[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 986 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 986

To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants for the support 
       of full-service community schools, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 10, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants for the support 
       of full-service community schools, 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 ``Full-Service Community Schools Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) Providing support for the planning, implementation, and 
        operation of full-service community schools.
            (2) Improving the coordination, availability, and 
        effectiveness of services for children and families.
            (3) Enabling principals and teachers to complement and 
        enrich efforts to help all children reach proficiency in 
        reading and mathematics by 2014.
            (4) Ensuring that children come to school ready to learn 
        every day.
            (5) Enabling families to participate in the education of 
        their children.
            (6) Enabling more efficient use of Federal, State, local, 
        and private sector resources that serve children and families.
            (7) Facilitating the coordination of programs operated by 
        community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and 
        State, local, and tribal governments.
            (8) Engaging students as resources to their communities.

SEC. 3. FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL.

    In this Act, the term ``full-service community school'' means a 
public elementary school or secondary school that--
            (1) participates in a community-based effort to coordinate 
        educational, developmental, family, health, and other 
        comprehensive services through community-based organizations 
        and public and private partnerships; and
            (2) provides access to such services to students, families, 
        and the community.

SEC. 4. LOCAL PROGRAMS.

    (a) Grants.--The Secretary of Education (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Secretary'') may award grants to eligible entities to assist 
public elementary schools or secondary schools to function as full-
service community schools.
    (b) Application.--An eligible entity that desires to receive a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. The 
Secretary shall require that each such application include the 
following:
            (1) A description of the eligible entity.
            (2) A list of partner entities that will assist the 
        eligible entity to coordinate or provide qualified services.
            (3) A memorandum of understanding between the eligible 
        entity and all partner entities describing the role the partner 
        entities will assume.
            (4) A description of the capacity of the eligible entity to 
        provide and coordinate qualified services at a full-service 
        community school.
            (5) A comprehensive plan that includes descriptions of the 
        following:
                    (A) The student, family, and school community to be 
                served, including information about the demographic 
                characteristics and needs of students, families, and 
                community residents, the number of individuals to be 
                served, and the frequency of services.
                    (B) Qualified services to be provided or 
                coordinated by the eligible entity and its partner 
                entities.
                    (C) Planning, coordination, management, and 
                oversight of qualified services at each school to be 
                served, including the role of the school principal, the 
                full-service community school coordinator, partner 
                entities, parents, and members of the community.
                    (D) Funding sources for qualified services at each 
                school to be served, whether such funding is derived 
                from grants under this section or from other Federal, 
                State, local, or private sources.
                    (E) Plans for professional development for 
                personnel managing, or coordinating or delivering 
                qualified services at, the schools to be served.
                    (F) Plans for joint utilization and maintenance of 
                school facilities by the eligible entity and its 
                partner entities.
            (6) Identification of principles of effectiveness that are 
        based on--
                    (A) an assessment of objective data regarding the 
                need for the establishment of a full-service community 
                school and qualified services at each school to be 
                served and in the community involved;
                    (B) an established set of performance measures 
                aimed at ensuring the availability and effectiveness of 
                high-quality qualified services; and
                    (C) if appropriate, scientifically-based research 
                that provides evidence that the qualified services 
                involved will help students meet State and local 
                student academic achievement standards.
            (7) A strategy for developing a plan for sustainability.
    (c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to eligible entities that--
            (1) will serve not less than 1 school eligible for a 
        schoolwide program under section 1114 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314);
            (2) demonstrate a record of effectiveness in coordinating 
        multiple qualified services; and
            (3) will serve more than 1 full-service community school as 
        part of a community- or district-wide strategy.
    (d) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section shall be used 
to coordinate or provide not less than 3 qualified services at 1 or 
more public elementary schools or secondary schools.
    (e) Grant Period.--Each grant awarded under this section shall be 
for a period of 5 years.
    (f) Minimum Amount.--The Secretary may not award a grant to an 
eligible entity under this section in an amount that is less than 
$75,000 for each year of the 5-year grant period.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        consortium composed of a local educational agency and 1 or more 
        community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, or 
        other public or private entities.
            (2) Qualified services.--The term ``qualified services'' 
        means any of the following:
                    (A) Early childhood education.
                    (B) Remedial education activities and academic 
                enrichment activities.
                    (C) Programs under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 
                9831 et seq.), including Early Head Start programs 
                carried out under section 645A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                9840a).
                    (D) Programs that promote parental involvement and 
                family literacy, including the Reading First, Early 
                Reading First, and William F. Goodling Even Start 
                Family Literacy programs authorized under part B of 
                title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 et seq.).
                    (E) Mentoring and other youth development programs.
                    (F) Parent leadership development activities.
                    (G) Parenting education activities.
                    (H) Child care services.
                    (I) Community service and service learning 
                opportunities.
                    (J) Programs that provide assistance to students 
                who have been truant, suspended, or expelled.
                    (K) Job training and career counseling services.
                    (L) Nutrition services.
                    (M) Primary health and dental care.
                    (N) Mental health counseling services.
                    (O) Adult education, including instruction in 
                English as a second language.
                    (P) Other services consistent with this Act.

