II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 206 

To reauthorize the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2011 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Mr. ENSIGN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Scholarships for Op5 portunity and Results Act of 2011’’ or the ‘‘SOAR Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Parents are best equipped to make decisions 

9 for their children, including the educational setting 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 206 IS

1 that will best serve the interests and educational 

2 needs of their child. 

3 (2) For many parents in the District of Colum4 bia, public school choice provided under the Elemen5 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 

6 amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 

7 as well as under other public school choice programs, 

8 is inadequate. More educational options are needed 

9 to ensure all families in the District of Columbia 

10 have access to a quality education. In particular, 

11 funds are needed to provide low-income parents with 

12 enhanced public opportunities and private edu13 cational environments, regardless of whether such 

14 environments are secular or nonsecular. 

15 (3) While the per-student cost for students in 

16 the public schools of the District of Columbia is one 

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

18 such students continue to be among the lowest in 

19 the Nation. The National Assessment of Educational 

20 Progress (NAEP), an annual report released by the 

21 National Center for Education Statistics, reported in 

22 its 2009 study that students in the District of Co23 lumbia were being outperformed by every State in 

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

25 fourth grade students scored ‘‘below basic’’ in readVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 206 IS

1 ing, and 44 percent scored ‘‘below basic’’ in mathe2 matics. Among eighth grade students, 49 percent 

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

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

5 NAEP reading assessment, only 17 percent of the 

6 District of Columbia fourth grade students could 

7 read proficiently, while only 13 percent of the eighth 

8 grade students scored at the proficient or advanced 

9 level. 

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

11 Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–199, 

12 118 Stat. 126), to provide opportunity scholarships 

13 to parents of students in the District of Columbia to 

14 enable them to pursue a high quality education at a 

15 public or private elementary or secondary school of 

16 their choice. The DC opportunity scholarship pro17 gram (DC OSP) under such Act was part of a com18 prehensive 3-part funding arrangement that also in19 cluded additional funds for the District of Columbia 

20 public schools, and additional funds for public char21 ter schools of the District of Columbia. The intent 

22 of the approach was to ensure that progress would 

23 continue to be made to improve public schools and 

24 public charter schools, and that funding for the op25 portunity scholarship program would not lead to a 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 206 IS

1 reduction in funding for the District of Columbia 

2 public and charter schools. Resources would be avail3 able for a variety of educational options that would 

4 give families in the District of Columbia a range of 

5 choices with regard to the education of their chil6 dren. 

7 (5) The DC OSP was established in accordance 

8 with the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Zelman v. 

9 Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), which found 

10 that a program enacted for the valid secular purpose 

11 of providing educational assistance to low-income 

12 children in a demonstrably failing public school sys13 tem is constitutional if it is neutral with respect to 

14 religion and provides assistance to a broad class of 

15 citizens who direct government aid to religious and 

16 secular schools solely as a result of their genuine 

17 and independent private choices. 

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

19 consistently been oversubscribed. Parents express 

20 strong support for the opportunity scholarship pro21 gram. Rigorous studies of the program by the Insti22 tute of Education Sciences have shown significant 

23 improvements in parental satisfaction and in reading 

24 scores that are more dramatic when only those stu25 dents consistently using the scholarships are considVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 206 IS

1 ered. The program also was found to result in sig2 nificantly higher graduation rates for DC OSP stu3 dents. 

4 (7) The DC OSP is a program that offers fami5 lies in need, in the District of Columbia, important 

6 alternatives while public schools are improved. This 

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

8 part comprehensive funding strategy for the District 

9 of Columbia school system that provides new and 

10 equal funding for public schools, public charter 

11 schools, and opportunity scholarships for students to 

12 attend private schools. 

