I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471 

To reauthorize the DC opportunity scholarship program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2011 

Mr. BOEHNER (for himself, Mr. ISSA, Mr. KLINE, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. 

HUNTER, and Mr. GOWDY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

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’’ 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 


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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 well 

6 as under other public school choice programs, is in7 adequate. More educational options are needed to 

8 ensure all families in the District of Columbia have 

9 access to a quality education. In particular, funds 

10 are needed to provide low-income parents with en11 hanced public opportunities and private educational 

12 environments, regardless of whether such environ13 ments are secular or nonsecular. 

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

15 the public schools of the District of Columbia is one 

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

17 such students continue to be among the lowest in 

18 the Nation. The National Assessment of Educational 

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

20 National Center for Education Statistics, reported in 

21 its 2009 study that students in the District of Co22 lumbia were being outperformed by every State in 

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

24 fourth grade students scored ‘‘below basic’’ in read25 ing, and 44 percent scored ‘‘below basic’’ in matheVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:54 Feb 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471

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1 matics. Among eighth grade students, 49 percent 

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

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

4 NAEP reading assessment, only 17 percent of the 

5 District of Columbia fourth grade students could 

6 read proficiently, while only 13 percent of the eighth 

7 grade students scored at the proficient or advanced 

8 level. 

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

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

11 118 Stat. 126), to provide opportunity scholarships 

12 to parents of students in the District of Columbia to 

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

14 public or private elementary or secondary school of 

15 their choice. The DC Opportunity Scholarship Pro16 gram (DC OSP) under such Act was part of a com17 prehensive 3-part funding arrangement that also in18 cluded additional funds for the District of Columbia 

19 public schools, and additional funds for public char20 ter schools of the District of Columbia. The intent 

21 of the approach was to ensure that progress would 

22 continue to be made to improve public schools and 

23 public charter schools, and that funding for the op24 portunity scholarship program would not lead to a 

25 reduction in funding for the District of Columbia 


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1 public and charter schools. Resources would be avail2 able for a variety of educational options that would 

3 give families in the District of Columbia a range of 

4 choices with regard to the education of their chil5 dren. 

6 (5) The DC OSP was established in accordance 

7 with the Supreme Court decision, Zelman v. Sim8 mons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), which found 

9 that a program enacted for the valid secular purpose 

10 of providing educational assistance to low-income 

11 children in a demonstrably failing public school sys12 tem is constitutional if it is neutral with respect to 

13 religion and provides assistance to a broad class of 

14 citizens who direct government aid to religious and 

15 secular schools solely as a result of their genuine 

16 and independent private choices. 

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

18 consistently been oversubscribed. Parents express 

19 strong support for the opportunity scholarship pro20 gram. Rigorous studies of the program by the Insti21 tute of Education Sciences have shown significant 

22 improvements in parental satisfaction and in reading 

23 scores that are more dramatic when only those stu24 dents consistently using the scholarships are consid25 ered. The program also was found to result in sigVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:54 Feb 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471

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1 nificantly higher graduation rates for DC OSP stu2 dents. 

3 (7) The DC OSP is a program that offers fami4 lies in need, in the District of Columbia, important 

5 alternatives while public schools are improved. This 

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

7 comprehensive funding strategy for the District of 

8 Columbia school system that provides new and equal 

9 funding for public schools, public charter schools, 

10 and opportunity scholarships for students to attend 

11 private schools. 

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

13 The purpose of this Act is to provide low-income par14 ents residing in the District of Columbia, particularly par15 ents of students who attend elementary schools or sec16 ondary schools identified for improvement, corrective ac17 tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elemen18 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 6316), with expanded opportunities for enrolling their 

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

21 least until the public schools in the District of Columbia 

22 have adequately addressed shortfalls in health, safety, and 

23 security, and the students in the District of Columbia pub24 lic schools are testing in mathematics and reading at or 

25 above the national average. 


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1 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—From funds appropriated 

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

5 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities with 

6 approved applications under section 5 to carry out a 

7 program to provide eligible students with expanded 

8 school choice opportunities. The Secretary may 

9 award a single grant or multiple grants, depending 

10 on the quality of applications submitted and the pri11 orities of this Act. 

12 (2) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary 

13 may make grants under this subsection for a period 

14 of not more than 5 years. 

15 (b) DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND CHARTER

16 SCHOOLS.—From funds appropriated under paragraphs 

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

18 funds to the Mayor of the District of Columbia, if the 

19 Mayor agrees to the requirements described in section 

20 11(a), for— 

21 (1) the District of Columbia public schools to 

22 improve public education in the District of Colum23 bia; and 

24 (2) the District of Columbia public charter 

25 schools to improve and expand quality public charter 

26 schools in the District of Columbia. 


