,i #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fchj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #ab1 #bjbb,mr4 ,rodney ,davis of ,illinois 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,crawford1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,ohio1 ,ms4 ,herrera ,beutler1 ,mr4 ,burgess1 ,mr4 ,la,turner1 ,mr4 ,steil1 ,mr4 ,valadao1 ,mr4 ,garbarino1 ,mr4 ,babin1 and ,mr4 ,obernolte7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,education to establish a grant program to make grants to the parents of students enrolled in elementary schools or secondary schools that1 for any reason related to ,,covid-#ai1 are failing to provide in-person instruction for each enrolled student for each school day of school year #bjba-bjbb1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,open ,schools ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,parents are best equipped to make decisions for their children1 including the educational setting that will best serve the interests and educational needs of their child4 7#b7 ,after more than #b years of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 it is now known that pandemic-related school closures deprive children of the equalizing force of education4 ,the pandemic is widening educational inequality and the learning gaps created by these shutdowns will only get even worse if they continue4 7#c7 ,peer interactions are a crucial ingredient to academic success4 ,a ,yale ,university study has found that the inability to be with friends and peers from different socioeconomic groups did more damage to children's educational progress than any other factor and underscored the importance of having kids from across the socioeconomic spectrum learning together4 7#d7 ,when schools close1 parents are often asked to facilitate the learning of children at home and can struggle to perform this task4 ,this is especially true for parents with limited resources which can be exacerbated even more for rural families without access to broadband4 7#e7 ,despite what the mainstream media says about most parents across ,america working from home1 that simply is not the case4 ,in fact1 the vast majority of parents do not have the work from home luxury many so-called experts would have you believe4 ,this has further divided the ,united ,states between regular1 hard-working parents and a new laptop class that only works remotely4 ,these working-class parents do not have the ability to help their children learn when their school switches to remote learning1 even if only for a few days at a time4 7#f7 ,crucial benchmarks like achievement tests and high stakes examinations that determine admission or advancement to new education levels and institutions1 are thrown into disarray when schools close4 ,strategies to postpone1 skip1 or administer examinations at a distance raise serious concerns about fairness1 especially when access to learning becomes variable4 ,disruptions to assessments results in stress for students and their families and often trigger disengagement4 7#g7 ,youth may be uniquely susceptible to negative mental health outcomes if they are experiencing pandemic-related disruptions to in-person schooling in intersection with other adverse circumstances1 such as racism1 poverty1 food insecurity1 or home instability4 ,loss of access to school-based mental health care may be of heightened importance for youth from low-income families1 as they are most likely to receive mental health services solely from their school4 7#h7 ,online learning is no substitute for classroom instruction4 ,nationally1 on average1 teachers say they're working #b fewer hours per day than when they were in their classrooms4 ,and they estimate that their students are spending half as much time learning1 #c hours a day1 as they were before the coronavirus pandemic4 7#i7 ,chicago ,mayor ,lori ,lightfoot and ,chicago public schools leadership insist schools are safe and have called the refusal of the ,chicago ,teachers ,union to work in-person a strike and an illegal work action4 ,white ,house ,press ,secretary ,jen ,psaki has confirmed schools are safe for students1 including in ,chicago4 ,more than #cjj1jjj public school students in ,chicago were off in ,january after the district canceled classes when the ,chicago ,teachers ,union voted to refuse orders to work in-person4 ,our schools are safe1 ,chicago public schools ,,ceo ,pedro ,martinez said during a press conference on ,january #d1 #bjbb1 after the results of the vote were announced4 ,there is no evidence that our schools have ever been unsafe this school year44 ,he added that ,chicago schools rarely saw evidence of any major transmission4 7#aj7 ,instead of pouring money into schools that are failing to stay open for full1 in-person learning1 the ,united ,states must instead use these taxpayer dollars to support children1 not the teacher's unions1 and allow parents to make decisions about their child's educational future4 ,the ,united ,states should provide eligible parents the ability to elect to educate their child in an alternate manner1 apart from their local public school that has closed for in-person learning4 #c4 ,grant program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,education shall establish a grant program to make grants to parents of eligible students for the purposes described in subsection 7d74 7b7 ,application 7#a7 ,in general ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 a parent of an eligible student shall submit to the ,secretary an application demonstrating that1 for any reason related to ,,covid-#ai1 the covered school in which such student is enrolled for school year #bjba-bjbb is failing to provide in-person learning for each enrolled student for each school day during such school year4 7#b7 ,other requirements ,the ,secretary shall accept applications under paragraph 7#a7 on an annual rolling basis and make such application available as a standardized form in electronic and written format4 7c7 ,amount of grants 7#a7 ,in general ,a parent of #a or more eligible students whom the ,secretary determines qualifies for a grant under this section shall receive such grant for each eligible student of such parent in an amount that does not exceed #aj1jjj4 ,an eligible student may not benefit from more than #a grant under this section4 7#b7 ,funding ,to award such a grant1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 require the ,state that provided funds under section #bjja of the ,american ,rescue ,plan ,act of #bjba 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #cdja note7 to the local educational agency in which the applicable covered school is located to return such funds to the ,secretary2 and 7,b7 use such returned funds for such grant4 7d7 ,use of funds ,any amounts made available to a parent under this section may be used1 with respect to an eligible student-- 7#a7 to pay the tuition and fees for a private elementary school or a private secondary school2 7#b7 to pay the cost 7such as the average per pupil price7 of attending a public elementary school or secondary school that provides in-person school2 7#c7 for private tutoring 7including through a learning pod or microschool72 7#d7 for the home school expenses2 7#e7 to purchase educational materials1 including instruction materials and textbooks2 7#f7 for purchasing electronic devices to facilitate the education of such eligible student2 or 7#g7 for such other purposes as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7e7 ,documentation ,the ,secretary may request documentation from a recipient of a grant under this section that demonstrates that such grant was used in accordance with subsection 7d74 7f7 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this section shall be construed-- 7#a7 to impact any aspect of private1 religious1 or home education providers2 7#b7 to exclude private1 religious1 or home education providers from receiving funds pursuant to a grant under this section2 or 7#c7 to require a qualified educational service provider to alter any creed1 practice1 admissions policy1 or curriculum in order to receive funds pursuant to a grant under this section4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,eligible student ,the term eligible student means a student who is enrolled for school year #bjba-bjbb in a covered school that1 for any reason related to ,,covid-#ai1 is failing to provide in-person learning for each enrolled student for each school day during such school year4 7#b7 ,covered school ,the term covered school means an elementary school or secondary school located in a local educational agency that received an amount under section #bjja of the ,american ,rescue ,plan ,act of #bjba 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #cdja note74 7#c7 ,,esea terms ,the terms elementary school1 secondary school1 parent1 and ,secretary have the meanings given such terms in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74