Scholarships for Kids Act - Amends part A of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to give states the option of using their part A allocation to carry out a Scholarships for Kids program.
Requires participating states to use their part A allocation to provide a grant to the parents of eligible children for use, as allowed by state law, in:
Defines an "eligible child" as a child residing in the participating state who: (1) is under age 21, (2) is entitled to a free public education through grade 12, and (3) is from a family with an income below the poverty level.
Allows participating states to: (1) treat a child as eligible if the child was an "eligible child" during the previous fiscal year and is from a family whose income is not greater than 200% of the poverty level; and (2) use up to 2% of their part A allocation to provide eligible children with transportation to their public school, private school, or supplemental educational services program.
Requires participating states and their local educational agencies to continue to: (1) work toward state academic content and achievement standards; (2) conduct annual assessments of student progress toward those standards; and (3) issue annual report cards of student progress, disaggregated by specified student subgroups, toward those standards.
Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct a national assessment of the activities carried out under this Act.
Reauthorizes appropriations under part A of title I through FY2020.
Repeals:
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1968 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1968
To allow States to let Federal funds for the education of disadvantaged
children follow low-income children to the accredited or otherwise
State-approved public school, private school, or supplemental
educational services program they attend.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 28, 2014
Mr. Alexander (for himself, Mr. Coats, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Vitter)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To allow States to let Federal funds for the education of disadvantaged
children follow low-income children to the accredited or otherwise
State-approved public school, private school, or supplemental
educational services program they attend.
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 ``Scholarships for Kids Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to improve the academic achievement of
the disadvantaged by encouraging State efforts to expand the
educational choices available to low-income students.
SEC. 3. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR KIDS PROGRAM.
Subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 1128. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR KIDS PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Eligible child.--
``(A) In general.--The term `eligible child' means
a child residing in a participating State who--
``(i) is not older than 21;
``(ii) is entitled to a free public
education through grade 12; and
``(iii)(I) is from a family with an income
below the poverty level on the basis of the
most recent satisfactory data published by the
Department of Commerce; or
``(II) is a child described in subparagraph
(B).
``(B) Exception for continuing eligibility.--A
participating State may elect to serve a child as an
eligible child under an approved program under this
section if--
``(i) such child was an eligible child
described in subparagraph (A) during the
previous fiscal year;
``(ii) such child is from a family with an
income that is not greater than 200 percent of
the poverty level on the basis of the most
recent satisfactory data published by the
Department of Commerce for the preceding year;
and
``(iii) the State educational agency has
determined that the child qualifies for
continuing eligibility, as defined by the
participating State in its declaration of
intent under subsection (d).
``(C) Criteria of poverty.--In determining if a
family has an income below the poverty level for
purposes of this section, a State shall use the poverty
threshold, for the most recently completed calendar
year, most recently published by the Bureau of the
Census.
``(2) Participating state.--The term `participating State'
means a State whose declaration of intent to exercise the State
option for a Scholarships for Kids program is approved by the
Secretary as described in subsection (d).
``(3) State.--The term `State' means each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
``(4) Supplemental educational services program.--The term
`supplemental educational services program' means a program
providing supplemental educational services, as defined in
section 1116(e)(12).
``(b) Scholarships for Kids Program Authorized.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law and to the extent permitted under State law, a
participating State may use the funds made available under this
subpart to carry out a Scholarships for Kids program in
accordance with subsection (c).
``(2) Inapplicability of other requirements.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of this part or any other
law, a participating State carrying out a Scholarships for Kids
program that meets the requirements of this section, and the
local educational agencies in such State, shall not be required
to meet any other requirements under this Act or any other law,
except as provided in paragraph (3), in order to receive the
State's funds under this subpart.
``(3) Academic standards, academic assessments, and
reporting on performance disaggregated by student subgroup.--A
participating State carrying out a Scholarships for Kids
program that meets the requirements of this section, and the
local educational agencies within such State, shall comply with
paragraphs (1), (3), (6), and (7) of subsection (b), and
subsection (h), of section 1111, and with the requirements of
subpart 2 of part E of title IX (except for section 9521).
``(c) Use of Funds.--
``(1) Student grants.--
``(A) In general.--Each participating State shall
use the funds made available under section 1122 and not
reserved under paragraph (2) or (3) to carry out a
Scholarships for Kids program, under which the State
shall--
``(i) establish a per-pupil amount for the
grants under this section, based on the number
of eligible children in the State, as described
in subparagraph (B); and
``(ii) make a grant available on behalf of
each eligible child, in the amount determined
under such subparagraph, that the parents of
the eligible child may use for any of the
following purposes, as allowed by State law:
``(I) To supplement the budget of
any public school the eligible child is
able to attend without fees.
