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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2171 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2171

 To reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 8, 2015

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Scott, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Booker) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES IN ACT.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Scholarships for 
Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act'' or the ``SOAR 
Reauthorization Act''.
    (b) References in Act.--Whenever in this Act an amendment is 
expressed in terms of an amendment to or repeal of a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to that section 
or other provision of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act 
(division C of Public Law 112-10; sec. 38-1853.01 et seq., D.C. 
Official Code).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1995, Congress passed the DC School Reform Act, 
        which granted the District of Columbia the authority to create 
        public charter schools and gave parents greater educational 
        options for their children.
            (2) In 2003, in partnership with the Mayor of the District 
        of Columbia, the chairman of the DC Council Education 
        Committee, and community activists, Congress passed the DC 
        School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-199; 118 
        Stat. 126), to provide opportunity scholarships to parents of 
        students in the District of Columbia to enable them to pursue a 
        high-quality education at a private elementary or secondary 
        school of their choice.
            (3) The DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP) was 
        part of a comprehensive three-part funding arrangement that 
        provided additional funds for both the District of Columbia 
        public schools and public charter schools of the District of 
        Columbia. The intent behind the additional resources was to 
        ensure both District of Columbia public and charter schools 
        continued to improve.
            (4) In 2011, Congress enacted the three-part funding 
        arrangement when it reauthorized the DC OSP and passed the 
        Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act (division C 
        of Public Law 112-10) with bipartisan support.
            (5) While the National Center for Education Statistics 
        indicates that per pupil expenditure for public schools in the 
        District of Columbia is the highest in the United States, 
        performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
        (NAEP) continues to be near the bottom of the country when 
        examining scores in mathematics and reading for fourth and 
        eighth grades. When Congress passed the DC School Choice 
        Incentive Act of 2003, students in the District of Columbia 
        ranked 52 out of 52 States (including the Department of Defense 
        schools). Since that time, the District of Columbia has made 
        significant gains in mathematics and reading. However, students 
        in the District of Columbia still rank in the bottom three 
        States out of 52 States. According to the 2013 fourth grade 
        math NAEP results, 34 percent of students are below basic, 38 
        percent are at basic, and 28 percent are at proficient or 
        advanced. The 2013 fourth grade reading results found that 50 
        percent of fourth grade students in the District of Columbia 
        are at or below basic, 27 percent are at basic, and 23 percent 
        are proficient or advanced.
            (6) Since the inception of the DC OSP, there has been 
        strong demand for the program by parents and the citizens of 
        the District of Columbia. In fact, 74 percent of District of 
        Columbia residents support continuing the program (based on the 
        Lester & Associates February 2011 Poll).
            (7) Since the program's inception, parental satisfaction 
        has remained high. The program has also been found to result in 
        significantly higher graduation rates for those students who 
        have received and used their opportunity scholarships.
            (8) The DC OSP offers low-income families in the District 
        of Columbia important educational alternatives while public 
        schools are improved. The program should continue to be 
        reauthorized as part of a three-part comprehensive funding 
        strategy for the District of Columbia school system providing 
        equal funding for public schools, public charter schools, and 
        opportunity scholarships for students to attend private 
        schools.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to amend the 
Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act to provide low-income 
parents residing in the District of Columbia with expanded educational 
opportunities for enrolling their children in other schools in the 
District of Columbia, and provide resources to support educational 
reforms for District of Columbia Public Schools and District of 
Columbia public charter schools.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF LIMITS ON TYPES OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS 
              PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM.

    Section 3004(a) (sec. 38-1853.04(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Prohibiting imposition of limits on eligible students 
        participating in the program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out the program 
                under this division, the Secretary may not limit the 
                number of eligible students receiving scholarships 
                under section 3007(a), and may not prevent otherwise 
                eligible students from participating in the program 
                under this Act, on any of the following grounds:
                            ``(i) Whether or not the student attended a 
                        private school for pre-elementary education in 
                        the previous school year.
                            ``(ii) Whether or not the student 
                        previously received a scholarship or 
                        participated in the program.
                            ``(iii) Whether or not the student was a 
                        member of the control group used by Institute 
                        of Education Sciences to carry out previous 
                        evaluations of the program under section 3009.
                    ``(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in 
                subparagraph (A) may be construed to waive the 
                requirement under section 3005(b)(1)(B) that the entity 
                carrying out the program under this Act must carry out 
                a random selection process which gives weight to the 
                priorities described in section 3006 if more eligible 
                students seek admission in the program than the program 
                can accommodate.''.

SEC. 4. REQUIRING ELIGIBLE ENTITIES TO UTILIZE INTERNAL FISCAL AND 
              QUALITY CONTROLS.

    Section 3005(b)(1) (sec. 38-1853.05(b)(1)), D.C. Official Code) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (K); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(M) how the entity will ensure that it utilizes 
                internal fiscal and quality controls; and''.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF PRIORITIES FOR AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS TO 
              ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.

    Section 3006(1)(A) (sec. 38-1853.06(1)(A), D.C. Official Code) is 
amended by striking ``for improvement, corrective action, or 
restructuring under section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316)'' and inserting ``as a low-
achieving school according to the Office of the State Superintendent of 
Education of the District of Columbia.''.

SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS AND 
              ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.

    (a) Criminal Background Checks; Compliance With Reporting 
Requirements.--Section 3007(a)(4) (sec. 38-1853.07(a)(4), D.C. Official 
Code) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (E);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (F) 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(G) conducts criminal background checks on school 
                employees who have direct and unsupervised interaction 
                with students; and
                    ``(H) complies with all requests for data and 
                information regarding the reporting requirements 
                described in section 3010.''.
    (b) Accreditation.--Section 3007(a) (sec. 38-1853.07(a), D.C. 
Official Code) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraphs (2) and 
        (3)'' and inserting ``paragraphs (2), (3), and (5)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Accreditation requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 
                none of the funds provided under this division for 
                opportunity scholarships may be used by an eligible 
                student to enroll in a participating private school 
                unless the school, as of the date of enactment of the 
                SOAR Reauthorization Act, is provisionally or fully 
                accredited by--
                            ``(i) an accrediting body described in 
                        subparagraphs (A) through (G) of section 
                        2202(16) of the District of Columbia School 
                        Reform Act of 1995 (sec. 38-1802.02(16)(A)-(G), 
                        D.C. Official Code); or
                            ``(ii) any other accrediting body 
                        determined appropriate by the District of 
                        Columbia Office of the State Superintendent for 
                        Schools for the purposes of accrediting an 
                        elementary or secondary school.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
                in the case of a student who, on the date of the 
                enactment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, is attending 
                a participating school that does not meet the 
                requirement described in subparagraph (A) but is a 
                school pursuing full accreditation by an accrediting 
                body described in subparagraph (A), such student, and 
                any siblings of such student, shall have the option to 
                enroll, or remain enrolled, at such school.
                    ``(C) Time to meet requirements.--The exception 
                described in subparagraph (B) shall no longer apply on 
                the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of 
                the SOAR Reauthorization Act.
                    ``(D) Reports to eligible entity.--Not later than 5 
                years after the date of enactment of the SOAR 
                Reauthorization Act, each participating school shall 
                submit to the eligible entity a certification that the 
                school has been fully or provisionally accredited in 
                accordance with subparagraph (A).
                    ``(E) Assisting students in enrolling in other 
                schools.--If a participating school fails to meet the 
                requirements of this paragraph, the eligible entity 
                shall assist the parents of the eligible students who 
                attend the school in identifying, applying to, and 
                enrolling in another participating school under this 
                Act.''.
    (c) Use of Funds for Administrative Expenses and Parental 
Assistance.--Section 3007 (sec. 38-1853.07, D.C. Official Code) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(b) Administrative Expenses and Parental Assistance.--The 
Secretary shall make $2,000,000 of the amount provided under the grant 
each year available to an eligible entity receiving a grant under 
section 3004(a) to cover the following expenses:
            ``(1) The administrative expenses of carrying out its 
        program under this Act during the year, including--
                    ``(A) determining the eligibility of students to 
                participate;
                    ``(B) selecting the eligible students to receive 
                scholarships;
                    ``(C) determining the amount of the scholarships 
                and issuing the scholarships to eligible students;
                    ``(D) compiling and maintaining financial and 
                programmatic records; and
                    ``(E) conducting site visits as described in 
                section 3005(b)(1)(I).
            ``(2) The expenses of educating parents about the entity's 
        program under this Act, and assisting parents through the 
        application process under this Act, including--
                    ``(A) providing information about the program and 
                the participating schools to parents of eligible 
                students;
                    ``(B) providing funds to assist parents of students 
                in meeting expenses that might otherwise preclude the 
                participation of eligible students in the program; and
                    ``(C) streamlining the application process for 
                parents.''; and
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).
    (d) Clarification of Use of Funds for Student Academic 
Assistance.--Section 3007(c) (sec. 38-1853.07(c), D.C. Official Code), 
as redesignated by subsection (c)(2), is amended by striking 
``identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under 
section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6316)'' and inserting ``identified as a low-achieving school 
according to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education of the 
District of Columbia''.
    (e) Permitting Use of Funds Remaining Unobligated From Previous 
Fiscal Years.--Section 3007 (sec. 38-1853.07, D.C. Official Code), as 
amended by this section, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(d) Permitting Use of Funds Remaining Unobligated From Previous 
Fiscal Years.--To the extent that any funds appropriated for the 
opportunity scholarship program under this Act for a fiscal year remain 
unobligated at the end of the fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
such funds available during subsequent fiscal years for scholarships 
for eligible students, except that an eligible entity may use not more 
than 5 percent of the funds for administrative expenses, parental 
assistance, and tutoring, in addition to the amounts appropriated for 
such purposes under section 3007(b) and (c).''.

SEC. 7. PROGRAM EVALUATION.

    (a) Revision of Evaluation Procedures and Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--Section 3009(a) (sec. 38-1853.09(a), D.C. 
        Official Code) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Duties of the secretary and the mayor.--The Secretary 
        and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall--
                    ``(A) jointly enter into an agreement with the 
                Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of 
                Education to evaluate annually the opportunity 
                scholarship program under this Act;
                    ``(B) jointly enter into an agreement to monitor 
                and evaluate the use of funds authorized and 
                appropriated for the District of Columbia Public 
                Schools and the District of Columbia public charter 
                schools under this Act; and
                    ``(C) make the evaluations described in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) public in accordance with 
                subsection (c).
            ``(2) Duties of the secretary.--The Secretary, through a 
        grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, shall--
                    ``(A) ensure that the evaluation under paragraph 
                (1)(A)--
                            ``(i) is conducted using an acceptable 
                        quasi-experimental research design for 
                        determining the effectiveness of the 
                        opportunity scholarship program under this Act 
                        which does not use a control study group 
                        consisting of students who applied for but who 
                        did not receive opportunity scholarships, and
                            ``(ii) addresses the issues described in 
                        paragraph (4); and
                    ``(B) disseminate information on the impact of the 
                program--
                            ``(i) in increasing academic achievement 
                        and educational attainment of participating 
                        eligible students, and
                            ``(ii) on students and schools in the 
                        District of Columbia.
            ``(3) Duties of the institute of education sciences.--The 
        Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education 
        shall--
                    ``(A) assess participating eligible students in 
                each of the grades 3 through 8, as well as one of the 
                grades in the high school level, by supervising the 
                administration of the same reading and math assessment 
                used by the District of Columbia Public Schools to 
                comply with section 1111(b) of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b));
                    ``(B) measure the academic achievement of all 
                participating students in the grades described in 
                subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) work with the eligible entities to ensure 
                that the parents of each student who receives a 
                scholarship under this Act agree to permit the student 
                to participate in the evaluations and assessments 
                carried out by the Institute under this subsection.
            ``(4) Issues to be evaluated.--The issues to be evaluated 
        under paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following:
                    ``(A) A comparison of the academic achievement of 
                participating eligible students in the measurements 
                described in paragraph (3) to the academic achievement 
                of a comparison group of students with similar 
                backgrounds in the District of Columbia Public Schools.
                    ``(B) The success of the program under this Act in 
                expanding choice options for parents of participating 
                eligible students and increasing their satisfaction 
                with their child's school.
                    ``(C) The reasons parents of participating eligible 
                students choose for their children to participate in 
                the program, including important characteristics for 
                selecting schools.
                    ``(D) A comparison of the retention rates, high 
                school graduation rates, college admission rates, 
                college persistence rates, and college graduation rates 
                of participating eligible students with the rates of 
                students in the comparison group described in 
                subparagraph (A).
                    ``(E) A comparison of the college admission rates, 
                college persistence rates, and college graduation rates 
                of students who participated in the program in 2004, 
                2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 as the result of 
                winning the Opportunity Scholarship Program lottery 
                with the rates of students who entered but did not win 
                such lottery in those years and who, as a result, 
                served as the control group for previous evaluations of 
                the program under this Act.
                    ``(F) A comparison of the safety of the schools 
                attended by participating eligible students and the 
                schools in the District of Columbia attended by 
                students in the comparison group described in 
                subparagraph (A), based on the perceptions of the 
                students and parents.
                    ``(G) Such other issues with respect to 
                participating eligible students as the Secretary 
                considers appropriate for inclusion in the evaluation, 
                such as the impact of the program on public elementary 
                schools and secondary schools in the District of 
                Columbia.
            ``(5) Prohibiting disclosure of personal information.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any disclosure of personally 
                identifiable information shall be in compliance with 
                section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act 
                (commonly known as the `Family Educational Rights and 
                Privacy Act of 1974') (20 U.S.C. 1232g).
                    ``(B) Students not attending public schools.--With 
                respect to any student who is not attending a public 
                elementary school or secondary school, personally 
                identifiable information may not be disclosed outside 
                of the group of individuals carrying out the evaluation 
                for such student, other than to the parents of such 
                student.''.
            (2) Transition from current evaluation.--The Secretary of 
        Education shall terminate the current evaluations conducted 
        under section 3009(a) of the Scholarships for Opportunity and 
        Results Act (sec. 38-1853.09, D.C. Official Code), as in effect 
        prior to the date of enactment of this Act, after obtaining 
        data for the 2015-2016 school year, and shall submit the 
        reports required with respect to the evaluations in accordance 
        with section 3009(b) of such Act. Effective with respect to the 
        2016-2017 school year, the Secretary shall conduct new 
        evaluations in accordance with the provisions of section 
        3009(a) of such Act as amended by this Act.
    (b) Duty of Mayor To Ensure Institute Has All Information Necessary 
To Carry Out Evaluations.--Section 3011(a)(1) (sec. 38-1853.11(a)(1), 
D.C. Official Code) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Information necessary to carry out evaluations.--
        Ensure that all District of Columbia public schools and 
        District of Columbia public charter schools make available to 
        the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of 
        Education all of the information the Institute requires to 
        carry out the assessments and perform the evaluations required 
        under section 3009(a).''.

