I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1840

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize 

grants for the repair, renovation, alteration, and construction of public 

elementary and secondary school facilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2003

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to authorize grants for the repair, renovation, 

alteration, and construction of public elementary and 

secondary school facilities.

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

3 SECTION 1. SCHOOL FACILITIES INFRASTRUCTURE IM4 PROVEMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Elementary and Secondary 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amend7 ed by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘TITLE X—SCHOOL FACILITIES 

2 INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVE3 MENT 

4 ‘‘SEC. 10001. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appropriated 

6 for any fiscal year to carry out this title, Secretary shall 

7 award grants to States and local educational agencies with 

8 applications approved under this section to carry out the 

9 authorized activities described in section 10002. 

10 ‘‘(b) ONE-THIRD ALLOCATED AMONG STATES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—One-third of the amount 

12 appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out this 

13 title shall be allocated among the States under para14 graph (2) by the Secretary. The amount allocated to 

15 a State under the preceding sentence shall be allo16 cated by the State educational agency to local edu17 cational agencies within such State and such alloca18 tions may be made only if there is an approved State 

19 application. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The amount to 

21 be allocated under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year 

22 shall be allocated among the States in proportion to 

23 the respective amounts each such State received for 

24 basic grants under subpart 2 of part A of title I for 

25 the most recently completed fiscal year. For pur-
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1 poses of the preceding sentence, basic grants attrib2 utable to large local educational agencies (as defined 

3 in subsection (c)), and basic grants attributable to 

4 high-growth local educational agencies (as defined in 

5 subsection (d)), shall be disregarded. 

6 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

8 adjust the allocations under this subsection for 

9 any fiscal year for each State to the extent nec10 essary to ensure that the sum of—

11 ‘‘(i) the amount allocated to such 

12 State under this subsection for such year; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amounts allocated 

15 under subsections (c) and (d) to local edu16 cational agencies in such State for such 

17 year; 

18 is not less than an amount equal to such 

19 State’s minimum percentage of one-third of the 

20 amount appropriated for the fiscal year to carry 

21 out this title. 

22 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM PERCENTAGE.—A State’s 

23 minimum percentage for any fiscal year is the 

24 minimum percentage described in section 
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1 1124(d) for such State for the most recently 

2 completed fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATIONS TO CERTAIN POSSES4 SIONS.—The amount to be allocated under para5 graph (1) to any outlying area shall be the amount 

6 which would have been allocated if all allocations 

7 under paragraph (1) were made on the basis of re8 spective populations of individuals below the poverty 

9 line (as defined by the Office of Management and 

10 Budget). In making other allocations, the amount to 

11 be allocated under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by 

12 the aggregate amount allocated under this para13 graph to the outlying areas. 

14 ‘‘(5) APPROVED STATE APPLICATION.—For 

15 purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘approved State 

16 application’ means an application which is approved 

17 by the Secretary and which includes—

18 ‘‘(A) the results of a recent publicly avail19 able survey (undertaken by the State with the 

20 involvement of local education officials, mem21 bers of the public, and experts in school con22 struction and management) of such State’s

23 needs for public school facilities, including de24 scriptions of—
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1 ‘‘(i) health and safety problems at 

2 such facilities; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the capacity of public schools in 

4 the State to house projected enrollments; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the public 

7 schools in the State offer the physical in8 frastructure needed to provide a high-qual9 ity education to all students; and 

10 ‘‘(B) a description of how the State will al11 locate to local educational agencies, or other12 wise use, its allocation under this subsection to 

13 address the needs identified under subpara14 graph (A), including a description of how it 

15 will—

16 ‘‘(i) give highest priority to localities 

17 with the greatest needs, as demonstrated 

18 by inadequate school facilities coupled with 

19 a low level of resources to meet those 

20 needs; 

21 ‘‘(ii) use its allocation under this sub22 section to assist localities that lack the fis23 cal capacity to raise funds on their own; 

24 and
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1 ‘‘(iii) ensure that its allocation under 

2 this subsection is used only to supplement, 

3 and not supplant, the amount of school 

4 construction, rehabilitation, and repair in 

5 the State that would have occurred in the 

6 absence of such allocation. 

