I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 787 
To amend the SOAR Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2019 
Mr. WALKER (for himself, Ms. FOXX of North Carolina, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. 
ALLEN, Mr. BANKS, Mr. POSEY, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. WEBER of Texas, 
Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. RATCLIFFE, Mr. PALMER, Mr. 
GRAVES of Louisiana, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. 
DUNCAN, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. MITCHELL, and Mr. 
HUNTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To amend the SOAR Act. 
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 ‘‘SOAR Reauthorization 
Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOAR ACT. 
(a) AMENDMENTS TO SOAR.—The Scholarships for 
Opportunity and Results Act (division C of Public Law 
112–10) is amended— 
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(1) in section 3007 (sec. 38–1853.07 D.C. Offi-
cial Code)— 
(A) by striking subsection (c) and redesig-
nating subsection (d) as subsection (c); 
(B) in subsection (a)(5)(A)(i)— 
(i) by striking subclause (I) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(I) is fully accredited by— 
‘‘(aa) an accrediting body 
with jurisdiction in the District 
of Columbia and that is recog-
nized by the Student and Visitor 
Exchange English Language Pro-
gram administered by the U.S. 
Immigration and Customs En-
forcement; or 
‘‘(bb) any international ac-
crediting body that the Secretary 
may designate, after consultation 
with the grantee or grantees 
under section 3004(a); or’’; and 
(ii) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘the 
date of enactment of the Consolidated Ap-
propriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114– 
113),’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enact-
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ment of the SOAR Reauthorization Act of 
2019,’’; 
(C) in subsection (b)— 
(i) in the subsection heading, by strik-
ing ‘‘AND PARENTAL ASSISTANCE’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, PARENTAL ASSISTANCE, AND 
STUDENT ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE’’; 
(ii) in the matter preceding clause (i), 
by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$2,200,000’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) The expenses of providing tutoring service 
to participating eligible students that need additional 
academic assistance. If there are insufficient funds 
to provide tutoring services to all such students in 
a year, the eligible entity shall give priority in such 
year to students who previously attended an elemen-
tary school or secondary school identified as one of 
the lowest-performing schools under the District of 
Columbia’s accountability system.’’; and 
(D) in subsection (c), as redesignated by 
subparagraph (A)— 
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(i) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking 
‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting 
‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 
‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting 
‘‘subsection (b)’’; 
(2) in section 3008(h) (sec. 38–1853.08 D.C. 
Official Code)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 
3009(a)(2)(A)(i)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘section 
3009(a)’’; 
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(2) The Institute of Education Sciences may 
administer assessments to students participating in 
the evaluation under section 3009(a) for the purpose 
of conducting the evaluation under such section.’’; 
and 
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘the na-
tionally norm-referenced standardized test de-
scribed in paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a na-
tionally norm-referenced standardized test’’; 
(3) in section 3009(a) (sec. 38–1853.09 D.C. 
Official Code)— 
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(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘an-
nually’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
clause (i) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(i) is rigorous; and’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘impact of the program’’ and all that fol-
lows through the end of the subparagraph 
and inserting ‘‘impact of the program on 
academic achievement and educational at-
tainment.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by strik-
ing ‘‘ON EDUCATION’’ and inserting ‘‘OF 
EDUCATION’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘the academic 
progress of’’ after ‘‘assess’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘in each of 
grades 3’’ and all that follows through 
the end of the subparagraph and in-
serting ‘‘; and’’; 
(iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 
and 
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(iv) by redesignating subparagraph 
(C) as subparagraph (B); and 
(D) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘A comparison of the academic achieve-
ment of participating eligible students who 
use an opportunity scholarship on the 
measurements 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(3)(B) to the academic achievement’’ and 
inserting ‘‘The academic progress of par-
ticipating eligible students who use an op-
portunity scholarship compared to the aca-
demic progress’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘increasing the satisfaction of such parents 
and students with their choice’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘those parents’ and students’ satisfac-
tion with the program’’; and 
(iii) by striking subparagraph (D) 
through (F) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(D) The high school graduation rates, 
college enrollment rates, college persistence 
rates, and college graduation rates of partici-
pating eligible students who use an opportunity 
scholarship compared with the rates of public 
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school students described in subparagraph (A), 
to the extent practicable. 
‘‘(E) The college enrollment rates, college 
persistence rates, and college graduation rates 
of students who participated in the program as 
the result of winning the Opportunity Scholar-
ship Program lottery compared to the enroll-
ment, persistence, and graduation rates for stu-
dents who entered but did not win such lottery 
and who, as a result, served as the control 
group for previous evaluations of the program 
under this division. Nothing in this subpara-
graph may be construed to waive section 
3004(a)(3)(A)(iii) with respect to any such stu-
dent. 
‘‘(F) The safety of the schools attended by 
participating eligible students who use an op-
portunity scholarship compared with the schools 
in the District of Columbia attended by public 
school students described in subparagraph (A), 
to the extent practicable.’’; and 
(4) in section 3014(a) (sec. 38–1853.14, D.C. 
Official Code), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2019’’ and 
inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2024’’. 
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(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on September 30, 2019. 
Æ 
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