acerbated even more for rural families without ac-
cess to broadband. 
(5) Despite what the mainstream media says 
about most parents across America working from 
home, that simply is not the case. In fact, the vast 
majority of parents do not have the work from home 
luxury many so-called experts would have you be-
lieve. This has further divided the United States be-
tween regular, hard-working parents and a new 
‘‘laptop class’’ that only works remotely. These 
working-class parents do not have the ability to help 
their children learn when their school switches to re-
mote learning, even if only for a few days at a time. 
(6) Crucial benchmarks like achievement tests 
and high stakes examinations that determine admis-
sion or advancement to new education levels and in-
stitutions, are thrown into disarray when schools 
close. Strategies to postpone, skip, or administer ex-
aminations at a distance raise serious concerns 
about fairness, especially when access to learning be-
comes variable. Disruptions to assessments results in 
stress for students and their families and often trig-
ger disengagement. 
(7) Youth may be uniquely susceptible to nega-
tive mental health outcomes if they are experiencing 
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pandemic-related disruptions to in-person schooling 
in intersection with other adverse circumstances, 
such as racism, poverty, food insecurity, or home in-
stability. Loss of access to school-based mental 
health care may be of heightened importance for 
youth from low-income families, as they are most 
likely to receive mental health services solely from 
their school. 
(8) Online learning is no substitute for class-
room instruction. Nationally, on average, teachers 
say they’re working 2 fewer hours per day than 
when they were in their classrooms. And they esti-
mate that their students are spending half as much 
time learning, 3 hours a day, as they were before the 
coronavirus pandemic. 
(9) Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago 
public schools leadership insist schools are safe and 
have called the refusal of the Chicago Teachers 
Union to work in-person a strike and an illegal work 
action. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has 
confirmed schools are safe for students, including in 
Chicago. More than 300,000 public school students 
in Chicago were off in January after the district 
canceled classes when the Chicago Teachers Union 
voted to refuse orders to work in-person. ‘‘Our 
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schools are safe’’, Chicago public schools CEO Pedro 
Martinez said during a press conference on January 
4, 2022, after the results of the vote were an-
nounced. ‘‘There is no evidence that our schools 
have ever been unsafe this school year.’’. He added 
that Chicago schools rarely saw evidence of any 
major transmission. 
(10) Instead of pouring money into schools that 
are failing to stay open for full, in-person learning, 
the United States must instead use these taxpayer 
dollars to support children, not the teacher’s unions, 
and allow parents to make decisions about their 
child’s educational future. The United States should 
provide eligible parents the ability to elect to educate 
their child in an alternate manner, apart from their 
local public school that has closed for in-person 
learning. 
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 
establish a 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-
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dent shall submit to the Secretary an application 
demonstrating that, for any reason related to 
COVID–19, the covered school in which such stu-
dent is enrolled for school year 2021–2022 is failing 
to provide in-person learning for each enrolled stu-
dent for each school day during such school year. 
(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.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A parent of 1 or more eligi-
ble students whom the Secretary determines quali-
fies for a grant under this section shall receive such 
grant for each eligible student of such parent in an 
amount that does not exceed $10,000. An eligible 
student may not benefit from more than 1 grant 
under this section. 
(2) FUNDING.—To award such a grant, the 
Secretary shall— 
(A) require the State that provided funds 
under section 2001 of the American Rescue 
Plan Act of 2021 (20 U.S.C. 3401 note) to the 
local educational agency in which the applicable 
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covered school is located to return such funds 
to the Secretary; and 
(B) use such returned funds for such 
grant. 
(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts made available 
to a parent under this section may be used, with respect 
to an eligible student— 
(1) to pay the tuition and fees for a private ele-
mentary school or a private secondary school; 
(2) to pay the cost (such as the average per 
pupil price) of attending a public elementary school 
or secondary school that provides in-person school; 
(3) for private tutoring (including through a 
learning pod or microschool); 
(4) for the home school expenses; 
(5) to purchase educational materials, including 
instruction materials and textbooks; 
(6) for purchasing electronic devices to facili-
tate the education of such eligible student; or 
(7) for such other purposes as the Secretary de-
termines appropriate. 
(e) DOCUMENTATION.—The Secretary may request 
documentation from a recipient of a grant under this sec-
tion that demonstrates that such grant was used in ac-
cordance with subsection (d). 
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(f) 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 
(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. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE
STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 
student’’ means a student who is enrolled for school 
year 2021–2022 in a covered school that, for any 
reason related to COVID–19, is failing to provide in- 
person learning for each enrolled student for each 
school day during such school year. 
(2) COVERED
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘covered 
school’’ means an elementary school or secondary 
school located in a local educational agency that re-
ceived an amount under section 2001 of the Amer-
ican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (20 U.S.C. 3401 
note). 
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(3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 
school’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘parent’’, and ‘‘Sec-
retary’’ have the meanings given such terms in sec-
tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
Æ 
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