HR 5181 — SOAR Act Improvements Act

Summary

SOAR Act Improvements ActThis bill reauthorizes through FY2032 and modifies the District of Columbia (DC) Opportunity Scholarship Program, which is a federal program that funds private school scholarships for low-income students in DC.Under the program, the Department of Education (ED) issues grants to nonprofit organizations to pay for income-qualified DC residents to attend DC private elementary or secondary schools of their choice. The bill expands the program to include pre-kindergarten students and authorizes ED to renew grants for up to five years without a new application. Current law requires nonprofits to ensure that if more scholarship students apply to a particular school than the school can accommodate, students will be randomly selected for admission. The bill specifies that this only applies if random selection would not interfere with the school's regular admission standards or procedures.Current law also requires schools to be properly accredited in order to participate in the program (i.e., enroll scholarship students). The bill authorizes a nonparticipating school to enroll scholarship students provided it obtains accreditation within five years of first pursuing participation in the program.The bill also makes other administrative changes to the program, including (1) authorizing the majority of voting members of a nonprofit’s board to live in the DC metropolitan area, rather than in DC itself; (2) removing a cap on the use of funds for tutoring students; and (3) directing ED and the mayor of DC to periodically evaluate and publicly report on the program.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in House Current html September 08, 2025

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act to extend funding, grant durations, and reporting requirements while changing residency definitions and application contents for the school choice scholarship program in the District of Columbia.

• Section 3004(a)(2)

  5 years → 5 years, and may renew such grants for an additional period of not more than 5 years, without a competitive process, when the Secretary determines appropriate and desirable to maintain continuity in the program

  This change allows grants to be renewed for an additional five years without competition, promoting program continuity.

• Section 3005(b)(1)(C)

  ; → , if such a process will not interfere with the regular admission standards or procedures of the school;

  This modification adds a condition to the admissions process to avoid interfering with regular school admissions.

• Section 3005(b)(1)(M)

  District of Columbia → Washington metropolitan region

  This change expands the residency requirement for eligible entity board members from the District of Columbia to the broader Washington metropolitan region.

• Section 3013

  (12) Washington metropolitan region.--The term `Washington metropolitan region' includes the District of Columbia, the counties of Montgomery and Prince Georges in Maryland, and the counties of Arlington and Fairfax and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia.

  This addition defines the 'Washington metropolitan region' for scholarship eligibility purposes.

• Section 3007(a)(5)(A)(i)

  in the case of a school that is a participating school as of the date of enactment of the SOAR Act Improvements Act, is recognized by-- → in the case of a school that is a participating school as of the date of enactment of the SOAR Act Improvements Act, is recognized by--

  This amendment reaffirms the requirement for accreditation recognition for participating schools.

• Section 3007(a)(3)(B)(i)(I)

  kindergarten → pre-kindergarten

  This change expands the use of funds to include pre-kindergarten services.

• Section 3007(a)(3)(B)(ii)

  In any year, an eligible entity receiving a grant under section 3004(a) has sole authority to establish a maximum scholarship amount less than the amount permitted in (3)(B)(i).

  This addition allows eligible entities to set a lower maximum scholarship amount than previously allowed.

• Section 3009(a)(1)(A)

  (A) jointly enter into an agreement with the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education to--

  This change modifies the frequency and responsibility for program evaluations.

• Section 3010(b)(1)(A)

  aggregate academic achievement of other participating students at the student's school in the same grade or level, as appropriate, and the

  This removal simplifies reporting requirements by eliminating a specific assessment comparison.

• Section 3014(a)

  through fiscal year 2023 → through fiscal year 2032

  This amendment extends the authorization of appropriations for the program until 2032.

Action History

1. September 10, 2025

   Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

2. September 10, 2025

   Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 20.

3. September 08, 2025

   Introduced in House

4. September 08, 2025

   Introduced in House

5. September 08, 2025

   Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Sponsors

• Virginia Foxx · Primary
• Clay Higgins · Cosponsor

Subjects