[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3705 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3705

  To authorize Federal financial assistance for the urgent repair and 
  renovation of public elementary and secondary schools in high-need 
                                 areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 29, 2000

   Mr. Clay (for himself, Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Bonior, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. 
 Lowey, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Owens, Mr. 
 Payne, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Scott, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. 
 Romero-Barcelo, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Kind, Mr. 
 Ford, Mr. Kucinich, and Mr. Wu) introduced the following bill; which 
      was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize Federal financial assistance for the urgent repair and 
  renovation of public elementary and secondary schools in high-need 
                                 areas.

    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 ``Public School Repair and Renovation 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC SCHOOL REPAIR AND RENOVATION.

    Title XII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 8501 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

            ``TITLE XII--PUBLIC SCHOOL REPAIR AND RENOVATION

``SEC. 12001. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds as follows:
            ``(1) The General Accounting Office estimated in 1995 that 
        it would cost $112,000,000,000 to bring school facilities in 
        the United States into good overall condition.
            ``(2) The General Accounting Office also found, in that 
        year, that 60 percent of the schools in the United States, 
        serving 28,000,000 students, reported that one or more building 
        features, such as roofs or plumbing, needed to be extensively 
        repaired, overhauled, or replaced.
            ``(3) The National Center for Education Statistics reported 
        that the average age for a school building in 1998 was 42 years 
        and that local educational agencies with relatively high rates 
        of poverty tend to have relatively old buildings.
            ``(4) School condition is positively correlated with 
        student achievement, according to a number of research studies.
            ``(5) The results of a recent survey indicate that the 
        condition of schools with large proportions of students living 
        on Indian lands is particularly poor.
            ``(6) While school repair and renovation are primarily a 
        State and local concern, some States and communities are not, 
        on their own, able to meet the burden of providing adequate 
        school facilities for all students, and the poorest communities 
        have had the greatest difficulty meeting this need. It is, 
        therefore, appropriate for the Federal Government to provide 
        assistance to high-need communities for school repair and 
        renovation.

``SEC. 12002. PURPOSE.

    ``The purpose of this title is to assist high-need local 
educational agencies in making urgent repairs and renovations to public 
school facilities in order--
            ``(1) to reduce health and safety problems faced by 
        students; and
            ``(2) to improve the ability of students to learn in their 
        school environment.

``SEC. 12003. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--A recipient of a grant or loan under this title 
shall use the grant or loan to carry out the purpose of this title by--
            ``(1) repairing or replacing roofs, electrical wiring, or 
        plumbing;
            ``(2) repairing, replacing, or installing heating, 
        ventilation, or air conditioning systems;
            ``(3) undertaking asbestos removal or abatement;
            ``(4) bringing schools into compliance with fire safety 
        codes;
            ``(5) ensuring that repairs and renovations under this 
        title comply with the requirements of section 504 of the 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793) and the Americans 
        with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) 
        relating to the accessibility of public school programs to 
        individuals with disabilities; and
            ``(6) making other types of school repairs and renovations 
        that the Secretary may reasonably determine are urgently 
        needed, particularly projects to correct facilities problems 
        that endanger the health and safety of students and staff.
    ``(b) Limitation.--The Secretary shall not approve an application 
for a grant or loan under this title unless the applicant demonstrates 
to the Secretary's satisfaction that it lacks sufficient funds, from 
other sources, to carry out the repairs or renovations for which it is 
requesting assistance.

``SEC. 12004. GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES WITH HIGH 
              CONCENTRATIONS OF STUDENTS LIVING ON INDIAN LANDS.

    ``(a) Eligibility.--A local educational agency is eligible for a 
grant under this section for a fiscal year if the number of children 
determined under section 8003(a)(1)(C) for such agency and year 
constituted at least 50 percent of the number of children who were in 
average daily attendance in the schools of such agency, and for whom 
such agency provided free public education, during the preceding school 
year.
    ``(b) Allocation of Funds.--The Secretary shall allocate funds 
available to carry out this section for a fiscal year to eligible local 
educational agencies based on their respective numbers of children who 
were determined under section 8003(a)(1)(C) for purposes of the 
computation under section 8003(a) for such year.
    ``(c) Applications.--Each eligible local educational agency that 
desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary that includes--
            ``(1) a statement of how it would use the grant funds;
            ``(2) a description of the steps it will take to adequately 
        maintain the facilities that it repairs, renovates, or 
        constructs with those funds; and
            ``(3) such other information and assurances as the 
        Secretary may reasonably require.
    ``(d) Construction of New Schools.--In addition to any other 
activity authorized under section 12003, a grantee under this section 
may use grant funds to construct a new school if it demonstrates to the 
Secretary's satisfaction that it would replace an existing school that 
is in such poor condition that renovating it would not be cost-
effective.

``SEC. 12005. GRANTS TO HIGH-POVERTY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--From funds available under section 
12008(c), the Secretary shall make grants, on a competitive basis, to 
local educational agencies. A local educational agency is eligible to 
receive a grant under this section only if at least 25 percent of the 
children under the jurisdiction of the agency are from families with 
incomes below 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))).
    ``(b) Criteria for Awarding Grants.--In making grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall consider--
            ``(1) the percentage of children from low-income families 
        under the jurisdiction of each applicant, the need for school 
        repairs and renovations, and the fiscal capacity of each 
        applicant; and
            ``(2) such other factors as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    ``(c) Applications.--Each eligible local educational agency that 
desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary that includes--
            ``(1) a description of its urgent need for school repair 
        and renovation and of how it would use funds available under 
        this title to meet those needs;
            ``(2) information on the fiscal effort that it is making in 
        support of education and evidence demonstrating that it lacks 
        the capacity to meet its urgent school repair and renovation 
        needs without assistance available under this title;
            ``(3) a description of the steps it will take to adequately 
        maintain the facilities that it repairs or renovates with that 
        assistance; and
            ``(4) such other information and assurances as the 
        Secretary may reasonably require.

``SEC. 12006. SCHOOL RENOVATION LOANS AND GRANTS.

    ``(a) Loans and Grants Authorized.--From funds available under 
section 12008(c)(2), the Secretary shall pay the cost of loans and 
grants made, on a competitive basis, to high-need local educational 
agencies that lack the ability to fund urgent school repairs.
    ``(b) Loan Period.--Each loan under this section shall be for a 
period of seven years and shall carry an interest rate of zero percent.
    ``(c) Criteria for Making Loans and Grants.--In making loans and 
grants under this section, the Secretary shall consider--
            ``(1) the percentage of children from low-income families 
        under the jurisdiction of each applicant, the need for school 
        repairs and renovations, and the fiscal capacity of each 
        applicant; and
            ``(2) such other factors as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    ``(d) Applications.--Each eligible local educational agency that 
desires to receive a loan or grant under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary that includes the information described in 
section 12005(c).
    ``(e) Credit Standards.--In making loans under this section, the 
Secretary--
            ``(1) shall not extend credit without finding that there is 
        reasonable assurance of repayment; and
            ``(2) may use credit enhancement techniques, as 
        appropriate, to reduce the credit risk of loans.
    ``(f) Number of Loans and Grants.--Subject to section 12008(d), in 
carrying out this section, the Secretary shall determine the number of 
loans and grants to be made for a fiscal year and their relative 
proportions.

``SEC. 12007. PROGRESS REPORTS.

    ``The Secretary shall require recipients of grants and loans under 
this title to submit progress reports and such other information as the 
Secretary determines necessary to ensure compliance with this title and 
to evaluate its impact.

``SEC. 12008. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVATION OF FUNDS; 
              LIMITATION ON LOAN VOLUME.

    ``(a) In General.--for the purpose of carrying out this title, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 
2001 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding 
fiscal years.
    ``(b) Reservation for Grants Under Section 12004.--Of the amount 
appropriated under subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall reserve $50,000,000 for the purpose of making grants under 
section 12004.
    ``(c) Grants Under Section 12005 and Loans and Grants Under Section 
12006.--Of the amount appropriated under subsection (a) for any fiscal 
year and remaining after the application of subsection (b)--
            ``(1) 10 percent shall be available for making grants under 
        section 12005; and
            ``(2) 90 percent shall be available for making loans and 
        grants under section 12006.
    ``(d) Limitation on Loan Volume.--Within the available resources 
and authority, gross obligations for the principal amount of loans made 
by the Secretary under section 12006 for fiscal year 2001 shall not 
exceed $7,000,000,000, or the amount specified in an applicable 
appropriations Act, whichever is greater.

``SEC. 12009. DEFINITIONS; SPECIAL RULE.

    ``(a) Definitions.--For the purpose of this title, the following 
terms have the following meanings:
            ``(1) Indian lands.--The term `Indian lands' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 8013.
            ``(2) Local educational agency.--The term `local 
        educational agency' has the meaning given such term in 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 14101(18).
            ``(3) Public school facility.--
                    ``(A) In general.-- The term `public school 
                facility' means a public building whose primary purpose 
                is the instruction of public elementary or secondary 
                students and minimal initial equipment, machinery, and 
                utilities necessary or appropriate for school purposes.
                    ``(B) Exclusion.--The term excludes athletic 
                stadiums or any other structure or facility intended 
                primarily for athletic exhibitions, contests, games, or 
                events for which admission is charged to the general 
                public.
            ``(4) Repair and renovation.--The term `repair and 
        renovation' means the repair or renovation of an existing 
        public school facility without increasing its size.
    ``(b) Special Rule.--In any of the 50 States of the United States 
in which there is only one local educational agency, the Secretary 
shall, for purposes of this title, consider each administrative school 
district in the State to be a separate local educational agency.''.
                                 <all>