Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 4 (pp) To improve pay and retirement equity for members of the Armed Forces; and for other purposes. [Public Print] ...S. 4 (pp) To improve pay and retirement equity for members of the Armed Forces; and for other purposes. [Public Print] ...
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 4
To improve access to a quality education for all students.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 14, 2003
Mr. Gregg (for himself, Mr. Frist, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Santorum, Mr.
Alexander, Mr. Ensign, and Mr. Graham of South Carolina) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve access to a quality education for all students.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Opportunity for
Every Child Act of 2003''.
(b) Table of Contents.--
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--EMPOWERMENT
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Sense of the Senate.
Part A--School Choice
Sec. 111. Short title and purpose.
Sec. 112. Definitions.
Sec. 113. Program authorized.
Sec. 114. Annual reports.
Sec. 115. Applications.
Sec. 116. Priority.
Sec. 117. Interaction with other laws.
Sec. 118. Standing.
Sec. 119. Authorization of appropriations.
Part B--District of Columbia Scholarship Program
Sec. 121. Short title, findings, and precedents.
Sec. 122. Definitions.
Sec. 123. District of Columbia Scholarship Corporation.
Sec. 124. Scholarships authorized.
Sec. 125. Scholarship awards.
Sec. 126. Scholarship payments.
Sec. 127. Civil rights.
Sec. 128. Children with disabilities.
Sec. 129. Rule of construction.
Sec. 130. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 131. Program appraisal.
Sec. 132. Standing.
Sec. 133. Effective date.
Part C--Charter Schools
Sec. 141. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II--IDEA
Sec. 201. Sense of the Senate regarding IDEA.
Sec. 202. Fully funding IDEA.
TITLE III--HIGHER EDUCATION
Sec. 301. Sense of the Senate regarding expanding access to college.
Sec. 302. Sense of the Senate regarding minority-serving institutions.
Sec. 303. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE IV--RECRUITING TEACHERS
Part A--Loan Forgiveness for Mathematics, Science, and Special
Education Teachers
Sec. 411. Short title.
Sec. 412. Sense of the Senate regarding loan forgiveness.
Sec. 413. Revision of teacher loan forgiveness programs.
Part B--Classroom Expense Deduction
Sec. 421. Expansion of classroom expense deduction for teachers.
TITLE V--MAKING EDUCATION MORE AFFORDABLE
Sec. 501. Sense of the Senate regarding making education more
affordable.
Sec. 502. Affordable education provisions made permanent.
Sec. 503. Credit for education, tuition, and transportation expenses of
students assigned to schools identified for
school improvement.
TITLE I--EMPOWERMENT
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Empowering Parents Act of 2003''.
SEC. 102. SENSE OF THE SENATE.
It is the sense of the Senate that--
(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) parents of children in underperforming public schools
should have the choice to send their children to higher
performing schools, be they public schools (including charter
schools) or private schools;
(3) for many parents in rural and urban areas, public
school choice provided for under the amendments made by the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is not a meaningful option due to
capacity constraints, therefore in keeping with the spirit of
the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, private school choice
should be made available to those parents;
(4) the District of Columbia schools have the lowest
student performance averages of any school system in the Nation
on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and
therefore parents in the District of Columbia are in particular
need of more options, including the possibility of sending
their child to private school; and
(5) charter schools support and stimulate improved public
school performance by promoting competition and providing
parents increased options for their children, and therefore the
Federal Government should encourage their creation and growth,
particularly due to the unique financing barriers charter
schools face.
PART A--SCHOOL CHOICE
SEC. 111. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.
(a) Short Title.--This part may be cited as the ``School Choice
Incentive Act of 2003''.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this part is to provide low-income
students attending under performing public elementary or secondary
schools the opportunity to attend a private school when public school
choice is unavailable.
SEC. 112. DEFINITIONS.
In this part:
(1) Education certificate.--The term ``education
certificate'' means a certificate provided to an eligible
student to enable the eligible student to attend a private
school.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
public agency, institution, or organization, such as a State, a
State or local educational agency, a county or municipal
agency, a consortium of public and private organizations, or a
private nonprofit organization, that can demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the Secretary, its ability to--
(A) receive, disburse, and account for Federal
funds; and
(B) carry out the activities described in the
application submitted under section 115.
