[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 8, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S4854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2133. Mr. SCOTT (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Vitter)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2089
submitted by Mr. Alexander (for himself and Mrs. Murray) to the bill S.
1177, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
to ensure that every child achieves; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:
After part A of title X, insert the following:
PART B--EDUCATION PORTABILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
SEC. 10201. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this part is to provide options to States to
innovate and improve the education of children with
disabilities by expanding the choices for students and
parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
SEC. 10202. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
EDUCATION ACT.
(a) Children Enrolled in Private Schools by Their
Parents.--Section 612(a)(10)(A) of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(10)(A)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(viii) Parent option program.--If a State has established
a program that meets the requirements of section 663(c)(11)
(whether statewide or in limited areas of the State) and that
allows a parent of a child described in section 663(c)(11)(A)
to use public funds, or private funds in accordance with
633(c)(11)(B)(ii), to pay some or all of the costs of
attendance at a private school--
``(I) funds allocated to the State under section 611 may be
used by the State to supplement such public or private funds,
if the Federal funds are distributed to parents who make a
genuine independent choice as to the appropriate school for
their child, except that in no case shall the amount of
Federal funds provided under this subclause to a parent of a
child with a disability for a year exceed the total amount of
tuition, fees, and transportation costs for the child for the
year;
``(II) the authorization of a parent to exercise this
option fulfills the State's obligation under paragraph (1)
with respect to the child during the period in which the
child is enrolled in the selected school; and
``(III) a selected school accepting such funds shall not be
required to carry out any of the requirements of this title
with respect to such child.''.
(b) Research and Innovation To Improve Services and Results
for Children With Disabilities.--Section 663(c) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1463(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(11) supporting the post-award planning and design, and
the initial implementation (which may include costs for
informing the community, acquiring necessary equipment and
supplies, and other initial operational costs), during a
period of not more than 3 years, of State programs that allow
the parent of a child with a disability to make a genuine
independent choice of the appropriate public or private
school for their child, if the program--
``(A) requires that the child be a child who has received
an initial evaluation described in section 614(a) and has
been identified as a child with a disability, in accordance
with part B;
``(B)(i) permits the parent to receive from the State funds
to be used to pay some or all of the costs of attendance at
the selected school (which may include tuition, fees, and
transportation costs); or
``(ii) permits persons to receive a State tax credit for
donations to an entity that provides funds to parents of
eligible students described in subparagraph (A), to be used
by the parents to pay some or all of the costs of attendance
at the selected school (which may include tuition, fees, and
transportation costs);
``(C) prohibits any school that agrees to participate in
the program from discriminating against eligible students on
the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex, except
that--
``(i) the prohibition of sex discrimination 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 such prohibition is
inconsistent with the religious tenets or beliefs of the
school; and
``(ii) notwithstanding this subparagraph or any other
provision of law, a parent may choose, and a school may
offer, a single-sex school, class, or activity;
``(D) notwithstanding any other provision of law, allows
any school participating in the program that is operated by,
supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious
organization to exercise its right in matters of employment
consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), including the exemptions in that
title;
``(E) allows a school to participate in the program
without, consistent with the First Amendment of the
Constitution of the United States--
``(i) necessitating any change in the participating
school's teaching mission;
``(ii) requiring any private participating school to remove
religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols; or
``(iii) precluding any private 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; and
``(F) requires a participating school selected for a child
with a disability to be--
``(i) accredited, licensed, or otherwise operating in
accordance with State law; and
``(ii) academically accountable to the parent for meeting
the educational needs of the student.''.
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