7 Any allocation under paragraph (1) by a State edu8 cation agency shall be binding if such agency reason9 ably determined that the allocation was in accord10 ance with the plan approved under this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(c) ONE-THIRD ALLOCATED AMONG LARGEST

12 SCHOOL DISTRICTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—One-third of the amount 

14 appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out this 

15 title shall be allocated under paragraph (2) by the 

16 Secretary among local educational agencies which 

17 are large local educational agencies for such year. 

18 An allocation may be made under this subsection to 

19 a large local educational agency only if such agency 

20 has an approved local application. 

21 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The amount to 

22 be allocated under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year 

23 shall be allocated among large local educational 

24 agencies in proportion to the respective amounts 

25 each such agency received for basic grants under 
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1 subpart 2 of part A of title I for the most recently 

2 completed fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(3) LARGE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

4 For purposes of this section, the term ‘large local 

5 educational agency’ means, with respect to a fiscal 

6 year, any local educational agency (other than a 

7 high-growth local educational agency, as defined in 

8 subsection (d)) if such agency is—

9 ‘‘(A) among the 100 local educational 

10 agencies with the largest numbers of children 

11 aged 5 through 17 from families living below 

12 the poverty level, as determined by the Sec13 retary using the most recent data available 

14 from the Department of Commerce that are 

15 satisfactory to the Secretary; or 

16 ‘‘(B) 1 of not more than 25 local edu17 cational agencies (other than those described in 

18 subparagraph (A)) that the Secretary deter19 mines (based on the most recent data available 

20 satisfactory to the Secretary) are in particular 

21 need of assistance, based on a low level of re22 sources for school construction, a high level of 

23 enrollment growth, or such other factors as the 

24 Secretary deems appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘(4) APPROVED LOCAL APPLICATION.—For 

2 purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘approved local 

3 application’ means an application which is approved 

4 by the Secretary and which includes—

5 ‘‘(A) the results of a recent publicly-avail6 able survey (undertaken by the local educational 

7 agency with the involvement of school officials, 

8 members of the public, and experts in school 

9 construction and management) of such agency’s 

10 needs for public school facilities, including de11 scriptions of—

12 ‘‘(i) the overall condition of the local 

13 educational agency’s school facilities, in14 cluding health and safety problems; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the capacity of the agency’s 

16 schools to house projected enrollments; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the agency’s 

18 schools offer the physical infrastructure 

19 needed to provide a high-quality education 

20 to all students; 

21 ‘‘(B) a description of how the local edu22 cational agency will use its allocation under this 

23 subsection to address the needs identified under 

24 subparagraph (A); and 
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1 ‘‘(C) a description of how the local edu2 cational agency will ensure that its allocation 

3 under this subsection is used only to supple4 ment, and not supplant, the amount of school 

5 construction, rehabilitation, or repair in the lo6 cality that would have occurred in the absence 

7 of such allocation. 

8 A rule similar to the rule of the last sentence of sub9 section (b)(5) shall apply for purposes of this sub10 section. 

11 ‘‘(d) ONE-THIRD ALLOCATED AMONG HIGH12 GROWTH SCHOOL DISTRICTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—One-third of the amount 

14 appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out this 

15 title shall be allocated under paragraph (2) by the 

16 Secretary among local educational agencies which 

17 are high-growth local educational agencies for such 

18 year. An allocation may be made under this sub19 section to a high-growth local educational agency 

20 only if such agency has an approved local application 

21 (as defined in subsection (c)(4)). A rule similar to 

22 the rule of the last sentence of subsection (b)(5) 

23 shall apply for purposes of this subsection.

24 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The amount to 

25 be allocated under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year 
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1 shall be allocated among high-growth local edu2 cational agencies in proportion to the respective 

3 amounts each such agency received for basic grants 

4 under subpart 2 of part A of title I for the most re5 cently completed fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(3) HIGH-GROWTH LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

7 AGENCY.—For purposes of this section, the term 

8 ‘high-growth local educational agency’ means, with 

9 respect to a fiscal year, any local educational agency 

10 if—

11 ‘‘(A) there has been at least a 7.5 percent 

12 increase in such agency’s enrollment during the 

13 5-year period ending with the preceding fiscal 

14 year; and 

15 ‘‘(B) such enrollment increase exceeds 150 

16 students. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 10002. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each entity receiving a grant 

19 under this title shall use the grant funds only to ensure 

20 the health and safety of students through the repair, ren21 ovation, alteration, and construction of a public elemen22 tary or secondary school library, media center, or facility, 

23 used for academic or vocational instruction. 

