PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 24.
Congressional Research Service
Version 81 · Passed House without amendment · Mar 30, 2011
(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.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
(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including those of eligible students notified as selected for a scholarship for school year 2009-2010, which was later rescinded by the Secretary.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.
People & committees
Rep. Boehner, John A. [R-OH-8] · R–OH
Legislative record
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Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 24.
Received in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On passage Passed by recorded vote: 225 - 195 (Roll no. 204).
House roll call 204 · Individual votesPassed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 225 - 195 (Roll no. 204).
House roll call 204 · Individual votesOn motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 185 - 238 (Roll no. 203).
House roll call 203 · Individual votesThe previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection. (consideration: CR H2081)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Cummings motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment which strikes all after the enacting clause and inserts two sections. Section 1 is entitled "FUNDING FOR DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND DC PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS". Section 2 is entitled "AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS".
Mr. Cummings moved to recommit with instructions to Oversight and Government. (consideration: CR H2080-2082; text: CR H2080)
Point of order raised by Mr. Weiner on the content of the measure. Mr. Weiner stated that the provisions of bill violates clause 10(a) of Rule XXI. The Chair stated that the point of order was not timely.
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 186, the House proceeded with 40 minutes of debate on the Norton substitute amendment.
DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 471.
Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 471 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. A specified amendment is in order. The amendment recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.
Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 186. (consideration: CR H2060-2082; text of measure as reported in House: CR H2060-2063)
Rule H. Res. 186 passed House.
Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 186 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 471 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. A specified amendment is in order. The amendment recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 17.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. H. Rept. 112-36.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. H. Rept. 112-36.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 14.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives .
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Mar 23, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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