,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bech ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #g1 #bjai,mr4 ,banks introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,reform ,a ,,bill ,to create child safety accounts in the ,district of ,columbia1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,child ,safety ,accounts ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term certified donation means a donation certified by the finance authority as eligible for a tax credit4 7#b7 ,the term child safety account means an account created and managed by the treasurer of the ,district of ,columbia for each qualified student who has experienced a safety issue and opts into a child safety account4 7#c7 ,the term ,department means the ,office of the ,state ,superintendent of ,education of the ,district of ,columbia4 7#d7 ,the term elementary school means an institutional day or residential school 7including a school with a virtual presence71 including a public elementary charter school1 that provides elementary education1 as determined under ,district of ,columbia law4 7#e7 ,the term educational scholarships means a scholarship provided to a qualifying student to top off the education of their choice4 7#f7 ,the term eligible expenses means any education expense necessary for a qualified student1 including-- 7,a7 tuition or courses at a qualified school2 7,b7 textbooks2 7,c7 tutoring by an authorized provider2 7,d7 transportation to and from a qualified school2 7,e7 therapy necessary to cope with the trauma of a safety incident2 7,f7 college courses2 and 7,g7 other required education materials4 7#g7 ,the term finance authority means the ,chief ,financial ,officer of the ,district of ,columbia or an individual authorized authority designated by the ,mayor of the ,district of ,columbia to manage the child safety accounts4 7#h7 ,the term fraud means any child safety account funds spent on items that does not qualify as an eligible expense1 or any other fraud related to the use of such accounts 7including falsifying information related to a safety incident or ,district of ,columbia residence for the purpose of receiving such an account74 7#i7 ,the term parent has the meaning given that term in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#aj7 ,the term poverty line means the poverty line 7as defined in section #fgc7b7 of the ,community ,services ,block ,grant ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iijb7b77 applicable to a family of the size involved4 7#aa7 ,the term qualified donor means a taxpayer1 individual1 or corporation1 who-- 7,a7 files a ,district of ,columbia income tax return2 7,b7 cannot be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer return2 7,c7 has donated to a scholarship granting organization2 and 7,d7 has been certified by the finance authority to make the donation specified4 7#ab7 ,the term qualified school means an elementary school or secondary school in the ,district of ,columbia that-- 7,a7 ensures employees are permitted to work in a school by ,district of ,columbia law and who are not a threat to student safety2 7,b7 ensures financial stability with yearly independent financial audits provided to the finance authority2 and 7,c7 ensures funds from child safety accounts are spent appropriately for the education of students4 7#ac7 ,the term qualified student means any student who-- 7,a7 is a resident of the ,district of ,columbia2 7,b7 is enrolled in a qualified school2 and 7,c7 has attended a qualified school for not less than #ajj days4 7#ad7 ,the term safety issue means a reported incident of-- 7,a7 bullying 7physical1 verbal1 cyber72 7,b7 sexual harassment2 7,c7 sexual abuse2 7,d7 sexual misconduct2 7,e7 gang activity2 7,f7 fights2 7,g7 suicide attempts or threats2 7,h7 shootings2 7,i7 drug use2 7,j7 special safety needs2 7,k7 food safety needs2 7,l7 health related safety issues2 7,m7 act of violence against the qualified student2 or 7,n7 other safety concerns and fears as determined by a qualified student and parent4 7#ae7 ,the term scholarship granting organization means an organization authorized by the finance authority to accept funds and use such funds to provide scholarships to qualified students4 7#af7 ,the term secondary school means an institutional day or residential school 7including a school with a virtual presence71 including a public secondary charter school1 that provides secondary education1 as determined under ,district of ,columbia law1 except that the term does not include any education beyond grade #ab4 7#ag7 ,the term top off means the payment of tuition or other eligible expense above the amount provided with the child safety account4 7#ah7 ,the term uncertified donation means a donation that is not eligible for a tax credit because the amount of such donation exceeds the amount eligible