[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 41 (Thursday, March 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 969. Mr. CRUZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 891 proposed by Mr. Schumer to provide for reconciliation 
pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 5; which was ordered to lie on the 
table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. STATE DIRECT FAMILY GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this title, not later than 7 days after the date of enactment 
     of this title, each school that is eligible to receive grant 
     funding under section 2001 shall submit to their respective 
     State Secretary of Education, or equivalent State official, a 
     plan to re-open and resume regular, full-time, 5-day-a-week 
     in-classroom instruction with teachers and faculty physically 
     present for the remainder of the 2020-2021 and for the 2021-
     2022 school year in such a manner that meets or exceeds the 
     plan for in-classroom instruction that was in effect for that 
     school at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
       (b) Direct Education Assistance Fund.--Each State shall 
     establish a State-controlled Direct Education Assistance 
     Fund. In the event that a school fails to timely submit a re-
     opening plan in accordance with subsection (a), the State 
     shall withhold all grant funds that would have been provided 
     to such school under section 2001, depositing such amount 
     into the Direct Education Assistance Fund. The State shall 
     administer the Direct Education Assistance Fund, using the 
     monies deposited therein, to establish and operate a grant 
     program to assist families with educational costs in order to 
     provide students with access to alternative education for the 
     2021-2022 school year. The State Department of Education 
     shall operate the grant program as follows:
       (1) The Department shall establish an application process 
     that allows parents to apply for an education grant from the 
     State's Direct Education Assistance Fund as follows:
       (A) Awards grants from available funds in a manner that 
     prioritizes children--
       (i) from schools that have not submitted a re-opening plan 
     as required by this section;
       (ii) who are special needs students;
       (iii) who are suffering from depression or a similar 
     condition or at risk of suicide due to COVID-19-related 
     isolation; or
       (iv) who have a parent (or parents) or guardian (or 
     guardians) who work outside of the home during regular school 
     hours and are not available to assist the child with virtual 
     learning.
       (B) Includes, as part of the application form, the 
     opportunity for the parent or guardian to submit an education 
     plan for the child that--
       (i) as part of an application for a grant for direct 
     education assistance, includes the proposed school, if any, 
     that the parent or guardian has selected for the child and 
     the cost of any fees associated with the application, 
     enrollment, or attendance at such school; or
       (ii) as part of an application for a grant for supplemental 
     education assistance a list of any costs which the parent or 
     guardian anticipates will be incurred to purchase items 
     listed in paragraph (5)(B).
       (2) The Department shall publicize the availability of 
     direct education assistance to parents across the State with 
     an application period of not less than 45 days and a deadline 
     for applications as of a date not later than July 1, 2021.
       (3) The Department shall first prioritize eligibility for 
     grants awarded from available funds to the parents or 
     guardians of children between the ages of 5 and 18 who are 
     eligible to attend a school that failed to timely submit a 
     re-opening plan as described herein and, if funds remain 
     available in the Direct Education Assistance Fund after each 
     priority student has received a grant, the Department shall 
     make grants from the Fund available to the parent or 
     guardians applying on behalf of students from other 
     elementary and secondary schools in the State.
       (4) The Department shall only award a grant to an 
     individual who is the legal parent or guardian of an eligible 
     child provided that such individual is also a citizen or 
     national of the United States or an alien (as defined in 
     section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1101(a)) who is lawfully present in the United States.
       (5) The Department will administer the Direct Education 
     Assistance Fund as follows:
       (A) 75 percent of such Fund shall be set aside and used to 
     award direct education assistance grants to finance all or a 
     portion of the educational costs of a child to attend a 
     different school as selected by that child's parent or 
     guardian in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per grant award.
       (B) 25 percent of such Fund shall be set aside and used to 
     award supplemental education assistance grants to cover a 
     portion of the costs for education such as tutoring services, 
     educational classes, or curriculum inside or outside of the 
     home, books, instructional materials, online educational 
     materials, educational therapies, including educational 
     therapies and services for students with disabilities, and 
     such other educational and instructional materials as the 
     child's parent or guardian determines is beneficial in-
     relation to at-home learning, including online or virtual 
     schooling or home instruction.
       (6) All grants shall be awarded not later than August 15, 
     2021.
       (7) The Department shall require that any parent or 
     guardian who receives a grant pursuant to this section 
     maintain records of how any grant funds were spent.
       (8) Grants awarded out of the Fund for direct education 
     assistance shall be distributed in an equitable manner among 
     recipients for such grants consistent with the priorities 
     identified in this section but in an amount not to exceed the 
     educational costs identified within an application and grants 
     awarded out of the Fund for supplemental education assistance 
     shall be made in an equitable manner among recipients for 
     such grants in an amount not to exceed the costs identified 
     in such application.
       (c) Prohibition of Control Over Non-public Education 
     Providers.--
       (1) In general.--Nothing in this section shall be construed 
     to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control 
     over any aspect of any private, religious, or home education 
     provider, whether or not a home education provider is treated 
     as a private school or home school under State law.
       (2) No discrimination.--No State shall exclude, 
     discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage any education 
     provider, including home education provider, with respect to 
     programs or services under this section based in whole or in 
     part on the provider's religious character or affiliation, 
     including religiously based or mission-based policies or 
     practices.
       (d) Parental Rights to Use Grants.--No State shall disfavor 
     or discourage the use of qualifying grants for the purchase 
     of elementary and secondary education services, including 
     those services provided by private or nonprofit entities, 
     such as faith-based providers.
       (e) Repayment.--If a school does not re-open and maintain 
     operations consistent with the plan submitted under this 
     section, the school shall be required to repay all monies 
     received under section 2001 to the State.
       (f) Return to Treasury.--Any monies remaining in the Fund 
     as of September 30, 2021, or if subsequently repaid under 
     subsection (e), shall be repaid to the United States Treasury 
     not later than June 30, 2022.
       At the end of section 2001(c), add the following: ``An 
     allocation to a State shall be made pursuant to the previous 
     sentence only if the State has publicly published, by not 
     later than 7 days after enachment of this Act, a written plan 
     that guarantees each child in the State has a local public 
     school education option to resume regular, 5-day-a-week in-
     classroom instruction with teachers physically present and 
     that identifies by name and location which schools will be 
     available for regular in-classroom instruction. Assistance 
     from a grant awarded to a State under this section shall only 
     be provided to a school identified by the State under the 
     previous sentence.''.
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