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1 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

4 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom5 panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 

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

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

8 unless the entity’s application includes a detailed descrip9 tion of— 

10 (1) how the entity will address the priorities de11 scribed in section 6; 

12 (2) how the entity will ensure that if more eligi13 ble students seek admission in the program of the 

14 entity than the program can accommodate, eligible 

15 students are selected for admission through a ran16 dom selection process which gives weight to the pri17 orities described in section 6; 

18 (3) how the entity will ensure that if more par19 ticipating eligible students seek admission to a par20 ticipating school than the school can accommodate, 

21 participating eligible students are selected for admis22 sion through a random selection process; 

23 (4) how the entity will notify parents of eligible 

24 students of the expanded choice opportunities in 

25 order to allow the parents to make informed deci26 sions; 


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1 (5) the activities that the entity will carry out 

2 to provide parents of eligible students with expanded 

3 choice opportunities through the awarding of schol4 arships under section 7(a); 

5 (6) how the entity will determine the amount 

6 that will be provided to parents for the tuition, fees, 

7 and transportation expenses, if any; 

8 (7) how the entity will seek out private elemen9 tary schools and secondary schools in the District of 

10 Columbia to participate in the program; 

11 (8) how the entity will ensure that each partici12 pating school will meet the reporting and other pro13 gram requirements under this Act; 

14 (9) how the entity will ensure that participating 

15 schools submit to site visits by the entity as deter16 mined to be necessary by the entity, except that a 

17 participating school may not be required to submit 

18 to more than 1 site visit per school year; 

19 (10) how the entity will ensure that partici20 pating schools are financially responsible and will 

21 use the funds received under section 7 effectively; 

22 (11) how the entity will address the renewal of 

23 scholarships to participating eligible students, in24 cluding continued eligibility; 


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1 (12) how the entity will ensure that a majority 

2 of its voting board members or governing organiza3 tion are residents of the District of Columbia; and 

4 (13) an assurance that the entity will comply 

5 with all requests regarding any evaluation carried 

6 out under section 9(a). 

7 SEC. 6. PRIORITIES. 

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

9 shall give priority to applications from eligible entities that 

10 will most effectively— 

11 (1) in awarding scholarships under section 7(a), 

12 give priority to— 

13 (A) eligible students who, in the school 

14 year preceding the school year for which the eli15 gible student is seeking a scholarship, attended 

16 an elementary school or secondary school identi17 fied for improvement, corrective action, or re18 structuring under section 1116 of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 6316); 

21 (B) students who have been awarded a 

22 scholarship in a preceding year under this Act 

23 or the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 

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

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


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

2 not used the scholarship; and 

3 (C) students whose household includes a 

4 sibling or other child who is already partici5 pating in the program of the eligible entity 

6 under this Act, regardless of whether such stu7 dents have, in the past, been assigned as mem8 bers of a control study group for the purposes 

9 of an evaluation under section 9(a); 

10 (2) target resources to students and families 

11 that lack the financial resources to take advantage 

12 of available educational options; and 

13 (3) provide students and families with the 

14 widest range of educational options. 

15 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 

16 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

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

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

19 section 4(a) shall use the grant funds to provide eli20 gible students with scholarships to pay the tuition, 

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

22 the eligible students to attend the District of Colum23 bia private elementary school or secondary school of 

24 their choice beginning in school year 2011–2012. 

25 Each such eligible entity shall ensure that the 


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1 amount of any tuition or fees charged by a school 

2 participating in such entity’s program under this Act 

3 to an eligible student participating in the program 

4 does not exceed the amount of tuition or fees that 

5 the school charges to students who do not partici6 pate in the program. 

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

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

9 scholarship payments under the entity’s program 

10 under this Act to the parent of the eligible student 

11 participating in the program, in a manner which en12 sures that such payments will be used for the pay13 ment of tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if 

14 any), in accordance with this Act. 

15 (3) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 

16 (A) VARYING AMOUNTS PERMITTED.—Sub17 ject to the other requirements of this section, 

18 an eligible entity receiving a grant under sec19 tion 4(a) may award scholarships in larger 

20 amounts to those eligible students with the 

21 greatest need. 