SEC. 5. STATE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Grants.--The Secretary may award grants to State collaboratives 
to support the development of full-service community school programs in 
accordance with this section.
    (b) Application.--A State collaborative that desires to receive a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. The 
Secretary shall require that each such application include the 
following:
            (1) A list of all governmental agencies and nonprofit 
        organizations that will participate as members of the State 
        collaborative.
            (2) A description of the expertise of each member of the 
        State collaborative--
                    (A) in coordinating Federal and State programs 
                across multiple agencies; and
                    (B) in working with and developing the capacity of 
                full-service community schools.
            (3) A comprehensive plan describing how the grant will be 
        used to plan, coordinate, and expand the delivery of services 
        at full-service community schools.
            (4) An explanation of how the State collaborative will 
        provide technical assistance and training, including 
        professional development, for full-service community schools.
            (5) An explanation of how the State will collect and 
        evaluate information on full-service community schools.
    (c) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section shall be used 
only for the following:
            (1) Planning, coordinating, and expanding the development 
        of full-service community schools in the State.
            (2) Providing technical assistance and training for full-
        service community schools, including professional development 
        for personnel and creation of data collection and evaluation 
        systems.
            (3) Collecting, evaluating, and reporting data about the 
        progress of full-service community schools.
            (4) Evaluating the impact of State policies and guidelines 
        in the integration of Federal and State programs at full-
        service community schools.
    (d) Grant Period.--Each grant awarded under this section shall be 
for a period of 5 years.
    (e) Minimum Amount.--The Secretary may not award a grant to a State 
collaborative under this section in an amount that is less than 
$500,000 for each year of the 5-year grant period.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and any 
        other territory or possession of the United States.
            (2) State collaborative.--The term ``State collaborative'' 
        means a collaborative of a State educational agency and not 
        less than 2 other governmental agencies or nonprofit 
        organizations that provide services to children and families.

SEC. 6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an advisory committee to 
be known as the ``Full-Service Community Schools Advisory Committee'' 
(in this section referred to as the ``Advisory Committee'').
    (b) Duties.--Subject to subsection (c), the Advisory Committee 
shall--
            (1) consult with the Secretary on the development and 
        implementation of programs under this Act;
            (2) identify strategies to improve the coordination of 
        Federal programs in support of full-service community schools; 
        and
            (3) issue an annual report to Congress on efforts under 
        this Act, including a description of--
                    (A) the results of local and national evaluation of 
                such efforts; and
                    (B) the scope of services being coordinated under 
                this Act.
    (c) Consultation.--In carrying out its duties under this section, 
the Advisory Committee shall consult annually with eligible entities 
awarded grants under section 4, State collaboratives awarded grants 
under section 5, and other entities with expertise in operating full-
service community schools.
    (d) Members.--The Advisory Committee shall consist of 4 members as 
follows:
            (1) The Attorney General of the United States (or the 
        Attorney General's delegate).
            (2) The Secretary of Agriculture (or the Secretary's 
        delegate).
            (3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services (or the 
        Secretary's delegate).
            (4) The Secretary of Labor (or the Secretary's delegate).

SEC. 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

    (a) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, directly or through 
grants, shall provide such technical assistance as may be appropriate 
to accomplish the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Evaluations by Secretary.--The Secretary shall conduct 
evaluations on the effectiveness of grants under sections 4 and 5 in 
achieving the purposes of this Act.
    (c) Evaluations by Grantees.--The Secretary shall require each 
recipient of a grant under this Act--
            (1) to conduct periodic evaluations of the progress 
        achieved with the grant toward achieving the purposes of this 
        Act;
            (2) to use such evaluations to refine and improve 
        activities conducted with the grant and the performance 
        measures for such activities; and
            (3) to make the results of such evaluations publicly 
        available, including by providing public notice of such 
        availability.
    (d) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Funds made available to a grantee 
under this Act may be used only to supplement, and not supplant, any 
other Federal, State, or local funds that would otherwise be available 
to carry out the activities assisted under this Act.
    (e) Matching Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall require each recipient 
        of a grant under this Act to provide matching funds from non-
        Federal sources in an amount determined under paragraph (2).
            (2) Determination of amount of match.--
                    (A) Sliding scale.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 
                the Secretary shall determine the amount of matching 
                funds to be required of a grantee under this subsection 
                based on a sliding fee scale that takes into account--
                            (i) the relative poverty of the population 
                        to be targeted by the grantee; and
                            (ii) the ability of the grantee to obtain 
                        such matching funds.
                    (B) Maximum amount.--The Secretary may not require 
                any grantee under this Act to provide matching funds in 
                an amount that exceeds the amount of the grant award.
            (3) In-kind contributions.--The Secretary shall permit 
        grantees under this Act to match funds in whole or in part with 
        in-kind contributions.
            (4) Consideration.--Notwithstanding this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall not consider an applicant's ability to match 
        funds when determining which applicants will receive grants 
        under this Act.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010.
    (b) Allocation.--Of the amounts appropriated to carry out this Act 
for each fiscal year--
            (1) 75 percent shall be for section 4;
            (2) 20 percent shall be for section 5; and
            (3) of the remaining 5 percent, not less than $500,000 
        shall be for technical assistance under section 7(a).
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