II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1293

To establish a Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education

Board.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 28, 1999

Mr. COCHRAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To establish a Congressional Recognition for Excellence in

Arts Education Board.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Recogni5 tion for Excellence in Arts Education Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Arts literacy is a fundamental purpose of

9 schooling for all students.
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1 (2) Arts education stimulates, develops, and re2 fines many cognitive and creative skills, critical

3 thinking and nimbleness in judgment, creativity and

4 imagination, cooperative decisionmaking, leadership,

5 high-level literacy and communication, and the ca6 pacity for problem-posing and problem-solving.

7 (3) Arts education contributes significantly to

8 the creation of flexible, adaptable, and knowledge9 able workers who will be needed in the 21st century

10 economy.

11 (4) Arts education improves teaching and learn12 ing.

13 (5) Where parents and families, artists, arts or14 ganizations, businesses, local civic and cultural lead15 ers, and institutions are actively engaged in instruc16 tional programs, arts education is more successful.

17 (6) Effective teachers of the arts should be en18 couraged to continue to learn and grow in mastery

19 of their art form as well as in their teaching com20 petence.

21 (7) The 1999 study, entitled ‘‘Gaining the Arts

22 Advantage: Lessons from School Districts that

23 Value Arts Education’’, found that the literacy, edu24 cation, programs, learning and growth described in
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1 paragraphs (1) through (6) contribute to successful

2 districtwide arts education.

3 (8) Despite all of the literacy, education, pro4 grams, learning and growth findings described in

5 paragraphs (1) through (6), the 1997 National As6 sessment of Educational Progress reported that stu7 dents lack sufficient opportunity for participatory

8 learning in the arts.

9 (9) The Arts Education Partnership, a coalition

10 of national and State education, arts, business, and

11 civic groups has demonstrated its effectiveness in ad12 dressing the purposes described in section 5(a) and

13 the capacity and credibility to administer arts edu14 cation programs of national significance.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this Act:

17 (1) ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP.—The

18 term ‘‘Arts Education Partnership’’ (formerly known

19 as the Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership) is a

20 private, nonprofit coalition of education, arts, busi21 ness, philanthropic, and government organizations

22 that—

23 (A) demonstrates and promotes the essen24 tial role of arts education in enabling all stu25 dents to succeed in school, life, and work; and
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1 (B) was formed in 1995 through a cooper2 ative agreement among—

3 (i) the National Endowment for the

4 Arts;

5 (ii) the Department of Education;

6 (iii) the National Assembly of State

7 Arts Agencies; and

8 (iv) the Council of Chief State School

9 Officers.

10 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the

11 Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

12 Education Awards Board established under section

13 4.

14 (3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; SECONDARY

15 SCHOOL.—The terms ‘‘elementary school’’ and ‘‘sec16 ondary school’’ mean—

17 (A) a public or private elementary school

18 or secondary school (as the case may be), as de19 fined in section 14101 of the Elementary and

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

21 8801); or

22 (B) a bureau funded school as defined in

23 section 1146 of the Education Amendments of

24 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2026).
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1 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

2 the several States of the United States, the District

3 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

4 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin

5 Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar6 iana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,

7 the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Repub8 lic of Palau.

9 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.

10 There is established as an independent establishment

11 of the Federal Government a Congressional Recognition

12 for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Board. The

13 Board shall be responsible for administering the awards

14 program described in section 5.

15 SEC. 5. BOARD DUTIES.

16 (a) AWARDS PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Board

17 shall establish and administer an awards program to be

18 known as the ‘‘Congressional Recognition for Excellence

19 in Arts Education Awards Program’’. The purpose of the

20 program shall be to—

21 (1) celebrate the positive impact and public

22 benefits of the arts;

23 (2) encourage all elementary schools and sec24 ondary schools to integrate the arts into the school

25 curriculum;
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1 (3) spotlight the most compelling evidence of

2 the relationship between the arts and student learn3 ing;

4 (4) demonstrate how community involvement in

5 the creation and implementation of arts policies en6 riches the schools;

7 (5) recognize school administrators and faculty

8 who provide quality arts education to students;

9 (6) acknowledge schools that provide profes10 sional development opportunities for their teachers;

11 (7) create opportunities for students to experi12 ence the relationship between early participation in

13 the arts and developing the life skills necessary for

14 future personal and professional success;

15 (8) increase, encourage, and ensure comprehen16 sive, sequential arts learning for all students; and

17 (9) expand accessibility of the arts to schools in

18 every community.

