Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Act

Summary: Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to allot funds to State educational agencies to award grants to local educational agencies to provide hands-on instruction equipment and materials to elementary schools to improve mathematics and science education.  Authorizes appropriations. 
Sets forth requirements for:  (1) State allotments; (2) State and local applications; (3) grant award priorities; (4) participation of private schools; (5) State and Federal responsibilities; and (6) limitation on use of grant funds only for science equipment or materials and mathematical manipulative materials necessary for hands-on instruction.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Elementary Mathematics and Science 
Equipment Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to raise the quality of instruction 
in mathematics and science in the Nation's elementary schools by 
providing equipment and materials necessary for hands-on instruction 
through assistance to State and local educational agencies and schools.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) Grants.--The Secretary is authorized to make allotments to 
State educational agencies under section 4 to enable such agencies to 
award grants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing 
equipment and materials to elementary schools to improve mathematics 
and science education in such schools.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and such sums as 
necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 to 
carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. ALLOTMENTS OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--From the amount appropriated under section 3(b) 
for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve--
            (1) not more than one-half of 1 percent for allotment among 
        Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 
        States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau according to 
        their respective needs for assistance under this Act; and
            (2) one-half of 1 percent for programs for Indian students 
        served by schools funded by the Secretary of the Interior which 
        are consistent with the purposes of this part.
    (b) Allotment.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 
        from the amount not reserved pursuant to subsection (a), the 
        Secretary shall make allotments among State educational 
        agencies in the States as follows:
                    (A) One-half of such remainder shall be distributed 
                among such State educational agencies by allotting to 
                each State educational agency an amount which bears the 
                same ratio to such one-half of such remainder as the 
                number of children aged 5 to 11, inclusive, in the 
                State bears to the number of such children in all 
                States.
                    (B) One-half of such remainder shall be distributed 
                among such State educational agencies according to each 
                State's share of allocations under chapter 1 of title I 
                of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
            (2) Minimum.--No State shall receive in any fiscal year an 
        allotment under paragraph (1) which is less than--
                    (A) one-half of 1 percent of the amount available 
                under this subsection in such fiscal year; or
                    (B) the amount allotted to such State for fiscal 
                year 1988 under title II of the Education for Economic 
                Security Act.
    (c) Reallotment of Unused Funds.--The amount of any State's 
allotment under subsection (b) for any fiscal year to carry out this 
Act which the Secretary determines will not be required for that fiscal 
year to carry out this Act shall be available for reallotment from time 
to time, on such dates during that year as the Secretary may determine, 
to other States in proportion to the original allotments to those 
States under subsection (b) for that year but with such proportionate 
amount for any of those other States being reduced to the extent it 
exceeds the sum the Secretary estimates that the State needs and will 
be able to use for that year, and the total of those reductions shall 
be similarly reallotted among the States whose proportionate amounts 
were not so reduced. Any amounts reallotted to a State under this 
subsection during a year shall be deemed a subpart of its allotment 
under subsection (b) for that year.
    (d) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``elementary school'' has the same meaning 
        given such term in section 1471(8) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (2) the term ``local educational agency'' has the same 
        meaning given such term in section 1471(12) of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
            (3) the term ``Secretary'', unless otherwise specified, 
        means the Secretary of Education;
            (4) the term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, the 
        District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
            (5) the term ``State educational agency'' has the same 
        meaning given to such term by section 1471(23) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
    (e) Data.--The number of children aged 5 to 11, inclusive, in a 
State and in all States shall be determined by the Secretary on the 
basis of the most recent satisfactory data available to the Secretary.

SEC. 5. STATE APPLICATION.

    (a) Application.--Each State educational agency desiring to receive 
an allotment under this Act shall file an application with the 
Secretary which covers a period of 5 fiscal years. Such application 
shall be filed at such time, in such manner, and containing or 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require.
    (b) Contents of Application.--Each application described in 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) provide assurances that--
                    (A) the State educational agency shall use the 
                allotment provided under this Act to award grants to 
                local educational agencies within the State to enable 
                such local educational agencies to carry out the 
                purpose of this Act;
                    (B) the State educational agency will provide such 
                fiscal control and funds accounting as the Secretary 
                may require;
                    (C) every public elementary school in the State is 
                eligible to receive a grant under this Act once over 
                the 5-year duration of the program assisted under this 
                Act;
                    (D) funds provided under this Act will supplement, 
                not supplant, State and local funds made available for 
                activities authorized under this Act;
                    (E) during the 5-year period described in the 
                application, the State educational agency will evaluate 
                its standards and programs for teacher preparation and 
                inservice professional development for elementary 
                mathematics and science;
                    (F) the State educational agency will take into 
                account the needs for greater access to and 
                participation in mathematics and science by students 
                and teachers from historically underrepresented groups, 
                including females, minorities, individuals with 
                limited-English proficiency, the economically 
                disadvantaged, and individuals with disabilities; and
                    (G) the needs of teachers and students in areas 
                with high concentrations of low-income students and 
                sparsely populated areas will be considered in awarding 
                grants under this Act;
            (2) provide a description of how funds made available under 
        this Act will be coordinated with State and local funds and 
        other Federal resources, particularly with respect to programs 
        for the professional development and inservice training of 
        elementary school teachers in science and mathematics; and
            (3) describe procedures--
                    (A) for submitting applications for assistance in 
                accordance with sections 6 and 7;
                    (B) for the distribution of grant payments under 
                this Act within the State; and
                    (C) for approval of applications by the State 
                educational agency, including appropriate procedures to 
                assure that such agency will not disapprove an 
                application without notice and opportunity for a 
                hearing.
    (c) State Administration.--Not more than 5 percent of the funds 
allotted to each State educational agency under this part shall be used 
for the administrative costs of such agency associated with carrying 
out the program assisted under this Act.

