I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5517 

To require States to distribute funds for elementary and secondary education 

in the form of vouchers for eligible students, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2016 

Mrs. LUMMIS (for herself, Mr. MULVANEY, and Mr. SALMON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To require States to distribute funds for elementary and 

secondary education in the form of vouchers for eligible 

students, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Education Free5 dom Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EDUCATION VOUCHER PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi8 sion of law, as a condition of receiving Federal funds for 


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1 elementary and secondary education, each State shall 

2 carry out the program described under this Act. 

3 (b) BASIC ELEMENTS.— 

4 (1) PARENTAL CHOICE IN EDUCATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the 

6 2017–2018 academic year, a parent of an eligi7 ble child may— 

8 (i) enter into an agreement with a 

9 State educational agency for any academic 

10 year during which the eligible child will be 

11 in a grade for which the State provides 

12 free public education if— 

13 (I) the public school in which the 

14 eligible child is enrolled, or will be en15 rolled, receives Federal funds on the 

16 condition of implementing a Federal 

17 mandate; and 

18 (II) the parent disagrees with 

19 such mandate; and 

20 (ii) renew such agreement for each 

21 succeeding academic year during which the 

22 eligible child will be in a grade for which 

23 the State provides free public education. 

24 (B) AGREEMENT.—An agreement under 

25 this paragraph shall be entered into, or reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 Jun 18, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5517.IH H5517

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1 newed, in a manner and on a form determined 

2 by each State educational agency. 

3 (2) EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

5 agency shall— 

6 (i) provide an education savings ac7 count to each eligible child whose parent 

8 enters into an agreement under paragraph 

9 (1)(A)(i) with the State educational agency 

10 for an academic year; and 

11 (ii) maintain such account for each 

12 succeeding academic year for which the 

13 parent renews the agreement under para14 graph (1)(A)(ii). 

15 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An education sav16 ings account provided under this paragraph 

17 shall meet the following requirements: 

18 (i) The education savings account, 

19 and any funds deposited into such account, 

20 shall belong to the eligible child for whom 

21 the account was provided, and such child 

22 shall be the designated beneficiary of the 

23 account. 

24 (ii) The only funds that may be de25 posited into the education savings account 


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1 are the funds that a State educational 

2 agency disburses in accordance with sub3 paragraph (C). 

4 (iii) The funds in the education sav5 ings account may be used only for the pur6 pose of paying for the education expenses 

7 described in subsection (c) of the eligible 

8 child. 

9 (iv) The parent of the eligible child 

10 shall have the authority to direct the use 

11 of the funds in the education savings ac12 count to one or more qualifying providers 

13 that do not implement the Federal man14 date with which the parent disagrees. 

15 (v) Upon direction by the parent of 

16 the eligible child, a State educational agen17 cy shall distribute the funds in the edu18 cation savings account to the designated 

19 qualifying providers. 

20 (C) AMOUNT OF FUNDS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

22 (ii), beginning on August 1 of each aca23 demic year, each State educational agency 

24 shall disburse an amount equal to the aver25 age per-pupil expenditure of the State to 


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1 each education savings account provided 

2 under this paragraph. 

3 (ii) QUARTERLY DISBURSEMENT.— 

4 Each State educational agency shall dis5 burse the amount of funds provided under 

6 this subparagraph in 4 equal quarterly de7 posits. 

8 (iii) CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF

9 FUNDS.—Except as provided in clause (iv), 

10 any amounts remaining in an education 

11 savings account on the last day of the pe12 riod covered by an agreement under para13 graph (1)(A) shall remain available for use 

14 during a succeeding academic year. 

15 (iv) RECAPTURE OF FUNDS.—Each 

16 State educational agency shall recapture 

17 any amounts remaining in an education 

18 savings account on the last day of the pe19 riod covered by an agreement under para20 graph (1)(A) if— 

21 (I) the parent of the eligible child 

22 ends or violates the terms of the 

23 agreement during the covered period; 


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1 (II) the parent does not renew 

2 the agreement for the immediately 

3 succeeding academic year; or 

4 (III) the child for whom the edu5 cation savings account was provided 

6 no longer qualifies as an eligible child. 

7 (c) ELIGIBLE EDUCATION EXPENSES.—The funds in 

8 an education savings account provided under subsection 

9 (b)(2) may be used only for the following education ex10 penses: 

11 (1) Tuition and fees for a qualifying provider, 

12 including any costs and fees for tutoring services, 

13 specialized instructional support services, extra14 curricular activities, dual credit courses, and indi15 vidual courses. 

