SOAR Reauthorization Act of 2019
This bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Program, which provides education funding for the District of Columbia, including for private school vouchers, public schools, and public charter schools.
The bill requires participating private schools to be fully accredited by (1) an accrediting body with jurisdiction in the District that is recognized by the Student and Visitor Exchange English Language Program administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or (2) any international accrediting body designated by the Department of Education (ED).
The bill revises the manner in which tutoring services provided under the program are funded.
The bill revises several requirements concerning SOAR evaluations, including concerning (1) frequency; (2) ED's and the Institute of Education Sciences' duties; and (3) the issues to be evaluated, including high school and college performance measurements.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 787 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 787
To amend the SOAR Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 24, 2019
Mr. Walker (for himself, Ms. Foxx of North Carolina, Mr. Harris, Mr.
Allen, Mr. Banks, Mr. Posey, Mr. Norman, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Mooney
of West Virginia, Mr. Ratcliffe, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Graves of Louisiana,
Mrs. Lesko, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Thompson of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Mitchell, and Mr. Hunter) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the SOAR Act.
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 ``SOAR Reauthorization Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOAR ACT.
(a) Amendments to SOAR.--The Scholarships for Opportunity and
Results Act (division C of Public Law 112-10) is amended--
(1) in section 3007 (sec. 38-1853.07 D.C. Official Code)--
(A) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating
subsection (d) as subsection (c);
(B) in subsection (a)(5)(A)(i)--
(i) by striking subclause (I) and inserting
the following:
``(I) is fully accredited by--
``(aa) an accrediting body
with jurisdiction in the
District of Columbia and that
is recognized by the Student
and Visitor Exchange English
Language Program administered
by the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; or
``(bb) any international
accrediting body that the
Secretary may designate, after
consultation with the grantee
or grantees under section
3004(a); or''; and
(ii) in subclause (II), by striking ``the
date of enactment of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114-
113),'' and inserting ``the date of enactment
of the SOAR Reauthorization Act of 2019,'';
(C) in subsection (b)--
(i) in the subsection heading, by striking
``and Parental Assistance'' and inserting ``,
Parental Assistance, and Student Academic
Assistance'';
(ii) in the matter preceding clause (i), by
striking ``$2,000,000'' and inserting
``$2,200,000''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) The expenses of providing tutoring service to
participating eligible students that need additional academic
assistance. If there are insufficient funds to provide tutoring
services to all such students in a year, the eligible entity
shall give priority in such year to students who previously
attended an elementary school or secondary school identified as
one of the lowest-performing schools under the District of
Columbia's accountability system.''; and
(D) in subsection (c), as redesignated by
subparagraph (A)--
(i) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking
``subsections (b) and (c)'' and inserting
``subsection (b)''; and
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking
``subsections (b) and (c)'' and inserting
``subsection (b)'';
(2) in section 3008(h) (sec. 38-1853.08 D.C. Official
Code)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``section
3009(a)(2)(A)(i)'' and inserting ``section 3009(a)'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
``(2) The Institute of Education Sciences may administer
assessments to students participating in the evaluation under
section 3009(a) for the purpose of conducting the evaluation
under such section.''; and
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the nationally
norm-referenced standardized test described in
paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``a nationally norm-
referenced standardized test'';
(3) in section 3009(a) (sec. 38-1853.09 D.C. Official
Code)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``annually'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause
(i) and inserting the following:
``(i) is rigorous; and''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``impact of the program'' and all that follows
through the end of the subparagraph and
inserting ``impact of the program on academic
achievement and educational attainment.'';
(C) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``on education'' and inserting ``of
education'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by inserting ``the academic
progress of'' after ``assess''; and
(II) by striking ``in each of
grades 3'' and all that follows through
the end of the subparagraph and
inserting ``; and'';
(iii) by striking subparagraph (B); and
(iv) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (B); and
(D) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``A
comparison of the academic achievement of
participating eligible students who use an
opportunity scholarship on the measurements
described in paragraph (3)(B) to the academic
achievement'' and inserting ``The academic
progress of participating eligible students who
use an opportunity scholarship compared to the
academic progress'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``increasing the satisfaction of such parents
and students with their choice'' and inserting
``those parents' and students' satisfaction
with the program''; and
(iii) by striking subparagraph (D) through
(F) and inserting the following:
``(D) The high school graduation rates, college
enrollment rates, college persistence rates, and
college graduation rates of participating eligible
students who use an opportunity scholarship compared
with the rates of public school students described in
subparagraph (A), to the extent practicable.
``(E) The college enrollment rates, college
persistence rates, and college graduation rates of
students who participated in the program as the result
of winning the Opportunity Scholarship Program lottery
compared to the enrollment, persistence, and graduation
rates for students who entered but did not win such
lottery and who, as a result, served as the control
group for previous evaluations of the program under
this division. Nothing in this subparagraph may be
construed to waive section 3004(a)(3)(A)(iii) with
respect to any such student.
``(F) The safety of the schools attended by
participating eligible students who use an opportunity
scholarship compared with the schools in the District
of Columbia attended by public school students
described in subparagraph (A), to the extent
practicable.''; and
(4) in section 3014(a) (sec. 38-1853.14, D.C. Official
Code), by striking ``fiscal year 2019'' and inserting ``fiscal
year 2024''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on September 30, 2019.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
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