I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 610 
To distribute Federal funds for elementary and secondary education in the 
form of vouchers for eligible students and to repeal a certain rule relating 
to nutrition standards in schools. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 23, 2017 
Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself, Mr. HARRIS, and Mr. FRANKS of Arizona) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To distribute Federal funds for elementary and secondary 
education in the form of vouchers for eligible students 
and to repeal a certain rule relating to nutrition stand-
ards in schools. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
TITLE I—CHOICES IN 
EDUCATION ACT 
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Choices in Education 
Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 102. REPEAL OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDU-
CATION ACT AND LIMITATION ON SECRE-
TARIAL AUTHORITY. 
(a) REPEAL.—The Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is repealed. 
(b) LIMITATION ON SECRETARIAL AUTHORITY.—The 
authority of the Secretary under this title is limited to 
evaluating State applications under section 104 and mak-
ing payments to States under section 103. The Secretary 
shall not impose any further requirements on States with 
respect to elementary and secondary education beyond the 
requirements of this title. 
SEC. 103. BLOCK GRANTS TO STATES. 
(a) GRANTS
TO STATES.—From amounts appro-
priated to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall award grants (from allotments made under 
subsection (b)) to qualified States to enable such States 
to carry out an education voucher program under section 
105. 
(b) ALLOTMENT.—From amounts described in sub-
section (a) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to 
each qualified State for that fiscal year an amount that 
bears the same ratio to those amounts as the number of 
eligible children in the qualified State (as determined by 
the Secretary on the basis of the most recent satisfactory 
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data) bears to the number of all eligible children in all 
States in such school year. 
(c) REALLOTMENT.—If a State does not receive 
funds under subsection (b) for a fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall allot the remainder of such funds to each qualified 
State in an amount that bears the same ratio to such re-
mainder for such year as the amount received under sub-
section (b) by such qualified State bears to the amount 
received under such subsection for such year by all quali-
fied States. 
(d) DEFICIT REDUCTION.—Any amounts remaining 
after allotments are made under subsection (c) for a fiscal 
year shall not be available for any purpose other than def-
icit reduction. 
SEC. 104. APPLICATION. 
(a) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this title, a State shall submit an application to the 
Secretary that includes assurances that the State will— 
(1) comply with the requirements of section 
105; and 
(2) make it lawful for parents of an eligible 
child to elect— 
(A) to enroll their child in any public or 
private elementary or secondary school in the 
State; or 
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(B) to home-school their child. 
(b) APPROVAL.—Not later than 30 days after receiv-
ing an application from a State that meets the require-
ments of subsection (a), the Secretary shall approve such 
application. 
SEC. 105. EDUCATION VOUCHER PROGRAM REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
(a) EDUCATION VOUCHER PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall distribute 
funds received under this title among the local edu-
cational agencies in the State based on the number 
of eligible children enrolled in the public schools op-
erated by each local educational agency and the 
number of eligible children within each local edu-
cational agency’s geographical area whose parents 
elect to send their child to a private school or to 
home-school their child. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that States should distribute non-Federal 
funds for elementary and secondary education in a 
manner that promotes competition and choices in 
education. 
(b) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CHILDREN; ALLO-
CATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.— 
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eligible child within the local educational agen-
cy’s geographical area who elect to send their 
child to a private school or to home-school their 
child (as the case may be) and whose child is 
included in the count of such eligible children 
under paragraph (1)(A), which amount shall be 
distributed in a manner so as to ensure that 
such payments will be used for appropriate edu-
cational expenses. 
(B) RESERVATION.—A local educational 
agency described in this paragraph may reserve 
not more than 1 percent of the funds available 
for distribution under subparagraph (A) to pay 
administrative costs associated with carrying 
out the activities described in such subpara-
graph. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Payments to parents 
under subsection (b)(5) shall be considered assistance to 
the eligible child and shall not be considered assistance 
to the school that enrolls the eligible child. The amount 
of any payment under this section shall not be treated as 
income of the child or his or her parents for purposes of 
Federal tax laws or for determining eligibility for any 
other Federal program. 
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SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) ELIGIBLE
CHILD.—The term ‘‘eligible 
child’’ means a child aged 5 to 17, inclusive. 
(2) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ includes a 
legal guardian or other person standing in loco 
parentis (such as a grandparent or stepparent with 
whom the child lives, or a person who is legally re-
sponsible for the child’s welfare). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 
(5) QUALIFIED
STATE.—The term ‘‘qualified 
State’’ means a State that has an application ap-
proved by the Secretary under section 104. 
TITLE II—NO HUNGRY KIDS ACT 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘No Hungry Kids Act’’. 
SEC. 202. REPEAL OF RULE. 
The rule prescribed by the Food and Nutrition Serv-
ice of the Department of Agriculture relating to nutrition 
standards in the national school lunch and school break-
fast programs published on January 26, 2012 (77 Fed. 
Reg. 4088 et seq.), and revising parts 210 and 220 of 
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title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, shall have no force 
or effect. 
SEC. 203. LIMITS ON CERTAIN NUTRITIONAL REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
Section 9(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(1)(A)(i)) is 
amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: 
‘‘, to establish a calorie maximum for individual school 
lunches, or to prohibit a child from eating a lunch provided 
by the child’s parent or legal guardian’’. 
Æ 
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