,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #e  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the  
,,united ,,states  ,january #c1         
#bjai,mr4 ,rubio introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,finance 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,internal      
,revenue ,code of #aihf to allow a      
credit against tax for qualified        
elementary and secondary education      
tuition4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act   
may be cited as the ,educational        
,opportunities ,act4  #b4 ,tax credit   
for contributions to scholarship        
granting organizations  7a7 ,credit for 
individuals  7#a7 ,in general ,subpart  
,a of part ,,iv of subchapter ,a of     
chapter #a of the ,internal ,revenue    
,code of #aihf is amended by inserting  
after section #be;,d the following new  
section3  #be;,e4 ,contributions for    
qualified elementary and secondary      
education tuition  7a7 ,allowance of    
credit ,in the case of an individual1   
there shall be allowed as a credit      

against the tax imposed by this chapter 
for the taxable year an amount equal to 
the amount of qualified contributions   
made by the taxpayer during the taxable 
year4  7b7 ,dollar limitation ,the      
amount allowed as a credit under        
subsection 7a7 with respect to any      
taxpayer shall not exceed--  7#a7       
#b1bej1 in the case of a married        
individual filing a separate return1 and
  7#b7 #d1ejj1 in any other case4  7c7  
,qualified contributions2 other         
definitions ,for purposes of this       
section--  7#a7 ,qualified contribution 
,the term qualified contribution means a
 charitable contribution 7as defined by 
section #agj7;c77 to a scholarship      
granting organization4  7#b7            
,scholarship granting organization ,the 
term scholarship granting organization  
means any organization--  7,a7 which is 
described in section #eja7;c77#c7 and   
exempt from tax under section #eja7;a71 
7,b7 whose exclusive purpose is to      
provide scholarships for the qualified  

elementary and secondary education      
expenses of eligible students1 and  7,c7
 which meets the requirements of        
subsection 7d74  7#c7 ,eligible student 
,the term eligible student means an     
individual--  7,a7 who is enrolled in a 
school 7within the meaning of section   
#ecj7;b77#c77;,b71 after the application
 of paragraph 7#d77;,b771 and  7,b7 who 
is a member of a household with a total 
annual household income which does not  
exceed #bej percent of the ,federal     
poverty guidelines 7as determined by the
 ,secretary of ,health and ,human       
,services74  7#d7 ,qualified elementary 
and secondary education expenses ,the   
term qualified elementary and secondary 
education expenses has the meaning given
 such term by section #ecj7;b77#c71     
except that--  7,a7 child shall be      
substituted for beneficiary and a child 
shall be substituted for the designated 
beneficiary of the trust in clauses 7i7 
and 7iii7 of subparagraph 7,a7 thereof1 
and  7,b7 in applying such paragraph1   

the term school shall only include      
schools which--  7i7 charge tuition for 
attendance1  7ii7 comply with all       
applicable ,state laws1 including laws  
relating to unlawful discrimination1    
health and safety requirements1 and     
criminal background checks of employees1
 and  7iii7 agree to provide annual     
reports as described in subsection 7e7  
to the scholarship granting organization
 and to the parents or guardians of     
eligible students receiving a           
scholarship from the scholarship        
granting organization4  7#e7            
,scholarship ,the term scholarship does 
not include any payment to fulfill or   
fund any obligation or project of any   
school or school system to provide a    
free1 appropriate public education4  7d7
 ,requirements for scholarship granting 
organizations ,an organization meets the
 requirements of this section if--  7#a7
 such organization does not provide     
grants to eligible students for any     
expenses other than qualified elementary

 and secondary education expenses1  7#b7
 such organization provides grants to-- 
7,a7 more than #a student1 and  7,b7    
students attending more than #a school1 
7#c7 such organization does not earmark 
or set aside contributions for          
scholarships on behalf of any particular
 student or to any specific school or   
group of schools1  7#d7 such            
organization takes appropriate steps to 
verify the annual household income and  
family size of eligible students to     
which it provides grants1  7#e7 such    
organization obtains annual audits from 
an independent certified public         
accountant and submits such audits to   
the ,secretary1  7#f7 no employee of    
such organization has violated any law  
relating to the audit described in      
paragraph 7#d71 and  7#g7 such          
organization--  7,a7 requires any       
eligible student who receives a         
scholarship--  7i7 to participate in the
 evaluation conducted by the ,institute 
of ,education ,science under section    