SEC. 8. FUNDING FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC 
              CHARTER SCHOOLS.

    (a) Mandatory Withholding of Funds for Failure To Comply With 
Conditions.--Section 3011(b) (sec. 38-1853.11(b), D.C. Official Code) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Enforcement.--If, after reasonable notice and an opportunity 
for a hearing, the Secretary determines that the Mayor has failed to 
comply with any of the requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary 
may withhold from the Mayor, in whole or in part--
            ``(1) the funds otherwise authorized to be appropriated 
        under section 3014(a)(2), if the failure to comply relates to 
        the District of Columbia public schools;
            ``(2) the funds otherwise authorized to be appropriated 
        under section 3014(a)(3), if the failure to comply relates to 
        the District of Columbia public charter schools; or
            ``(3) the funds otherwise authorized to be appropriated 
        under both section 3014(a)(2) and section 3014(a)(3), if the 
        failure relates to both the District of Columbia public schools 
        and the District of Columbia public charter schools.''.
    (b) Rules for Use of Funds Provided for Support of Public Charter 
Schools.--Section 3011 (sec. 38-1853.11, D.C. Official Code) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Specific Rules Regarding Funds Provided for Support of Public 
Charter Schools.--The following rules shall apply with respect to the 
funds provided under this Act for the support of District of Columbia 
public charter schools:
            ``(1) The Secretary may direct the funds provided for any 
        fiscal year, or any portion thereof, to the Office of the State 
        Superintendent of Education of the District of Columbia (OSSE).
            ``(2) The OSSE may transfer the funds to subgrantees who 
        are specific District of Columbia public charter schools or 
        networks of such schools or who are District of Columbia-based 
        non-profit organizations with experience in successfully 
        providing support or assistance to District of Columbia public 
        charter schools or networks of schools.
            ``(3) The funds shall be available to any District of 
        Columbia public charter school in good standing with the 
        District of Columbia Charter School Board (Board), and the OSSE 
        and Board may not restrict the availability of the funds to 
        certain types of schools on the basis of the school's location, 
        governing body, or any other characteristic.''.

SEC. 9. REVISION OF CURRENT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

    The Secretary of Education and the Mayor of the District of 
Columbia shall revise the memorandum of understanding which is in 
effect under section 3012(d) of the Scholarships for Opportunity and 
Results Act (the SOAR Act) as of the day before the date of the 
enactment of this Act to address the following:
            (1) The amendments made by this Act.
            (2) The need to ensure that participating schools under 
        such Act meet fire code standards and maintain certificates of 
        occupancy.
            (3) The need to ensure that District of Columbia public 
        schools and District of Columbia public charter schools meet 
        the requirements under such Act to comply with all reasonable 
        requests for information necessary to carry out the evaluations 
        required under section 3009(a) of such Act.

SEC. 10. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 3014(a) (sec. 38-1853.14(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended 
by striking ``each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years'' and inserting 
``each of the 9 succeeding fiscal years''.

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to school 
year 2016-2017 and each succeeding school year.
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