I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2556 

To provide low-income parents residing in the District of Columbia with 

expanded opportunities for enrolling their children in high quality schools 

in the District of Columbia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. BOEHNER (for himself, Mr. ISSA, and Mr. MCKEON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To provide low-income parents residing in the District of 

Columbia with expanded opportunities for enrolling their 

children in high quality schools 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 ‘‘Preserving DC Student 

5 Scholarships Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (1) Parents are best equipped to make decisions 

2 for their children, including the educational setting 

3 that will best serve the interests and educational 

4 needs of their child. 

5 (2) For many parents in the District of Colum6 bia, public school choice provided for under the Ele7 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) as well as under other public 

9 school choice programs, is inadequate due to capac10 ity constraints. Available educational alternatives to 

11 the public schools are also insufficient and more 

12 educational options are needed. In particular, funds 

13 are needed to assist low-income parents with exer14 cising their right to choose among enhanced public 

15 opportunities and private educational environments, 

16 whether religious or nonreligious. 

17 (3) In the most recent mathematics assessment 

18 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress 

19 (NAEP), administered in 2007, a lower percentage 

20 of 4th-grade students in the District of Columbia 

21 demonstrated proficiency than the national average 

22 by 20 percent. Fifty-one percent of the District of 

23 Columbia fourth-graders scored at the ‘‘below basic’’ 

24 level and only 8 percent of the 8th-grade students in 

25 the District of Columbia tested at the proficient or 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2556 IH

1 advanced levels, and 66 percent were below basic. In 

2 the most recent reading assessment administered by 

3 NAEP, in 2007, only 14 percent of the District of 

4 Columbia fourth-graders could read proficiently, 

5 while 61 percent were below basic. At the 8th-grade 

6 level, 12 percent were proficient or advanced and 52 

7 percent were below basic. 

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

9 Choice Incentive Act, to provide opportunity scholar10 ships to parents of students in the District of Co11 lumbia to enable them to pursue a high quality edu12 cation at a public or private elementary or secondary 

13 school of their choice. 

14 (5) The program was established in accordance 

15 with the U.S. Supreme Court decision reached under 

16 Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), 

17 which found that a program enacted for the valid 

18 secular purpose of providing educational assistance 

19 to low-income children in a demonstrably failing 

20 public school system is constitutional if it is neutral 

21 with respect to religion and provides assistance to a 

22 broad class of citizens who direct government aid to 

23 religious and secular schools solely as a result of 

24 their genuine and independent private choices. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (6) Since the program’s inception, it has en2 joyed broad bipartisan support by parents of stu3 dents in the District of Columbia who find that it 

4 has dramatically improved student performance, the 

5 Mayor of the District of Columbia, the members of 

6 the City Council of the District of Columbia and the 

7 Board of Education of the District of Columbia, and 

8 the Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public 

9 Schools. 

10 (7) The program provides additional funding 

11 for the District of Columbia Public Schools and, 

12 therefore, money for these student scholarships is 

13 not being taken out of money that would otherwise 

14 go to the District of Columbia Public Schools. 

15 (8) Congress must reauthorize the DC Oppor16 tunity Scholarship program, which has demonstrated 

17 success in raising student achievement. 

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 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
5 

•HR 2556 IH

1 children in high quality schools in the District of Colum2 bia. 

3 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—From funds appropriated to carry 

5 out this Act, the Secretary shall award grants on a com6 petitive basis to eligible entities with approved applications 

7 under section 5 to carry out a program to provide eligible 

8 students with expanded school choice opportunities. The 

9 Secretary may award a single grant or multiple grants, 

10 depending on the quality of applications submitted and the 

11 priorities of this Act. 

12 (b) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

13 make grants under this section for a period of not more 

14 than 5 years. 

15 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec16 retary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall 

17 enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the 

18 implementation of the program authorized under this Act. 

