SOAR Act Improvements Act
D.C. School Choice: Scholarship Program Updates
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill updates the program that provides private school scholarships, often called vouchers, to students in Washington, D.C. It extends the program's funding through 2032 and changes how the money is divided, putting 50% toward scholarships and 1/6 toward public school improvements.
- The program would expand to include pre-kindergarten, allowing children to start using scholarships before they reach kindergarten. It also increases funding for tutoring by $200,000, with priority given to students who are moving out of the city's lowest-performing schools.
- To make the program more stable, the government could renew the contracts for the organizations running the scholarships for an extra five years without a new bidding process. It also allows people living in nearby Maryland and Virginia suburbs to serve on the program's leadership board.
- The bill changes how the program is evaluated. Instead of more frequent reports, a major study on student progress, graduation rates, and school safety would be required every seven years, with the first report due by January 2027.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 20.
The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SOAR Act Improvements Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.