II 

Calendar No. 24 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 31, 2011 

Received; read the first time 

APRIL 4, 2011 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the DC opportunity scholarship program, and 

for other purposes. 

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

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 22:25 Apr 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.PCS 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 22:25 Apr 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.PCS 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— 

9 (1) a detailed description of— 

10 (A) how the entity will address the prior11 ities described in section 6; 

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

13 eligible students seek admission in the program 

14 of the entity than the program can accommo15 date, eligible students are selected for admission 

16 through a random selection process which gives 

17 weight to the priorities described in section 6; 

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

19 participating eligible students seek admission to 

20 a participating school than the school can ac21 commodate, participating eligible students are 

22 selected for admission through a random selec23 tion process; 

24 (D) how the entity will notify parents of el25 igible students of the expanded choice opportuVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Apr 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.PCS H471

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1 nities in order to allow the parents to make in2 formed decisions; 

3 (E) the activities that the entity will carry 

4 out to provide parents of eligible students with 

5 expanded choice opportunities through the 

6 awarding of scholarships under section 7(a); 

7 (F) how the entity will determine the 

8 amount that will be provided to parents under 

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

10 and transportation expenses, if any; 

11 (G) how the entity will seek out private el12 ementary schools and secondary schools in the 

13 District of Columbia to participate in the pro14 gram; 

15 (H) how the entity will ensure that each 

16 participating school will meet the reporting and 

17 other program requirements under this Act; 

18 (I) how the entity will ensure that partici19 pating schools submit to site visits by the entity 

20 as determined to be necessary by the entity, ex21 cept that a participating school may not be re22 quired to submit to more than 1 site visit per 

23 school year; 

24 (J) how the entity will ensure that partici25 pating schools are financially responsible and 


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1 will use the funds received under section 7 ef2 fectively; 

3 (K) how the entity will address the renewal 

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

6 (L) 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(a). 

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) in awarding scholarships under section 7(a), 

18 give priority to— 

19 (A) eligible students who, in the school 

20 year preceding the school year for which the eli21 gible students are seeking a scholarship, at22 tended an elementary school or secondary 

23 school identified for improvement, corrective ac24 tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the 


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1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

2 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316); 

3 (B) students who have been awarded a 

4 scholarship in a preceding year under this Act 

5 or the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 

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

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

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

9 not used the scholarship, including eligible stu10 dents who were provided notification of selec11 tion for a scholarship for school year 2009- 

12 2010, which was later rescinded in accordance 

13 with direction from the Secretary of Education; 

14 and 

15 (C) students whose household includes a 

16 sibling or other child who is already partici17 pating in the program of the eligible entity 

18 under this Act, regardless of whether such stu19 dents have, in the past, been assigned as mem20 bers of a control study group for the purposes 

21 of an evaluation under section 9(a); 

22 (2) target resources to students and families 

23 that lack the financial resources to take advantage 

24 of available educational options; and 


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1 (3) provide students and families with the 

2 widest range of educational options. 

3 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 

4 (a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

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

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

7 section 4(a) shall use the grant funds to provide eli8 gible students with scholarships to pay the tuition, 

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

10 the eligible students to attend the District of Colum11 bia private elementary school or secondary school of 

12 their choice beginning in school year 2011–2012. 

13 Each such eligible entity shall ensure that the 

14 amount of any tuition or fees charged by a school 

15 participating in such entity’s program under this Act 

16 to an eligible student participating in the program 

17 does not exceed the amount of tuition or fees that 

18 the school charges to students who do not partici19 pate in the program. 

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

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

22 scholarship payments under the entity’s program 

23 under this Act to the parent of the eligible student 

24 participating in the program, in a manner which en25 sures that such payments will be used for the payVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Apr 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.PCS H471

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1 ment of tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if 

2 any), in accordance with this Act. 

3 (3) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 

4 (A) VARYING AMOUNTS PERMITTED.—Sub5 ject to the other requirements of this section, 

6 an eligible entity receiving a grant under sec7 tion 4(a) may award scholarships in larger 

8 amounts to those eligible students with the 

9 greatest need. 

10 (B) ANNUAL LIMIT ON AMOUNT.— 

11 (i) LIMIT FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2011– 

12 2012.—The amount of assistance provided 

13 to any eligible student by an eligible entity 

14 under the entity’s program under this Act 

15 for school year 2011–2012 may not ex16 ceed— 

17 (I) $8,000 for attendance in kin18 dergarten through grade 8; and 

19 (II) $12,000 for attendance in 

20 grades 9 through 12. 

