HR. 1148 IH

To provide grants to certain rural local educational agencies.

March 21, 2001

Mr. HILLEARY (for himself, Mr. JOHN, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. DEMINT, and Mr. NORWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

To provide grants to certain rural local educational agencies.

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 `Low-Income and Rural School Program'.

SEC. 2. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

(a) RESERVATIONS- From amounts appropriated under section 7 for this Act for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve 1/2 of 1 percent to make awards to elementary or secondary schools operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to carry out the purpose of this Act.

(b) GRANTS TO STATES-

(1) IN GENERAL- From amounts appropriated under section 7 for this Act that are not reserved under subsection (a), the Secretary shall award grants for a fiscal year to State educational agencies that have applications approved under section 4 to enable the State educational agencies to award subgrants to eligible local educational agencies for local authorized activities described in subsection (c)(2).

(2) ALLOCATION- From amounts appropriated for this Act, the Secretary shall allocate to each State educational agency for a fiscal year an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount of funds appropriated under section 7 for this Act that are not reserved under subsection (a) as the number of students in average daily attendance served by eligible local educational agencies in the State bears to the number of all such students served by eligible local educational agencies in all States for that fiscal year.

(3) DIRECT AWARDS TO SPECIALLY QUALIFIED AGENCIES-

(A) NONPARTICIPATING STATE- If a State educational agency elects not to participate in the program under this Act or does not have an application approved under section 4 a specially qualified agency in such State desiring a grant under this Act shall apply directly to the Secretary to receive such a grant.

(B) DIRECT AWARDS TO SPECIALLY QUALIFIED AGENCIES- The Secretary may award, on a competitive basis, the amount the State educational agency is eligible to receive under paragraph (2) directly to specially qualified agencies in the State.

(c) LOCAL AWARDS-

(1) ELIGIBILITY- A local educational agency shall be eligible to receive funds under this Act if--

(A) 20 percent or more of the children aged 5 to 17, inclusive, served by the local educational agency are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and

(B) all of the schools served by the agency are located in a community with a School Locale code of 6, 7, or 8, as determined by the Secretary of Education.

(2) USES OF FUNDS- Grant funds awarded to local educational agencies or made available to schools under this Act shall be used for--

(A) teacher recruitment and retention, including the use of signing bonuses and other financial incentives;

(B) teacher professional development, including programs that train teachers to utilize technology to improve teaching and to train special needs teachers;

(C) educational technology, including software and hardware as described in title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; or

(D) programs that promote academic enrichment.

SEC. 3. STATE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

(a) AWARD BASIS- A State educational agency shall award grants to eligible local educational agencies--

(1) on a competitive basis; or

(2) according to a formula based on the number of students in average daily attendance served by the eligible local educational agencies or schools (as appropriate) in the State, as determined by the State.

(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS- A State educational agency receiving a grant under this Act may not use more than 5 percent of the amount of the grant for State administrative costs.

SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.

Each State educational agency and specially qualified agency desiring to receive a grant under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require. Such application shall include specific measurable goals and objectives relating to increased student academic achievement, decreased student drop-out rates, or such other factors that the State educational agency or specially qualified agency may choose to measure.

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

(a) STATE REPORTS- Each State educational agency that receives a grant under this Act shall provide an annual report to the Secretary. The report shall describe--

(1) the method the State educational agency used to award grants to eligible local educational agencies and to provide assistance to schools under this Act;

(2) how local educational agencies and schools used funds provided under this Act; and

(3) the degree to which progress has been made toward meeting the goals and objectives described in the application submitted under section 4.

(b) SPECIALLY QUALIFIED AGENCY REPORT- Each specially qualified agency that receives a grant under this Act shall provide an annual report to the Secretary. Such report shall describe--

(1) how such agency uses funds provided under this Act; and

(2) the degree to which progress has been made toward meeting the goals and objectives described in the application submitted under section 2(b)(4)(A).

(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS- The Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce for the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for the Senate an annual report. The report shall describe--

(1) the methods the State educational agency used to award grants to eligible local educational agencies and to provide assistance to schools under this Act;

(2) how eligible local educational agencies and schools used funds provided under this Act; and

(3) progress made in meeting specific measurable educational goals and objectives.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Act--

(1) The term `poverty line' means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved.

(2) The term `specially qualified agency' means an eligible local educational agency, located in a State that does not participate in a program under this Act in a fiscal year, that may apply directly to the Secretary for a grant in such year in accordance with section 2(b)(4).

(3) The term `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 7. PERFORMANCE REVIEW.

Three years after a State educational agency or specifically qualified agency receives funds under this Act, the Secretary shall review the progress of such agency toward achieving the goals and objectives included in its application to determine if the agency has made progress toward meeting such goals and objectives. To review the performance of each agency, the Secretary shall--

(1) review the use of funds of such agency under section 2(c)(2); and

(2) deny the provision of additional funds in subsequent fiscal years to an agency only if the Secretary determines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that the agency's use of funds has been inadequate to justify the continuation of such funding.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of 4 succeeding fiscal years.

END