To provide children with an option for in-classroom education instruction if the child's local public school does not commit to re-opening to 5-day-a-week, in-classroom instruction for the remainder of the current school year and the 2021-2022 school year.

SA 969. Mr. CRUZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 891 proposed by Mr. Schumer to provide for reconciliation
pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 5; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. STATE DIRECT FAMILY GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this title, not later than 7 days after the date of enactment
of this title, each school that is eligible to receive grant
funding under section 2001 shall submit to their respective
State Secretary of Education, or equivalent State official, a
plan to re-open and resume regular, full-time, 5-day-a-week
in-classroom instruction with teachers and faculty physically
present for the remainder of the 2020-2021 and for the 2021-
2022 school year in such a manner that meets or exceeds the
plan for in-classroom instruction that was in effect for that
school at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
(b) Direct Education Assistance Fund.--Each State shall
establish a State-controlled Direct Education Assistance
Fund. In the event that a school fails to timely submit a re-
opening plan in accordance with subsection (a), the State
shall withhold all grant funds that would have been provided
to such school under section 2001, depositing such amount
into the Direct Education Assistance Fund. The State shall
administer the Direct Education Assistance Fund, using the
monies deposited therein, to establish and operate a grant
program to assist families with educational costs in order to
provide students with access to alternative education for the
2021-2022 school year. The State Department of Education
shall operate the grant program as follows:
(1) The Department shall establish an application process
that allows parents to apply for an education grant from the
State's Direct Education Assistance Fund as follows:
(A) Awards grants from available funds in a manner that
prioritizes children--
(i) from schools that have not submitted a re-opening plan
as required by this section;
(ii) who are special needs students;
(iii) who are suffering from depression or a similar
condition or at risk of suicide due to COVID-19-related
isolation; or
(iv) who have a parent (or parents) or guardian (or
guardians) who work outside of the home during regular school
hours and are not available to assist the child with virtual
learning.
(B) Includes, as part of the application form, the
opportunity for the parent or guardian to submit an education
plan for the child that--
(i) as part of an application for a grant for direct
education assistance, includes the proposed school, if any,
that the parent or guardian has selected for the child and
the cost of any fees associated with the application,
enrollment, or attendance at such school; or
(ii) as part of an application for a grant for supplemental
education assistance a list of any costs which the parent or
guardian anticipates will be incurred to purchase items
listed in paragraph (5)(B).
(2) The Department shall publicize the availability of
direct education assistance to parents across the State with
an application period of not less than 45 days and a deadline
for applications as of a date not later than July 1, 2021.
(3) The Department shall first prioritize eligibility for
grants awarded from available funds to the parents or
guardians of children between the ages of 5 and 18 who are
eligible to attend a school that failed to timely submit a
re-opening plan as described herein and, if funds remain
available in the Direct Education Assistance Fund after each
priority student has received a grant, the Department shall
make grants from the Fund available to the parent or
guardians applying on behalf of students from other
elementary and secondary schools in the State.
(4) The Department shall only award a grant to an
individual who is the legal parent or guardian of an eligible
child provided that such individual is also a citizen or
national of the United States or an alien (as defined in
section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)) who is lawfully present in the United States.
(5) The Department will administer the Direct Education
Assistance Fund as follows:
(A) 75 percent of such Fund shall be set aside and used to
award direct education assistance grants to finance all or a
portion of the educational costs of a child to attend a
different school as selected by that child's parent or
guardian in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per grant award.
(B) 25 percent of such Fund shall be set aside and used to
award supplemental education assistance grants to cover a
portion of the costs for education such as tutoring services,
educational classes, or curriculum inside or outside of the
home, books, instructional materials, online educational
materials, educational therapies, including educational
therapies and services for students with disabilities, and
such other educational and instructional materials as the
child's parent or guardian determines is beneficial in-
relation to at-home learning, including online or virtual
schooling or home instruction.
(6) All grants shall be awarded not later than August 15,
2021.
(7) The Department shall require that any parent or
guardian who receives a grant pursuant to this section
maintain records of how any grant funds were spent.
(8) Grants awarded out of the Fund for direct education
assistance shall be distributed in an equitable manner among
recipients for such grants consistent with the priorities
identified in this section but in an amount not to exceed the
educational costs identified within an application and grants
awarded out of the Fund for supplemental education assistance
shall be made in an equitable manner among recipients for
such grants in an amount not to exceed the costs identified
in such application.
(c) Prohibition of Control Over Non-public Education
Providers.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control
over any aspect of any private, religious, or home education
provider, whether or not a home education provider is treated
as a private school or home school under State law.
(2) No discrimination.--No State shall exclude,
discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage any education
provider, including home education provider, with respect to
programs or services under this section based in whole or in
part on the provider's religious character or affiliation,
including religiously based or mission-based policies or
practices.
(d) Parental Rights to Use Grants.--No State shall disfavor
or discourage the use of qualifying grants for the purchase
of elementary and secondary education services, including
those services provided by private or nonprofit entities,
such as faith-based providers.
(e) Repayment.--If a school does not re-open and maintain
operations consistent with the plan submitted under this
section, the school shall be required to repay all monies
received under section 2001 to the State.
(f) Return to Treasury.--Any monies remaining in the Fund
as of September 30, 2021, or if subsequently repaid under
subsection (e), shall be repaid to the United States Treasury
not later than June 30, 2022.
At the end of section 2001(c), add the following: ``An
allocation to a State shall be made pursuant to the previous
sentence only if the State has publicly published, by not
later than 7 days after enachment of this Act, a written plan
that guarantees each child in the State has a local public
school education option to resume regular, 5-day-a-week in-
classroom instruction with teachers physically present and
that identifies by name and location which schools will be
available for regular in-classroom instruction. Assistance
from a grant awarded to a State under this section shall only
be provided to a school identified by the State under the
previous sentence.''.
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