108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2912
To award grants for the support of full-service community schools,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 7, 2004
Mr. NELSON of Nebraska introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To award grants for the support of full-service community schools,
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 `Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2004'.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) Providing support for the planning, implementation, and operation of
full-service community schools.
(2) Improving the coordination, availability, and effectiveness of services
for children and families.
(3) Enabling principals and teachers to complement and enrich efforts to
help all children reach proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2014.
(4) Ensuring that children come to school ready to learn every day.
(5) Enabling families to participate in the education of their children.
(6) Enabling the more efficient use of Federal, State, local, and private
sector resources that serve children and families.
(7) Facilitating the coordination of programs operated by nonprofit organizations
and State, local, and tribal governments.
SEC. 3. FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DEFINED.
In this Act, the term `full-service community school' means a public elementary
school or secondary school that--
(1) participates in a community-based effort to coordinate educational,
developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through
community-based organizations and public and private partnerships; and
(2) provides access to such services to students, families, and the community
served by the school.
SEC. 4. LOCAL PROGRAMS.
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Education (referred to in this Act as the
`Secretary') may award grants to eligible entities for the purpose of enabling
the eligible entities to assist public elementary schools or secondary schools
in functioning as full-service community schools.
(2) GRANT PERIOD- Each grant awarded under this section shall be for a period
of 5 years.
(3) MINIMUM AMOUNT- To the extent funds are available, each grant award
under this section shall be in an amount that is not less than $75,000 for
each year of the 5-year grant period.
(b) APPLICATION- An eligible entity that desires a grant under this section
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner
as the Secretary may require. The Secretary shall require that each such application
include the following:
(1) A description of the eligible entity.
(2) A list of partner entities that will assist the eligible entity in providing
or coordinating qualified services.
(3) A memorandum of understanding between the eligible entity and each partner
entity describing the role the partner entity will assume.
(4) A description of the capacity of the eligible entity to provide and
coordinate qualified services at a full-service community school.
(5) A comprehensive plan that includes descriptions of the following:
(A) The student, family, and school community to be served, including
information about the number of students, families, and community residents
to be served and the frequency of qualified services.
(B) Existing qualified services available at each school to be served
and in the community in which the school is located.
(C) Qualified services to be provided or coordinated by the eligible entity
and its partner entities.
(D) Coordination, management, and oversight of qualified services at each
school to be served, including the roles of the school principal, the
full-service community school coordinator, parents, and members of the
community in which the school is located.
(E) Funding sources for qualified services at each school to be served,
whether such funding is derived from grants under this section or from
other Federal, State, local, or private sources.
(F) Plans for professional development for managing personnel, or for
coordinating or delivering qualified services, at the schools to be served.
(G) Plans for joint utilization and maintenance of school facilities by
the eligible entity and its partner entities.
(6) Identification of principles of effectiveness that are based on--
(A) an assessment of objective data regarding the need--
(i) for the establishment of a full-service community school; and
(ii) for qualified services at each school to be served and in the community
in which the school is located;
(B) an established set of performance measures aimed at ensuring the availability
of high-quality qualified services; and
(C) if appropriate, scientifically based research that provides evidence
that the qualified services involved will help students meet State and
local student academic achievement standards.
(7) A strategy for developing a plan for sustainability.
(c) PRIORITY- In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give
priority to eligible entities that--
(1) will serve not less than 1 school eligible for a schoolwide program
under section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6314);
(2) demonstrate a record of effectiveness in integrating not less than 3
qualified services; and
(3) will serve more than 1 full-service community school as part of a communitywide
or districtwide strategy.
(d) USE OF FUNDS- Grants awarded under this section shall be used to provide
or coordinate not less than 3 qualified services at not less than 1 public
elementary or secondary school.
(e) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The term `eligible entity' means a consortium comprised
of a local educational agency and not less than 1 of the following:
(A) Community-based organization.
(B) Nonprofit organization.
(C) Other public or private entity.
(2) QUALIFIED SERVICES- The term `qualified services' means any of the following:
(A) Early childhood education.
(B) Remedial education activities and academic enrichment activities.
(C) Programs under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), including
Early Head Start programs.
(D) Programs that promote parental involvement and family literacy, including
the Reading First, Early Reading First, and William F. Goodling Even Start
Family Literacy programs authorized in part B of title I of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 et seq.).
(E) Youth development programs.
(F) Parent leadership development activities.
(G) Parenting education activities.
(I) Community service and service learning opportunities.
(J) Programs that provide assistance to students who have been truant,
suspended, or expelled.
(K) Job training and career counseling services.
(M) Primary health and dental care.
(N) Mental health prevention and treatment services.
(O) Adult education, including instruction in English as a second language.
SEC. 5. STATE PROGRAMS.
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may award grants to State collaboratives to
support the development of full-service community school programs in accordance
with this section.