21 (ii) CUMULATIVE INFLATION ADJUST22 MENT.—Beginning the school year fol23 lowing the school year of the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

25 adjust the maximum amounts of assistance 


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1 described in clause (i) for inflation, as 

2 measured by the percentage increase, if 

3 any, from the preceding fiscal year in the 

4 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con5 sumers, published by the Bureau of Labor 

6 Statistics of the Department of Labor. 

7 (4) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 None of the funds provided under this Act for op9 portunity scholarships may be used by an eligible 

10 student to enroll in a participating private school 

11 unless the participating school— 

12 (A) has and maintains a valid certificate of 

13 occupancy issued by the District of Columbia; 

14 (B) makes readily available to all prospec15 tive students information on its school accredi16 tation; 

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

18 operating for 5 years or less, submits to the eli19 gible entity administering the program proof of 

20 adequate financial resources reflecting the fi21 nancial sustainability of the school and the 

22 school’s ability to be in operation through the 

23 school year; 


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1 (D) agrees to submit to site visits as deter2 mined to be necessary by the eligible entity pur3 suant to section 5(b)(1)(I); 

4 (E) has financial systems, controls, poli5 cies, and procedures to ensure that funds are 

6 used according to this Act; and 

7 (F) ensures that each teacher of core sub8 ject matter in the school has a baccalaureate 

9 degree or equivalent degree, whether such de10 gree was awarded in or outside of the United 

11 States. 

12 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An eligible entity 

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

14 than 3 percent of the amount provided under the grant 

15 each year for the administrative expenses of carrying out 

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

17 (1) determining the eligibility of students to 

18 participate; 

19 (2) selecting eligible students to receive scholar20 ships; 

21 (3) determining the amount of scholarships and 

22 issuing the scholarships to eligible students; 

23 (4) compiling and maintaining financial and 

24 programmatic records; and 


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1 (5) conducting site visits as described in section 

2 5(b)(1)(I). 

3 (c) PARENTAL ASSISTANCE.—An eligible entity re4 ceiving a grant under section 4(a) may use not more than 

5 2 percent of the amount provided under the grant each 

6 year for the expenses of educating parents about the enti7 ty’s program under this Act, and assisting parents 

8 through the application process, under this Act, includ9 ing— 

10 (1) providing information about the program 

11 and the participating schools to parents of eligible 

12 students; 

13 (2) providing funds to assist parents of stu14 dents in meeting expenses that might otherwise pre15 clude the participation of eligible students in the 

16 program; and 

17 (3) streamlining the application process for par18 ents. 

19 (d) STUDENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE.—An eligible 

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

21 more than 1 percent of the amount provided under the 

22 grant each year for expenses to provide tutoring services 

23 to participating eligible students that need additional aca24 demic assistance. If there are insufficient funds to provide 

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


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1 entity shall give priority in such year to students who pre2 viously attended an elementary school or secondary school 

3 that was identified for improvement, corrective action, or 

4 restructuring under section 1116 of the Elementary and 

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

6 SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS 

7 FOR PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity or a school par9 ticipating in any program under this Act shall not dis10 criminate against program participants or applicants on 

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

12 (b) APPLICABILITY AND SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, 

13 CLASSES, OR ACTIVITIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

15 provision of law, the prohibition of sex discrimina16 tion in subsection (a) shall not apply to a partici17 pating school that is operated by, supervised by, con18 trolled by, or connected to a religious organization to 

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

20 inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the 

21 school. 

22 (2) SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR ACTIVI23 TIES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other 

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

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


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

2 the provisions of section 909 of the Education 

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

4 to this Act as if section 909 of the Education 

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

6 this Act. 

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

8 Act may be construed to alter or modify the provisions 

9 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

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

11 (d) RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED SCHOOLS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law, a school participating in any pro14 gram under this Act that is operated by, supervised 

15 by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organi16 zation may exercise its right in matters of employ17 ment consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act 

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

19 exemptions in such title. 

20 (2) MAINTENANCE OF PURPOSE.—Notwith21 standing any other provision of law, funds made 

22 available under this Act to eligible students, which 

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

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

25 amendment of the Constitution, necessitate any 


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1 change in the participating school’s teaching mis2 sion, require any participating school to remove reli3 gious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols, or pre4 clude any participating school from retaining reli5 gious terms in its name, selecting its board members 

6 on a religious basis, or including religious references 

7 in its mission statements and other chartering or 

8 governing documents. 

