I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5822 
To establish the America’s Opportunity Scholarships for Kids Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2006 
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish the America’s Opportunity Scholarships for Kids 
Program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America’s Opportunity 
Scholarships for Kids Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
It is the purpose of this Act to support local efforts 
to enable students from low-income families who attend 
a school identified for restructuring under section 
1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8))— 
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(1) to attend a private elementary school or sec-
ondary school, or a public elementary school or sec-
ondary school outside the student’s home school dis-
trict, including a public charter school; or 
(2) to receive intensive, sustained supplemental 
educational services. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL; 
LOCAL
EDU-
CATIONAL
AGENCY; 
SECONDARY
SCHOOL; 
SEC-
RETARY; STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms 
‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, 
‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State edu-
cational agency’’ have the meanings given the terms 
in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a local educational agency; 
(B) a State educational agency; or 
(C) a nonprofit organization or a consor-
tium of nonprofit organizations. 
(3) ELIGIBLE
STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 
student’’ means a student from a low-income family 
who— 
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(A) with respect to a school identified for 
restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8))— 
(i) is eligible to enroll in the beginning 
grade of the school; 
(ii) except as provided in subpara-
graph (C), attended the school for the en-
tire school year preceding the identifica-
tion; 
(iii) in the case of a student who 
transfers to the school to attend any grade 
beyond the beginning grade of the school, 
attends the school for the remainder of the 
school year in which the transfer occurs; or 
(iv) received a scholarship under this 
Act in a preceding school year due to such 
identification; or 
(B) is a sibling of a student described in 
any 1 of clauses (i) through (iv) of subpara-
graph (A). 
(4) LOW-INCOME FAMILY.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come family’’ means a family whose income does not 
exceed 185 percent of the poverty line, except that 
in the case of a student participating in a project 
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under this Act for a second or any succeeding school 
year the term includes a family whose income does 
not exceed 220 percent of the poverty line. 
(5) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 
means the income official poverty line (as defined by 
the Office of Management and Budget, and revised 
annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the 
Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 
9902(2)) applicable to a family of the size involved. 
(6) PRIVATE
PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘private 
provider’’ means a nonprofit or for-profit private 
provider of supplemental educational services de-
scribed in section 1116(e)(1) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6316(e)(1)) that is on the updated list of approved 
providers maintained by the State educational agen-
cy under section 1116(e)(4)(C) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 6316(e)(4)(C)). 
(7) SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.— 
The term ‘‘supplemental educational services’’ has 
the 
meaning 
given 
the 
term 
in 
section 
1116(e)(12)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)(12)(C)). 
SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
(a) AUTHORITY.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 
and from amounts appropriated under section 6 for 
a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a 
competitive basis, to eligible entities to support 
projects that provide— 
(A) scholarships to enable eligible students 
to attend— 
(i) the private elementary school or 
secondary school of their parent’s choice; 
or 
(ii) a public elementary school or sec-
ondary school of their parents’ choice out-
side of the eligible student’s home school 
district, consistent with State law; or 
(B) eligible students with intensive, sus-
tained supplemental educational services on an 
annual basis. 
(2) SCHOLARSHIP DURATION RULE.—Each eli-
gible entity that receives a grant under this Act shall 
only award a scholarship under this Act to an eligi-
ble student for— 
(A)(i) in the case of an eligible student de-
scribed in section 3(3)(A), the first school year 
for which the eligible student is eligible to re-
ceive the scholarship with respect to a school 
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identified 
for 
restructuring 
under 
section 
1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965; and 
(ii) in the case of an eligible student de-
scribed in section 3(3)(B), the first school year 
taught at the school so identified; and 
(B) each subsequent school year through 
the school year applicable to the final grade 
taught at the school so identified. 
(b) DURATION
OF GRANTS.—The Secretary may 
award grants under this Act for a period of not more than 
5 years. 
(c) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this Act, 
the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— 
(1) propose to serve eligible students in a local 
educational agency with a large number or percent-
age of schools identified for restructuring under sec-
tion 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8)); 
(2) possess the knowledge and capacity to in-
form parents of eligible students, in urban, subur-
ban, and rural areas, about public and private ele-
mentary school and secondary school options; and 
(3) will augment the scholarships provided to 
eligible students under this Act in order to help en-
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