IB 

Union Calendar No. 402 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4901 

[Report No. 114–522] 

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 

APRIL 25, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. RUSSELL, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. ALLEN, and Mr. 

ROKITA

APRIL 25, 2016 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4901 RH

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results 

Act, and for other purposes. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4901 RH

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 

9 expressed in terms of an amendment to or repeal of a sec10 tion or other provision, the reference shall be considered 

11 to be made to that section or other provision of the Schol12 arships for Opportunity and Results Act (division C of 

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

14 Code). 

15 SEC. 2. REPEAL. 

16 Section 817 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

17 2016 (Public Law 114–113) is repealed, and any provision 

18 of law amended or repealed by such section is restored 

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

20 law. 

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

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

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

24 follows through ‘‘, with’’ and inserting ‘‘particularly par25 ents of students who attend an elementary school or secVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Apr 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4901.RH H4901

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4901 RH

1 ondary school identified as one of the lowest-performing 

2 schools under the District of Columbia’s accountability 

3 system, with’’. 

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

5 ELIGIBLE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE 

6 PROGRAM. 

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

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

9 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF LIMITS ON

10 ELIGIBLE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE PRO11 GRAM.— 

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

13 program under this division, the Secretary may 

14 not limit the number of eligible students receiv15 ing scholarships under section 3007(a), and 

16 may not prevent otherwise eligible students 

17 from participating in the program under this 

18 division, based on any of the following: 

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

20 previously attended. 

21 ‘‘(ii) Whether or not the student pre22 viously received a scholarship or partici23 pated in the program, including whether 

24 an eligible student was awarded a scholar25 ship in any previous year but has not used 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4901 RH

1 the scholarship, regardless of the number 

2 of years of nonuse. 

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

4 a member of the control group used by the 

5 Institute of Education Sciences to carry 

6 out previous evaluations of the program 

7 under section 3009. 

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

9 in subparagraph (A) may be construed to waive 

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

11 that the eligible entity carrying out the program 

12 under this Act must carry out a random selec13 tion process, which gives weight to the priorities 

14 described in section 3006, if more eligible stu15 dents seek admission in the program than the 

16 program can accommodate.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. REQUIRING ELIGIBLE ENTITIES TO UTILIZE INTER18 NAL FISCAL AND QUALITY CONTROLS. 

19 Section 3005(b)(1) (sec. 38–1853.05(b)(1), D.C. Of20 ficial Code) is amended— 

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

22 that a participating school may not be required to 

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

24 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (K) and 

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


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4901 RH

1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(K) how the entity will ensure the finan4 cial viability of participating schools in which 

5 85 percent or more of the total number of stu6 dents enrolled at the school are participating el7 igible students that receive and use an oppor8 tunity scholarship;’’; 

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

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

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

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

13 that it— 

14 ‘‘(i) utilizes internal fiscal and quality 

15 controls; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) complies with applicable financial 

17 reporting requirements and the require18 ments of this division; and’’. 

19 SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF PRIORITIES FOR AWARDING 

20 SCHOLARSHIPS TO ELIGIBLE STUDENTS. 

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

22 Code) is amended— 

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

24 and all that follows through the semicolon and in25 serting ‘‘attended an elementary school or secondary 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4901 RH

1 school identified as one of the lowest-performing 

2 schools under the District of Columbia’s account3 ability system; and’’; 

4 (2) by striking subparagraph (B); 

5 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub6 paragraph (B); and 

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

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

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

10 past, attended a private school;’’. 

11 SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICI12 PATING SCHOOLS AND ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. 

13 (a) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS; COMPLIANCE

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

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

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

17 the end; 

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

19 the following: 

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

21 subject matter, participating students are 

22 taught by a teacher who has a baccalaureate 

23 degree or equivalent degree, whether such de24 gree was awarded in or outside of the United 

25 States;’’; and 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4901 RH

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

2 ‘‘(G) conducts criminal background checks 

3 on school employees who have direct and unsu4 pervised interaction with students; and 

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

6 and information regarding the reporting re7 quirements described in section 3010.’’. 