24 ‘‘(b) PARTICULAR ACTIVITIES.—Subject to sub25 section (a), each entity receiving a grant under this title 
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1 may use the grant funds to meet the requirements of sec2 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Ameri3 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 10003. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

5 ‘‘(a) BUDGET AND ACCOUNTING.—In the perform6 ance of, and with respect to, the functions, powers, and 

7 duties under this title, the Secretary, notwithstanding the 

8 provisions of any other law, shall—

9 ‘‘(1) prepare annually and submit a budget pro10 gram as provided for wholly owned Government cor11 porations by chapter 91 of title 31, United States 

12 Code; and 

13 ‘‘(2) maintain a set of accounts which shall be 

14 audited by the Comptroller General in accordance 

15 with the provisions of chapter 35 of title 31, United 

16 States Code, but such financial transactions of the 

17 Secretary, as the making of loans and vouchers ap18 proved by the Secretary, in connection with such fi19 nancial transactions shall be final and conclusive 

20 upon all officers of the Government. 

21 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to the 

22 Secretary pursuant to the provisions of this title shall be 

23 deposited in a checking account or accounts with the 

24 Treasurer of the United States. Receipts and assets ob25 tained or held by the Secretary in connection with the per-
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1 formance of functions under this title, and all funds avail2 able for carrying out the functions of the Secretary under 

3 this title (including appropriations therefor, which are 

4 hereby authorized), shall be available, in such amounts as 

5 may from year to year be authorized by the Congress, for 

6 the administrative expenses of the Secretary in connection 

7 with the performance of such functions. 

8 ‘‘(c) LEGAL POWERS.—In the performance of, and 

9 with respect to, the functions, powers, and duties under 

10 this title, the Secretary, notwithstanding the provisions of 

11 any other law, may—

12 ‘‘(1) prescribe such rules and regulations as 

13 may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

14 title; 

15 ‘‘(2) sue and be sued; 

16 ‘‘(3) foreclose on any property or commence any 

17 action to protect or enforce any right conferred upon 

18 the Secretary by any law, contract, or other agree19 ment, and bid for and purchase at any foreclosure 

20 or any other sale any property in connection with 

21 which the Secretary has made a loan pursuant to 

22 this title; 

23 ‘‘(4) in the event of any such acquisition, not24 withstanding any other provision of law relating to 

25 the acquisition, handling, or disposal of real property 
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1 by the United States, complete, administer, remodel 

2 and convert, dispose of, lease, and otherwise deal 

3 with, such property, but any such acquisition of real 

4 property shall not deprive any State or political sub5 division of such State civil or criminal jurisdiction in 

6 and over such property or impair the civil rights 

7 under the State or local laws of the inhabitants on 

8 such property; 

9 ‘‘(5) sell or exchange at public or private sale, 

10 or lease, real or personal property, and sell or ex11 change any securities or obligations, upon such 

12 terms as the Secretary may fix; 

13 ‘‘(6) obtain insurance against loss in connection 

14 with property and other assets held; and 

15 ‘‘(7) include in any contract or instrument 

16 made pursuant to this title such other covenants, 

17 conditions, or provisions as may be necessary to as18 sure that the purposes of this title will be achieved. 

19 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTS FOR SUPPLIES OR SERVICES.—Sec20 tion 3709 of the Revised Statutes shall not apply to any 

21 contract for services or supplies on account of any prop22 erty acquired pursuant to this title if the amount of such 

23 contract does not exceed $1,000. 

24 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY OF GOVERNMENT CORPORATION

25 CONTROL ACT.—The provisions of section 9107(a) of title 
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1 31, United States Code, which are applicable to corpora2 tions or agencies subject to chapter 91 of such title, shall 

3 also be applicable to the activities of the Secretary under 

4 this title. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 10004. FAIR WAGES. 

6 ‘‘All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 

7 or subcontractors in the performance of any contract and 

8 subcontract for the repair, renovation, alteration, or con9 struction, including painting and decorating, of any build10 ing or work that is financed in whole or in part by a grant 

11 under this title, shall be paid wages not less than those 

12 determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with 

13 the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis14 Bacon Act); as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a–276a–5). The 

15 Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and functions 

16 set forth in reorganization plan of No. 14 of 1950 (15 

17 FR 3176; 64 Stat. 1267) and section 2 of the Act of June 

18 1, 1934 (commonly known as the Copeland Anti-Kickback 

19 Act) as amended (40 U.S.C. 276c; 48 Stat. 948). 

20 ‘‘SEC. 10005. REQUIREMENTS. 

