[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1617 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1617
To promote youth entrepreneurship education.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 26, 2001
Mr. Kucinich (for himself, Mr. Andrews, and Mr. Souder) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote youth entrepreneurship education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EMPOWERING FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS.
Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is
amended--
(1) by striking the title heading and inserting the
following:
``TITLE V--PROMOTING EQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new part:
``PART D--EMPOWERING FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS
``SEC. 5401. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS.
``(a) Short Title.--This part may be cited as the ``Future
Entrepreneurs of America Act''.
``(b) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
``(1) In order to reach their career goals in our dynamic
American economy, young people need to take personal
responsibility to obtain the skills, knowledge, constructive
attitudes, and experiences that will enable them to function as
creative, self-confident participants in the workforce.
``(2) Research has found that 61 percent of high school
students are interested in starting their own business and 75
percent of students believe it is important for the Nation's
schools to teach more about entrepreneurship and starting a
business.
``(3) States have begun to express increased interest in
entrepreneurship education. State educational leaders are
recognizing that self-employment is a viable career option for
young people and are exploring ways to better prepare them to
own and operate their own businesses.
``(4) As part of a lifelong learning process,
entrepreneurship education helps to increase the motivation of
young people to learn, helps them develop a sense of individual
opportunity, enhances their personal growth, helps them develop
an appreciation of the importance of innovation, helps develop
their problem solving and leadership skills, helps them learn
to manage their finances, and helps them develop the sort of
optimistic outlook and self-reliant attitudes that will benefit
them for their entire working lives.
``(5) Entrepreneurship education integrates instruction in
economic literacy, including how the economy functions, the
workings of the social security system, and the importance of
personal savings.
``(6) The entrepreneurs and inventors of tomorrow are in
our schools today. The entrepreneurial spirit needs to be
nurtured at all levels of our Nation's educational system
especially beginning with students in grades 7 through 12.
``SEC. 5402. STATE GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Authority.--In any fiscal year in which the appropriations
under section 5408(a) equal or exceed $50,000,000, the Secretary shall
make grants to States from allocations under subsection (d) to enable
them to carry out entrepreneurship education programs for students in
grades 7 through 12.
``(b) Agency To Receive Grant.--A grant award to a State under
subsection (a) shall be made to the State educational agency.
``(c) State Plan.--
``(1) Approved state plan required.--No State shall receive
a grant under subsection (a) unless it has submitted to the
Secretary a plan, which the Secretary has approved.
``(2) State plan contents.--The State plan described in
paragraph (1) shall include--
``(A) a description of how the State will use a
grant;
``(B) a description of how the programs supported
by a grant will--
``(i) involve the business community; and
``(ii) be coordinated with other relevant
Federal, State, regional, and local programs;
and
``(C) a description of how the State will evaluate
program performance.
``(d) Allocation of Funds.--
``(1) Allocation factors.--Except as otherwise provided in
paragraph (2), the Secretary shall allocate the amounts made
available to carry out this section pursuant to subsection (a)
to each State according to the relative populations in all the
States of students in grades 7 through 12, as determined by the
Secretary based on the most recent satisfactory data.
``(2) Minimum allocation.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations and notwithstanding paragraph (1), a State that
has submitted an approved plan under subsection (c) shall be
allocated an amount not less than $400,000 for a fiscal year.
``(3) Reallocation.--In any fiscal year an allocation under
this subsection--
``(A) for a State that has not submitted a plan
under subsection (c); or
``(B) for a State whose plan submitted under
subsection (c) has been disapproved by the Secretary;
shall be reallocated to the remaining States in accordance with
paragraph (1).
``(e) Use of Grant Funds.--
``(1) Required uses.--A grant made to a State under
subsection (a) shall be used--
``(A) to provide funds to local educational
agencies and public schools to carry out
entrepreneurship education programs for students
in grades 7 through 12 based on the concept of lifelong learning
necessary to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit; and
``(B) to monitor and evaluate programs supported
under subparagraph (A).
``(2) Permissible use.--A grant made to a State under
subsection (a) may be used for professional development that
helps to prepare teachers and administrators for
entrepreneurial education.
``(3) Limitation on administrative costs.--A State
receiving a grant under subsection (a) may use not more than 4
percent of the total amount of the grant in each fiscal year
for the administrative costs of carrying out this section.
``(f) Report to the Secretary.--Each agency receiving a grant as
described in subsection (b) shall transmit a report to the Secretary
with respect to each fiscal year for which a grant was received. The
report shall describe the programs supported by the grant and the
results of the State's monitoring and evaluation of such programs.