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

9 1853.07(a), D.C. Official Code), as amended by subsection 

10 (a), is further amended— 

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

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

13 (5)’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(5) ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

17 provided under this division for opportunity 

18 scholarships may be used by a participating eli19 gible student to enroll in a participating private 

20 school unless the school— 

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

22 participating school as of the date of en23 actment of the SOAR Reauthorization 

24 Act— 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4901 RH

1 ‘‘(I) is fully accredited by an ac2 crediting body described in any of 

3 subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 

4 section 2202(16) of the District of 

5 Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 

6 (Public Law 104–134; sec. 38– 

7 1802.02(16)(A)–(G), D.C. Official 

8 Code); or 

9 ‘‘(II) if such participating school 

10 does not meet the requirements of 

11 subclause (I)— 

12 ‘‘(aa) not later than 1 year 

13 after the date of enactment of 

14 the Consolidated Appropriations 

15 Act, 2016 (Public Law 114– 

16 113), the school is pursuing full 

17 accreditation by an accrediting 

18 body described in subclause (I); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(bb) is fully accredited by 

21 such an accrediting body not 

22 later than 5 years after the date 

23 on which that school began the 

24 process of pursuing full accrediVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Apr 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4901.RH H4901

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4901 RH

1 tation in accordance with item 

2 (aa); and 

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

4 a participating school as of the date of en5 actment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, 

6 is fully accredited by an accrediting body 

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

8 participating school under this division. 

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

10 later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

11 of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, each partici12 pating school shall submit to the eligible entity 

13 a certification that the school has been fully ac14 credited in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(C) ASSISTING STUDENTS IN ENROLLING

16 IN OTHER SCHOOLS.—If a participating school 

17 fails to meet the requirements of this para18 graph, the eligible entity shall assist the parents 

19 of the participating eligible students who attend 

20 the school in identifying, applying to, and en21 rolling in another participating school under 

22 this division. 

23 ‘‘(6) TREATMENT OF STUDENTS AWARDED A

24 SCHOLARSHIP IN A PREVIOUS YEAR.—An eligible en25 tity shall treat a participating eligible student who 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4901 RH

1 was awarded an opportunity scholarship in any pre2 vious year and who has not used the scholarship as 

3 a renewal student and not as a new applicant, with4 out regard as to— 

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

6 the scholarship; and 

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

8 previously awarded.’’. 

9 (c) REQUIRING USE OF FUNDS REMAINING UNOBLI10 GATED FROM PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS.— 

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

12 1853.07, D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) REQUIRING USE OF FUNDS REMAINING UNOB15 LIGATED FROM PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS.— 

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

17 funds appropriated for the opportunity scholarship 

18 program under this division for any fiscal year re19 main available for subsequent fiscal years under sec20 tion 3014(c), the Secretary shall make such funds 

21 available to eligible entities receiving grants under 

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

23 (2)— 

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

25 that were appropriated before the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Apr 25, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4901.RH H4901

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4901 RH

1 ment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, begin2 ning on the date of enactment of such Act; and 

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

4 appropriated on or after the date of enactment 

5 of such Act, by the first day of the first subse6 quent fiscal year. 

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

8 which the Secretary provided additional funds under 

9 paragraph (1) elects to use such funds during a fis10 cal year, the eligible entity shall use— 

11 ‘‘(A) not less than 95 percent of such addi12 tional funds to provide additional scholarships 

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

14 to increase the amount of the scholarships, dur15 ing such year; and 

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

17 such additional funds for administrative ex18 penses, parental assistance, or tutoring, as de19 scribed in subsections (b) and (c), during such 

20 year. 

21 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—Any amounts made avail22 able for administrative expenses, parental assistance, 

23 or tutoring under paragraph (2)(B) shall be in addi24 tion to any other amounts made available for such 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4901 RH

1 purposes in accordance with subsections (b) and 

2 (c).’’. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

4 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of en5 actment of this Act. 

