[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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