Children Have Opportunities in Classrooms Everywhere Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3704 To have education funds follow the student. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2021 Mr. GOOD of Virginia (for himself, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. OWENS, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. BUDD, and Mr. MOORE of Alabama) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To have education funds follow the student. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children Have Oppor- 4 tunities in Classrooms Everywhere Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3704 IH SEC. 2. FEDERAL FUNDING UNDER THE ELEMENTARY AND 1 SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 TO 2 FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 3 Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) is amended 5 by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘PART H—FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT 7 ‘‘SEC. 8701. FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT. 8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 ‘‘(1) 529 EDUCATION SAVINGS PLAN AC- 10 COUNT.—The term ‘529 education savings plan ac- 11 count’ means a qualified tuition program (as defined 12 in section 529(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue 13 Code of 1986). 14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘eligible 15 child’ means a child who is from a household, the 16 taxable income of which for the most recently com- 17 pleted taxable year is not more than 130 percent of 18 an amount equal to the poverty level, as determined 19 by using criteria of poverty established by the Bu- 20 reau of the Census. 21 ‘‘(3) HOME SCHOOL.—The term ‘home school’ 22 means a home school as defined by the laws of the 23 State in which the eligible child resides. 24 ‘‘(b) FUNDS TO FOLLOW THE STUDENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3704 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 1 provision of law and to the extent permitted under 2 State law, a State educational agency shall allocate 3 grant funds provided under title I, subparts 2 and 4 3 of part B of title II, and titles III, IV, V, and VI, 5 for the purposes of ensuring that funding under 6 such titles follows children, to the public school the 7 children attend or for the expenses described in sec- 8 tion 529(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 9 1986. 10 ‘‘(2) PLAN.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that car- 12 ries out allocations described in paragraph (1) 13 shall establish a plan that complies with the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(i) The parent or guardian of each 16 eligible child in the State who desires ac- 17 cess to the funds described in paragraph 18 (1) shall annually submit to the State edu- 19 cational agency by not later than April 30, 20 a paper or electronic application form that 21 includes the following: 22 ‘‘(I) The parent or guardian’s 23 taxable income based on the Federal 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3704 IH tax return of the parent or guardian 1 for the prior tax year. 2 ‘‘(II) The eligible child’s date of 3 birth, place of residence, school dis- 4 trict, and school in which the eligible 5 child will be enrolled for the subse- 6 quent school year. 7 ‘‘(III) If the eligible child will be 8 enrolled in a private school or home 9 school for the subsequent school year, 10 confirmation that the eligible child 11 has a 529 education savings plan ac- 12 count, including the necessary details 13 of such account to enable the State to 14 deposit funds available under this sec- 15 tion into such account. 16 ‘‘(ii) Not later than May 14 of each 17 year, the State educational agency shall 18 submit to the Secretary the application 19 forms for all applicants under clause (i). 20 ‘‘(iii) Not later than July 1 of each 21 year and based on the information sub- 22 mitted under clause (i), the State edu- 23 cational agency shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3704 IH ‘‘(I) if the eligible child will be 1 enrolled in a private school or home 2 school for the subsequent school year, 3 deposit the amount equal to the con- 4 centration distribution and basic dis- 5 tribution applicable for the eligible 6 child under subparagraphs (B) and 7 (C) of subsection (c)(2), into the 529 8 education savings plan account of the 9 eligible child; and 10 ‘‘(II) if the eligible child will be 11 enrolled in a public school for the sub- 12 sequent school year, distribute the 13 amount equal to the concentration 14 distribution and basic distribution ap- 15 plicable for the eligible child under 16 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of sub- 17 section (c)(2), to such public school. 18 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Information 19 collected under this section by the State shall 20 be used for the sole purposes of calculating the 21 allocation of funds and distribution of funds 22 under this section. 23 ‘‘(C) DATA PRIVACY PROTECTION.—Infor- 24 mation collected under this section shall be sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3704 IH ject to the privacy protections outlined in sec- 1 tion 444 of the General Education Provisions 2 Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; commonly referred to as 3 the ‘Family Educational Rights and Privacy 4 Act of 1974’). 5 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF AMOUNTS TO BE DISTRIB- 6 UTED.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts pro- 8 vided to carry out title I, subparts 2 and 3 of part 9 B of title II, and titles III, IV, V, and VI, and based 10 on the information submitted by State educational 11 agencies under subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii), the Sec- 12 retary shall— 13 ‘‘(A) determine the eligibility based on the 14 information provided under subsection 15 (b)(2)(A)(i) and verify that the child for whom 16 the information is submitted is an eligible child; 17 ‘‘(B) determine the income bracket for 18 such eligible child; and 19 ‘‘(C) make grants to State educational 20 agencies in the amount determined under para- 21 graph (2) by not later than 30 days after the 22 date the Secretary receives the information 23 under subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii). 24 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3704 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The grant amount 1 provided to a State educational agency shall be 2 equal to the total distribution amount deter- 3 mined under subparagraphs (B) and (C) for all 4 eligible children in the State. 5 ‘‘(B) CONCENTRATION DISTRIBUTION.