[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2500 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2500

   To authorize the use of certain funds to compensate New York City 
public schools for operating and education-related expenses (including 
    expenses relating to the provision of mental health and trauma 
 counseling and other appropriate support services) resulting from the 
          terrorist attack on that city on September 11, 2001.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2002

  Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the use of certain funds to compensate New York City 
public schools for operating and education-related expenses (including 
    expenses relating to the provision of mental health and trauma 
 counseling and other appropriate support services) resulting from the 
          terrorist attack on that city on September 11, 2001.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade 
        Center represented the single greatest act of terrorism 
        perpetrated against the United States;
            (2) the Federal Government has responded quickly and 
        provided many of the necessary resources to begin the 
        rebuilding process in New York City, New York;
            (3) September 11, 2001, had a damaging impact on the 
        1,100,000 students, 137,000 staff members (consisting of 
        superintendents, principals, teachers, administrators, and 
        staff), and millions of members of families serving or served 
        by the New York City public schools (referred to in this 
        subsection as the ``NYCPS'') community;
            (4) more than 1,500 students and 800 staff members lost a 
        family member or loved one as a result of the disaster;
            (5)(A) faculty and staff of the NYCPS reacted with 
        extraordinary calm, grace, and bravery to evacuate all children 
        and ensure that each child in their care was safe; and
            (B) their diligence prevented even a single injury from 
        occurring in the midst of unprecedented mayhem;
            (6) the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education, 
        members of school boards, principals, assistant principals, 
        teachers, and counselors--
                    (A) worked tirelessly after the event to ensure 
                that schools resumed classes and returned to their 
                regular school schedule as soon as possible; and
                    (B) worked aggressively to restore a safe, 
                supportive school environment and to regain normalcy 
                and stability throughout the entire school system;
            (7) the closure of certain bridges and tunnels to 
        Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the aftermath of the 
        disaster, affected not only Manhattan-resident students but 
        also approximately 50,000 students (a population that exceeds 
        the citywide student enrollments of the school districts of 
        each of the cities of Atlanta, Georgia, Oakland, California, 
        Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington) from other 
        boroughs who attend school in Manhattan and were affected by 
        travel disruptions and lost instructional time;
            (8)(A) extended classroom instruction is needed for all 
        students who lost valuable lesson time as a result of the 
        September 11, 2001, terrorist attack;
            (B) without that extra help, student performance on high-
        stakes standardized tests may suffer; and
            (C) failure to prepare students adequately for State and 
        city examinations will--
                    (i) increase the risk that those students will have 
                to repeat a grade; and
                    (ii) further strain the already limited resources 
                of the school system;
            (9) a recent study commissioned by the New York City Board 
        of Education and conducted by Applied Research and Consulting 
        and the Columbia University School of Public Health--
                    (A) found profound effects since September 11, 
                2001, on the mental health of schoolchildren across New 
                York City, New York, not just those in close proximity 
                to Ground Zero; and
                    (B) found that--
                            (i) more than a fourth of New York City 
                        schoolchildren surveyed in the 4th through 12th 
                        grades are suffering from at least 1 trauma-
                        related disorder in the wake of the attack on 
                        the World Trade Center; and
                            (ii) those disorders include major 
                        depression (8.4 percent), post-traumatic stress 
                        (10.5 percent), agoraphobia (15 percent), 
separation anxiety (12.3 percent), acting out (10.9 percent), general 
anxiety (10.3 percent), and panic anxiety (9.3 percent);
            (10) based on the findings of that study, the NYCPS need 
        additional resources for mental health and trauma counseling 
        and other appropriate support services to meet the mental 
        health needs of students affected by the single worst terrorist 
        attack in United States history;
            (11)(A) the NYCPS system incurred significant costs as a 
        result of the terrorist attack, including--
                    (i) cleanup and repair costs;
                    (ii) costs relating to loss of textbooks and 
                classroom supplies; and
                    (iii) costs relating to transportation and food 
                revenue losses; and
            (B) the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other 
        Federal agencies have yet to provide adequate resources to 
        address those significant costs;
            (12)(A) the Federal Government provided resources to the 
        school systems of Miami-Dade, Florida, Los Angeles, California, 
        and Columbine, Colorado, after those systems incurred 
        extraordinary expenses resulting from a traumatic event or 
        disaster; and
            (B) the Federal Government needs to partner with the NYCPS 
        system to ensure that the system receives similar Federal 
        assistance in the wake of the September 11 tragedy; and
            (13)(A) on September 11, 2001, the President instructed the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency to do whatever it takes to 
        help those affected by the terrorist attack; and
            (B) the Federal Emergency Management Agency needs to commit 
        to ensuring that the President's instruction is carried out.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency has the authority and direction to provide 
necessary resources to the New York City public school system--
            (1) to meet any extraordinary expenses resulting from the 
        terrorist attack of September 11, 2001; and
            (2) to prevent any of the resulting financial losses from 
        infringing on the ability of the system to provide all public 
        elementary school and secondary school students of New York 
        City, New York, with a fair and equal opportunity to obtain a 
        high-quality education.

SEC. 2. USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--From the amounts appropriated to the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency for fiscal year 2002, $161,000,000 may be 
used to compensate the New York City Board of Education for additional 
operating and education-related expenses that--
            (1) were incurred for the provision of services to public 
        elementary school and secondary school students;
            (2) were incurred for the period beginning September 11, 
        2001, and ending December 31, 2002; and
            (3) resulted from the terrorist attack on New York City, 
        New York, on September 11, 2001.
    (b) Expenses.--Expenses that may be compensated under subsection 
(a) include, at a minimum, the costs of--
            (1) providing additional classroom instruction time and 
        related activities to students who lost instructional time as a 
        result of the terrorist attack;
            (2) providing mental health and trauma counseling and other 
        appropriate support services to students suffering from trauma-
        related disorders resulting from the terrorist attack on New 
        York City on September 11, 2001;
            (3) providing guidance, grief counseling, and mental health 
        services for students and school staff members, including 
        providing overtime payments for counselors and mental health 
        professionals;
            (4) providing cleanup and structural inspections and 
        repairs of school facilities;
            (5) reimbursement for textbooks and other school supplies 
        and equipment used to support the relocation of students from 
        schools in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City, New York;
            (6) relocating students, including--
                    (A) transportation of students relocated from the 
                schools that the students attended at the beginning of 
                the 2002-2003 school year to temporary school 
                facilities; and
                    (B) reimbursement for the amount expended for the 
                daily rate of bus service paid by the New York City 
                Board of Education for that transportation; and
            (7) reimbursement for--
                    (A) loss of perishable food stock; and
                    (B) revenue lost from food services.
                                 <all>