To provide scholarship assistance for District of Columbia elementary and secondary school students.
District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 1997 - Authorizes the establishment as a private, nonprofit corporation the District of Columbia Scholarship Corporation to administer, publicize, and evaluate the District of Columbia (District) scholarship program and to determine student and school eligibility for program participation.
Establishes the District of Columbia Scholarship Fund, to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, through which annual funds shall be provided to the District and used by the Corporation for the program. Authorizes appropriations to the Fund for FY 1998 through 2002.
Provides for: (1) organization and management of a Corporation Board of Directors, as well as related offices and staff; and (2) the annual audit of Corporation records.
Authorizes the Corporation to award tuition scholarships and enhanced achievement scholarships to District students in kindergarten through grade 12 with family incomes not exceeding 185 percent of the national poverty line. Provides for: (1) scholarship payments and amounts; (2) certification requirements for educational institutions for eligibility to receive payments on behalf of students receiving a scholarship; (3) participation requirements for such institutions, including compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) payments from the Corporation to participating institutions; (5) annual institution reporting requirements; (6) program appraisal by the Comptroller General, performed through an independent evaluation agency (with an authorization of appropriations for such appraisal); (7) an annual program progress report from the Corporation to the appropriate congressional committees; and (8) judicial review of actions challenging the program.
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management. Hearings held.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.
Referred to the Subcommittee on District of Columbia.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H584)
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