[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 439 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 439

    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by 
  establishing a program to support the modernization, renovation, or 
  repair of career and technical education facilities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 4, 2013

Mr. Reid (for Mr. Begich) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by 
  establishing a program to support the modernization, renovation, or 
  repair of career and technical education facilities, 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 ``Career and Technical Education 
Facilities Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Career and technical education teaches academic subject 
        matter in ways that are relevant and consistent to the real 
        world.
            (2) Vocational education can reflect developmental needs by 
        helping students recognize their interests, aptitudes, and 
        abilities in age- and stage-appropriate ways.
            (3) In order for students to be high-performing, the 
        education facilities used by the students must also be high-
        performing.
            (4) Many school facilities that offer vocational or career 
        and technical education are inefficient and outdated.

SEC. 3. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES.

    (a) Career and Technical Education Facilities.--Part D of title V 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

        ``Subpart 22--Career and Technical Education Facilities

``SEC. 5621. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subpart:
            ``(1) Career and technical education.--The term `career and 
        technical education' has the meaning given the term in section 
        3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 
        2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
            ``(2) Community college.--The term `community college' 
        means--
                    ``(A) a junior or community college, as that term 
                is defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); or
                    ``(B) an institution of higher education (as 
                defined in section 101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1001)) 
                that awards a significant number of degrees and 
                certificates, as determined by the Secretary, that are 
                not--
                            ``(i) baccalaureate degrees (or an 
                        equivalent); or
                            ``(ii) master's, professional, or other 
                        advanced degrees.
            ``(3) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means a 
        local educational agency, community college, or other entity 
        determined appropriate by the Secretary.
            ``(4) Qualified project.--The term `qualified project'--
                    ``(A) means the modernization, renovation, or 
                repair of a facility that will be used to improve the 
                quality and availability of science, technology, 
                engineering, mathematics, or career and technical 
                education instruction to public elementary school or 
                secondary school, or community college students, and 
                that may include--
                            ``(i) improving the energy efficiency of 
                        the facility;
                            ``(ii) improving the cost-effectiveness of 
                        the facility in delivering quality education;
                            ``(iii) improving student, faculty, and 
                        staff health and safety at the facility;
                            ``(iv) improving, installing, or upgrading 
                        educational technology infrastructure;
                            ``(v) retrofitting an existing building for 
                        career and technical education purposes; and
                            ``(vi) a one-time repair of serviceable 
                        equipment at the facility, or replacement of 
                        equipment at the facility that is at the end of 
                        its serviceable lifespan, that will be used to 
                        further educational outcomes; and
                    ``(B) does not include new construction or the 
                payment of routine maintenance costs.

``SEC. 5622. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT.

    ``(a) Program Authorized.--From amounts appropriated under section 
5401(b), the Secretary shall carry out a program to improve career and 
technical education facilities by--
            ``(1) awarding grants to eligible entities to enable the 
        eligible entities to carry out qualified projects;
            ``(2) guaranteeing loans made to eligible entities for 
        qualified projects; or
            ``(3) making payments of interest on bonds, loans, or other 
        financial instruments (other than a refinancing) that are 
        issued to eligible entities for qualified projects.
    ``(b) Application.--An eligible entity that desires to receive a 
grant, loan guarantee, or payment of interest under this subpart shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such a time, in such a 
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
The application shall include--
            ``(1) a detailed description of the qualified project;
            ``(2) in the case of a qualified project described in 
        section 5621(4)(A)(vi), a description of the educational 
        outcomes to be furthered by the one-time repair of serviceable 
        equipment or replacement of equipment;
            ``(3) an indication as to whether the eligible entity 
        prefers to receive a grant, loan guarantee, or payment of 
        interest;
            ``(4) a description of the need for the qualified project;
            ``(5) a description of how the eligible entity will ensure 
        that the qualified project will be adequately maintained;
            ``(6) an identification of any public elementary school or 
        secondary school or community college that will benefit from 
        the qualified project;
            ``(7) a description of how the qualified project will 
        improve instruction and educational outcomes at the facility;
            ``(8) a description of how the facility supported by the 
        qualified project will be used for providing educational 
        services in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or 
        career and technical education;
            ``(9) a description of how the eligible entity will ensure 
        that the modernization, renovation, or repair supported by the 
        qualified project meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental 
        Design (LEED) building rating standards, Energy Star standards, 
        Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, 
        Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating 
        standards (Green Globes), or equivalent standards adopted by 
        entities with jurisdiction over or related to the eligible 
        entity;
            ``(10) a description of the fiscal capacity of the eligible 
        entity;
            ``(11) the percentage of students enrolled in the public 
        elementary school or secondary school or community college to 
        be served by the qualified project who are from low-income 
        families;
            ``(12) in the case of a qualified project at a facility 
        that is used by students in a secondary school, the secondary 
        school graduation rates; and
            ``(13) such additional information and assurances as the 
        Secretary may require.
    ``(c) Priority.--In making awards under this subpart, the Secretary 
shall use not less than a total of 25 percent of the funds appropriated 
under section 5401(b) to eligible entities for qualified projects to 
benefit--
            ``(1) public elementary schools or secondary schools served 
        by local educational agencies that are eligible to receive 
        assistance under part B of title VI; or
            ``(2) community colleges serving a substantial number of 
        rural students, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this 
subpart shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal 
and State funds available to carry out the activities supported under 
this subpart.
    ``(e) Technical Assistance and Administrative Costs.--The Secretary 
may reserve not more than 3 percent of funds appropriated under section 
5401(b) for the administrative costs of this subpart and to provide 
technical assistance to community colleges and local educational 
agencies concerning best practices in school facility renovation, 
repair, and modernization.
    ``(f) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after funds 
are appropriated to carry out this subpart, and every 2 years 
thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report on the effect of the qualified projects 
supported under this subpart on improving academic achievement.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 5401 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the matter preceding paragraph (1) and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this part (except for subpart 22) the following amounts:''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Authorization for Subpart 22.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out subpart 22 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 
and each succeeding fiscal year.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The table of contents in section 2 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 5619 the following:

        ``subpart 22--career and technical education facilities

``Sec. 5621. Definitions.
``Sec. 5622. Career and technical facilities improvement.''.
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