105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1502

AN ACT

Entitled the ‘‘District of Columbia Student Opportunity

Scholarship Act of 1997’’.

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

3 SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PRECEDENTS.

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

5 ‘‘District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship

6 Act of 1997’’.
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1 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find2 ings:

3 (1) Public education in the District of Columbia

4 is in a crisis, as evidenced by the following:

5 (A) The District of Columbia schools have

6 the lowest average of any school system in the

7 Nation on the National Assessment of Edu8 cation Progress.

9 (B) 72 percent of fourth graders in the

10 District of Columbia tested below basic pro11 ficiency on the National Assessment of Edu12 cation Progress in 1994.

13 (C) Since 1991, there has been a net de14 cline in the reading skills of District of Colum15 bia students as measured in scores on the

16 standardized Comprehensive Test of Basic

17 Skills.

18 (D) At least 40 percent of District of Co19 lumbia students drop out of or leave the school

20 system before graduation.

21 (E) The National Education Goals Panel

22 reported in 1996 that both students and teach23 ers in District of Columbia schools are sub24 jected to levels of violence that are twice the na25 tional average.
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1 (F) Nearly two-thirds of District of Colum2 bia teachers reported that violent student be3 havior is a serious impediment to teaching.

4 (G) Many of the District of Columbia’s

5 152 schools are in a state of terrible disrepair,

6 including leaking roofs, bitterly cold classrooms,

7 and numerous fire code violations.

8 (2) Significant improvements in the education

9 of educationally deprived children in the District of

10 Columbia can be accomplished by—

11 (A) increasing educational opportunities

12 for the children by expanding the range of edu13 cational choices that best meet the needs of the

14 children;

15 (B) fostering diversity and competition

16 among school programs for the children;

17 (C) providing the families of the children

18 more of the educational choices already avail19 able to affluent families; and

20 (D) enhancing the overall quality of edu21 cation in the District of Columbia by increasing

22 parental involvement in the direction of the

23 education of the children.

24 (3) The 350 private schools in the District of

25 Columbia and the surrounding area offer a more
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1 safe and stable learning environment than many of

2 the public schools.

3 (4) Costs are often much lower in private

4 schools than corresponding costs in public schools.

5 (5) Not all children are alike and therefore

6 there is no one school or program that fits the needs

7 of all children.

8 (6) The formation of sound values and moral

9 character is crucial to helping young people escape

10 from lives of poverty, family break-up, drug abuse,

11 crime, and school failure.

12 (7) In addition to offering knowledge and skills,

13 education should contribute positively to the forma14 tion of the internal norms and values which are vital

15 to a child’s success in life and to the well-being of

16 society.

17 (8) Schools should help to provide young people

18 with a sound moral foundation which is consistent

19 with the values of their parents. To find such a

20 school, parents need a full range of choice to deter21 mine where their children can best be educated.

22 (c) PRECEDENTS.—The United States Supreme

23 Court has determined that programs giving parents choice

24 and increased input in their children’s education, includ25 ing the choice of a religious education, do not violate the
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1 Constitution. The Supreme Court has held that as long

2 as the beneficiary decides where education funds will be

3 spent on such individual’s behalf, public funds can be used

4 for education in a religious institution because the public

5 entity has neither advanced nor hindered a particular reli6 gion and therefore has not violated the establishment

7 clause of the first amendment to the Constitution. Su8 preme Court precedents include—

9 (1) Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972);

10 Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925);

11 and Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923) which

12 held that parents have the primary role in and are

13 the primary decision makers in all areas regarding

14 the education and upbringing of their children;

15 (2) Mueller v. Allen, 463 U.S. 388 (1983)

16 which declared a Minnesota tax deduction program

17 that provided State income tax benefits for edu18 cational expenditures by parents, including tuition in

19 religiously affiliated schools, does not violate the

20 Constitution;

21 (3) Witters v. Department of Services for the

22 Blind, 474 U.S. 481 (1986) in which the Supreme

23 Court ruled unanimously that public funds for the

24 vocational training of the blind could be used at a

25 Bible college for ministry training; and
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1 (4) Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School Dis2 trict, 509 U.S. 1 (1993) which held that a deaf child

3 could receive an interpreter, paid for by the public,

4 in a private religiously affiliated school under the In5 dividual with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.

