I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4901 

To reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2016 

Mr. CHAFFETZ (for himself, Mr. KLINE, Mr. MESSER, Mr. DESANTIS, Ms. 

FOXX, Mr. BLUM, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. LIPINSKI, 

Mr. WALKER, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, and Mr. BRAT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results 

Act, 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; REFERENCES IN ACT. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthoriza6 tion Act’’ or the ‘‘SOAR Reauthorization Act’’. 

7 (b) REFERENCES IN ACT.—Except as otherwise ex8 pressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is 

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1 tion or other provision, the reference shall be considered 

2 to be made to that section or other provision of the Schol3 arships for Opportunity and Results Act (division C of 

4 Public Law 112–10; sec. 38–1853.01 et seq., D.C. Official 

5 Code). 

6 SEC. 2. REPEAL. 

7 Section 817 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

8 2016 (Public Law 114–113) is repealed, and any provision 

9 of law amended or repealed by such section is restored 

10 or revived as if such section had not been enacted into 

11 law. 

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

13 Section 3003 (sec. 38–1853.03, D.C. Official Code) 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘particularly parents’’ and all that 

15 follows through ‘‘, with’’ and inserting ‘‘particularly par16 ents of students who attend an elementary school or sec17 ondary school identified as one of the lowest-performing 

18 schools under the District of Columbia’s accountability 

19 system, with’’. 

20 SEC. 4. PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF LIMITS ON TYPES OF 

21 ELIGIBLE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE 

22 PROGRAM. 

23 Section 3004(a) (sec. 38–1853.04(a), D.C. Official 

24 Code) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF LIMITS ON

2 ELIGIBLE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE PRO3 GRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

5 program under this division, the Secretary may 

6 not limit the number of eligible students receiv7 ing scholarships under section 3007(a), and 

8 may not prevent otherwise eligible students 

9 from participating in the program under this 

10 division, based on any of the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) The type of school the student 

12 previously attended. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Whether or not the student pre14 viously received a scholarship or partici15 pated in the program, including whether 

16 an eligible student was awarded a scholar17 ship in any previous year but has not used 

18 the scholarship, regardless of the number 

19 of years of nonuse. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Whether or not the student was 

21 a member of the control group used by the 

22 Institute of Education Sciences to carry 

23 out previous evaluations of the program 

24 under section 3009. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

2 in subparagraph (A) may be construed to waive 

3 the requirement under section 3005(b)(1)(B) 

4 that the eligible entity carrying out the program 

5 under this Act must carry out a random selec6 tion process, which gives weight to the priorities 

7 described in section 3006, if more eligible stu8 dents seek admission in the program than the 

9 program can accommodate.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. REQUIRING ELIGIBLE ENTITIES TO UTILIZE INTER11 NAL FISCAL AND QUALITY CONTROLS. 

12 Section 3005(b)(1) (sec. 38–1853.05(b)(1), D.C. Of13 ficial Code) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘, except 

15 that a participating school may not be required to 

16 submit to more than 1 site visit per school year’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (K) and 

18 (L) as subparagraphs (L) and (M), respectively; 

19 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(K) how the entity will ensure the finan22 cial viability of participating schools in which 

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1 igible students that receive and use an oppor2 tunity scholarship;’’; 

3 (4) in subparagraph (L), as redesignated by 

4 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

5 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(N) how the eligible entity will ensure 

7 that it— 

8 ‘‘(i) utilizes internal fiscal and quality 

9 controls; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) complies with applicable financial 

11 reporting requirements and the require12 ments of this division; and’’. 

13 SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF PRIORITIES FOR AWARDING 

14 SCHOLARSHIPS TO ELIGIBLE STUDENTS. 

15 Section 3006(1) (sec. 38–1853.06(1), D.C. Official 

16 Code) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘attended’’ 

18 and all that follows through the semicolon and in19 serting ‘‘attended an elementary school or secondary 

20 school identified as one of the lowest-performing 

21 schools under the District of Columbia’s account22 ability system; and’’; 

23 (2) by striking subparagraph (B); 

24 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub25 paragraph (B); and 


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1 (4) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated by 

2 paragraph (3), by striking the semicolon at the end 

3 and inserting ‘‘or whether such students have, in the 

4 past, attended a private school;’’. 

