SOAR Permanent Authorization Act
The SOAR Permanent Authorization Act (H.R. 954) would make permanent the funding and evaluation framework for the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR), a DC-focused scholarship program. It would increase and permanently authorize the annual appropriation (to $75 million per year from 2024 onward), update accreditation requirements, remove a cap on Student Academic Assistance while expanding tutoring funding with a priority for students from the District of Columbia’s lowest-performing schools, and overhaul how testing and program evaluation are conducted. The bill directs federal oversight through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to administer assessments for the program’s evaluation and broadens evaluation metrics to include academic progress, college outcomes, and school safety, among other measures. Overall, it aims to secure long-term funding and strengthen accountability and outcomes for scholarship participants.
Key Points
- 1Permanent funding authorization: Replaces the prior time-limited funding with an ongoing annual appropriation of $75 million for SOAR, starting in fiscal year 2024 and continuing thereafter.
- 2Accreditation changes: Requires accreditation by a body with jurisdiction in DC or one recognized by the ICE-administered Student and Visitor Exchange English Language Program (SVEP), tying program participation to specific accrediting standards.
- 3Removal of the student academic assistance cap and tutoring focus: Raises the funding cap for student academic assistance from $2,000,000 to $2,200,000 and adds a new provision prioritizing tutoring for eligible students in years when funds are insufficient, prioritizing students from DC’s lowest-performing schools.
- 4Testing and evaluation updates: Lets the Institute of Education Sciences administer assessments for the program’s evaluation and allows use of a nationally norm-referenced standardized test, broadening the basis for measurement beyond a single defined test.
- 5Expanded evaluation framework: Removes “annual” evaluation language in favor of “regularly” evaluating the program; requires rigorous standards and expands metrics to include academic progress, educational attainment, high school graduation rates, college enrollment/persistence/graduation, and school safety, with comparisons to public school students and lottery winner/control groups where feasible. It also emphasizes participant progress and includes language about satisfaction of parents and students.