Promise scholarships for parents and students

Section 1116(b)(8) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8)) is amended— (1)in subparagraph (A)— (A)in clause (ii) by striking and at the end; (B)by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); and (C)by inserting after clause (ii) the following:

(iii)make scholarships available to students to attend a private elementary or secondary school chosen by the student’s parents; and

;

(2)by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (F); and (3)by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:

(C)

Special rule for private school choice

If a local education agency implements subparagraph (A)(iii), it shall— (i)apply fair and equitable procedures for awarding scholarships under that subparagraph when the number of applicants exceeds available funding, which must include giving priority to students whose schools are in the second or a later year of restructuring under section 1116(b)(8); (ii)make scholarship payments to the parents of the students, in a manner that ensures that those payments are used only for the payment of tuition, fees, and necessary transportation expenses, in accordance with this section; (iii)ensure that the amount a student receives under such a scholarship for an academic year, together with any funds the student receives under section 1116(e) for that academic year— (I)does not exceed $4,000; and (II)does not exceed the costs, including necessary transportation and other expenses, to attend the private elementary or secondary school; (iv)if a student uses such a scholarship, continue to provide such a scholarship to that student for each academic year thereafter until the student completes the grade that is the final grade taught at the school that the student attended before using the scholarship; (v)assess that student in reading or language arts, mathematics, and science (at the grade levels specified in section 1111(b)(3)(C)) by using the State assessments administered under section 1111(b)(3), and include the student’s scores on those assessments in its annual report cards under section 1111(h)(2) and in determining whether the school and local educational agency made adequate yearly progress under section 1111; (vi)separately display, for the local educational agency as a whole, the assessment results for students using the scholarships in its annual report cards under section 1111(h)(2), except where doing so would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student. (D)

Special rule for private schools

A private elementary or secondary school that enrolls a student who is using a scholarship under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall— (i)assess that student in reading or language arts, mathematics, and science (at the grade levels specified in section 1111(b)(3)(C)) by using either the State assessments administered under section 1111(b)(3) or nationally normed assessments; and (ii)provide the results of those assessments to the local educational agency that made the scholarship available. (E)

Nondiscrimination

(i)

In general

A local educational agency or private elementary or secondary school participating in any program under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall not discriminate against participants or applicants on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. (ii)

Religious tenets or beliefs with respect to sex

The prohibition of sex discrimination in clause (i) does 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 that prohibition is inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the school. (iii)

Single-sex education

Notwithstanding the prohibition of sex discrimination in clause (i), a participating school may offer, and a participating parent may choose, a single-sex school, class, or activity. (iv)

Neutrality

Section 909 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply to a program under subparagraph (A)(iii). (v)

Children with disabilities

Subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) do not affect any requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). (vi)

Matters of employment

Notwithstanding clause (i), a private elementary or secondary school participating in any program under subparagraph (A)(iii) 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 that title. (vii)

First amendment

Consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, a participating school shall not, by reason of receiving funds under a program under subparagraph (A)(iii), be required to— (I)change its teaching mission; (II)remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols; (III)remove religious terms or references from its name, mission statement, or other chartering or governing documents; or (IV)refrain from using religion as a basis in selecting its board members.

Opportunity scholarships for parents and students

Part B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end the following:

Opportunity Scholarships for Parents and Students

1261.

Definitions

In this subpart: (1)

Eligible entity

The term eligible entity means— (A)a local educational agency; (B)a State educational agency; or (C)a nonprofit organization or a consortium of nonprofit organizations. (2)

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)— (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 subpart 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). (3)

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 subpart for a second or any succeeding school year the term includes a family whose income does not exceed 220 percent of the poverty line. (4)

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. (5)

Private provider

The term private provider means a nonprofit or for-profit private provider of supplemental educational services described in section 1116(e)(1) that is on the updated list of approved providers maintained by the State educational agency under section 1116(e)(4)(C). (6)

Supplemental educational services

The term supplemental educational services has the meaning given the term in section 1116(e)(12)(C).

1262.

Program authorized

(a)

Authority

(1)

In general

Subject to paragraph (2) and from amounts appropriated under section 1264 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 subpart shall award a scholarship under this subpart only to an eligible student for— (A)(i)in the case of an eligible student described in section 1261(2)(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); and (ii)in the case of an eligible student described in section 1261(2)(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 subpart for a period of not more than 5 years. (c)

Priorities

In awarding grants under this subpart, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— (1)make scholarships available to students to attend a private elementary or secondary school chosen by the student’s parents as authorized under section 1116(b)(8)(A)(iii); (2)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); (3)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 (4)will augment the scholarships provided to eligible students under this subpart 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 subpart. (d)

Application requirements

(1)

In general

To be considered for a grant under this subpart, 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 subpart, 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 subpart are subsequently identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8); (E)how the eligible entity will use funds received under this subpart; (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 subpart 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 subpart 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 subpart, 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 subpart 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 subpart shall make scholarship payments under this subpart 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 subpart. (f)

Prohibition

A student who receives supplemental educational services under this subpart shall not be eligible to receive other such services under section 1116(e). (g)

Project performance

Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this subpart shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a final report on the results of the project assisted under this subpart 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 subpart 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 1264, 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 subpart, 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.

1263.

Nondiscrimination

(a)

In general

An eligible entity or a school participating in a project under this subpart 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)

Religious tenets or beliefs

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. (c)

Single-sex education

Notwithstanding the prohibition of sex discrimination in subsection (a), a participating school may offer, and a participating parent may choose, a single-sex school, class, or activity. (d)

Neutrality

Section 909 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply to this subpart. (e)

Children with disabilities

This subpart does not affect any requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). (f)

Matters of employment

Notwithstanding subsection (a), a participating school 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 that title. (g)

First amendment

Consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, a participating school shall not, by reason of receiving funds under this subpart, be required to— (1)change its teaching mission; (2)remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols; (3)remove religious terms or references from its name, mission statement, or other chartering or governing documents; or (4)refrain from using religion as a basis in selecting its board members. (h)

Rules of construction

For purposes of Federal law, a scholarship provided under this subpart 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 subpart 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 subpart.

1264.

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.