I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5327 
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a grant program to make 
grants to the parents of students served by local educational agencies 
that require students to wear face masks during in-person instruction, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. 
WEBER of Texas, Mr. PERRY, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. BUDD, 
Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. FEENSTRA, and Mr. GIBBS) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a grant 
program to make grants to the parents of students 
served by local educational agencies that require students 
to wear face masks during in-person instruction, and 
for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Masks Off Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. OPPORTUNITY GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
grant program (to be known as the ‘‘Opportunity Grant 
Program’’) to make grants to parents of eligible students 
for the purposes described in subsection (d). 
(b) APPLICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, a parent of an eligible stu-
dent shall submit to the Secretary an application 
demonstrating— 
(A) the household income of such eligible 
student; and 
(B) with respect to school year 2021–2022, 
that the local educational agency serving such 
eligible student has required that students wear 
face masks during in-person instruction. 
(2) OTHER
REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall accept applications under paragraph (1) on an 
annual rolling basis and make such application avail-
able as a standardized form in electronic and written 
format. 
(c) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriations, each parent of an eligible student who 
the Secretary determines qualifies for a grant under this 
section shall receive a grant under this section in an 
amount that— 
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(1) in the case of an eligible student with a 
household income less than or equal to 100 percent 
of the reduced price lunch rate income, is equal to 
100 percent of the per-pupil funding with respect to 
the local educational agency serving such eligible 
student, as determined by the Secretary; 
(2) in the case of an eligible student with a 
household income greater than 100 percent but less 
than or equal to 150 percent of the reduced price 
lunch rate income, is equal to 90 percent of the per- 
pupil funding with respect to the local educational 
agency serving such eligible student, as determined 
by the Secretary; 
(3) in the case of an eligible student with a 
household income greater than 150 percent but less 
than or equal to 200 percent of the reduced price 
lunch rate income, is equal to 80 percent of the per- 
pupil funding with respect to the local educational 
agency serving such eligible student, as determined 
by the Secretary; and 
(4) in the case of an eligible student with a 
household income greater than 200 percent but less 
than or equal to 250 percent of the reduced price 
lunch rate income, is equal to 70 percent of the per- 
pupil funding with respect to the local educational 
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agency serving such eligible student, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts made available 
to a parent under this section may be used— 
(1) with respect to an eligible student, to pay 
the tuition and fees for a private elementary school 
or a private secondary school; 
(2) for private tutoring (including through a 
learning pod or microschool); 
(3) for the home school expenses of such eligi-
ble student; 
(4) to purchase educational materials, including 
instruction materials and textbooks for such eligible 
student; 
(5) for purchasing electronic devices to facili-
tate the education of such eligible student; or 
(6) for such other purposes as the Secretary de-
termines appropriate. 
(e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed— 
(1) to impact any aspect of private, religious, or 
home education providers; 
(2) to exclude private, religious, or home edu-
cation providers from receiving funds pursuant to a 
grant under this section; or 
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(3) to require a qualified educational service 
provider to alter any creed, practice, admissions pol-
icy, or curriculum in order to receive funds pursuant 
to a grant under this section. 
(f) RENEWAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall renew 
opportunity grants for parents of eligible students 
with an approved application under paragraph (2). 
(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
renewal under this subsection, a parent of an eligible 
student shall submit to the Secretary an application 
demonstrating the information described in sub-
section (b)(1). 
(3) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary shall adjust 
the grant amount to account for any change in 
household income of the eligible student but may not 
provide less than the amount described in subsection 
(c)(4). 
(g) FUNDING.—From any amounts appropriated 
under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act, the Secretary shall use 10 percent of such amounts 
to carry out this section and award opportunity grants to 
parents with approved applications in accordance with this 
section. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) ELIGIBLE
STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 
student’’ means a student— 
(A) served by a local educational agency 
that, with respect to school year 2021–2022, re-
quired students to wear face masks during in- 
person instruction; and 
(B) from a household with a household in-
come that is less than 250 percent of the re-
duced price lunch rate income. 
(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’, ‘‘parent’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have 
the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) HOUSEHOLD INCOME.—The term ‘‘house-
hold income’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 36B(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (26 U.S.C. 36B(d)(2)). 
(4) REDUCED PRICE LUNCH RATE INCOME.— 
The term ‘‘reduced price lunch rate income’’ means 
185 percent of the applicable family size income lev-
els contained in the nonfarm income poverty guide-
lines prescribed by the Office of Management and 
Budget, as adjusted annually in accordance with 
subparagraph (B) of section 9(b)(1) of the Richard 
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B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(b)(1)). 
Æ 
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