Prevention of Truancy Act of 1997

Summary: Prevention of Truancy Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make demonstration grants for projects for the prevention or reduction of truancy, to partnerships consisting of an elementary school or secondary school, a local law enforcement agency, and a social service and youth serving organization.  Gives grant priority to partnerships serving urban and rural areas with concentrations of poverty. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Prevention of Truancy Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) in 1994, courts in the United States formally processed 
        36,400 truancy cases, representing a 35 percent increase since 
        1990, and a 67 percent increase since 1985, in the formal 
        processing of truancy cases;
            (2) in 1993, among individuals aged 16 through 24, 
        approximately 3,400,000,000 (11 percent of all individuals in 
        this age group) had not completed high school and were not 
        enrolled in school;
            (3) the economic and social costs of providing for the 
        increasing population of youth who are at risk of leaving or 
        who have left the educational mainstream are an enormous drain 
        on the resources of Federal, State, and local governments and 
        the private sector;
            (4) truancy is the first indicator that a young person is 
        giving up and losing his or her way;
            (5) students who become truant and eventually drop out of 
        school put themselves at a long-term disadvantage in becoming 
        productive citizens;
            (6) high school drop-outs are two and one-half times more 
        likely to be on welfare than high school graduates;
            (7) high school drop-outs are almost twice as likely to be 
        unemployed as high school graduates;
            (8) in 1993, 17 percent of youth under age 18 who entered 
        adult prisons had not completed grade school, one-fourth of 
        such youth had completed 10th grade, and 2 percent of such 
        youth had a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
            (9) truancy contributes to increased use of the foster care 
        and court systems;
            (10) truancy is a gateway to crime, and high rates of 
        truancy are linked to high daytime burglary rates and high 
        vandalism rates;
            (11) communities that have instituted truancy prevention 
        programs have seen daytime burglary rates decline by as much as 
        75 percent; and
            (12) truancy prevention and reduction programs result in 
        significant increases in school attendance.

SEC. 3. GOALS.

    The goals of this Act are to prevent and reduce truancy.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Elementary school; secondary school.--The terms 
        ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' have the 
        meanings given the terms in section 14101 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
            (2) Parent.--The term ``parent'' means the biological 
        parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian, of a child.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUANCY PREVENTION AND CRIME CONTROL 
              DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

    (a) Demonstrations Authorized.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
partnerships consisting of an elementary school or secondary school, a 
local law enforcement agency, and a social service and youth serving 
organization, for the purpose of developing, implementing, or operating 
projects for the prevention or reduction of truancy.
    (b) Use of Funds.--Grant funds under this section may be used for 
programs that prevent or reduce truancy, such as programs that use 
police officers or patrol officers to pick up truant students, return 
the students to school, or take the students to centers for assessment.
    (c) Application and Selection.--Each partnership desiring a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
Secretary may require. Each such application shall--
            (1) contain a description of the proposed truancy 
        prevention or reduction project to be established or improved 
        with funds provided under this Act;
            (2) specify the methods to be used to involve parents in 
        truancy prevention or reduction activities;
            (3) specify the types of sanctions that students will face 
        for engaging in truant behavior;
            (4) specify the incentives that will be used for parental 
        responsibility;
            (5) specify the types of initiatives, if any, that schools 
        will develop to combat the underlying causes of truancy; and
            (6) specify the linkages that will be made with local law 
        enforcement agencies.
    (d) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary shall give priority in 
awarding grants under this Act to partnerships--
            (1) serving areas with concentrations of poverty, including 
        urban and rural areas; and
            (2) that meet any other criteria that the Secretary 
        determines will contribute to the achievement of the goals of 
        this Act.

SEC. 6. EVALUATIONS  AND REPORTS.

    (a) Project Evaluations.--
            (1) In general.--Each partnership receiving a grant under 
        this section shall--
                    (A) provide for the evaluation of the project 
                assisted under this Act, which evaluation shall meet 
                such conditions and standards as the Secretary may 
                require; and
                    (B) submit to the Secretary reports, at such times, 
                in such formats, and containing such information, as 
                the Secretary may require.
            (2) Required information.--A report submitted under 
        subparagraph (1)(B) shall include information on and analysis 
        of the effect of the project with respect to--
                    (A) prevention of or reduction in truancy;
                    (B) increased school attendance; and
                    (C) reduction in juvenile crime.
    (b) Reports to Congress.--The Secretary, on the basis of the 
reports received under subsection (a), shall submit interim reports, 
and, not later than March 1, 2002, submit a final report, to Congress. 
Each report submitted under this subsection shall contain an assessment 
of the effectiveness of the projects assisted under this Act, and any 
recommendations for legislative action that the Secretary considers 
appropriate.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act--
            (1) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and
            (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 
        years 1999, 2000, and 2001.
    (b) Availability.--Funds appropriated under subsection (a) shall 
remain available until expended.