5 SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICI6 PATING SCHOOLS AND ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. 

7 (a) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS; COMPLIANCE

8 WITH REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 3007(a)(4) 

9 (sec. 38–1853.07(a)(4), D.C. Official Code) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(F) ensures that, with respect to core 

15 subject matter, participating students are 

16 taught by a teacher who has a baccalaureate 

17 degree or equivalent degree, whether such de18 gree was awarded in or outside of the United 

19 States;’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(G) conducts criminal background checks 

22 on school employees who have direct and unsu23 pervised interaction with students; and 


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1 ‘‘(H) complies with all requests for data 

2 and information regarding the reporting re3 quirements described in section 3010.’’. 

4 (b) ACCREDITATION.—Section 3007(a) (sec. 38– 

5 1853.07(a), D.C. Official Code), as amended by subsection 

6 (a), is further amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraphs 

8 (2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and 

9 (5)’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds 

13 provided under this division for opportunity 

14 scholarships may be used by a participating eli15 gible student to enroll in a participating private 

16 school unless the school— 

17 ‘‘(i) in the case of a school that is a 

18 participating school as of the date of en19 actment of the SOAR Reauthorization 

20 Act— 

21 ‘‘(I) is fully accredited by an ac22 crediting body described in any of 

23 subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 

24 section 2202(16) of the District of 

25 Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 


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1 (Public Law 104–134; sec. 38– 

2 1802.02(16)(A)–(G), D.C. Official 

3 Code); or 

4 ‘‘(II) if such participating school 

5 does not meet the requirements of 

6 subclause (I)— 

7 ‘‘(aa) not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of 

9 the Consolidated Appropriations 

10 Act, 2016 (Public Law 114– 

11 113), the school is pursuing full 

12 accreditation by an accrediting 

13 body described in subclause (I); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(bb) is fully accredited by 

16 such an accrediting body not 

17 later than 5 years after the date 

18 on which that school began the 

19 process of pursuing full accredi20 tation in accordance with item 

21 (aa); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a school that is not 

23 a participating school as of the date of en24 actment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, 

25 is fully accredited by an accrediting body 


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1 described in clause (i)(I) before becoming a 

2 participating school under this division. 

3 ‘‘(B) REPORTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Not 

4 later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

5 of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, each partici6 pating school shall submit to the eligible entity 

7 a certification that the school has been fully ac8 credited in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(C) ASSISTING STUDENTS IN ENROLLING

10 IN OTHER SCHOOLS.—If a participating school 

11 fails to meet the requirements of this para12 graph, the eligible entity shall assist the parents 

13 of the participating eligible students who attend 

14 the school in identifying, applying to, and en15 rolling in another participating school under 

16 this division. 

17 ‘‘(6) TREATMENT OF STUDENTS AWARDED A

18 SCHOLARSHIP IN A PREVIOUS YEAR.—An eligible en19 tity shall treat a participating eligible student who 

20 was awarded an opportunity scholarship in any pre21 vious year and who has not used the scholarship as 

22 a renewal student and not as a new applicant, with23 out regard as to— 

24 ‘‘(A) whether the eligible student has used 

25 the scholarship; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the year in which the scholarship was 

2 previously awarded.’’. 