19 (b) DUTIES.—

20 (1) SCHOOL AWARDS.—The Board shall—

21 (A) make annual awards to elementary

22 schools and secondary schools in the States in

23 accordance with criteria established under sub24 paragraph (B), which awards—
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1 (i) shall be of such design and mate2 rials as the Board may determine, includ3 ing a well-designed certificate or a work of

4 art, designed for the awards event by an

5 appropriate artist; and

6 (ii) shall be reflective of the dignity of

7 Congress;

8 (B) establish criteria required for a school

9 to receive the award, and establish such proce10 dures as may be necessary to verify that the

11 school meets the criteria, which criteria shall in12 clude criteria requiring—

13 (i) that the school provides com14 prehensive, sequential arts learning and in15 tegrates the arts throughout the cur16 riculum; and

17 (ii) 3 of the following:

18 (I) that the community serving

19 the school is actively involved in shap20 ing and implementing the arts policies

21 and programs of the school;

22 (II) that the school principal sup23 ports the policy of arts education for

24 all students;
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1 (III) that arts teachers in the

2 school are encouraged to learn and

3 grow in mastery of their art form as

4 well as in their teaching competence;

5 (IV) that the school actively en6 courages the use of arts assessment

7 techniques for improving student,

8 teacher, and administrative perform9 ance; and

10 (V) that school leaders engage

11 the total school community in arts ac12 tivities that create a climate of sup13 port for arts education; and

14 (C) include, in the procedures necessary

15 for verification that a school meets the criteria

16 described in subparagraph (B), written evidence

17 of the specific criteria, and supporting docu18 mentation, that includes—

19 (i) three letters of support for the

20 school, of which—

21 (I) one shall be from the school’s

22 Parent Teacher Association (PTA);

23 (II) one shall be from community

24 leaders, such as elected or appointed

25 officials; and
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1 (III) one shall be from arts orga2 nizations or institutions in the com3 munity that partner with the school;

4 and

5 (ii) the completed application for the

6 award signed by the principal or other edu7 cation leader such as a school district arts

8 coordinator, school board member, or

9 school superintendent;

10 (D) determine appropriate methods for dis11 seminating information about the program and

12 make application forms available to schools,

13 which methods may include—

14 (i) the Arts Education Partnership

15 web site and publications;

16 (ii) the Department of Education

17 Community Update newsletter;

18 (iii) websites and publications of the

19 Arts Education Partnership steering com20 mittee members;

21 (iv) press releases, public service an22 nouncements and other media opportuni23 ties; and

24 (v) direct communication by postal

25 mail, or electronic means;
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1 (E) delineate such roles as the Board con2 siders to be appropriate for the Director in ad3 ministering the program, and set forth in the

4 bylaws of the Board the duties, salary, and ben5 efits of the Director;

6 (F) raise funds for the operation of the

7 program;

8 (G) determine, and inform Congress re9 garding, the national readiness for interdiscipli10 nary individual student awards described in

11 paragraph (2), on the basis of the 1997 Na12 tional Assessment of Educational Progress arts

13 education achievement levels; and

14 (H) take such other actions as may be ap15 propriate for the administration of the Congres16 sional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu17 cation Awards Program.

18 (2) STUDENT AWARDS.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—At such time as the

20 Board determines appropriate, the Board—

21 (i) shall make annual awards to ele22 mentary school and secondary school stu23 dents for individual interdisciplinary arts

24 achievement; and
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1 (ii) establish criteria for the making

2 of the awards.

