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HR 2556
108th CONGRESS 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 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--
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-
(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--
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-
(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-
(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-
(b) REPORTS- The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations, Education and the Workforce, and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Governmental Affairs of the Senate--
(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY- All reports and underlying data gathered pursuant to this section shall be made available to the public upon request, in a timely manner following submission of the applicable report under subsection (b), except that personally identifiable information shall not be disclosed or made available to the public. (d) LIMIT ON AMOUNT EXPENDED- The amount expended by the Secretary to carry out this section for any fiscal year may not exceed 3 percent of the total amount appropriated to carry out this Act for the year. SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) ACTIVITIES REPORTS- Each grantee receiving funds under this Act during a year shall submit a report to the Secretary not later than July 30 of the following year regarding the activities carried out with the funds during the preceding year. (b) ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS-
(c) REPORTS TO PARENT-
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS- The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations, Education and the Workforce, and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Governmental Affairs of the Senate an annual report on the findings of the reports submitted under subsections (a) and (b). SEC. 11. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS. (a) ADMISSION OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS- Each school choosing to participate in a program funded under this Act shall accept participating eligible students on a first-come, first-served basis, except that if more eligible students participating in the program seek admission in a participating school than the school can accommodate, participating eligible students shall be selected for admission through a random selection process. (b) REQUESTS FOR DATA AND INFORMATION- Each school participating in a program funded under this Act shall comply with all requests for data and information regarding evaluations conduced under section 9(a). (c) RULES OF CONDUCT AND OTHER SCHOOL POLICIES- Subject to section 8, a participating school may require eligible students to abide by any rules of conduct and other requirements applicable to all other students at the school. SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. As used in this Act: (1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL- The term `elementary school' has the meaning given that term 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 any of the following:
(3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT- The term `eligible student' means a student who is a resident of the District of Columbia and who comes from a household whose income does not exceed 185 percent of the poverty line applicable to a family of the size involved. (4) PARENT- The term `parent' has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). (5) POVERTY LINE- The term `poverty line' has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL- The term `secondary school' has the meaning given that term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). (7) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Education. SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. END |
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