S. 3682 - America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids Act

109th CONGRESS
2d Session

S. 3682

To establish the America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids Program.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 18, 2006

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. GREGG, and Mr. SANTORUM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To establish the America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids Program.

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 `America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids Act'.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

It is the purpose of this Act to support local efforts to enable students from low-income families who attend a school identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8))--

(1) to attend a private elementary school or secondary school, or a public elementary school or secondary school outside the student's home school district, including a public charter school; or

(2) to receive intensive, sustained supplemental educational services.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; SECONDARY SCHOOL; SECRETARY; STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- The terms `elementary school', `local educational agency', `secondary school', `Secretary', and `State educational agency' have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The term `eligible entity' means--

(A) a local educational agency;

(B) a State educational agency; or

(3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT- The term `eligible student' means a student from a low-income family who--

(A) with respect to a school identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8))--

(i) is eligible to enroll in the beginning grade of the school;

(ii) except as provided in subparagraph (C), attended the school for the entire school year preceding the identification;

(iii) in the case of a student who transfers to the school to attend any grade beyond the beginning grade of the school, attends the school for the remainder of the school year in which the transfer occurs; or

(iv) received a scholarship under this Act in a preceding school year due to such identification; or

(B) is a sibling of a student described in any 1 of clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A).

(4) LOW-INCOME FAMILY- The term `low-income family' means a family whose income does not exceed 185 percent of the poverty line, except that in the case of a student participating in a project under this Act for a second or any succeeding school year the term includes a family whose income does not exceed 220 percent of the poverty line.

(5) POVERTY LINE- The term `poverty line' means the income official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable to a family of the size involved.

(6) PRIVATE PROVIDER- The term `private provider' means a nonprofit or for-profit private provider of supplemental educational services described in section 1116(e)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)(1)) that is on the updated list of approved providers maintained by the State educational agency under section 1116(e)(4)(C) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)(4)(C)).

(7) SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICES- The term `supplemental educational services' has the meaning given the term in section 1116(e)(12)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)(12)(C)).

SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

(a) Authority-

(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraph (2) and from amounts appropriated under section 6 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to support projects that provide--

(A) scholarships to enable eligible students to attend--

(i) the private elementary school or secondary school of their parent's choice; or

(ii) a public elementary school or secondary school of their parents' choice outside of the eligible student's home school district, consistent with State law; or

(B) eligible students with intensive, sustained supplemental educational services on an annual basis.

(2) SCHOLARSHIP DURATION RULE- Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this Act shall only award a scholarship under this Act to an eligible student for--

(A)(i) in the case of an eligible student described in section 3(3)(A), the first school year for which the eligible student is eligible to receive the scholarship with respect to a school identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and

(ii) in the case of an eligible student described in section 3(3)(B), the first school year taught at the school so identified; and

(B) each subsequent school year through the school year applicable to the final grade taught at the school so identified.

(b) Duration of Grants- The Secretary may award grants under this Act for a period of not more than 5 years.

(1) propose to serve eligible students in a local educational agency with a large number or percentage of schools identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8));

(2) possess the knowledge and capacity to inform parents of eligible students, in urban, suburban, and rural areas, about public and private elementary school and secondary school options; and

(3) will augment the scholarships provided to eligible students under this Act in order to help ensure that parents can afford the cost (including tuition, fees, and necessary transportation expenses) of the schools the parents choose to have their children attend under this Act.

(d) Application Requirements-

(1) IN GENERAL- To be considered for a grant under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(2) CONTENTS- The application shall, at a minimum, include a description of--

(A) the eligible entity's plan for--

(i) recruiting private schools, local educational agencies, charter schools, and private providers, to participate in the project in order to meet eligible student demand for private and public school admission and supplemental educational services; and

(ii) ensuring that participating schools that enroll eligible students receiving scholarships under this Act, and private providers participating in the project, will meet the applicable requirements of the project;

(B) each school identified for restructuring that will be served under the project, including--

(i) the name of each such school; and

(ii) such demographic and socioeconomic information as the Secretary may require;

(C) how the eligible entity will work with the identified schools and the local educational agency to identify the parents of eligible students (including through contracts or cooperative agreements with the public school or local educational agency) consistent with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g);

(D) how the eligible entity will structure the project in a manner that permits eligible students to participate in the second and succeeding school years of the project if the schools the eligible students attend with scholarship assistance under this Act are subsequently identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8));

(E) how the eligible entity will use funds received under this Act;

(F) how the eligible entity will ensure that if more eligible students seek admission to the project than the project can accommodate, the eligible students will be selected through a random selection process;

(G) how the eligible entity will notify parents of eligible students of the expanded choice opportunities provided under the project and how the eligible entity will provide parents with sufficient information to enable the parents to make an informed decision;

(H) how the eligible entity will ensure that the schools receiving eligible students under the grant are financially responsible and will use the grant funds received under this Act effectively;

(I) how the eligible entity will prioritize between providing scholarships and providing sustained, intensive supplemental educational services, including the timing and duration of offering the opportunity for parents to determine which provision the parents prefer; and

(J) how the eligible entity will address the renewal of support for participating eligible students, including continued eligibility.