13 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

14 The purpose of this Act is to provide low-income par15 ents residing in the District of Columbia, particularly par16 ents of students who attend elementary schools or sec17 ondary schools identified for improvement, corrective ac18 tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

20 6316), with expanded opportunities for enrolling their 

21 children in other schools in the District of Columbia, at 

22 least until the public schools in the District of Columbia 

23 have adequately addressed shortfalls in health, safety, and 

24 security, and the students in the District of Columbia pubVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 206 IS

1 lic schools are testing in mathematics and reading at or 

2 above the national average. 

3 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—From amounts made available to 

5 carry out this section in accordance with section 14(b)(1), 

6 the Secretary shall award grants on a competitive basis 

7 to eligible entities with approved applications under sec8 tion 5 to carry out a program to provide eligible students 

9 with expanded school choice opportunities. The Secretary 

10 may award a single grant or multiple grants, depending 

11 on the quality of applications submitted and the priorities 

12 of this Act. 

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

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

15 than 5 years. 

16 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the 

18 Mayor of the District of Columbia shall enter into 

19 a memorandum of understanding regarding the im20 plementation of the program authorized under sub21 section (a) and the funding described in paragraphs 

22 (2) and (3) of section 14(b). 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—The memorandum of under24 standing shall address how the Mayor of the District 

25 of Columbia will ensure that the public schools and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 206 IS

1 the public charter schools of the District of Colum2 bia comply with all reasonable requests for informa3 tion as necessary to fulfill the requirements for eval4 uations conducted under section 9. 

5 (d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

6 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

7 other provision of law, funds appropriated for the 

8 DC opportunity scholarship program under the Om9 nibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 111–8, 

10 123 Stat. 654), the Consolidated Appropriations Act 

11 of 2010 (Public Law 111–117, 123 Stat. 3181), or 

12 any other Act, shall be available until expended and 

13 may be used to provide opportunity scholarships 

14 under section 7 to new applicants. 

15 (2) REPEAL OF SITE INSPECTION AND REPORT16 ING REQUIREMENTS.—The fourth and fifth provisos 

17 under the heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Im18 provement’’ of title IV of Division C of the Consoli19 dated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 

20 117, 123 Stat. 3182) are repealed. Any unobligated 

21 amounts reserved to carry out such provisos shall be 

22 made available to an eligible entity for administra23 tive purposes or for opportunity scholarships under 

24 a grant under subsection (a), including for opporVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 206 IS

1 tunity scholarships for new applicants for the 2011– 

2 2012 school year. 

3 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

6 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom7 panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 

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

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

10 unless the entity’s application includes— 

11 (1) a detailed description of— 

12 (A) how the entity will address the prior13 ities described in section 6; 

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

15 eligible students seek admission in the program 

16 than the program can accommodate, eligible 

17 students are selected for admission through a 

18 random selection process which gives weight to 

19 the priorities described in section 6; 

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

21 participating eligible students seek admission to 

22 a participating school than the school can ac23 commodate, participating eligible students are 

24 selected for admission through a random selec25 tion process; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 206 IS

1 (D) how the entity will notify parents of el2 igible students of the expanded choice opportu3 nities in order to allow the parents to make in4 formed decisions; 

5 (E) the activities that the entity will carry 

6 out to provide parents of eligible students with 

7 expanded choice opportunities through the 

8 awarding of scholarships under section 7(a); 

9 (F) how the entity will determine the 

10 amount that will be provided to parents for the 

11 tuition, fees, and transportation expenses, if 

12 any; 

13 (G) how the entity will— 

14 (i) seek out private elementary schools 

15 and secondary schools in the District of 

16 Columbia to participate in the program; 

17 and 

18 (ii) ensure that participating schools 

19 will meet the reporting and other require20 ments of this Act, and accommodate site 

21 visits in accordance with section 

22 7(a)(4)(D); 

23 (H) how the entity will ensure that partici24 pating schools are financially responsible and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 206 IS

1 will use the funds received under a grant under 

2 section 4(a) effectively; 

3 (I) how the entity will address the renewal 

4 of scholarships to participating eligible stu5 dents, including continued eligibility; and 

6 (J) how the entity will ensure that a ma7 jority of its voting board members or governing 

8 organization are residents of the District of Co9 lumbia; and 

10 (2) an assurance that the entity will comply 

11 with all requests regarding any evaluation carried 

12 out under section 9. 