19 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

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

21 this Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application to 

22 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom23 panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
6 

•HR 2556 IH

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

2 request of an eligible entity for a grant under this Act 

3 unless the entity’s application includes— 

4 (1) a detailed description of— 

5 (A) how the entity will address the prior6 ities described in section 6; 

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

8 eligible students seek admission in the program 

9 than the program can accommodate, eligible 

10 students are selected for admission through a 

11 random selection process which gives weight to 

12 the priorities described in section 6; 

13 (C) how the entity will ensure that if more 

14 participating eligible students seek admission to 

15 a participating school than the school can ac16 commodate, participating eligible students are 

17 selected for admission through a random selec18 tion process; 

19 (D) how the entity will notify parents of el20 igible students of the expanded choice opportu21 nities and how the entity will ensure that par22 ents receive sufficient information about their 

23 options to allow the parents to make informed 

24 decisions; 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
7 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (E) the activities that the entity will carry 

2 out to provide parents of eligible students with 

3 expanded choice opportunities through the 

4 awarding of scholarships under section 7(a); 

5 (F) how the entity will determine the 

6 amount that will be provided to parents for the 

7 tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if 

8 any); 

9 (G) how the entity will seek out private el10 ementary schools and secondary schools in the 

11 District of Columbia to participate in the pro12 gram, and will ensure that participating schools 

13 will meet the applicable requirements of this 

14 Act and provide the information needed for the 

15 entity to meet the reporting requirements of 

16 this Act; 

17 (H) how the entity will ensure that partici18 pating schools are financially responsible and 

19 will use the funds received under this Act effec20 tively; 

21 (I) how the entity will address the renewal 

22 of scholarships to participating eligible stu23 dents, including continued eligibility; 

24 (J) how the entity will ensure that a ma25 jority of its voting board members or governing 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
8 

•HR 2556 IH

1 organization are residents of the District of Co2 lumbia; and 

3 (K) how the entity will have financial sys4 tems, controls, policies, and procedures to en5 sure that grant funds are used in accordance 

6 with this Act, and how the entity will have a 

7 manual documenting such controls, policies, and 

8 procedures; and 

9 (2) an assurance that the entity will comply 

10 with all requests regarding any evaluation carried 

11 out under section 9. 

12 SEC. 6. PRIORITIES. 

13 In awarding grants under this Act, the Secretary 

14 shall give priority to applications from eligible entities who 

15 will most effectively— 

16 (1) give priority to eligible students who, in the 

17 school year preceding the school year for which the 

18 eligible student is seeking a scholarship, attended an 

19 elementary school or secondary school identified for 

20 improvement, corrective action, or restructuring 

21 under section 1116 of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316); 

23 (2) target resources to students and families 

24 that lack the financial resources to take advantage 

25 of available educational options; and 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
9 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (3) provide students and families with the 

2 widest range of educational options and support sys3 tems to empower them to make informed choices. 

4 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 

5 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

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

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

8 this Act shall use the grant funds to carry out a pro9 gram to provide eligible students with opportunity 

10 scholarships to pay the tuition, fees, and transpor11 tation expenses (if any) to enable such students to 

12 attend the District of Columbia private elementary 

13 school or secondary school of their choice beginning 

14 in school year 2010–2011. Each such eligible entity 

15 shall ensure that the amount of any tuition or fees 

16 charged by a school participating in such eligible en17 tity’s program to an eligible student participating in 

18 the program does not exceed the amount of tuition 

19 or fees that the school customarily charges to stu20 dents who do not participate in the program. 

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

22 receiving a grant under this Act shall make oppor23 tunity scholarship payments under a program under 

24 this Act to the parents or legal guardians of an eligi25 ble student participating in the program, in a manVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:07 May 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2556.IH H2556

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
10 

•HR 2556 IH

1 ner which ensures that such payments will be used 

2 for the payment of tuition, fees, and transportation 

3 expenses (if any), in accordance with this Act. 

4 (3) ANNUAL LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF ASSIST5 ANCE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of assist7 ance provided to any eligible student by an eli8 gible entity receiving a grant under this Act 

9 under a program under this Act for school year 

10 2010-2011 may not exceed— 

11 (i) $8,000 for attendance in kinder12 garten through grade 8; and 

13 (ii) $12,000 for attendance in grades 

14 9 through 12. 

15 (B) CUMULATIVE INFLATION ADJUST16 MENT.—For each succeeding school year, the 

17 Secretary shall adjust the amounts described in 

18 subparagraph (A), as adjusted under this 

19 clause, by the rate of inflation as measured by 

20 the percentage increase (if any) from the pre21 ceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index 

22 for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bu23 reau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

24 Labor. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
11 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (4) CONTINUATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS.—An eli2 gible entity receiving a grant under this Act may 

3 award an opportunity scholarship to any partici4 pating student for the second or any succeeding year 

5 of the student’s participation in a program under 

6 this Act, as long as the student resides in the Dis7 trict of Columbia. 