6 1400 et seq.). The case held that providing an inter7 preter in a religiously affiliated school did not violate

8 the establishment clause of the first amendment of

9 the Constitution.

10 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

11 As used in this Act—

12 (1) the term ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Di13 rectors of the Corporation established under section

14 3(b)(1);

15 (2) the term ‘‘Corporation’’ means the District

16 of Columbia Scholarship Corporation established

17 under section 3(a);

18 (3) the term ‘‘eligible institution’’—

19 (A) in the case of an eligible institution

20 serving a student who receives a tuition scholar21 ship under section 4(c)(1), means a public, pri22 vate, or independent elementary or secondary

23 school; and

24 (B) in the case of an eligible institution

25 serving a student who receives an enhanced
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1 achievement scholarship under section 4(c)(2),

2 means an elementary or secondary school, or an

3 entity that provides services to a student en4 rolled in an elementary or secondary school to

5 enhance such student’s achievement through in6 struction described in section 4(c)(2);

7 (4) the term ‘‘parent’’ includes a legal guardian

8 or other person standing in loco parentis; and

9 (5) the term ‘‘poverty line’’ means the income

10 official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Man11 agement and Budget, and revised annually in ac12 cordance with section 673(2) of the Community

13 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) appli14 cable to a family of the size involved.

15 SEC. 3. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCHOLARSHIP CORPORA16 TION.

17 (a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be es19 tablished a private, nonprofit corporation, to be

20 known as the ‘‘District of Columbia Scholarship

21 Corporation’’, which is neither an agency nor estab22 lishment of the United States Government or the

23 District of Columbia Government.

24 (2) DUTIES.—The Corporation shall have the

25 responsibility and authority to administer, publicize,
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1 and evaluate the scholarship program in accordance

2 with this Act, and to determine student and school

3 eligibility for participation in such program.

4 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Corporation shall ex5 ercise its authority—

6 (A) in a manner consistent with maximiz7 ing educational opportunities for the maximum

8 number of interested families; and

9 (B) in consultation with the District of Co10 lumbia Board of Education or entity exercising

11 administrative jurisdiction over the District of

12 Columbia Public Schools, the Superintendent of

13 the District of Columbia Public Schools, and

14 other school scholarship programs in the Dis15 trict of Columbia.

16 (4) APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS.—The Cor17 poration shall be subject to the provisions of this

18 Act, and, to the extent consistent with this Act, to

19 the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act

20 (D.C. Code, sec. 29–501 et seq.).

21 (5) RESIDENCE.—The Corporation shall have

22 its place of business in the District of Columbia and

23 shall be considered, for purposes of venue in civil ac24 tions, to be a resident of the District of Columbia.
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1 (6) FUND.—There is established in the Treas2 ury a fund that shall be known as the District of

3 Columbia Scholarship Fund, to be administered by

4 the Secretary of the Treasury.

5 (7) DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of the

6 Treasury shall make available and disburse to the

7 Corporation, before October 15 of each fiscal year or

8 not later than 15 days after the date of enactment

9 of an Act making appropriations for the District of

10 Columbia for such year, whichever occurs later, such

11 funds as have been appropriated to the District of

12 Columbia Scholarship Fund for the fiscal year in

13 which such disbursement is made.

14 (8) AVAILABILITY.—Funds authorized to be ap15 propriated under this Act shall remain available

16 until expended.

17 (9) USES.—Funds authorized to be appro18 priated under this Act shall be used by the Corpora19 tion in a prudent and financially responsible man20 ner, solely for scholarships, contracts, and adminis21 trative costs.

22 (10) AUTHORIZATION.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to

24 be appropriated to the District of Columbia

25 Scholarship Fund—
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1 (i) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

2 (ii) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

3 and

4 (iii) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal

5 years 2000 through 2002.