16 (2) Required textbooks, supplemental materials, 

17 and supplies. 

18 (3) Textbooks, supplemental materials, and 

19 supplies for self-study. 

20 (4) Fees for any— 

21 (A) national norm-referenced achievement 

22 examination; 

23 (B) advanced placement or similar exam24 ination; or 


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1 (C) standardized examination required for 

2 admission to an institution of higher education. 

3 (5) Transportation for travel to and from a 

4 qualifying provider, except that not more than 

5 $2,000 from the education savings account may be 

6 used for this purpose each academic year. 

7 (6) A contribution to a qualified tuition pro8 gram (as defined in section 529(b) of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code of 1986) with respect to which the eli10 gible child is a designated beneficiary. 

11 (7) A contribution to a Coverdell education sav12 ings account (as defined in section 530(b) of the In13 ternal Revenue Code of 1986) with respect to which 

14 the eligible child is a designated beneficiary, except 

15 that not more than $2,000 from the education sav16 ings account may be used for this purpose each aca17 demic year. 

18 (8) Any other education expense approved by 

19 the State educational agency. 

20 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE EDUCATIONAL

21 AGENCY.— 

22 (1) ANNUAL LIST OF QUALIFYING PRO23 VIDERS.— 

24 (A) CREATION.—Beginning on September 

25 1, 2016, each State educational agency shall— 


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1 (i) approve entities as qualifying pro2 viders for the 2017–2018 academic year; 

3 and 

4 (ii) prepare a list of such qualifying 

5 providers. 

6 (B) MAINTENANCE.—For each academic 

7 year succeeding the 2017–2018 academic year, 

8 each State educational agency shall renew the 

9 list of qualifying providers. 

10 (C) AVAILABILITY ON WEBSITE OF STATE

11 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—Each State edu12 cational agency shall make the annual list of 

13 qualifying providers publicly available on the 

14 website of the State educational agency. 

15 (2) ACCOUNTABILITY.—Each State educational 

16 agency shall take such steps as are necessary to en17 sure the proper implementation of this Act, includ18 ing— 

19 (A) conducting periodic audits of education 

20 savings accounts provided under subsection 

21 (b)(2); 

22 (B) ensuring that the funds in such ac23 counts are used in accordance with this Act; 

24 (C) freezing or revoking an education sav25 ings account if fraud is detected; and 


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1 (D) if appropriate, referring any parent or 

2 qualifying provider found to be using an edu3 cation savings account for unlawful purposes 

4 for criminal prosecution. 

5 (3) TRANSFER OF ACADEMIC RECORDS.—Upon 

6 request by a State educational agency, and if appli7 cable, the public school in which an eligible child was 

8 enrolled during the previous academic year shall pro9 vide the complete academic records of such child to 

10 any qualifying provider that is a school and that has 

11 admitted the child. 

12 (e) REQUIREMENTS AND RIGHTS OF QUALIFYING

13 PROVIDERS.— 

14 (1) ADMISSIONS.—A qualifying provider may— 

15 (A) enforce the admissions requirements of 

16 any school or program offered by the qualifying 

17 provider; and 

18 (B) subject to paragraph (4), accept the el19 igible children who are best qualified to attend 

20 such school or program. 

21 (2) TRANSFER OF ACADEMIC RECORDS.—Each 

22 qualifying provider that is a school shall agree, as a 

23 condition of participating in the program under this 

24 Act, to provide the complete academic records of an 

25 eligible child attending the school pursuant to an 


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1 agreement under subsection (b)(1)(A) to any other 

2 school to which such child transfers. 

3 (3) REFUNDS AND REBATES.— 

4 (A) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—A qualifying 

5 provider that receives funds from an education 

6 savings account provided under subsection 

7 (b)(2) may not— 

8 (i) refund, or provide a rebate, of any 

9 portion of such funds to the eligible child 

10 who is the designated beneficiary of the 

11 education savings account or a parent of 

12 such child; or 

13 (ii) share such funds with such child 

14 or parent in any manner. 

15 (B) EXCEPTION.—Any refund that is 

16 needed for an item that is being returned, or an 

17 item or service that has not been provided, shall 

18 be provided to the State educational agency, 

19 and the State educational agency shall deposit 

20 the amounts refunded into the education sav21 ings account from which such amounts were 

22 originally distributed. 