3 (c) REQUIRING USE OF FUNDS REMAINING UNOBLI4 GATED FROM PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3007 (sec. 38– 

6 1853.07, D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) REQUIRING USE OF FUNDS REMAINING UNOB9 LIGATED FROM PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that any 

11 funds appropriated for the opportunity scholarship 

12 program under this division for any fiscal year re13 main available for subsequent fiscal years under sec14 tion 3014(c), the Secretary shall make such funds 

15 available to eligible entities receiving grants under 

16 section 3004(a) for the uses described in paragraph 

17 (2)— 

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of any remaining funds 

19 that were appropriated before the date of enact20 ment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, begin21 ning on the date of enactment of such Act; and 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of any remaining funds 

23 appropriated on or after the date of enactment 

24 of such Act, by the first day of the first subse25 quent fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—If an eligible entity to 

2 which the Secretary provided additional funds under 

3 paragraph (1) elects to use such funds during a fis4 cal year, the eligible entity shall use— 

5 ‘‘(A) not less than 95 percent of such addi6 tional funds to provide additional scholarships 

7 for eligible students under section 3007(a), or 

8 to increase the amount of the scholarships, dur9 ing such year; and 

10 ‘‘(B) not more than a total of 5 percent of 

11 such additional funds for administrative ex12 penses, parental assistance, or tutoring, as de13 scribed in subsections (b) and (c), during such 

14 year. 

15 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—Any amounts made avail16 able for administrative expenses, parental assistance, 

17 or tutoring under paragraph (2)(B) shall be in addi18 tion to any other amounts made available for such 

19 purposes in accordance with subsections (b) and 

20 (c).’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

22 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of en23 actment of this Act. 

24 (d) USE OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

25 AND PARENTAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 3007 (sec. 38– 


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1 1853.07, D.C. Official Code), as amended by this section, 

2 is further amended— 

3 (1) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND PARENTAL

6 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall make $2,000,000 of 

7 the amount made available under section 3014(a)(1) for 

8 each fiscal year available to eligible entities receiving a 

9 grant under section 3004(a) to cover the following ex10 penses: 

11 ‘‘(1) The administrative expenses of carrying 

12 out its program under this division during the year, 

13 including— 

14 ‘‘(A) determining the eligibility of students 

15 to participate; 

16 ‘‘(B) selecting the eligible students to re17 ceive scholarships; 

18 ‘‘(C) determining the amount of the schol19 arships and issuing the scholarships to eligible 

20 students; 

21 ‘‘(D) compiling and maintaining financial 

22 and programmatic records; 

23 ‘‘(E) conducting site visits as described in 

24 section 3005(b)(1)(I); and 


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1 ‘‘(F)(i) conducting a study, including a 

2 survey of participating parents, on any barriers 

3 for participating eligible students in gaining ad4 mission to, or attending, the participating 

5 school that is their first choice; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) not later than the end of the first full 

7 fiscal year after the date of enactment of the 

8 SOAR Reauthorization Act, submitting a report 

9 to Congress that contains the results of such 

10 study. 

11 ‘‘(2) The expenses of educating parents about 

12 the eligible entity’s program under this division, and 

13 assisting parents through the application process 

14 under this division, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) providing information about the pro16 gram and the participating schools to parents 

17 of eligible students, including information on 

18 supplemental financial aid that may be available 

19 at participating schools; 

20 ‘‘(B) providing funds to assist parents of 

21 students in meeting expenses that might other22 wise preclude the participation of eligible stu23 dents in the program; and 

24 ‘‘(C) streamlining the application process 

25 for parents.’’; and 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (d), and sub2 section (e) (as added by subsection (c)(1)), as sub3 sections (c) and (d), respectively. 

4 (e) CLARIFICATION OF USE OF FUNDS FOR STU5 DENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE.—Section 3007(c) (sec. 38– 

6 1853.07(c), D.C. Official Code), as redesignated by sub7 section (d)(2), is amended by striking ‘‘previously at8 tended’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 

9 and inserting ‘‘previously attended an elementary school 

10 or secondary school identified as one of the lowest-per11 forming schools under the District of Columbia’s account12 ability system.’’. 