13 SEC. 6. PRIORITIES. 

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

15 shall give priority to applications from eligible entities that 

16 will most effectively— 

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

18 school year preceding the school year for which the 

19 eligible student is seeking a scholarship, attended an 

20 elementary school or secondary school identified for 

21 improvement, corrective action, or restructuring 

22 under section 1116 of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316); 

24 (2) give priority to students whose household 

25 includes a sibling or other child who is already parVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 206 IS

1 ticipating in the program of the eligible entity under 

2 section 4(a), regardless of whether such students 

3 have, in the past, been assigned as members of a 

4 control study group for the purposes of an evalua5 tion under section 9; 

6 (3) target resources to students and families 

7 that lack the financial resources to take advantage 

8 of available educational options; and 

9 (4) provide students and families with the 

10 widest range of educational options. 

11 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 

12 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

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

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

15 section 4(a) shall use the grant funds to provide eli16 gible students with opportunity scholarships to pay 

17 the tuition, fees, and transportation expenses, if any, 

18 to enable the eligible students to attend the District 

19 of Columbia private elementary school or secondary 

20 school of their choice beginning in school year 2011– 

21 2012. Each such eligible entity shall ensure that the 

22 amount of any tuition or fees charged by a school 

23 participating in such eligible entity’s program under 

24 section 4(a) to an eligible student participating in 

25 the program does not exceed the amount of tuition 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 206 IS

1 or fees that the school charges to students who do 

2 not participate 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 program under sec6 tion 4(a) to the parent of the eligible student partici7 pating in the program, in a manner which ensures 

8 that such payments will be used for the payment of 

9 tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if any), in 

10 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 a program under section 4(a) for 

23 school year 2011–2012 may not exceed— 

24 (I) $8,000 for attendance in kin25 dergarten through grade 8; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 206 IS

1 (II) $12,000 for attendance in 

2 grades 9 through 12. 

3 (ii) CUMULATIVE INFLATION ADJUST4 MENT.—The limits described in clause (i) 

5 shall apply for each school year following 

6 school year 2011–2012, except that the 

7 Secretary shall adjust the maximum 

8 amounts of assistance (as described in 

9 clause (i) and adjusted under this clause 

10 for the preceding year) 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 subsection (a) for 

18 opportunity 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; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 206 IS

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, ex10 cept that a participating school shall not be re11 quired to submit to more than one site visit per 

12 year; 

13 (E) has financial systems, controls, poli14 cies, and procedures to ensure that funds are 

15 used in accordance with the requirements of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (F) ensures that each teacher of core sub18 ject matter in the school has a baccalaureate 

19 degree or equivalent degree. 

20 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An eligible entity 

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

22 than 3 percent of the amount provided under the grant 

23 each year for the administrative expenses of carrying out 

24 its program under such section during the year, includ25 ing— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 206 IS

1 (1) determining the eligibility of students to 

2 participate; 

3 (2) selecting eligible students to receive scholar4 ships; 

5 (3) determining the amount of scholarships and 

6 issuing the scholarships to eligible students; and 

7 (4) compiling and maintaining financial and 

8 programmatic records. 

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 pro13 gram under this Act and assisting parents through the 

14 application process under this Act during the year, 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. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 206 IS

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 in the students’ new schools. If there are 

7 insufficient funds to pay for these costs for all such stu8 dents, the eligible entity shall give priority to students who 

9 previously attended an elementary school or secondary 

10 school that was identified for improvement, corrective ac11 tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 6316) as of the time the student attended the school. 

