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H.R. 471: Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act

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H.R. 471: Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-01-26 · Education · Latest: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 24.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-01-26 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Boehner, John A. [R-OH-8] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: 3 recorded votes in our records. Latest: House roll call 202 (2011): On Agreeing to the Amendment, HR471 (2011-03-30), Failed. See all
  4. Where it stands now: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 24. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on March 17, 2011. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act or SOAR Act - (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award five-year grants on a competitive basis to nonprofit organizations to carry out a program to provide expanded school choice opportunities to students who are District of Columbia (DC) residents and who come from households: (1) receiving assistance under the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008; or (2) with incomes not exceeding 185% of the poverty line, except in certain grandfathered circumstances. Requires the Secretary to provide funds to the Mayor of the District of Columbia, if the Mayor agrees to specified requirements, for: (1) the DC public schools to improve public education, and (2) the DC public charter schools to improve and expand quality public charter schools. (Sec. 5) Prescribes requirements for schools participating in such grant programs. (Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary to give priority to certain applications, including those of eligible students notified as selected for a scholarship for school year 2009-2010, which was later rescinded by the Secretary. (Sec. 7) Limits the amount of assistance for school year 2011-2012 at $8,000 for grade school students and $12,000 for high school students. (Sec. 8) Prescribes nondiscrimination requirements, with certain exceptions for religiously affiliated and single-sex schools. Requires each participating school to comply with any testing requirements determined necessary for evaluations which use the strongest possible research design for determining the effectiveness of the opportunity scholarship program. Requires the Secretary (through the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education) to administer the nationally norm-referenced standardized test at least one time during a school year for each student receiving a scholarship if a participating school does not administer such test or the Institute does not receive data on such student. (Sec. 9) Requires the Institute to use a grade appropriate, nationally norm-referenced standardized test each school year to assess participating eligible students. (Sec. 12) Repeals the DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003. Prescribes special rules for funding opportunity scholarships for DC students. (Sec. 14) Authorizes appropriations for FY2012-FY2016.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House without amendment)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Boehner, John A. [R-OH-8] · 50 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Darrell Issa (R-CA), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Tim Scott (R-SC), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Andy Harris (R-MD), Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Todd Young (R-IN), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Robert E. Latta (R-OH)

Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (2)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-hr471 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112