in such schools; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in a manner that would, in the ab2 sence of such Federal funds, supplement the 

3 funds made available from non-Federal re4 sources for the education of pupils participating 

5 in programs under this Act, and not to sup6 plant such funds (in accordance with the meth7 od of determination described in section 1118). 

8 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION TO ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.— 

9 Each State that carries out allocations described in 

10 paragraph (1) shall distribute amounts to the eligi11 ble children residing in that State who enroll in a 

12 private school or home school— 

13 ‘‘(A) through an education savings ac14 count, as described in paragraph (2)(B); and 

15 ‘‘(B) in a manner that would, in the ab16 sence of such Federal funds, supplement the 

17 funds made available from non-Federal re18 sources for the education of pupils participating 

19 in programs under this Act, and not to sup20 plant such funds (in accordance with the meth21 od of determination described in section 1118). 

22 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN

23 ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—The provisions of sec24 tion 1117 shall apply to this section. 

25 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FEDERALLY FUNDED SCHOOL FOOD PRO2 GRAMS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

3 to preclude a child eligible for assistance under the 

4 free and reduced price school lunch program estab5 lished under the Richard B. Russell National School 

6 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) from receiving 

7 assistance under such program. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF CONTROL OVER NON9 PUBLIC EDUCATION PROVIDERS.—Nothing in this 

10 section shall permit, allow, encourage, or authorize 

11 Federal or State control over non-public education 

12 providers.’’. 

13 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

14 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

15 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

16 to section 8601 the following: 

‘‘PART H—FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT

‘‘Sec. 8701. Funds to follow the student.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. FEDERAL FUNDING UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH 

18 DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT TO FOLLOW 

19 THE STUDENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of the Individuals with 

21 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 610A. FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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•S 5458 IS

1 ‘‘(1) FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT.—Not2 withstanding any other provision of law and to the 

3 extent permitted under State law, a State edu4 cational agency shall allocate grant funds provided 

5 under this Act, for the purposes of ensuring that 

6 funding under this Act follows children, whether 

7 learning in person or remotely, to the public school, 

8 private school, or home school they attend— 

9 ‘‘(A) among the local educational agencies 

10 in the State based on the number of eligible 

11 children enrolled in the public schools operated 

12 by each local educational agency; and 

13 ‘‘(B) directly to the eligible children, 

14 through education savings accounts, residing in 

15 that State who are enrolled in private schools or 

16 home schools. 

17 ‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—Funds al18 located under paragraph (1) may be used for, but 

19 not limited to— 

20 ‘‘(A) curriculum and curricular materials; 

21 ‘‘(B) books or other instructional mate22 rials; 

23 ‘‘(C) technological educational materials; 

24 ‘‘(D) online educational materials; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
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1 ‘‘(E) tutoring or educational classes out2 side the home; 

3 ‘‘(F) private school tuition; 

4 ‘‘(G) extracurricular activities; 

5 ‘‘(H) testing fees; 

6 ‘‘(I) diagnostic tools; and 

7 ‘‘(J) educational therapies for student with 

8 disabilities. 

9 ‘‘(3) PLAN.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that car11 ries out allocations described in paragraph (1) 

12 shall establish a plan whereby the parent or 

13 guardian of each eligible child in the State will 

14 annually notify the relevant local educational 

15 agency of the public school or private school 

16 which the child will attend, or if the child will 

17 instead attend home school. 

18 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Information 

19 collected under this section by the State shall 

20 be used for the sole purposes of calculating the 

21 allocation of funds and distribution of funds 

22 under this section. 

23 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘eligible 

25 child’ means a child with a disability who is eligible 


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1 to receive special education and related services 

2 under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(2) HOME SCHOOL.—The term ‘home school’ 

4 means a home school as defined by the laws of the 

5 State in which the eligible child resides. 

6 ‘‘(c) STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 

7 PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND HOME SCHOOLS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CHIL9 DREN.—On an annual basis, on a date to be deter10 mined by the State educational agency, each local 

11 educational agency that receives grant funding in ac12 cordance with subsection (a) shall inform the State 

13 educational agency of the number of eligible children 

14 enrolled in public schools served by the local edu15 cational agency and private schools and home 

16 schools located in the school district served by the 

17 local educational agency in order to provide alloca18 tions for each eligible child in equal amounts regard19 less of where the child attends school in the State. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

21 AGENCIES AND ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.—Based on the 

22 identification of eligible children in paragraph (1), 

23 the State educational agency shall provide— 

24 ‘‘(A) to a local educational agency an 

25 amount equal to the sum of the amount availVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Jan 02, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5458.IS S5458

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1 able for each eligible child in the State multi2 plied by the number of eligible children identi3 fied by the local educational agency under para4 graph (1) enrolled in public schools served by 

5 the local educational agency; and 

6 ‘‘(B) to an eligible child residing in the 

7 State who is enrolled in a private school or 

8 home school, through an education savings ac9 count, an amount equal to the sum of the 

10 amount available for an eligible child in the 

11 State. 

12 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.— 

13 Each local educational agency that receives funds 

14 under paragraph (2)(A) shall distribute such funds 

15 to the public schools served by the local educational 

16 agency— 

17 ‘‘(A) based on the number of eligible chil18 dren enrolled in such schools; and 

19 ‘‘(B) in a manner that would, in the ab20 sence of such Federal funds, supplement the 

21 funds made available from non-Federal re22 sources for the education of pupils participating 

23 in programs under this Act, and not to sup24 plant such funds. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
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•S 5458 IS

1 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION TO ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.— 

2 Each State that carries out allocations described in 

3 paragraph (1) shall distribute amounts to the eligi4 ble children residing in that State who enroll in a 

5 private school or home school— 

6 ‘‘(A) through an education savings ac7 count, as described in paragraph (2)(B); and 

8 ‘‘(B) in a manner that would, in the ab9 sence of such Federal funds, supplement the 

10 funds made available from non-Federal re11 sources for the education of pupils participating 

12 in programs under this Act, and not to sup13 plant such funds. 

14 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FEDERALLY FUNDED SCHOOL LUNCH PRO16 GRAMS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

17 to preclude a child eligible for assistance under the 

18 free and reduced price school lunch program estab19 lished under the Richard B. Russell National School 

20 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) from receiving 

21 assistance under such program. 

22 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF CONTROL OVER NON23 PUBLIC EDUCATION PROVIDERS.—Nothing in this 

24 section shall permit, allow, encourage, or authorize 


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•S 5458 IS

1 Federal or State control over non-public education 

2 providers.’’. 

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

4 section 601(b) of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu5 cation Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

6 to section 610 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 610A. Funds to follow the student.’’. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS