[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2487

 To amend The Equal Access Act to provide equal access for elementary 
and secondary school groups to expense reimbursement and materials, and 
     to provide equal access for community groups to meeting space.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 1998

 Mr. Ashcroft introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend The Equal Access Act to provide equal access for elementary 
and secondary school groups to expense reimbursement and materials, and 
     to provide equal access for community groups to meeting space.

    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 ``Equal Access Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. EQUAL ACCESS TO EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 802 of The Equal Access Act (20 U.S.C. 
4071) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) as 
        subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c), the following:
    ``(d)(1) Subject to subsection (i), it shall be unlawful for any 
public intermediate school or secondary school that--
            ``(A) receives Federal financial assistance;
            ``(B) maintains a limited open forum as described in 
        subsection (b); and
            ``(C) provides for the reimbursement of the expenses of one 
        or more noncurriculum-related student groups or students 
        pursuing noncurriculum-related activities;
to deny equal treatment, to any student group or student, respectively, 
seeking reimbursement for similar expenses, on the basis of the 
religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech or 
activity engaged in by such student group or student, respectively.
    ``(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a 
public intermediate school or secondary school from granting or denying 
a reimbursement request pursuant to a neutral policy administered 
without regard to the religious, political, philosophical, or other 
content of the speech or activity engaged in by the student group or 
student seeking the reimbursement.''.
    (b) Construction.--Subsection (g) of section 802 of The Equal 
Access Act (20 U.S.C. 4071), as amended in subsection (a), is further 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting after ``beyond'' the 
        following: ``the reimbursement of expenses on a 
        nondiscriminatory basis as provided for in subsection (d), and 
        payment of'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``or activity'' after 
        ``meeting'' each place it appears; and
            (3) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``or activities'' after 
        ``meetings''.

SEC. 3. EQUAL ACCESS FOR DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS.

    Section 802 of The Equal Access Act (20 U.S.C. 4071) is amended by 
inserting after subsection (d), as added by section 2, the following:
    ``(e)(1) Subject to subsection (i), it shall be unlawful for any 
public intermediate school or secondary school that--
            ``(A) receives Federal financial assistance;
            ``(B) maintains a limited open forum as described in 
        subsection (b); and
            ``(C) permits one or more noncurriculum-related student 
        groups or students pursuing noncurriculum-related activities to 
        distribute newsletters or other written materials;
to deny equal treatment, to any student group or student, respectively, 
seeking a similar opportunity to distribute newsletters or other 
written materials, on the basis of the religious, political, 
philosophical, or other content of the speech or activity engaged in by 
such student group or student, respectively.
    ``(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a 
public intermediate school or secondary school from granting or denying 
a request to distribute newsletters or other written materials pursuant 
to a neutral policy that--
            ``(A) is administered without regard to the religious, 
        political, philosophical, or other content of the speech or 
        activity engaged in by the student group or student making the 
        request; and
            ``(B) imposes reasonable time, place, and manner 
        restrictions on the distribution of newsletters or other 
        written materials consistent with the first and 14th amendments 
        to the Constitution.''.

SEC. 4. EQUAL ACCESS FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS.

    (a) In General.--Section 802 of The Equal Access Act (20 U.S.C. 
4071) is amended by inserting after subsection (e), as added by section 
3, the following:
    ``(f)(1) Subject to subsection (i), it shall be unlawful for any 
public elementary school, intermediate school, or secondary school 
that--
            ``(A) receives Federal financial assistance; and
            ``(B) has a limited community forum with respect to 
        noncurriculum-related community groups or individuals from the 
        community pursuing noncurriculum-related activities as 
        described in paragraph (2);
to deny equal access to, or discriminate against, any community group 
or any individual from the community, respectively, who desires to 
conduct a meeting, or otherwise use school facilities, within that 
limited community forum, on the basis of the religious, political, 
philosophical, or other content of the speech or activity engaged in by 
such community group or individual, respectively.
    ``(2) In this subsection, a public elementary school, intermediate 
school, or secondary school has a limited community forum if such 
school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more 
noncurriculum-related community groups or individuals from the 
community pursuing noncurriculum-related activities to meet on school 
premises or otherwise use school facilities during noninstructional 
time.
    ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a 
public elementary school, intermediate school, or secondary school from 
granting or denying a request by a community group or individual from a 
community to meet on school premises or otherwise use school facilities 
pursuant to a neutral policy administered without regard to the 
religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech or 
activities engaged in by the community group or individual.
    ``(4) In this subsection, the term `elementary school' means a 
school that provides elementary education, as defined by State law.''.
    (b) Construction.--Subsection (g) of section 802 of The Equal 
Access Act (20 U.S.C. 4071), as amended in section 2, is further 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``or meetings initiated 
        by a community group or individual from a community'' after 
        ``student-initiated meetings''; and
            (2) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``or community groups'' 
        after ``groups of students''.

SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF EQUAL ACCESS GUARANTEES TO PUBLIC INTERMEDIATE 
              SCHOOLS.

    (a) In General.--Section 802 of The Equal Access Act (20 U.S.C. 
4071) is amended by striking subsections (a) through (c) and inserting 
the following:
    ``(a) Subject to subsection (i), it shall be unlawful for any 
public intermediate school or secondary school that receives Federal 
financial assistance and that has a limited open forum with respect to 
noncurriculum-related student groups or students pursuing 
noncurriculum-related activities to deny equal access or a fair 
opportunity to, or discriminate against, any student group or student, 
respectively, who wishes to conduct a meeting, or otherwise use school 
facilities, within that limited open forum, on the basis of the 
religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech or 
activity at such meetings.
    ``(b) In this subsection, a public intermediate school or secondary 
school has a limited open forum if such school grants an offering to or 
opportunity for one or more noncurriculum-related student groups or 
students pursuing noncurriculum-related activities to meet on school 
premises or otherwise use school facilities during noninstructional 
time.
    ``(c) Schools shall be deemed to offer a fair opportunity to 
student groups and students who wish to conduct a meeting, or otherwise 
use school facilities, within its limited open forum if such school 
uniformly provides that--
            ``(1) the meeting or use of facilities is voluntary and 
        student-initiated;
            ``(2) there is no sponsorship of the meeting or use of 
        facilities by the school, the government, or its agents or 
        employees;
            ``(3) employees or agents of the school or government are 
        present at religious meetings or activities involving the use 
        of facilities only in a nonparticipatory capacity;
            ``(4) the meeting or use of facilities does not materially 
        and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of 
        educational activities within the school; and
            ``(5) nonschool persons may not direct, conduct, control, 
        or regularly attend activities of student groups or 
        students.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 803 of the The Equal Access Act (20 
U.S.C. 4072) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) The term `intermediate school' means a public school 
        that provides education to students in grade 6 or higher and 
        that does not provide education to students in grade 5 or 
        lower.''.
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