for such tax credit4 #c4 ,creation of ,,csa 7a7 ,report ,upon receipt of a report of an issue of school safety at a qualified school1 such school shall-- 7#a7 submit such report to the ,office of ,school ,security of the ,district of ,columbia2 and 7#b7 provide a copy of the report to each family and educator involved4 7b7 ,investigation ,the ,office of ,school ,security shall complete an investigation of the report not later than #ae days after receiving such report to determine whether the report has merit4 7c7 ,parental notice ,the school shall inform the parents of the student on whose behalf the report was submitted-- 7#a7 whether the investigation has determined a school safety issue exists at the school2 and 7#b7 in a case in which the investigation determines that such a safety issue exists1 that the parents have an opportunity to enroll in a child safety account4 #d4 ,duties of the ,office of the ,state ,superintendent of ,education of the ,district of ,columbia ,the ,office of the ,state ,superintendent of ,education of the ,district of ,columbia shall-- 7#a7 carry out random quarterly audits of child safety accounts to check for fraud2 and 7#b7 seek to enter into a contract with a private entity that shall administer the child safety account program under this ,act1 including-- 7,a7 registering vendors that provide the services eligible to be purchased using child safety accounts1 including the registering of private schools eligible to participate2 and 7,b7 providing verification of purchases by setting up an online platform with registered vendors allowing for instant authorization of such purchases4 #e4 ,administration of program 7a7 ,,csa account creation and funding ,upon a parent signing an agreement on the proper usage and responsibilities of a child safety account1 the private entity that has entered into a contract under section #d7b7 shall-- 7#a7 create a child safety account for the student of the parent-- 7,a7 which the student-- 7i7 is eligible to automatically renew each year until the date on which the student-- 7,i7 graduates from a secondary school2 7,,ii7 is no longer a qualified student2 or 7,,iii7 has turned #ah years of age2 and 7ii7 in a case in which funds remain in the child safety account after the period described in clause 7i71 may use for postsecondary education2 and 7#b7 in a case in which funds remain after being used in accordance with paragraph 7#a77;,a77ii71 ensure that the funds from which will revert back to the ,district of ,columbia2 7#c7 ensure that the ,department will deduct the amount provided to such child safety account for each year of the period described in paragraph 7#a77;,a77i7 in an amount equal to the average yearly per pupil cost for qualified school of the student1 except that-- 7,a7 the amount shall be prorated based on the number of days remaining in the school year if the safety incident occurs after the school year has already started2 and 7,b7 in the case of a student with an individual education plan or an accommodation plan issued under section #ejd of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc1 such amount shall be increased to equal the per pupil expenditure for such a student2 7#d7 notify the ,department and the qualified school in which the student was previously enrolled of the account creation1 including the amount deposited into the account2 and 7#e7 provide the parent with a letter of account creation until a debit card can be issued1 which shall be accepted at a qualified school until such time payment can be made with the use of a debit card4 7b7 ,funds for the program 7#a7 ,private entity requirements ,not later than ,august #a of each year1 the private entity shall submit to the finance authority the amount of funds necessary for child safety accounts4 ,in determining the amount of funds to request-- 7,a7 for each family living at not more than #ahe percent of the poverty line1 the amount of funds for a child safety account shall be an amount equal to #ij percent of the uniform per student amount used by the ,district of ,columbia to determine the amount of annual payments to ,district of ,columbia public schools with respect to the academic year involved2 7,b7 for each family living at or greater than #ahf percent of the poverty line1 but not greater than #cjj percent of the poverty line1 the amount of funds for a child safety account shall be an amount equal to #he percent of the uniform per student amount used by the ,district of ,columbia to determine the amount of annual payments to ,district of ,columbia public schools with respect to the academic year involved2 and 7,c7 for each family living at greater than #cjj percent of the poverty line1 the amount of funds for a child safety account shall be an amount equal to #hj percent of the uniform per student amount used by the ,district of ,columbia to determine the amount of annual payments to ,district of ,columbia public schools with respect to the academic year involved4 7#b7 ,finance authority requirements ,the finance authority shall transfer to the private entity the amount requested under paragraph 7#a7 from any funds or revenues available to the ,district of ,columbia public schools for purposes of the program under this ,act4 7#c7 ,administrative purposes ,the private entity shall use not more than #e percent of the funds received from the finance authority under paragraph 7#b7 for administrative purposes4 #f4 ,fraud 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the finance authority will establish a committee to meet on a quarterly basis to review any allegations of fraud found discovered as a result of the audits of child safety accounts under section #d1 and which shall be composed of the following members3 7#a7 ,an employee of each type of qualified school4 7#b7 ,a home education expert4 7#c7 ,a member of the finance authority staff4 7b7 ,first meeting ,the commission will have its first meeting following the first quarterly audit carried out by the ,office of the ,state ,superintendent of ,education of the ,district of ,columbia4 7c7 ,simple mistake ,if a disputed expenditure is determined to be a simple mistake1 the parent will be required to repay the expense4 7d7 ,expenditure fraud ,if the finance authority determines that the disputed expenditure was not a simple mistake on the part of the parent-- 7#a7 in a case in which the amount of such expenditure may lead to a conviction of misdemeanor fraud under ,district of ,columbia law-- 7,a7 for a parent with no previous disputed expenditures in such an amount that was determined to be fraud by the finance authority1 the parent shall be required to repay the disputed amount1 the child safety account shall be frozen until such time as the repayment is made1 and upon repayment1 the parent may resume using the child safety account2 and 7,b7 for a parent with a previous expenditure in such an amount that was determined to be fraud by the finance authority1 the child safety account shall be frozen and the parent shall not be eligible for any child safety accounts in the ,district of ,columbia on or after such determination2 and 7#b7 in a case in which the amount of such expenditure may lead to a felony conviction under ,district of ,columbia law1 the child safety account involved shall be frozen1 the case shall be remanded to the ,attorney ,general of the ,district of ,columbia1 and the parent shall not be eligible for any child safety accounts in the ,district of ,columbia on or after such determination4 7e7 ,safety incident or falsifying residency fraud ,in a case where the parent is found to have falsified the safety incident1 or falsified residency in the ,district of ,columbia1 leading to creation of the account and the amount of expenditures resulting from the falsified account may lead to a conviction of misdemeanor fraud under ,district of ,columbia law1 the child safety account shall be frozen1 and the parent shall not be eligible for any child safety accounts in the ,district of ,columbia on or after such determination1 and the ,attorney ,general of the ,district of ,columbia shall be notified4 #g4 ,scholarship granting organizations 7a7 ,applications ,to be authorized as a scholarship granting organization to accept donations and pay out scholarships to students under this section1 an organization shall submit an application to the finance authority at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the authority may require1 which shall include an assurance that the organization-- 7#a7 is an organization described in section #eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 and 7#b7 will submit an independent yearly audit to the finance authority not later than ,october #a of each year4 7b7 ,donation process ,not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the finance authority shall create a process to-- 7#a7 accept donation pledges and provide certificates to the donor and the scholarship granting organization1 and to ensure donors are handled in an equal manner across all donors2 7#b7 for the purpose of ensuring that a donation does not exceed any limits imposed on donations by the finance authority1 ensure certificates of donor-allowed amounts will be provided to the donor before the amounts are given to the scholarship granting organization2 7#c7 ensure that no donation is directed to a specific student or school1 and authorize donations for a specific type of qualified school 7including a private or religious school71 or for students affected by a specific type of safety issue2 7#d7 create a process for certifying donation amounts for the topping off process2 7#e7 create a receipt to be used by the