[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1217 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1217
To provide grants to local educational agencies to provide financial
assistance to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computer
software for multilingual education, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2001
Mr. Baca (for himself, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Filner, Mr. Gonzalez,
Mr. Meeks of New York, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Serrano, and Ms. Velazquez)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide grants to local educational agencies to provide financial
assistance to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computer
software for multilingual education, and for other purposes.
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 ``Multilingual Education and
Technological Advancement Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION.
(a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Secretary of Education may award grants, on a
competitive basis, to local educational agencies to provide financial
assistance to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computer
software for multilingual education.
(b) Preference.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall give preference to local educational agencies that
serve an elementary or secondary school in which--
(1) a majority of the students are from families with
incomes below the poverty line, as defined by the Office of
Management and Budget and in effect under section 673(2) of the
Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); or
(2) there is a high concentration of students with low
levels of English proficiency.
(c) Eligible Schools.--A grant under this section may be used to
provide financial assistance only to an elementary or secondary school
that meets the criteria of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b).
(d) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an annual
study of the effectiveness of the grant program under this
section.
(2) Report.--By the end of each fiscal year for which
appropriations to carry out this Act are available, the
Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a report that includes
the following:
(A) Findings on the effectiveness of this grant
program, including the effectiveness of the computer
software.
(B) Recommendations for improving this grant
program.
(e) Application.--To seek a grant under subsection (a), a local
educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary for grants under this section $80,000,000
for fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR COMPUTERS.
(a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Secretary of Education may award grants, on a
competitive basis, to local educational agencies to provide financial
assistance to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computers.
(b) Mandatory Grants.--The Secretary shall award a grant under
subsection (a) to any local educational agency that--
(1) submits an application under subsection (c); and
(2) serves elementary or secondary schools in which,
cumulatively, a majority of the students are from families with
incomes below the poverty line, as defined by the Office of
Management and Budget and in effect under section 673(2) of the
Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)).
(c) Eligible Schools.--A grant under this section may be used to
provide financial assistance only to an elementary or secondary school
in which--
(1) a majority of students are from families with incomes
below the poverty line, as defined by the Office of Management
and Budget and in effect under section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); or
(2) there are fewer computers than the greater of--
(A) 6 computers; or
(B) a number of computers for that type school
established by the Secretary by a regulation under this
paragraph.
(d) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, a local
educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary for grants under this section
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
SEC. 4. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING AND MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION
PROGRAM GRANTS.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Secretaries may make grants to eligible partnerships to pay the Federal
share of the cost of establishing and carrying out--
(1) information technology training programs for former
participants in information technology training programs who
have not received information technology certification,
minorities, women, older individuals, veterans, Native
Americans, and dislocated workers; and
(2) multilingual education programs.
(b) Partnerships.--To be an eligible partnership under subsection
(a), a partnership shall consist of--
(1) an institution of higher education; and
(2) a private organization, such as a certified commercial
information technology training provider or an information
technology trade or professional association.
(c) Application.--To seek a grant under subsection (a), an eligible
partnership shall submit an application to the Secretaries at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretaries may require.
(d) Federal Share.--
(1) In general.--The Federal share of the cost described in
subsection (a) shall be 50 percent.
(2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the cost
shall be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated by the
Secretaries, and may include plant, equipment, or services.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretaries to carry out this section $100,000,000
for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each
subsequent fiscal year.
SEC. 5. BONUS GRANTS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATION.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Secretary of Education may make grants to local educational agencies to
assist such agencies in awarding bonuses to teachers who achieve
information technology certification.
(b) Limitation on Amount.--The amount of a grant to a local
educational agency under subsection (a) shall not exceed the product
determined by multiplying $5,000 by the number of teachers described
pursuant to subsection (c)(2) in the application for the grant.
(c) Application.--
(1) In general.--To seek a grant under this section, a
local educational agency shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require.
(2) Contents.--The application shall include information
describing the number of teachers employed by the local
educational agency who--
(A) have achieved information technology
certification, including such certification for
integrating information technology into the classroom
or a curriculum; and
(B) have not previously received a bonus under this
section.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Education to carry out this section
$120,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
SEC. 6. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TEACHER TRAINING.
(a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Secretary of Education may award grants, on a
competitive basis, to institutions of higher education to provide
scholarships to any eligible student.
(b) Eligible Students.--For purposes of this section, the term
``eligible student'' means a student who--
(1) is preparing to enter the teaching workforce; and
(2) meets the criteria established under subsection (c).
(c) Criteria.--For purposes of subsection (b)(2), the Secretary
shall establish criteria that require a student to obtain both
technological and multilingual education.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $100,000,000
for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the
4 succeeding fiscal years.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Certified commercial information technology training
provider.--The term ``certified commercial information
technology training provider'' means a private sector provider
of educational products and services utilized for training in
information technology that is certified by 1 or more software
publishers or hardware manufacturers (the products of which are
the subject of the training) with respect to--
(A) the curriculum that is used for the training;
or
(B) the technical knowledge of the instructors of
such provider.
(2) Dislocated worker.--The term ``dislocated worker'' has
the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801).
(3) Elementary school.--The term ``elementary school'' has
the meaning given the term in section 14101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(4) Information technology certification.--The term
``information technology certification'' means certification in
information technology, in accordance with such standards as--
(A)(i) the Computing Technology Industry
Association or the Information Technology Training
Association may issue, after consultation with chief
education officers of States, State boards, entities
that certify or license teachers, and other entities
affected by the standards; or
(ii) a State board or entity that certifies or
licenses teachers may issue, after consultation with
chief education officers of States, and other entities
affected by the standards; and
(B) the Secretaries may approve.
(5) Information technology training program.--The term
``information technology training program'' means a program for
the training of--
(A) computer programmers, systems analysts, and
computer scientists or engineers (as such occupations
are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics); and
(B) persons for such other occupations as are
determined to be appropriate by the Secretaries, after
consultation with a working group broadly solicited by
the Secretaries and open to all interested information
technology entities and trade and professional
associations.
(6) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002).
(7) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 14101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
8801).
(8) Native american.--The term ``Native American'' means an
Indian or a Native Hawaiian, as defined in section 166(b) of
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2911(b)).
(9) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' has
the meaning given the term in section 14101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(10) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor, acting
jointly.
(11) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given
the term in section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(29 U.S.C. 2801).
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