[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2263 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2263

   To authorize the Secretary of Education to establish the National 
       Program for Arts and Technology Act as a Federal program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2012

Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Brown of Ohio) 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 establish the National 
       Program for Arts and Technology Act as a Federal program.

    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 ``National Program for Arts and 
Technology Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDING AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the national program for arts and 
technology established under this Act will be one of the first national 
replication programs 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) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish the 
national program for arts and technology to provide competitive grants 
for qualified centers and interested communities to implement or found 
a qualified center that adopts the guidelines set forth by the 
Secretary, 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.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Center of origin.--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.
            (2) Interested communities.--The term ``interested 
        community'' means a community that does the following:
                    (A) Demonstrates to the Secretary financial support 
                from 1 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 qualified center in their community.
                    (C) Has identified potential funding that will be 
                used to secure the Federal matching requirements 
                described in section 4(c).
            (3) National program for arts and technology.--The term 
        ``national program for arts and technology'' means a program 
        that is based on the education and training model of Manchester 
        Bidwell.
            (4) Qualified center.--The term ``qualified center'' means 
        a private, nonprofit educational entity that--
                    (A) operates under the guidelines and practices 
                established by the national program for arts and 
                technology, in consultation with the Secretary, 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
                    (B) has a valid affiliation agreement with the 
                Center of Origin and complies with the following:
                            (i) Meets quarterly performance goals, 
                        which may include--
                                    (I) students' school attendance and 
                                behavior;
                                    (II) retention in programming;
                                    (III) meeting and exceeding 
                                recruitment and enrollment metrics;
                                    (IV) student outcomes and 
                                performance in training; and
                                    (V) 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.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Authorized.--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 qualified centers and interested communities to--
            (1) provide financial support to the centers and 
        communities to establish a new qualified 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 
        qualified centers as to performance goals and objectives, 
        operating culture, and teaching models.
    (b) Limitation on Use of Funds.--Federal funds received under this 
Act may not be used for capital expenditures or endowment gifts.
    (c) Matching Funds Required.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this Act, a qualified 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) Application.--
                    (A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
                under this Act, a qualified 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) Content.--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 with the Secretary's criteria 
                        prescribed pursuant to regulations.
            (2) Annual report.--
                    (A) In general.--Each qualified 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) Content.--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 Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $25,000,000 to carry out this Act for the period of fiscal 
years 2012 through 2016.
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