1.Assistance to schools
enrolling evacuated students
(a)It
is the purpose of this section to provide financial assistance to eligible
entities that serve students who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita and enroll in the elementary or secondary schools (including
charter schools) served by the eligible entities or in the eligible entities
(as the case may be).
(b)From amounts appropriated under subsection (k), the
Secretary of Education shall award grants to eligible entities to enable the
eligible entities to award subgrants under subsection (g) and to carry out the
activities described in subsection (h).
(c)In this section, the term eligible entity
means—
(1)in Louisiana or
Mississippi, a State educational agency;
(2)in a State other
than Louisiana or Mississippi, a local educational agency that enrolls a
student who is displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; or
(3)an elementary
school or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that enrolls
a student who is displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
(d)
(1)Each grant awarded under this section shall be for the
period beginning on the date of the award and ending on the last day of the
2005–2006 school year.
(2)Return of
non-obligated fundsAn eligible entity receiving a grant under
this section shall return to the Secretary of Education any grant funds that
have not been expended or obligated during the grant period.
(e)An eligible entity desiring to receive a grant under this
section shall—
(1)submit to the
Secretary of Education a count of the number of students enrolled in the
eligible entity or in the elementary and secondary schools served by the
eligible entity (as the case may be) who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita; and
(2)maintain the
records necessary to document the student enrollment count under paragraph
(1).
(f)
(1)As soon as feasible after receiving an enrollment count
described in subsection (e)(1) from an eligible entity, the Secretary of
Education shall award a grant in the amount described in paragraph (2) to such
eligible entity.
(2)The amount of a grant described in this paragraph shall be
equal to the product of—
(A)the number of
students enrolled in the eligible entity or in the elementary and secondary
schools served by the eligible entity (as the case may be) who were displaced
by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; multiplied by
(B)90 percent of the
average per-pupil expenditure for elementary and secondary education in the
State in which the eligible entity is located, as determined by the Secretary
of Education using data from the most recent year for which satisfactory data
are available, except that the amount described in this subparagraph shall not
exceed $7,500.
(3)If the amount appropriated for grants under this
section is insufficient to pay the grants to all eligible entities in the
amount calculated under paragraph (2), the grants to all eligible entities
shall be ratably reduced.
(g)Use of funds by
State educational agencies
(1)An eligible agency described in subsection (c)(1) that
receives a grant under this section shall use grant funds to—
(A)award subgrants,
in the amount described in paragraph (2), to local educational agencies within
the State that serve students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita, to enable the local educational agencies to carry out the
activities described in subsection (h); and
(B)to carry out the
activities described in paragraph (3).
(2)The amount of a subgrant made to a local educational
agency under paragraph (1)(A) shall be equal to—
(A)the product of
—
(i)the
average per-pupil expenditure for elementary and secondary education in the
local educational agency; multiplied by
(ii)the number of
students enrolled in schools served by the local educational agency who were
displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; or
(B)an amount
calculated by an alternate methodology, if the use of such methodology is
approved by the Secretary of Education.
(3)From any grant funds awarded to an eligible
agency described in subsection (c)(1) that remain after the eligible agency has
awarded subgrants in accordance with paragraph (1), the eligible agency may use
such remaining funds to carry out activities that assist local educational
agencies serving schools that are closed as a result of Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita, in order to reopen such schools as quickly and effectively as
possible. Such activities may include—
(A)arranging for the
temporary facilities necessary to operate educational programs while permanent
facilities are being rebuilt or repaired;
(B)purchasing
equipment and materials to replace those items destroyed or damaged by
Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita;
(C)paying the cost
of student transportation;
(D)recruiting or
retraining teachers or other school personnel to serve in reopened schools;
and
(E)providing
nonfinancial assistance to students and their families when such students
return to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita or reenroll
in schools that are affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
(h)Uses of funds
by Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and local educational
agenciesAn eligible entity described in paragraph (2) or (3) of
subsection (c) that receives a grant under this section, or a local educational
agency that receives a subgrant under subsection (g)(1), shall use the grant
funds to pay for the costs related to educating students enrolled in the
schools served by the eligible entity or in the eligible entity (as the case
may be), which costs 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 Hurricane
Rita;
(6)after-school
programs;
(7)supplemental
educational services; and
(8)early childhood
programs.
(i)An
eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall take appropriate
measures to ensure the proper use of, and accounting for, all grant funds
received by the eligible entity under this section.
(j)On June 30, 2006, the authority described in subsection
(b) shall expire and all funds under this section that are not expended or
obligated by such date shall be transferred to the general fund of the
Treasury.
(k)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section $1,860,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
2.Assistance for
the enrollment of evacuated students in private schools
(a)From funds appropriated under subsection
(j), the Secretary of Education shall make one-time, emergency grants to State
educational agencies to enable the State educational agencies to reimburse the
parents or guardians of students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita and who are attending a private school in the State that is
accredited or licensed or otherwise operates in accordance with State
law.
(b)
(1)Each emergency grant awarded under this section shall be
for the period beginning on the date of the award and ending on the last day of
the 2005–2006 school year.
(2)Return of
non-obligated fundsEach State educational agency that receives a
grant under this section shall return to the Secretary of Education any grant
funds that have not been expended or obligated during the grant period.
(c)A
State educational agency that desires to receive an emergency grant under this
section shall submit an application to the Secretary of Education at such time,
in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require,
including—
(1)the number of
students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita and whose
parents or guardians 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—
(A)to provide
reimbursements to the parents or guardians of the displaced students described
in paragraph (1); and
(B)to ensure fiscal
accountability for any funds received by the State educational agency under
this section.