``(II) To pay for all, or a
portion, of any fees required to attend
another public school in the
participating State.
``(III) To pay for all, or a
portion, of the tuition and fees
required to attend an accredited or
otherwise State-approved private
school.
``(IV) To pay for all, or a
portion, of the fees required to
participate in a State-approved
supplemental educational services
program.
``(B) Calculation of grant amounts.--Each
participating State shall calculate the amount of the
grant to be awarded to each eligible child for each
fiscal year by dividing the allocation to the
participating State under this subpart remaining after
the participating State reserves any funds under
paragraph (2) or (3), by the total number of eligible
children, as determined by the participating State.
``(2) Administrative expenses.--A participating State may
reserve not more than 3 percent of its allocation under section
1122 for administrative costs associated with carrying out the
participating State's duties and functions under this section,
including--
``(A) certifying the eligibility of children living
in the participating State;
``(B) disseminating information to parents of
eligible children about public schools, private
schools, and programs of supplemental educational
services that are available to eligible children in the
participating State;
``(C) paying the costs of administering any tests
required to be administered to eligible children
participating in the program; and
``(D) providing subgrants to local educational
agencies in the participating State for any of these
purposes.
``(3) Transportation for eligible children.--A
participating State may reserve not more than 2 percent of its
allocation under section 1122 to provide transportation for
eligible children to the public school, private school, or
supplemental educational services program the eligible children
attend in accordance with paragraph (1)(A)(ii).
``(d) State Declaration of Intent.--
``(1) In general.--In order to carry out a Scholarships for
Kids program under this section, a State educational agency
shall submit a declaration of intent to exercise the State
option for a Scholarships for Kids program to the Secretary
that satisfies the requirements of this subsection.
``(2) Contents.--Each declaration of intent submitted under
paragraph (1) shall provide the following:
``(A) A description of the program to be
administered under this section, including the per-
student amount calculated under subsection (c)(1)(B)
that will follow each eligible child to the school or
supplemental educational services program the eligible
child attends.
``(B) An assurance that funds made available under
this section will be spent in accordance with the
requirements of this section.
``(C)(i) An assurance that the State will provide a
parent of each eligible child within the State who
receives or is offered a grant under this section with
the option to use grant funds for 1 (or more than 1 if
the parent so chooses) of any of the following, as
allowed by State law:
``(I) To supplement the budget of any
public school the eligible child is able to
attend without fees.
``(II) To pay for all, or a portion, of any
fees required to attend another public school
in the participating State.
``(III) To pay for all, or a portion, of
the tuition and fees to attend an accredited or
otherwise State-approved private school.
``(IV) To pay for all, or a portion, of the
fees required to participate in a supplemental
educational services program.
``(ii) A description of the procedures the State
will implement to carry out the requirements of clause
(i), including any accreditation or other method by
which the State will approve private schools and
providers of supplemental educational services programs
to accept grant funds under this section.
``(D) An assurance that the State will publish, in
a widely read or distributed medium, an annual report
that contains--
``(i) the number of students, schools, and
providers of programs of supplemental
educational services that participated in the
program assisted under this section;
``(ii) information regarding the academic
progress of students receiving a grant under
this section in meeting challenging State
student academic achievement standards under
section 1111(b)(1), if the State requires that
students receiving a grant participate in the
academic assessments administered under section
1111(b)(3); and
``(iii) such other information as the State
may require.
``(E) A description of how the State will define
continuing eligibility with respect to children who
have participated in the State's Scholarships for Kids
program for the preceding year, in accordance with
subsection (a)(1)(B).
``(F) An assurance that the State will assist each
local educational agency, public school, and
participating private school affected by the State
declaration of intent to meet the requirements of this
section.
``(G) An assurance that the State will use Federal
funds awarded as grants to eligible children under this
section to supplement any funds from non-Federal
sources that would, in the absence of such Federal
funds, be made available to such students or to the
schools or programs of supplemental educational
services the students attend, and not to supplant such
funds.
``(H) An assurance that the State will comply with
the requirements of paragraphs (1), (3), (6), and (7)
of subsection (b), and subsection (h), of section 1111.
``(I) An assurance that the State will participate
in biennial State academic assessments in grades 4 and
8 in reading and mathematics under the National
Assessment of Educational Progress carried out under
section 303(b)(3) of the National Assessment of
Educational Progress Authorization Act if the Secretary
pays the costs of administering such assessments.
``(3) Review and approval by the secretary.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) establish a process to review the
declarations of intent received from States
under this subsection; and
``(ii) by not later than 30 days after the
submission of a State declaration of intent,
approve the State declaration or, if the
Secretary clearly demonstrates that the State
declaration of intent does not meet the
requirements of this subsection, carry out the
requirements of paragraph (4).