``SEC. 5403. DIRECT LOCAL GRANT PROGRAM.
``In any fiscal year in which the appropriations under section
5408(a) are less than $50,000,000, the Secretary may make grants
directly to local educational agencies and public schools to provide
entrepreneurship education to students in grades 7 through 12.
``SEC. 5404. CLEARINGHOUSE.
``(a) Authority.--The Secretary shall make a grant to or execute a
contract with an organization or institution with substantial
experience in the field of entrepreneurship education to establish,
operate, and maintain a national clearinghouse (in this part referred
to as the ``Clearinghouse'') for instructional materials and
information regarding exemplary entrepreneurship education programs and
best practices.
``(b) Application.--An organization or institution desiring to
establish, operate, and maintain the Clearinghouse shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and
accompanied by such information, as the Secretary may reasonably
require.
``(c) Basis and Term.--The Secretary shall make the grant or
contract authorized by subsection (a) on a competitive, merit basis for
a term of 5 years.
``(d) Use of Funds.--The Clearinghouse shall use the funds provided
under a grant or contract made under subsection (a)--
``(1) to maintain a repository of instructional materials
and related information regarding entrepreneurship education
programs for secondary schools, including middle schools, for
use by States, localities, and the general public;
``(2) to disseminate to States, localities, and the general
public, through electronic and other means, instructional
materials and related information regarding entrepreneurship
education programs for secondary schools, including middle
schools; and
``(3) to the extent that resources allow, to provide
technical assistance to States, localities, and the general
public on the design, establishment, and implementation of
entrepreneurship education programs for secondary schools,
including middle schools.
``(e) Consultation.--The Clearinghouse shall consult with the Small
Business Administration with respect to its activities under subsection
(d).
``(f) Submission to Clearinghouse.--Each Federal agency or
department that develops entrepreneurship education programs or
instructional materials for such programs shall submit to the
Clearinghouse information on the programs and copies of the materials.
``(g) Application of Copyright Laws.--In carrying out this section
the Clearinghouse shall ensure compliance with title 17, United States
Code.
``SEC. 5405. EVALUATION.
``(a) Performance Measures.--The Secretary shall develop measures
to evaluate the performance of programs assisted under sections 5402
and 5403.
``(b) Evaluation According to Performance Measures.--Applying the
performance measures developed under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall evaluate programs assisted under sections 5402 and 5403--
``(1) to judge their performance and effectiveness;
``(2) to identify which of the programs represent the best
practices of entities developing entrepreneurship education
programs for students in grades 7 through 12; and
``(3) to identify which of the programs can be replicated
and used to provide technical assistance to States, localities,
and the general public.
``SEC. 5406. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.
``For each fiscal year for which there are appropriations under
section 5408(a), the Secretary shall transmit a report to the Congress
describing the status of the implementation of this part. The report
shall include the results of the evaluation required by section 5405
and a description of the programs supported under sections 5402 and
5403.
``SEC. 5407. DEFINITIONS.
``In this part--
``(1) the term `entrepreneurship education' means
educational activities and experiences, planned and supervised
by qualified teachers, that enable students to explore business
ownership opportunities, acquire the skills and knowledge
necessary to start a business, and develop a range of
entrepreneurial competencies that will help them to explore and
identify their lifelong career goals as business owners or as
competent employees; and
``(2) the term `qualified teacher' means a teacher who
holds a valid teaching certification or is considered to be
qualified by the State educational agency in the State in which
the teacher works.
``SEC. 5408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``(a) Authorization.--For the purposes of carrying out this part,
there are authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
``(b) Limitation on Funds for Clearinghouse.--The Secretary may use
not less than 2 percent and not more than 5 percent of amounts
appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year to carry out
section 5404.
``(c) Limitation on Funds for Secretary's Evaluation.--The
Secretary may use not more than $200,000 from the amounts appropriated
under subsection (a) for each fiscal year to carry out section 5405.
``(d) Limitation on Administrative Costs.--Except as provided in
subsection (b) and as necessary to carry out section 5405 using amounts
described in subsection (c), the Secretary shall not use any portion of
the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for the costs of
administering this part.
``(e) Funds for Grants.--For each fiscal year the Secretary shall
use all amounts appropriated under subsection (a), other than the
amounts described in subsections (b) and (c), only for grants under
section 5402 or 5403.''.
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