[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1148 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1148
To provide grants to certain rural local educational agencies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
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