13 SEC. 8. PROGRAM EVALUATION. 

14 (a) REVISION OF EVALUATION PROCEDURES AND

15 REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3009(a) (sec. 38– 

17 1853.09(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY AND THE

21 MAYOR.—The Secretary and the Mayor of the Dis22 trict of Columbia shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) jointly enter into an agreement with 

24 the Institute of Education Sciences of the De25 partment of Education to evaluate annually the 


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1 opportunity scholarship program under this di2 vision; 

3 ‘‘(B) jointly enter into an agreement to 

4 monitor and evaluate the use of funds author5 ized and appropriated for the District of Co6 lumbia public schools and the District of Co7 lumbia public charter schools under this divi8 sion; and 

9 ‘‘(C) make the evaluations described in 

10 subparagraphs (A) and (B) public in accord11 ance with subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec13 retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 

14 agreement, shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) ensure that the evaluation under 

16 paragraph (1)(A)— 

17 ‘‘(i) is conducted using an acceptable 

18 quasi-experimental research design for de19 termining the effectiveness of the oppor20 tunity scholarship program under this divi21 sion that does not use a control study 

22 group consisting of students who applied 

23 for but did not receive opportunity scholar24 ships; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) addresses the issues described in 

2 paragraph (4); and 

3 ‘‘(B) disseminate information on the im4 pact of the program— 

5 ‘‘(i) in increasing academic achieve6 ment and educational attainment of par7 ticipating eligible students who use an op8 portunity scholarship; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) on students and schools in the 

10 District of Columbia. 

11 ‘‘(3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDU12 CATION SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education 

13 Sciences of the Department of Education shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) assess participating eligible students 

15 who use an opportunity scholarship in each of 

16 grades 3 through 8, as well as one of the grades 

17 at the high school level, by supervising the ad18 ministration of the same reading and mathe19 matics assessment used by the District of Co20 lumbia public schools to comply with section 

21 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu22 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)); 

23 ‘‘(B) measure the academic achievement of 

24 all participating eligible students who use an 


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1 opportunity scholarship in the grades described 

2 in subparagraph (A); and 

3 ‘‘(C) work with eligible entities receiving a 

4 grant under this division to ensure that the par5 ents of each student who is a participating eli6 gible student that uses an opportunity scholar7 ship agrees to permit their child to participate 

8 in the evaluations and assessments carried out 

9 by the Institute of Education Sciences under 

10 this subsection. 

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

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

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) A comparison of the academic 

15 achievement of participating eligible students 

16 who use an opportunity scholarship on the 

17 measurements described in paragraph (3)(B) to 

18 the academic achievement of a comparison 

19 group of students with similar backgrounds in 

20 the District of Columbia public schools. 

21 ‘‘(B) The success of the program under 

22 this division in expanding choice options for 

23 parents of participating eligible students and 

24 increasing the satisfaction of such parents and 

25 students with their choice. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The reasons parents of participating 

2 eligible students choose for their children to 

3 participate in the program, including important 

4 characteristics for selecting schools. 

5 ‘‘(D) A comparison of the retention rates, 

6 high school graduation rates, college enrollment 

7 rates, college persistence rates, and college 

8 graduation rates of participating eligible stu9 dents who use an opportunity scholarship with 

10 the rates of students in the comparison group 

11 described in subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(E) A comparison of the college enroll13 ment rates, college persistence rates, and col14 lege graduation rates of students who partici15 pated in the program in 2004, 2005, 2011, 

16 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 as the result of 

17 winning the Opportunity Scholarship Program 

18 lottery with such enrollment, persistence, and 

19 graduation rates for students who entered but 

20 did not win such lottery in those years and who, 

21 as a result, served as the control group for pre22 vious evaluations of the program under this di23 vision. Nothing in this subparagraph may be 

24 construed to waive section 3004(a)(3)(A)(iii) 

25 with respect to any such student. 


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1 ‘‘(F) A comparison of the safety of the 

2 schools attended by participating eligible stu3 dents who use an opportunity scholarship and 

4 the schools in the District of Columbia attended 

5 by students in the comparison group described 

6 in subparagraph (A), based on the perceptions 

7 of the students and parents. 

