I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2538 
To create child safety accounts in the District of Columbia, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2019 
Mr. BANKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To create child safety accounts in the District of Columbia, 
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 ‘‘Child Safety Accounts 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘certified donation’’ means a do-
nation certified by the finance authority as eligible 
for a tax credit. 
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(2) The term ‘‘child safety account’’ means an 
account created and managed by the treasurer of the 
District of Columbia for each qualified student who 
has experienced a safety issue and opts into a child 
safety account. 
(3) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Office 
of the State Superintendent of Education of the Dis-
trict of Columbia. 
(4) The term ‘‘elementary school’’ means an in-
stitutional day or residential school (including a 
school with a virtual presence), including a public el-
ementary charter school, that provides elementary 
education, as determined under District of Columbia 
law. 
(5) The term ‘‘educational scholarships’’ means 
a scholarship provided to a qualifying student to top 
off the education of their choice. 
(6) The term ‘‘eligible expenses’’ means any 
education expense necessary for a qualified student, 
including— 
(A) tuition or courses at a qualified school; 
(B) textbooks; 
(C) tutoring by an authorized provider; 
(D) transportation to and from a qualified 
school; 
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(E) therapy necessary to cope with the 
trauma of a safety incident; 
(F) college courses; and 
(G) other required education materials. 
(7) The term ‘‘finance authority’’ means the 
Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia 
or an individual authorized authority designated by 
the Mayor of the District of Columbia to manage the 
child safety accounts. 
(8) The term ‘‘fraud’’ means any child safety 
account funds spent on items that does not qualify 
as an eligible expense, or any other fraud related to 
the use of such accounts (including falsifying infor-
mation related to a safety incident or District of Co-
lumbia residence for the purpose of receiving such 
an account). 
(9) The term ‘‘parent’’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(10) The term ‘‘poverty line’’ means the poverty 
line (as defined in section 673(2) of the Community 
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) appli-
cable to a family of the size involved. 
(11) The term ‘‘qualified donor’’ means a tax-
payer, individual, or corporation, who— 
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(A) files a District of Columbia income tax 
return; 
(B) cannot be claimed as a dependent on 
another taxpayer return; 
(C) has donated to a scholarship granting 
organization; and 
(D) has been certified by the finance au-
thority to make the donation specified. 
(12) The term ‘‘qualified school’’ means an ele-
mentary school or secondary school in the District of 
Columbia that— 
(A) ensures employees are permitted to 
work in a school by District of Columbia law 
and who are not a threat to student safety; 
(B) ensures financial stability with yearly 
independent financial audits provided to the fi-
nance authority; and 
(C) ensures funds from child safety ac-
counts are spent appropriately for the education 
of students. 
(13) The term ‘‘qualified student’’ means any 
student who— 
(A) is a resident of the District of Colum-
bia; 
(B) is enrolled in a qualified school; and 
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(C) has attended a qualified school for not 
less than 100 days. 
(14) The term ‘‘safety issue’’ means a reported 
incident of— 
(A) bullying (physical, verbal, cyber); 
(B) sexual harassment; 
(C) sexual abuse; 
(D) sexual misconduct; 
(E) gang activity; 
(F) fights; 
(G) suicide attempts or threats; 
(H) shootings; 
(I) drug use; 
(J) special safety needs; 
(K) food safety needs; 
(L) health related safety issues; 
(M) act of violence against the qualified 
student; or 
(N) other safety concerns and fears as de-
termined by a qualified student and parent. 
(15) The term ‘‘scholarship granting organiza-
tion’’ means an organization authorized by the fi-
nance authority to accept funds and use such funds 
to provide scholarships to qualified students. 
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(16) The term ‘‘secondary school’’ means an in-
stitutional day or residential school (including a 
school with a virtual presence), including a public 
secondary charter school, that provides secondary 
education, as determined under District of Columbia 
law, except that the term does not include any edu-
cation beyond grade 12. 
(17) The term ‘‘top off’’ means the payment of 
tuition or other eligible expense above the amount 
provided with the child safety account. 
(18) The term ‘‘uncertified donation’’ means a 
donation that is not eligible for a tax credit because 
the amount of such donation exceeds the amount eli-
gible for such tax credit. 
SEC. 3. CREATION OF CSA. 
(a) REPORT.—Upon receipt of a report of an issue 
of school safety at a qualified school, such school shall— 
(1) submit such report to the Office of School 
Security of the District of Columbia; and 
(2) provide a copy of the report to each family 
and educator involved. 
(b) INVESTIGATION.—The Office of School Security 
shall complete an investigation of the report not later than 
15 days after receiving such report to determine whether 
the report has merit. 
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(c) PARENTAL NOTICE.—The school shall inform the 
parents of the student on whose behalf the report was sub-
mitted— 
(1) whether the investigation has determined a 
school safety issue exists at the school; and 
(2) in a case in which the investigation deter-
mines that such a safety issue exists, that the par-
ents have an opportunity to enroll in a child safety 
account. 
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPER-
INTENDENT OF EDUCATION OF THE DIS-
TRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education 
of the District of Columbia shall— 
(1) carry out random quarterly audits of child 
safety accounts to check for fraud; and 
(2) seek to enter into a contract with a private 
entity that shall administer the child safety account 
program under this Act, including— 
(A) registering vendors that provide the 
services eligible to be purchased using child 
safety accounts, including the registering of pri-
vate schools eligible to participate; and 
(B) providing verification of purchases by 
setting up an online platform with registered 
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vendors allowing for instant authorization of 
such purchases. 
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. 
(a) CSA ACCOUNT CREATION AND FUNDING.—Upon 
a parent signing an agreement on the proper usage and 
responsibilities of a child safety account, the private entity 
that has entered into a contract under section 4(2) shall— 
(1) create a child safety account for the student 
of the parent— 
(A) which the student— 
(i) is eligible to automatically renew 
each year until the date on which the stu-
dent— 
(I) graduates from a secondary 
school; 
(II) is no longer a qualified stu-
dent; or 
(III) has turned 18 years of age; 
and 
(ii) in a case in which funds remain in 
the child safety account after the period 
described in clause (i), may use for post-
secondary education; and 
(2) in a case in which funds remain after being 
used in accordance with paragraph (1)(A)(ii), ensure 
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that the funds from which will revert back to the 
District of Columbia; 
(3) ensure that the Department will deduct the 
amount provided to such child safety account for 
each year of the period described in paragraph 
(1)(A)(i) in an amount equal to the average yearly 
per pupil cost for qualified school of the student, ex-
cept that— 
(A) the amount shall be prorated based on 
the number of days remaining in the school 
year if the safety incident occurs after the 
school year has already started; and 
(B) in the case of a student with an indi-
vidual education plan or an accommodation 
plan issued under section 504 of the Rehabilita-
tion Act of 1973, such amount shall be in-
creased to equal the per pupil expenditure for 
such a student; 
(4) notify the Department and the qualified 
school in which the student was previously enrolled 
of the account creation, including the amount depos-
ited into the account; and 
(5) provide the parent with a letter of account 
creation until a debit card can be issued, which shall 
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be accepted at a qualified school until such time pay-
ment can be made with the use of a debit card. 
(b) FUNDS FOR THE PROGRAM.— 
(1) PRIVATE
ENTITY
REQUIREMENTS.—Not 
later than August 1 of each year, the private entity 
shall submit to the finance authority the amount of 
funds necessary for child safety accounts. In deter-
mining the amount of funds to request— 
(A) for each family living at not more than 
185 percent of the poverty line, the amount of 
funds for a child safety account shall be an 
amount equal to 90 percent of the uniform per 
student amount used by the District of Colum-
bia to determine the amount of annual pay-
ments to District of Columbia public schools 
with respect to the academic year involved; 
(B) for each family living at or greater 
than 186 percent of the poverty line, but not 
greater than 300 percent of the poverty line, 
the amount of funds for a child safety account 
shall be an amount equal to 85 percent of the 
uniform per student amount used by the Dis-
trict of Columbia to determine the amount of 
annual payments to District of Columbia public 
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schools with respect to the academic year in-
volved; and 
(C) for each family living at greater than 
300 percent of the poverty line, the amount of 
funds for a child safety account shall be an 
amount equal to 80 percent of the uniform per 
student amount used by the District of Colum-
bia to determine the amount of annual pay-
ments to District of Columbia public schools 
with respect to the academic year involved. 
(2) FINANCE
AUTHORITY
REQUIREMENTS.— 
The finance authority shall transfer to the private 
entity the amount requested under paragraph (1) 
from any funds or revenues available to the District 
of Columbia public schools for purposes of the pro-
gram under this Act. 
(3) ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES.—The private 
entity shall use not more than 5 percent of the funds 
received from the finance authority under paragraph 
(2) for administrative purposes. 
SEC. 6. FRAUD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the finance authority will 
establish a committee to meet on a quarterly basis to re-
view any allegations of fraud found discovered as a result 
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of the audits of child safety accounts under section 4, and 
which shall be composed of the following members: 
(1) An employee of each type of qualified 
school. 
(2) A home education expert. 
(3) A member of the finance authority staff. 
(b) FIRST MEETING.—The commission will have its 
first meeting following the first quarterly audit carried out 
by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education 
of the District of Columbia. 
(c) SIMPLE MISTAKE.—If a disputed expenditure is 
determined to be a simple mistake, the parent will be re-
quired to repay the expense. 
(d) EXPENDITURE FRAUD.—If the finance authority 
determines that the disputed expenditure was not a simple 
mistake on the part of the parent— 
(1) in a case in which the amount of such ex-
penditure may lead to a conviction of misdemeanor 
fraud under District of Columbia law— 
(A) for a parent with no previous disputed 
expenditures in such an amount that was deter-
mined to be fraud by the finance authority, the 
parent shall be required to repay the disputed 
amount, the child safety account shall be frozen 
until such time as the repayment is made, and 
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upon repayment, the parent may resume using 
the child safety account; and 
(B) for a parent with a previous expendi-
ture in such an amount that was determined to 
be fraud by the finance authority, the child 
safety account shall be frozen and the parent 
shall not be eligible for any child safety ac-
counts in the District of Columbia on or after 
such determination; and 
(2) in a case in which the amount of such ex-
penditure may lead to a felony conviction under Dis-
trict of Columbia law, the child safety account in-
volved shall be frozen, the case shall be remanded to 
the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, 
and the parent shall not be eligible for any child 
safety accounts in the District of Columbia on or 
after such determination. 
(e) SAFETY INCIDENT OR FALSIFYING RESIDENCY 
FRAUD.—In a case where the parent is found to have fal-
sified the safety incident, or falsified residency in the Dis-
trict of Columbia, leading to creation of the account and 
the amount of expenditures resulting from the falsified ac-
count may lead to a conviction of misdemeanor fraud 
under District of Columbia law, the child safety account 
shall be frozen, and the parent shall not be eligible for 
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any child safety accounts in the District of Columbia on 
or after such determination, and the Attorney General of 
the District of Columbia shall be notified. 
SEC. 7. SCHOLARSHIP GRANTING ORGANIZATIONS. 
(a) APPLICATIONS.—To be authorized as a scholar-
ship granting organization to accept donations and pay 
out scholarships to students under this section, an organi-
zation shall submit an application to the finance authority 
at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor-
mation as the authority may require, which shall include 
an assurance that the organization— 
(1) is an organization described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
and 
(2) will submit an independent yearly audit to 
the finance authority not later than October 1 of 
each year. 
(b) DONATION PROCESS.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the finance author-
ity shall create a process to— 
(1) accept donation pledges and provide certifi-
cates to the donor and the scholarship granting or-
ganization, and to ensure donors are handled in an 
equal manner across all donors; 
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(2) for the purpose of ensuring that a donation 
does not exceed any limits imposed on donations by 
the finance authority, ensure certificates of donor-al-
lowed amounts will be provided to the donor before 
the amounts are given to the scholarship granting 
organization; 
(3) ensure that no donation is directed to a spe-
cific student or school, and authorize donations for 
a specific type of qualified school (including a pri-
vate or religious school), or for students affected by 
a specific type of safety issue; 
(4) create a process for certifying donation 
amounts for the topping off process; 
(5) create a receipt to be used by the scholar-
ship granting organization to provide to the donor 
that indicates the amount of the certified donation 
amount for purposes of a tax credit; and 
(6) in a case in which the total donations from 
all donors for a tax year exceed the allowable tax 
credits, pro-rate the certified donation amounts 
across such donors for such tax year, and ensure 
that any amount over such reduced amounts would 
be uncertified and not eligible for a tax credit. 
(c) SGO REQUIREMENTS.—Each scholarship grant-
ing organization shall carry out the following: 
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(1) CERTIFIED
DONATIONS.—Accepting cer-
tified donations from individuals and corporations, 
providing qualified donors of such donations with a 
finance authority receipt, and certifying to the fi-
nance authority all revenue earned from interest and 
investments on such donations are used for scholar-
ships described in paragraph (3). 
(2) NONCERTIFIED
DONATIONS.—Creating a 
process for handling noncertified donations, which 
includes— 
(A) mailing a form to the donor, to— 
(i) determine whether the donor would 
like a refund of the noncertified portion of 
the donation; 
(ii) determine whether the donor 
would like the noncertified portion for ad-
ditional scholarships; 
(iii) notify the donor that such form 
shall be returned within 15 business days 
if the donor would like the noncertified do-
nations to be used for scholarships; and 
(iv) notify the donor that if the non-
certified portion is used for scholarships, 
these funds cannot be used as a tax credit, 
and the donor would only be eligible to use 
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them as a charitable donation under Fed-
eral and State laws; 
(B) keeping for 5 years returned forms for 
auditing purposes; 
(C) certifying to the finance authority all 
revenue earned from interest and investments 
on such donations are used for scholarships; 
and 
(D) ensuring noncertified donations are 
used for scholarships and not for administration 
purposes. 
(3) SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS.— 
(A) 
APPLICATIONS.—Accepting 
applica-
tions from qualified students who have received 
a child safety account and are seeking a schol-
arship to top off their eligible expenses not cov-
ered by such account. 
(B) PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIPS.—Ensur-
ing that each scholarship is— 
(i) awarded not later than March 1 of 
each year for the next school year; 
(ii) has a payment schedule so that 
scholarship payments are provided to the 
parent of the student or to the qualified 
school in which the student is enrolled; 
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(1) The initial amount of the tax credit dona-
tions in the first year will be $100 million dollars. 
(2) Donors will be allowed to take a tax credit 
of 100 percent of their certified donation up to their 
tax liability. Any excess credit may be rolled over for 
up to 5 years. 
(3) Each year tax credit donations reach 90 
percent of the yearly limit, the limit will be increased 
by 25 percent the following year. 
(4) A taxpayer may donate in excess of the cer-
tified amount to the scholarship granting organiza-
tion. This excess cannot be used in tax credit cal-
culations, but may be utilized as a normal charitable 
donation on the taxpayer’s income tax return. 
(b) DC TAX CREDIT FOR CERTAIN EDUCATION EX-
PENSES.—There is established in the District of Columbia 
a program to provide tax credits against income taxes im-
posed by the District of Columbia for eligible expenses 
above the amount provided under a child safety account. 
Such program shall be administered by the Mayor con-
sistent with the following: 
(1) Parents will be allowed to top off tuition or 
other eligible expenses. 
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(2) The parent may claim these expenses as a 
personal income tax credit against income taxes im-
posed by the District of Columbia. 
(3) This tax credit will not be limited by the 
parent tax liability so as to ensure parents with 
lower incomes to better afford to move their student 
to a safe educational environment. 
Æ 
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