(d)
(1)For each State educational agency, the amount of an
emergency grant under this section shall be equal to the product of—
(A)the number of
students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita and whose
parents or guardians will be reimbursed by the State educational agency, as
determined by the Secretary of Education; multiplied by
(B)90 percent of the
average per-pupil expenditure for elementary and secondary education in the
State, as determined by the Secretary of Education using data from the most
recent year for which satisfactory data are available, except that the amount
described in this subparagraph shall not exceed $7,500.
(2)If the amount appropriated for emergency grants under
this section is insufficient to pay the emergency grants to all State
educational agencies in accordance with paragraph (1), the emergency grants to
all State educational agencies shall be ratably reduced.
(e)Each State educational agency receiving an emergency grant
under this section—
(1)shall use the
grant funds to provide reimbursements, once per semester (or lesser portion of
the school year, if the State so decides), directly to the parents or guardians
of the displaced students, for the cost of those students' tuition, fees, and
transportation expenses, if any, at any private school of the parents' or
guardians' choice in the State for that semester (or lesser period), in
accordance with subsection (f);
(2)shall ensure that
a parent or guardian who receives funds under this section use those funds only
for the purposes described in paragraph (1);
(3)may use not more
than 1 percent of the grant funds for the administrative expenses of carrying
out this subsection; and
(4)may contract with
a public or private nonprofit agency or entity to administer and operate the
reimbursement program under this subsection.
(f)Amount of
payments to parents or guardians
(1)The maximum reimbursement that a State educational agency
may provide to an eligible parent or guardian on behalf of a student who is
displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita under this section shall be
equal to the amount described in subsection (d)(1)(B).
(2)Eligibility
requirements for reimbursement
(A)Criteria for
enrolling schoolsA parent of a student who is displaced by
Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita is eligible for a reimbursement by the
State educational agency under subsection (e) if the private school in which
the parent enrolls the student—
(i)is
accredited or licensed or otherwise operates in accordance with State law;
and
(ii)has in place a
refund policy for the refund of tuition and fees (and transportation expenses,
if any) for displaced students that is at least as favorable as the refund
policy applicable to other students at the school.
(B)Criteria for
parents or guardiansIn addition to the requirements of
subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Education shall establish criteria, which
may include the use of criteria involving family income or assets, to determine
the eligibility for or amount of assistance provided under this section to a
parent or guardian of a student who is displaced by Hurricane Katrina or
Hurricane Rita.
(g)If
a State educational agency is unable or unwilling to carry out this section,
the Secretary of Education may make such arrangements as the Secretary
determines appropriate to carry out this section on behalf of the students
attending private schools in such State who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina
or Hurricane Rita.
(h)Section 308 of the DC School Choice Incentive Act of
2003 (Public Law 108–199) shall apply to the program under this section in the
same manner as such section applies to the program under such Act.
(i)On June 30, 2006, the authority described in subsection
(a) shall expire and all grant funds that are not expended or obligated by such
date shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.
(j)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section $488,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
3.Immediate aid to
restart educational operations
(a)It
is the purpose of this section—
(1)to provide
immediate services or assistance to institutions of higher education, local
educational agencies, and eligible private schools that serve an area for which
a major disaster has been declared in accordance with section 401 of the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170),
related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita;
(2)to assist school
district administrators and personnel of such institutions, agencies, or
eligible private schools who are working to restart operations; and
(3)to facilitate the
reopening of the institutions, elementary schools and secondary schools served
by such agencies, or eligible private schools and the enrollment of students in
such institutions or schools as soon as possible.
(b)From amounts appropriated to carry out this section,
the Secretary of Education is authorized to make payments to State educational
agencies or State agencies for higher education that serve an area for which a
major disaster has been declared in accordance with section 401 of the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170),
related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, to enable such agencies
to—
(1)restart schools
located in an area in which a major disaster has been declared in accordance
with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane
Rita;
(2)provide
assistance to institutions of higher education located in such an area;
and
(3)provide
assistance to eligible private schools in accordance with subsection
(c).
(c)Assistance to
eligible private schools
(1)From the payments provided by the Secretary of Education
under subsection (b) and after timely and meaningful consultation with
appropriate private school officials, a State educational agency that serves an
area for which a major disaster has been declared in accordance with section
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, shall provide to
eligible private schools special educational services or benefits for the
students served by such eligible private schools on the equitable basis
described in paragraph (3).
(2)Secular,
neutral, nonideologicalThe educational services or other
benefits provided under paragraph (1), including materials and equipment, shall
be secular, neutral, and nonideological.
(3)Educational
services and other benefits provided for eligible private school students under
paragraph (1) shall be equitable in comparison to the educational services and
other benefits provided for public school students under this section.
(4)The control of funds provided to an eligible private
school under paragraph (1), and title to materials, equipment, and property
purchased with such funds, shall be in a public agency, and a public agency
shall administer such funds, materials, equipment, and property.
(d)Funds made available under this section shall be used to
supplement, and not supplant, any funds made available through the Federal
Emergency Management Agency or through a State.
(e)In
this section:
(1)The term eligible private school
means a private elementary or secondary school that desires to participate in
the program under this section and is located in an area in which a major
disaster has been declared in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), related
to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
(2)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
4.
(a)Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, of the amounts made available to the Department of
Homeland Security under the heading Disaster Relief
under the heading
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
AND RESPONSE
of Public Law 109–62 (119 Stat. 1991),
not less than $3,300,000,000 shall be available to the heads of the appropriate
departments or agencies of the Federal Government to carry out the programs and
activities authorized under this Act.
(b)The amounts appropriated under subsection (a) shall
remain available until expended.