Purpose: To amend the District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 2003.

Transcription

1 O:\KOS\KOS0. AMENDMENT NO. Calendar No. Purpose: To amend the District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 00. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 0th Cong., st Sess. S. Making appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia and other activities chargeable in whole or in part against the revenues of said District for the fiscal year ending September 0, 00, and for other purposes. Referred to the Committee on and ordered to be printed Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed AMENDMENTS intended to be proposed by Viz: On page, strike lines through and insert the following: () For many parents in the District of Columbia, available educational alternatives to the public schools are inadequate, and more educational options are needed. In particular, funds are needed to assist low-income parents to exercise choice among

2 O:\KOS\KOS0. enhanced public opportunities and private educational environments, whether religious or nonreligious. On page, line 0, insert religious and secular before schools. On page, line 0, insert genuine and before independent. 0 0 On page, between lines and, insert the following: () The Mayor of the District of Columbia and the President of the District of Columbia Board of Education support this Act. () This Act provides additional money for the District of Columbia public schools and therefore money for vouchers is not being taken out of money that would otherwise go to the District of Columbia public schools. () This Act creates a -year pilot program tailored to the current needs and particular circumstances of low-income children in District of Columbia schools. This Act does not establish param-

3 O:\KOS\KOS0. eters or requirements for other school choice programs. 0 On page, between lines and, insert the following: (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. The Secretary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the design of, selection of eligible entities to receive grants under, and implementation of, a program assisted under this Act. On page, line, after responsible insert and will use the funds received under this title effectively. On page, line, strike A school and insert An eligible entity or a school. On page, line, after national origin, insert religion,. 0 On page, beginning with line strike all through page, line, and insert the following: () IN GENERAL. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school participating in any pro-

4 O:\KOS\KOS gram under this Act that is operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organization may exercise its discretion in matters of employment consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of ( U.S.C. 000e et seq.), including the exemptions in such title. () MAINTENANCE OF PURPOSE. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made available under this Act to eligible students that are received by a participating school, as a result of their parents choice, shall not, consistent with the first amendment of the United States Constitution, necessitate any change in the participating school s teaching mission, require any participating school to remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols, or preclude any 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. On page, line, strike Subject to section, a participating and insert A participating. On page, line, insert all before other.

5 O:\KOS\KOS0. On page, between lines and, insert the fol- lowing: (c) ASSESSMENTS. Each participating school shall () ensure that participating eligible students receive comparable academic assessments in the same grade levels as those provided to District of Columbia public school students, and ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the assessment re- 0 sults are capable of being compared to determine the relative achievement levels between participating eli- gible students and District of Columbia public school students in the same grades; and () ensure academic assessment results con- taining any personally identifiable information shall be disclosed only to the parents of the student tak- ing the assessment.