6 (d) USE OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

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

8 1853.07, D.C. Official Code), as amended by this section, 

9 is further amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND PARENTAL

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

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

15 each fiscal year available to eligible entities receiving a 

16 grant under section 3004(a) to cover the following ex17 penses: 

18 ‘‘(1) The administrative expenses of carrying 

19 out its program under this division during the year, 

20 including— 

21 ‘‘(A) determining the eligibility of students 

22 to participate; 

23 ‘‘(B) selecting the eligible students to re24 ceive scholarships; 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4901 RH

1 ‘‘(C) determining the amount of the schol2 arships and issuing the scholarships to eligible 

3 students; 

4 ‘‘(D) compiling and maintaining financial 

5 and programmatic records; 

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

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

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

9 survey of participating parents, on any barriers 

10 for participating eligible students in gaining ad11 mission to, or attending, the participating 

12 school that is their first choice; and 

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

14 fiscal year after the date of enactment of the 

15 SOAR Reauthorization Act, submitting a report 

16 to Congress that contains the results of such 

17 study. 

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

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

20 assisting parents through the application process 

21 under this division, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) providing information about the pro23 gram and the participating schools to parents 

24 of eligible students, including information on 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4901 RH

1 supplemental financial aid that may be available 

2 at participating schools; 

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

4 students in meeting expenses that might other5 wise preclude the participation of eligible stu6 dents in the program; and 

7 ‘‘(C) streamlining the application process 

8 for parents.’’; and 

9 (2) by redesignating subsection (d), and sub10 section (e) (as added by subsection (c)(1)), as sub11 sections (c) and (d), respectively. 

12 (e) CLARIFICATION OF USE OF FUNDS FOR STU13 DENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE.—Section 3007(c) (sec. 38– 

14 1853.07(c), D.C. Official Code), as redesignated by sub15 section (d)(2), is amended by striking ‘‘previously at16 tended’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 

17 and inserting ‘‘previously attended an elementary school 

18 or secondary school identified as one of the lowest-per19 forming schools under the District of Columbia’s account20 ability system.’’. 

21 SEC. 8. PROGRAM EVALUATION. 

22 (a) REVISION OF EVALUATION PROCEDURES AND

23 REQUIREMENTS.— 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4901 RH

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

2 1853.09(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

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

6 MAYOR.—The Secretary and the Mayor of the Dis7 trict of Columbia shall— 

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

9 the Institute of Education Sciences of the De10 partment of Education to evaluate annually the 

11 opportunity scholarship program under this di12 vision; 

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

14 monitor and evaluate the use of funds author15 ized and appropriated for the District of Co16 lumbia public schools and the District of Co17 lumbia public charter schools under this divi18 sion; and 

19 ‘‘(C) make the evaluations described in 

20 subparagraphs (A) and (B) public in accord21 ance with subsection (c). 

22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec23 retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 

24 agreement, shall— 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 4901 RH

1 ‘‘(A) ensure that the evaluation under 

2 paragraph (1)(A)— 

3 ‘‘(i) is conducted using an acceptable 

4 quasi-experimental research design for de5 termining the effectiveness of the oppor6 tunity scholarship program under this divi7 sion that does not use a control study 

8 group consisting of students who applied 

9 for but did not receive opportunity scholar10 ships; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) addresses the issues described in 

12 paragraph (4); and 

13 ‘‘(B) disseminate information on the im14 pact of the program— 

15 ‘‘(i) in increasing academic achieve16 ment and educational attainment of par17 ticipating eligible students who use an op18 portunity scholarship; and 

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

20 District of Columbia. 

21 ‘‘(3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDU22 CATION SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education 

23 Sciences of the Department of Education shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) assess participating eligible students 

25 who use an opportunity scholarship in each of 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 4901 RH

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

2 at the high school level, by supervising the ad3 ministration of the same reading and mathe4 matics assessment used by the District of Co5 lumbia public schools to comply with section 

6 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)); 

8 ‘‘(B) measure the academic achievement of 

9 all participating eligible students who use an 

10 opportunity scholarship in the grades described 

11 in subparagraph (A); and 

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

13 grant under this division to ensure that the par14 ents of each student who is a participating eli15 gible student that uses an opportunity scholar16 ship agrees to permit their child to participate 

17 in the evaluations and assessments carried out 

18 by the Institute of Education Sciences under 

19 this subsection. 

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

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

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) A comparison of the academic 

24 achievement of participating eligible students 

25 who use an opportunity scholarship on the 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 4901 RH

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

2 the academic achievement of a comparison 

3 group of students with similar backgrounds in 

4 the District of Columbia public schools. 