8 ‘‘(G) An assessment of student academic 

9 achievement at participating schools in which 

10 85 percent of the total number of students en11 rolled at the school are participating eligible 

12 students who receive and use an opportunity 

13 scholarship. 

14 ‘‘(H) Such other issues with respect to 

15 participating eligible students who use an op16 portunity scholarship as the Secretary considers 

17 appropriate for inclusion in the evaluation, such 

18 as the impact of the program on public elemen19 tary schools and secondary schools in the Dis20 trict of Columbia. 

21 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

22 INFORMATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any disclosure of per24 sonally identifiable information obtained under 

25 this division shall be in compliance with section 


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1 444 of the General Education Provisions Act 

2 (commonly known as the ‘Family Educational 

3 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’) (20 U.S.C. 

4 1232g). 

5 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING PUBLIC

6 SCHOOLS.—With respect to any student who is 

7 not attending a public elementary school or sec8 ondary school, personally identifiable informa9 tion obtained under this division shall only be 

10 disclosed to— 

11 ‘‘(i) individuals carrying out the eval12 uation described in paragraph (1)(A) for 

13 such student; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the group of individuals pro15 viding information for carrying out the 

16 evaluation of such student; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the parents of such student.’’. 

18 (2) TRANSITION OF EVALUATION.— 

19 (A) TERMINATION OF PREVIOUS EVALUA20 TIONS.—The Secretary of Education shall— 

21 (i) terminate the evaluations con22 ducted under section 3009(a) of the Schol23 arships for Opportunity and Results Act 

24 (sec. 38–1853.09(a), D.C. Official Code), 

25 as in effect on the day before the date of 


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1 enactment of this Act, after obtaining data 

2 for the 2016–2017 school year; and 

3 (ii) submit any reports required for 

4 the 2016–2017 school year or preceding 

5 years with respect to the evaluations in ac6 cordance with section 3009(b) of such Act. 

7 (B) NEW EVALUATIONS.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning 

9 with respect to the 2017–2018 school year, 

10 the Secretary shall conduct new evalua11 tions in accordance with the provisions of 

12 section 3009(a) of the Scholarships for Op13 portunity and Results Act (sec. 38– 

14 1853.09(a), D.C. Official Code), as amend15 ed by this Act. 

16 (ii) MOST RECENT EVALUATION.—As 

17 a component of the new evaluations de18 scribed in clause (i), the Secretary shall 

19 continue to monitor and evaluate the stu20 dents who were evaluated in the most re21 cent evaluation under such section prior to 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, includ23 ing by monitoring and evaluating the test 

24 scores and other information of such stu25 dents. 


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1 (b) DUTY OF MAYOR TO ENSURE INSTITUTE HAS

2 ALL INFORMATION NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT EVALUA3 TIONS.—Section 3011(a)(1) (sec. 38–1853.11(a)(1), D.C. 

4 Official Code) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT

6 EVALUATIONS.—Ensure that all District of Colum7 bia public schools and District of Columbia public 

8 charter schools make available to the Institute of 

9 Education Sciences of the Department of Education 

10 all of the information the Institute requires to carry 

11 out the assessments and perform the evaluations re12 quired under section 3009(a).’’. 

13 SEC. 9. FUNDING FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC 

14 SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS. 

15 (a) MANDATORY WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS FOR

16 FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH CONDITIONS.—Section 

17 3011(b) (sec. 38–1853.11(b), D.C. Official Code) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

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

20 an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary determines 

21 that the Mayor has failed to comply with any of the re22 quirements of subsection (a), the Secretary may withhold 

23 from the Mayor, in whole or in part— 

24 ‘‘(1) the funds otherwise authorized to be ap25 propriated under section 3014(a)(2), if the failure to 


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1 comply relates to the District of Columbia public 

2 schools; 

3 ‘‘(2) the funds otherwise authorized to be ap4 propriated under section 3014(a)(3), if the failure to 

5 comply relates to the District of Columbia public 

6 charter schools; or 

7 ‘‘(3) the funds otherwise authorized to be ap8 propriated under both paragraphs (2) and (3) of 

9 section 3014(a), if the failure relates to both the 

10 District of Columbia public schools and the District 

11 of Columbia public charter schools.’’. 