6 (B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 7.5 per7 cent of the amount appropriated to carry out

8 this Act for any fiscal year may be used by the

9 Corporation for salaries and administrative

10 costs.

11 (b) ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; BOARD OF

12 DIRECTORS.—

13 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS; MEMBERSHIP.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall

15 have a Board of Directors (referred to in this

16 Act as the ‘‘Board’’), comprised of 7 members

17 with 6 members of the Board appointed by the

18 President not later than 30 days after receipt

19 of nominations from the Speaker of the House

20 of Representatives and the Majority Leader of

21 the Senate.

22 (B) HOUSE NOMINATIONS.—The President

23 shall appoint 3 of the members from a list of

24 9 individuals nominated by the Speaker of the

25 House of Representatives in consultation with
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1 the Minority Leader of the House of Represent2 atives.

3 (C) SENATE NOMINATIONS.—The Presi4 dent shall appoint 3 members from a list of 9

5 individuals nominated by the Majority Leader

6 of the Senate in consultation with the Minority

7 Leader of the Senate.

8 (D) DEADLINE.—The Speaker of the

9 House of Representatives and Majority Leader

10 of the Senate shall submit their nominations to

11 the President not later than 30 days after the

12 date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (E) APPOINTEE OF MAYOR.—The Mayor

14 shall appoint 1 member of the Board not later

15 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of

16 this Act.

17 (F) POSSIBLE INTERIM MEMBERS.—If the

18 President does not appoint the 6 members of

19 the Board in the 30-day period described in

20 subparagraph (A), then the Speaker of the

21 House of Representatives and the Majority

22 Leader of the Senate shall each appoint 2 mem23 bers of the Board, and the Minority Leader of

24 the House of Representatives and the Minority

25 Leader of the Senate shall each appoint 1 mem-
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1 ber of the Board, from among the individuals

2 nominated pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and

3 (B), as the case may be. The appointees under

4 the preceding sentence together with the ap5 pointee of the Mayor, shall serve as an interim

6 Board with all the powers and other duties of

7 the Board described in this Act, until the Presi8 dent makes the appointments as described in

9 this subsection.

10 (2) POWERS.—All powers of the Corporation

11 shall vest in and be exercised under the authority of

12 the Board.

13 (3) ELECTIONS.—Members of the Board annu14 ally shall elect 1 of the members of the Board to be

15 the Chairperson of the Board.

16 (4) RESIDENCY.—All members appointed to the

17 Board shall be residents of the District of Columbia

18 at the time of appointment and while serving on the

19 Board.

20 (5) NONEMPLOYEE.—No member of the Board

21 may be an employee of the United States Govern22 ment or the District of Columbia Government when

23 appointed to or during tenure on the Board, unless

24 the individual is on a leave of absence from such a

25 position while serving on the Board.
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1 (6) INCORPORATION.—The members of the ini2 tial Board shall serve as incorporators and shall take

3 whatever steps are necessary to establish the Cor4 poration under the District of Columbia Nonprofit

5 Corporation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 29–501 et seq.).

6 (7) GENERAL TERM.—The term of office of

7 each member of the Board shall be 5 years, except

8 that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occur9 ring prior to the expiration of the term for which the

10 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the

11 remainder of such term.

12 (8) CONSECUTIVE TERM.—No member of the

13 Board shall be eligible to serve in excess of 2 con14 secutive terms of 5 years each. A partial term shall

15 be considered as 1 full term. Any vacancy on the

16 Board shall not affect the Board’s power, but shall

17 be filled in a manner consistent with this Act.

18 (9) NO BENEFIT.—No part of the income or as19 sets of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of

20 any Director, officer, or employee of the Corpora21 tion, except as salary or reasonable compensation for

22 services.

