[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1326-S1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 309. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 to specify the purposes for which funds provided under subpart 1 
of part A of title I may be used; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill designed 
to better direct and refocus ESEA Title I funds on academic 
instruction. The goal of this bill, titled ``The Title I Integrity 
Act,'' is to target Title I funds on learning and to get ``more for our 
money'' from the largest Federal elementary-secondary education 
program.
  Title I provides assistance to virtually every school district in the 
country for services to children attending schools with high 
concentrations of low-income students, from preschool through high 
school. It has been the ``anchor'' of Federal assistance to schools, 
since its origin in 1965. For Fiscal Year 2000, funding for Part A 
basic grants to school districts is almost $8 billion.
  This bill would specify in law how Title I funds can and cannot be 
used by schools. It seeks to direct Title I funds to uses that improve 
academic achievement and help students meet state achievement 
standards.
  The bill says that ``a local educational agency shall use funds . . . 
only to provide academic instruction and services directly related to 
the instruction of students in preschool through grade 12 to assist 
eligible children to improve their academic achievement and to meet 
achievement standards established by the State.''
  Permitted uses include these: Interventions and corrective actions to 
improve student achievement; extending academic instruction beyond the 
normal school day and year, including summer school; the employment of 
teachers and other instructional personnel (including employee 
benefits); instructional services to pre-kindergarten children for the 
transition to kindergarten; the purchase of instructional resource such 
as books, materials, computers, and other instructional equipment and 
wiring to support instructional equipment; development and 
administration of curriculum, educational materials and assessments; 
and transportation of students to assist them in improving academic 
achievement.
  Uses explicitly not permitted are these: The purchase or lease of 
privately-owned facilities; the purchase or provision of facilities 
maintenance, janitorial, gardening, or landscaping services or the 
payment of utility costs; the construction of facilities; acquisition 
of real property; food and refreshments; travel to and attendance at 
conferences or meetings; and the purchase or lease of vehicles.
  Current law on Title I is much too vague. It says, ``A State or local 
educational agency shall use funds received under this part only to 
supplement the amount of funds that would, in the absence of such 
Federal funds, be made available from non-Federal sources for the 
education of pupils participating in programs assisted under this part, 
and not to supplant such funds.''
  The U.S. Department of Education has given states a guidance document 
that explains how Title I funds can currently be used. Permitted uses 
are for the following: instructional practices; counseling, mentoring; 
developing curricula; salaries; employee benefits; renting privately-
owned facilities; janitorial services; utilities; mobile vans; training 
and professional development; equipment; interest on lease purchase 
agreements; travel and conferences; food and refreshments; insurance 
for vehicles; parent involvement activities.
  Under this guidance document, only two uses are specifically 
prohibited: (1) construction or acquisition of real property; and (2) 
payment to parents to attend a meeting or training session or to 
reimburse a parent for salary lost due to attendance at ``parental 
involvement'' meeting.
  My reason for introducing this bill is this: Our students are not 
learning; our schools are failing our children. We must use our limited 
federal dollars for the fundamental purpose of education: to help 
students learn.
  Just this week I learned that a January 2001 study by Education 
Weekly, titled ``Quality Counts 2001: A Better Balance,'' brought more 
bad news about California's students. Here's what the report found:
  In fourth grade reading, 20 percent of students are proficient and 52 
percent are below the basic standard.
  In eighth grade reading, 22 percent of students are proficient and 36 
percent are below the basic standard.
  Comparing California to other states, in how well fourth grade 
students read, California ranks 36 out of 39 states. In eight grade 
reading, California ranks 32 out of 36 states.

[[Page S1327]]

  Nationally, the news is similarly distressing:
  U.S. eighth graders are out-performed by their counterparts in math 
and science from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, Australia and 
Canada (Third International Math and Science Study, December 5, 2000). 
The 1999 study showed virtually no improvement for U.S. students over 
1995.
  American twelfth graders performed in mathematics better than 
students in only two countries, Cyprus and South Africa.
  In writing, 75 percent of U.S. school children cannot compose a well-
organized, coherent essay, concluded the National Assessment for 
Education Progress (NAEP) in September 1999.
  While it is difficult to really ascertain exactly ow Title I funds 
are always being used, we do know of a few examples of uses that raise 
questions in my mind:
  In Alabama, schools ``dipped into Title I to pay the electric bill 
and for janitorial services.'' Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights.
  While most of Title I's $8 billion appear to be spent on instruction, 
the Los Angeles Times, in a March 12, 2000 editorial, said, ``About 
half that amount is wasted on unskilled though well-meaning teacher 
aides, who are often more baby-sitter than instructor.''
  Title I has been used ``to pay for everything from playground 
supervisors and field trips to more time for nurses and counselors.'' 
San Diego Tribune, March 16, 2000.
  California school officials have told my staff that Title I has been 
used for pay for clerical assistants in school administrative offices, 
payroll staff, truant officers, schoolyard duty personnel, school bus 
loading assistants, ``curriculum coordinators,'' ``compliance,'' 
attending conferences, and home visits.
  It is time to put an end to the notion that Title I can be everything 
to everyone, that it can fund all the services that schools need. 
Federal funding is only seven percent of total funding for elementary 
and secondary education and Title I is even a smaller percentage of 
total support for public schools. We must get the most that we can 
educationally for our limited dollars.
  It is time to better direct Title I funds to the true goal of 
education: to help students learn. This bill is one step toward that 
goal.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 309

       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 ``Title I Integrity Act of 
     2001''.

     SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON FUNDS.

       Subpart 1 of part A of title I (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) is 
     amended by inserting after section 1120B (20 U.S.C. 6323) the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 1120C. LIMITATIONS ON FUNDS.

       ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this Act, a local educational agency shall use funds received 
     under this subpart only to provide academic instruction and 
     services directly related to the instruction of students in 
     preschool through grade 12 to assist eligible children to 
     improve their academic achievement and to meet achievement 
     standards established by the State.
       ``(b) Permissible and Prohibited Activities.--In this 
     section, the term `academic instruction'--
       ``(1) includes--
       ``(A) the implementation of instructional interventions and 
     corrective actions to improve student achievement;
       ``(B) the extension of academic instruction beyond the 
     normal school day and year, including during summer school;
       ``(C) the employment of teachers and other instructional 
     personnel, including providing teachers and instructional 
     personnel with employee benefits;
       ``(D) the provision of instructional services to pre-
     kindergarten children to prepare such children for the 
     transition to kindergarten;
       ``(E) the purchase of instructional resources, such as 
     books, materials, computers, other instructional equipment, 
     and wiring to support instructional equipment;
       ``(F) the development and administration of curricula, 
     educational materials, and assessments; and
       ``(G) the transportation of students to assist the students 
     in improving academic achievement; and
       ``(2) does not include--
       ``(A) the purchase or lease of privately owned facilities;
       ``(B) the purchase or provision of facilities maintenance, 
     gardening, landscaping, or janitorial services, or the 
     payment of utility costs;
       ``(C) the construction of facilities;
       ``(D) the acquisition of real property;
       ``(E) the payment of costs for food and refreshments;
       ``(F) the payment of travel and attendance costs at 
     conferences or other meetings; or
       ``(G) the purchase or lease of vehicles.''.
                                 ______