14 SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION. 

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 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 206 IS

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 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 206 IS

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 section 7(a) to eligible students, 

6 which are used at a participating school as a result 

7 of their parents’ choice, shall not, consistent with 

8 the first amendment of the United States Constitu9 tion, necessitate any change in the participating 

10 school’s teaching mission, require any participating 

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

12 other symbols, or preclude any participating school 

13 from retaining religious terms in its name, selecting 

14 its board members on a religious basis, or including 

15 religious references in its mission statements and 

16 other chartering or governing documents. 

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

18 other form of support provided to parents of eligible stu19 dents) provided under section 7(a) shall be considered as20 sistance to the student and shall not be considered assist21 ance to the school that enrolls the eligible student. The 

22 amount of any such scholarship (or other form of support 

23 provided to parents of an eligible student) shall not be 

24 treated as income of the parents for purposes of Federal 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 206 IS

1 tax laws or for determining eligibility for any other Fed2 eral program. 

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 section 

13 4(a), and the Mayor shall ensure that, for the 

14 purposes of this evaluation, all public and pub15 lic charter schools of the District of Columbia 

16 comply with all reasonable requests for informa17 tion; 

18 (B) jointly enter into an agreement to 

19 monitor and evaluate the use of funds author20 ized and appropriated under paragraphs (2) 

21 and (3) of section 14(b) for the public schools 

22 and public charter schools of the District of Co23 lumbia; and 

24 (C) make the evaluations public in accord25 ance with subsection (c). 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 206 IS

1 (2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec2 retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 

3 agreement, shall— 

4 (A) ensure that the evaluation under para5 graph (1)(A) is conducted using the strongest 

6 possible research design for determining the ef7 fectiveness of the program funded under section 

8 4(a) that addresses the issues described in 

9 paragraph (4); and 

10 (B) disseminate information on the impact 

11 of the program in increasing the academic 

12 growth and achievement of participating stu13 dents, and on the impact of the program on 

14 students and schools in the District of Colum15 bia. 

16 (3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

17 SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education Sciences 

18 shall— 

19 (A) use a grade appropriate measurement 

20 each school year to assess participating eligible 

21 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 apVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 206 IS

1 plies for an opportunity scholarship under a 

2 program under section 4(a) (regardless of 

3 whether the student receives the scholarship) 

4 and the parents of each student participating in 

5 the scholarship program under section 4(a), 

6 agree that the student will participate in the 

7 measurements given annually by the Institute 

8 of Education Sciences for the period for which 

9 the student applied for or received the scholar10 ship, respectively, except that nothing in this 

11 subparagraph shall affect a student’s priority 

12 for an opportunity scholarship as provided 

13 under section 6(2). 

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

15 be evaluated include— 

16 (A) a comparison of the academic growth 

17 and achievement of participating eligible stu18 dents in the measurements described in this 

19 section with the academic growth and achieve20 ment of eligible students in the same grades in 

21 the public schools and public charter schools of 

22 the District of Columbia, who sought to partici23 pate in the scholarship program but were not 

24 selected; 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 206 IS

1 (B) the success of the program in expand2 ing choice options for parents, improving paren3 tal and student satisfaction, and increasing pa4 rental involvement in the education of their 

5 children; 

6 (C) the reasons parents choose for their 

7 children to participate in the program; 

8 (D) a comparison of the retention rates, 

9 dropout rates, and (if appropriate) graduation 

10 and college admission rates of students who 

11 participate in the program funded under section 

12 4(a), as compared to the retention rates, drop13 out rates, and (if appropriate) graduation and 

14 college admission rates of students of similar 

15 backgrounds who do not participate in such 

16 program; 

17 (E) the impact of the program on stu18 dents, and public elementary schools and sec19 ondary schools, in the District of Columbia; 

20 (F) a comparison of the safety of the 

21 schools attended by students who participate in 

22 the program funded under section 4(a) and the 

23 schools attended by students who do not par24 ticipate in the program, based on the percepVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 206 IS

1 tions of the students and parents and on objec2 tive measures of safety; 

3 (G) such other issues as the Secretary con4 siders appropriate for inclusion in the evalua5 tion; and 

6 (H) an analysis of the issues described in 

7 subparagraphs (A) through (G) with respect to 

8 the subgroup of eligible students participating 

9 in the program funded under section 4(a) who 

10 consistently use the opportunity scholarships to 

11 attend a participating school. 

