[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 42 (Friday, March 5, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1323-S1324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1149. Mr. TOOMEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 891 proposed by Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mrs.
Murray, Mr. Brown, Mr. Peters, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Stabenow,
Mr. Tester, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Carper, Mr. Leahy, and Mr.
Sanders) to the bill H.R. 1319, to provide for reconciliation pursuant
to title II of S. Con. Res. 5; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:
Beginning on page 34, strike line 16, and all that follow
through page 43, line 9, and insert the following:
(e) Uses of Funds.--A local educational agency that
receives funds under this section--
(1) shall reserve not less than 20 percent of such funds to
address learning loss through the implementation of evidence-
based interventions, such as summer learning, extended day,
comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year
programs, and ensure that such interventions respond to
students' academic, social, and emotional needs and address
the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on the student
subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi)of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)), students experiencing homelessness, and
children and youth in foster care;
(2) shall reserve such funds as needed to make Education
Recovery Grants under subsection (g); and
(3) shall use the remaining funds for any of the following:
(A) Any activity authorized by the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965.
(B) Any activity authorized by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.
(C) Any activity authorized by the Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act.
(D) Any activity authorized by the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act of 2006.
(E) Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of
local educational agencies with State, local, Tribal, and
territorial public health departments, and other relevant
agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such
entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
(F) Activities to address the unique needs of low-income
children or students, children with disabilities, English
learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing
homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach
and service delivery will meet the needs of each population.
(G) Developing and implementing procedures and systems to
improve the preparedness and response efforts of local
educational agencies.
(H) Training and professional development for staff of the
local educational agency on sanitation and minimizing the
spread of infectious diseases.
(I) Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the
facilities of a local educational agency, including buildings
operated by such agency.
(J) Planning for, coordinating, and implementing activities
during long-term closures, including providing meals to
eligible students, providing technology for online learning
to all students, providing guidance for carrying out
requirements under the IDEA and ensuring other educational
services can continue to be provided consistent with all
Federal, State, and local requirements.
(K) Purchasing educational technology (including hardware,
software, and connectivity) for students who are served by
the local educational agency that aids in regular and
substantive educational interaction between students and
their classroom instructors, including low-income students
and children with disabilities, which may include assistive
technology or adaptive equipment.
(L) Providing mental health services and supports.
(M) Planning and implementing activities related to summer
learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including
providing classroom instruction or online learning during the
summer months and addressing the needs of low-income
students, children with disabilities, English learners,
migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and
children in foster care.
(N) Addressing learning loss among students, including low-
income students, children with disabilities, English
learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing
homelessness, and children and youth in foster care, of the
local educational agency, including by--
(i) administering and using high-quality assessments that
are valid and reliable, to accurately assess students'
academic progress and assist educators in meeting students'
academic needs, including through differentiating
instruction;
(ii) implementing evidence-based activities to meet the
comprehensive needs of students;
(iii) providing information and assistance to parents and
families on how they can effectively support students,
including in a distance learning environment; and
(iv) tracking student attendance and improving student
engagement in distance education.
(O) School facility repairs and improvements to enable
operation of schools to reduce risk of virus transmission and
exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support
student health needs.
(P) Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement,
and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in
school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems,
filtering, purification and other air cleaning, fans, control
systems, and window and door repair and replacement.
(Q) Developing strategies and implementing public health
protocols including, to the greatest extent practicable,
policies in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention for the reopening and operation of
school facilities to effectively maintain the health and
safety of students, educators, and other staff.
(R) Other activities that are necessary to maintain the
operation of and continuity of services in local educational
agencies and continuing to employ existing staff of the local
educational agency.
