[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8886 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8886
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure no funds made
available under such Acts may be awarded to a charter school that
enters into a contract with a for-profit entity for operating,
overseeing, or managing the charter school, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 28, 2024
Ms. DeLauro (for herself and Ms. Bonamici) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure no funds made
available under such Acts may be awarded to a charter school that
enters into a contract with a for-profit entity for operating,
overseeing, or managing the charter school, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Championing Honest And Responsible
Transparency in Education Reform Act'' or the ``CHARTER Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that each
charter school that receives funding under the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) (in this section
referred to as the ``ESEA'') or the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) (in this section referred to as
the ``IDEA'')--
(1) complies with the intent of the requirements for
funding under such Act; and
(2) best serves the educational needs of students by
prohibiting such charter school and its charter management
organization from entering into a contract with a for-profit
entity under which the for-profit entity--
(A) operates, oversees, or manages the charter
school in order to exert influence in school
management; and
(B) receives a portion of school revenue in order
to extract profit for itself or its related entities.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) An ``elementary school'' is defined as ``a nonprofit
institutional day or residential school, including a public
elementary charter school, that provides elementary education,
as determined under State law'' under section 8101 of the ESEA
(20 U.S.C. 7801) and section 602 of the IDEA (20 U.S.C. 1401).
(2) A ``secondary school'' is defined as ``a nonprofit
institutional day or residential school, including a public
secondary charter school, that provides secondary education, as
determined under State law, except that the term does not
include any education beyond grade 12'' under section 8101 of
the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7801) and section 602 of the IDEA (20
U.S.C. 1401).
(3) The term ``nonprofit'' as applied to a school, agency,
organization, or institution means ``a school, agency,
organization, or institution owned and operated by 1 or more
nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the net
earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit
of any private shareholder or individual'' under section 602 of
the IDEA (20 U.S.C. 1401).
(4) In 2003, the Department of Education Office of
Inspector General, upon auditing the Arizona Department of
Education, concluded that the State educational agency in
Arizona had improperly distributed funds under the ESEA and the
IDEA to for-profit charter schools.
(5) In 2006, the United States Court of Appeals Ninth
Circuit Court in Arizona State Bd. v. U.S. Dept. of Educ., 464
F.3d 1003 (9th Cir. 2006) found that the terms ``elementary
school'' and ``secondary school'' in the ESEA and the IDEA were
limited to nonprofit entities, holding that for-profit charter
schools were ineligible for Federal funds under the ESEA and
the IDEA.
(6) In response to the decision in Arizona State Bd. v.
U.S. Dept. of Educ., the appellant for-profit charter schools
reorganized as for-profit operators of nonprofit organizations,
enabling the appellants to continue to receive Federal funds
under the ESEA and the IDEA.
(7) Every student in a publicly funded school in the United
States, including charter school students, is entitled to
access education services without having publicly funded
resources depleted due to profit extraction.
(8) Every taxpayer in the United States should be confident
that public funds are responsibly stewarded and not funding the
enrichment of for-profit charter operators at the expense of
students and taxpayers.
SEC. 3. ESEA DEFINITION OF CHARTER SCHOOL.
(a) Prohibition of Contracting With For-Profit Entity for Essential
Services.--Section 4310(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221i(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (L), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (M)--
(A) by moving the margins of such paragraph 2 ems
to the left; and
(B) by striking the period and inserting a
semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(N) does not enter into a contract with a for-
profit entity, or have a charter management
organization or other nonprofit entity enter into such
a contract on behalf of such school, under which the
for-profit entity operates, oversees, manages, or
otherwise carries out the administration of such
school, which may include curriculum development,
budget management, and faculty management (such as
hiring, terminating, or supervising school-level
staff); and
``(O) may enter into a contract with a for-profit
or nonprofit entity for the provision of--
``(i) food, payroll, facilities
maintenance, or transportation services;
``(ii) classroom supplies (such as
textbooks); or
``(iii) ancillary services or supplies.''.
(b) General Definitions.--Section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(53) Charter school.--The term `charter school' has the
meaning given the term in section 4310.''.
SEC. 4. IDEA DEFINITION OF CHARTER SCHOOL.
Section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1401) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(37) Charter school.--The term `charter school' has the
meaning given the term in section 4310 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221i).''.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by this Act--
(1) shall take effect on the date that is 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) shall only apply with respect to any contract entered
into, renewed, or extended on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
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