[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4017 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4017

  To provide assistance for the education of elementary and secondary 
                               students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 7, 2005

Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas (for himself and Mr. Marchant) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide assistance for the education of elementary and secondary 
                               students.

    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 ``Hurricane Education Assistance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS ENROLLING EVACUATED STUDENTS.

    (a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to provide 
financial assistance to States and to local educational agencies that 
enroll significant numbers of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina 
or Rita.
    (b) Program Authorized.--(1) From the amount made available to 
carry out this section, the Secretary shall make grants to eligible 
entities to carry out the purpose of this section.
    (2) Each eligible entity desiring to receive a grant under this 
section shall--
            (A) submit to the Secretary, on a quarterly basis, counts 
        of its enrollment of displaced students; and
            (B) maintain records necessary to document its student 
        enrollment counts.
    (c) Eligible Entity.--For the purposes of this section, the term 
``eligible entity'' means--
            (1) the State educational agencies of Louisiana, 
        Mississippi, and Texas;
            (2) in any other State, a local educational agency that 
        enrolls at least 10 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 
        Rita; and
            (3) any school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that 
        enrolls at least 10 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 
        Rita.
    (d) Length of Award.--(1) Each grant under this section shall be 
for the period of the 2005-2006 school year.
    (2) Each eligible entity shall return to the Secretary any funds 
awarded to it under this section that it does not obligate by the end 
of the grant period.
    (e) Quarterly Payments.--(1) The Secretary, as soon as feasible 
after receiving each of the quarterly enrollment counts from eligible 
entities under subsection (b)(2)(A), shall make payments to those 
entities.
    (2) The quarterly payments under paragraph (1) shall be calculated 
by multiplying--
            (A) the number of displaced students enrolled in that 
        quarter by the local educational agency or, in the case of 
        Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, by all local educational 
        agencies in the State; by
            (B) 90 percent of the average per-pupil expenditure for 
        elementary and secondary education in the State in which the 
        local educational agency is located (not to exceed $7,500), as 
        determined by the Secretary using data from the most recent 
        year for which satisfactory data are available; by
            (C) 25 percent.
    (3) If, for any quarter, the amount available to make payments 
under paragraph (1) is insufficient to pay the full amounts that 
eligible entities are eligible to receive under that paragraph, the 
Secretary shall ratably reduce the amount of those payments.
    (f) Within-State Allocations.--(1) The State educational agencies 
of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas shall distribute the funds they 
receive under subsection (e), on a quarterly basis, to eligible local 
educational agencies in the State.
    (2) The payments under paragraph (1) shall be calculated by--
            (A) multiplying the local share of the per-child cost of 
        education in the local educational agency; by
            (B) the number of displaced students in the local 
        educational agency; or
            (C) an alternate methodology, approved by the Secretary, 
        for the purpose of this subsection.
    (g) Remainder.--The State educational agencies of Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Texas shall use any funds remaining after making 
grants under subsection (f) for activities to assist local educational 
agencies in which schools remain closed as a result of Hurricane 
Katrina or Rita to re-open those schools as quickly and effectively as 
possible. Such activities may include--
            (1) arranging for temporary facilities necessary to operate 
        educational programs during the time that permanent facilities 
        are being rebuilt or repaired;
            (2) purchasing equipment and materials to replace those 
        items destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina or Rita;
            (3) paying the cost of student transportation;
            (4) recruiting or retraining teachers or other school staff 
        to serve in re-opened schools; and
            (5) providing non-financial assistance to students and 
        their families on their return to the affected areas and their 
        re-enrollment in affected schools.
    (h) Uses of Funds.--Each local educational agency that receives 
funds under this section shall use those funds for expenses related to 
educating children enrolled in its schools, which may include--
            (1) teacher and staff salaries;
            (2) building maintenance;
            (3) materials and equipment;
            (4) student transportation;
            (5) special services and instruction, such as--
                    (A) English language acquisition services and 
                programs for students with limited English proficiency;
                    (B) services for children with disabilities; and
                    (C) mental-health counseling for children displaced 
                by Hurricane Katrina or Rita;
            (6) after-school programs;
            (7) supplemental educational services; and
            (8) early childhood programs.
    (i) Accountability.--The State educational agencies of Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Texas and any other eligible entity that receives 
funds under this section, shall take appropriate measures to ensure 
proper use of, and accounting for, all funds they receive under this 
section.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$1,860,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR THE ENROLLMENT OF EVACUATED STUDENTS IN PRIVATE 
              SCHOOLS.

