I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 684

To provide scholarships for District of Columbia elementary and secondary 

students, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2003

Mr. FLAKE (for himself and Mr. LIPINSKI) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 

A BILL

To provide scholarships for District of Columbia elementary 

and secondary 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, FINDINGS, AND PRECEDENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship 

6 Act of 2003’’. 

7 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) Public education in the District of Columbia 

10 is in a crisis, as evidenced by the following: 
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1 (A) The District of Columbia schools have 

2 the lowest average of any school system in the 

3 Nation on the National Assessment of Edu4 cation Progress. 

5 (B) 72 percent of fourth graders in the 

6 District of Columbia tested below basic pro7 ficiency in reading on the National Assessment 

8 of Education Progress in 1998. 

9 (C) According to the District of Columbia’s 

10 own data, only 53 percent of District of Colum11 bia public school students in the 10th grade are 

12 reading at or above the basic level. 

13 (D) Only 28 percent of District of Colum14 bia public school students in the 10th grade 

15 test at or above the basic level in mathematics. 

16 (E) The National Education Goals Panel 

17 reported in 1996 that both students and teach18 ers in District of Columbia schools are sub19 jected to levels of violence that are twice the na20 tional average. 

21 (F) In 1999, nearly one in five District of 

22 Columbia high school students stated that, at 

23 some point in the preceding month, they felt too 

24 unsafe to go to school, while nearly one out of 
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1 every seven students admitted to bringing a 

2 weapon to school. 

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

4 146 schools are in a state of terrible disrepair, 

5 including leaking roofs, bitterly cold classrooms, 

6 and numerous fire code violations. 

7 (2) Significant improvements in the education 

8 of educationally deprived children in the District of 

9 Columbia can be accomplished by—

10 (A) increasing educational opportunities 

11 for the children by expanding the range of edu12 cational choices that best meet the needs of the 

13 children; 

14 (B) fostering diversity and competition 

15 among school programs for the children; 

16 (C) providing the families of the children 

17 more of the educational choices already avail18 able to affluent families; and 

19 (D) enhancing the overall quality of edu20 cation in the District of Columbia by increasing 

21 parental involvement in the direction of the 

22 education of the children. 

23 (3) The 475 private schools in the District of 

24 Columbia and the surrounding area offer a safer and 
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1 more stable learning environment than many of the 

2 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 breakup, 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 choices 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, or religion in general, and therefore has not violated 

7 the establishment clause of the first amendment to the 

8 Constitution. Supreme Court precedents include the fol9 lowing: 

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

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

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

13 held that parents have the primary role in and are 

14 the primary decision makers in all areas regarding 

15 the education and upbringing of their children. 

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

17 which declared a Minnesota tax deduction program 

18 that provided State income tax benefits for edu19 cational expenditures by parents, including tuition in 

20 religiously affiliated schools, does not violate the 

21 Constitution.

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

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

24 Court ruled unanimously that public funds for the 
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1 vocational training of the blind could be used at a 

2 Bible college for ministry training. 

3 (4) Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School Dis4 trict, 509 U.S. 1 (1993), which held that a deaf 

5 child could receive an interpreter, paid for by the 

6 public, in a private religiously affiliated school under 

7 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

8 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). The case held that providing 

9 an interpreter in a religiously affiliated school did 

10 not violate the establishment clause of the first 

11 amendment of the Constitution. 

12 (5) Simmons-Harris v. Zelman, 122 S. Ct. 

13 2460 (2002), which upheld as constitutional a school 

14 voucher program providing tuition subsidies to stu15 dents in failing schools in Cleveland to enable them 

16 to attend private schools, notwithstanding that most 

17 of the private schools were religious in nature. 

18 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Di21 rectors of the Corporation established under section 

22 3(b)(1). 

