115
(1) assess the implementation of scholarship
programs and the effect of the scholarship programs
on participants, schools, and communities in the re-
newal communities, including parental involvement
in, and satisfaction with, the scholarship programs
and their children’s education;
(2) compare the educational achievement of
children who participate in the scholarship programs
with the achievement of similar children who do not
participate in the scholarship programs, which
achievement shall be compared before, during, and
after the scholarship programs;
(3) compare the educational achievement of
children who use scholarships to attend schools other
than the schools to which the children would be as-
signed in the absence of the scholarship programs,
with the educational achievement of children who at-
tend the schools to which scholarship students would
be assigned in the absence of the scholarship pro-
grams; and
(4) compare graduation rates of children who
use scholarships to attend schools other than the
schools to which the children would be assigned in
the absence of the scholarship program, with grad-
uation rates of children who attend the schools to
116
which the scholarship students would be assigned in
the absence of the program.
(b) NO AUTHORIZATION OF SCHOOL REGULATION.—
The responsibility to evaluate shall not be construed to
authorize the State or local government to exercise any
direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, pro-
gram of instruction, administration, or personnel of any
scholarship school participating in a scholarship program,
except that the school may be required to provide reason-
able information to assist in the evaluation of the scholar-
ship program, including the results of standardized tests
of student achievement, surveys of parental satisfaction
with their child’s education, surveys of student satisfac-
tion, attendance rates, dropout rates, and data on stu-
dent’s college enrollment.
SEC. 315. EFFECT ON IDEA.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the
applicability or requirements of part B of the Individuals
With Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
SEC. 316. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) PANEL.—In the event of an action challenging the
constitutionality of this title or a scholarship program im-
plemented under this title, such action shall be tried by
a three judge panel in the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia.
117
(b) APPEAL.—An appeal may be taken directly to the
Supreme Court of the United States from any judgment,
decree, or order issued by the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia pursuant to subsection (a).
(c) REQUESTS TO EXPEDITE.—The United States
District Court for the District of Columbia and the Su-
preme Court of the United States are requested to expe-
dite an action and appeal, respectively, requested pursuant
to subsections (a) and (b), respectively.
SEC. 317. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this title $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, $200,000,000
for fiscal year 1999, $200,000,000 for fiscal 2000,
$200,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and $200,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002.
TITLE IV—ADDITIONAL
PROVISIONS
SEC. 401. TRANSFER OF UNOCCUPIED AND SUBSTANDARD
HUD-HELD HOUSING IN RENEWAL COMMU-
NITIES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
(a) TRANSFER REQUIREMENT.—Pursuant to the au-
thority under section 204 of the Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Inde-
pendent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, the Secretary
shall transfer ownership of any qualified HUD property
118
to the unit of general local government having jurisdiction
for the area in which the property is located in accordance
with this section, but only if the unit of general local gov-
ernment enters into an agreement with the Secretary
meeting the requirements of subsection (d).
(b) QUALIFIED HUD PROPERTIES.—For purposes of
this section, the term ‘‘qualified HUD property’’ means
any unoccupied multifamily housing, project, substandard
multifamily housing project, or unoccupied single family
property, that is—
(1) owned by the Secretary; and
(2) located within a renewal community.
(c) TIMING OF TRANSFER.—Any transfer of owner-
ship required under subsection (a) shall be completed—
(1) with respect to any multifamily housing
project or single family property that is acquired by
the Secretary before the date on which the area in
which property is located is designated as a renewal
community and that is substandard or unoccupied
(as applicable) upon such date, not later than 1 year
after such date; and
(2) with respect to any multifamily housing
project or single family property that is acquired by
the Secretary on or after the date on which the area
119
in which the property is located is designated as a
renewal community, not later than 1 year after—
(A) the date on which the project is deter-
mined to be substandard or unoccupied (as ap-
plicable), in the case of a property that is not
unoccupied or substandard upon acquisition by
the Secretary; or
(B) the date on which the project is ac-
quired by the Secretary, in the case of a prop-
erty that is substandard or unoccupied (as ap-
plicable) upon such acquisition.
(d) AGREEMENTS TO SELL PROPERTY TO COMMU-
NITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS.—An agreement de-
scribed in this subsection is an agreement that requires
a unit of general local government to dispose of the quali-
fied HUD property acquired by the unit of general local
government in accordance with the following require-
ments:
(1) NOTIFICATION
TO
COMMUNITY
DEVELOP-
MENT CORPORATIONS.—Not later than 30 days after
the date on which the unit of general local govern-
ment acquires title to the property under subsection
(a), the unit of general local government shall notify
each community development corporation located in
the State in which the property is located—
120
(A) of such acquisition of title; and
(B) that, during the 6-month period begin-
ning on the date on which such notification is
made, such community development corpora-
tions shall have the exclusive right under this
subsection to make bona fide offers to purchase
the property on a cost recovery basis.
(2) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—During the 6-
month period described in paragraph (1)(B)—
(A) the unit of general local government
may not sell or offer to sell the qualified HUD
property other than to a party notified under
paragraph (1), unless each community develop-
ment corporation required to be so notified has
notified the unit of general local government
that the corporation will not make an offer to
purchase the property; and
(B) the unit of general local government
shall accept a bona fide offer to purchase the
property made during such period if the offer is
acceptable to the unit of general local govern-
ment, except that a unit of general local govern-
ment may not sell a property to a community
development corporation during that 6-month
period other than on a cost recovery basis.
121
(3) OTHER DISPOSITION.—During the 6-month
period beginning on the expiration of the 6-month
period described in paragraph (1)(B), the unit of
general local government shall dispose of the prop-
erty on a negotiated, competitive bid, or other basis,
on such terms as the unit of general local govern-
ment deems appropriate.
(e) 
SATISFACTION
OF
INDEBTEDNESS.—Before
transferring ownership of any qualified HUD property
pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall satisfy any
indebtedness incurred in connection with the property to
be transferred, by—
(1) canceling the indebtedness; or
(2) reimbursing the unit of general local gov-
ernment to which the property is transferred for the
amount of the indebtedness.
(f) DETERMINATION OF STATUS OF PROPERTIES.—
To ensure compliance with the requirements of subsection
(c), the Secretary shall take the following actions:
(1) UPON DESIGNATION OF RENEWAL COMMU-
NITIES.—Upon the designation of any renewal com-
munity, the Secretary shall promptly assess each
residential property owned by the Secretary that is
located within such renewal community to determine
whether such property is a qualified HUD property.
122
(2) UPON ACQUISITION.—Upon acquiring any
residential property that is located with a renewal
community, the Secretary shall promptly determine
whether the property is a qualified HUD property.
(3) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall periodically
reassess the residential properties owned by the Sec-
retary to determine whether any such properties
have become qualified HUD properties.
(g) TENANT LEASES.—This section shall not affect
the terms or the enforceability of any contract or lease
entered into with respect to any residential property before
the date that such property becomes a qualified HUD
property.
(h) PROCEDURES.—Not later than the expiration of
the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish, by rule,
regulation, or order, such procedures as may be necessary
to carry out this section.
(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the
following definitions shall apply:
(1) 
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
CORPORA-
TION.—The term ‘‘community development corpora-
tion’’ means a nonprofit organization whose primary
purpose is to promote community development by
123
providing housing opportunities for low-income fami-
lies.
(2) COST RECOVERY BASIS.—The term ‘‘cost
recovery basis’’ means, with respect to any sale of a
residential property by a unit of general local gov-
ernment to a community development corporation
under subsection (d)(2), that the purchase price paid
by the community development corporation is less
than or equal to the costs incurred by the unit of
general local government in connection with such
property during the period beginning on the date on
which the unit of general local government acquires
title to the property under subsection (a) and ending
on the date on which the sale is consummated.
(3) LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come families’’ has the meaning given the term in
section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of
1937.
(4) MULTIFAMILY
HOUSING
PROJECT.—The
term ‘‘multifamily housing project’’ has the meaning
given the term in section 203 of the Housing and
Community Development Amendments of 1978.
(5) RENEWAL
COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘re-
newal community’’ means an area designated (under
124
subchapter W of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986) as a renewal community.
(6) RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘resi-
dential property’’ means a property that is a multi-
family housing project or a single family property.
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(8) SEVERE PHYSICAL PROBLEMS.—The term
‘‘severe physical problems’’ means, with respect to a
dwelling unit, that the unit—
(A) lacks hot or cold piped water, a flush
toilet, or both a bathtub and a shower in the
unit, for the exclusive use of that unit;
(B) on not less than 3 separate occasions
during the preceding winter months, was un-
comfortably cold for a period of more than 6
consecutive hours due to a malfunction of the
heating system for the unit;
(C) has no functioning electrical service,
exposed wiring, any room in which there is not
a functioning electrical outlet, or has experi-
enced 3 or more blown fuses or tripped circuit
breakers during the preceding 90-day period;
(D) is accessible through a public hallway
in which there are no working light fixtures,