CHOICE Act
Latest action · Jan 28, 2021 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 28, 2021
- 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 expands school choice programs for elementary and secondary school students.
Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to support the design and implementation of state programs that allow the parent of a child with a disability to choose the appropriate public or private school for their child. It also outlines the requirements for program eligibility.
Further, if the state has established a program that allows parents to use public or private funds to assist with the cost of their child attending a private school, then the state may supplement those funds with federal special education funds.
Additionally, the Department of Defense 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.
The bill also requires ED to return to the Treasury specified amounts made available for salaries and expenses.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 28, 2021 to Feb 12, 2021, with 7 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NE | Ben Sasse | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-IN | Mike Braun | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-FL | Rick Scott | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-MS | Roger F. Wicker | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Original | Jan 28, 2021 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Feb 12, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 28, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Jan 28, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5959 | CHOICE Act | Identical bill | Nov 12, 2021 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
- Appropriations
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Education
- 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 28, 2021Introduced 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.