[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7763-S7766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. Alexander (for himself, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Gregg, and Mr. 
        Santorum):
  S. 3682. A bill to establish the America's Opportunity Scholarships 
for Kids Program; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
attached bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3682

       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 ``America's Opportunity 
     Scholarships for Kids Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       It is the purpose of this Act to support local efforts to 
     enable students from low-income families who attend a school 
     identified for restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6316(b)(8))--
       (1) to attend a private elementary school or secondary 
     school, or a public elementary school or secondary school 
     outside the student's home school district, including a 
     public charter school; or
       (2) to receive intensive, sustained supplemental 
     educational services.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Elementary school; local educational agency; secondary 
     school; secretary; state educational agency.--The terms 
     ``elementary school'', ``local educational agency'', 
     ``secondary school'', ``Secretary'', and ``State educational 
     agency'' have the meanings given the terms 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--
       (A) a local educational agency;
       (B) a State educational agency; or
       (C) a nonprofit organization or a consortium of nonprofit 
     organizations.
       (3) 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) of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(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 Act 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).
       (4) 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 Act for a second or any 
     succeeding school year the term includes a family whose 
     income does not exceed 220 percent of the poverty line.
       (5) 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.
       (6) Private provider.--The term ``private provider'' means 
     a nonprofit or for-profit private provider of supplemental 
     educational services described in section 1116(e)(1) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6316(e)(1)) that is on the updated list of approved providers 
     maintained by the State educational agency under section 
     1116(e)(4)(C) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)(4)(C)).
       (7) Supplemental educational services.--The term 
     ``supplemental educational services'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 1116(e)(12)(C) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(e)(12)(C)).

     SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       (a) Authority.--
       (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2) and from amounts 
     appropriated under section 6 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 Act shall only award a 
     scholarship under this Act to an eligible student for--
       (A)(i) in the case of an eligible student described in 
     section 3(3)(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) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965; and
       (ii) in the case of an eligible student described in 
     section 3(3)(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 Act for a period of not more than 5 years.
       (c) Priorities.--In awarding grants under this Act, the 
     Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
       (1) 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) 
     of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 6316(b)(8));
       (2) possess the knowledge and capacity to inform parents of 
     eligible students, in urban,

[[Page S7765]]

     suburban, and rural areas, about public and private 
     elementary school and secondary school options; and
       (3) will augment the scholarships provided to eligible 
     students under this Act 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 Act.
       (d) Application Requirements.--
       (1) In general.--To be considered for a grant under this 
     Act, 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 Act, 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 Act are subsequently identified for 
     restructuring under section 1116(b)(8) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8));
       (E) how the eligible entity will use funds received under 
     this Act;
       (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 
     Act 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 Act 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 Act, 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 Act 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 Act shall make scholarship payments under this Act 
     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 Act.
       (f) Prohibition.--A student who receives supplemental 
     educational services under this Act shall not be eligible to 
     receive other such services under section 1116(e) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6316(e)).
       (g) Project Performance.--Each eligible entity receiving a 
     grant under this Act shall prepare and submit to the 
     Secretary a final report on the results of the project 
     assisted under this Act 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 Act 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 6, 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 Act, 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.

     SEC. 5. NONDISCRIMINATION.