23 (10) POLITICAL ACTIVITY.—The Corporation

24 may not contribute to or otherwise support any po25 litical party or candidate for elective public office.
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1 (11) NO OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES.—The mem2 bers of the Board shall not, by reason of such mem3 bership, be considered to be officers or employees of

4 the United States Government or of the District of

5 Columbia Government.

6 (12) STIPENDS.—The members of the Board,

7 while attending meetings of the Board or while en8 gaged in duties related to such meetings or other ac9 tivities of the Board pursuant to this Act, shall be

10 provided a stipend. Such stipend shall be at the rate

11 of $150 per day for which the member of the Board

12 is officially recorded as having worked, except that

13 no member may be paid a total stipend amount in

14 any calendar year in excess of $5,000.

15 (c) OFFICERS AND STAFF.—

16 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Corporation

17 shall have an Executive Director, and such other

18 staff, as may be appointed by the Board for terms

19 and at rates of compensation, not to exceed level

20 EG–16 of the Educational Service of the District of

21 Columbia, to be fixed by the Board.

22 (2) STAFF.—With the approval of the Board,

23 the Executive Director may appoint and fix the sal24 ary of such additional personnel as the Executive

25 Director considers appropriate.
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1 (3) ANNUAL RATE.—No staff of the Corpora2 tion may be compensated by the Corporation at an

3 annual rate of pay greater than the annual rate of

4 pay of the Executive Director.

5 (4) SERVICE.—All officers and employees of the

6 Corporation shall serve at the pleasure of the Board.

7 (5) QUALIFICATION.—No political test or quali8 fication may be used in selecting, appointing, pro9 moting, or taking other personnel actions with re10 spect to officers, agents, or employees of the Cor11 poration.

12 (d) POWERS OF THE CORPORATION.—

13 (1) GENERALLY.—The Corporation is author14 ized to obtain grants from, and make contracts with,

15 individuals and with private, State, and Federal

16 agencies, organizations, and institutions.

17 (2) HIRING AUTHORITY.—The Corporation may

18 hire, or accept the voluntary services of, consultants,

19 experts, advisory boards, and panels to aid the Cor20 poration in carrying out this Act.

21 (e) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RECORDS.—

22 (1) AUDITS.—The financial statements of the

23 Corporation shall be—
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1 (A) maintained in accordance with gen2 erally accepted accounting principles for non3 profit corporations; and

4 (B) audited annually by independent cer5 tified public accountants.

6 (2) REPORT.—The report for each such audit

7 shall be included in the annual report to Congress

8 required by section 11(c).

9 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES.—

10 (1) SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION SCHEDULE AND

11 PROCEDURES.—Not later than 30 days after the ini12 tial Board is appointed and the first Executive Di13 rector of the Corporation is hired under this Act, the

14 Corporation shall implement a schedule and proce15 dures for processing applications for, and awarding,

16 student scholarships under this Act. The schedule

17 and procedures shall include establishing a list of

18 certified eligible institutions, distributing scholarship

19 information to parents and the general public (in20 cluding through a newspaper of general circulation),

21 and establishing deadlines for steps in the scholar22 ship application and award process.

23 (2) INSTITUTIONAL APPLICATIONS AND ELIGI24 BILITY.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution

2 that desires to participate in the scholarship

3 program under this Act shall file an application

4 with the Corporation for certification for par5 ticipation in the scholarship program under this

6 Act that shall—

7 (i) demonstrate that the eligible insti8 tution has operated with not less than 25

9 students during the 3 years preceding the

10 year for which the determination is made

11 unless the eligible institution is applying

12 for certification as a new eligible institu13 tion under subparagraph (C);

14 (ii) contain an assurance that the eli15 gible institution will comply with all appli16 cable requirements of this Act;

17 (iii) contain an annual statement of

18 the eligible institution’s budget; and

19 (iv) describe the eligible institution’s

20 proposed program, including personnel

21 qualifications and fees.

22 (B) CERTIFICATION.—

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

24 in subparagraph (C), not later than 60

25 days after receipt of an application in ac-
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1 cordance with subparagraph (A), the Cor2 poration shall certify an eligible institution

3 to participate in the scholarship program

4 under this Act.