3 (B) AWARD MODEL.—The Board may use

4 as a model for the awards the Congressional

5 Award Program and the President’s Physical

6 Fitness Award Program.

7 (c) PRESENTATION.—The Board shall arrange for

8 the presentation of awards under this section to the recipi9 ents and shall provide for participation by Members of

10 Congress in such presentation, when appropriate.

11 (d) DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT.—The Board shall de12 termine an appropriate date or dates for announcement

13 of the awards under this section, which date shall coincide

14 with a National Arts in Schools Week or similarly des15 ignated day, week or month, if such designation exists.

16 (e) REPORT.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall prepare and

18 submit an annual report to Congress not later than

19 March 1 of each year summarizing the activities of

20 the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

21 Education Awards Program during the previous year

22 and making appropriate recommendations for the

23 program. Any minority views and recommendations

24 of members of the Board shall be included in such

25 reports.
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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The annual report shall con2 tain the following:

3 (A) Specific information regarding the

4 methods used to raise funds for the Congres5 sional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu6 cation Awards Program and a list of the

7 sources of all money raised by the Board.

8 (B) Detailed information regarding the ex9 penditures made by the Board, including the

10 percentage of funds that are used for adminis11 trative expenses.

12 (C) A description of the programs formu13 lated by the Director under section 7(b)(1), in14 cluding an explanation of the operation of such

15 programs and a list of the sponsors of the pro16 grams.

17 (D) A detailed list of the administrative

18 expenditures made by the Board, including the

19 amounts expended for salaries, travel expenses,

20 and reimbursed expenses.

21 (E) A list of schools given awards under

22 the program, and the city, town, or county, and

23 State in which the school is located.

24 (F) An evaluation of the state of arts edu25 cation in schools, which may include anecdotal
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1 evidence of the effect of the Congressional Rec2 ognition for Excellence in Arts Education

3 Awards Program on individual school cur4 riculum.

5 (G) On the basis of the findings described

6 in section 2 and the purposes of the Congres7 sional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu8 cation Awards Program described in section

9 5(a), a recommendation regarding the national

10 readiness to make individual student awards

11 under subsection (b)(2).

12 SEC. 6. COMPOSITION OF BOARD.

13 (a) COMPOSITION.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall consist of

15 24 members as follows:

16 (A) Two Members of the Senate appointed

17 by the Majority Leader of the Senate.

18 (B) Two Members of the Senate appointed

19 by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

20 (C) Two Members of the House of Rep21 resentatives appointed by the Speaker of the

22 House of Representatives.

23 (D) Two Members of the House of Rep24 resentatives appointed by the Minority Leader

25 of the House of Representatives.
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1 (E) The Director of the Board, who shall

2 serve as a nonvoting member.

3 (F) Fifteen members appointed by the

4 Arts Education Partnership steering committee

5 from among representatives of the Arts Edu6 cation Partnership.

7 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—In making appointments

8 to the Board, the individuals and entity making the

9 appointments under paragraph (1) shall consider

10 recommendations submitted by any interested party,

11 including any member of the Board.

12 (3) INTEREST.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of Congress

14 appointed to the Board shall have an interest in

15 1 of the purposes described in section 5(a).

16 (B) DIVERSITY.—Representatives of the

17 Arts Education Partnership appointed to the

18 Board shall represent the diversity of that orga19 nization’s membership, so that artistic and edu20 cation professionals are represented in the

21 membership of the Board.

22 (b) TERMS.—Members of the Board shall serve for

23 terms of 6 years, except that of the members first

24 appointed—
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1 (1) one Member of the House of Representa2 tives, 1 Member of the Senate, and 3 members of

3 the Arts Education Partnership shall serve for terms

4 of 2 years;

5 (2) one Member of the House of Representa6 tives, 1 Member of the Senate, and 4 members of

7 the Arts Education Partnership shall serve for terms

8 of 4 years; and

9 (3) two Members of the House of Representa10 tives, 2 Members of the Senate, and 8 representa11 tives of the Arts Education Partnership shall serve

12 for terms of 6 years,

13 as determined by lot when all such members have been

14 appointed.

