SOAR Reauthorization Act
Latest action. Read the second time. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 561.
Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act or the SOAR Reauthorization Act
(Sec. 3) This bill amends the District of Columbia Code to prohibit the Department of Education from limiting the number of eligible students receiving District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) scholarships, and from preventing otherwise eligible students from participating in the OSP because of:
the type of school the student previously attended; or
whether or not the individual previously received the scholarship or participated in OSP, or was a member of the control group used by the Institute of Education Sciences to carry out previous OSP evaluations.
This prohibition may not be construed to waive the requirements under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR) that the entity implementing the OSP must implement a random selection process giving weight to SOAR priorities if more eligible students seek admission in the OSP than it can accommodate.
(Sec. 4) An eligible nonprofit organization's application for an OSP grant must include how it will ensure that it utilizes internal fiscal and quality controls.
(Sec. 5) Priorities for the award of scholarships to eligible students are modified to give priority to students who:
in the preceding school year attended a school identified as one of the lowest-performing schools under the DC accountability system (currently certain elementary or secondary schools identified for improvements, corrective action, or restructuring), and
certain students regardless of whether they have attended a private school.
(Sec. 6) OSP-participating schools must:
conduct criminal background checks on school employees who have direct and unsupervised interactions with students, and
comply with all requests for data and information regarding SOAR reporting requirements.
Participating private schools must be provisionally or fully accredited, or in the process of seeking accreditation:
within one year after enactment of this Act; and
within five years after such enactment, must be accredited.
An eligible entity may extend this deadline for a single one-year period if the school provides it with evidence from an accrediting body that its application for accreditation is in process and that it will be awarded accreditation before the end of such period.
The summary continues for 14 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on October 21, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 14, 2016: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 561.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH) introduced it on October 5, 2015, and 14 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 13 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on October 5, 2015, 3993 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3710 days ago, on July 14, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers