S.Amdt. 829

SA 829. Mr. SASSE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 764 submitted by Mr. Inhofe and intended to be proposed to
the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 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 part I of subtitle F of title V, add the
following:

SEC. 5__. PILOT PROGRAM ON EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS FOR
MILITARY DEPENDENT CHILDREN.

(a) In General.--From amounts made available under
subsection (k), the Secretary shall carry out a pilot program
under which the Secretary shall establish education savings
accounts for eligible military students to enable such
students to attend public or private elementary schools or
secondary schools selected by the students' parents.
(b) Duration.--The pilot program under this section shall
begin with the first school year that begins after the date
of enactment of this section and shall terminate at the end
of the fifth school year that begins after such date of
enactment.
(c) Scope of Program.--The Secretary shall select one
military installation to participate in the pilot program
under this section. In making such selection, the Secretary
shall choose a military installation at which eligible
military students will derive the greatest benefit from
expanded educational options, as determined by the Secretary.
(d) Deposits.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall deposit funds in the
amount specified in paragraph (2) into each education savings
account established on behalf of an eligible military student
under this section.
(2) Amount of deposit.--
(A) In general.--The amount deposited into each education
savings account awarded to an eligible military student shall
be $6,000 for each school year.
(B) Adjustment for inflation.--For each school year after
the first full school year of the program, the amount
specified in subparagraph (A) shall be adjusted to reflect
changes for the 12-month period ending the preceding June in
the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department
of Labor.
(e) Eligible Uses of Funds.--Funds deposited into an
education savings account under this section for a school
year may be used by the parent of an eligible military
student to make payments to a qualified educational service
provider that is approved by the Secretary under subsection
(f) for--
(1) costs of attendance at a private elementary school or
secondary school recognized by the State, which may include a
private school that has a religious mission;
(2) private online programs;
(3) private tutoring;
(4) services provided by a public elementary school or
secondary school attended by the child on a less than full-
time basis, including individual classes and extracurricular
activities and programs;
(5) textbooks, curriculum programs, or other instructional
materials, including any supplemental materials required by a
curriculum program, private school, private online learning
program, or a public school, or any parent directed
curriculum associated with kindergarten through grade 12
education;
(6) educational services and therapies, including
occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language, and
audiology therapies; or
(7) any other educational expenses approved by the
Secretary.
(f) Requirements For Qualified Educational Service
Providers.--The Secretary shall establish and maintain a
registry of qualified educational service providers that are
approved to receive payments from an education savings
account established under this section. The Secretary shall
approve a qualified educational service provider to receive
such payments if the provider demonstrates to the Secretary
that it is licensed in the State in which it operates to
provide one or more of the services for which funds may be
expended under subsection (e).
(g) Participation in Online Market Place.--As a condition
of receiving funds from an education savings account, a
qualified educational service provider shall make its
services available for purchase through the online
marketplace described in subsection (h).
(h) Online Marketplace.--The Secretary shall seek to enter
into a contract with a private-sector entity under which the
entity shall--
(1) establish and operate an online marketplace that
enables the holder of an education savings account to make
direct purchases from qualified educational service providers
using funds from such account;
(2) ensure that each qualified educational service provider
on the registry maintained by the Secretary under subsection
(f) has made its services available for purchase through the
online marketplace;
(3) ensure that all purchases made through the online
marketplace are for services that are allowable uses of funds
under this section; and
(4) develop and make available a standardized expense
report form, in electronic and hard copy formats, to be used
by parents for reporting expenses.
(i) Imposition of Additional Requirements.--No Federal
requirements shall apply to a qualified educational service
provider other than the requirements specifically set forth
in this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed
to require a qualified educational service provider to alter
its creed, practices, admissions policy, or curriculum in
order to be eligible to receive payments from an education
savings account.
(j) Reports.--
(1) Annual reports.--Not later than July 30 of the first
year of the pilot program, and

[[Page S4190]]

each subsequent year through the year in which the final
report is submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall
prepare and submit to Congress an interim report on the
accounts awarded under the pilot program under this section
that includes the content described in paragraph (3) for the
applicable school year of the report.
(2) 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 accounts
awarded under the pilot program that includes the content
described in paragraph (3) for each school year of the
program.
(3) Content.--Each report under paragraphs (1) and (2)
shall identify--
(A) the number of applicants for education savings accounts
under this section;
(B) the number of elementary school students receiving
education savings accounts under this section and the number
of secondary school students receiving such savings accounts;
(C) the results of a survey, conducted by the Secretary,
regarding parental satisfaction with the education savings
account program under this section; and
(D) any other information the Secretary determines to be
necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.
(l) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``child'', ``elementary
school'', and ``secondary school'' have the meanings given
the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Eligible military student.--The term ``eligible
military student'' means a child who--
(A) is a military dependent student;
(B) lives on the military installation selected to
participate in the program under this section; and
(C) chooses to attend a participating school or purchase
other approved education services, rather than attending the
school otherwise assigned to the child.
(3) Military dependent students.--The term ``military
dependent students'' has the meaning given the term in
section 572(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109-163; 20 U.S.C. 7703b(e)).
(4) Qualified educational service provider.--The term
``qualified educational service provider'' means an entity or
person that is licensed by a State to provide one or more of
the educational services for which funds may be expended
under subsection (e), including--
(A) a private school;
(B) a nonpublic online learning program or course provider;
(C) a State institution of higher education, which may
include a community college or a technical college;
(D) a public school;
(E) a private tutor or entity that operates a tutoring
facility;
(F) a provider of educational materials or curriculum;
(G) a provider of education-related therapies or services;
or
(H) any other provider of educational services licensed by
a State to provide such services.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Defense.
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