I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2556 
To provide low-income parents residing in the District of Columbia with 
expanded opportunities for enrolling their children in high quality schools 
in the District of Columbia. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2009 
Mr. BOEHNER (for himself, Mr. ISSA, and Mr. MCKEON) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
A BILL 
To provide low-income parents residing in the District of 
Columbia with expanded opportunities for enrolling their 
children in high quality schools in the District of Colum-
bia. 
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 ‘‘Preserving DC Student 
Scholarships Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Parents are best equipped to make decisions 
for their children, including the educational setting 
that will best serve the interests and educational 
needs of their child. 
(2) For many parents in the District of Colum-
bia, public school choice provided for under the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) as well as under other public 
school choice programs, is inadequate due to capac-
ity constraints. Available educational alternatives to 
the public schools are also insufficient and more 
educational options are needed. In particular, funds 
are needed to assist low-income parents with exer-
cising their right to choose among enhanced public 
opportunities and private educational environments, 
whether religious or nonreligious. 
(3) In the most recent mathematics assessment 
on the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
(NAEP), administered in 2007, a lower percentage 
of 4th-grade students in the District of Columbia 
demonstrated proficiency than the national average 
by 20 percent. Fifty-one percent of the District of 
Columbia fourth-graders scored at the ‘‘below basic’’ 
level and only 8 percent of the 8th-grade students in 
the District of Columbia tested at the proficient or 
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advanced levels, and 66 percent were below basic. In 
the most recent reading assessment administered by 
NAEP, in 2007, only 14 percent of the District of 
Columbia fourth-graders could read proficiently, 
while 61 percent were below basic. At the 8th-grade 
level, 12 percent were proficient or advanced and 52 
percent were below basic. 
(4) In 2003, Congress passed the DC School 
Choice Incentive Act, to provide opportunity scholar-
ships to parents of students in the District of Co-
lumbia to enable them to pursue a high quality edu-
cation at a public or private elementary or secondary 
school of their choice. 
(5) The program was established in accordance 
with the U.S. Supreme Court decision reached under 
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), 
which found that a program enacted for the valid 
secular purpose of providing educational assistance 
to low-income children in a demonstrably failing 
public school system is constitutional if it is neutral 
with respect to religion and provides assistance to a 
broad class of citizens who direct government aid to 
religious and secular schools solely as a result of 
their genuine and independent private choices. 
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(6) Since the program’s inception, it has en-
joyed broad bipartisan support by parents of stu-
dents in the District of Columbia who find that it 
has dramatically improved student performance, the 
Mayor of the District of Columbia, the members of 
the City Council of the District of Columbia and the 
Board of Education of the District of Columbia, and 
the Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public 
Schools. 
(7) The program provides additional funding 
for the District of Columbia Public Schools and, 
therefore, money for these student scholarships is 
not being taken out of money that would otherwise 
go to the District of Columbia Public Schools. 
(8) Congress must reauthorize the DC Oppor-
tunity Scholarship program, which has demonstrated 
success in raising student achievement. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to provide low-income par-
ents residing in the District of Columbia, particularly par-
ents of students who attend elementary schools or sec-
ondary schools identified for improvement, corrective ac-
tion, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6316), with expanded opportunities for enrolling their 
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children in high quality schools in the District of Colum-
bia. 
SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—From funds appropriated to carry 
out this Act, the Secretary shall award grants on a com-
petitive basis to eligible entities with approved applications 
under section 5 to carry out a program to provide eligible 
students with expanded school choice opportunities. The 
Secretary may award a single grant or multiple grants, 
depending on the quality of applications submitted and the 
priorities of this Act. 
(b) DURATION
OF GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 
make grants under this section for a period of not more 
than 5 years. 
(c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec-
retary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall 
enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the 
implementation of the program authorized under this Act. 
SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive a grant under 
this Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom-
panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 
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(E) the activities that the entity will carry 
out to provide parents of eligible students with 
expanded choice opportunities through the 
awarding of scholarships under section 7(a); 
(F) how the entity will determine the 
amount that will be provided to parents for the 
tuition, fees, and transportation expenses (if 
any); 
(G) how the entity will seek out private el-
ementary schools and secondary schools in the 
District of Columbia to participate in the pro-
gram, and will ensure that participating schools 
will meet the applicable requirements of this 
Act and provide the information needed for the 
entity to meet the reporting requirements of 
this Act; 
(H) how the entity will ensure that partici-
pating schools are financially responsible and 
will use the funds received under this Act effec-
tively; 
(I) how the entity will address the renewal 
of scholarships to participating eligible stu-
dents, including continued eligibility; 
(J) how the entity will ensure that a ma-
jority of its voting board members or governing 
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organization are residents of the District of Co-
lumbia; and 
(K) how the entity will have financial sys-
tems, controls, policies, and procedures to en-
sure that grant funds are used in accordance 
with this Act, and how the entity will have a 
manual documenting such controls, policies, and 
procedures; and 
(2) an assurance that the entity will comply 
with all requests regarding any evaluation carried 
out under section 9. 
SEC. 6. PRIORITIES. 
In awarding grants under this Act, the Secretary 
shall give priority to applications from eligible entities who 
will most effectively— 
(1) give priority to eligible students who, in the 
school year preceding the school year for which the 
eligible student is seeking a scholarship, attended an 
elementary school or secondary school identified for 
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring 
under section 1116 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316); 
(2) target resources to students and families 
that lack the financial resources to take advantage 
of available educational options; and 
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(3) provide students and families with the 
widest range of educational options and support sys-
tems to empower them to make informed choices. 
SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 
and (3), an eligible entity receiving a grant under 
this Act shall use the grant funds to carry out a pro-
gram to provide eligible students with opportunity 
scholarships to pay the tuition, fees, and transpor-
tation expenses (if any) to enable such students to 
attend the District of Columbia private elementary 
school or secondary school of their choice beginning 
in school year 2010–2011. Each such eligible entity 
shall ensure that the amount of any tuition or fees 
charged by a school participating in such eligible en-
tity’s program to an eligible student participating in 
the program does not exceed the amount of tuition 
or fees that the school customarily charges to stu-
dents who do not participate in the program. 
(2) PAYMENTS TO PARENTS.—An eligible entity 
receiving a grant under this Act shall make oppor-
tunity scholarship payments under a program under 
this Act to the parents or legal guardians of an eligi-
ble student participating in the program, in a man-
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ner which ensures that such payments will be used 
for the payment of tuition, fees, and transportation 
expenses (if any), in accordance with this Act. 
(3) ANNUAL
LIMIT
ON
AMOUNT
OF
ASSIST-
ANCE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of assist-
ance provided to any eligible student by an eli-
gible entity receiving a grant under this Act 
under a program under this Act for school year 
2010-2011 may not exceed— 
(i) $8,000 for attendance in kinder-
garten through grade 8; and 
(ii) $12,000 for attendance in grades 
9 through 12. 
(B) CUMULATIVE
INFLATION
ADJUST-
MENT.—For each succeeding school year, the 
Secretary shall adjust the amounts described in 
subparagraph (A), as adjusted under this 
clause, by the rate of inflation as measured by 
the percentage increase (if any) from the pre-
ceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index 
for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 
Labor. 
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(4) CONTINUATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS.—An eli-
gible entity receiving a grant under this Act may 
award an opportunity scholarship to any partici-
pating student for the second or any succeeding year 
of the student’s participation in a program under 
this Act, as long as the student resides in the Dis-
trict of Columbia. 
(5) ASSURANCES.—None of the funds provided 
under this Act for opportunity scholarships may be 
used by an eligible student to enroll in a partici-
pating school unless— 
(A) the participating school has and main-
tains a valid certificate of occupancy issued by 
the District of Columbia; 
(B) the core subject matter teachers of the 
eligible student hold a 4-year bachelor degree; 
(C) in the case of a participating school 
that has been in existence for not more than 5 
years, the school submits proof of financial sta-
bility for at least the next 3 years, such as a 
surety bond or letter of credit equal to the 
amount of the scholarship for each eligible stu-
dent enrolled in the school; and 
(D) the eligible entity has performed a 
school site visit, in the case of a school partici-
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pating in the program for the first time, prior 
to the enrollment of the student at the school, 
and, in the case of a school that has previously 
participated in the program, at least once with-
in the last 2 years, and has maintained a writ-
ten record of such visit. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An eligible entity 
receiving a grant under this Act may use not more than 
3 percent of the amount provided under the grant each 
fiscal year for the administrative expenses of carrying out 
its program under this Act during the year, including— 
(1) determining the eligibility of students to 
participate; 
(2) selecting students to receive scholarships; 
(3) determining the amount of scholarships and 
issuing the scholarships to eligible students; and 
(4) compiling and maintaining financial and 
programmatic records. 
(c) PARENTAL ASSISTANCE.—An eligible entity re-
ceiving a grant under this Act may use not more than 
2 percent of the amount provided under the grant each 
fiscal year for expenses used to educate parents about the 
program and to assist parents through the application 
process under this Act during the year, including— 
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(1) providing information about the program, 
including the schools participating in the program; 
(2) providing funds to assist parents in meeting 
expenses that might otherwise preclude the partici-
pation of their child in the program; and 
(3) using funds to streamline the application 
process for parents. 
(d) STUDENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 
grant under this Act may use not more than 1 per-
cent of the amount provided under the grant each 
fiscal year for expenses to pay for tutoring services 
to participating eligible students that need additional 
academic assistance. 
(2) PRIORITY.—In a fiscal year where there are 
insufficient funds to provide the services described in 
paragraph (1) to all participating eligible students 
that need additional academic assistance, an eligible 
entity shall give priority to the participating eligible 
students who previously attended elementary schools 
or secondary schools identified for improvement, cor-
rective action, or restructuring under section 1116 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C.7 6316). 
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SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity carrying out, or 
a school participating in, any program under this Act shall 
not discriminate against program participants or appli-
cants on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, 
or sex. 
(b) APPLICABILITY
TO
SINGLE
SEX
SCHOOLS, 
CLASSES, OR ACTIVITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the prohibition of sex discrimina-
tion in subsection (a) shall not apply to a partici-
pating school that is operated by, supervised by, con-
trolled by, or connected to a religious organization to 
the extent that the application of subsection (a) is 
inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the 
school. 
(2) SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS, CLASSES, OR ACTIVI-
TIES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other 
provision of law, a parent may choose, and a school 
may offer, a single sex school, class, or activity. 
(3) APPLICABILITY.—For purposes of this Act, 
the provisions of section 909 of the Education 
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply 
to this Act as if such section were part of this Act. 
(c) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—Nothing in this 
Act may be construed to alter or modify the provisions 
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of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
U.S.C. 1400). 
(d) RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED SCHOOLS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a school participating in any pro-
gram under this Act that is operated by, supervised 
by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organi-
zation may exercise its right in matters of employ-
ment consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1 et seq.), including the 
exemptions in such title. 
(2) MAINTENANCE
OF
PURPOSE.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, funds made 
available under this Act to eligible students that are 
received by a participating school, as a result of the 
choice of the parents of such students, shall not, 
consistent with the first amendment to the Constitu-
tion, necessitate any change in the participating 
school’s teaching mission, require any participating 
school to remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or 
other symbols, or preclude any participating school 
from retaining religious terms in its name, selecting 
its board members on a religious basis, or including 
religious references in its mission statements and 
other chartering or governing documents. 
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(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A scholarship (or any 
other form of support provided to parents of eligible stu-
dents) under this Act shall be considered assistance to the 
student and shall not be considered assistance to the 
school that enrolls the eligible student. The amount of any 
scholarship (or other form of support provided to parents 
of an eligible student) under this Act shall not be treated 
as income of the parents for purposes of Federal tax laws 
or for determining eligibility for any other Federal pro-
gram. 
SEC. 9. EVALUATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) AGREEMENT
WITH
INSTITUTE
OF
EDU-
CATION SCIENCES.—The Secretary shall enter into 
an agreement with the Institute of Education 
Sciences of the Department of Education to annu-
ally evaluate the performance of students who used 
opportunity scholarships under this Act, and shall 
make the evaluation public in accordance with sub-
section (c). 
(2) DUTIES
OF
THE
SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative 
agreement, shall— 
(A) ensure that the evaluation is conducted 
using an appropriate research design for deter-
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mining the effectiveness of the programs funded 
under this Act and addresses the issues de-
scribed in paragraph (4); and 
(B) disseminate information on the impact 
of the programs in increasing the student aca-
demic achievement of participating students, 
and on the impact of the program on students 
and schools in the District of Columbia. 
(3) DUTIES OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 
SCIENCES.—The Institute of Education Sciences 
shall— 
(A) measure the academic achievement of 
all participating eligible students; 
(B) use a grade appropriate measurement 
each school year to assess participating eligible 
students; and 
(C) 
cooperate 
with 
the 
participating 
schools and the District of Columbia Public 
Schools to conduct the evaluation. 
(4) ISSUES TO BE EVALUATED.—The issues to 
be evaluated include the following: 
(A) A comparison of the academic achieve-
ment of students who used the opportunity 
scholarships in the measurements described in 
this section to the achievement of students in 
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(G) Such other issues as the Secretary 
considers appropriate for inclusion in the eval-
uation. 
(5) PROHIBITION.—Personally identifiable in-
formation regarding the results of the measurements 
used for the evaluation may not be disclosed, except 
to the parents of the student to whom the informa-
tion relates. 
(b) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor, and the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, of the House of Representatives, and 
the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
of the Senate— 
(1) an annual interim report, not later than De-
cember 1 of each year for which a grant is made 
under this Act, on the progress and preliminary re-
sults of the evaluation described in subsection (a); 
and 
(2) a final report, not later than 1 year after 
the final year for which a grant is made under this 
Act, on the results of the evaluation described in 
subsection (a). 
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(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—All reports and under-
lying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made 
available to the public upon request, in a timely manner 
following submission of the applicable report under sub-
section (b), except that personally identifiable information 
shall not be disclosed or made available to the public. 
(d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED.—The amount ex-
pended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any 
fiscal year may not exceed 5 percent of the total amount 
appropriated to carry out this Act for the fiscal year. 
SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS.—Each eligible entity re-
ceiving funds under this Act during a year shall submit 
a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of the 
following year regarding the activities carried out with the 
funds during the preceding year. 
(b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the report re-
quired under subsection (a), each eligible entity 
shall, not later than September 1 of the year during 
which the second academic year of the eligible enti-
ty’s program is completed and each of the next 2 
years thereafter, submit a report to the Secretary re-
garding the data collected in the previous 2 aca-
demic years concerning— 
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(A) the academic achievement of students 
participating in the program; 
(B) the graduation and college admission 
rates of students who participate in the pro-
gram, if appropriate; and 
(C) parental satisfaction with the program. 
(2) PROHIBITING
DISCLOSURE
OF
PERSONAL 
INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 
may contain any personally identifiable information. 
(c) REPORTS TO PARENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity shall en-
sure that each school participating in the eligible en-
tity’s program under this Act during a school year 
reports at least once during the school year to the 
parents of each student attending such school who 
is participating in the program— 
(A) the student’s academic achievement, as 
measured by a comparison with the aggregate 
academic achievement of other participating 
students at the student’s school in the same 
grade or level, as appropriate, and the aggre-
gate academic achievement of the student’s 
peers at the student’s school in the same grade 
or level, as appropriate; 
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(B) the safety of the school, including the 
incidence of school violence, student suspen-
sions, and student expulsions; and 
(C) the accreditation status of the school. 
(2) PROHIBITING
DISCLOSURE
OF
PERSONAL 
INFORMATION.—No report under this subsection 
may contain any personally identifiable information, 
except as to the student who is the subject of the 
report to that student’s parent. 
(d) REPORT
TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor, and the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform, of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the Committee on Appropriations, the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs, of the Senate an annual report on the find-
ings of the reports submitted under subsections (a) and 
(b). 
SEC. 11. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING 
SCHOOLS. 
(a) REQUESTS FOR DATA AND INFORMATION.—Each 
school participating in a program funded under this Act 
shall comply with all requests for data and information 
regarding evaluations conducted under section 9(a). 
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(b) RULES OF CONDUCT AND OTHER SCHOOL POLI-
CIES.—A participating school, including the schools de-
scribed in section 8(d), may require eligible students to 
abide by any rules of conduct and other requirements ap-
plicable to all other students at the school. 
(c) NATIONALLY NORM-REFERENCED STANDARD-
IZED TESTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each participating school 
shall administer a nationally norm-referenced stand-
ardized test in reading and math to each student en-
rolled in the school who is receiving an opportunity 
scholarship. The results of such test shall be re-
ported to the student’s parents or legal guardians 
and the Secretary (through the Institute of Edu-
cation Sciences of the Department of Education) for 
the purposes of conducting the evaluation under sec-
tion 9. 
(2) MAKE-UP
SESSION.—If a participating 
school does not administer a nationally norm-ref-
erenced standardized test or the Institute of Edu-
cation Sciences does not receive data on a student 
who is receiving an opportunity scholarship, then the 
Secretary (through the Institute of Education 
Sciences of the Department of Education) shall ad-
minister such test at least one time during a school 
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year for each student receiving an opportunity schol-
arship. 
SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act: 
(1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’ means an institutional day or residen-
tial school, including a public elementary charter 
school, that provides elementary education, as deter-
mined under District of Columbia law. 
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means any of the following: 
(A) An educational entity of the District of 
Columbia Government. 
(B) A nonprofit organization. 
(C) A consortium of nonprofit organiza-
tions. 
(3) ELIGIBLE
STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 
student’’ means a student who— 
(A) is a resident of the District of Colum-
bia; 
(B) comes from a household whose income 
does not exceed 300 percent of the poverty line; 
and 
(C) was enrolled in a District of Columbia 
Public School (such as a charter school) in the 
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previous school year, or is eligible to enter kin-
dergarten or first grade. 
(4) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
(5) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(6) SECONDARY
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec-
ondary school’’ means an institutional day or resi-
dential school, including a public secondary charter 
school, as determined under District of Columbia 
law, except that the term does not include any edu-
cation beyond grade 12. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
SEC. 13. REPEAL. 
Effective beginning with school year 2010-2011, the 
DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (title III of divi-
sion C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (Pub-
lic Law 108–199; 118; Stat. 126 et seq.)) is repealed. 
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SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums 
as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 
years. 
Æ 
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