5 (ii) CONTINUATION.—An eligible insti6 tution’s certification to participate in the

7 scholarship program shall continue unless

8 such eligible institution’s certification is re9 voked in accordance with subparagraph

10 (D).

11 (C) NEW ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institu13 tion that did not operate with at least 25

14 students in the 3 years preceding the year

15 for which the determination is made may

16 apply for a 1-year provisional certification

17 to participate in the scholarship program

18 under this Act for a single year by provid19 ing to the Corporation not later than July

20 1 of the year preceding the year for which

21 the determination is made—

22 (I) a list of the eligible institu23 tion’s board of directors;
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1 (II) letters of support from not

2 less than 10 members of the commu3 nity served by such eligible institution;

4 (III) a business plan;

5 (IV) an intended course of study;

6 (V) assurances that the eligible

7 institution will begin operations with

8 not less than 25 students;

9 (VI) assurances that the eligible

10 institution will comply with all appli11 cable requirements of this Act; and

12 (VII) a statement that satisfies

13 the requirements of clauses (ii) and

14 (iv) of subparagraph (A).

15 (ii) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than

16 60 days after the date of receipt of an ap17 plication described in clause (i), the Cor18 poration shall certify in writing the eligible

19 institution’s provisional certification to

20 participate in the scholarship program

21 under this Act unless the Corporation de22 termines that good cause exists to deny

23 certification.

24 (iii) RENEWAL OF PROVISIONAL CER25 TIFICATION.—After receipt of an applica-
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1 tion under clause (i) from an eligible insti2 tution that includes a statement of the eli3 gible institution’s budget completed not

4 earlier than 12 months before the date

5 such application is filed, the Corporation

6 shall renew an eligible institution’s provi7 sional certification for the second and third

8 years of the school’s participation in the

9 scholarship program under this Act unless

10 the Corporation finds—

11 (I) good cause to deny the re12 newal, including a finding of a pattern

13 of violation of requirements described

14 in paragraph (3)(A); or

15 (II) consistent failure of 25 per16 cent or more of the students receiving

17 scholarships under this Act and at18 tending such school to make appro19 priate progress (as determined by the

20 Corporation) in academic achieve21 ment.

22 (iv) DENIAL OF CERTIFICATION.—If

23 provisional certification or renewal of pro24 visional certification under this subsection

25 is denied, then the Corporation shall pro-
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1 vide a written explanation to the eligible

2 institution of the reasons for such denial.

3 (D) REVOCATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation,

5 after notice and hearing, may revoke an el6 igible institution’s certification to partici7 pate in the scholarship program under this

8 Act for a year succeeding the year for

9 which the determination is made for—

10 (I) good cause, including a find11 ing of a pattern of violation of pro12 gram requirements described in para13 graph (3)(A); or

14 (II) consistent failure of 25 per15 cent or more of the students receiving

16 scholarships under this Act and at17 tending such school to make appro18 priate progress (as determined by the

19 Corporation) in academic achieve20 ment.

21 (ii) EXPLANATION.—If the certifi22 cation of an eligible institution is revoked,

23 the Corporation shall provide a written ex24 planation of the Corporation’s decision to

25 such eligible institution and require a pro
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1 rata refund of the proceeds of the scholar2 ship funds received under this Act.

3 (3) PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGI4 BLE INSTITUTIONS.—

5 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—Each eligible insti6 tution participating in the scholarship program

7 under this Act shall—

8 (i) provide to the Corporation not

9 later than June 30 of each year the most

10 recent annual statement of the eligible in11 stitution’s budget; and

12 (ii) charge a student that receives a

13 scholarship under this Act not more than

14 the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for,

15 and transportation to attend, such eligible

16 institution as other students who are resi17 dents of the District of Columbia and en18 rolled in such eligible institution.

19 (B) COMPLIANCE.—The Corporation may

20 require documentation of compliance with the

21 requirements of subparagraph (A), but neither

22 the Corporation nor any governmental entity

23 may impose requirements upon an eligible insti24 tution as a condition for participation in the
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1 scholarship program under this Act, other than

2 requirements established under this Act.

