Does the DC School Choice Program Need to be Reauthorized? (H.R. 10)

What is H.R. 10?

(Updated July 18, 2017)

This bill would prohibit the Dept. of Education from limiting the number of eligible students receiving District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) scholarships while reauthorizing the program through 2021. The Dept. of Education would also be blocked from preventing otherwise eligible students from participating because of:

• The type of school the student previously attended;

• Whether or not the individual previously received the scholarship or participated in OSP, or was a member of the control group used by the Institute of Education Sciences to carry out previous OSP evaluations.

Priorities for the award of scholarships to eligible students would be modified to give priority to students who:

• In the preceding school year attended a school identified as a low-achieving school to the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE);

• Certain students regardless of whether they have attended a private school.

OSP-participating schools must:

• Conduct criminal background checks on school employees who have direct and unsupervised interactions with students;

• Comply with all requests for data and information regarding certain reporting requirements.

Private schools that are participating in OSP must be accredited or in the process of seeking accreditation.

The Dept. of Education must make OSP funds available to eligible entities receiving a grant for administrative expenses and parental education and assistance, including a streamlining of the application process.

Previously unobligated OSP funds must be used to award new scholarships to students. The Dept. of Education may withhold specified OSP funds provided to the DC Mayor for DC public and charter schools for noncompliance with SOAR requirements.

Funds made available to support DC charter schools could be directed to the OSSE, which may transfer them to subgrantees that are:

• Specific DC public charter schools in good standing or networks of such schools;

• DC-based non-profit organizations with experience in successfully providing support or assistance to such schools or networks.

Argument in favor

The DC school choice program has helped many young people obtain a better education than they would’ve received in its absence. This program must be reauthorized, as failing to do so could cause students to have to transfer back to a lower-performing school.

Argument opposed

Students should either go to their local public school or pay their own way to go to a private school without scholarship assistance. The federal government doesn’t need to provide scholarships to these students and their families.

Impact

DC students and their families, schools, OSSE, and the Dept. of Education.

Cost of H.R. 10

The CBO estimates that this legislation would cost $240 million over the 2017-2020 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) introduced this legislation to help improve the the quality of education students receive the DC area:

“There is only one program in America where the federal government allows parents to choose the best schools for their kids, it is right here in Washington, DC, and it is working. This program gets the kind of results parents dream of for their kids. It is a model for how we can break the status quo that deprives too many students of a great education. This program was established with bipartisan support, and I am proud that we have bipartisan support for its renewal.”

This bill has 14 cosponsors in the House, including 13 Republicans and one Democrat.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) Press Release
• CBO Cost Estimate
• Roll Call
• Daily Signal (In Favor)
• National School Boards Association (In Favor)