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

6 this division in expanding choice options for 

7 parents of participating eligible students and 

8 increasing the satisfaction of such parents and 

9 students with their choice. 

10 ‘‘(C) The reasons parents of participating 

11 eligible students choose for their children to 

12 participate in the program, including important 

13 characteristics for selecting schools. 

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

15 high school graduation rates, college enrollment 

16 rates, college persistence rates, and college 

17 graduation rates of participating eligible stu18 dents who use an opportunity scholarship with 

19 the rates of students in the comparison group 

20 described in subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(E) A comparison of the college enroll22 ment rates, college persistence rates, and col23 lege graduation rates of students who partici24 pated in the program in 2004, 2005, 2011, 

25 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 as the result of 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 4901 RH

1 winning the Opportunity Scholarship Program 

2 lottery with such enrollment, persistence, and 

3 graduation rates for students who entered but 

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

5 as a result, served as the control group for pre6 vious evaluations of the program under this di7 vision. Nothing in this subparagraph may be 

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

9 with respect to any such student. 

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

11 schools attended by participating eligible stu12 dents who use an opportunity scholarship and 

13 the schools in the District of Columbia attended 

14 by students in the comparison group described 

15 in subparagraph (A), based on the perceptions 

16 of the students and parents. 

17 ‘‘(G) An assessment of student academic 

18 achievement at participating schools in which 

19 85 percent of the total number of students en20 rolled at the school are participating eligible 

21 students who receive and use an opportunity 

22 scholarship. 

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

24 participating eligible students who use an op25 portunity scholarship as the Secretary considers 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 4901 RH

1 appropriate for inclusion in the evaluation, such 

2 as the impact of the program on public elemen3 tary schools and secondary schools in the Dis4 trict of Columbia. 

5 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITING DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL

6 INFORMATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any disclosure of per8 sonally identifiable information obtained under 

9 this division shall be in compliance with section 

10 444 of the General Education Provisions Act 

11 (commonly known as the ‘Family Educational 

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

13 1232g). 

14 ‘‘(B) STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING PUBLIC

15 SCHOOLS.—With respect to any student who is 

16 not attending a public elementary school or sec17 ondary school, personally identifiable informa18 tion obtained under this division shall only be 

19 disclosed to— 

20 ‘‘(i) individuals carrying out the eval21 uation described in paragraph (1)(A) for 

22 such student; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the group of individuals pro24 viding information for carrying out the 

25 evaluation of such student; and 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 4901 RH

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

2 (2) TRANSITION OF EVALUATION.— 

3 (A) TERMINATION OF PREVIOUS EVALUA4 TIONS.—The Secretary of Education shall— 

5 (i) terminate the evaluations con6 ducted under section 3009(a) of the Schol7 arships for Opportunity and Results Act 

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

9 as in effect on the day before the date of 

10 enactment of this Act, after obtaining data 

11 for the 2016–2017 school year; and 

12 (ii) submit any reports required for 

13 the 2016–2017 school year or preceding 

14 years with respect to the evaluations in ac15 cordance with section 3009(b) of such Act. 

16 (B) NEW EVALUATIONS.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning 

18 with respect to the 2017–2018 school year, 

19 the Secretary shall conduct new evalua20 tions in accordance with the provisions of 

21 section 3009(a) of the Scholarships for Op22 portunity and Results Act (sec. 38– 

23 1853.09(a), D.C. Official Code), as amend24 ed by this Act. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 4901 RH

1 (ii) MOST RECENT EVALUATION.—As 

2 a component of the new evaluations de3 scribed in clause (i), the Secretary shall 

4 continue to monitor and evaluate the stu5 dents who were evaluated in the most re6 cent evaluation under such section prior to 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, includ8 ing by monitoring and evaluating the test 

9 scores and other information of such stu10 dents. 

11 (b) DUTY OF MAYOR TO ENSURE INSTITUTE HAS

12 ALL INFORMATION NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT EVALUA13 TIONS.—Section 3011(a)(1) (sec. 38–1853.11(a)(1), D.C. 

