Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “SOAR Permanent Authorization Act”.
SOAR Permanent Authorization Act
A BILL
To amend the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act with respect to certain funding, testing, and evaluation requirements and to permanently authorize an appropriation for such Act.
Sec. 2 Amendments to Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act
Change in accreditation requirements— Section 3007(a)(5)(A)(i)(I) of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (sec. 38–1853.07(a)(5)(A)(i)(I), D.C. Official Code) is amended to read as follows:
“(I) is fully accredited by an accrediting body with jurisdiction in the District of Columbia or that is recognized by the Student and Visitor Exchange English Language Program administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; or”
Removal of student academic assistance limit—
In general— Section 3007(b) of such Act (sec. 38–1853.07 (b), D.C. Official Code) is amended—
in the header, by striking “and Parental Assistance” and inserting “, Parental Assistance, and Student Academic Assistance”;
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “$2,000,000” and inserting “$2,200,000”; and
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 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.”
Conforming amendments— Section 3007 of such Act (sec. 38–1853.07, D.C. Official Code) is amended—
by striking subsection (c) and redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c); and
in subsection (c), as so redesignated by paragraph (A)—
in paragraph (2)(B), by striking “subsections (b) and (c)” and inserting “subsection (b)”; and
in paragraph (3), by striking “subsections (b) and (c)” and inserting “subsection (b)”.
Change in standardized testing requirements— Section 3008(h) of such Act (sec. 38–1853.08(h), D.C. Official Code) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “section 3009(a)(2)(A)(i)” and inserting “section 3009(a)”;
by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
“(2) Administration of tests—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.”
in paragraph (3), by striking “the nationally norm-referenced standardized test described in paragraph (2)” and inserting “a nationally norm-referenced standardized test”.
Change in evaluation frequency and standards— Section 3009(a) of such Act (sec. 38–1853.09(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended—
in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “annually” and inserting “regularly”;
in paragraph (2)—
by amending subparagraph (A)(i) to read as follows:
“(i) is rigorous; and”
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 progress and educational attainment.”;
in paragraph (3)—
in the header, by striking “on Education” and inserting “of Education”;
in subparagraph (A)—
by inserting “the academic progress of” after “assess”; and
by striking “in each of grades 3” and all that follows through the end of the subparagraph and inserting “; and”;
by striking subparagraph (B); and
by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B); and
in paragraph (4)—
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”; and
by inserting “, which may include students” after “students with similar backgrounds”;
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”;
by striking subparagraphs (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 attended by public school students described in subparagraph (A), to the extent practicable.”
in subparagraph (G), by striking “achievement” and inserting “progress”.
Permanent authorization of appropriation— Section 3014 of such Act (sec. 38–1853.14, D.C. Official Code) is amended—
in subsection (a), by striking “$60,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and for each fiscal year through fiscal year 2023” and inserting “$75,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and for each succeeding fiscal year”; and
in subsection (b), by striking “$60,000,000” and inserting “$75,000,000”.