SEC. 6. LOCAL APPLICATION.

    (a) Application.--A local educational agency that desires to 
receive a grant under this part shall submit an application to the 
State educational agency. Each such application shall contain 
assurances that each school served by the local educational agency 
shall be eligible for only one grant under this Act.
    (b) Contents of Application.--Each application described in 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) provide assurances that the local educational agency 
        shall use the grant such agency receives under this Act to 
        award grants to schools served by such agency to enable such 
        schools to carry out the purposes of this Act;
            (2) describe how the local educational agency plans to set 
        priorities on the use and distribution among schools of grant 
        funds received under this Act to meet the purpose of this Act;
            (3) include assurances that the local educational agency 
        has made every effort to match on a dollar-for-dollar basis 
        from private or public sources the grant funds received under 
        this Act, except that no such application shall be penalized or 
        denied assistance under this Act based on failure to provide 
        such matching funds;
            (4) describe how funds under this Act will be coordinated 
        with State, local, and other Federal resources, especially with 
        respect to programs for the professional development and 
        inservice training of elementary school teachers in science and 
        mathematics; and
            (5) describe the process which will be used to determine 
        different levels of grant amounts to be awarded to schools with 
        different needs.
    (c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this Act, the State 
educational agency shall give priority to local applications that--
            (1) assign highest priority to providing assistance to 
        schools which are most seriously under-equipped;
            (2) are attentive to the needs of underrepresented groups 
        in science and mathematics;
            (3) demonstrate how science and mathematics equipment will 
        be part of a comprehensive plan of curriculum planning or 
        implementation and teacher training supporting hands-on 
        laboratory activities;
            (4) give priority to providing equipment and materials for 
        students in grades 1 through 6; and
            (5) provide assurances that equipment and materials 
        provided under this Act shall be equitably available to all 
        children in the classroom.

SEC. 7. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE NONPROFIT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

    (a) Participation of Private Schools.--To the extent consistent 
with the number of children in the State or in the school district of 
each local educational agency who are enrolled in private nonprofit 
elementary schools, such State educational agency shall, after 
consultation with appropriate private school representatives, make 
provision to include services and arrangements for the benefit of such 
children as will assure the equitable participation of such children in 
the purposes and benefits of this Act.
    (b) Waiver.--If by reason of any provision of State law a local 
educational agency is prohibited from providing for the participation 
of children or teachers from private nonprofit elementary schools as 
required by subsection (a), or if the Secretary determines that a State 
or local educational agency has substantially failed or is unwilling to 
provide for such participation on an equitable basis, the Secretary 
shall waive such requirements and shall arrange for the provision of 
services to such children or teachers subject to the requirement of 
this Act. Such waivers shall be subject to consultation, withholding, 
notice, and judicial review requirements described in section 1017 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

SEC. 8. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Coordination.--Each State educational agency receiving a grant 
under this Act shall--
            (1) disseminate information to school districts and 
        schools, including private nonprofit elementary schools, 
        regarding the grant program assisted under this Act;
            (2) evaluate applications of local educational agencies;
            (3) award grants to local educational agencies based on the 
        priorities described in section 6(c); and
            (4) evaluate local educational agencies' end-of-the-year 
        summaries.
    (b) Limitations on Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Grant funds and matching funds under this 
        Act only shall be used to purchase science equipment, science 
        materials, or mathematical manipulative materials and shall not 
        be used for computers, computer peripherals, software, 
        textbooks, or staff development costs.
            (2) Capital improvements.--Grant funds under this Act may 
        not be used for capital improvements. Not more than 50 percent 
        of matching funds provided by the local educational agency may 
        be used for capital improvements of classroom science 
        facilities to support the hands-on instruction that this Act is 
        intended to support, such as the installation of electrical 
        outlets, plumbing, lab tables or counters, or ventilation 
        mechanisms.

SEC. 9. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Technical Assistance and Evaluation Procedures.--The Secretary 
shall provide technical assistance and, in consultation with State and 
local representatives of the program assisted under this Act, shall 
develop procedures for State and local evaluations of the programs 
under this part.
    (b) Report.--The Secretary shall report to the Congress each year 
on the program assisted under this Act.