12 (b) RULES FOR USE OF FUNDS PROVIDED FOR SUP13 PORT OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.—Section 3011 

14 (sec. 38–1853.11, D.C. Official Code), as amended by sec15 tion 7(b) and section 8(a), is further amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub17 section (d); and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol19 lowing new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(c) SPECIFIC RULES REGARDING FUNDS PROVIDED

21 FOR SUPPORT OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.—The fol22 lowing rules shall apply with respect to the funds provided 

23 under this division for the support of District of Columbia 

24 public charter schools: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may direct the funds pro2 vided for any fiscal year, or any portion thereof, to 

3 the Office of the State Superintendent of Education 

4 of the District of Columbia. 

5 ‘‘(2) The Office of the State Superintendent of 

6 Education of the District of Columbia may transfer 

7 the funds to subgrantees that are— 

8 ‘‘(A) specific District of Columbia public 

9 charter schools or networks of such schools; or 

10 ‘‘(B) District of Columbia-based nonprofit 

11 organizations with experience in successfully 

12 providing support or assistance to District of 

13 Columbia public charter schools or networks of 

14 such schools. 

15 ‘‘(3) The funds provided under this division for 

16 the support of District of Columbia public charter 

17 schools shall be available to any District of Columbia 

18 public charter school in good standing with the Dis19 trict of Columbia Charter School Board, and the Of20 fice of the State Superintendent of Education of the 

21 District of Columbia and the District of Columbia 

22 Charter School Board may not restrict the avail23 ability of such funds to certain types of schools on 

24 the basis of the school’s location, governing body, or 

25 the school’s facilities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. REVISION OF CURRENT MEMORANDUM OF UNDER2 STANDING. 

3 Not later than the beginning of the 2017–2018 school 

4 year, the Secretary of Education and the Mayor of the 

5 District of Columbia shall revise the memorandum of un6 derstanding which is in effect under section 3012(d) of 

7 the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act as of 

8 the day before the date of the enactment of this Act to 

9 address the following: 

10 (1) The amendments made by this Act. 

11 (2) The need to ensure that participating 

12 schools under the Scholarships for Opportunity and 

13 Results Act meet fire code standards and maintain 

14 certificates of occupancy. 

15 (3) The need to ensure that District of Colum16 bia public schools and District of Columbia public 

17 charter schools meet the requirements under such 

18 Act to comply with all reasonable requests for infor19 mation necessary to carry out the evaluations re20 quired under section 3009(a) of such Act. 

21 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

22 Section 3013 (sec. 38–1853.13, D.C. Official Code) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

25 (10) as paragraphs (2) through (11), respectively; 


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•HR 4901 IH

1 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes2 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) CORE SUBJECT MATTER.—The term ‘core 

4 subject matter’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) mathematics; 

6 ‘‘(B) science; and 

7 ‘‘(C) English, reading, or language arts.’’; 

8 and 

9 (3) in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), as redesignated by 

10 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘household with a’’ be11 fore ‘‘student’’. 

12 SEC. 12. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA13 TIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3014 (sec. 38–1853.14, 

15 D.C. Official Code) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and for each 

17 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

18 for each fiscal year through fiscal year 2021’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated under 

21 subsection (a)(1), including amounts appropriated and 

22 available under such subsection before the date of enact23 ment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, shall remain 

24 available until expended.’’. 


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

2 subsection (a)(2) shall take effect on the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made 

6 by this Act shall apply with respect to school year 2017– 

7 2018 and each succeeding school year. 

Æ 


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