[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5963 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5963

 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
    fund pilot projects to explore how the camp experience promotes 
  physical activity and healthy lifestyles among children and youth, 
    reduces summer learning loss, and promotes academic achievement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2010

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
    fund pilot projects to explore how the camp experience promotes 
  physical activity and healthy lifestyles among children and youth, 
    reduces summer learning loss, and promotes academic achievement.

    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 ``Promoting Students Using the Camp 
Community for Enrichment, Strength, and Success Act'' or the 
``Promoting SUCCESS Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) reduce childhood obesity through increased physical 
        activity and healthy lifestyle choices; and
            (2) strengthen high school graduation rates by reducing 
        summer learning loss.

SEC. 3. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    From the amounts appropriated under section 11, the Secretary shall 
award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable 
the eligible entities to carry out a summertime learning pilot program.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION.

    To receive a grant under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit 
an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require. An 
application shall include--
            (1) a description of the needs of the youth population that 
        will be served under the grant, including any data with respect 
        to such youth that supports a need for the grant, including 
        data on--
                    (A) summer learning loss;
                    (B) academic achievement;
                    (C) physical activity;
                    (D) childhood obesity; and
                    (E) any other relevant needs facing the youth 
                population;
            (2) a description of the balanced array of activities that 
        will be undertaken with the grant funds to address the needs of 
        the youth population described in paragraph (1) to reduce 
        summer learning loss, strengthen academic achievement, increase 
        physical activity, reduce childhood obesity, and promote youth 
        development;
            (3) in the case of an eligible entity consisting of at 
        least 1 nonprofit or for-profit organization offering camp 
        activities, a description of how the eligible entity will work 
        with the local educational agencies and schools serving the 
        youth participating in activities funded under the grant to--
                    (A) provide activities that complement the academic 
                curriculum taught to the students; and
                    (B) address the academic and developmental needs of 
                the students;
            (4) specific goals, strategies, and performance measures 
        related to the academic and developmental outcomes expected to 
        be achieved under the grant, including the number of indicators 
        of performance described in subsection 7(b)(2), and the level 
        of performance (as measured by level of performance measure 
        described in section 7(b)(3)) on each of the indicators, 
        expected to be achieved; and
            (5) an outreach strategy, including--
                    (A) a description of how parents will be informed 
                of the opportunities made available under the grant; 
                and
                    (B) a description of how diverse participants and 
                staff will be recruited to participate in such 
                opportunities.

SEC. 5. PRIORITY.

    The Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities--
            (1) proposing to target services to students who attend 
        schools that have been identified as in need of improvement 
        under section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965;
            (2) that consist of not less than 1--
                    (A) nonprofit or for-profit organization offering 
                camp activities; or
                    (B) a local educational agency receiving funds 
                under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965; and
            (3) proposing to provide at least 1 activity from 3 or more 
        categories described in section 6(b).

SEC. 6. ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--An eligible entity receiving funds under this Act 
shall use such funds--
            (1) to carry out a summertime learning pilot program that 
        provides the camp activities described in subsection (b) for 
        students during the period beginning with the summer after 
        grade 5 through the summer before grade 10 to increase on-time 
        promotion to the next grade level, reduce summer learning loss, 
        strengthen academic achievement, increase physical activity, 
        promote healthy lifestyle choices, and promote positive youth 
        development;
            (2) to provide training and technical assistance to pilot 
        program staff in areas such as--
                    (A) shared leadership;
                    (B) the cultural needs of students;
                    (C) how to attract and effectively serve diverse 
                students and staff; and
                    (D) experiential learning as a teaching strategy;
            (3) for the evaluation and data collection necessary to 
        submit annual reports under section 7(a); and
            (4) for reasonable costs associated with program 
        coordination and administration.
    (b) Camp Activities.--The camp activities described in this 
subsection include activities in areas such as--
            (1) academic achievement, including--
                    (A) activities related to literacy;
                    (B) tutoring or mentoring to promote academic 
                achievement;
                    (C) nature-based activities that promote 
                achievement in science, technology, engineering, and 
                math; and
                    (D) other activities developed to reduce summer 
                learning loss and increase on-time promotion to the 
                next grade level;
            (2) health and wellness activities, including activities 
        that encourage--
                    (A) eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day;
                    (B) limiting computer and television screen time;
                    (C) striving for 1 hour of physical activity a day; 
                and
                    (D) limiting sugar-sweetened drinks;
            (3) independent living skills, including skills related 
        to--
                    (A) personal appearance and hygiene;
                    (B) first aid;
                    (C) health;
                    (D) emergency and safety;
                    (E) knowledge of community resources; and
                    (F) interpersonal skills;
            (4) environmental stewardship, including activities related 
        to--
                    (A) nature-based civic engagement;
                    (B) service learning;
                    (C) environmental awareness; and
                    (D) other community-based improvement activities;
            (5) leadership development, including activities related 
        to--
                    (A) leadership competencies;
                    (B) leadership styles;
                    (C) conflict-management;
                    (D) communication;
                    (E) character development;
                    (F) working effectively with others;
                    (G) emotional self-regulation;
                    (H) team building;
                    (I) making positive choices; and
                    (J) mobilizing groups to solve problems; and
            (6) workforce preparation, including a range of 
        introductory workforce experiences (such as staff training, 
        workplace etiquette, employee and supervisor relationships, 
        performance feedback, workforce training, and care-giving and 
        supervision of youth).

SEC. 7. ACCOUNTABILITY.

    (a) Annual Reporting.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under 
this Act shall submit an annual report to the Secretary at such time, 
in such manner, and providing such information as the Secretary may 
require, including--
            (1) information on the number, and demographic information, 
        of the children served under the summertime learning pilot 
        program carried out with the grant funds;
            (2) the camp activities provided under the program; and
            (3) an evaluation of the program using the indicators of 
        performance described in subsection (b)(2) and the level of 
        performance measure described in subsection (b)(3).
    (b) Independent Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--From the amounts appropriated under 
        section 11 to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall 
        award a grant or a contract to an independent entity outside of 
        the Department of Education to carry out an evaluation of the 
        grants provided under this Act. Such evaluation shall evaluate 
        the summertime learning pilot program carried out by each 
        eligible entity using a grant under this Act by--
                    (A) analyzing and documenting the strategies (for 
                increasing on-time promotion to the next grade level, 
                reducing summer learning loss, strengthening academic 
                achievement, increasing physical activity, promoting 
                healthy lifestyle choices, and promoting positive youth 
                development) implemented by the eligible entities under 
                the program, and the key lessons learned by the entity 
                (such as lessons with respect to program design, 
                collaboration among nonprofit organizations, local 
                educational agencies, and schools that offer camps, and 
                program implementation);
                    (B) measuring progress toward the goals identified 
                under subparagraph (A) through the strategies 
                identified under such subparagraph;
                    (C) evaluating the performance of the program using 
                the indicators of performance described in paragraph 
                (2); and
                    (D) determining the level of performance achieved 
                on each such indicator of performance as measured by 
                the level of performance measure described in paragraph 
                (3).
            (2) Indicators of performance.--The indicators of 
        performance described in this paragraph shall consist of the 
        following:
                    (A) The number and percentage of students served in 
                grade 5 through grade 9 who are promoted to the next 
                grade level on-time.
                    (B) The number and percentage of students passing 
                the State's academic assessments in reading and 
                mathematics required under section 1111(b)(3) of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)).
                    (C) Student school behavior during the summer and 
                the regular school year, as measured by truancy or 
                teacher or principal behavior reports.
                    (D) Number or percentage of students participating 
                in 60 minutes or more of moderate-vigorous physical 
                activity during the program.
                    (E) Developmental outcomes of the students, 
                including--
                            (i) positive self-identity;
                            (ii) social and interpersonal skills;
                            (iii) responsibility and independence;
                            (iv) positive values and character;
                            (v) creativity and exploration; and
                            (vi) leadership and civic engagement.
            (3) Level of performance measure.--For each indicator of 
        performance described in paragraph (2), the Secretary, in 
        coordination with eligible entities, shall develop a level of 
        performance measure expressed in an objective and quantifiable 
        form that measures the level of performance achieved by the 
        eligible entity on such indicator.

SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND BEST PRACTICES.

    From the amounts appropriated under section 11, the Secretary shall 
provide a grant or contract to 1 or more national nonprofit 
organizations to collect best practices from among grantees under this 
Act and provide grantees with training, technical assistance, and 
professional development. A national organization receiving a grant or 
contract under this section shall have demonstrated expertise in 
providing technical assistance and training on quality activities for 
children and youth during the summer, and shall have experience 
implementing a national system of accreditation to strengthen the 
quality of summer camp experiences for children and youth.

SEC. 9. MATCHING FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall require each eligible entity 
receiving a grant under this Act to provide matching funds from non-
Federal sources in an amount determined under subsection (b).
    (b) Determination of Amount of Match.--
            (1) Sliding scale.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        shall determine the amount of matching funds to be required of 
        an eligible entity under this subsection based on a sliding fee 
        scale that takes into account--
                    (A) the poverty level of the population to be 
                targeted by the eligible entity; and
                    (B) the ability of the eligible entity to obtain 
                such matching funds.
            (2) Maximum amount.--The Secretary may not require any 
        eligible entity under this section to provide matching funds in 
        an amount that exceeds the amount of the grant award under this 
        Act.
            (3) Level of poverty.--In determining the poverty level for 
        purposes of subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use the 
        criteria of poverty used by the Bureau of the Census in 
        compiling the most recent decennial census, as the criteria 
        have been updated by increases in the Consumer Price Index for 
        All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor 
        Statistics.
    (c) In-Kind Contributions.--The Secretary shall permit eligible 
entities under this section to match funds in whole or in part with in-
kind contributions.
    (d) Consideration.--Notwithstanding this section, the Secretary 
shall not consider an applicant's ability to match funds when 
determining which applicants will receive grants under this Act.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Camp activities.--The term ``camp'' refers to an 
        intentional set of evidence-based youth development and 
        academic activities taking place primarily during the summer 
        weeks when school is not in regular session.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a nonprofit organization;
                    (B) a for-profit organization,
                    (C) a local educational agency; and
                    (D) a consortium of 2 or more local educational 
                agencies.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2011 through 2015.
    (b) Allocations.--Of the amount appropriated under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall use--
            (1) not less than 90 percent for grants to eligible 
        entities under this Act; and
            (2) not more than the greater of 10 percent or $5,000,000 
        for technical assistance and evaluations under sections 7(b) 
        and 8.
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