23 (2) The term ‘‘Corporation’’ means the District 

24 of Columbia Scholarship Corporation established 

25 under section 3(a). 
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1 (3) The term ‘‘eligible institution’’—

2 (A) in the case of an institution serving a 

3 student who receives a tuition scholarship under 

4 section 4(d)(1), means a public, private, or 

5 independent elementary or secondary school; 

6 and 

7 (B) in the case of an institution serving a 

8 student who receives an enhanced achievement 

9 scholarship under section 4(d)(2), means an ele10 mentary or secondary school or an entity that 

11 provides services to a student enrolled in an ele12 mentary or secondary school to enhance such 

13 student’s achievement through instruction de14 scribed in section 4(d)(2). 

15 (4) The term ‘‘parent’’ includes a legal guard16 ian or other person standing in loco parentis. 

17 (5) The term ‘‘poverty line’’ means the official 

18 poverty line, as established by the Director of the 

19 Office of Management and Budget and revised an20 nually under section 673(2) of the Community Serv21 ices Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), applica22 ble to a family of the size involved. 

23 SEC. 3. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCHOLARSHIP CORPORA24 TION. 

25 (a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be es2 tablished a private, nonprofit corporation, to be 

3 known as the ‘‘District of Columbia Scholarship 

4 Corporation’’, which is neither an agency nor estab5 lishment of the United States Government or the 

6 District of Columbia Government. 

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

8 responsibility and authority to administer, publicize, 

9 and evaluate the scholarship program in accordance 

10 with this Act, and to determine student and school 

11 eligibility for participation in such program. 

12 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Corporation shall ex13 ercise its authority—

14 (A) in a manner consistent with maxi15 mizing educational opportunities for the max16 imum number of interested families; and 

17 (B) in consultation with the District of Co18 lumbia Board of Education or entity exercising 

19 administrative jurisdiction over the District of 

20 Columbia Public Schools, the Superintendent of 

21 the District of Columbia Public Schools, and 

22 other school scholarship programs in the Dis23 trict of Columbia. 

24 (4) APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS.—The Cor25 poration shall be subject to the provisions of this 
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1 Act, and, to the extent consistent with this Act, to 

2 the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act 

3 (sec. 29–301.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code). 

4 (5) RESIDENCE.—The Corporation shall have 

5 its place of business in the District of Columbia and 

6 shall be considered, for purposes of venue in civil ac7 tions, to be a resident of the District of Columbia. 

8 (6) FUND.—There is established in the Treas9 ury a fund that shall be known as the District of 

10 Columbia Scholarship Fund, to be administered by 

11 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

12 (7) DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of the 

13 Treasury shall make available and disburse to the 

14 Corporation, before October 15 of each fiscal year or 

15 not later than 15 days after the date of enactment 

16 of an Act making appropriations for the District of 

17 Columbia for such year, whichever occurs later, such 

18 funds as have been appropriated to the District of 

19 Columbia Scholarship Fund for the fiscal year in 

20 which such disbursement is made. 

21 (8) AVAILABILITY.—Funds authorized to be ap22 propriated under this Act shall remain available 

23 until expended. 

24 (9) USES.—Funds authorized to be appro25 priated under this Act shall be used by the Corpora-
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1 tion in a prudent and financially responsible man2 ner, solely for scholarships, contracts, and adminis3 trative costs. 

4 (10) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

6 be appropriated to the District of Columbia 

7 Scholarship Fund—

8 (i) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

9 (ii) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

10 and 

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

12 years 2006 through 2008. 

13 (B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 7.5 per14 cent of the amount appropriated to carry out 

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

16 Corporation for salaries and administrative 

17 costs. 

18 (b) ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; BOARD OF

19 DIRECTORS.—

20 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS; MEMBERSHIP.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

22 have a Board of Directors (hereinafter in this 

23 Act referred to as the ‘‘Board’’), comprised of

24 seven members, with six members of the Board 

25 appointed by the President not later than 30 
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1 days after receipt of nominations from the 

2 Speaker of the House of Representatives and 

3 the President pro tempore of the Senate.

4 (B) HOUSE NOMINATIONS.—The President 

5 shall appoint three of the members from a list 

6 of nine individuals nominated by the Speaker of 

7 the House of Representatives in consultation 

8 with the minority leader of the House of Rep9 resentatives. 