8 (5) ASSURANCES.—None of the funds provided 

9 under this Act for opportunity scholarships may be 

10 used by an eligible student to enroll in a partici11 pating school unless— 

12 (A) the participating school has and main13 tains a valid certificate of occupancy issued by 

14 the District of Columbia; 

15 (B) the core subject matter teachers of the 

16 eligible student hold a 4-year bachelor degree; 

17 (C) in the case of a participating school 

18 that has been in existence for not more than 5 

19 years, the school submits proof of financial sta20 bility for at least the next 3 years, such as a 

21 surety bond or letter of credit equal to the 

22 amount of the scholarship for each eligible stu23 dent enrolled in the school; and 

24 (D) the eligible entity has performed a 

25 school site visit, in the case of a school particiVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:07 May 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2556.IH H2556

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
12 

•HR 2556 IH

1 pating in the program for the first time, prior 

2 to the enrollment of the student at the school, 

3 and, in the case of a school that has previously 

4 participated in the program, at least once with5 in the last 2 years, and has maintained a writ6 ten record of such visit. 

7 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An eligible entity 

8 receiving a grant under this Act may use not more than 

9 3 percent of the amount provided under the grant each 

10 fiscal year for the administrative expenses of carrying out 

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

12 (1) determining the eligibility of students to 

13 participate; 

14 (2) selecting students to receive scholarships; 

15 (3) determining the amount of scholarships and 

16 issuing the scholarships to eligible students; and 

17 (4) compiling and maintaining financial and 

18 programmatic records. 

19 (c) PARENTAL ASSISTANCE.—An eligible entity re20 ceiving a grant under this Act may use not more than 

21 2 percent of the amount provided under the grant each 

22 fiscal year for expenses used to educate parents about the 

23 program and to assist parents through the application 

24 process under this Act during the year, including— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
13 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (1) providing information about the program, 

2 including the schools participating in the program; 

3 (2) providing funds to assist parents in meeting 

4 expenses that might otherwise preclude the partici5 pation of their child in the program; and 

6 (3) using funds to streamline the application 

7 process for parents. 

8 (d) STUDENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 

10 grant under this Act may use not more than 1 per11 cent of the amount provided under the grant each 

12 fiscal year for expenses to pay for tutoring services 

13 to participating eligible students that need additional 

14 academic assistance. 

15 (2) PRIORITY.—In a fiscal year where there are 

16 insufficient funds to provide the services described in 

17 paragraph (1) to all participating eligible students 

18 that need additional academic assistance, an eligible 

19 entity shall give priority to the participating eligible 

20 students who previously attended elementary schools 

21 or secondary schools identified for improvement, cor22 rective action, or restructuring under section 1116 

23 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C.7 6316). 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
14 

•HR 2556 IH

1 SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity carrying out, or 

3 a school participating in, any program under this Act shall 

4 not discriminate against program participants or appli5 cants on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, 

6 or sex. 

7 (b) APPLICABILITY TO SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, 

8 CLASSES, OR ACTIVITIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law, the prohibition of sex discrimina11 tion in subsection (a) shall not apply to a partici12 pating school that is operated by, supervised by, con13 trolled by, or connected to a religious organization to 

14 the extent that the application of subsection (a) is 

15 inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the 

16 school. 

17 (2) SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR ACTIVI18 TIES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other 

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

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

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

22 the provisions of section 909 of the Education 

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

24 to this Act as if such section were part of this Act. 

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

26 Act may be construed to alter or modify the provisions 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
15 

•HR 2556 IH

1 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

2 U.S.C. 1400). 

3 (d) RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED SCHOOLS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law, a school participating in any pro6 gram under this Act that is operated by, supervised 

7 by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organi8 zation may exercise its right in matters of employ9 ment consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act 

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

11 exemptions in such title. 

