II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 105 

To have education funds follow the student. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2023 

Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. BUDD, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, 

and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To have education funds follow the student. 

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 ‘‘Children Have Oppor5 tunities in Classrooms Everywhere Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL FUNDING UNDER THE ELEMENTARY AND 

7 SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 TO 

8 FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 

9 Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART H—FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT 

2 ‘‘SEC. 8701. FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) 529 EDUCATION SAVINGS PLAN AC5 COUNT.—The term ‘529 education savings plan ac6 count’ means a qualified tuition program (as defined 

7 in section 529(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue 

8 Code of 1986). 

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘eligible 

10 child’ means a child who is from a household, the 

11 taxable income of which for the most recently com12 pleted taxable year is not more than 130 percent of 

13 an amount equal to the poverty level, as determined 

14 by using criteria of poverty established by the Bu15 reau of the Census. 

16 ‘‘(3) HOME SCHOOL.—The term ‘home school’ 

17 means a home school as defined by the laws of the 

18 State in which the eligible child resides. 

19 ‘‘(b) FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of law and to the extent permitted under 

22 State law, a State educational agency shall allocate 

23 grant funds provided under title I, subparts 2 and 

24 3 of part B of title II, and titles III, IV, V, and VI, 

25 for the purposes of ensuring that funding under 

26 such titles follows children, to the public school the 


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1 children attend or for the expenses described in sec2 tion 529(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986. 

4 ‘‘(2) PLAN.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that car6 ries out allocations described in paragraph (1) 

7 shall establish a plan that complies with the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(i) The parent or guardian of each 

10 eligible child in the State who desires ac11 cess to the funds described in paragraph 

12 (1) shall annually submit to the State edu13 cational agency by not later than April 30, 

14 a paper or electronic application form that 

15 includes the following: 

16 ‘‘(I) The parent or guardian’s 

17 taxable income based on the Federal 

18 tax return of the parent or guardian 

19 for the prior tax year. 

20 ‘‘(II) The eligible child’s date of 

21 birth, place of residence, school dis22 trict, and school in which the eligible 

23 child will be enrolled for the subse24 quent school year. 


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1 ‘‘(III) If the eligible child will be 

2 enrolled in a private school or home 

3 school for the subsequent school year, 

4 confirmation that the eligible child 

5 has a 529 education savings plan ac6 count, including the necessary details 

7 of such account to enable the State to 

8 deposit funds available under this sec9 tion into such account. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Not later than May 14 of each 

11 year, the State educational agency shall 

12 submit to the Secretary the application 

13 forms for all applicants under clause (i). 

14 ‘‘(iii) Not later than July 1 of each 

15 year and based on the information sub16 mitted under clause (i), the State edu17 cational agency shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) if the eligible child will be 

19 enrolled in a private school or home 

20 school for the subsequent school year, 

21 deposit the amount equal to the con22 centration distribution and basic dis23 tribution applicable for the eligible 

24 child under subparagraphs (B) and 

25 (C) of subsection (c)(2), into the 529 


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1 education savings plan account of the 

2 eligible child; and 

3 ‘‘(II) if the eligible child will be 

4 enrolled in a public school for the sub5 sequent school year, distribute the 

6 amount equal to the concentration 

7 distribution and basic distribution ap8 plicable for the eligible child under 

9 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of sub10 section (c)(2), to such public school. 

11 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Information 

12 collected under this section by the State shall 

13 be used for the sole purposes of calculating the 

14 allocation of funds and distribution of funds 

15 under this section. 

16 ‘‘(C) DATA PRIVACY PROTECTION.—Infor17 mation collected under this section shall be sub18 ject to the privacy protections outlined in sec19 tion 444 of the General Education Provisions 

20 Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; commonly referred to as 

21 the ‘Family Educational Rights and Privacy 

22 Act of 1974’). 

23 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF AMOUNTS TO BE DISTRIB24 UTED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts pro2 vided to carry out title I, subparts 2 and 3 of part 

3 B of title II, and titles III, IV, V, and VI, and based 

4 on the information submitted by State educational 

5 agencies under subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii), the Sec6 retary shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) determine the eligibility based on the 

8 information provided under subsection 

9 (b)(2)(A)(i) and verify that the child for whom 

10 the information is submitted is an eligible child; 

11 ‘‘(B) determine the income bracket for 

12 such eligible child; and 

13 ‘‘(C) make grants to State educational 

14 agencies in the amount determined under para15 graph (2) by not later than 30 days after the 

16 date the Secretary receives the information 

17 under subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii). 

18 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The grant amount 

20 provided to a State educational agency shall be 

21 equal to the total distribution amount deter22 mined under subparagraphs (B) and (C) for all 

23 eligible children in the State. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONCENTRATION DISTRIBUTION.— 

25 An eligible child who is from a household, the 


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1 taxable income of which for the most recently 

2 completed taxable year is not more than 100 

3 percent of an amount equal to the poverty level, 

4 as measured by the most recent Small Area In5 come and Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of 

6 the Census, shall receive a concentration dis7 tribution according to the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) If the eligible child resides in an 

9 area served by a school district in which 

10 not less than 1 percent and not more than 

11 9 percent of the elementary school and sec12 ondary school students are from a house13 hold, the taxable income of which for the 

14 most recently completed taxable year is not 

15 more than 100 percent of an amount equal 

16 to the poverty level, as measured by the 

17 most recent Small Area Income and Pov18 erty Estimates of the Bureau of the Cen19 sus, the eligible child shall receive $50. 

20 ‘‘(ii) If the eligible child resides in an 

21 area served by a school district in which 

22 not less than 10 percent and not more 

23 than 19 percent of the elementary school 

24 and secondary school students are from a 

25 household, the taxable income of which for 


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1 the most recently completed taxable year is 

2 not more than 100 percent of an amount 

3 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 

4 the most recent Small Area Income and 

5 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 

6 Census, the eligible child shall receive 

7 $100. 

8 ‘‘(iii) If the eligible child resides in an 

9 area served by a school district in which 

10 not less than 20 percent and not more 

11 than 29 percent of the elementary school 

12 and secondary school students are from a 

13 household, the taxable income of which for 

14 the most recently completed taxable year is 

15 not more than 100 percent of an amount 

16 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 

17 the most recent Small Area Income and 

18 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 

19 Census, the eligible child shall receive 

20 $150. 

21 ‘‘(iv) If the eligible child resides in an 

22 area served by a school district in which 

23 not less than 30 percent and not more 

24 than 39 percent of the elementary school 

25 and secondary school students are from a 


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1 household, the taxable income of which for 

2 the most recently completed taxable year is 

3 not more than 100 percent of an amount 

4 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 

5 the most recent Small Area Income and 

6 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 

7 Census, the eligible child shall receive 

8 $200. 

9 ‘‘(v) If the eligible child resides in an 

10 area served by a school district in which 

11 not less than 40 percent and not more 

12 than 49 percent of the elementary school 

13 and secondary school students are from a 

14 household, the taxable income of which for 

15 the most recently completed taxable year is 

16 not more than 100 percent of an amount 

17 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 

18 the most recent Small Area Income and 

19 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 

20 Census, the eligible child shall receive 

21 $250. 

22 ‘‘(vi) If the eligible child resides in an 

23 area served by a school district in which 50 

24 percent or more of the elementary school 

25 and secondary school students are from a 


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1 household, the taxable income of which for 

2 the most recently completed taxable year is 

3 not more than 100 percent of an amount 

4 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 

5 the most recent Small Area Income and 

6 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 

7 Census, the eligible child shall receive 

8 $300. 

9 ‘‘(C) BASIC DISTRIBUTION.—In addition to 

10 a concentration distribution under subpara11 graph (B), an eligible child shall receive a basic 

12 distribution based on the income bracket appli13 cable for such eligible child and according to a 

14 formula established by the Secretary in which 

15 benefits are flat for everyone at or below 100 

16 percent of the Federal poverty level and de17 crease at an even rate from 100 percent to 130 

18 percent of the Federal poverty level. 