23 (4) NONDISCRIMINATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying provider 

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1 pants or applicants on the basis of race, color, 

2 national origin, or sex. 

3 (B) SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR

4 ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding subparagraph 

5 (A) or any other provision of law, a qualifying 

6 provider may offer a single sex school, class, or 

7 activity. 

8 (C) RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED QUALIFYING

9 PROVIDERS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

11 any other provision of law— 

12 (I) the prohibition of sex dis13 crimination in subparagraph (A) shall 

14 not apply to a qualifying provider that 

15 is operated by, supervised by, con16 trolled by, or connected to a religious 

17 organization to the extent that the ap18 plication of such subparagraph is in19 consistent with the religious tenets or 

20 beliefs of such provider; and 

21 (II) a qualifying provider that is 

22 operated by, supervised by, controlled 

23 by, or connected to a religious organi24 zation may exercise its right in mat25 ters of employment consistent with 


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1 title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), in3 cluding the exemptions in such title. 

4 (ii) MAINTENANCE OF PURPOSE.— 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of 

6 law, the receipt of funds from an education 

7 savings account provided under subsection 

8 (b)(2) shall not, consistent with the first 

9 amendment to the Constitution of the 

10 United States— 

11 (I) necessitate any change in the 

12 teaching mission of a qualifying pro13 vider; 

14 (II) require a qualifying provider 

15 to remove religious art, icons, scrip16 tures, or other symbols; or 

17 (III) preclude a qualifying pro18 vider from retaining religious terms in 

19 its name, selecting board members on 

20 a religious basis, or including religious 

21 references in the mission statements, 

22 charters, or other governing docu23 ments of such provider. 

24 (f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 (1) TREATMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—For pur2 poses of any Federal law or program— 

3 (A) no assistance provided under this Act 

4 may be treated as assistance to any qualifying 

5 provider; and 

6 (B) the amount of any funds in an edu7 cation savings account provided under sub8 section (b)(2) may not be treated as income of 

9 the eligible child who is the designated bene10 ficiary of the education savings account or a 

11 parent of such child. 

12 (2) NO ABILITY TO CONTROL CURRICULUM.— 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize 

14 any officer or employee of the Federal Government, 

15 through grants, contracts, or other cooperative 

16 agreements, to mandate, direct, or control the cur17 riculum, program of instruction, instructional con18 tent, academic standards, assessments, or allocation 

19 of resources of a State or of any school in a State. 

20 (3) NO EXTENSION OF REGULATORY AUTHOR21 ITY.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to ex22 pand the regulatory authority of a State government 

23 or the Federal Government to impose any additional 

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1 tions necessary to enforce the requirements of this 

2 Act. 

3 (g) TRANSITION.—Each State educational agency 

4 shall take steps to ensure a smooth transition to the pro5 gram under this Act in order to ensure that education sav6 ings accounts are available to eligible children beginning 

7 with the 2017–2018 academic year. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 child’’ means a child— 

12 (A) who— 

13 (i) is enrolling in a public school; or 

14 (ii) was enrolled in a public school 

15 during the previous academic year; and 

16 (B) whose parent disagrees with a Federal 

17 mandate that the school implements as a condi18 tion of receiving Federal funds. 

19 (2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘average per20 pupil expenditure’’, ‘‘child’’, ‘‘distance learning’’, 

21 ‘‘free public education’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘specialized in22 structional support services’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State 

23 educational agency’’ have the meanings given such 

24 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec25 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 102(a) of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)). 

5 (4) QUALIFYING PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘quali6 fying provider’’ means an entity that— 

7 (A) is— 

8 (i) a public school; 

9 (ii) a nonpublic school; 

10 (iii) a home school, provided that the 

11 eligible child was enrolled in a public 

12 school during the previous academic year; 

13 (iv) a tutoring facility; 

14 (v) a provider of distance learning; 

15 (vi) a provider of specialized instruc16 tional support services; or 

17 (vii) an institution of higher edu18 cation; 

19 (B) notifies a State educational agency of 

20 the intent to become a qualifying provider; and 

21 (C) agrees to comply with the requirements 

22 of section 2(e). 

23 (5) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’— 

24 (A) means a preschool, kindergarten, ele25 mentary school, or secondary school; and 


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1 (B) includes charter schools. 

Æ 


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