12 (2) MAINTENANCE OF PURPOSE.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of law, funds made 

14 available under this Act to eligible students that are 

15 received by a participating school, as a result of the 

16 choice of the parents of such students, shall not, 

17 consistent with the first amendment to the Constitu18 tion, necessitate any change in the participating 

19 school’s teaching mission, require any participating 

20 school to remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or 

21 other symbols, or preclude any participating school 

22 from retaining religious terms in its name, selecting 

23 its board members on a religious basis, or including 

24 religious references in its mission statements and 

25 other chartering or governing documents. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
16 

•HR 2556 IH

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

2 other form of support provided to parents of eligible stu3 dents) under this Act shall be considered assistance to the 

4 student and shall not be considered assistance to the 

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

6 scholarship (or other form of support provided to parents 

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

8 as income of the parents for purposes of Federal tax laws 

9 or for determining eligibility for any other Federal pro10 gram. 

11 SEC. 9. EVALUATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) AGREEMENT WITH INSTITUTE OF EDU14 CATION SCIENCES.—The Secretary shall enter into 

15 an agreement with the Institute of Education 

16 Sciences of the Department of Education to annu17 ally evaluate the performance of students who used 

18 opportunity scholarships under this Act, and shall 

19 make the evaluation public in accordance with sub20 section (c). 

21 (2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec22 retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 

23 agreement, shall— 

24 (A) ensure that the evaluation is conducted 

25 using an appropriate research design for deterVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:07 May 27, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2556.IH H2556

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
17 

•HR 2556 IH

1 mining the effectiveness of the programs funded 

2 under this Act and addresses the issues de3 scribed in paragraph (4); and 

4 (B) disseminate information on the impact 

5 of the programs in increasing the student aca6 demic achievement of participating students, 

7 and on the impact of the program on students 

8 and schools in the District of Columbia. 

9 (3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

10 SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education Sciences 

11 shall— 

12 (A) measure the academic achievement of 

13 all participating eligible students; 

14 (B) use a grade appropriate measurement 

15 each school year to assess participating eligible 

16 students; and 

17 (C) cooperate with the participating 

18 schools and the District of Columbia Public 

19 Schools to conduct the evaluation. 

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

21 be evaluated include the following: 

22 (A) A comparison of the academic achieve23 ment of students who used the opportunity 

24 scholarships in the measurements described in 

25 this section to the achievement of students in 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
18 

•HR 2556 IH

1 the same grades in the District of Columbia 

2 Public Schools. 

3 (B) The success of the program in expand4 ing choice options for parents, improving paren5 tal and student satisfaction, and increasing pa6 rental involvement in the education of their 

7 children. 

8 (C) The reasons parents choose for their 

9 children to participate in the programs. 

10 (D) A comparison of the retention rates, 

11 dropout rates, and (if appropriate) graduation 

12 and college admission rates, of students who 

13 used the scholarships provided under this Act 

14 with the retention rates, dropout rates, and (if 

15 appropriate) graduation and college admission 

16 rates of students of similar backgrounds who 

17 attend District of Columbia Public Schools. 

18 (E) A comparison of the safety of the 

19 schools attended by students who used the 

20 scholarships and the District of Columbia Pub21 lic Schools. 

22 (F) The success of the program in increas23 ing parental and student involvement in the 

24 local community. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
19 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (G) Such other issues as the Secretary 

2 considers appropriate for inclusion in the eval3 uation. 

4 (5) PROHIBITION.—Personally identifiable in5 formation regarding the results of the measurements 

6 used for the evaluation may not be disclosed, except 

7 to the parents of the student to whom the informa8 tion relates. 

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

10 Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Edu11 cation and Labor, and the Committee on Oversight and 

12 Government Reform, of the House of Representatives, and 

13 the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 

14 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Com15 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

16 of the Senate— 

17 (1) an annual interim report, not later than De18 cember 1 of each year for which a grant is made 

19 under this Act, on the progress and preliminary re20 sults of the evaluation described in subsection (a); 

21 and 

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

23 the final year for which a grant is made under this 

24 Act, on the results of the evaluation described in 

25 subsection (a). 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
20 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All reports and under2 lying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made 

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

4 following submission of the applicable report under sub5 section (b), except that personally identifiable information 

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

7 (d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED.—The amount ex8 pended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any 

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

10 appropriated to carry out this Act for the fiscal year. 

11 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

12 (a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS.—Each eligible entity re13 ceiving funds under this Act during a year shall submit 

14 a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of the 

15 following year regarding the activities carried out with the 

16 funds during the preceding year. 