19 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

20 Not later than 100 days after the date of enactment of 

21 the Children Have Opportunities in Classrooms Every22 where Act, and annually for each of the 5 years thereafter, 

23 each State that carries out allocations described in sub24 section (b)(1) shall inform each parent or guardian of a 

25 child eligible for assistance under the supplemental nutriVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:43 Feb 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S105.IS S105

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1 tion assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act 

2 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) or the program of block 

3 grants for States for temporary assistance for needy fami4 lies established under part A of title IV of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) of the availability of as6 sistance under this section. 

7 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION OF PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN

8 ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—The provisions of sec9 tion 1117 shall apply to this section. 

10 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) FEDERALLY FUNDED SCHOOL FOOD PRO12 GRAMS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

13 to preclude a child eligible for assistance under the 

14 free and reduced price school lunch program estab15 lished under the Richard B. Russell National School 

16 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) from receiving 

17 assistance under such program. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF CONTROL OVER NON19 PUBLIC EDUCATION PROVIDERS.—Nothing in this 

20 section shall permit, allow, encourage, or authorize 

21 Federal or State control over non-public education 

22 providers.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. 529 ACCOUNT FUNDING FOR HOMESCHOOL AND AD2 DITIONAL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EX3 PENSES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(c)(7) of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SEC7 ONDARY TUITION AND RESOURCES.—Any reference 

8 in this section to the term ‘qualified higher edu9 cation expense’ shall include a reference to the fol10 lowing expenses in connection with enrollment or at11 tendance at, or for students enrolled at or attending, 

12 an elementary or secondary public, private, or reli13 gious school: 

14 ‘‘(A) Tuition. 

15 ‘‘(B) Curriculum and curricular materials. 

16 ‘‘(C) Books or other instructional mate17 rials. 

18 ‘‘(D) Online educational materials. 

19 ‘‘(E) Tuition for tutoring or educational 

20 classes outside of the home, including at a tu21 toring facility, but only if the tutor or instruc22 tor is not related to the student. 

23 ‘‘(F) Fees for a nationally standardized 

24 norm-referenced achievement test, an advanced 

25 placement examination, or any examinations re26 lated to college or university admission. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Fees for dual enrollment in an insti2 tution of higher education. 

3 ‘‘(H) Educational therapies for students 

4 with disabilities provided by a licensed or ac5 credited practitioner or provider, including oc6 cupational, behavioral, physical, and speech-lan7 guage therapies. 

8 Such term shall include expenses for the purposes 

9 described in subparagraphs (A) through (H) in con10 nection with a homeschool (whether treated as a 

11 homeschool or a private school for purposes of appli12 cable State law).’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

14 this section shall apply to distributions made after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 4. INCREASED ADDITIONAL TAX ON GRANTS NOT 

17 USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. 

18 Section 529(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘The tax’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (B), the tax’’, and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(B) INCREASED TAX ON AMOUNTS AT2 TRIBUTABLE TO CERTAIN GRANTS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

4 distribution from a qualified contribution 

5 program that includes amounts attrib6 utable to a qualified grant— 

7 ‘‘(I) section 530(d)(4) shall be 

8 applied separately to amounts attrib9 utable to qualified grants and to other 

10 amounts, and 

11 ‘‘(II) in applying such section to 

12 amounts attributable to qualified 

13 grants, such section shall be applied 

14 by substituting ‘100 percent’ for ‘10 

15 percent’. 

16 ‘‘(ii) ATTRIBUTION RULES.—For pur17 poses of this subparagraph— 

18 ‘‘(I) any earnings on contribu19 tions from a qualified grant shall not 

20 be treated as attributed to a qualified 

21 grant, and 

22 ‘‘(II) distributions from a quali23 fied tuition program described in 

24 clause (i) shall be treated as distrib25 uted first from amounts other than 


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1 amounts attributable to a qualified 

2 grant and then from amounts attrib3 utable to a qualified grant. 

4 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED GRANT.—For pur5 poses of this subparagraph, the term 

6 ‘qualified grant’ means any grant under 

7 section 8701 of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965.’’. 

Æ 


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