``(B) Standard and nature of review.--The Secretary
shall conduct a good faith review of State declarations
of intent in their totality and in deference to State
and local judgments, with the goal of promoting
parental choice.
``(4) State declaration of intent determination,
demonstration, and revision.--If the Secretary determines that
a State declaration of intent does not meet the requirements of
this subsection, the Secretary shall, prior to disapproving the
declaration of intent--
``(A) immediately notify the State of the
determination;
``(B) provide to the State a detailed description
of the specific requirements of this subsection that
the Secretary determined were not met in the
declaration of intent;
``(C) offer the State an opportunity to revise and
resubmit its declaration of intent within 30 days of
the determination;
``(D) provide technical assistance, upon request of
the State, in order to assist the State in meeting the
requirements of this subsection; and
``(E) provide an opportunity for a public hearing
not later than 30 days after receiving from the State a
revised declaration of intent, with public notice
provided not less than 15 days before the hearing.
``(5) State declaration of intent disapproval.--The
Secretary shall have the authority to disapprove a State
declaration of intent if--
``(A) the State has been notified and offered an
opportunity to revise and resubmit the declaration of
intent with technical assistance, in accordance with
paragraph (4); and
``(B)(i) the State does not submit a revised
declaration of intent; or
``(ii) the State submits a revised declaration of
intent that the Secretary determines, after an
opportunity for a hearing conducted in accordance with
paragraph (4)(E), does not meet the requirements of
this subsection.
``(6) Recognition by operation of law.--If the Secretary
fails to take action on a declaration of intent submitted by a
State within the time specified in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), the
declaration of intent, as submitted, shall be deemed to be
approved.
``(7) Limitations.--The Secretary shall not have the
authority to require a State, as a condition of approval of the
State declaration of intent under this subsection, to--
``(A) submit any standards for academic content or
student academic achievement for review or approval;
``(B) enter into a voluntary partnership with
another State to develop and implement academic
assessments, State academic content standards, and
accountability systems;
``(C) include in, or delete from, such a
declaration of intent any criterion that specifies,
describes, or prescribes any standard or measure that
the State uses to establish, implement, or improve--
``(i) State standards;
``(ii) assessments;
``(iii) State accountability systems;
``(iv) systems that measure student growth;
``(v) measures of other academic
indicators; or
``(vi) teacher and principal evaluation
systems; or
``(D) require the collection, publication, or
transmission to the Department of individual student
data that is not expressly required to be collected
under this Act.
``(e) Accountability for Academic Progress.--A participating State
may require each eligible child receiving a grant under this section to
take academic assessments implemented by the State educational agency
under section 1111(b)(3) or an alternative assessment approved by the
State educational agency of the participating State, if the
participating State pays any costs associated with administering the
assessment.
``(f) Nondiscrimination and Other Requirements for Schools and
Providers of Supplemental Educational Services Programs.--
``(1) Nondiscrimination.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a school or provider of a
supplemental educational services program that
participates in a program under this section by
accepting grant funds under this section on behalf of
an eligible child under this section shall agree to not
discriminate against program participants or applicants
on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion,
or sex.
``(B) Exceptions.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the prohibition of sex
discrimination in subparagraph (A) shall not
apply to a participating school that is
operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or
connected to a religious organization to the
extent that the application of subparagraph (A)
is inconsistent with the religious tenets or
beliefs of the school.
``(ii) Single-sex school, class, or
activity.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or
any other provision of law, a parent may
choose, and a school may offer, a single-sex
school, class, or activity.
``(C) Applicability.--Section 909 of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply to this
section as if such section 909 were part of this
section.
``(2) Children with disabilities.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to alter or modify the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.
``(3) Rules of conduct and other school policies.--A
participating school or provider of supplemental educational
services may require eligible children attending the school or
receiving the services, respectively, to abide by any rules of
conduct or other requirements applicable to all other students
served by the school or the provider of supplemental
educational services.
``(4) Religiously affiliated schools and providers of
supplemental educational services.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a school or provider of supplemental
educational services participating in a program under
this section that is operated by, supervised by,
controlled by, or connected to, a religious
organization may exercise its right in matters of
employment consistent with title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-1 et seq.),
including the exemptions in such title.
``(B) Maintenance of purpose.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, funds made available under this
section to eligible students that are received by a
participating school or supplemental educational
services provider, as a result of their parents'
choice, shall not, consistent with the first amendment
of the Constitution of the United States--
``(i) necessitate any change in the
participating school's teaching mission;
``(ii) require any participating school to
remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or
other symbols; or
``(iii) preclude any participating school
from retaining religious terms in its name,
selecting its board members on a religious
basis, or including religious references in its
mission statements and other chartering or
governing documents.