22 (B) ANNUAL LIMIT ON AMOUNT.— 

23 (i) LIMIT FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2011– 

24 2012.—The amount of assistance provided 

25 to any eligible student by an eligible entity 


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1 under the entity’s program under this Act 

2 for school year 2011–2012 may not ex3 ceed— 

4 (I) $8,000 for attendance in kin5 dergarten through grade 8; and 

6 (II) $12,000 for attendance in 

7 grades 9 through 12. 

8 (ii) CUMULATIVE INFLATION ADJUST9 MENT.—Beginning the school year fol10 lowing the year of the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall adjust 

12 the maximum amounts of assistance de13 scribed in clause (i) for inflation, as meas14 ured by the percentage increase, if any, 

15 from the preceding fiscal year in the Con16 sumer Price Index for All Urban Con17 sumers, published by the Bureau of Labor 

18 Statistics of the Department of Labor. 

19 (4) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 None of the funds provided under this Act for op21 portunity scholarships may be used by an eligible 

22 student to enroll in a participating private school 

23 unless the participating school— 

24 (A) has and maintains a valid certificate of 

25 occupancy issued by the District of Columbia; 


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1 (B) makes readily available to all prospec2 tive students information on its school accredi3 tation; 

4 (C) in the case of a school that has been 

5 operating for 5 years or less, submits to the eli6 gible entity administering the program proof of 

7 adequate financial resources reflecting the fi8 nancial sustainability of the school and the 

9 school’s ability to be in operation through the 

10 school year; 

11 (D) agrees to submit to site visits as deter12 mined to be necessary by the eligible entity pur13 suant to section 5(b)(9); 

14 (E) has financial systems, controls, poli15 cies, and procedures to ensure that funds are 

16 used according to 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 this Act during the year, including— 


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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 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 administer a nationally norm-referenced stand16 ardized test in reading and math to each student en17 rolled in the school who is receiving an opportunity 

18 scholarship. The results of such test shall be re19 ported to the student’s parents or legal guardians 

20 and the Secretary (through the Institute of Edu21 cation Sciences of the Department of Education) for 

22 the purposes of conducting the evaluation under sec23 tion 9(a). 

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

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1 erenced standardized test or the Institute of Edu2 cation Sciences does not receive data on a student 

3 who is receiving an opportunity scholarship, then the 

4 Secretary (through the Institute of Education 

5 Sciences of the Department of Education) shall ad6 minister such test at least one time during a school 

7 year for each student receiving an opportunity schol8 arship. 

9 SEC. 9. EVALUATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY AND THE

12 MAYOR.—The Secretary and the Mayor of the Dis13 trict of Columbia shall— 

14 (A) jointly enter into an agreement with 

15 the Institute of Education Sciences of the De16 partment of Education to evaluate annually the 

17 performance of students who received scholar18 ships under the 5-year program under this Act; 

19 (B) jointly enter into an agreement to 

20 monitor and evaluate the use of funds author21 ized and appropriated for the District of Co22 lumbia public schools and the District of Co23 lumbia public charter schools; and 

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


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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)— 

6 (i) is conducted using the strongest 

7 possible research design for determining 

8 the effectiveness of the opportunity schol9 arship program under this Act; and 

10 (ii) addresses the issues described in 

11 paragraph (4); and 

12 (B) disseminate information on the impact 

13 of the program— 

14 (i) in increasing the academic growth 

15 and achievement of participating eligible 

16 students; and 

17 (ii) on students and schools in the 

18 District of Columbia. 

19 (3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

20 SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education Sciences of 

21 the Department of Education shall— 

22 (A) use a grade appropriate measurement 

23 each school year to assess participating eligible 

24 students; 


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1 (B) measure the academic achievement of 

2 all participating eligible students; and 

3 (C) work with the eligible entities to en4 sure that the parents of each student who ap5 plies for a scholarship under this Act (regard6 less of whether the student receives the scholar7 ship) and the parents of each student partici8 pating in the scholarship program under this 

9 Act, agree that the student will participate in 

10 the measurements given annually by the Insti11 tute of Educational Sciences for the period for 

12 which the student applied for or received the 

13 scholarship, respectively, except that nothing in 

14 this subparagraph shall affect a student’s pri15 ority for an opportunity scholarship as provided 

16 under section 6. 

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

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

19 the following: 

20 (A) A comparison of the academic growth 

21 and achievement of participating eligible stu22 dents in the measurements described in para23 graph (3) to the academic growth and achieve24 ment of the eligible students in the same grades 

25 in the District of Columbia public schools and 


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1 the District of Columbia public charter schools 

2 who sought to participate in the scholarship 

3 program under this Act but were not selected. 

