Link-up for Learning Act

Summary: Link-up for Learning Act - Establishes a program of grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) in partnership with other eligible entities for coordinated educational and other student support services for at-risk youth. 
Makes eligible to apply for such a grant:  (1) an LEA that seeks to plan and implement a coordinated services program for at-risk students with at least one other cooperating public agency; and (2) a consortium, including at least one LEA and one cooperating public service agency, formed to coordinate support services for at-risk students.  Allows nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and private enterprises with experience or expertise in providing services for at-risk students also to participate as cooperating agencies. 
Allows educationally deprived students and their family members to receive services provided by a project under this Act.  Allows an eligible LEA to select any school, grade span, or program area for project services, providing such student eligibility requirements are met and the project design is of adequate size, scope, and quality. 
Allows such grants to be for up to three years, subject to satisfactory progress.  Limits the Federal share of project costs to 80 percent. 
Establishes a Federal Interagency Task Force to identify means to facilitate interagency collaboration at Federal, State, and local levels to improve support services for at-risk students.  Requires the Task Force to:  (1) eliminate program regulations or practices impeding coordination and collaboration; and (2) implement plans for jointly funded programs and unified eligibility and application procedures. 
Directs the Secretary of Education to study and report to the Congregrantees under this Act to identify regulatory and legislative obstacles to coordinated support services and innovative procedures and programs. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Link-up for Learning Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Growing numbers of children live in an environment of 
        social and economic conditions that greatly increase their risk 
        of academic failure when they become students.
            (2) More than 20 percent of the Nation's children live in 
        poverty while at the same time the Nation's infrastructure of 
        social support for children of poor families has greatly 
        eroded; for example, 40 percent of eligible children do not 
        receive free or reduced price lunches or benefit from food 
        stamps, 25 percent are not covered by health insurance, and 
        only 20 percent are accommodated in public housing.
            (3) Many at-risk students suffer the effects of inadequate 
        nutrition and health care, overcrowded and unsafe living 
        conditions and homelessness, family and gang violence, 
        substance abuse, sexual abuse, and child abuse, involuntary 
        migration, and limited English proficiency that often create 
        severe barriers to learning the knowledge and skills needed to 
        become literate, independent, and productive citizens.
            (4) Almost half of all children and youths live in a single 
        parent family for some period of their lives, greatly reducing 
        parental involvement in their education.
            (5) High proportions of disadvantaged and minority children 
        are with never married mothers or teenage mothers, greatly 
        limiting the resources available for early childhood 
        development and education.
            (6) Large numbers of children and youths are recent 
        immigrants or children of recent immigrants with limited 
        English proficiency and significant unmet educational needs.
            (7) Services for at-risk students are fragmented, 
        expensive, overregulated, often ineffective and duplicative, 
        and focused on narrow problems and not the needs of the whole 
        child and family.
            (8) School personnel and other support service providers 
        often lack knowledge of and access to available services for 
        at-risk students and their family in the community, are 
        constrained by bureaucratic obstacles from providing the 
        services most needed, and have few resources or incentives to 
        coordinate services.
            (9) Service providers for at-risk students such as 
        teachers, social workers, health care givers, juvenile justice 
        workers and others are trained in separate institutions, 
        practice in separate agencies, and pursue separate professional 
        activities that provide little support for coordination and 
        integration of services.
            (10) Coordination and integration of services for at-risk 
        students emphasizing prevention and early intervention offer a 
        great opportunity to break the cycle of poverty that leads to 
        academic failure, teenage parenthood, leaving school, low skill 
        levels, unemployment, and low income.
            (11) Coordination of services is more cost effective for 
        schools and support agencies because it reduces duplication, 
        improves quality of services, and substitutes prevention for 
        expensive crisis intervention.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    (a) Improvement of Student Performance.--It is the purpose of this 
Act to establish a program of grants to local educational agencies to 
improve the educational performance of at-risk students by--
            (1) removing barriers to their learning;
            (2) coordinating and enhancing the effectiveness of 
        educational support services;
            (3) replicating and disseminating programs of high quality 
        coordinated support services;
            (4) increasing parental educational involvement;
            (5) improving the capacity of school and support services 
        personnel to collaborate;
            (6) integrating services, regulations, data bases, 
        eligibility procedures, and funding sources whenever possible; 
        and
            (7) focusing school and community resources on prevention 
        and early intervention strategies to address student needs 
        holistically.
    (b) Coordination.--It is also the purpose of this Act to provide 
assistance to foster planning, coordination, and collaboration among 
local, county, State, and Federal educational and other student support 
service agencies and levels of government, nonprofit organizations, and 
the private sector to improve the educational performance of at-risk 
students by--
            (1) identifying and removing unnecessary regulations, 
        duplication of services, and obstacles to coordination;
            (2) improving communication and information exchange;
            (3) creating joint funding pools or resource banks;
            (4) providing cross-training of agency personnel; and
            (5) increasing parental and community involvement in 
        education.

SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) Coordinated Services.--A local educational agency that seeks to 
plan and implement a coordinated services program for at-risk students 
with at least 1 other cooperating public agency is eligible to apply.
    (b) Coordinating Support Services.--A consortium, including at 
least 1 local educational agency and 1 cooperating public service 
agency, formed for the purpose of coordinating support services for at-
risk students is eligible to apply.
    (c) Cooperating Agencies.--Nonprofit organizations, institutions of 
higher education, and private enterprises with experience or expertise 
in providing services for at-risk students may also participate as a 
cooperating agency with a local educational agency or consortium in 
developing, operating, or evaluating programs assisted under this Act.
    (d) Head Start Agencies.--A local educational agency that is 
receiving assistance under the Head Start Transition program shall also 
be eligible for assistance under this Act if it meets the requirements 
under subsection (a) or (b) and the cooperating public agency is in 
addition to a local Head Start agency.
    (e) Limitation.--A local educational agency shall not be eligible 
to apply unless it is eligible to receive financial assistance under 
chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

SEC. 5. TARGET POPULATION.

    (a) Eligible Students.--Educationally deprived students, in chapter 
1 eligible schools or students in chapter 1 schoolwide projects, and 
their family members, may receive services provided by a project funded 
under this Act.
    (b) Eligible Schools, Grades, and Areas.--An eligible local 
educational agency may select any school, grade span, or program area 
for project services providing the requirements of subsection (a) are 
met and the project design is of adequate size, scope, and quality to 
achieve project outcomes.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZED USES OF FUNDS.

    Local educational agencies receiving grants under this Act may use 
the funds to--
            (1) plan, develop, coordinate, acquire, expand, or improve 
        school-based or community-based education support services 
        through cooperative agreements, contracts for services, or 
        direct employment of staff to strengthen the educational 
        performance of at-risk students; education support services may 
        include but are not limited to child nutrition and nutrition 
        education; health education, screening and referrals; student 
        and family counseling, substance abuse prevention; extended 
        school-day enrichment and remedial programs; child care; 
        tutoring; mentoring; homework assistance; special curricula; 
        family literacy; and parent education and involvement 
        activities;
            (2) plan, develop, and operate with other agencies a 
        coordinated services program for at-risk students to increase 
        their access to community-based social support services 
        including but not limited to child nutrition, health and mental 
        health services; substance abuse prevention and treatment; 
        foster care and child protective services; child abuse 
        services; welfare services; recreation; juvenile delinquency 
        prevention and court intervention; job training and placement; 
        community-based alternatives to residential placements for 
        handicapped students; and alternative living arrangements for 
        students with dysfunctional families;
            (3) develop effective strategies for coordinated services 
        for at-risk students whose families are highly mobile;
            (4) develop effective prevention and early intervention 
        strategies with other agencies to serve at-risk students and 
        families;
            (5) improve interagency communications and information-
        sharing including developing local area telecommunications 
        networks, software development, data base integration and 
        management, and other applications of technology that improve 
        coordination of services;
            (6) support colocation of support services in schools, 
        cooperating service agencies, community-based centers, public 
        housing sites, or other sites nearby schools including rental 
        or lease payments, open and lock-up fees, or maintenance and 
        security costs necessary for the delivery of services for at-
        risk students;
            (7) design, implement, and evaluate unified eligibility 
        procedures, integrated data bases, and secure confidentiality 
        procedures that facilitate information sharing;
            (8) provide at-risk students with integrated case planning 
        and case management services through staff support for 
        interagency teams of service providers or hiring school-based 
        support services coordinators;
            (9) subsidize the coordination and delivery of education-
        related services to at-risk students outside the school site by 
        a participating service agency such as a public housing 
        authority, library, senior citizen center, or community based 
        organization;
            (10) provide staff development for teachers, guidance 
        counselors, administrators, and participating agency support 
        services staff including cross-agency training in service 
        delivery for at-risk students;
            (11) plan and operate 1-stop school-based or nearby 
        community-based service centers to provide at-risk students and 
        their families with a wide variety and intensity of support 
        services such as information, referral, expedited eligibility 
        screening and enrollment, and direct service delivery; and
            (12) support dissemination and replication of a model 
        coordinated educational support services program to other local 
        educational agencies including materials and training.