17 (b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the report re19 quired under subsection (a), each eligible entity 

20 shall, not later than September 1 of the year during 

21 which the second academic year of the eligible enti22 ty’s program is completed and each of the next 2 

23 years thereafter, submit a report to the Secretary re24 garding the data collected in the previous 2 aca25 demic years concerning— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
21 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (A) the academic achievement of students 

2 participating in the program; 

3 (B) the graduation and college admission 

4 rates of students who participate in the pro5 gram, if appropriate; and 

6 (C) parental satisfaction with the program. 

7 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

8 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

9 may contain any personally identifiable information. 

10 (c) REPORTS TO PARENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity shall en12 sure that each school participating in the eligible en13 tity’s program under this Act during a school year 

14 reports at least once during the school year to the 

15 parents of each student attending such school who 

16 is participating in the program— 

17 (A) the student’s academic achievement, as 

18 measured by a comparison with the aggregate 

19 academic achievement of other participating 

20 students at the student’s school in the same 

21 grade or level, as appropriate, and the aggre22 gate academic achievement of the student’s 

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

24 or level, as appropriate; 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
22 

•HR 2556 IH

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

2 incidence of school violence, student suspen3 sions, and student expulsions; and 

4 (C) the accreditation status of the school. 

5 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

6 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

7 may contain any personally identifiable information, 

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

9 report to that student’s parent. 

10 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

11 submit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Com12 mittee on Education and Labor, and the Committee on 

13 Oversight and Government Reform, of the House of Rep14 resentatives, and the Committee on Appropriations, the 

15 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 

16 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern17 mental Affairs, of the Senate an annual report on the find18 ings of the reports submitted under subsections (a) and 

19 (b). 

20 SEC. 11. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING 

21 SCHOOLS. 

22 (a) REQUESTS FOR DATA AND INFORMATION.—Each 

23 school participating in a program funded under this Act 

24 shall comply with all requests for data and information 

25 regarding evaluations conducted under section 9(a). 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
23 

•HR 2556 IH

1 (b) RULES OF CONDUCT AND OTHER SCHOOL POLI2 CIES.—A participating school, including the schools de3 scribed in section 8(d), may require eligible students to 

4 abide by any rules of conduct and other requirements ap5 plicable to all other students at the school. 

6 (c) NATIONALLY NORM-REFERENCED STANDARD7 IZED TESTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each participating school 

9 shall administer a nationally norm-referenced stand10 ardized test in reading and math to each student en11 rolled in the school who is receiving an opportunity 

12 scholarship. The results of such test shall be re13 ported to the student’s parents or legal guardians 

14 and the Secretary (through the Institute of Edu15 cation Sciences of the Department of Education) for 

16 the purposes of conducting the evaluation under sec17 tion 9. 

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 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
24 

•HR 2556 IH

1 year for each student receiving an opportunity schol2 arship. 

3 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

4 As used in this Act: 

5 (1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen6 tary school’’ means an institutional day or residen7 tial school, including a public elementary charter 

8 school, that provides elementary education, as deter9 mined under District of Columbia law. 

10 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti11 ty’’ means any of the following: 

12 (A) An educational entity of the District of 

13 Columbia Government. 

14 (B) A nonprofit organization. 

15 (C) A consortium of nonprofit organiza16 tions. 

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

18 student’’ means a student who— 

19 (A) is a resident of the District of Colum20 bia; 

21 (B) comes from a household whose income 

22 does not exceed 300 percent of the poverty line; 

23 and 

24 (C) was enrolled in a District of Columbia 

25 Public School (such as a charter school) in the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
25 

•HR 2556 IH

1 previous school year, or is eligible to enter kin2 dergarten or first grade. 

3 (4) 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 (5) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

8 has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of 

9 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec12 ondary school’’ means an institutional day or resi13 dential school, including a public secondary charter 

14 school, as determined under District of Columbia 

15 law, except that the term does not include any edu16 cation beyond grade 12. 

17 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Education. 

19 SEC. 13. REPEAL. 

20 Effective beginning with school year 2010-2011, the 

21 DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (title III of divi22 sion C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (Pub23 lic Law 108–199; 118; Stat. 126 et seq.)) is repealed. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
26 

•HR 2556 IH

1 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this Act $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums 

4 as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

5 years. 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS