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108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2556
To provide low-income parents residing in the District of Columbia,
particularly parents of students who attend elementary or secondary
schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring
under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
with expanded opportunities for enrolling their children in higher-
performing schools in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2003
Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Weldon of
Florida, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Shays, Mr. Carter, Mr. Wilson of South
Carolina, Mr. Ehlers, and Mr. DeMint) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform
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A BILL
To provide low-income parents residing in the District of Columbia,
particularly parents of students who attend elementary or secondary
schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring
under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
with expanded opportunities for enrolling their children in higher-
performing schools in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.
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 ``DC Parental Choice Incentive Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(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 Columbia, public
school choice provided for under the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 is inadequate due to capacity constraints within the
public schools. Therefore, in keeping with the spirit of the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001, school choice options, in
addition to those already available to parents in the District
of Columbia (such as magnet and charter schools and open
enrollment schools) should be made available to those parents.
(3) In the most recent mathematics assessment on the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),
administered in 2000, a lower percentage of 4th-grade students
in DC demonstrated proficiency than was the case for any State.
Seventy-six percent of DC fourth-graders scored at the ``below
basic'' level and of the 8th-grade students in the District of
Columbia, only 6 percent of the students tested at the
proficient or advanced levels, and 77 percent were below basic.
In the most recent NAEP reading assessment, in 1998, only 10
percent of DC fourth-graders could read proficiently, while 72
percent were below basic. At the 8th-grade level, 12 percent
were proficient or advanced and 56 percent were below basic.
(4) 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
under Zelman v. Simmons-Harris if it is neutral with respect to
religion and provides assistance to a broad class of citizens
who direct government aid to schools solely as a result of
their independent private choices.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to provide low-income parents residing
in the District of Columbia, particularly parents of students who
attend elementary or secondary schools identified for improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring under section 1116 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316), with
expanded opportunities for enrolling their children in higher-
performing schools in the District of Columbia.
SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY.
(a) Authority.--From funds appropriated to carry out this Act, the
Secretary shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible
entities with approved applications under section 5 to carry out
activities 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 may make grants under this
section for a period of not more than 5 years.
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 accompanied by such information as the
Secretary may require.
(b) Contents.--The Secretary may not approve the request of an
eligible entity for a grant under this Act unless the entity's
application includes--
(1) a detailed description of--
(A) how the entity will address the priorities
described in section 6;
(B) how the entity will select eligible students to
participate in the program, including how it will
ensure that if more eligible students participating in
the program seek admission in a participating school
than the school can accommodate, eligible students are
selected for admission through a random selection
process;
(C) how the entity will notify parents of eligible
students of the expanded choice opportunities;
(D) 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);
(E) how the entity will determine the amount that
will be provided to parents for the tuition, fees, and
transportation expenses, if any;
(F) how the entity will seek out private elementary
and secondary schools in the District of Columbia to
participate in the program, 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; and
(G) how the entity will ensure that participating
schools are financially responsible; 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 attend an
elementary or secondary school identified for improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring under section 1116 of the
Elementary and Secondary 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;
(3) provide students and families with the widest range of
educational options; and
(4) serve students of varying age and grade levels.
SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS.
(a) Scholarships.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2) and (3), a
grantee shall use the grant funds to provide eligible students
with scholarships to pay the tuition, fees, and transportation
expenses, if any, to enable them to attend the District of
Columbia private elementary or secondary school of their
choice. Each grantee shall ensure that the amount of any
tuition or fees charged by a school participating in the
grantee's program under this Act to an eligible student
participating in the program does not exceed the amount of
tuition or fees that the school customarily charges to students
who do not participate in the program.
(2) Payments to parents.--A grantee shall make scholarship
payments under the program under this Act to the parent of the
eligible student participating in the program, in a manner
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) Amount of assistance.--
(A) Varying amounts permitted.--Subject to the
other requirements of this subsection, a grantee may
award scholarships in larger amounts to those eligible
students with the greatest need.
(B) Annual limit on amount.--The amount of
assistance provided to any eligible student by a
grantee under a program under this Act may not exceed
$7,500 for any academic year.
(b) Administrative Expenses.--A grantee may use not more than 3
percent of the amount provided under the grant each 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) providing information about the program and the schools
involved to parents of eligible students;
(3) selecting students to receive support;
(4) determining the amount of scholarships and issuing them
to eligible students;
(5) compiling and maintaining financial and programmatic
records; and
(6) providing funds to assist parents in meeting expenses
that might otherwise preclude the participation of their child
in the program.
SEC. 8. NONDISCRIMINATION.
(a) In General.--A school participating in any program under this
Act shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national
origin, or sex in participating in the program.
(b) Applicability and Construction With Respect to Discrimination
on the Basis of Sex.--
(1) Applicability.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any
other provision of law, it shall not be considered
discrimination on the basis of sex for a school that is
operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to a
religious organization to take sex into account to the extent
that failing to do so would be inconsistent with the religious
tenets or beliefs of the school.
(2) Single-sex schools, classes, or activities.--
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.
(c) Children With Disabilities.--Nothing in this Act may be
construed to alter or modify the provisions of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.
(d) Religiously Affiliated Schools.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, a school participating in any program under this Act which
is operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to,
a religious organization may employ persons of the same
religion to the extent determined by that school to promote the
religious purpose for which the school is established or
maintained.
(2) Religious purposes.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, funds made available under this Act may be
used for religious educational purposes, and no participating
school shall be required to remove religious art, icons,
scriptures, or other symbols. A participating school may retain
religious terms in its name, select its board members on a
religious basis, and include religious references in its
mission statements and other chartering or governing documents.
(e) Rule of Construction.--A scholarship (or any other form of
support provided to parents of eligible students) 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 program.
SEC. 9. EVALUATIONS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Duties of secretary.--The Secretary shall--
(A) conduct an evaluation using the strongest
possible research design for determining the
effectiveness of the programs funded under this Act
that addresses the issues described in paragraph (2);
and
(B) disseminate information on the impact of the
programs in increasing the student academic achievement
of participating students, as well as other appropriate
measures of student success, and on the impact of the
programs on students and schools in the District of
Columbia.
(2) Issues to be evaluated.--The issues described in this
paragraph include the following:
(A) A comparison of the academic achievement of
students who participate in the programs funded under
this Act with the academic achievement of students of
similar backgrounds who do not participate in such
programs.
(B) The success of the programs in expanding choice
options for parents.
(C) The reasons parents choose for their children
to participate in the programs.
(D) A comparison of the retention rates, dropout
rates, and (if appropriate) graduation and college
admission rates of students who participate in the
programs funded under this Act with the retention
rates, dropout rates, and (if appropriate) graduation
and college admission rates of students of similar
backgrounds who do not participate in such programs.
(E) The effects of the programs on public
elementary and secondary schools.
(F) A comparison of the safety of the schools
attended by students who participate in the programs
and the schools attended by students who do not
participate in the programs.
(G) The impact of the program on students and
schools in the District of Columbia.
(H) Such other issues as the Secretary considers
appropriate for inclusion in the evaluation.
(b) Reports.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations, Education and the Workforce, and Government Reform of
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