[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 266 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 266

To provide for elementary and secondary school library media resources, 
           technology enhancement, training and improvement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 28 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

Mr. Simon (for himself and Mr. Sarbanes) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for elementary and secondary school library media resources, 
           technology enhancement, training and improvement.

    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 ``Elementary and Secondary School 
Library Media Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) in order to prepare our Nation's children for the 
        challenges of the future, as well as keeping our Nation 
        competitive in a global economy, every elementary and secondary 
        school in the United States should be equipped with the best 
        and most up-to-date library resources, certified library media 
        specialists, access to advanced technology, and instruction on 
        the use of library and information resources;
            (2) our Nation's elementary and secondary school libraries 
        are primarily dependent on a core of deteriorating and out-of-
        date library materials purchased with original funding from the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (3) school library media center expenditures, when adjusted 
        for inflation, have declined 16 percent in public schools since 
        1979; and
            (4) small and rural school libraries are further 
        disadvantaged because of small budgets based on low student 
        enrollments, and limited access to resources, services, and 
        personnel.
    (b) Statement of Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) establish within the Department of Education Office of 
        Educational Research and Improvement a Division of Elementary 
        and Secondary School Library Media Services to provide 
        information and leadership to school library media programs and 
        personnel nationwide;
            (2) provide continued funding for elementary and secondary 
        school library media program improvement, equity, innovation, 
        and technological advancement;
            (3) establish a partnership program for elementary and 
        secondary school teachers and school library media specialists 
        to jointly design resource and curriculum-based instructional 
        activities that provide opportunities for students to access a 
        broad diversity of resources and information, and other 
        languages and cultures, including materials that will encourage 
        understanding; and
            (4) establish a partnership program for encouraging uses of 
        technology and the sharing of information and access to 
        resources by elementary and secondary school students, school 
        library media specialists, and teachers.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND 
              SECONDARY SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SERVICES.

    (a) Division Established.--Section 209 of the Department of 
Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3419) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) Office.--'' before ``There''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Division.--There is established within the Office of 
Educational Research and Improvement a Division of Elementary and 
Secondary School Library Media Services, to be administered by a 
Director of such Division.''.
    (b) Functions of the Division.--Part A of title IV of the General 
Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221c) is amended by inserting 
after section 405 the following new section:

``SEC. 405A. DIVISION OF LIBRARY MEDIA SERVICES.