14 Official Code) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT

16 EVALUATIONS.—Ensure that all District of Colum17 bia public schools and District of Columbia public 

18 charter schools make available to the Institute of 

19 Education Sciences of the Department of Education 

20 all of the information the Institute requires to carry 

21 out the assessments and perform the evaluations re22 quired under section 3009(a).’’. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 4901 RH

1 SEC. 9. FUNDING FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC 

2 SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS. 

3 (a) MANDATORY WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS FOR

4 FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH CONDITIONS.—Section 

5 3011(b) (sec. 38–1853.11(b), D.C. Official Code) is 

6 amended to read as follows: 

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

8 an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary determines 

9 that the Mayor has failed to comply with any of the re10 quirements of subsection (a), the Secretary may withhold 

11 from the Mayor, in whole or in part— 

12 ‘‘(1) the funds otherwise authorized to be ap13 propriated under section 3014(a)(2), if the failure to 

14 comply relates to the District of Columbia public 

15 schools; 

16 ‘‘(2) the funds otherwise authorized to be ap17 propriated under section 3014(a)(3), if the failure to 

18 comply relates to the District of Columbia public 

19 charter schools; or 

20 ‘‘(3) the funds otherwise authorized to be ap21 propriated under both paragraphs (2) and (3) of 

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

23 District of Columbia public schools and the District 

24 of Columbia public charter schools.’’. 

25 (b) RULES FOR USE OF FUNDS PROVIDED FOR SUP26 PORT OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.—Section 3011 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 4901 RH

1 (sec. 38–1853.11, D.C. Official Code), as amended by sec2 tion 7(b) and section 8(a), is further amended— 

3 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub4 section (d); and 

5 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol6 lowing new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(c) SPECIFIC RULES REGARDING FUNDS PROVIDED

8 FOR SUPPORT OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.—The fol9 lowing rules shall apply with respect to the funds provided 

10 under this division for the support of District of Columbia 

11 public charter schools: 

12 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may direct the funds pro13 vided for any fiscal year, or any portion thereof, to 

14 the Office of the State Superintendent of Education 

15 of the District of Columbia. 

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

17 Education of the District of Columbia may transfer 

18 the funds to subgrantees that are— 

19 ‘‘(A) specific District of Columbia public 

20 charter schools or networks of such schools; or 

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

22 organizations with experience in successfully 

23 providing support or assistance to District of 

24 Columbia public charter schools or networks of 

25 such schools. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 4901 RH

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

2 the support of District of Columbia public charter 

3 schools shall be available to any District of Columbia 

4 public charter school in good standing with the Dis5 trict of Columbia Charter School Board, and the Of6 fice of the State Superintendent of Education of the 

7 District of Columbia and the District of Columbia 

8 Charter School Board may not restrict the avail9 ability of such funds to certain types of schools on 

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

11 the school’s facilities.’’. 

12 SEC. 10. REVISION OF CURRENT MEMORANDUM OF UNDER13 STANDING. 

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

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

16 District of Columbia shall revise the memorandum of un17 derstanding which is in effect under section 3012(d) of 

18 the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act as of 

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

20 address the following: 

21 (1) The amendments made by this Act. 

22 (2) The need to ensure that participating 

23 schools under the Scholarships for Opportunity and 

24 Results Act meet fire code standards and maintain 

25 certificates of occupancy. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 4901 RH

1 (3) The need to ensure that District of Colum2 bia public schools and District of Columbia public 

3 charter schools meet the requirements under such 

4 Act to comply with all reasonable requests for infor5 mation necessary to carry out the evaluations re6 quired under section 3009(a) of such Act. 

7 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

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

9 is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

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

12 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes13 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 

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

15 subject matter’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) mathematics; 

17 ‘‘(B) science; and 

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

19 and 

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

21 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘household with a’’ be22 fore ‘‘student’’. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 4901 RH

1 SEC. 12. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS. 

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

4 D.C. Official Code) is amended— 

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

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

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

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

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

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

11 available under such subsection before the date of enact12 ment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, shall remain 

13 available until expended.’’. 

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

15 subsection (a)(2) shall take effect on the date of enact16 ment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made 

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

20 2018 and each succeeding school year. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 402 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4901 

[Report No. 114–522] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Scholarships for Opportunity 

and Results Act, and for other purposes. 

APRIL 25, 2016 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS