1.This Act may be cited as the
National Program for Arts and
Technology Act of 2011
.
2.
(a)Congress
finds that the national program for arts and technology established under this
Act will be the first national replication program in the United States
dedicated to addressing the complex needs of the poor and undereducated by
improving the sustainability of neighborhoods, communities, and regions.
(b)It is the purpose of this Act to establish
the national program for arts and technology to provide grants for qualifying
centers and communities to implement or found a qualifying center which adopts
the guidelines set forth by the Secretary of Education, in consultation with
the Center of Origin, for the purposes of—
(1)creating an
institution within an environment of poverty where individuals feel and foster
a sense of belonging, and are valued and treated with dignity;
(2)creating
professional jobs for instructors, trainers, artists, administrators, and
others;
(3)collaborating with
Federal agencies, private industry, nonprofit philanthropic organizations, and
planning and economic development organizations to leverage other investment
dollars on behalf of all stakeholders;
(4)assisting business
and industry to achieve long-term vitality by ensuring the development of a
trained and knowledgeable workforce;
(5)coordinating with
existing social service entities and nonprofit organizations on developing
diverse and equitable communities;
(6)developing
industry specific job training programs for the under and unemployed that are
both affordable and accessible;
(7)bridging the gap
between education and lifelong learning for poor performing students through
the discipline of craftsmanship in the visual arts; and
(8)developing complimentary extended day or
year programming in partnership with the local public schools to help engage
at-risk students by connecting classroom instruction with applied and
experiential programming in the arts.
3.In this Act:
(1)National program
for arts and technologyThe
term national program for arts and technology
means a program
that is based on the education and training model of Manchester Bidwell.
(2)The term Center
of Origin
means Manchester Bidwell, nonprofit corporation, the
education and community development model upon which the national program for
arts and technology is based.
(3)
(A)The term qualifying center
means a
private, nonprofit educational entity that—
(i)is a successful model, based on the
guidelines of the Center of Origin and under direction of the national program
for arts and technology; and
(ii)meets the
requirements of
subparagraph (B).
(B)A
qualifying center—
(i)operates under the
guidelines and practices established by the national program for arts and
technology and—
(I)provides education
and training to underemployed or unemployed individuals in industry specific
job skills;
(II)is accessible to
communities and neighborhoods that have limited access to
transportation;
(III)compliments the
learning of targeted public middle school or high school students who are
at-risk of dropping out of school; and
(IV)is housed in a
facility that has been reclaimed and renovated to sustainable building
standards or newly constructed as a highly efficient green space; and
(ii)has a valid
affiliation agreement with the Center of Origin and complies with the
following:
(I)Meets quarterly performance goals, which
may include—
- (aa)students’ school
attendance and behavior;
- (bb)retention in
programming;
- (cc)meeting and
exceeding recruitment and enrollment metrics;
- (dd)student outcomes
and performance in training; and
- (ee)job
placement.
(II)Adheres to
essential operating conditions including environment, targeted populations, and
educational model.
(III)Participates in
professional development opportunities for members of the board, executives and
staff.
(4)The term interested community
means a
community that does the following:
(A)Demonstrates to
the Secretary financial support from one or more of the following:
(i)Sectors of
government.
(ii)Education.
(iii)Philanthropy.
(iv)Social
services.
(v)Corporations.
(vi)Arts
organizations.
(B)Convenes an advisory committee comprised of
diverse community stakeholders who are committed to creating a qualifying
center in their community.
(C)Has identified potential funding that will
be used to secure the Federal matching requirements described in section
4(c).
(5)The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of Education.
4.
(a)From the amounts
appropriated to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall establish and implement
the national program for arts and technology to award grants, on a competitive
basis, to qualifying centers (such as the Center of Origin) and interested
communities to—
(1)provide financial
support to the centers and communities to establish a new qualifying center to
carry out the purposes described in section 2(b); and
(2)provide management
expertise to guide the centers and communities through the 3-phase replication
protocol developed by the Center of Origin to ensure standardization across all
qualifying centers as to performance goals and objectives, operating culture,
and teaching models.
(b)Limitation on
Use of fundsFederal funds
received under this Act may not be used for capital expenditures or endowment
gifts.
(c)To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a
qualifying center or interested community shall, for each fiscal year for which
the grant is received, provide non-Federal contributions (which may include
in-kind contributions) toward the amount of the grant in an amount equal to $1
for each $1 of Federal funds provided under the grant.
(d)Application and
annual report
(1)
(A)To be eligible to receive for a grant under this Act, a
qualifying center or interested community shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
(B)An
application submitted under subparagraph (A) shall, at a minimum,
contain—
(i)a
description of activities to be carried out under the grant;
(ii)information on
specific measurable goals and objectives to be achieved through activities
carried out under the grant;
(iii)evidence of an
affiliation with a local community; and
(iv)evidence of a teaching model consistent the
Secretary’s criteria prescribed pursuant to regulations and that of the Center
of Origin.
(2)
(A)Each qualifying center or interested community receiving
a grant under this Act shall submit to the Secretary an annual report at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
(B)An
annual report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall, at a minimum, describe
the degree to which progress has been made toward meeting the specific
measurable goals and objectives described in the applications submitted under
paragraph (1).
(e)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000
to carry out this Act for fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2016.