[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2698 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2698

   To establish a grant program for school renovation, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2002

Mr. Rockefeller introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a grant program for school renovation, 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 ``Building Our Children's Future Act 
of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to a 1995 General Accounting Office report, 
        the unmet need for school construction and renovation in the 
        United States is $112,000,000,000. The National Center for 
        Education Statistics further found that \3/4\ of the Nation's 
        schools need funding to bring buildings up to good overall 
        condition.
            (2) The Department of Education has found that the average 
        age of a public school building is 42 years, an age when 
        schools tend to deteriorate.
            (3) According to a 1999 report from the National Education 
        Association, at least an additional 2,400 new public schools 
        will be needed by 2003 to accommodate the ``baby boom echo''.
            (4) In 2000, the General Accounting Office reported that 
        annual school construction expenditures increased nationally by 
        39 percent from fiscal year 1990 through 1997, from 
        $17,800,000,000 to $24,700,000,000.
            (5) Studies have found a link between school building 
        conditions and student learning. In 1996, Dr. Glenn Earthman of 
        the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 
        compared test scores in substandard and above standard schools, 
        and found a positive correlation between school conditions and 
        test scores.
            (6) Rural schools face different and difficult school 
        modernization needs and often have limited financial resources 
        to meet their needs. In 1996, the General Accounting Office 
        reported that 30 percent of small town and rural schools have 
        at least 1 inadequate building and 52 percent have at least 1 
        building feature, such as a roof, plumbing, heating or air 
        conditioning, needing repair or replacement.
            (7) Schools in smaller areas have low tax bases that make 
        it difficult to pay for bond financing costs. Also, such 
        schools' bond issues are relatively small and unfamiliar to 
        investors, making them less attractive.
            (8) In 2000, the General Accounting Office reported that 
        areas with the highest enrollment growth rates also tend to 
        have the highest construction expenditures per pupil.
            (9) In addition to basic infrastructure, providing students 
        and teachers access to technology will be a critical part of 
        school improvement in the 21st century, and the provision of 
        such access will require renovation.
            (10) The Federal Government has made a commitment to 
        support the education of students with disabilities and 
        providing such education can require renovation and increased 
        construction costs.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to provide grants for 
school renovation, repair, and construction, with priority given to 
serving schools that--
            (1) have been damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster; 
        or
            (2) the State determines are high poverty or high growth 
        schools.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
            (2) Outlying area.--The term ``outlying area'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, 
        the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR SCHOOL RENOVATION.

    (a) Allotments.--
            (1) Reservation of funds.--From funds appropriated under 
        subsection (c) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) reserve 7.5 percent to award grants to local 
                educational agencies--
                            (i) that received a basic support payment 
                        under section 8003(b) of the Elementary and 
                        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        7703(b)) for the preceding fiscal year; and
                            (ii) with respect to which the number of 
                        children determined under section 8003(a)(1)(C) 
                        of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
                        of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)(1)(C)) for the 
                        preceding school year constituted at least 50 
                        percent of the total student enrollment in the 
                        schools of that agency during the preceding 
                        school year,
                for the construction, renovation, or repair of schools 
                served by those agencies; and
                    (B) reserve 0.325 percent to award grants to local 
                educational agencies in the outlying areas for the 
                renovation or repair of high-need schools (as defined 
                in section 2304(d)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6674(d)(3))) served by 
                such agencies.
            (2) Allotment to states.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), from 
                funds appropriated under subsection (c) for a fiscal 
                year that are not reserved under paragraph (1), the 
                Secretary shall make an allotment to each State in an 
                amount that bears the same relation to the funds as the 
                amount the State received under part A of title I of 
                the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the preceding fiscal year 
                bears to the amount received by all States under such 
                part for the preceding fiscal year.
                    (B) Minimum grant amount.--No State receiving an 
                allotment under subparagraph (A) shall receive less 
                than \1/2\ of 1 percent of the total amount allotted 
                under such subparagraph.
    (b) Grants to Local Educational Agencies.--A State that receives an 
allotment under subsection (a)(2) shall expend--
            (1) 75 percent of the allotted funds to award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to local educational agencies for the 
        renovation or repair of schools served by the agencies, with 
        priority given to the renovation or repair of schools that--
                    (A) have been damaged or destroyed by a natural 
                disaster; or
                    (B) the State determines are high poverty or high 
                growth schools; and
            (2) 25 percent of the allotted funds to award grants, on a 
        competitive basis, to local educational agencies--
                    (A) to carry out part B of the Individuals with 
                Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); or
                    (B) to improve technology in the schools served by 
                the local educational agencies.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 
and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
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