[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1691 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1691

 To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the 
   treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2005

Mr. Craig (for himself and Mr. Sessions) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the 
   treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.

    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 ``Home School Non-Discrimination Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The right of parents to direct the education of their 
        children is an established principle and precedent under the 
        United States Constitution.
            (2) Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, in 
        exercising their legislative, executive, and judicial 
        functions, respectively, have repeatedly affirmed the rights of 
        parents.
            (3) Education by parents at home has proven to be an 
        effective means for young people to achieve success on 
        standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills.
            (4) Young people who have been educated at home are proving 
        themselves to be competent citizens in postsecondary education 
        and the workplace.
            (5) The rise of private home education has contributed 
        positively to the education of young people in the United 
        States.
            (6) Several laws, written before and during the rise of 
        private home education, are in need of clarification as to 
        their treatment of students who are privately educated at home 
        pursuant to State law.
            (7) The United States Constitution does not allow Federal 
        control of homeschooling.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) private home education, pursuant to State law, is a 
        positive contribution to the United States; and
            (2) parents who choose this alternative education should be 
        encouraged within the framework provided by the United States 
        Constitution.

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS ON INSTITUTIONAL AND STUDENT 
              ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.

    (a) Clarification of Institutional Eligibility.--Section 101(a)(1) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)(1)) is amended 
by inserting ``meeting the requirements of section 484(d)(3) or'' after 
``only persons''.
    (b) Clarification of Student Eligibility.--Section 484(d) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended by striking 
the heading and inserting ``Satisfaction of Secondary Education 
Standards''.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ABSENCE OF CONSENT FOR INITIAL EVALUATION 
              UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

    Section 614(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                                    ``(I) For initial evaluation.--A 
                                local educational agency may pursue the 
                                initial evaluation of a child by 
                                utilizing the procedures described in 
                                section 615, except to the extent 
                                inconsistent with State law relating to 
                                parental consent for an initial 
                                evaluation under clause (i)(I), only if 
                                the child is enrolled in public school 
                                or is seeking to be enrolled in public 
                                school.''.

SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF THE COVERDELL EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT AS TO 
              ITS APPLICABILITY FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENTS 
              PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 530(b) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified elementary and secondary 
education expenses) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Special rule for home schools.--For purposes 
                of clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the terms 
                `public, private, or religious school' and `school' 
                shall include any home school which provides elementary 
                or secondary education if such school is treated as a 
                home school or private school under State law.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 444 OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION 
              PROVISIONS ACT AS TO PUBLICLY HELD RECORDS OF STUDENTS 
              PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

    Section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
1232g; also referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy 
Act of 1974) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(5), by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(C) For students in non-public education (including any student 
educated at home or in a private school in accordance with State law), 
directory information may not be released without the written consent 
of the parents of such student.'';
            (2) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ``, but does not 
        include a person who has not been in attendance at such agency 
        or institution.'' and inserting ``, including any non-public 
        school student (including any student educated at home or in a 
        private school as provided under State law). This paragraph 
        shall not be construed as requiring an educational agency or 
        institution to maintain education records or personally 
        identifiable information for any non-public school student.''; 
        and
            (3) in subsection (b)(1), by striking subparagraph (F) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(F) organizations conducting studies for, or on 
                behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the 
                purpose of developing, validating, or administering 
                predictive tests, administering student aid programs, 
                and improving instruction, if--
                            ``(i) such studies are conducted in such a 
                        manner as will not permit the personal 
                        identification of students and their parents by 
                        persons other than representatives of such 
                        organizations and such information will be 
                        destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose 
                        for which it is conducted; and
                            ``(ii) for students in non-public 
                        education, education records or personally 
                        identifiable information may not be released 
                        without the written consent of the parents of 
                        such student.''.

SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT 
              HOME UNDER STATE LAW FOR THE ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS 
              SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

    Section 419F(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070d-36(a)) is amended by inserting ``(or a home school, whether 
treated as a home school or a private school under State law)'' after 
``public or private secondary school''.

SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT AS APPLIED TO 
              STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

    Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The Secretary 
shall extend the hours and periods of permissible employment applicable 
to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are 
privately educated at a home school (whether the home school is treated 
as a home school or a private school under State law) beyond such hours 
and periods applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years 
of age who are educated in traditional public schools.''.

SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN THE 
              ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned shall prescribe a 
        policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home schooled 
        students in the Armed Force or Armed Forces under the 
        jurisdiction of such Secretary.
            (2) Uniformity across the armed forces.--The Secretary of 
        Defense shall ensure that the policies prescribed under 
        paragraph (1) apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly 
        across the Armed Forces.
    (b) Elements.--The policy under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            (1) An identification of a graduate of home schooling for 
        purposes of recruitment and enlistment in the Armed Forces that 
        is in accordance with the requirements described in subsection 
        (c).
            (2) Provision for the treatment of graduates of home 
        schooling with Tier I status with no practical limit with 
        regard to enlistment.
            (3) An exemption of graduates of home schooling from the 
        requirement for a secondary school diploma or its recognized 
        equivalent (GED) as a precondition for enlistment in the Armed 
        Forces.
    (c) Home School Graduates.--In identifying a graduate of home 
schooling for purposes of subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall 
ensure that the graduate meets each of the following requirements:
            (1) The home school graduate has taken the Armed Forces 
        Qualification Test and scored 50 or above.
            (2) The home school graduate has provided the Secretary 
        concerned with--
                    (A) a signed home school notice of intent form that 
                conforms with the State law of the State where the 
                graduate resided when the graduate was in home school; 
                or
                    (B) a home school certificate or diploma from--
                            (i) the parent or guardian of the graduate; 
                        or
                            (ii) a national curriculum provider.
            (3) The home school graduate has provided the Secretary 
        concerned with a copy of the graduate's transcript for all 
        secondary school grades completed. The transcript shall--
                    (A) include the enrollment date, graduation date, 
                and type of curriculum; and
                    (B) reflect successful completion of the last full 
                academic year of schooling from the home school 
                national curriculum provider, parent, or guardian 
                issuing the home school certificate or diploma or home 
                school notice of intent form.
            (4) The home school curriculum used by the home school 
        graduate involved parental instruction and supervision and 
        closely patterned the normal credit hours per subject as used 
        in a traditional secondary school.
            (5) The home school graduate has provided the Secretary 
        concerned with a third party verification letter of the 
        graduate's home school status by the Home School Legal Defense 
        Association or a State or county home school association or 
        organization.
    (d) Secretary Concerned Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Secretary concerned'' has the meaning given such term in section 
101(a)(9) of title 10, United States Code.
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