(e) Uses of Funds-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this Act may--

(A) reserve not more than 5 percent of the grant funds for administrative expenses, including costs associated with recruiting and selecting eligible students, private schools, and private providers, to participate in the project;

(B) only for the first year for which grant funds are received under this Act, reserve not more than 5 percent of the grant funds (in addition to the funds reserved under subparagraph (A)), for initial implementation expenses, including costs associated with outreach, providing information to parents and school officials, and other administrative expenses;

(C) use the grant funds to provide scholarships to eligible students to pay for the cost, including tuition, fees, and necessary transportation expenses, to attend the private school of their parents' choice or a public elementary school or secondary school of their parents' choice outside of the eligible students' home school district (consistent with State law), except that the scholarship shall not exceed $4,000 per student per school year; and

(D) use the grant funds to pay the costs, including reasonable transportation costs, of supplemental educational services (including summer school or after-school programs) provided by a private provider to eligible students, except that the costs shall not exceed $3,000 per student, per school year.

(2) FUNDING ORDER- Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this Act shall--

(A) first fund scholarships for eligible students to attend the private school of their parents' choice or a public elementary school or secondary school of their parents' choice outside of the eligible students' home school district (consistent with State law); and

(B) use any remaining grant funds to provide eligible students with access to supplemental educational services.

(3) PAYMENT- Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this Act shall make scholarship payments under this Act to the parent of the eligible student participating in the project, in a manner that ensures that the payments will be used only for the payment of tuition, fees, and necessary transportation expenses, in accordance with this Act.

(f) Prohibition- A student who receives supplemental educational services under this Act shall not be eligible to receive other such services under section 1116(e) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)).

(g) Project Performance- Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this Act shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a final report on the results of the project assisted under this Act that contains such information as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, the report shall include information on the academic achievement of students receiving scholarships and supplemental educational services under the project.

(h) Performance Information- Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this Act shall collect and report such performance information as the Secretary may require for the national evaluation conducted under subsection (i).

(i) National Evaluation- From the amount made available for any fiscal year under section 6, the Secretary shall reserve such sums as may be necessary to conduct an independent evaluation, by grant or by contract, of the program carried out under this Act, which shall include an assessment of the impact of the program on student achievement. The Secretary shall report the results of the evaluation to the appropriate committees of Congress.

SEC. 5. NONDISCRIMINATION.

(a) In General- An eligible entity or a school participating in a project under this Act shall not discriminate against an individual participant in, or an individual applicant to participate in, the project on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

(b) Applicability and Single-Sex Schools, Classes, or Activities-

(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the prohibition of sex discrimination described in subsection (a) shall not apply to a school described in subsection (a) that is operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organization, to the extent that the application of subsection (a) is inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the organization.

(2) PARENTAL CHOICE- Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other provision of law, a parent may choose to enroll a child in, and a school may offer, a single-sex school, class, or activity under a project funded under this Act.

(3) NEUTRALITY- Section 909 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply to this Act.

(c) Children With Disabilities- Nothing in this Act may be construed to alter or modify the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).

(d) Religiously Affiliated Schools-

(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school described in subsection (a) that is operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organization may exercise, in matters of employment, the school's rights consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), including the exemptions in that title.

(2) SPECIAL RULE- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a school described in subsection (a) receives funds made available under this Act for an eligible student as a result of a choice made by the student's parent, the receipt of the funds shall not, consistent with the first amendment of the Constitution--

(A) necessitate any change in the school's teaching mission;

(B) require the school to remove any religious art, icon, scripture, or other symbol; or

(C) preclude the school from retaining a religious term in its name, selecting its board members on a religious basis, or including a religious reference in its mission statement or another chartering or governing document.

(e) Rules of Construction- For purposes of Federal law, a scholarship provided under this Act to a student shall be considered to be assistance to the parent of the student and shall not be considered to be assistance to the school that enrolls the student. The amount of any scholarship (or other form of support for the provision of supplemental educational services) provided to a parent of an eligible student under this Act shall not be treated as income of a parent of the eligible student for purposes of Federal tax laws or for purposes of determining eligibility for any other Federal program, other than the program carried out under this Act.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

END