15 (c) VACANCY.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy in the member17 ship of the Board shall be filled in the same manner

18 in which the original appointment was made.

19 (2) TERM.—Any member appointed to fill a va20 cancy occurring before the expiration of the term for

21 which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall

22 be appointed only for the remainder of such term.

23 (3) EXTENSION.—Any appointed member of the

24 Board may continue to serve after the expiration of
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1 the member’s term until the member’s successor has

2 taken office.

3 (4) SPECIAL RULE.—Vacancies in the member4 ship of the Board shall not affect the Board’s power

5 to function if there remain sufficient members of the

6 Board to constitute a quorum under subsection (d).

7 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

8 Board shall constitute a quorum.

9 (e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board shall

10 serve without pay but may be compensated for reasonable

11 travel expenses incurred by the members in the perform12 ance of their duties as members of the Board.

13 (f) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet annually at

14 the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as

15 the Chairperson may determine to be appropriate. The

16 Chairperson shall call a meeting of the Board whenever

1 17 ⁄3 of the members of the Board submit written requests

18 for such a meeting.

19 (g) OFFICERS.—The Chairperson and the Vice Chair20 person of the Board shall be elected from among the Mem21 bers of Congress serving on the Board, by a majority vote

22 of the members of the Board, for such terms as the Board

23 determines. The Vice Chairperson shall perform the duties

24 of the Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson.

25 (h) COMMITTEES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may appoint

2 such committees, and assign to the committees such

3 functions, as may be appropriate to assist the Board

4 in carrying out its duties under this Act. Members

5 of such committees may include the members of the

6 Board or such other qualified individuals as the

7 Board may select.

8 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—Any employee or officer of

9 the Federal Government may serve as a member of

10 a committee created by the Board, but may not re11 ceive compensation for services performed for such a

12 committee.

13 (i) BYLAWS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The

14 Board shall establish such bylaws and other requirements

15 as may be appropriate to enable the Board to carry out

16 the Board’s duties under this Act.

17 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the administration of the Con19 gressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education

20 Awards Program, the Board shall be assisted by a Direc21 tor, who shall be the principal executive of the program

22 and who shall supervise the affairs of the Board. The Di23 rector shall be nominated by the Arts Education Partner24 ship steering committee and appointed by a majority vote

25 of the Board.
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1 (b) DIRECTOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director

2 shall, in consultation with the Board—

3 (1) formulate programs to carry out the policies

4 of the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in

5 Arts Education Awards Program;

6 (2) establish such divisions within the Congres7 sional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education

8 Awards Program as may be appropriate; and

9 (3) employ and provide for the compensation of

10 such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the

11 Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

12 Education Awards Program, subject to such policies

13 as the Board shall prescribe under its bylaws.

14 (c) APPLICATION.—Each school or student desiring

15 a grant under this Act shall submit an application to the

16 Board at such time, in such manner and accompanied by

17 such information as the Board may require.

18 SEC. 8. LIMITATIONS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such limitations as

20 may be provided for under this section, the Board may

21 take such actions and make such expenditures as may be

22 necessary to carry out the Congressional Recognition for

23 Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program, except

24 that the Board shall carry out its functions and make ex25 penditures with only such resources as are available to the
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1 Board from the Congressional Recognition for Excellence

2 in Arts Education Awards Trust Fund pursuant to section

3 10(e), and from sources other than the Federal Govern4 ment.

5 (b) CONTRACTS.—The Board may enter into such

6 contracts as may be appropriate to carry out the business

7 of the Board, but the Board may not enter into any con8 tract which will obligate the Board to expend an amount

9 greater than the amount available to the Board for the

10 purpose of such contract during the fiscal year in which

11 the expenditure is made.

12 (c) GIFTS.—The Board may seek and accept, from

13 sources other than the Federal Government, funds and

14 other resources to carry out the Board’s activities. The

15 Board may not accept any funds or other resources that

16 are—

17 (1) donated with a restriction on their use un18 less such restriction merely provides that such funds

19 or other resources be used in furtherance of the

20 Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

21 Education Awards Program; or

22 (2) donated subject to the condition that the

23 identity of the donor of the funds or resources shall

24 remain anonymous.
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1 (d) VOLUNTEERS.—The Board may accept and uti2 lize the services of voluntary, uncompensated personnel.