(f) State Funding.--With funds not otherwise allocated
under subsection (d), a State--
(1) shall reserve not less than 5 percent of the total
amount of grant funds awarded to
[[Page S1324]]
the State under this section to carry out, directly or
through grants or contracts, activities to address learning
loss by supporting the implementation of evidence-based
interventions, such as summer learning, extended day,
comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year
programs, and ensure that such interventions respond to
students' academic, social, and emotional needs and address
the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on the student
subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)), students experiencing homelessness, and
children and youth in foster care, including by providing
additional support to local educational agencies to fully
address such impacts;
(2) shall reserve not less than 1 percent of the total
amount of grant funds awarded to the State under this section
to carry out, directly or through grants or contracts, the
implementation of evidence-based comprehensive afterschool
programs, and ensure such programs respond to students'
academic, social, and emotional needs and address the
disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on the student
populations described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)), students experiencing homelessness, and
children and youth in foster care;
(3) shall reserve 2.5 percent of the total amount of grant
funds awarded to the State under this section to carry out,
directly or through grants or contracts, the purchase of
educational technology (including hardware, software, and
connectivity) for students who are served by the local
educational agencies in the State that aids in regular and
substantive educational interaction between students and
their classroom instructors, including low-income students
and children with disabilities, which may include assistive
technology or adaptive equipment; and
(4) may reserve not more than one-half of 1 percent of the
total amount of grant funds awarded to the State under this
section for administrative costs and the remainder for
emergency needs as determined by the State educational agency
to address issues responding to coronavirus, which may be
addressed through the use of grants or contracts.
(g) Education Recovery Grants.--
(1) In general.--A local educational agency that receives
funds under this section and serves an elementary school or
secondary school identified and designated under paragraph
(2) shall deposit into Education Savings Accounts the
Education Recovery Grants to eligible claimants, by not later
than June 30, 2021, from funds available under this section
in the amount described in paragraph (3).
(2) Identification and designation.--Not later than 2
months after the date of enactment of this title, and every 2
months thereafter, a local educational agency that receives
funds under this section shall identify and designate for
school improvement any elementary school or secondary school
served by the agency, that failed, during the preceding 2-
month period, to make available in-person instruction for at
a minimum 15 days each of such 2 months for all students who
wish to attend.
(3) Education recovery grant amount.--The amount described
in this paragraph is the product of $2,500, multiplied by the
number of qualifying children of the eligible claimant for
the 2021 taxable year.
(4) Eligible claimant.--In this subsection, the term
``eligible claimant'' means a parent or guardian of a
qualifying child who agrees to use the funds deposited in
their qualifying child's Education Savings Account for the
following qualifying expenses to educate the qualifying
child:
(A) Tuition and fees in connection with enrollment or
attendance at an elementary or secondary school.
(B) Tuition for tutoring or educational classes outside of
the home (but only if the tutor or instructor is not related
to the student).
(C) Curriculum or instructional materials.
(D) Educational services or therapies for students with
disabilities.
(E) Any other related educational expenses approved by the
local educational agency.
(5) Special rule.--Only one Education Recovery Grant shall
be made on behalf of each qualifying child, regardless of the
number of parents or legal guardians of such child.
(6) Qualifying child.--In this subsection, the term
``qualifying child'' means an individual aged 5 through 17
who attends a school identified and designated under
paragraph (2).
(7) Administration.--A local educational agency that
receives funds under this section and serves an elementary
school or secondary school identified and designated under
paragraph (2) shall--
(A) provide parents and guardians of qualifying children
with a written explanation of the allowable uses of Education
Recovery Grants; and
(B) require that eligible claimants maintain a record of
how Education Recovery Grant funds were spent.
(8) Prohibition of control over nonpublic education
providers.--
(A) In general.--Education Recovery Grants shall not be
considered assistance to the school or other educational
provider that enrolls or provides educational services to the
qualifying child or the eligible claimant.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any
Federal control over any aspect of any private, religious, or
home education provider, whether or not a home education
provider is treated as a private school or home school under
State law.
(C) Prohibition on religious discrimination.--No State or
local educational agency shall in any way exclude,
discriminate against, or otherwise disadvantage any education
provider with respect to programs or services under this
section based in whole or in part on the provider's religious
education character or affiliation, including religiously or
mission-based policies or practices.
(h) Reallocation.--A State shall return to the Secretary
any funds received under this section that the State does not
award within 1 year of receiving such funds and the Secretary
shall reallocate such funds to the remaining States in
accordance with subsection (c).
(i) ESEA Terms.--In this section:
(1) ESEA terms.--The terms ``child'', ``children with
disabilities'', ``distance education'', ``elementary
school'', ``English learner'', ``evidence-based'', ``extended
learning time'', ``secondary school'', ``local educational
agency'', ``parent'', ``school leader'', ``Secretary'',
``State'', ``state educational agency'', and ``technology''
have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(2) Full-service community school.--The term ``full-service
community school'' has the meaning given that term in section
4622(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 7272(2)).
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico.
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