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

10 other form of support provided to parents of eligible stu11 dents) under this Act shall be considered assistance to the 

12 student and shall not be considered assistance to the 

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

14 scholarship (or other form of support provided to parents 

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

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

17 or for determining eligibility for any other Federal pro18 gram. 

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

20 school participating in a program funded under this Act 

21 shall comply with all requests for data and information 

22 regarding evaluations conducted under section 9(a). 

23 (g) RULES OF CONDUCT AND OTHER SCHOOL POLI24 CIES.—A participating school, including the schools de25 scribed in subsection (d), may require eligible students to 


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1 abide by any rules of conduct and other requirements ap2 plicable to all other students at the school. 

3 (h) NATIONALLY NORM-REFERENCED STANDARD4 IZED TESTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each participating school 

6 shall comply with any testing requirements deter7 mined to be necessary for evaluation under section 

8 9(a)(2)(A)(i). 

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

10 school does not administer a nationally norm-ref11 erenced standardized test or the Institute of Edu12 cation Sciences does not receive data on a student 

13 who is receiving an opportunity scholarship, then the 

14 Secretary (through the Institute of Education 

15 Sciences of the Department of Education) shall ad16 minister such test at least one time during a school 

17 year for each student receiving an opportunity schol18 arship. 

19 SEC. 9. EVALUATIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY AND THE

22 MAYOR.—The Secretary and the Mayor of the Dis23 trict of Columbia shall— 

24 (A) jointly enter into an agreement with 

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1 partment of Education to evaluate annually the 

2 performance of students who received scholar3 ships under the 5-year program under this Act; 

4 (B) jointly enter into an agreement to 

5 monitor and evaluate the use of funds author6 ized and appropriated for the District of Co7 lumbia public schools and the District of Co8 lumbia public charter schools under this Act; 

9 and 

10 (C) make the evaluations described in sub11 paragraphs (A) and (B) public in accordance 

12 with subsection (c). 

13 (2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec14 retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 

15 agreement, shall— 

16 (A) ensure that the evaluation under para17 graph (1)(A)— 

18 (i) is conducted using the strongest 

19 possible research design for determining 

20 the effectiveness of the opportunity schol21 arship program under this Act; and 

22 (ii) addresses the issues described in 

23 paragraph (4); and 

24 (B) disseminate information on the impact 

25 of the program— 


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1 (i) in increasing the academic growth 

2 and achievement of participating eligible 

3 students; and 

4 (ii) on students and schools in the 

5 District of Columbia. 

6 (3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

7 SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education Sciences of 

8 the Department of Education shall— 

9 (A) use a grade appropriate, nationally 

10 norm-referenced standardized test each school 

11 year to assess participating eligible students; 

12 (B) measure the academic achievement of 

13 all participating eligible students; and 

14 (C) work with the eligible entities to en15 sure that the parents of each student who ap16 plies for a scholarship under this Act (regard17 less of whether the student receives the scholar18 ship) and the parents of each student partici19 pating in the scholarship program under this 

20 Act, agree that the student will participate in 

21 the measurements given annually by the Insti22 tute of Educational Sciences for the period for 

23 which the student applied for or received the 

24 scholarship, respectively, except that nothing in 

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1 ority for an opportunity scholarship as provided 

2 under section 6. 

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

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

5 the following: 

6 (A) A comparison of the academic growth 

7 and achievement of participating eligible stu8 dents in the measurements described in para9 graph (3) to the academic growth and achieve10 ment of the eligible students in the same grades 

11 who sought to participate in the scholarship 

12 program under this Act but were not selected. 

13 (B) The success of the program in expand14 ing choice options for parents of participating 

15 eligible students, improving parental and stu16 dent satisfaction of such parents and students, 

17 respectively, and increasing parental involve18 ment of such parents in the education of their 

19 children. 

20 (C) The reasons parents of participating 

21 eligible students choose for their children to 

22 participate in the program, including important 

23 characteristics for selecting schools. 

24 (D) A comparison of the retention rates, 

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1 sion rates of participating eligible students with 

2 the retention rates, high school graduation 

3 rates, and college admission rates of students of 

4 similar backgrounds who do not participate in 

5 such program. 

6 (E) A comparison of the safety of the 

7 schools attended by participating eligible stu8 dents and the schools in the District of Colum9 bia attended by students who do not participate 

10 in the program, based on the perceptions of the 

11 students and parents. 

12 (F) Such other issues with respect to par13 ticipating eligible students as the Secretary con14 siders appropriate for inclusion in the evalua15 tion, such as the impact of the program on pub16 lic elementary schools and secondary schools in 

17 the District of Columbia. 

18 (G) An analysis of the issues described in 

19 subparagraphs (A) through (F) by applying 

20 such subparagraphs by substituting ‘‘the sub21 group of participating eligible students who 

22 have used each opportunity scholarship awarded 

23 to such students under this Act to attend a par24 ticipating school’’ for ‘‘participating eligible stu25 dents’’ each place such term appears. 


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1 (5) PROHIBITION.—Personally identifiable in2 formation regarding the results of the measurements 

3 used for the evaluations may not be disclosed, except 

4 to the parents of the student to whom the informa5 tion relates. 

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

7 Committees on Appropriations, Education and the Work8 force, and Oversight and Government Reform of the 

9 House of Representatives and the Committees on Appro10 priations, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and 

11 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen12 ate— 

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

14 1 of the year following the year of the date of enact15 ment of this Act, and each subsequent year through 

16 the year in which the final report is submitted under 

17 paragraph (2), on the progress and preliminary re18 sults of the evaluation of the opportunity scholarship 

19 program funded under this Act; and 

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

21 the final year for which a grant is made under sec22 tion 4(a), on the results of the evaluation of the pro23 gram. 

24 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All reports and under25 lying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made 


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

2 following submission of the applicable report under sub3 section (b), except that personally identifiable information 

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

5 (d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED.—The amount ex6 pended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any 

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

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

9 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS.—Each eligible entity re11 ceiving funds under section 4(a) during a year shall sub12 mit a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of 

13 the following year regarding the activities carried out with 

14 the funds during the preceding year. 

15 (b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS.— 

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

17 required under subsection (a), each eligible entity re18 ceiving funds under section 4(a) shall, not later than 

19 September 1 of the year during which the second 

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

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

22 Secretary a report, including any pertinent data col23 lected in the preceding 2 school years, concerning— 

24 (A) the academic growth and achievement 

25 of students participating in the program; 


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1 (B) the high school graduation and college 

2 admission rates of students who participate in 

3 the program, where appropriate; and 

4 (C) parental satisfaction with the program. 

5 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

6 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

7 may contain any personally identifiable information. 

8 (c) REPORTS TO PARENTS.— 

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

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

11 school participating in the entity’s program under 

12 this Act during a school year reports at least once 

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

14 students who are participating in the program on— 

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

16 measured by a comparison with the aggregate 

17 academic achievement of other participating 

18 students at the student’s school in the same 

19 grade or level, as appropriate, and the aggre20 gate academic achievement of the student’s 

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

22 or level, as appropriate; 

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

24 incidence of school violence, student suspen25 sions, and student expulsions; and 


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1 (C) the accreditation status of the school. 

2 (2) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

3 INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 

4 may contain any personally identifiable information, 

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

6 report to that student’s parent. 

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

8 months after the first appropriation of funds under section 

9 14, and each succeeding year thereafter, the Secretary 

10 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations, Edu11 cation and the Workforce, and Oversight and Government 

12 Reform of the House of Representatives and the Commit13 tees on Appropriations, Health, Education, Labor, and 

14 Pensions, and Homeland Security and Governmental Af15 fairs of the Senate, an annual report on the findings of 

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

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

18 SCHOOLS. 

19 (a) CONDITION OF RECEIPT OF FUNDS.—As a condi20 tion of receiving funds under this Act on behalf of the 

21 District of Columbia public schools and the District of Co22 lumbia public charter schools, the Mayor shall agree to 

23 carry out the following: 

24 (1) INFORMATION REQUESTS.—Ensure that all 

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1 trict of Columbia public charter schools comply with 

2 all reasonable requests for information for purposes 

3 of the evaluation under section 9(a). 

4 (2) AGREEMENT WITH THE SECRETARY.— 

5 Enter into the agreement described in section 

6 9(a)(1)(B) to monitor and evaluate the use of funds 

7 authorized and appropriated for the District of Co8 lumbia public schools and the District of Columbia 

9 public charter schools under this Act. 

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

11 months after the first appropriation of funds under 

12 section 14, and each succeeding year thereafter, sub13 mit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Com14 mittee on Education and the Workforce, and the 

15 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 

16 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

17 Appropriations, the Committee on Health, Edu18 cation, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on 

19 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

20 Senate, information on— 

21 (A) how the funds authorized and appro22 priated under this Act for the District of Co23 lumbia public schools and the District of Co24 lumbia public charter schools were used in the 

25 preceding school year; and 


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1 (B) how such funds are contributing to 

2 student achievement. 