3 SEC. 4. SCHOLARSHIPS AUTHORIZED.

4 (a) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—The Corporation is au5 thorized to award tuition scholarships under subsection

6 (c)(1) and enhanced achievement scholarships under sub7 section (c)(2) to students in kindergarten through

8 grade 12—

9 (1) who are residents of the District of Colum10 bia; and

11 (2) whose family income does not exceed 185

12 percent of the poverty line.

13 (b) SCHOLARSHIP PRIORITY.—

14 (1) FIRST.—The Corporation first shall award

15 scholarships to students described in subsection (a)

16 who—

17 (A) are enrolled in a District of Columbia

18 public school or preparing to enter a District of

19 Columbia public kindergarten, except that this

20 subparagraph shall apply only for academic

21 years 1997–1998, 1998–1999, and 1999–2000;

22 or

23 (B) have received a scholarship from the

24 Corporation for the academic year preceding
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1 the academic year for which the scholarship is

2 awarded.

3 (2) SECOND.—If funds remain for a fiscal year

4 for awarding scholarships after awarding scholar5 ships under paragraph (1), the Corporation shall

6 award scholarships to students who are described in

7 subsection (a), not described in paragraph (1), and

8 otherwise eligible for a scholarship under this Act.

9 (3) LOTTERY SELECTION.—The Corporation

10 shall award scholarships to students under this sub11 section using a lottery selection process whenever the

12 amount made available to carry out this Act for a

13 fiscal year is insufficient to award a scholarship to

14 each student who is eligible to receive a scholarship

15 under this Act for the fiscal year.

16 (c) USE OF SCHOLARSHIP.—

17 (1) TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS.—A tuition schol18 arship may be used for the payment of the cost of

19 the tuition and mandatory fees for, and transpor20 tation to attend, an eligible institution located within

21 the geographic boundaries of the District of Colum22 bia; Montgomery County, Maryland; Prince Georges

23 County, Maryland; Arlington County, Virginia; Alex24 andria City, Virginia; Falls Church City, Virginia;

25 Fairfax City, Virginia; or Fairfax County, Virginia.
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1 (2) ENHANCED ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIP.—

2 An enhanced achievement scholarship may be used

3 only for the payment of the costs of tuition and

4 mandatory fees for, and transportation to attend, a

5 program of instruction provided by an eligible insti6 tution which enhances student achievement of the

7 core curriculum and is operated outside of regular

8 school hours to supplement the regular school pro9 gram.

10 (e) NOT SCHOOL AID.—A scholarship under this Act

11 shall be considered assistance to the student and shall not

12 be considered assistance to an eligible institution.

13 SEC. 5. SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS.

14 (a) AWARDS.—From the funds made available under

15 this Act, the Corporation shall award a scholarship to a

16 student and make scholarship payments in accordance

17 with section 6.

18 (b) NOTIFICATION.—Each eligible institution that re19 ceives the proceeds of a scholarship payment under sub20 section (a) shall notify the Corporation not later than 10

21 days after—

22 (1) the date that a student receiving a scholar23 ship under this Act is enrolled, of the name, address,

24 and grade level of such student;
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1 (2) the date of the withdrawal or expulsion of

2 any student receiving a scholarship under this Act,

3 of the withdrawal or expulsion; and

4 (3) the date that a student receiving a scholar5 ship under this Act is refused admission, of the rea6 sons for such a refusal.

7 (c) TUITION SCHOLARSHIP.—

8 (1) EQUAL TO OR BELOW POVERTY LINE.—For

9 a student whose family income is equal to or below

10 the poverty line, a tuition scholarship may not ex11 ceed the lesser of—

12 (A) the cost of tuition and mandatory fees

13 for, and transportation to attend, an eligible in14 stitution; or

15 (B) $3,200 for fiscal year 1998, with such

16 amount adjusted in proportion to changes in

17 the Consumer Price Index for all urban con18 sumers published by the Department of Labor

19 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002.