10 (C) SENATE NOMINATIONS.—The Presi11 dent shall appoint three members from a list of 

12 nine individuals nominated by the President pro 

13 tempore of the Senate in consultation with the 

14 minority leader of the Senate. 

15 (D) DEADLINE.—The Speaker of the 

16 House of Representatives and Majority Leader 

17 of the Senate shall submit their nominations to 

18 the President not later than 30 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (E) APPOINTEE BY MAYOR.—The Mayor 

21 of the District of Columbia shall appoint one 

22 member of the Board not later than 60 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (F) POSSIBLE INTERIM MEMBERS.—If the 

25 President does not appoint the six members of 
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1 the Board in the 30-day period described in 

2 subparagraph (A), then the Speaker of the 

3 House of Representatives and the President pro 

4 tempore of the Senate shall each appoint two 

5 members of the Board, and the minority leader 

6 of the House of Representatives and the minor7 ity leader of the Senate shall each appoint one 

8 member of the Board, from among the individ9 uals nominated under subparagraphs (A) and 

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

11 the preceding sentence together with the ap12 pointee of the Mayor of the District of Colum13 bia, shall serve as an interim Board with all the 

14 powers and other duties of the Board described 

15 in this Act, until the President makes the ap16 pointments as described in this subsection. 

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

18 shall vest in and be exercised under the authority of 

19 the Board. 

20 (3) ELECTIONS.—Members of the Board annu21 ally shall elect one of the members of the Board to 

22 be the Chairperson of the Board. 

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

24 Board shall be residents of the District of Columbia 
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1 at the time of appointment and while serving on the 

2 Board. 

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

4 may be an employee of the United States Govern5 ment or the District of Columbia Government when 

6 appointed to or during tenure on the Board, unless 

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

8 position while serving on the Board. 

9 (6) INCORPORATION.—The members of the ini10 tial Board shall serve as incorporators and shall take 

11 whatever steps are necessary to establish the Cor12 poration under the District of Columbia Nonprofit 

13 Corporation Act (sec. 29–301.01 et seq., D.C. Offi14 cial Code). 

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

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

17 that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occur18 ring prior to the expiration of the term for which the 

19 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the 

20 remainder of such term. 

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

22 Board shall be eligible to serve in excess of two con23 secutive terms of 5 years each. A partial term shall 

24 be considered as one full term. Any vacancy on the 
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1 Board shall not affect the Board’s power, but shall 

2 be filled in a manner consistent with this Act. 

3 (9) NO BENEFIT.—No part of the income or as4 sets of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of 

5 any Director, officer, or employee of the Corpora6 tion, except as salary or reasonable compensation for 

7 services. 

8 (10) POLITICAL ACTIVITY.—The Corporation 

9 may not contribute to or otherwise support any po10 litical party or candidate for elective public office. 

11 (11) NOT OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES.—The 

12 members of the Board shall not, by reason of such 

13 membership, be considered to be officers or employ14 ees of the United States Government or of the Dis15 trict of Columbia Government. 

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

17 while attending meetings of the Board or while en18 gaged in duties related to such meetings or other ac19 tivities of the Board pursuant to this Act, shall be 

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

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

22 is officially recorded as having worked, except that 

23 no member may be paid a total stipend amount in 

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

25 (c) OFFICERS AND STAFF.—
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1 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Corporation 

2 shall have an executive director, and such other 

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

4 and at rates of compensation, not to exceed level 

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

6 Columbia, to be fixed by the Board. 

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

8 the executive director may appoint and fix the salary 

9 of such additional personnel as the executive director 

10 considers appropriate. 

11 (3) ANNUAL RATE.—No staff of the Corpora12 tion may be compensated by the Corporation at an 

13 annual rate of pay greater than the annual rate of 

14 pay of the executive director. 

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

16 Corporation shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. 

17 (5) QUALIFICATION.—No political test or quali18 fication may be used in selecting, appointing, pro19 moting, or taking other personnel actions with re20 spect to officers, agents, or employees of the Cor21 poration. 