21 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL RULES.—

22 ‘‘(1) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—An entity 

23 may receive a grant under this title for any fiscal 

24 year only if the Secretary finds that either the com25 bined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate ex-
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1 penditures of that entity (or, in the case of a local 

2 educational agency, that entity and the State), with 

3 respect to the provision of free public education by 

4 such entity for the preceding fiscal year was not less 

5 than 90 percent of such combined fiscal effort or ag6 gregate expenditures for the fiscal year for which the 

7 determination is made. 

8 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—An entity 

9 shall use funds received under this title only to sup10 plement the amount of funds that would, in the ab11 sence of such Federal funds, be made available from 

12 non-Federal sources for the repair, renovation, alter13 ation, and construction of school facilities used for 

14 educational purposes, and not to supplant such 

15 funds. 

16 ‘‘(b) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) REAL PROPERTY.—No part of any grant 

18 funds under this title shall be used for the acquisi19 tion of any interest in real property. 

20 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE.—Nothing in this title shall 

21 be construed to authorize the payment of mainte22 nance costs in connection with any projects con23 structed in whole or in part with Federal funds pro24 vided under this title.
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1 ‘‘(3) ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS.—All 

2 projects carried out with Federal funds provided 

3 under this title shall comply with all relevant Fed4 eral, State, and local environmental laws and regula5 tions. 

6 ‘‘(4) ATHLETIC AND SIMILAR FACILITIES.—No 

7 funds received under this title shall be used for sta8 diums or other facilities that are primarily used for 

9 athletic contests or exhibitions or other events for 

10 which admission is charged to the general public. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 10006. FEDERAL ASSESSMENT. 

12 ‘‘The Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 percent 

13 of the funds appropriated to carry out this title for each 

14 fiscal year—

15 ‘‘(1) to collect such data as the Secretary deter16 mines necessary at the school, local, and State levels; 

17 ‘‘(2) to conduct studies and evaluations, includ18 ing national studies and evaluations, in order to—

19 ‘‘(A) monitor the progress of projects sup20 ported with funds provided under this title; and 

21 ‘‘(B) evaluate the state of United States 

22 public elementary and secondary school librar23 ies, media centers, and facilities; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) to report to the Congress regarding the 

2 findings of the studies and evaluations described in 

3 paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘SEC. 10007. TREATMENT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS. 

5 ‘‘A public charter school that constitutes a local edu6 cational agency under State law shall be eligible for assist7 ance under this title under the same terms and conditions 

8 as any other local educational agency. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 10008. PROMPT PAYMENT OF CONTRACTORS PER10 FORMING FEDERALLY ASSISTED WORK. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure that recipients of grants 

12 under this title promptly pay contractors performing fed13 erally assisted work, or pay interest penalties in the same 

14 manner and to the same extent as provided in section 

15 3902 of title 31, United States Code (popularly known as 

16 the ‘Prompt Payment Act of 1982’). 

17 ‘‘SEC. 10009. DEFINITIONS. 

18 ‘‘For the purpose of this title—

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘construction’ means the alter20 ation or renovation of a building, structure, or facil21 ity, including—

22 ‘‘(A) the concurrent installation of equip23 ment; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the complete or partial replacement 

25 of an existing facility, but only if such replace-
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1 ment is less expensive and more cost-effective 

2 than alteration, renovation, or repair of the fa3 cility; 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘school’ means a public structure 

5 suitable for use as a classroom, laboratory, library, 

6 media center, or related facility, the primary purpose 

7 of which is the instruction of public elementary and 

8 secondary school students.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following:

‘‘TITLE X—SCHOOL FACILITIES INFRASTRUCTURE 

IMPROVEMENT 

‘‘Sec. 10001. Program authorized. 

‘‘Sec. 10002. Authorized activities. 

‘‘Sec. 10003. General provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 10004. Fair wages. 

‘‘Sec. 10005. Requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 10006. Federal assessment. 

‘‘Sec. 10007. Treatment of charter schools. 

‘‘Sec. 10008. Prompt payment of contractors performing federally assisted 

work. 

‘‘Sec. 10009. Definitions.’’.

Æ