12 (5) PROHIBITION.—Personally identifiable in13 formation regarding the results of the measurements 

14 used for the evaluations may not be disclosed, except 

15 to the parents of the student to whom the informa16 tion relates. 

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

18 Committees on Appropriations, Education and the Work19 force, and Oversight and Government Reform of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committees on Appro21 priations, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and 

22 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen23 ate— 

24 (1) annual interim reports, not later than De25 cember 1 of each year for which a grant is made 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 206 IS

1 under section 4(a), on the progress and preliminary 

2 results of the evaluation of the program funded 

3 under such section; and 

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

5 the final year for which a grant is made under sec6 tion 4(a), on the results of the evaluation of the pro7 gram funded under such section. 

8 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All reports and under9 lying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made 

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

11 following submission of the applicable report under sub12 section (b), except that personally identifiable information 

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

14 (d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED.—The amount ex15 pended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any 

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

17 appropriated to carry out section 4(a) for the fiscal year. 

18 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

19 (a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS.—Each eligible entity re20 ceiving funds under section 4(a) during a year shall sub21 mit a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of 

22 the following year regarding the activities carried out with 

23 the funds during the preceding year. 

24 (b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS.— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 206 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the reports 

2 required under subsection (a), each grantee receiving 

3 funds under section 4(a) shall, not later than Sep4 tember 1 of the year during which the second aca5 demic year of the grantee’s program is completed 

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

7 the Secretary a report, including any pertinent data 

8 collected in the preceding 2 academic years, con9 cerning— 

10 (A) the academic growth and achievement 

11 of students participating in the program; 

12 (B) the graduation and college admission 

13 rates of students who participate in the pro14 gram, where appropriate; and 

15 (C) parental satisfaction with the program. 

16 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

17 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

18 may contain any personally identifiable information. 

19 (c) REPORTS TO PARENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each grantee receiving 

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

22 school participating in the grantee’s program under 

23 this Act during a year reports at least once during 

24 the year to the parents of each of the school’s stu25 dents who are participating in the program on— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 206 IS

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.— 

19 (1) REPORTS BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

20 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations, 

21 Education and the Workforce, and Oversight and 

22 Government Reform of the House of Representa23 tives, and the Committees on Appropriations, 

24 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Home25 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the SenVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:08 Feb 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S206.IS S206

jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 206 IS

1 ate, an annual report on the findings of the reports 

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

3 (2) REPORTS BY MAYOR.—In order for funds 

4 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 14(b) to be 

5 made available to the District of Columbia, the 

6 Mayor of the District of Columbia shall submit to 

7 the Committees on Appropriations, the Committee 

8 on Education and the Workforce, and the Com9 mittee on Oversight and Government Reform, of the 

10 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

11 Appropriations, the Committee on Health, Edu12 cation, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on 

13 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

14 Senate, information on— 

15 (A) how the funds authorized and appro16 priated under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 

17 14(b) for the public schools and public charter 

18 schools of the District of Columbia were uti19 lized; and 

20 (B) how such funds are contributing to 

21 student achievement. 

22 SEC. 11. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING 

23 SCHOOLS. 

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

25 school participating in a program funded under section 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 206 IS

1 4(a) shall comply with all requests for data and informa2 tion regarding evaluations conducted under section 9(a). 

3 (b) RULES OF CONDUCT AND OTHER SCHOOL POLI4 CIES.—Each school participating in a program funded 

5 under section 4(a), including each participating school de6 scribed in section 8(d), may require eligible students to 

7 abide by any rules of conduct and other requirements ap8 plicable to all other students at the school. 