22 (d) POWERS OF THE CORPORATION.—

23 (1) GENERALLY.—The Corporation is author24 ized to obtain grants from, and make contracts with,
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1 individuals and with private, State, and Federal 

2 agencies, organizations, and institutions. 

3 (2) HIRING AUTHORITY.—The Corporation may 

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

5 experts, advisory boards, and panels to aid the Cor6 poration in carrying out this Act. 

7 (e) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RECORDS.—

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

9 Corporation shall be—

10 (A) maintained in accordance with gen11 erally accepted accounting principles for non12 profit corporations; and 

13 (B) audited annually by independent cer14 tified public accountants. 

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

16 shall be included in the annual report to Congress 

17 required by section 11(c). 

18 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES.—

19 (1) SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION SCHEDULE AND

20 PROCEDURES.—Not later than 30 days after the ini21 tial Board is appointed and the first executive direc22 tor of the Corporation is hired under this Act, the 

23 Corporation shall implement a schedule and proce24 dures for processing applications for, and awarding, 

25 student scholarships under this Act. The schedule 
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1 and procedures shall include establishing a list of 

2 certified eligible institutions located in the areas 

3 specified in section 4(d)(1)), distributing scholarship 

4 information to parents and the general public (in5 cluding through a newspaper of general circulation), 

6 and establishing deadlines for steps in the scholar7 ship application and award process. 

8 (2) INSTITUTIONAL APPLICATIONS AND ELIGI9 BILITY.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

11 that desires to participate in the scholarship 

12 program under this Act shall file an application 

13 with the Corporation for certification for par14 ticipation in the scholarship program under this 

15 Act that shall—

16 (i) demonstrate that the eligible insti17 tution has operated with not fewer than 25 

18 students during the 3 years preceding the 

19 year for which the determination is made 

20 unless the eligible institution is applying 

21 for certification as a new eligible institu22 tion under subparagraph (C); 

23 (ii) contain an assurance that the eli24 gible institution will comply with all appli25 cable requirements of this Act; 
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1 (iii) contain an annual statement of 

2 the eligible institution’s budget; and 

3 (iv) describe the eligible institution’s 

4 proposed program, including personnel 

5 qualifications and fees. 

6 (B) CERTIFICATION.—

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

8 in subparagraph (C), not later than 60 

9 days after receipt of an application in ac10 cordance with subparagraph (A), the Cor11 poration shall certify an eligible institution 

12 to participate in the scholarship program 

13 under this Act. 

14 (ii) CONTINUATION.—An eligible insti15 tution’s certification to participate in the 

16 scholarship program shall continue unless 

17 such eligible institution’s certification is re18 voked in accordance with subparagraph 

19 (D). 

20 (C) NEW ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institu22 tion that did not operate with at least 25 

23 students in the 3 years preceding the year 

24 for which the determination is made may 

25 apply for a 1-year provisional certification 
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1 to participate in the scholarship program 

2 under this Act for a single year by pro3 viding to the Corporation not later than 

4 July 1 of the year preceding the year for 

5 which the determination is made—

6 (I) a list of the eligible institu7 tion’s board of directors; 

8 (II) letters of support from not 

9 less than 10 members of the commu10 nity served by such eligible institution; 

11 (III) a business plan; 

12 (IV) an intended course of study; 

13 (V) assurances that the eligible 

14 institution will begin operations with 

15 not less than 25 students; 

16 (VI) assurances that the eligible 

17 institution will comply with all appli18 cable requirements of this Act; and 

19 (VII) a statement that satisfies 

20 the requirements of clauses (ii) and 

21 (iv) of subparagraph (A). 

22 (ii) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 

23 60 days after the date of receipt of an ap24 plication described in clause (i), the Cor25 poration shall certify in writing the eligible
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1 institution’s provisional certification to 

2 participate in the scholarship program 

3 under this Act unless the Corporation de4 termines that good cause exists to deny 

5 certification. 