4 (B) The success of the program in expand5 ing choice options for parents of participating 

6 eligible students, improving parental and stu7 dent satisfaction of such parents and students, 

8 respectively, and increasing parental involve9 ment of such parents in the education of their 

10 children. 

11 (C) The reasons parents of participating 

12 eligible students choose for their children to 

13 participate in the program. 

14 (D) A comparison of the retention rates, 

15 drop out rates, and (if appropriate) graduation 

16 and college admission rates, of participating eli17 gible students with the retention rates, dropout 

18 rates, and (if appropriate) graduation and col19 lege admission rates of students of similar 

20 backgrounds who do not participate in such 

21 program. 

22 (E) The impact of the program on stu23 dents, and public elementary schools and sec24 ondary schools, in the District of Columbia. 


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1 (F) A comparison of the safety of the 

2 schools attended by participating eligible stu3 dents and the schools in the District of Colum4 bia attended by students who do not participate 

5 in the program, based on the perceptions of the 

6 students and parents and on objective measures 

7 of safety. 

8 (G) Such other issues with respect to par9 ticipating eligible students as the Secretary con10 siders appropriate for inclusion in the evalua11 tion. 

12 (H) Carrying out an analysis of the issues 

13 described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) by 

14 substituting ‘‘the subgroup of participating eli15 gible students who have used each opportunity 

16 scholarship awarded to such students under this 

17 Act to attend a participating school’’ for ‘‘par18 ticipating eligible students’’. 

19 (5) PROHIBITION.—Personally identifiable in20 formation regarding the results of the measurements 

21 used for the evaluations may not be disclosed, except 

22 to the parents of the student to whom the informa23 tion relates. 

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

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1 force, and Oversight and Government Reform, of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committees on Appro3 priations, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and 

4 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, of the Sen5 ate— 

6 (1) annual interim reports, not later than De7 cember 1 of each year for which a grant is made 

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

9 results of the evaluation of the opportunity scholar10 ship program funded under this Act; and 

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

12 the final year for which a grant is made under sec13 tion 4(a), on the results of the evaluation of the pro14 gram. 

15 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All reports and under16 lying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made 

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

18 following submission of the applicable report under sub19 section (b), except that personally identifiable information 

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

21 (d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED.—The amount ex22 pended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any 

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

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


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1 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS.—Each eligible entity re3 ceiving funds under section 4(a) during a year shall sub4 mit a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of 

5 the following year regarding the activities carried out with 

6 the funds during the preceding year. 

7 (b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS.— 

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

9 required under subsection (a), each eligible entity re10 ceiving funds under section 4(a) shall, not later than 

11 September 1 of the year during which the second 

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

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

14 Secretary a report, including any pertinent data col15 lected in the preceding 2 school years, concerning— 

16 (A) the academic growth and achievement 

17 of students participating in the program; 

18 (B) the graduation and college admission 

19 rates of students who participate in the pro20 gram, where appropriate; and 

21 (C) parental satisfaction with the program. 

22 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

23 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

24 may contain any personally identifiable information. 

25 (c) REPORTS TO PARENT.— 


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

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

3 school participating in the entity’s program under 

4 this Act during a school year reports at least once 

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

6 students who are participating in the program on— 

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

8 measured by a comparison with the aggregate 

9 academic achievement of other participating 

10 students at the student’s school in the same 

11 grade or level, as appropriate, and the aggre12 gate academic achievement of the student’s 

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

14 or level, as appropriate; 

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

16 incidence of school violence, student suspen17 sions, and student expulsions; and 

18 (C) the accreditation status of the school. 

19 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

20 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

21 may contain any personally identifiable information, 

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

23 report to that student’s parent. 

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

25 months after the first appropriation of funds under section 


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1 14, and each succeeding year thereafter, the Secretary 

2 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations, Edu3 cation and the Workforce, and Oversight and Government 

4 Reform, of the House of Representatives and the Commit5 tees on Appropriations, Health, Education, Labor, and 

6 Pensions, and Homeland Security and Governmental Af7 fairs, of the Senate, an annual report on the findings of 

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

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

10 SCHOOLS. 

11 (a) CONDITION OF RECEIPT OF FUNDS.—As a condi12 tion of receiving funds under this Act on behalf of the 

13 District of Columbia public schools and the District of Co14 lumbia public charter schools, the Mayor shall agree to 

15 carry out the following: 

16 (1) INFORMATION REQUESTS.—Ensure that all 

17 the District of Columbia public schools and the Dis18 trict of Columbia public charter schools comply with 

19 all reasonable requests for information for purposes 

20 of the evaluation under section 9(a). 