— 6 An eligible child who is from a household, the 7 taxable income of which for the most recently 8 completed taxable year is not more than 100 9 percent of an amount equal to the poverty level, 10 as measured by the most recent Small Area In- 11 come and Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of 12 the Census, shall receive a concentration dis- 13 tribution according to the following: 14 ‘‘(i) If the eligible child resides in an 15 area served by a school district in which 16 not less than 1 percent and not more than 17 9 percent of the elementary school and sec- 18 ondary school students are from a house- 19 hold, the taxable income of which for the 20 most recently completed taxable year is not 21 more than 100 percent of an amount equal 22 to the poverty level, as measured by the 23 most recent Small Area Income and Pov- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3704 IH erty Estimates of the Bureau of the Cen- 1 sus, the eligible child shall receive $50. 2 ‘‘(ii) If the eligible child resides in an 3 area served by a school district in which 4 not less than 10 percent and not more 5 than 19 percent of the elementary school 6 and secondary school students are from a 7 household, the taxable income of which for 8 the most recently completed taxable year is 9 not more than 100 percent of an amount 10 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 11 the most recent Small Area Income and 12 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 13 Census, the eligible child shall receive 14 $100. 15 ‘‘(iii) If the eligible child resides in an 16 area served by a school district in which 17 not less than 20 percent and not more 18 than 29 percent of the elementary school 19 and secondary school students are from a 20 household, the taxable income of which for 21 the most recently completed taxable year is 22 not more than 100 percent of an amount 23 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 24 the most recent Small Area Income and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3704 IH Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 1 Census, the eligible child shall receive 2 $150. 3 ‘‘(iv) If the eligible child resides in an 4 area served by a school district in which 5 not less than 30 percent and not more 6 than 39 percent of the elementary school 7 and secondary school students are from a 8 household, the taxable income of which for 9 the most recently completed taxable year is 10 not more than 100 percent of an amount 11 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 12 the most recent Small Area Income and 13 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 14 Census, the eligible child shall receive 15 $200. 16 ‘‘(v) If the eligible child resides in an 17 area served by a school district in which 18 not less than 40 percent and not more 19 than 49 percent of the elementary school 20 and secondary school students are from a 21 household, the taxable income of which for 22 the most recently completed taxable year is 23 not more than 100 percent of an amount 24 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3704 IH the most recent Small Area Income and 1 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 2 Census, the eligible child shall receive 3 $250. 4 ‘‘(vi) If the eligible child resides in an 5 area served by a school district in which 50 6 percent or more of the elementary school 7 and secondary school students are from a 8 household, the taxable income of which for 9 the most recently completed taxable year is 10 not more than 100 percent of an amount 11 equal to the poverty level, as measured by 12 the most recent Small Area Income and 13 Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the 14 Census, the eligible child shall receive 15 $300. 16 ‘‘(C) BASIC DISTRIBUTION.—In addition to 17 a concentration distribution under subpara- 18 graph (B), an eligible child shall receive a basic 19 distribution based on the income bracket appli- 20 cable for such eligible child and according to a 21 formula established by the Secretary in which 22 benefits are flat for everyone at or below 100 23 percent of the Federal poverty level and de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3704 IH crease at an even rate from 100 percent to 130 1 percent of the Federal poverty level. 2 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 3 Not later than 100 days after the date of enactment of 4 the Children Have Opportunities in Classrooms Every- 5 where Act, and annually for each of the 5 years thereafter, 6 each State that carries out allocations described in sub- 7 section (b)(1) shall inform each parent or guardian of a 8 child eligible for assistance under the supplemental nutri- 9 tion assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act 10 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) or the program of block 11 grants for States for temporary assistance for needy fami- 12 lies established under part A of title IV of the Social Secu- 13 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) of the availability of as- 14 sistance under this section. 15 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION OF PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN 16 ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—The provisions of sec- 17 tion 1117 shall apply to this section. 18 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 19 ‘‘(1) FEDERALLY FUNDED SCHOOL FOOD PRO- 20 GRAMS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 21 to preclude a child eligible for assistance under the 22 free and reduced price school lunch program estab- 23 lished under the Richard B. Russell National School 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3704 IH Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) from receiving 1 assistance under such program. 2 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF CONTROL OVER NON- 3 PUBLIC EDUCATION PROVIDERS.—Nothing in this 4 section shall permit, allow, encourage, or authorize 5 Federal or State control over non-public education 6 providers.’’. 7 SEC. 3. 529 ACCOUNT FUNDING FOR HOMESCHOOL AND AD- 8 DITIONAL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EX- 9 PENSES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 529(c)(7) of the Internal 11 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 12 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SEC- 13 ONDARY TUITION AND RESOURCES.—Any reference 14 in this section to the term ‘qualified higher edu- 15 cation expense’ shall include a reference to the fol- 16 lowing expenses in connection with enrollment or at- 17 tendance at, or for students enrolled at or attending, 18 an elementary or secondary public, private, or reli- 19 gious school: 20 ‘‘(A) Tuition. 21 ‘‘(B) Curriculum and curricular materials. 22 ‘‘(C) Books or other instructional mate- 23 rials. 24 ‘‘(D) Online educational materials. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3704.IH H3704 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3704 IH ‘‘(E) Tuition for tutoring or educational 1 classes outside of the home, including at a tu- 2 toring facility, but only if the tutor or instruc- 3 tor is not related to the student. 4 ‘‘(F) Fees for a nat [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]