[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4187-S4188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 823. Mr. JOHNSON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 764 submitted by Mr. Inhofe and intended to be proposed to 
the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1086. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOAR ACT.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``SOAR 
     Reauthorization Act of 2019''.
       (b) 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 (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

[[Page S4188]]

     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
       (C) 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''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (b) 
     shall take effect on September 30, 2019.
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