21 (2) AGREEMENT WITH THE SECRETARY.— 

22 Enter into the agreement described in section 

23 9(a)(1)(B) to monitor and evaluate the use of funds 

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1 lumbia public schools and the District of Columbia 

2 public charter schools. 

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

4 months after the first appropriation of funds under 

5 section 14, and each succeeding year thereafter, sub6 mit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Com7 mittee on Education and the Workforce, and the 

8 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of 

9 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

10 Appropriations, the Committee on Health, Edu11 cation, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on 

12 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, of the 

13 Senate, information on— 

14 (A) how the funds authorized and appro15 priated under this Act for the District of Co16 lumbia public schools and the District of Co17 lumbia public charter schools were used in the 

18 preceding school year; and 

19 (B) how such funds are contributing to 

20 student achievement. 

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

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

23 determines that the Mayor has not been in compliance 

24 with 1 or more of the requirements described in subsection 

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


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

2 of Columbia public schools and the District of Columbia 

3 public charter schools. 

4 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be construed to reduce, or otherwise affect, 

6 funding provided under this Act for the opportunity schol7 arship program under this Act. 

8 SEC. 12. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

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

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

11 repealed. 

12 (b) SPECIAL RULES.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law— 

14 (1) funding appropriated to provide opportunity 

15 scholarships for students in the District of Columbia 

16 under the heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Im17 provement’’ in title IV of division D of the Omnibus 

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

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

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

21 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 

22 111–117; 123 Stat. 3181), or any other Act, may be 

23 used to provide opportunity scholarships under sec24 tion 7(a) for the 2011–2012 school year to students 

25 who have not previously received such scholarships; 


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1 (2) the fourth and fifth provisos under the 

2 heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Improvement’’ 

3 of title IV of Division C of the Consolidated Appro4 priations Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–117; 123 

5 Stat. 3181) are repealed; and 

6 (3) any unobligated amounts reserved to carry 

7 out the provisos described in paragraph (2) shall be 

8 made available to an eligible entity receiving a grant 

9 under section 4(a)— 

10 (A) for administrative expenses described 

11 in section 7(b); or 

12 (B) to provide opportunity scholarships 

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

14 scholarships for the 2011–2012 school year to 

15 students who have not previously received such 

16 scholarships. 

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

18 or contract under the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 

19 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), as 

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

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

22 accordance with the terms and conditions of such grant 

23 or contract, except that— 


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1 (1) the provisos relating to opportunity scholar2 ships in the Acts described in subsection (b)(1) shall 

3 not apply; and 

4 (2) the memorandum of understanding de5 scribed in subsection (d), including any revision 

6 made under such subsection, shall apply. 

7 (d) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec8 retary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall 

9 revise the memorandum of understanding entered into 

10 under the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (sec. 

11 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), as such Act was 

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

13 this Act, to address— 

14 (1) the implementation of the opportunity 

15 scholarship program under this Act; and 

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

17 of Columbia public schools and the District of Co18 lumbia public charter schools comply with all the 

19 reasonable requests for information as necessary to 

20 fulfill the requirements for evaluations conducted 

21 under section 9(a). 

22 (e) ORDERLY TRANSITION.—Subject to subsections 

23 (c) and (d), the Secretary shall take such steps as the Sec24 retary determines to be appropriate to provide for the or25 derly transition to the authority of this Act from any auVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:54 Feb 03, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471

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1 thority under the provisions of the DC School Choice In2 centive Act of 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

6 As used in this Act: 

7 (1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen8 tary school’’ means an institutional day or residen9 tial school, including a public elementary charter 

10 school, that provides elementary education, as deter11 mined under District of Columbia law. 

12 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti13 ty’’ means any of the following: 

14 (A) A nonprofit organization. 

15 (B) A consortium of nonprofit organiza16 tions. 

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

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

19 District of Columbia and comes from a household— 

20 (A) receiving assistance under the supple21 mental nutrition assistance program established 

22 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

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

24 (B) whose income does not exceed— 

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


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1 (ii) in the case of a student partici2 pating in the opportunity scholarship pro3 gram in the preceding year, 300 percent of 

4 the poverty line. 

5 (4) MAYOR.—The term ‘‘Mayor’’ means the 

6 Mayor of the District of Columbia. 

7 (5) 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 (6) 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 (7) 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 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and for each of 

4 the 4 succeeding fiscal years, of which— 

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

6 out the opportunity scholarship program under this 

7 Act for each fiscal year; 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 year. 

Æ 


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