6 (iii) RENEWAL OF PROVISIONAL CER7 TIFICATION.—After receipt of an applica8 tion under clause (i) from an eligible insti9 tution that includes a statement of the eli10 gible institution’s budget completed not 

11 earlier than 12 months before the date 

12 such application is filed, the Corporation 

13 shall renew an eligible institution’s provi14 sional certification for the second and third 

15 years of the school’s participation in the 

16 scholarship program under this Act unless 

17 the Corporation finds—

18 (I) good cause to deny the re19 newal, including a finding of a pattern 

20 of violation of requirements described 

21 in paragraph (3)(A); or 

22 (II) consistent failure of 25 per23 cent or more of the students receiving 

24 scholarships under this Act and at25 tending such school to make appro-
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1 priate progress (as determined by the

2 Corporation) in academic achieve3 ment. 

4 (iv) DENIAL OF CERTIFICATION.—If 

5 provisional certification or renewal of pro6 visional certification under this subsection 

7 is denied, then the Corporation shall pro8 vide a written explanation to the eligible 

9 institution of the reasons for such denial. 

10 (D) REVOCATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation, 

12 after notice and opportunity for a hearing, 

13 may revoke an eligible institution’s certifi14 cation to participate in the scholarship pro15 gram under this Act for a year succeeding 

16 the year for which the determination is 

17 made for—

18 (I) good cause, including a find19 ing of a pattern of violation of pro20 gram requirements described in para21 graph (3)(A); or 

22 (II) consistent failure of 25 per23 cent or more of the students receiving 

24 scholarships under this Act and at25 tending such school to make appro-
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1 priate progress (as determined by the 

2 Corporation) in academic achieve3 ment. 

4 (ii) EXPLANATION.—If the certifi5 cation of an eligible institution is revoked, 

6 the Corporation shall provide a written ex7 planation of the Corporation’s decision to 

8 such eligible institution and require a pro 

9 rata refund of the proceeds of the scholar10 ship funds received under this Act. 

11 (iii) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY NOT AF12 FECTED.—A student receiving a scholar13 ship under this Act who attends an institu14 tion that has had its eligibility revoked 

15 under this subparagraph may utilize such 

16 scholarship at another eligible institution. 

17 (3) PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGI18 BLE INSTITUTIONS.—

19 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—Each eligible insti20 tution participating in the scholarship program 

21 under this Act shall—

22 (i) provide to the Corporation not 

23 later than June 30 of each year the most 

24 recent annual statement of the eligible in25 stitution’s budget; and 
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1 (ii) charge a student that receives a 

2 scholarship under this Act not more than 

3 the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for, 

4 and (as appropriate) transportation to at5 tend, such eligible institution as other stu6 dents who are residents of the District of 

7 Columbia and enrolled in such eligible in8 stitution. 

9 (B) COMPLIANCE.—The Corporation may 

10 require documentation of compliance with the 

11 requirements of subparagraph (A), but neither 

12 the Corporation nor any governmental entity 

13 may impose requirements upon an eligible insti14 tution as a condition for participation in the 

15 scholarship program under this Act, other than 

16 requirements established under this Act. 

17 SEC. 4. SCHOLARSHIPS AUTHORIZED. 

18 (a) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—The Corporation may 

19 award tuition scholarships under subsection (d)(1) and en20 hanced achievement scholarships under subsection (d)(2) 

21 to students preparing to enter kindergarten through grade 

22 12—

23 (1) who are residents of the District of Colum24 bia; and 
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1 (2) whose family income does not exceed 185 

2 percent of the poverty line. 

3 (b) SCHOLARSHIP PRIORITY.—Subject to subsection 

4 (c), the Corporation shall award scholarships based on the 

5 following priorities: 

6 (1) PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS.—For 

7 the second and subsequent academic years for which 

8 scholarships are awarded, the Corporation first shall 

9 award scholarships to students eligible under sub10 section (a) who received a scholarship from the Cor11 poration in the preceding academic year. 

12 (2) VICTIMS OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE.—For any 

13 academic year, if funds remain available after the 

14 application of paragraph (1), the Corporation shall 

15 award scholarships to eligible students who do not 

16 receive an award under such paragraph and who 

17 have been victims of a documented violent act on 

18 school grounds. 