20 (2) ABOVE POVERTY LINE.—For a student

21 whose family income is greater than the poverty line,

22 but not more than 185 percent of the poverty line,

23 a tuition scholarship may not exceed the lesser of—
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1 (A) 75 percent of the cost of tuition and

2 mandatory fees for, and transportation to at3 tend, an eligible institution; or

4 (B) $2,400 for fiscal year 1998, with such

5 amount adjusted in proportion to changes in

6 the Consumer Price Index for all urban con7 sumers published by the Department of Labor

8 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002.

9 (d) ENHANCED ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIP.—An

10 enhanced achievement scholarship may not exceed the

11 lesser of—

12 (1) the costs of tuition and mandatory fees for,

13 and transportation to attend, a program of instruc14 tion at an eligible institution; or

15 (2) $500 for 1998, with such amount adjusted

16 in proportion to changes in the Consumer Price

17 Index for all urban consumers published by the De18 partment of Labor for each of fiscal years 1999

19 through 2002.

20 SEC. 6. SCHOLARSHIP PAYMENTS.

21 (a) PAYMENTS.—The Corporation shall make schol22 arship payments to the parent of a student awarded a

23 scholarship under this Act.

24 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS.—Schol25 arship funds may be distributed by check, or another form
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1 of disbursement, issued by the Corporation and made pay2 able directly to a parent of a student awarded a scholar3 ship under this Act. The parent may use the scholarship

4 funds only for payment of tuition, mandatory fees, and

5 transportation costs as described in this Act.

6 (c) PRO RATA AMOUNTS FOR STUDENT WITH7 DRAWAL.—If a student receiving a scholarship under this

8 Act withdraws or is expelled from an eligible institution

9 after the proceeds of a scholarship is paid to the eligible

10 institution, then the eligible institution shall refund to the

11 Corporation on a pro rata basis the proportion of any such

12 proceeds received for the remaining days of the school

13 year. Such refund shall occur not later than 30 days after

14 the date of the withdrawal or expulsion of the student.

15 SEC. 7. CIVIL RIGHTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution participat17 ing in the scholarship program under this Act shall not

18 discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,

19 or sex in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

20 (b) APPLICABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION WITH RE21 SPECT TO DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX.—

22 (1) APPLICABILITY.—With respect to discrimi23 nation on the basis of sex, subsection (a) shall not

24 apply to an eligible institution that is controlled by

25 a religious organization if the application of sub-
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1 section (a) is inconsistent with the religious tenets of

2 the eligible institution.

3 (2) CONSTRUCTION.—With respect to discrimi4 nation on the basis of sex, nothing in subsection (a)

5 shall be construed to require any person, or public

6 or private entity to provide or pay, or to prohibit any

7 such person or entity from providing or paying, for

8 any benefit or service, including the use of facilities,

9 related to an abortion. Nothing in the preceding sen10 tence shall be construed to permit a penalty to be

11 imposed on any person or individual because such

12 person or individual is seeking or has received any

13 benefit or service related to a legal abortion.

14 (3) SINGLE-SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR ACTIVI15 TIES.—With respect to discrimination on the basis

16 of sex, nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed

17 to prevent a parent from choosing, or an eligible in18 stitution from offering, a single-sex school, class, or

19 activity.

20 (c) REVOCATION.—Notwithstanding section

21 3(f)(2)(D), if the Corporation determines that an eligible

22 institution participating in the scholarship program under

23 this Act is in violation of subsection (a), then the Corpora24 tion shall revoke such eligible institution’s certification to

25 participate in the program.
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1 SEC. 8. CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.

2 Nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of students,

3 or the obligations of the District of Columbia public

4 schools, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education

5 Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).

6 SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con8 strued to prevent any eligible institution which is operated

9 by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a reli10 gious organization from employing, admitting, or giving

11 preference to, persons of the same religion to the extent

12 determined by such institution to promote the religious

13 purpose for which the eligible institution is established or

14 maintained.