       (a) In General.--An eligible entity or a school 
     participating in a project under this Act 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) Applicability and Single-Sex Schools, Classes, or 
     Activities.--
       (1) In general.--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.
       (2) Parental choice.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any 
     other provision of law, a parent may choose to enroll a child 
     in, and a school may offer, a single-sex school, class, or 
     activity under a project funded under this Act.
       (3) Neutrality.--Section 909 of the Education Amendments of 
     1972 (20 U.S.C. 1688) shall apply to this Act.
       (c) Children With Disabilities.--Nothing in this Act may be 
     construed to alter or modify the requirements of the 
     Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 
     et seq.).
       (d) Religiously Affiliated Schools.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, a school described in subsection (a) that is operated 
     by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a 
     religious organization may exercise, in matters of 
     employment, the school's rights consistent with title VII of 
     the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), 
     including the exemptions in that title.
       (2) Special rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, if a school described in subsection (a) receives funds 
     made available under this Act for an eligible student as a 
     result of a choice made by the student's parent, the receipt 
     of the funds shall not, consistent with the first amendment 
     of the Constitution--
       (A) necessitate any change in the school's teaching 
     mission;
       (B) require the school to remove any religious art, icon, 
     scripture, or other symbol; or
       (C) preclude the school from retaining a religious term in 
     its name, selecting its board members on a religious basis, 
     or including a religious reference in its mission statement 
     or another chartering or governing document.
       (e) Rules of Construction.--For purposes of Federal law, a 
     scholarship provided under this Act 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 Act 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 Act.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be 
     necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, Senator 
Alexander, in introducing legislation

[[Page S7766]]

that would create the America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids. 
First proposed by President Bush, this legislation will provide 
children who are in schools designated for restructuring with 
scholarships either for the cost of tuition at a private school or for 
sustained, supplemental educational services.
  The No Child Left Behind Act set up a structure for schools to get 
evaluated annually to determine whether they are meeting adequate 
yearly progress. Schools are designated for restructuring after 6 years 
of poor student academic achievement. Children are often trapped in 
these circumstances, and this legislation will help provide them with 
either a way out or additional services to increase their academic 
achievement levels.
  I believe that the America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids will 
provide true school choice across the country.
  Competitiveness and innovation are two of the latest buzz words that 
surround education. I believe that school choice will breed both 
competitiveness and innovation.
  A few years ago I read an article by Maurice McTigue, now a professor 
at George Mason University. Mr. McTigue was the equivalent of the 
Secretary of Transportation in New Zealand when their government 
underwent a radical transformation. During that time New Zealand's 
government was decentralized, with most control and money going to 
local areas. This included the education system.
  Rather than having money go directly to the schools, the money 
followed the children. The government set specific dollar amounts for 
each child, depending on whether the child had special needs, and that 
money was given to the school of the child's parents' choice.
  This truly radical change caused great uproar at the time, as 
everyone believed that it would lead to the destruction of the public 
school system. During the first few years of this new system, 
enrollment in public schools did decline slightly. However, because 
each public school was allowed to change and meet the needs of its 
local students, parents eventually moved back to their home schools.
  Now, public school enrollment is at an all-time high in New Zealand. 
Why? Because schools were forced to compete among themselves without 
artificial governmental barriers. Parents were allowed to choose the 
school that best fit their child's needs.
  I believe the same thing would happen in the United States if school 
choice were made available across the country. In fact, two studies by 
Harvard researchers have shown that, as the voucher program in 
Milwaukee was expanded, there was a marked improvement in test scores 
at the public schools most threatened by the program. Students in these 
public schools have benefited from competition.
  In Milwaukee, the choice program caused the public school system to 
shift power from a centralized administration to each individual 
school. This shift allowed parents and teachers to make decisions, 
including who could teach at the school.
  Elementary and secondary education is one of the few sectors in this 
country that does not have open competition. By contrast, our higher 
education system has flourished because of competition.
  The purpose of this legislation is to provide low-income children who 
are in schools that have consistently not met adequate yearly progress 
benchmarks, and have not improved student academic achievement, with 
other options.
  This legislation would provide low-income students and their parents 
with two options. First, these students would have the option of a 
$4,000 scholarship that would be applied to the cost of tuition at the 
private school of their parent's choice. If parents decide not to take 
the scholarship, their child would be eligible for up to $3,000 of 
intensive, sustained supplemental educational services. Supplemental 
educational services are services that are provided outside of the 
regular school day, such as after or before school, that are designed 
to improve academic achievement.
  I believe that this legislation is the next step toward bringing true 
competition to elementary and secondary education.
  I hope that my colleagues will join Senator Alexander and me in 
supporting this legislation.
                                 ______