3 (e) REAL OR PERSONAL PROPERTY.—The Board

4 may lease (or otherwise hold), acquire, or dispose of real

5 or personal property necessary for, or relating to, the du6 ties of the Board.

7 (f) PROHIBITIONS.—The Board shall have no

8 power—

9 (1) to issue bonds, notes, debentures, or other

10 similar obligations creating long-term indebtedness;

11 (2) to issue any share of stock or to declare or

12 pay any dividends; or

13 (3) to provide for any part of the income or as14 sets of the Board to inure to the benefit of any di15 rector, officer, or employee of the Board except as

16 reasonable compensation for services or reimburse17 ment for expenses.

18 SEC. 9. AUDITS.

19 The financial records of the Board may be audited

20 by the Comptroller General of the United States at such

21 times as the Comptroller General may determine to be ap22 propriate. The Comptroller General, or any duly author23 ized representative of the Comptroller General, shall have

24 access for the purpose of audit to any books, documents,

25 papers, and records of the Board (or any agent of the
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1 Board) which, in the opinion of the Comptroller General,

2 may be pertinent to the Congressional Recognition for Ex3 cellence in Arts Education Awards Program.

4 SEC. 10. TERMINATION.

5 The Board shall terminate 6 years after the date of

6 enactment of this Act. The Board shall set forth, in its

7 bylaws, the procedures for dissolution to be followed by

8 the Board.

9 SEC. 11. TRUST FUND.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab11 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund

12 to be known as the ‘‘Congressional Recognition for Excel13 lence in Arts Education Awards Trust Fund’’. The fund

14 shall consist of amounts appropriated to the fund pursu15 ant to section 12 and amounts credited to the fund under

16 subsection (d).

17 (b) INVESTMENT OF FUND ASSETS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the

19 Secretary of the Treasury to invest in full the

20 amounts appropriated to the fund. Such investments

21 may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of

22 the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to

23 both principal and interest by the United States.

24 For such purpose, such obligations may be acquired
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1 on original issue at the issue price or by purchase

2 of outstanding obligations at the marketplace.

3 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—The purposes for which

4 obligations of the United States may be issued under

5 the Second Liberty Bond Act are hereby extended to

6 authorize the issuance at par of special obligations

7 exclusively to the fund. Such special obligations shall

8 bear interest at a rate equal to the average rate of

9 interest, computed as to the end of the calendar

10 month next preceding the date of such issue, borne

11 by all marketable interest-bearing obligations of the

12 United States then forming a part of the public

13 debt, except that when such average rate is not a

multiple of 1 14 ⁄8 of 1 percent, the rate of interest of

such special obligations shall be the multiple of 1 15 ⁄8

16 of 1 percent next lower than such average rate. Such

17 special obligations shall be issued only if the Sec18 retary determines that the purchase of other inter19 est-bearing obligations of the United States, or of

20 obligations guaranteed as to both principal and in21 terest by the United States on original issue or at

22 the market price, is not in the public interest.

23 (c) AUTHORITY TO SELL OBLIGATIONS.—Any obli24 gation acquired by the fund (except special obligations

25 issued exclusively to the fund) may be sold by the Sec-
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1 retary of the Treasury at the market price, and such spe2 cial obligations may be redeemed at par plus accrued in3 terest.

4 (d) PROCEEDS FROM CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

5 CREDITED TO FUND.—The interest on, and the proceeds

6 from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in

7 the fund shall be credited to and form a part of the fund.

8 (e) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—The Sec9 retary of the Treasury is authorized to pay to the Board

10 from the interest and earnings of the fund such sums as

11 the Board determines are necessary and appropriate to en12 able the Board to carry out this Act.

13 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Con15 gressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education

16 Awards Trust Fund established under section 11,

17 $1,000,000 during the period beginning with fiscal year

18 2001 and ending with fiscal year 2005.

Æ