To expand opportunity by allowing Title I funds to follow low-income children.

SA 2132. Mr. SCOTT (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Lee, Mr. Rubio, Mr.
Sasse, 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 section 1010, insert the following:

SEC. 1011. FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE LOW-INCOME CHILD STATE OPTION.

Subpart 2 of part A of title I is amended by inserting
after section 1122 the following:

``SEC. 1123. FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE LOW-INCOME CHILD STATE
OPTION.

``(a) Funds Follow the Low-income Child.--Notwithstanding
any other provisions in this title requiring a State to
reserve or distribute funds, a State may, in accordance with
and as permitted by State law, distribute funds under this
subpart among the local educational agencies in the State
based on the number of eligible children enrolled in the
public schools operated by each local educational agency and
the number of eligible children within each local educational
agency's geographical area whose parents elect to send their
child to a private school, for the purposes of ensuring that
funding under this subpart follows low-income children to the
public school they attend and that payments will be made to
the parents of eligible children who choose to enroll their
eligible children in private schools.
``(b) Eligible Child.--
``(1) Definition.--In this section, the term `eligible
child' means a child aged 5 to 17, inclusive from a family
with an income below the poverty level on the basis of the
most recent satisfactory data published by the Department of
Commerce.
``(2) Criteria of poverty.--In determining the families
with incomes below the poverty level for the purposes of this
section, a State educational agency shall use the criteria of
poverty used by the Census Bureau in compiling the most
recent decennial census, as the criteria have been updated by
increases in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
``(c) Identification of Eligible Children; Allocation and
Distribution of Funds.--
``(1) Identification of eligible children.--On an annual
basis, on a date to be determined by the State educational
agency, each local educational agency shall inform the State
educational agency of the number of eligible children
enrolled in public schools served by the local educational
agency and the number of eligible children within each local
educational agency's geographical area whose parents elect to
send their child to a private school.
``(2) Amount of payment.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the amount
of payment for each eligible child described in this section
shall be equal to--
``(i) the total amount allotted to the State under this
subpart; divided by
``(ii) the total number of eligible children in the State
identified under paragraph (1).
``(B) Limitation.--In the case of a payment made to the
parents of an eligible child who elects to attend a private
school, the amount of the payment described in subparagraph
(A) for each eligible child shall not exceed the cost for
tuition, fees, and transportation for the eligible child to
attend the private school.
``(3) Allocation to local educational agencies.--Based on
the identification of eligible children in paragraph (1), the
State educational agency shall provide to a local educational
agency an amount equal to the product of--
``(A) the amount available for each eligible child in the
State, as determined in paragraph (2); multiplied by
``(B) the number of eligible children identified by the
local educational agency under paragraph (1).
``(4) Distribution to schools.--From amounts allocated
under paragraph (3) and notwithstanding any provisions in
this title requiring a local educational agency to reserve
funds, each local educational agency that receives funds
under such paragraph shall distribute a portion of such funds
to the public schools served by the local educational agency,
which amount shall--
``(A) be based on the number of eligible children enrolled
in such schools and included in the count submitted under
paragraph (1); and
``(B) be distributed in a manner that would, in the absence
of such Federal funds, supplement the funds made available
from non-Federal resources for the education of pupils
participating in programs under this part, and not to
supplant such funds (in accordance with the method of
determination described in section 1117).
``(5) Distribution to parents.--
``(A) In general.--From the amounts allocated under
paragraph (3) and notwithstanding any provisions in this
title requiring a local educational agency to reserve funds,
each local educational agency that receives funds under such
paragraph shall distribute a portion of such funds, in an
amount equal to the amount described in paragraph (2), to the
parents of each eligible child within the local educational
agency's geographical area who elect to send their child to a
private school and whose child is included in the count of
such eligible children under paragraph (1), which amount
shall be distributed in a manner so as to ensure that such
payments will be used for the payment of tuition, fees, and
transportation expenses (if any).
``(B) Reservation.--A local educational agency described in
this paragraph may reserve not more than 1 percent of the
funds available for distribution under subparagraph (A) to
pay administrative costs associated with carrying out the
activities described in such subparagraph.
``(d) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, in consultation
with the Secretary of Commerce, shall provide technical
assistance to the State educational agencies that choose to
allocate grant funds in accordance with subsection (a), for
the purpose of assisting local educational agencies and
schools in such States to determine an accurate methodology
to identify the number of eligible children under subsection
(c)(1).
``(e) Rule of Construction.--Payments to parents under this
subsection (c)(5) shall be considered assistance to the
eligible child and shall not be considered assistance to the
school that enrolls the eligible child. The amount of any
payment under this section shall not be treated as income of
the child or his or her parents for purposes of Federal tax
laws or for determining eligibility for any other Federal
program.
``(f) Requirements for Participating Private Schools.--A
private school that enrolls eligible children whose parents
receive funds under this section--
``(1) shall be accredited, licensed, or otherwise operating
in accordance with State law;
``(2) shall ensure that the amount of any tuition or fees
charged by the school to an eligible child whose parents
receive funds from a local educational agency through a
distribution under this section does not exceed the amount of
tuition or fees that the school charges to students whose
parents do not receive such funds;
``(3) shall be academically accountable to the parent for
meeting the educational needs of the student; and
``(4) shall not discriminate against eligible children on
the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex, except
that--
``(A) 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
``(B) notwithstanding this paragraph or any other provision
of law, a parent may choose, and a school may offer, a
single-sex school, class, or activity.
``(g) Prohibitions on Control of Participating Private
Schools.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
private school that enrolls eligible children whose parents
receive funds under this section--
``(1) may be a school 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; and
``(2) consistent with the First Amendment of the
Constitution of the United States, shall not--
``(A) be required to make any change in the school's
teaching mission;
``(B) be required to remove religious art, icons,
scriptures, or other symbols; or
``(C) be precluded 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.
``(h) Evaluation.--Every 2 years, the Secretary shall
conduct an evaluation of eligible children whose parents
receive funds under this section, which shall include an
evaluation of--
``(1) 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rates; and
``(2) parental satisfaction regarding the relevant
activities carried out under this section.
``(i) Requests for Data and Information.--Each school that
enrolls eligible children whose parents receive funds under
this section shall comply with all requests for data and
information regarding evaluations conducted under subsection
(h).
``(j) Rules of Conduct and Other School Policies.--A school
that enrolls eligible children whose parents receive funds
under this section may require such children to abide by any
rules of conduct and other requirements applicable to all
other students at the school.
``(k) Report to Parents.--
``(1) In general.--Each school that enrolls eligible
children whose parents receive funds under this section shall
report, at least once during the school year, to such parents
on--
``(A) their child's academic achievement, as measured by a
comparison with--
``(i) the aggregate academic achievement of other students
at the school who are eligible children whose parents receive
funds under this section and who are in the same grade or
level, as appropriate; and
``(ii) the aggregate academic achievement of the student's
peers at the school who are

[[Page S4854]]

in the same grade or level, as appropriate; and
``(B) the safety of the school, including the incidence of
school violence, student suspensions, and student expulsions.
``(2) Prohibition on disclosure of personal information.--
No report under this subsection may contain any personally
identifiable information, except that a student's parent may
receive a report containing personally identifiable
information relating to their own child.''.
______