    ``(a) Functions.--The Division of Elementary and Secondary School 
Library Media Services established in section 209(b) of the Department 
of Education Organization Act shall--
            ``(1) provide information and leadership to elementary and 
        secondary school library media specialists, teachers, and 
        school administrators in order to encourage improvement of 
        educational programs, train library personnel, use advanced 
        technology, and develop library resources, including resources 
        that will encourage students to acquire skills in other 
        languages; and
            ``(2) monitor and administer--
                    ``(A) the grant programs for elementary and 
                secondary school library media center resource 
                development;
                    ``(B) elementary and secondary school library media 
                specialist and teacher partnership grants for 
                innovative education; and
                    ``(C) grants for uses of technology in the 
                classroom that are linked to the library media center.
    ``(b) Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment of the elementary and secondary school 
        library media resource development program.--The Director shall 
        award grants from allocations under paragraph (2) to States for 
        the acquisition of school library media resources for the use 
        of students, library media specialists, and teachers in public 
        elementary and secondary schools.
            ``(2) Allocation to states.--From the amount appropriated 
        pursuant to the authority of paragraph (5) in each fiscal year, 
        the Director shall allocate to each State having an approved 
        plan under paragraph (3) an amount which bears the same 
        relationship to such funds as the amount such State received 
        under chapter 2 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 in such year bears to the amount all 
        States received under such chapter in such year.
            ``(3) State plans.--In order for a State to receive an 
        allocation of funds under paragraph (2) for any fiscal year 
        such State shall have in effect for such fiscal year a State 
        plan. Such plan shall--
                    ``(A) designate the State educational agency as the 
                State agency responsible for the administration and 
                supervision of the program described in this section;
                    ``(B) set forth a program under which funds paid to 
                the State from its allocation under paragraph (2) will 
                be expended solely for--
                            ``(i) acquisition of school library media 
                        resources, including foreign language 
                        resources, for the use of students, school 
                        library media specialists, and teachers in 
                        elementary and secondary schools in the United 
                        States; and
                            ``(ii) administration of the State plan, 
                        including development and revision of standards 
                        relating to school library media resources, 
                        except that the amount used for administration 
                        of the State plan in any fiscal year shall not 
                        exceed 5 percent of the amount allocated to 
                        such State under paragraph (2) for such fiscal 
                        year; and
                    ``(C) set forth the criteria to be used in 
                allotting funds for school library media resources 
                among the local educational agencies of the State, 
                which allotment shall take into consideration the 
                relative need of the students, school media 
                specialists, and teachers to be served.
            ``(4) Distribution of allocation to local educational 
        agencies.--
                    ``(A) Distribution rule.--From the funds allocated 
                to a State under paragraph (2) in each fiscal year, 
                such State shall distribute not less than 95 percent of 
                such funds in such year to local educational agencies 
                within such State according to the relative enrollment 
                of students in public elementary and secondary schools 
                within the school districts of such State, adjusted to 
                provide higher per-pupil allotments to local 
                educational agencies that have the greatest number or 
                percentages of students whose education imposes a 
                higher than average cost per child, such as those 
                students--
                            ``(i) living in areas with high 
                        concentrations of low-income families;
                            ``(ii) from low-income families; and
                            ``(iii) living in sparsely populated areas.
                    ``(B) Calculation of enrollment.--The calculation 
                of relative enrollments under subparagraph (A) shall be 
                made on the basis of the total number of students 
                enrolled in public schools in the State.
            ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 
        and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding 
        fiscal years to carry out this subsection.
    ``(c) Establishment of the School Library Media Specialist and 
Teacher Partnerships for Instructional Innovation Program.--
            ``(1) Program established.--The Director shall award grants 
        for projects that--
                    ``(A) encourage collaboration between public 
                elementary and secondary school library media 
                specialists and teachers in order to develop units of 
                instruction that enable elementary and secondary school 
                students to use a variety of information resources; and
                    ``(B) expand students' information-gathering 
                abilities and cognitive skills of selection, analysis, 
                evaluation, and application.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 
        and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding 
        fiscal years to carry out this subsection.
    ``(d) Establishment of the Uses of Technology in the Classroom 
Program.--
            ``(1) Program established.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director shall award grants 
                to encourage collaborative elementary and secondary 
                school library media specialist and teacher programs 
                designed to--
                            ``(i) expand the use of computers and 
                        computer networks in the curriculum; and
                            ``(ii) enable elementary and secondary 
                        school library media centers to access 
                        information from computerized databases.
                    ``(B) Cooperative agreements.--The Director may 
                enter into cooperative agreements with the National 
                Science Foundation and other appropriate nonprofit 
                agencies and organizations in carrying out this 
                section.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 
        and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding 
        fiscal years to carry out this subsection.
    ``(e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
interfere with State and local initiative and responsibility in the 
conduct and support of school library media services, the 
administration of school library media centers, or the selection of 
personnel or library books and materials.
    ``(f) Supplementation.--Funds provided under this section shall be 
used so as to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or 
local funds available to carry out the activities and services assisted 
under this section.
    ``(g) Definitions.--For the purpose of this section--
            ``(1) the term `Director' means the Director of the 
        Division of Elementary and Secondary School Library Media 
        Services established pursuant to section 209(b) of the 
        Department of Education Organization Act;
            ``(2) the term `elementary school' has the same meaning 
        given to such term by section 1471(8) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            ``(3) the term `local educational agency' has the same 
        meaning given to such term by section 1471(12) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            ``(4) the term `secondary school' has the same meaning 
        given to such term by section 1471(21) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            ``(5) the term `State' means each of the several States of 
        the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
        of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of 
        the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and 
        the Republic of Palau; and
            ``(6) the term `State educational agency' has the same 
        meaning given to such term by section 1471(23) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.''.

                                 <all>