(3) Eligible student.--The term ``eligible student'' means
a child in any of the grades kindergarten through grade 12--
(A) who is eligible for a free or reduced price
meal under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and
(B) who attends, is scheduled to attend, or plans
to attend in the next school year (in the case of a
child who is not yet of school age), a school
identified for school improvement.
(4) Parent.--The term ``parent'' includes a legal guardian
or other individual acting in loco parentis.
(5) Private school.--The term ``private school'' means any
private elementary or secondary school, including a private
elementary or secondary sectarian school.
(6) School identified for school improvement.--The term
``school identified for school improvement'' means a public
elementary or secondary school identified for school
improvement under section 1116(b) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316).
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
SEC. 113. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may award grants to eligible
entities to enable the eligible entities to provide education
certificates to eligible students according to the requirements of this
part.
(b) Requirement.--An eligible entity shall only award an education
certificate to an eligible student if the local educational agency
serving the public school the eligible student would otherwise attend
is unable to enroll the eligible student in another public school that
has not been identified for school improvement.
(c) Use of Federal Funds.--Each eligible entity receiving a grant
under this part--
(1) shall provide educational certificates to eligible
students to supplement the costs of private school tuition,
mandatory fees, and costs of transportation (if any); and
(2) may expend not more than 15 percent of the amount
received under the grant in the first fiscal year for which the
eligible entity provides education certificates under this
part, or 10 percent of such amount in any subsequent year, for
the costs of administration, including--
(A) providing information to parents about the
education certificates;
(B) seeking the involvement of private schools;
(C) making determinations of eligibility for
participation for eligible children;
(D) determining the amount of, and issuing,
education certificates; and
(E) compiling and maintaining such financial and
programmatic records as the Secretary may require.
(d) Education Certificates.--
(1) Amount.--The amount of an education certificate shall
be calculated on a yearly basis, and shall be equal to the cost
of tuition and mandatory fees for, and transportation, as
appropriate, to attend, a private school.
(2) Maximum amount.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this part, the maximum amount of an eligible student's
education certificate under this part shall not exceed the per
pupil expenditure for elementary and secondary education by the
local educational agency serving the school identified for
school improvement.
(3) Tax status.--An education certificate, and funds
provided under the education certificate, shall not be treated
as income of the parents for purposes of Federal tax laws or
for determining eligibility for any other Federal program.
(e) Eligible Entity Responsibilities.--Each eligible entity
receiving a grant under this part--
(1) shall provide timely annual notice to parents of
eligible students explaining the availability of education
certificates under this part, which at a minimum, shall
include--
(A) a description of the eligibility requirements
for participation in the program assisted under this
part;
(B) a description of the information needed to make
a determination of eligibility for such participation
for an eligible student;
(C) a description of the selection procedures to be
used if the number of eligible students seeking to
participate exceeds the number that can be
accommodated; and
(D) the schedule for parents to apply for their
eligible students to participate;
(2) shall apply fair and equitable procedures for serving
eligible students if the amount available for education
certificates is not sufficient to serve all eligible students,
and, in such event, shall prioritize serving students from
families with the lowest income first;
(3) shall not disclose to the public the identity of any
eligible student without the written permission of a parent of
the student;
(4) shall promote maximum participation in the education
certificate program to ensure, to the extent practicable, that
parents have as many choices of private schools as possible;
and
(5) shall provide annual notice to private schools of the
opportunity to participate in the program.
SEC. 114. ANNUAL REPORTS.
Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this part shall
submit to the Secretary an annual report. Each such report shall be
submitted at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information, as the Secretary may require.
SEC. 115. APPLICATIONS.
(a) In General.--Each eligible entity desiring a grant under this
part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in
such manner as the Secretary may require.
(b) Contents.--Each such application shall contain an assurance by
the eligible entity that--
(1) each private school participating in the program has
been in operation for at least 1 year prior to accepting
education certificates under this part; and
(2) the eligible entity will terminate the involvement of a
private school in the program if the private school fails to
comply with the requirements of the program.
SEC. 116. PRIORITY.
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give a
priority to eligible entities that propose to carry out education
certificate programs serving school districts that have a high number
or a high concentration of schools identified for school improvement.
SEC. 117. INTERACTION WITH OTHER LAWS.
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