15 (b) SECTARIAN PURPOSES.—Nothing in this Act

16 shall be construed to prohibit the use of funds made avail17 able under this Act for sectarian educational purposes, or

18 to require an eligible institution to remove religious art,

19 icons, scripture, or other symbols.

20 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution participat22 ing in the scholarship program under this Act shall report

23 to the Corporation not later than July 30 of each year

24 in a manner prescribed by the Corporation, the following

25 data:
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1 (1) Student achievement in the eligible institu2 tion’s programs.

3 (2) Grade advancement for scholarship stu4 dents.

5 (3) Disciplinary actions taken with respect to

6 scholarship students.

7 (4) Graduation, college admission test scores,

8 and college admission rates, if applicable for scholar9 ship students.

10 (5) Types and amounts of parental involvement

11 required for all families of scholarship students.

12 (6) Student attendance for scholarship and

13 nonscholarship students.

14 (7) General information on curriculum, pro15 grams, facilities, credentials of personnel, and dis16 ciplinary rules at the eligible institution.

17 (8) Number of scholarship students enrolled.

18 (9) Such other information as may be required

19 by the Corporation for program appraisal.

20 (b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—No personal identifiers may

21 be used in such report, except that the Corporation may

22 request such personal identifiers solely for the purpose of

23 verification.
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1 SEC. 11. PROGRAM APPRAISAL.

2 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 4 years after the date

3 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall

4 enter into a contract, with an evaluating agency that has

5 demonstrated experience in conducting evaluations, for an

6 independent evaluation of the scholarship program under

7 this Act, including—

8 (1) a comparison of test scores between scholar9 ship students and District of Columbia public school

10 students of similar backgrounds, taking into account

11 the students’ academic achievement at the time of

12 the award of their scholarships and the students’

13 family income level;

14 (2) a comparison of graduation rates between

15 scholarship students and District of Columbia public

16 school students of similar backgrounds, taking into

17 account the students’ academic achievement at the

18 time of the award of their scholarships and the stu19 dents’ family income level;

20 (3) the satisfaction of parents of scholarship

21 students with the scholarship program; and

22 (4) the impact of the scholarship program on

23 the District of Columbia public schools, including

24 changes in the public school enrollment, and any im25 provement in the academic performance of the public

26 schools.
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1 (b) PUBLIC REVIEW OF DATA.—All data gathered in

2 the course of the study described in subsection (a) shall

3 be made available to the public upon request except that

4 no personal identifiers shall be made public.

5 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Septem6 ber 1 of each year, the Corporation shall submit a progress

7 report on the scholarship program to the appropriate com8 mittees of Congress. Such report shall include a review

9 of how scholarship funds were expended, including the ini10 tial academic achievement levels of students who have par11 ticipated in the scholarship program.

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap13 propriated for the study described in subsection (a),

14 $250,000, which shall remain available until expended.

15 SEC. 12. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

16 (a) JURISDICTION.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States District

18 Court for the District of Columbia shall have juris19 diction in any action challenging the constitutional20 ity of the scholarship program under this Act and

21 shall provide expedited review.

22 (2) STANDING.—The parent of any student eli23 gible to receive a scholarship under this Act shall

24 have standing in an action challenging the constitu25 tionality of the scholarship program under this Act.
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1 (b) APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—Notwithstanding

2 any other provision of law, any order of the United States

3 District Court for the District of Columbia which is issued

4 pursuant to an action brought under subsection (a) shall

5 be reviewable by appeal directly to the Supreme Court of

6 the United States.

7 SEC. 13. APPROPRIATION OF INITIAL FEDERAL CONTRIBU8 TION TO FUND.

9 There are hereby appropriated, out of any money in

10 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $7,000,000 for

11 the District of Columbia Scholarship Fund.

12 SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.

13 This Act shall be effective for each of the fiscal years

14 1998 through 2002.

Passed the Senate November 9, 1997.

Attest:

Secretary.
105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1502

AN ACT

Entitled the ‘‘District of Columbia Student

Opportunity Scholarship Act of 1997’’.