SEC. 7. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.

    An applicant seeking assistance under this Act shall submit an 
application that provides evidence of--
            (1) the degree of need for a coordinated services plan 
        among the students of the local educational agency;
            (2) the expected improvement in educational outcomes for 
        at-risk students served by the program;
            (3) a plan for assessing educational and other outcomes of 
        support services by each cooperating agency providing support 
        services;
            (4) participation of a coordinated services program 
        advisory council in the development of the application which 
        council shall consist of the head of each cooperating support 
        services agency, a member of the local board of education and 
        the superintendent of schools or their designees, 
        representatives of parents, students, and the private sector;
            (5) a plan for improving the educational achievement of at-
        risk youth through more effective coordination of support 
        services, staff development and cross-agency training, and the 
        educational involvement of parents;
            (6) a plan for continuing support services when Federal 
        assistance is terminated; and
            (7) capacity to serve as a model that could be replicated 
        by other local educational agencies.

SEC. 8. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.

    In making an award under this Act, the Secretary shall give special 
consideration to--
            (1) the geographic distribution of awards, including urban 
        and rural districts;
            (2) districts with high proportions of at-risk students;
            (3) plans that include interagency teams of collaborators 
        to provide case management services; and
            (4) districts that experience a significant increase in the 
        number of at-risk students.

SEC. 9. REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.

    The Secretary of Education shall coordinate review of applications 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development as appropriate.

SEC. 10. DURATION.

    Grants under this Act may be for up to 3 years duration subject to 
providing the Secretary with evidence of satisfactory progress toward 
the achievement of program objectives.

SEC. 11. LIMITATIONS.

    (a) Federal Share.--Federal funds may be used for no more than 80 
percent of the costs of the project with the remaining funds coming 
from non-Federal sources, including in-kind services.
    (b) Limitation on Liability for Costs.--In no case may a local 
educational agency be held liable for the cost of a service under the 
project provided by a cooperating agency that is not required by law or 
mutually agreed to.
    (c) Nonentitlement.--The provision of any support service under 
this program by a local educational agency or cooperating agency to any 
student does not entitle that student or other similarly situated 
students to the continuation of such services if at any time the local 
educational agency chooses to terminate the program or if Federal funds 
are withdrawn for any reason.
    (d) Limitation on Planning Costs.--No more than 1/3 of project 
funds may be used for planning a coordinated services program.
    (e) Limitation on Delivery of Direct Services.--No more than 50 
percent of project funds may be used for the delivery of direct 
services.
    (f) Supplementation of Non-Federal Funds.--All Federal funds must 
be used to supplement and not supplant the funds that would otherwise 
be available from non-Federal sources for this project.

SEC. 12. FEDERAL INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

    There is established a Federal Interagency Task Force consisting of 
the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the heads 
of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, for the purpose of 
identifying means to facilitate interagency collaboration at the 
Federal, State, and local level to improve support services for at-risk 
students. The Task Force shall, at a minimum--
            (1) identify, and to the extent possible, eliminate program 
        regulations or practices that impede coordination and 
        collaboration;
            (2) develop and implement whenever possible plans for 
        creating jointly funded programs, unified eligibility and 
        application procedures, and confidentiality regulations that 
        facilitate information sharing; and
            (3) make recommendations to the Congress concerning a 
        comprehensive youth policy and legislative action needed to 
        facilitate coordination of support services.

SEC. 13. STUDY.

    The Secretary of Education shall conduct a study of grantees under 
the Act to identify the regulatory and legislative obstacles 
encountered in developing and implementing coordinated support services 
programs and the innovative procedures and program designs developed 
with support under the Act and report the results to the Congress with 
recommendations for further legislative action to facilitate 
coordinated educational support services.

SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions 
of this Act $250,000,000 for the fiscal year 1994 and such sums as may 
be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 
1999.