(2) GRANT PERIOD- Each grant awarded under this section shall be for a period
of 5 years.
(3) MINIMUM AMOUNT- To the extent funds are available, each grant award
under this section shall be in an amount that is not less than $500,000
for each year of the 5-year grant period.
(b) USE OF FUNDS- Grants awarded under this section shall be used only for
the following:
(1) Planning, coordinating, and expanding the development of full-service
community schools in the State.
(2) Providing technical assistance and training at full-service community
schools, including professional development for personnel and creation of
data collection and evaluation systems.
(3) Collecting, evaluating, and reporting data about the progress of full-service
community schools.
(4) Evaluating the impact of State policies and guidelines in the integration
of Federal and State programs at full-service community schools.
(c) APPLICATION- A State collaborative that desires a grant under this section
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner
as the Secretary may require. The Secretary shall require that each such application
include the following:
(1) A list of all governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations that
will participate as members of the State collaborative.
(2) A description of the expertise of each member of the State collaborative--
(A) in coordinating Federal and State programs across multiple agencies;
and
(B) in working with and developing the capacity of full-service community
schools.
(3) A comprehensive plan describing how the grant will be used to plan,
coordinate, and expand the delivery of qualified services at full-service
community schools.
(4) An explanation of how the State will provide technical assistance and
training, including professional development, at full-service community
schools.
(5) An explanation of how the State will collect and evaluate information
on full-service community schools.
(d) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(1) STATE- The term `State' means each of the several States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands,
and any other territory or possession of the United States.
(2) STATE COLLABORATIVE- The term `State collaborative' means a collaborative
comprised of a State educational agency (as such term is defined in section
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)
and not less than 2 other governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations
that provide services to children and families.
SEC. 6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established an advisory committee to be known
as the `Full-Service Community Schools Advisory Committee' (referred to in
this section as the `Advisory Committee').
(b) MEMBERS- The Advisory Committee shall consist of 4 members as follows:
(1) The Attorney General (or the delegate of the Attorney General).
(2) The Secretary of Agriculture (or the delegate of the Secretary of Agriculture).
(3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services (or the delegate of the Secretary
of Health and Human Services).
(4) The Secretary of Labor (or the delegate of the Secretary of Labor).
(c) DUTIES- Subject to subsection (d), the Advisory Committee shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary on the development and implementation of
programs under this Act;
(2) identify strategies to improve the coordination of Federal programs
in support of full-service community schools; and
(3) issue an annual report to Congress on efforts under this Act.
(d) CONSULTATION- In carrying out its duties under this section, the Advisory
Committee shall consult annually with eligible entities awarded grants under
section 4, State collaboratives awarded grants under section 5, and other
entities with expertise in operating full-service community schools.
SEC. 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- The Secretary, directly or through grants, shall
provide such technical assistance as may be appropriate to accomplish the
purposes of this Act.
(b) EVALUATIONS BY SECRETARY- The Secretary shall conduct evaluations on the
effectiveness of grants awarded under sections 4 and 5 in achieving the purposes
of this Act.
(c) EVALUATIONS BY GRANTEES- The Secretary shall require each recipient of
a grant under this Act--
(1) to conduct periodic evaluations of the progress achieved with the grant
toward carrying out the purposes of this Act;
(2) to use such evaluations to refine and improve the activities conducted
under the grant and the performance measures for such activities; and
(3) to make the results of such evaluations publicly available and to provide
public notice of such availability.
(d) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT- Funds made available to a grant recipient under
this Act shall be used to supplement and not supplant any other Federal, State,
or local funds that would otherwise be available to carry out the activities
assisted under this Act.
(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraph (4), the Secretary shall require each
recipient of a grant under this Act to provide matching funds from non-Federal
sources in an amount determined under paragraph (2).
(2) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF MATCH-
(A) SLIDING SCALE- Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall determine
the amount of matching funds to be required under this subsection of a
grant recipient under this Act based on a sliding fee scale that takes
into account--
(i) the relative poverty of the population to be targeted by the grant
recipient; and
(ii) the ability of the grant recipient to obtain such matching funds.
(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT- The Secretary shall not require a recipient of a grant
under this Act to provide matching funds in an amount that exceeds the
amount of the grant funds awarded to the grant recipient.
(3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS- The Secretary shall permit a grant recipient
under this Act to match funds in whole or in part with in-kind contributions.
(4) CONSIDERATION- Notwithstanding this subsection, the Secretary shall
not consider an applicant's ability to match funds when determining which
applicants will receive grants under this Act.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
Act $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for
each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009.
(b) ALLOCATION- Of the amounts appropriated to carry out this Act for each
fiscal year--
(1) 75 percent shall be available to carry out section 4;
(2) 20 percent shall be available to carry out section 5; and
(3) of the remaining 5 percent, not less than $500,000 shall be for technical
assistance under section 7(a).
END
