What This Bill Does
This bill allows unused money from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to be used for a new program called Child Opportunity Scholarships. These scholarships give direct financial help to parents and guardians of students who experienced learning loss during the pandemic.
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Who It Affects
Parents and guardians of eligible students (children from households earning no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level). Federal education agencies that manage American Rescue Plan Act funds.
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Key Provisions
* States that unspent education money from the American Rescue Plan Act can be distributed as Child Opportunity Scholarships instead of being used only in other ways. (Sec. 2)
* Defines a Child Opportunity Scholarship as direct money given to parents or guardians of eligible students for qualified education expenses, with the amount based on how much the pandemic hurt the student's learning. (Sec. 2)
* Lists what counts as qualified education expenses: tutoring or classes outside the home, curriculum materials, books, technology for learning, online educational materials, private school tuition, testing fees, diagnostic tools, and therapies for students with disabilities. (Sec. 2)
* Allows agencies to use any remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds to distribute Child Opportunity Scholarships. (Sec. 2)
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What Changes
If this law passes, schools and education agencies get a new option for how to spend leftover American Rescue Plan Act money. Instead of only using those funds in existing ways, they can now give scholarships directly to parents and guardians to pay for specific education expenses that help students recover from pandemic learning loss.
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Important Definitions
* "Child Opportunity Scholarship" means money given directly to a parent or guardian for a qualified education expense. The amount should match how much the pandemic hurt the student's learning.
* "Eligible student" means a child whose household income does not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
* "Qualified educational expense" includes tutoring, classes outside the home, curriculum materials, books, technology for learning, online materials, private school tuition, testing fees, diagnostic tools, and special education therapies.
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I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 745
To allow the use of unspent educational funds under the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021 to address pandemic learning loss through Child
Opportunity Scholarships.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Mr. OWENS (for himself and Mr. EDWARDS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To allow the use of unspent educational funds under the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to address pandemic
learning loss through Child Opportunity Scholarships.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Raising Expectations
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with Child Opportunity Vouchers for Educational Recov-
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ery Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOVER Act’’.
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•HR 745 IH
SEC. 2. USE OF UNOBLIGATED AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
1
ACT
FUNDS
FOR
CHILD
OPPORTUNITY
2
SCHOLARSHIPS.
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Section 2001 of the American Rescue Plan Act of
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2021 (20 U.S.C. 3401 note) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (e)(1)—
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(A) by striking ‘‘through the implementa-
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tion of’’ and inserting ‘‘through—
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‘‘(A) the implementation of’’;
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(B) in subparagraph (A), as designated by
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subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by striking
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‘‘; and’’ and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
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(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A),
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as designated by subparagraph (A) of this para-
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graph, the following:
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‘‘(B) the distribution of Child Opportunity
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Scholarships; and’’;
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(2) in subsection (f)—
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(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at
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the end;
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(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe-
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riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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(C) by adding after paragraph (4) the fol-
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lowing:
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‘‘(5) may use any remaining amounts to dis-
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tribute Child Opportunity Scholarships.’’; and
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•HR 745 IH
(3) in subsection (h)—
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(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and
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(3) as paragraphs (4) and (6), respectively;
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(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
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following:
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‘‘(2) the term ‘Child Opportunity Scholarship’
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means direct financial assistance to the parent or
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guardian of an eligible student for a qualified edu-
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cational expense in an amount reasonably commen-
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surate to the negative educational impact intended
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to be addressed;
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‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible student’ means a child
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who is a member of a household with an income
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which is not greater than 300 percent of the Federal
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poverty level;’’;
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(C) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by
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subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the
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semicolon; and
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(D) by inserting after paragraph (4), as
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redesignated by subparagraph (A), the fol-
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lowing:
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‘‘(5) the term ‘qualified educational expense’ in-
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cludes tutoring or educational classes outside the
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home, curriculum and curricular materials, books or
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instructional materials, technological education ma-
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•HR 745 IH
terials, online educational materials, private school
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tuition, testing fees, diagnostic tools, and edu-
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cational therapies for students with disabilities;
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and’’.
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Æ
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