#b7;d7 of the ,educational              
,opportunities ,act1 and  7ii7 to permit
 such organization to share assessment  
information and other data regarding the
 student with the ,institute in         
accordance with subparagraph 7,b71 and  
7,b7 provides the reports described in  
subsection 7e77#a77;,c7 and such other  
information as necessary to the         
,director of the ,institute of          
,education ,science for the purposes of 
identifying eligible students receiving 
a scholarship from such organization and
 conducting the evaluations and reports 
required under section #b7;d7 of the    
,educational ,opportunities ,act4  ,for 
purposes of paragraph 7#e71 the term    
independent certified public accountant 
means1 with respect to an organization1 
a certified public accountant which is  
not a related person 7within the meaning
 of section #dfe7;b77#c77;,c77 with     
respect to such organization or any     
employee of such organization4  7e7     
,eligible school reporting requirement  

7#a7 ,in general ,the reports described 
in this subsection include-- 7,a7 a     
report to the parents on the student's  
academic achievement1 including a       
comparison with the aggregate academic  
achievement of other students in the    
same grade or level at the school who   
receive a scholarship from a scholarship
 granting organization1 if available1   
and  7,b7 a report to each scholarship  
granting organization that provides     
scholarships to students at the school1 
including--  7i7 the test results1 in   
the aggregate and disaggregated by race 
or ethnicity and grade level1 of the    
students receiving such scholarships who
 are in grades #c through #ab on a      
grade-appropriate nationally            
norm-referenced standardized test1 or a 
grade-appropriate ,state-recognized     
assessment1 and  7ii7 any additional    
data requested by the ,director of the  
,institute of ,education ,sciences in   
accordance with section #b7;d77,b7 of   
the ,educational ,opportunities ,act4   

7#b7 ,no personally identifiable        
information ,in preparing and submitting
 the report described in paragraph      
7#a77;,b71 a school shall not include   
any personally identifiable information 
regarding a student4  7f7 ,denial of    
double benefit ,no deduction shall be   
allowed under any provision of this     
chapter for any expense for which a     
credit is allowed under this section4   
7g7 ,election ,this section shall apply 
to a taxpayer for a taxable year only if
 such taxpayer elects to have this      
section apply for such taxable year4  4 
7#b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of  
sections for subpart ,a of part ,,iv of 
subchapter ,a of chapter #a of such     
,code is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section #be;,d the     
following new item3  ,sec4 #be;,e4      
,contributions for qualified elementary 
and secondary education tuition4  4  7b7
 ,credit for corporations  7#a7 ,in     
general ,subpart ,d of part ,,iv of     
subchapter ,a of chapter #a of the      

,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is    
amended by adding at the end the        
following new section3  #de,t4          
,contributions to scholarship granting  
organizations  7a7 ,general rule ,for   
purposes of section #ch1 in the case of 
a corporation1 the education scholarship
 credit determined under this section   
for the taxable year is the aggregate   
amount of qualified contributions for   
the taxable year4  7b7 ,limitation ,the 
amount of the credit determined under   
this section for any taxable year shall 
not exceed #ajj1jjj4  7c7 ,qualified    
contributions ,for purposes of this     
section1 the term qualified contribution
 has the meaning given such term under  
section #be;,e4  7d7 ,denial of double  
benefit ,no deduction shall be allowed  
under any provision of this chapter for 
any expense for which a credit is       
allowed under this section4  7e7        
,election ,this section shall apply to a
 taxpayer for a taxable year only if    
such taxpayer elects to have this       

section apply for such taxable year4  4 
7#b7 ,conforming amendments  7,a7       
,section #ch7;b7 of such ,code is       
amended by striking plus at the end of  
paragraph 7#ca71 by striking the period 
at the end of paragraph 7#cb7 and       
inserting 1 plus1 and by adding at the  
end the following new paragraph3  7#cc7 
the education scholarship credit        
determined under section #de,t7a74  4   
7,b7 ,the table of sections for subpart 
,d of part ,,iv of subchapter ,a of     
chapter #a of such ,code is amended by  
adding at the end the following new     
item3  ,sec4 #de,t4 ,contributions to   
scholarship granting organizations4  4  
7c7 ,excise tax on failure of           
scholarship granting organizations ,to  
make distributions  7#a7 ,in general    
,chapter #db of the ,internal ,revenue  
,code of #aihf is amended by adding at  
the end the following new subchapter3   
,i ,scholarship granting organizations  
,sec4 #difi4 ,tax on failure to         
distribute receipts4  #difi4 ,tax on    

failure to distribute receipts  7a7 ,tax
 imposed ,there is hereby imposed a tax 
on the failure of an scholarship        
granting organization 7as defined in    
section #be;,e7c77#b77 to make          
distributions in any taxable year in an 
amount equal to or in excess of the     
required distribution amount before the 
distribution deadline4  7b7 ,amount of  
tax ,the tax imposed by subsection 7a7  
shall be equal to #ae percent of the    
excess 7if any7 of--  7#a7 the required 
distribution amount with respect to the 
taxable year1 over  7#b7 the amount of  
receipts of the scholarship granting    
organization for such taxable year which
 are distributed before the distribution
 deadline with respect to such receipts4
  7c7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this
 section--  7#a7 ,required distribution 
amount ,the required distribution amount
 with respect to a taxable year is an   
amount equal to #ij percent of the total
 receipts of the scholarship granting   
organization for such taxable year4     