19 (3) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCHOOL AGE CHIL20 DREN.—For any academic year, if funds remain 

21 after the application of paragraphs (1) and (2), the 

22 Corporation shall award scholarships to eligible stu23 dents who do not receive an award under such para24 graphs and who are—
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1 (A) enrolled in a public, private, or inde2 pendent elementary or secondary school; or 

3 (B) preparing to enter kindergarten 

4 through grade 12 at such a school. 

5 (c) LOTTERY SELECTION.—If, in applying subsection 

6 (b), the number of students described in a paragraph of 

7 such subsection is such that the amount available is insuf8 ficient to award the appropriate scholarship amount to 

9 each such student, the Corporation shall select by lottery 

10 the students who will receive an award. 

11 (d) USE OF SCHOLARSHIP.—

12 (1) TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS.—A tuition schol13 arship may be used for the payment of the cost of 

14 the tuition and mandatory fees for, and (as appro15 priate) transportation to attend, an eligible institu16 tion located within the geographic boundaries of—

17 (A) the District of Columbia; 

18 (B) Montgomery County, Maryland; 

19 (C) Prince George’s County, Maryland; 

20 (D) Arlington County, Virginia; 

21 (E) Alexandria City, Virginia; 

22 (F) Falls Church City, Virginia;

23 (G) Fairfax City, Virginia; or 

24 (H) 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 (as appropriate) transpor5 tation to attend, a program of instruction provided 

6 by an eligible institution which enhances student 

7 achievement of the core curriculum and is operated 

8 outside of regular school hours to supplement the 

9 regular school program. 

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 provide the following notifications: 

21 (1) ENROLLMENT.—Not later than 10 days 

22 after the date that a student receiving a scholarship 

23 under this Act is enrolled, the institution shall notify 

24 the Corporation of the name, address, and grade 

25 level of such student. 
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1 (2) WITHDRAWAL OR EXPULSION.—Not later 

2 than 10 days after the date of the withdrawal or ex3 pulsion of any student receiving a scholarship under 

4 this Act, the institution shall notify the Corporation 

5 of the withdrawal or expulsion. 

6 (3) REFUSAL OF ADMISSION.—Not later than 

7 10 days after the date that a student receiving a 

8 scholarship under this Act is refused admission, the 

9 institution shall notify the Corporation of the rea10 sons for such a refusal. 

11 (c) TUITION SCHOLARSHIP.—

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

13 a student whose family income is equal to or below 

14 the poverty line, a tuition scholarship may not ex15 ceed the lesser of—

16 (A) the cost of tuition and mandatory fees 

17 for, and (as appropriate) transportation to at18 tend, an eligible institution; or 

19 (B) $5,000 for fiscal year 2004, with such 

20 amount adjusted in proportion to changes in 

21 the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con22 sumers published by the Department of Labor 

23 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008. 

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

25 whose family income is greater than the poverty line, 
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1 but not more than 185 percent of the poverty line, 

2 a tuition scholarship may not exceed the lesser of—

3 (A) 75 percent of the cost of tuition and 

4 mandatory fees for, and (as appropriate) trans5 portation to attend, an eligible institution; or 

6 (B) $3,750 for fiscal year 2004, with such 

7 amount adjusted in proportion to changes in 

8 the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con9 sumers published by the Department of Labor 

10 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2008. 

11 (d) ENHANCED ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIP.—An 

12 enhanced achievement scholarship may not exceed the 

13 lesser of—

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

15 and (as appropriate) transportation to attend, a pro16 gram of instruction at an eligible institution; or 

17 (2) $800 for fiscal year 2004, with such 

18 amount adjusted in proportion to changes in the 

19 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 

20 published by the Department of Labor for each of 

21 fiscal years 2005 through 2008. 

22 SEC. 6. SCHOLARSHIP PAYMENTS. 

23 (a) PAYMENTS.—The Corporation shall make schol24 arship payments to the parent of a student awarded a 

25 scholarship under this Act. 
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1 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS.—Schol2 arship funds may be distributed by check, or another form 

3 of disbursement, issued by the Corporation and made pay4 able directly to a parent of a student awarded a scholar5 ship under this Act. The parent may use the scholarship 

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

7 transportation costs as described in this Act. 

