S. 487 — CHOICE Act

This section states the purpose of this title, which is to amend the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (i.e., SOAR Act, which provides federally funded scholarships for low-income students in the District of Columbia to attend participating private schools) to improve provisions concerning opportunity scholarships available for such students.

This section expands eligibility under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act—which provides federally funded scholarships to low-income residents of the District of Columbia for private school tuition, tutoring, or public school transfers—to include students who reside in the District of Columbia, are enrolled, or will be enrolled for the next school year, in a public or private elementary school or secondary school.

This section states the purpose of this title as providing options to states to innovate and improve the education of children with disabilities by expanding choices for students and parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

This section amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize states operating approved parent school choice programs for children with disabilities—who have received an initial evaluation and been identified as eligible under IDEA Part B—to use federal IDEA formula grants (under section 611) to supplement state or private funds for tuition, fees, and transportation costs at a parent-selected public or private school, up to the total of such costs for the year. Such programs fulfill the state's free appropriate public education (FAPE) obligation for participating children, and participating private schools are exempt from IDEA requirements. (Thus, parents make a genuine independent choice of school without triggering proportional services mandates for parentally-placed private school children under current law.) The section further amends the IDEA research and innovation program (section 663) to support grants for up to three years covering post-award planning, design, and initial implementation (e.g., community outreach, equipment) of such state programs, which may provide direct funds or tax credits for donations to cover school costs and must (1) prohibit discrimination on specified grounds (with religious and single-sex exceptions), (2) preserve religious schools' employment rights under title VII of the Civil Rights Act, (3) protect religious schools' First Amendment rights (e.g., no required changes to mission, symbols, or governance), and (4) ensure participating schools are state-approved and academically accountable to parents.

This section states the purpose of this title as ensuring high-quality education for children of military personnel living on military installations—who have limited school choice options—in order to improve Armed Forces retention.

This section establishes a five-year pilot program, beginning with the first full school year after enactment, under which the Secretary of Defense awards scholarships to eligible military dependent students living on at least five selected military installations (excluding those with Department of Defense dependents' schools on premises) to attend participating public or private elementary or secondary schools of their parents' choice rather than assigned schools. Scholarships cover up to the lesser of actual tuition, fees, and transportation costs or specified per-student caps—$8,000 for elementary school students and $12,000 for secondary school students in the first year, with subsequent annual amounts adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers—and are paid directly to parents. (Thus, the program expands educational options for military families on participating installations, with random selection if applications exceed capacity and continued eligibility through secondary school graduation or specified events such as family relocation off-base.)