S.Amdt. 4324

SA 4324. Mr. SCOTT (for himself and Mr. Sasse) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2017 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 F of title V, add the following:

SEC. 583. MILITARY SCHOLARSHIPS.

(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure
high-quality education for children of military personnel who
live on military installations and thus have less freedom to
exercise school choice for their children, in order to
improve the ability of the Armed Forces to retain such
military personnel.
(b) Military Scholarship Program.--
(1) Definitions.--In this section:
(A) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``child'', ``elementary
school'', ``secondary school'', and ``local educational
agency'' have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(B) Eligible military student.--The term ``eligible
military student'' means a child who--
(i) is a military dependent student;
(ii) lives on a military installation selected to
participate in the program under paragraph (2)(B); and
(iii) chooses to attend a participating school, rather than
a school otherwise assigned to the child.
(C) Military dependent student.--The term ``military
dependent student'' has the meaning given the term in section
572(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2006 (20 U.S.C. 7703b(e)).
(D) Participating school.--The term ``participating
school'' means a public or private elementary school or
secondary school that--
(i) accepts scholarship funds provided under this section
on behalf of an eligible military student for the costs of
tuition, fees, or transportation of the eligible military
student; and
(ii) is accredited, licensed, or otherwise operating in
accordance with State law.
(E) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Defense.
(2) Program authorized.--
(A) In general.--From amounts made available under
paragraph (7) and beginning for the first full school year
following the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall carry out a 5-year pilot program to award scholarships
to enable eligible military students to attend the public or
private elementary schools or secondary schools selected by
the eligible military students' parents.
(B) Scope of program.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary shall select not less than 5
military installations to participate in the pilot program
described in subparagraph (A). In making such selection, the
Secretary shall choose military installations that where
eligible military students would most benefit from expanded
educational options.
(ii) Ineligibility.--A military installation that provides,
on its premises, education for all elementary school and
secondary school grade levels through 1 or more Department of
Defense dependents' schools shall not be eligible for
participation in the program.
(C) Amount of scholarships.--
(i) In general.--The annual amount of each scholarship
awarded to an eligible military student under this section
shall not exceed the lesser of--

(I) the cost of tuition, fees, and transportation
associated with attending the participating school selected
by the parents of the student; or
(II)(aa) in the case of an eligible military student
attending elementary school--

(AA) $8,000 for the first full school year following the
date of enactment of this Act; or
(BB) the amount determined under clause (ii) for each
school year following such first full school year; or

(bb) in the case of an eligible military student attending
secondary school--

(AA) $12,000 for the first full school year following the
date of enactment of this Act; or
(BB) the amount determined under clause (ii) for each
school year following such first full school year.
(ii) Adjustment for inflation.--For each school year after
the first full school year following the date of enactment of
this Act, the amounts specified in items (aa) and (bb) of
clause (i)(II) shall be adjusted to reflect changes for the
12-month period ending the preceding June in the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
(D) Payments to parents.--The Secretary shall make
scholarship payments under this section to the parent of the
eligible military student in a manner that ensures such
payments will be used for the payment of tuition, fees, and
transportation expenses (if any) in accordance with this
section.
(3) Selection of scholarships recipients.--
(A) Random selection.--If more eligible military students
apply for scholarships under the program under this section
than the Secretary can accommodate, the Secretary shall
select the scholarship recipients through a random selection
process from students who submitted applications by the
application deadline specified by the Secretary.
(B) Continued eligibility.--
(i) In general.--An individual who is selected to receive a
scholarship under the program under this section shall
continue to receive a scholarship for each year of the
program until the individual--

[[Page S3330]]

(I) graduates from secondary school or elects to no longer
participate in the program;
(II) exceeds the maximum age for which the State in which
the student lives provides a free public education; or
(III) is no longer an eligible military student.

(ii) Continued participation for military transfers.--

(I) Transfer to private non-military housing.--
Notwithstanding clause (i)(III), an individual receiving a
scholarship under this section for a school year who meets
the requirements of clauses (i) and (iii) of paragraph (1)(B)
and whose family, during such school year, moves into private
non-military housing that is not considered to be part of the
military installation, shall continue to receive the
scholarship for use at the participating school for the
remaining portion of the school year.
(II) Transfer to a different military installation.--
Notwithstanding clause(i)(III), an individual receiving a
scholarship under this section for a school year whose family
is transferred to a different military installation shall no
longer be eligible to receive such scholarship beginning on
the date of the transfer. Such individual may apply to
participate in any program offered under this section for the
new military installation for a subsequent school year, if
such individual qualifies as an eligible military student for
such school year.

(4) Nondiscrimination and other provisions.--
(A) Non-discrimination.--A participating school shall not
discriminate against program participants or applicants on
the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex.
(B) Applicability and single-sex schools, classes, or
activities.--
(i) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the prohibition of sex discrimination in subparagraph
(A) 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
subparagraph (A) is inconsistent with the religious tenets or
beliefs of the school.
(ii) Single-sex schools, classes, or activities.--
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or any other provision of
law, a parent may choose, and a participating school may
offer, a single-sex school, class, or activity.
(C) Children with disabilities.--Nothing in this section
may be construed to alter or modify the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
(D) Rules of conduct and other school policies.--A
participating school, including the schools described in
paragraph (5), may require eligible students to abide by any
rules of conduct and other requirements applicable to all
other students at the school.
(5) Religiously affiliated schools.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, a participating school that is operated by, supervised
by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organization
may 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.
(B) Maintenance of purpose.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, funds made available under this section to
eligible military students that are received by a
participating school, as a result of their parents' choice,
shall not, consistent with the first amendment of the
Constitution of the United States--
(i) necessitate any change in the participating school's
teaching mission;
(ii) require any private participating school to remove
religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols; or
(iii) preclude any private participating school 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.
(6) Reports.--
(A) Annual reports.--Not later than July 30 of the year
following the year of the date of enactment of this Act, and
each subsequent year through the year in which the final
report is submitted under subparagraph (B), the Secretary
shall prepare and submit to Congress an interim report on the
scholarships awarded under the pilot program under this
section that includes the content described in subparagraph
(C) for the applicable school year of the report.
(B) Final report.--Not later than 90 days after the end of
the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall
prepare and submit to Congress a report on the scholarships
awarded under the program that includes the content described
in subparagraph (C) for each school year of the program.
(C) Content.--Each annual report under subparagraph (A) and
the final report under subparagraph (B) shall contain--
(i) the number of applicants for scholarships under this
section;
(ii) the number, and the average dollar amount, of
scholarships awarded;
(iii) the number of participating schools;
(iv) the number of elementary school students receiving
scholarships under this section and the number of secondary
school students receiving such scholarships; and
(v) the results of a survey, conducted by the Secretary,
regarding parental satisfaction with the scholarship program
under this section.
(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021.
(8) Offset in department of education salaries.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for fiscal year
2017 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years, the Secretary
of Education shall return to the Treasury $10,000,000 of the
amounts made available to the Secretary for salaries and
expenses of the Department of Education for such year.
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