scholarship granting organization to provide to the donor that indicates the amount of the certified donation amount for purposes of a tax credit2 and 7#f7 in a case in which the total donations from all donors for a tax year exceed the allowable tax credits1 pro-rate the certified donation amounts across such donors for such tax year1 and ensure that any amount over such reduced amounts would be uncertified and not eligible for a tax credit4 7c7 ,,sgo ,requirements ,each scholarship granting organization shall carry out the following3 7#a7 ,certified donations ,accepting certified donations from individuals and corporations1 providing qualified donors of such donations with a finance authority receipt1 and certifying to the finance authority all revenue earned from interest and investments on such donations are used for scholarships described in paragraph 7#c74 7#b7 ,noncertified donations ,creating a process for handling noncertified donations1 which includes-- 7,a7 mailing a form to the donor1 to-- 7i7 determine whether the donor would like a refund of the noncertified portion of the donation2 7ii7 determine whether the donor would like the noncertified portion for additional scholarships2 7iii7 notify the donor that such form shall be returned within #ae business days if the donor would like the noncertified donations to be used for scholarships2 and 7iv7 notify the donor that if the noncertified portion is used for scholarships1 these funds cannot be used as a tax credit1 and the donor would only be eligible to use them as a charitable donation under ,federal and ,state laws2 7,b7 keeping for #e years returned forms for auditing purposes2 7,c7 certifying to the finance authority all revenue earned from interest and investments on such donations are used for scholarships2 and 7,d7 ensuring noncertified donations are used for scholarships and not for administration purposes4 7#c7 ,scholarships for students 7,a7 ,applications ,accepting applications from qualified students who have received a child safety account and are seeking a scholarship to top off their eligible expenses not covered by such account4 7,b7 ,payment of scholarships ,ensuring that each scholarship is-- 7i7 awarded not later than ,march #a of each year for the next school year2 7ii7 has a payment schedule so that scholarship payments are provided to the parent of the student or to the qualified school in which the student is enrolled2 7iii7 not a multiyear scholarship2 and 7iv7 portable throughout the school year if the student changes to another qualified school1 and may be prorated according to the time frame left in the school year4 7,c7 ,submission of data ,submitting1 on an annual basis1 the following data 7which contains no identifiable student information7 to the finance authority3 7i7 ,amount of scholarship provided4 7ii7 ,data on type of school4 7iii7 ,data on the safety issue4 7d7 ,audits ,the finance authority will review the scholarship granting organization financial audits and terminate the organization if proper guidelines are not followed or remedied in a timely manner4 #h4 ,,dc tax credits 7a7 ,,dc tax credit for certified donations ,there is established in the ,district of ,columbia a program to provide tax credits against income taxes imposed by the ,district of ,columbia for certified donations described in section #e4 ,such program shall be administered by the ,mayor consistent with the following3 7#a7 ,the initial amount of the tax credit donations in the first year will be #ajj million dollars4 7#b7 ,donors will be allowed to take a tax credit of #ajj percent of their certified donation up to their tax liability4 ,any excess credit may be rolled over for up to #e years4 7#c7 ,each year tax credit donations reach #ij percent of the yearly limit1 the limit will be increased by #be percent the following year4 7#d7 ,a taxpayer may donate in excess of the certified amount to the scholarship granting organization4 ,this excess cannot be used in tax credit calculations1 but may be utilized as a normal charitable donation on the taxpayer's income tax return4 7b7 ,,dc tax credit for certain education expenses ,there is established in the ,district of ,columbia a program to provide tax credits against income taxes imposed by the ,district of ,columbia for eligible expenses above the amount provided under a child safety account4 ,such program shall be administered by the ,mayor consistent with the following3 7#a7 ,parents will be allowed to top off tuition or other eligible expenses4 7#b7 ,the parent may claim these expenses as a personal income tax credit against income taxes imposed by the ,district of ,columbia4 7#c7 ,this tax credit will not be limited by the parent tax liability so as to ensure parents with lower incomes to better afford to move their student to a safe educational environment4