9 (c) NATIONALLY NORM-REFERENCED STANDARD10 IZED TESTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each school participating in 

12 a program funded under section 4(a) shall admin13 ister a nationally norm-referenced standardized test 

14 in reading and mathematics to each student enrolled 

15 in the school who is receiving an opportunity schol16 arship. The results of such test shall be reported to 

17 the student’s parents or legal guardians and to the 

18 Secretary, through the Institute of Education 

19 Sciences of the Department of Education, for the 

20 purposes of conducting the evaluation under section 

21 9. 

22 (2) MAKE-UP SESSION.—If a school partici23 pating in a program funded under section 4(a) does 

24 not administer a nationally norm-referenced stand25 ardized test or the Institute of Education Sciences 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 206 IS

1 does not receive data regarding the results of such 

2 test for a student who is receiving an opportunity 

3 scholarship, then the Secretary, acting through the 

4 Institute of Education Sciences, shall administer 

5 such test not less than once during each school year 

6 to each student receiving an opportunity scholarship. 

7 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen10 tary school’’ means an institutional day or residen11 tial school, including a public elementary charter 

12 school, that provides elementary education, as deter13 mined under District of Columbia law. 

14 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti15 ty’’ means any of the following: 

16 (A) A nonprofit organization. 

17 (B) A consortium of nonprofit organiza18 tions. 

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

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

21 District of Columbia and comes from a household— 

22 (A) receiving assistance under the supple23 mental nutrition assistance program established 

24 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

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


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 206 IS

1 (B) whose income does not exceed— 

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

3 (ii) in the case of a student partici4 pating in the program under this Act in 

5 the preceding year, 300 percent of the pov6 erty line. 

7 (4) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 

8 meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Ele9 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

12 has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of 

13 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

14 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

15 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec16 ondary school’’ means an institutional day or resi17 dential school, including a public secondary charter 

18 school, that provides secondary education, as deter19 mined under District of Columbia law, except that 

20 the term does not include any education beyond 

21 grade 12. 

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

23 the Secretary of Education. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 206 IS

1 SEC. 13. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

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

3 of 2003 (title III of division C of the Consolidated Appro4 priations Act, 2004 (Public Law 108–199; 118 Stat. 126)) 

5 is repealed. 

6 (b) REAUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—This Act 

7 shall be deemed to be the reauthorization of the District 

8 of Columbia opportunity scholarship program under the 

9 DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003. 

10 (c) ORDERLY TRANSITION.—Subject to sub11 sections(d) and (e), the Secretary shall take such steps 

12 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to provide 

13 for the orderly transition to the authority of this Act from 

14 any authority under the provisions of the DC School 

15 Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–199; 118 

16 Stat. 126), as the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 

17 was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

18 this Act. 

19 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

20 or a repeal made by this Act shall be construed to alter 

21 or affect the memorandum of understanding entered into 

22 with the District of Columbia, or any grant or contract 

23 awarded, under the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 

24 2003 (Public Law 108–199; 118 Stat. 126), as the DC 

25 School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 was in effect on the 

26 day before the date of enactment of this Act. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 206 IS

1 (e) MULTI-YEAR AWARDS.—The recipient of a multi2 year grant or contract award under the DC School Choice 

3 Incentive Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–199; 118 Stat. 

4 126), as the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 was 

5 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, shall continue to receive funds in accordance with the 

7 terms and conditions of such award. 

8 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, 

11 for the uses described in subsection (b), $60,000,000 for 

12 fiscal year 2012 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. 

13 (b) USE OF FUNDS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS

14 ACT.—For each fiscal year, any amount appropriated to 

15 carry out this Act shall be equally divided among— 

16 (1) the Secretary, in order to carry out the Dis17 trict of Columbia opportunity scholarship program 

18 established under section 4(a); 

19 (2) the District of Columbia Public Schools, in 

20 order to improve public school education in the Dis21 trict of Columbia; and 

22 (3) the State Education Office of the District 

23 of Columbia, in order to expand quality public char24 ter schools in the District of Columbia. 

Æ 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS