Title: SOAR Reauthorization Act of 2019
Policy area: Education

Summary:
SOAR Reauthorization Act of 2019
This bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Program, which provides education funding for the District of Columbia, including for private school vouchers, public schools, and public charter schools.
The bill requires participating private schools to be fully accredited by (1) an accrediting body with jurisdiction in the District that is recognized by the Student and Visitor Exchange English Language Program administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or (2) any international accrediting body designated by the Department of Education (ED).
The bill revises the manner in which tutoring services provided under the program are funded.
The bill revises several requirements concerning SOAR evaluations, including concerning (1) frequency; (2) ED's and the Institute of Education Sciences' duties; and (3) the issues to be evaluated, including high school and college performance measurements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 787 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                         To amend the SOAR Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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--
            (1) in section 3007 (sec. 38-1853.07 D.C. Official Code)--
                    (A) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 
                subsection (d) as subsection (c);
                    (B) in subsection (a)(5)(A)(i)--
                            (i) by striking subclause (I) and inserting 
                        the following:
                                    ``(I) is fully accredited by--
                                            ``(aa) an accrediting body 
                                        with jurisdiction in the 
                                        District of Columbia and that 
                                        is recognized by the Student 
                                        and Visitor Exchange English 
                                        Language Program administered 
                                        by the U.S. Immigration and 
                                        Customs Enforcement; or
                                            ``(bb) any international 
                                        accrediting 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 
                        Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114-
                        113),'' and inserting ``the date of enactment 
                        of the SOAR Reauthorization Act of 2019,'';
                    (C) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                        ``and Parental Assistance'' and inserting ``, 
                        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 following:
            ``(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 elementary 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)--
                            (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 inserting 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 nationally 
                norm-referenced standardized test described in 
                paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``a nationally norm-
                referenced standardized test'';
            (3) in section 3009(a) (sec. 38-1853.09 D.C. Official 
        Code)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``annually'';
                    (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 follows 
                        through the end of the subparagraph and 
                        inserting ``impact of the program on academic 
                        achievement and educational attainment.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
                        ``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 
                                inserting ``; and'';
                            (iii) by striking subparagraph (B); and
                            (iv) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
                        subparagraph (B); and
                    (D) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``A 
                        comparison of the academic achievement 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 participating eligible students who 
                        use an opportunity scholarship compared to the 
                        academic progress'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``increasing the satisfaction of such parents 
                        and students with their choice'' and inserting 
                        ``those parents' and students' satisfaction 
                        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 participating eligible 
                students who use an opportunity scholarship compared 
                with the rates of public 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 Scholarship Program lottery 
                compared to the enrollment, persistence, and graduation 
                rates for students 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 subparagraph may be 
                construed to waive section 3004(a)(3)(A)(iii) with 
                respect to any such student.
                    ``(F) The safety of the schools attended by 
                participating eligible students who use an opportunity 
                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''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on September 30, 2019.
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