    (a) Authority.--From funds available to carry out this section, the 
Secretary shall make one-time, emergency grants to State educational 
agencies to reimburse parents of students who were displaced by 
Hurricane Katrina or Rita and who are attending any private school in 
the State that is accredited or licensed or otherwise operates in 
accordance with State law.
    (b) Length of Award.--(1) An emergency grant to a State educational 
agency under this section shall be for the period of the 2005-2006 
school year.
    (2) A State educational agency shall return to the Secretary any 
funds it receives under this section that it does not obligate by the 
end of the 2005-2006 school year.
    (c) Applications.--The State educational agency's application for 
an emergency grant shall include--
            (1) the number of displaced students whose parents the 
        State educational agency expects to reimburse under this 
        section; and
            (2) a detailed description of the procedures the State 
        educational agency plans to use to provide reimbursements to 
        the parents of those students and to ensure fiscal 
        accountability for any funds it receives under this section.
    (d) Amount of Grants.--(1) The amount of a State educational 
agency's emergency grant under this section shall be--
            (A) the number of displaced students whose parents the 
        State educational agency will reimburse, as determined by the 
        Secretary; multiplied by
            (B) the amount described in section 1(e)(2)(B).
    (2) If the amount of funds available under this section is 
insufficient to award grants in the amounts determined under paragraph 
(1), the amount of each such grant shall be ratably reduced.
    (e) Uses of Funds.--Each State educational agency receiving an 
emergency grant under this section--
            (1) shall use the grant funds to provide a reimbursement, 
        once per semester (or lesser portion of the school year, if the 
        State so decides), directly to the parents of displaced 
        students, for the cost of those students' tuition, fees, and 
        transportation expenses, if any, at any private school of their 
        choice in the State for that semester (or lesser period);
            (2) shall ensure that parents who receive funds under this 
        section use those funds only for the purposes described in 
        paragraph (1);
            (3) may use not more than three percent of the amount 
        provided under the grant for the administrative expenses of 
        carrying out this section; and
            (4) may contract with a public or private nonprofit agency 
        or entity to administer and operate the program authorized 
        under this section.
    (f) Maximum Amount.--
            (1) In general.--The maximum reimbursement that a State 
        educational agency may provide to parents on behalf of an 
        individual displaced student under this section is an amount 
        equal to 90 percent of the State's per-pupil expenditure for 
        elementary and secondary education, up to $7,500, but shall not 
        exceed--
                    (A) the cost of tuition and fees (and 
                transportation expenses, if any) at the private school 
                at which the student is (or will be) enrolled; minus
                    (B) any refund received by the parents if the 
                student leaves the school.
            (2) Refund policy.--The State educational agency shall 
        provide reimbursements under this section only to parents of 
        displaced students enrolled in private schools that apply a 
        refund policy to these students that is at least as favorable 
        as the refund policy they apply to other students.
    (g) Limitation.--The Secretary shall establish criteria, including 
family income or assets, or both, to determine whether, and to what 
extent, families of displaced students are eligible for assistance 
under this section.
    (h) By-Pass.--If a State educational agency is unable or unwilling 
to carry out this section, the Secretary may make such arrangements as 
the Secretary finds appropriate to carry out this section on behalf of 
displaced students attending private schools in that State.
    (i) Rule of Construction.--Section 308 of the DC School Choice 
Incentive Act of 2003 shall apply to this section.
    (j) Termination of Authority.--The authority provided by this 
section shall terminate on June 30, 2006.
    (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $488,000,000 
for fiscal year 2006.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) As used in this Act, the following terms have the following 
meanings:
            (1) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``average per-pupil 
        expenditure'', ``child'', ``county'', ``elementary school'', 
        ``local educational agency'', ``other staff'', ``parent'', 
        ``secondary school'', ``Secretary'', ``State'', and ``State 
        educational agency'' have the meaning given those terms in 
        section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) Affected area.--The term ``affected area'' means a 
        county or parish, in a State, that has been designated by the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster assistance for 
        individuals and households as a result of Hurricane Katrina or 
        Rita.
            (3) Displaced student.--Except as provided in section 
        4(e)(2) of this Act, the term ``displaced student'' means a 
        student who was formerly a resident of an affected area and, as 
        a result of Hurricane Katrina or Rita, has enrolled in a public 
        or private elementary or secondary school in a new community.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) From the funds made available to carry out this Act, the 
Secretary may reserve up to one percent for the costs of administering 
this Act.
    (b) The Secretary shall take such measures as the Secretary finds 
necessary to ensure proper use of, and accounting for, all funds made 
available under this Act, including provisions to ensure sound fiscal 
management of grant funds by grantees.

SEC. 6. PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.

    Funds under this Act may not be used for--
            (1) school construction (except for minor remodeling as 
        otherwise authorized); or
            (2) expenses covered by the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency or private insurance.

SEC. 7. REPORTS.

    Any grantee under this Act shall prepare and submit to the 
Secretary a final report, not later than 90 days after the termination 
of the grant period, that describes the activities carried out with the 
grant funds.
                                 <all>