8 (c) PRO RATA AMOUNTS FOR STUDENT WITH9 DRAWAL.—If a student receiving a scholarship under this 

10 Act withdraws or is expelled from an eligible institution 

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

12 institution, then the eligible institution shall refund to the 

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

14 proceeds received for the remaining days of the school 

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

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

17 SEC. 7. CIVIL RIGHTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution partici19 pating in the scholarship program under this Act shall not 

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

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

22 (b) APPLICABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION WITH RE23 SPECT TO DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX.—

24 (1) APPLICABILITY.—With respect to discrimi25 nation on the basis of sex, subsection (a) shall not
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1 apply to an eligible institution that is controlled by 

2 a religious organization if the application of sub3 section (a) is inconsistent with the religious tenets 

4 of the eligible institution. 

5 (2) CONSTRUCTION.—With respect to discrimi6 nation on the basis of sex, nothing in subsection (a) 

7 shall be construed to require any person, or public 

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

9 such person or entity from providing or paying, for 

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

11 related to an abortion. Nothing in the preceding sen12 tence shall be construed to permit a penalty to be 

13 imposed on any person or individual because such 

14 person or individual is seeking or has received any 

15 benefit or service related to a legal abortion. 

16 (3) SINGLE-SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR ACTIVI17 TIES.—With respect to discrimination on the basis 

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

19 to prevent a parent from choosing, or an eligible in20 stitution from offering, a single-sex school, class, or 

21 activity.

22 (c) REVOCATION.—Notwithstanding section 

23 3(f)(2)(D), if the Corporation determines that an eligible 

24 institution participating in the scholarship program under 

25 this Act is in violation of subsection (a), then the Corpora-
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1 tion shall revoke such eligible institution’s certification to 

2 participate in the program. 

3 SEC. 8. CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. 

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

5 or the obligations of the District of Columbia public 

6 schools, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

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

8 SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con10 strued to prevent any eligible institution which is operated 

11 by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a reli12 gious organization from employing, admitting, or giving 

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

14 determined by such institution to promote the religious 

15 purpose for which the eligible institution is established or 

16 maintained. 

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

18 shall be construed to prohibit the use of funds made avail19 able under this Act for sectarian educational purposes, or 

20 to require an eligible institution to remove religious art, 

21 icons, scripture, or other symbols. 

22 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution partici24 pating in the scholarship program under this Act shall re25 port to the Corporation not later than July 30 of each 
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1 year in a manner prescribed by the Corporation, the fol2 lowing data: 

3 (1) Student achievement in the eligible institu4 tion’s programs. 

5 (2) Grade advancement for scholarship stu6 dents. 

7 (3) Disciplinary actions taken with respect to 

8 scholarship students. 

9 (4) Graduation, college admission test scores, 

10 and college admission rates, if applicable for scholar11 ship students. 

12 (5) Types and amounts of parental involvement 

13 required for all families of scholarship students. 

14 (6) Student attendance for scholarship and 

15 nonscholarship students. 

16 (7) General information on curriculum, pro17 grams, facilities, credentials of personnel, and dis18 ciplinary rules at the eligible institution. 

19 (8) Number of scholarship students enrolled. 

20 (9) Such other information as may be required 

21 by the Corporation for program appraisal. 

22 (b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—No personal identifiers may 

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

24 request such personal identifiers solely for the purpose of 

25 verification. 
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1 SEC. 11. PROGRAM APPRAISAL. 

2 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 3 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 Sep6 tember 1 of each year, the Corporation shall submit a 

7 progress report on the scholarship program to the appro8 priate committees of Congress. Such report shall include 

9 a review of how scholarship funds were expended, includ10 ing the initial academic achievement levels of students who 

11 have participated 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 constitu20 tionality of the scholarship program under this Act 

21 and 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. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 This Act shall be effective for each of fiscal years 

9 2004 through 2008.

Æ