7#b7 ,distributions ,the term           
distribution includes amounts which are 
formally committed but not distributed4 
7#c7 ,distribution deadline ,the        
distribution deadline with respect to   
receipts for a taxable year is the first
 day of the second taxable year         
following the taxable year in which such
 receipts are received by the           
scholarship granting organization4  7d7 
,reasonable cause exception ,the tax    
imposed by subsection 7a7 shall not     
apply with respect to any failure to    
make required distributions before the  
distribution deadline which is not      
willful and is due to reasonable cause4 
4  7#b7 ,abatement of tax  7,a7 ,general
 rule ,subsection 7b7 of section #difb  
of such ,code is amended by striking or 
,g and inserting ,g1 or ,i4  7,b7 ,first
 tier tax ,subsection 7a7 of section    
#difc of such ,code is amended by       
inserting #difi1 after #difg14  7,c7    
,taxable event ,subsection 7c7 of       
section #difc of such ,code is amended  

by inserting #difi1 after #difg14  7#c7 
,correction period ,subparagraph 7,a7 of
 section #difc7;e77#b7 of such ,code is 
amended by inserting or #difi after     
#didb4  7#d7 ,conforming amendment ,the 
table of subchapters for chapter #db of 
such ,code is amended by adding at the  
end the following new item3  ,subchapter
 ,i--,scholarship granting organizations
  4  7d7 ,evaluations  7#a7 ,definitions
 ,in this section--  7,a7 the terms     
eligible student1 qualified elementary  
and secondary education expenses1 and   
scholarship granting organization have  
the meanings given such terms in section
 #be;,e7c7 of the ,internal ,revenue    
,code of #aihf1 as added by this ,act2  
7,b7 the term ,director means the       
,director of the ,institute of          
,education ,sciences2 and  7,c7 the term
 participating student means an eligible
 student who receives a scholarship for 
qualified elementary and secondary      
education expenses from a scholarship   
granting organization4  7#b7            

,evaluations  7,a7 ,in general ,by not  
later than ,april #a of the year        
following the year of the date of       
enactment of this ,act1 and by ,april #a
 of each subsequent year1 the ,director 
shall conduct an annual evaluation to   
determine the effectiveness of          
scholarships provided by scholarship    
granting organizations to eligible      
students in improving the academic      
achievement and success of the eligible 
students4  7,b7 ,contents of the        
evaluation ,in conducting the evaluation
 required under this subsection1 the    
,director shall--  7i7 request1 from    
each scholarship granting organization1 
the reports provided to the scholarship 
granting organization by the schools    
accepting participating students1 in    
accordance with section                 
#be;,e7e77#a77;,b72  7ii7 using the     
reports described in clause 7i71 assess 
the academic achievement of all         
participating students in grades #c     
through #ab1 based on the nationally    

norm-referenced standardized test or    
,state-recognized assessment used by    
each school2  7iii7 evaluate the school 
retention rates1 secondary school       
graduation rates1 and institution of    
higher education admission rates of     
participating students2  7iv7 evaluate  
the success of the tax credits allowed  
under section #be;,e and #de,t of the   
,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 as   
added by this ,act1 in expanding school 
choice options for parents of           
participating students1 increasing the  
satisfaction of such parents and        
students1 and increasing parental       
involvement of such parents in the      
education of their students2 and  7v7   
evaluate such other issues with respect 
to the education of participating       
students as the ,director considers     
appropriate for inclusion in the        
evaluation4  7#c7 ,reports ,by not later
 than ,april #a of the year after the   
year of the first evaluation under      
paragraph 7#b71 and by ,april #a of each

 subsequent year1 the ,director shall   
submit to the ,committee on ,finance and
 the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 
,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate1   
and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means  
and the ,committee on ,education and the
 ,workforce of the ,house of            
,representatives1 an annual report on   
scholarships provided by scholarship    
granting organizations that incorporates
 the results of the most recent         
evaluation described in paragraph 7#b74 
7#d7 ,prohibition ,no personally        
identifiable information shall be       
disclosed in the data1 evaluations1 and 
reports required under this subsection4 
7#e7 ,public availability ,the ,director
 shall make all evaluations1 reports1   
and underlying data gathered pursuant to
 this subsection available to the       
public1 upon request and in a timely    
manner following submission of the      
applicable report or evaluation under   
this subsection1 subject to paragraph   
7#d74  7e7 ,effective date ,the         

amendments made by subsections 7a71 7b71
 and 7c7 shall apply to taxable years   
beginning after ,december #ca1 #bjah4