69–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–290 

LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL 

HISTORIC SITE BOUNDARY MODIFICATION ACT 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2611] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2611) to modify the boundary of the Little Rock Central 

High School National Historic Site, and for other purposes, having 

considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2611 is to modify the boundary of the Little 

Rock Central High School National Historic Site. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

In a key event of the American Civil Rights movement, nine 

black students enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School 

in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957, testing the landmark 

1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education 

of Topeka (347 U.S. 483) that declared segregation in public schools 

unconstitutional. The admission of the ‘‘Little Rock Nine’’, as they 

came to be known, drew national and international attention, and 

was the first important test of our Nation’s resolve to enforce black 

civil rights in the face of significant public defiance. 

In recognition of the importance of Little Rock Central High 

School in the history of the United States, the site was designated 

by the Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark 

in 1982, and was later designated as a national historic site in 

1998 by Public Law 105–356. 

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In 1996, the neighborhood surrounding the high school, including 

seven privately owned residences on South Park Street, was listed 

on the National Register of Historic Places as the Central High 

School Neighborhood Historic District. The residences on South 

Park Street across from the high school are inextricably connected 

with the significant events of 1957, as images of the Little Rock 

Nine, crowds of protestors, the public, and National Guardsmen appeared in newspapers across the nation and were broadcast live 

through the emerging media of television. 

H.R. 2611 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 

enter into cooperative agreements with private property owners of 

the South Park Street properties. This authority would allow the 

NPS to use the site’s operational funds to mark, interpret, improve, 

restore, and provide technical assistance for the preservation and 

interpretation of the properties. It would also allow the NPS to assist the homeowners in applying for federal grants. 

All the property owners and several community members have 

expressed their support for this proposal, including the Central 

High Neighborhood, Inc., and Preserve Arkansas. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2611 was introduced on May 23, 2017, by Congressman J. 

French Hill (R–AR). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Federal Lands. On July 25, 2017, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments were offered, and 

the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent on July 26, 2017. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 

308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for the bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, August 29, 2017. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2611, the Little Rock 

Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification 

Act. 

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If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2611—Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site 

Boundary Modification Act 

H.R. 2611 would modify the boundary of the Little Rock Central 

High School National Historic Site in Arkansas to include seven 

privately-owned residences. The bill also would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to enter into cooperative agreements 

with the owners of those residences to provide technical assistance 

toward preservation and interpretation of the properties. 

CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000 over the next five years, assuming availability of appropriated funds. Those costs would include updates to maps, handouts, and signage to reflect the new site boundary, and the provision of technical and financial assistance through the cooperative 

agreements. According to the NPS, the agency would not assume 

sole responsibility for the maintenance of the properties. 

Enacting H.R. 2611 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2611 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 2611 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to modify the boundary of the Little Rock Central 

High School National Historic Site. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

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most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

PUBLIC LAW 105-356 

AN ACT To establish the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site in 

the State of Arkansas, and for other purposes. 

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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site in the State of Arkansas (hereinafter referred 

to as the ‘‘historic site’’) is hereby established as a unit of the National Park System. The historic site shall consist of lands and interests therein comprising the Central High School campus and adjacent properties in Little Rock, Arkansas, as generally depicted on 

a map entitled ‘‘Proposed Little Rock Central High School National 

Historic Site’’, numbered LIRO-20,000 and dated July, 1998. Such 

map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

(b) BOUNDARY MODIFICATION.—The boundary of the historic site 

is modified to include the 7 residences on South Park Street in Little Rock, Arkansas, consisting of 1.47 acres, as generally depicted on 

the map entitled ‘‘Central High School National Historic Site Proposed Boundary’’, numbered 037/80,001, and dated August, 2004. 

ø(b)¿ (c) ADMINISTRATION OF HISTORIC SITE.—The Secretary of 

the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall administer the historic site in accordance with this Act. Only those 

lands under the direct jurisdiction of the Secretary shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the National Park System including the Act of August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1, 2-4) and the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 

U.S.C. 461-467). Nothing in this Act shall affect the authority of 

the Little Rock School District to administer Little Rock Central 

High School nor shall this Act affect the authorities of the City of 

Little Rock in the neighborhood surrounding the school. 

ø(c)¿ (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—ø(1) The Secretary¿ 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into cooperative 

agreements with appropriate public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions (including, but not limited to, the 

State of Arkansas, the City of Little Rock, the Little Rock 

School District, Central High Museum, Inc., Central High 

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Neighborhood, Inc., or the University of Arkansas) in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. 

(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR THE PRESERVATION AND

INTERPRETATION OF CERTAIN PROPERTIES.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the owners of the 7 residences referred 

to in subsection (b) pursuant to which the Secretary may 

use appropriated funds to mark, interpret, improve, restore, 

and provide technical assistance with respect to the preservation and interpretation of the properties. 

(B) INCLUSIONS.—An agreement entered into under subparagraph (A) shall include a provision specifying that no 

changes or alterations shall be made to the exterior of the 

properties subject to the agreement, except by the mutual 

agreement of the parties to the agreement. 

ø(2) The Secretary¿ 

(3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate visitor interpretation of the historic site with the Little Rock School District and the Central High School Museum, Inc. 

ø(d)¿ (e) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within three years after 

the date funds are made available, the Secretary shall prepare a 

general management plan for the historic site. The plan shall be 

prepared in consultation and coordination with the Little Rock 

School District, the City of Little Rock, Central High Museum, Inc., 

and with other appropriate organizations and agencies. The plan 

shall identify specific roles and responsibilities for the National 

Park Service in administering the historic site, and shall identify 

lands or property, if any, that might be necessary for the National 

Park Service to acquire in order to carry out its responsibilities. 

The plan shall also identify the roles and responsibilities of other 

entities in administering the historic site and its programs. The 

plan shall include a management framework that ensures the administration of the historic site does not interfere with the continuing use of Central High School as an educational institution. 

ø(e)¿ (f) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.—The Secretary is authorized 

to acquire by purchase with donated or appropriated funds by exchange, or donation the lands and interests therein located within 

the boundaries of the historic site: Provided, That the Secretary 

may only acquire lands or interests therein within the consent of 

the owner thereof: Provided further, That lands or interests therein 

owned by the State of Arkansas or a political subdivision thereof, 

may only be acquired by donation or exchange. 

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