``(g) National Program Assessment.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, shall carry
out a national assessment of activities carried out with
Federal funds under this section in order--
``(A) to determine the effectiveness of this
section in achieving the purposes of this section; and
``(B) to provide timely information to the
President, Congress, the States, local educational
agencies, and the public on how to implement this
section more effectively, including recommendations for
legislative and administrative action that can achieve
the purposes of this section more effectively.
``(2) Scope of assessment.--The national assessment shall
assess activities supported under this section, including--
``(A) the implementation of programs assisted under
this section by participating States and the impact of
such programs on improving the academic achievement of
low-income children to meet the challenging academic
content and student academic achievement standards
adopted by the participating States under section
1111(b)(1), based on the State academic assessments
adopted under section 1111(b)(3), to the extent
applicable;
``(B) the types of programs and services in
participating States that have demonstrated the
greatest effectiveness in helping low-income students
reach the challenging academic content and student
academic achievement standards developed by the
participating States; and
``(C) the effectiveness of States, local
educational agencies, schools, and other recipients of
assistance under this section in achieving the purposes
of this section, by--
``(i) improving the academic achievement of
low-income children and their performance on
State assessments, where applicable, as
compared with other children; and
``(ii) improving the participation of
parents of low-income children in the education
of their children.
``(3) Sources of information and data collection.--
``(A) In general.--In conducting the assessment
under this subsection, the Secretary shall--
``(i) analyze existing data from States
required for reports under this Act and the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
and summarize major findings from such reports;
and
``(ii) analyze data from the National
Assessment of Educational Progress carried out
under section 303(b)(2) of the National
Assessment of Educational Progress
Authorization Act.
``(B) Special rule.--The information and data used
to prepare the assessment, as described in subparagraph
(A), shall be derived from existing State and local
reporting requirements and data sources. Nothing in
this paragraph shall be construed as authorizing,
requiring, or allowing any additional reporting
requirements, data elements, or information to be
reported to the Secretary not otherwise explicitly
authorized by any other Federal law.
``(4) Reports.--
``(A) Interim report.--Not later than 3 years after
the date of enactment of the Scholarships for Kids Act,
the Secretary shall transmit to the President, the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House
of Representatives, and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, an
interim report on the national assessment conducted
under this subsection.
``(B) Final report.--Not later than 5 years after
the date of enactment of the Scholarships for Kids Act,
the Secretary shall transmit to the President, the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House
of Representatives, and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a final
report on the national assessment conducted under this
subsection.
``(h) Prohibition Against Federal Mandates, Direction, or
Control.--Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize
the Secretary or any other officer or employee of the Federal
Government to mandate, direct, control, or exercise any direction or
supervision over the instructional content or materials, curriculum,
program of instruction, academic content and student academic
achievement standards, or academic assessments of a State, local
educational agency, elementary school or secondary school, or provider
of supplemental educational services.''.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 1002 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6302) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 1002. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``For the purpose of carrying out part A, there are authorized to
be appropriated $23,955,840,000 for fiscal year 2015 and each of the 5
succeeding fiscal years.''.
SEC. 5. PROGRAM CONSOLIDATION.
(a) Consolidation of Certain Federal Education Programs.--The
following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 1003 and parts B, C, D, E, F, G, and H of title
I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).
(2) Titles II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.,
6801 et seq., 7101 et seq., 7301 et seq., 7401 et seq.).
(3) Clauses (iii) and (iv) of section 105(f)(1)(B) of the
Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C.
1921d(f)(1)(B)(iii) and (iv)).
(4) The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).
(5) Subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.).
(6) The Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
(7) Part A of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1022 et seq.).
(8) Sections 402B and 402C of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-12, 1070a-13).
(9) Section 410 of the Agricultural Research Extension, and
Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7630).
(10) Section 1417(j) of the National Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3152(j)).
(11) Section 4101 of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (42 U.S.C. 280h-4 note).
(12) Section 9 of the National Science Foundation
Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n).
(13) Section 399Z-1 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 280h-5).
(14) Sections 14005, 14006, and 14007 of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5; 123
Stat. 282).
(b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1,
2015.
(c) Additional Conforming Amendments.--
(1) In general.--After consultation with the appropriate
committees of Congress and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, each applicable Secretary shall prepare
recommended legislation containing technical and conforming
amendments to reflect the changes made by this Act.
(2) Submission to congress.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, each applicable Secretary
shall submit the recommended legislation referred to under
paragraph (1) to the appropriate committees of Congress.
(3) Definition of applicable secretary.--For purposes of
this section, the term ``applicable Secretary'' means a
Secretary with authority over a program or provision of law
described in subsection (a).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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