CHOICE Act
Latest action · Jan 24, 2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 24, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education Act or the CHOICE Act
This bill amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act to include among the eligibility criteria for opportunity scholarships, a requirement that a student in Washington, DC is enrolled, or will be enrolled for the next school year, in a public or private elementary or secondary school. (Opportunity scholarships are provided to low-income DC students to enable them to attend a participating private school of their choice.)
The bill also amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow states that have established a program which allows the parents of disabled children to use public or private funds for assistance with the cost of their children attending a private school, to supplement those funds with their allocation of federal special education funds.
The bill authorizes grants to support the design and initial implementation of state programs that allow the parents of a disabled child to make a choice of the appropriate public or private school for their child.
The Department of Defense (DOD) must carry out a five-year pilot program to award scholarships to enable military dependent students who live on military installations to attend the public or private elementary or secondary schools their parents choose. DOD must select at least five military installations to participate in the program and choose those where military students would benefit from expanded education options.
The Department of Education must return to the Treasury specified amounts made available for salaries and expenses.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 24, 2017 to Jun 12, 2017; 7 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-TN | Lamar Alexander | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-KY | Mitch McConnell | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-UT | Orrin G. Hatch | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-MS | Roger F. Wicker | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Original | Jan 24, 2017 |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Jan 30, 2017 | |
| R-AL | Luther Strange | Jun 12, 2017 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Jan 24, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2017Introduced in Senate
- Jan 24, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R45581 | District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP): Overview, Implementation, and Issues | Report | Mar 7, 2019 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 145 | CHOICE Act | Reintroduced Bill | Jan 16, 2019 |
| S 265 | CHOICE Act | Reintroduction of | Jan 27, 2015 |
| HR 691 | CHOICE Act | Identical bill | Feb 17, 2017 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to expand opportunity through greater choice in education, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- CHOICE Act
- Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
- Appropriations
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Education
- District of Columbia
- Education
- Education of the disadvantaged
- Education programs funding
- Elementary and secondary education
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Military personnel and dependents
- Religion
- Special education
- Student aid and college costs
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 24, 2017Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