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

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

5 determines that the Mayor has not been in compliance 

6 with 1 or more of the requirements described in subsection 

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

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

9 of Columbia public schools and the District of Columbia 

10 public charter schools. 

11 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion shall be construed to reduce, or otherwise affect, 

13 funding provided under this Act for the opportunity schol14 arship program under this Act. 

15 SEC. 12. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

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

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

18 repealed. 

19 (b) SPECIAL RULES.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law— 

21 (1) funding appropriated to provide opportunity 

22 scholarships for students in the District of Columbia 

23 under the heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Im24 provement’’ in title IV of division D of the Omnibus 

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


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

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

3 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 

4 111–117; 123 Stat. 3181), or any other Act, may be 

5 used to provide opportunity scholarships under sec6 tion 7(a) for the 2011–2012 school year to students 

7 who have not previously received such scholarships; 

8 (2) the fourth and fifth provisos under the 

9 heading ‘‘Federal Payment for School Improvement’’ 

10 of title IV of Division C of the Consolidated Appro11 priations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 

12 3181) shall not apply; and 

13 (3) any unobligated amounts reserved to carry 

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

15 made available to an eligible entity receiving a grant 

16 under section 4(a)— 

17 (A) for administrative expenses described 

18 in section 7(b); or 

19 (B) to provide opportunity scholarships 

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

21 scholarships for the 2011–2012 school year to 

22 students who have not previously received such 

23 scholarships. 

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

25 or contract under the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 


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1 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), as 

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

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

4 accordance with the terms and conditions of such grant 

5 or contract, except that— 

6 (1) the provisos relating to opportunity scholar7 ships in the Acts described in subsection (b)(1) shall 

8 not apply; and 

9 (2) the memorandum of understanding de10 scribed in subsection (d), including any revision 

11 made under such subsection, shall apply. 

12 (d) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec13 retary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall 

14 revise the memorandum of understanding entered into 

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

16 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code), as such Act was 

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

18 this Act, to address— 

19 (1) the implementation of the opportunity 

20 scholarship program under this Act; and 

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

22 of Columbia public schools and the District of Co23 lumbia public charter schools comply with all the 

24 reasonable requests for information as necessary to 


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1 fulfill the requirements for evaluations conducted 

2 under section 9(a). 

3 (e) ORDERLY TRANSITION.—Subject to subsections 

4 (c) and (d), the Secretary shall take such steps as the Sec5 retary determines to be appropriate to provide for the or6 derly transition to the authority of this Act from any au7 thority under the provisions of the DC School Choice In8 centive Act of 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Official 

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

10 date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

12 As used in this Act: 

13 (1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen14 tary school’’ means an institutional day or residen15 tial school, including a public elementary charter 

16 school, that provides elementary education, as deter17 mined under District of Columbia law. 

18 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti19 ty’’ means any of the following: 

20 (A) A nonprofit organization. 

21 (B) A consortium of nonprofit organiza22 tions. 

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

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

25 District of Columbia and comes from a household— 


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1 (A) receiving assistance under the supple2 mental nutrition assistance program established 

3 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

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

5 (B) whose income does not exceed— 

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

7 (ii) in the case of a student partici8 pating in the opportunity scholarship pro9 gram in the preceding year under this Act 

10 or the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 

11 2003 (sec. 38–1851.01 et seq., D.C. Offi12 cial Code), as such Act was in effect on the 

13 day before the date of enactment of this 

14 Act, 300 percent of the poverty line. 

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

16 Mayor of the District of Columbia. 

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

18 meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Ele19 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 (6) PARTICIPATING ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The 

22 term ‘‘participating eligible student’’ means an eligi23 ble student awarded an opportunity scholarship 

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1 dent uses the scholarship to attend a participating 

2 school. 

3 (7) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘par4 ticipating school’’ means a private elementary school 

5 or secondary school participating in the opportunity 

6 scholarship program of an eligible entity under this 

7 Act. 

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

9 has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of 

10 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (9) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec13 ondary school’’ means an institutional day or resi14 dential school, including a public secondary charter 

15 school, that provides secondary education, as deter16 mined under District of Columbia law, except that 

17 the term does not include any education beyond 

18 grade 12. 

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

20 means the Secretary of Education. 

21 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and for each of 

24 the 4 succeeding fiscal years, of which— 


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

2 out the opportunity scholarship program under this 

3 Act for each fiscal year; 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12 year. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 30, 

2011. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 24 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 471 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the DC opportunity scholarship 

program, and for other purposes. 

APRIL 4, 2011 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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