H. R. 3269

One Hundred Fourth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six

An Act

To amend the Impact Aid program to provide for a hold-harmless with respect

to amounts for payments relating to the Federal acquisition of real property,

and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. HOLD-HARMLESS AMOUNTS FOR PAYMENTS RELATING

TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY.

Section 8002 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702) is amended by adding at the end the

following new subsections:

‘‘(g) FORMER DISTRICTS.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Where the school district of any local

educational agency described in paragraph (2) is formed at

any time after 1938 by the consolidation of two or more former

school districts, such agency may elect (at any time such agency

files an application under section 8005) for any fiscal year

after fiscal year 1994 to have (A) the eligibility of such local

educational agency, and (B) the amount which such agency

shall be eligible to receive, determined under this section only

with respect to such of the former school districts comprising

such consolidated school districts as such agency shall designate

in such election.

‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—A local educational agency referred to in paragraph (1) is any local

educational agency that, for fiscal year 1994 or any preceding

fiscal year, applied for and was determined eligible under section 2(c) of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874,

81st Congress) as such section was in effect for such fiscal

year.

‘‘(h) HOLD-HARMLESS AMOUNTS.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2)(A),

the total amount that the Secretary shall pay under subsection

(b) to a local educational agency that is otherwise eligible

for a payment under this section—

‘‘(A) for fiscal year 1995 shall not be less than 85

percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year

1994 under section 2 of the Act of September 30, 1950

(Public Law 874, 81st Congress) as such section was in

effect on September 30, 1994; or

‘‘(B) for fiscal year 1996 shall not be less than 85

percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year

1995 under subsection (b).
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‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTIONS.—(A)(i) If necessary in order to

make payments to local educational agencies in accordance

with paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the Secretary first shall

ratably reduce payments under subsection (b) for such year

to local educational agencies that do not receive a payment

under this subsection for such year.

‘‘(ii) If additional funds become available for making payments under subsection (b) for such year, then payments that

were reduced under clause (i) shall be increased on the same

basis as such payments were reduced.

‘‘(B)(i) If the sums made available under this title for

any fiscal year are insufficient to pay the full amounts that

all local educational agencies in all States are eligible to receive

under paragraph (1) after the application of subparagraph (A)

for such year, then the Secretary shall ratably reduce payments

under paragraph (1) to all such agencies for such year.

‘‘(ii) If additional funds become available for making payments under paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, then payments

that were reduced under clause (i) shall be increased on the

same basis as such payments were reduced.’’.

SEC. 2. APPLICATIONS FOR INCREASED PAYMENTS.

(a) PAYMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law—

(1) the Bonesteel-Fairfax School District Number 26–5,

South Dakota, and the Wagner Community School District

Number 11–4, South Dakota, shall be eligible to apply for

payment for fiscal year 1994 under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the

Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress)

(as such section was in effect on September 30, 1994); and

(2) the Secretary of Education shall use a subgroup of

10 or more generally comparable local educational agencies

for the purpose of calculating a payment described in paragraph

(1) for a local educational agency described in such paragraph.

(b) APPLICATION.—In order to be eligible to receive a payment

described in subsection (a), a school district described in such subsection shall apply for such payment within 30 days after the

date of enactment of this Act.

(c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed

to require a local educational agency that received a payment

under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public

Law 874, 81st Congress) (as such section was in effect on September

30, 1994) for fiscal year 1994 to return such payment or a portion

of such payment to the Federal Government.

SEC. 3. PAYMENTS FOR ELIGIBLE FEDERALLY CONNECTED CHILDREN

RESIDING ON MILITARY INSTALLATION HOUSING

UNDERGOING RENOVATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8003(a) of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)) is amended

by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘‘(4) MILITARY INSTALLATION HOUSING UNDERGOING RENOVATION.—For purposes of computing the amount of a payment

for a local educational agency for children described in paragraph (1)(D)(i), the Secretary shall consider such children to

be children described in paragraph (1)(B) if the Secretary determines, on the basis of a certification provided to the Secretary

by a designated representative of the Secretary of Defense,

that such children would have resided in housing on Federal
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property in accordance with paragraph (1)(B) except that such

housing was undergoing renovation on the date for which the

Secretary determines the number of children under paragraph

(1).’’.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (4) of section 8003(a) of the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as added by

subsection (a), shall apply with respect to fiscal years after fiscal

year 1995.

SEC. 4. COMPUTATION OF PAYMENTS FOR ELIGIBLE FEDERALLY CONNECTED CHILDREN IN STATES WITH ONLY ONE LOCAL

EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8003(b) of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(b)) is amended

by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘‘(3) STATES WITH ONLY ONE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any of the 50 States of the United

States in which there is only one local educational agency,

the Secretary shall, for purposes of paragraphs (1)(B),

(1)(C), and (2) of this subsection, and subsection (e), consider each administrative school district in the State to

be a separate local educational agency.

‘‘(B) COMPUTATION OF MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF BASIC SUPPORT PAYMENT AND THRESHOLD PAYMENT.—In computing

the maximum payment amount under paragraph (1)(C)

and the learning opportunity threshold payment under

paragraph (2)(B) for an administrative school district

described in subparagraph (A)—

‘‘(i) the Secretary shall first determine the maximum payment amount and the total current expenditures for the State as a whole; and

‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall then—

‘‘(I) proportionately allocate such maximum

payment amount among the administrative school

districts on the basis of the respective weighted

student units of such districts; and

‘‘(II) proportionately allocate such total current

expenditures among the administrative school districts on the basis of the respective number of

students in average daily attendance at such districts.’’.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (3) of section 8003(b) of the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as added by

subsection (a), shall apply with respect to fiscal years after fiscal

year 1994.

SEC. 5. DATA AND DETERMINATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.

(a) DATA.—Paragraph (4) of section 8003(f) of the Elementary

and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(f)) is

amended—

(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CURRENT YEAR’’;

(2) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:

‘‘(A) shall use student, revenue, and tax data from

the second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which

the local educational agency is applying for assistance

under this subsection;’’; and
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(3) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘such year’’ and inserting ‘‘the fiscal year for which the local educational agency

is applying for assistance under this subsection’’.

(b) DETERMINATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.—Paragraph (3) of

section 8003(f) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(f)) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding subclause (I) of subparagraph

(A)(iii), by inserting ‘‘, except as provided in subparagraph

(C),’’ after ‘‘but’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.—When

determining the amount of funds available to the local

educational agency for current expenditures for purposes

of subparagraph (A)(iii) for a fiscal year, the Secretary

shall include, with respect to the local educational agency’s

opening cash balance for such fiscal year, the portion of

such balance that is the greater of—

‘‘(i) the amount that exceeds the maximum amount

of funds for current expenditures that the local educational agency was allowed by State law to carry

over from the prior fiscal year, if State restrictions

on such amounts were applied uniformly to all local

educational agencies in the State; or

‘‘(ii) the amount that exceeds 30 percent of the

local educational agency’s operating costs for the prior

fiscal year.’’.

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by subsections

(a) and (b) shall apply with respect to fiscal years after fiscal

year 1996.

SEC. 6. PAYMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL PROPERTY.

Section 8002 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7702) (as amended by section 1) is further

amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

‘‘(i) PRIORITY PAYMENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1)(B),

and for any fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 1997 for which

the amount appropriated to carry out this section exceeds the

amount so appropriated for fiscal year 1996, the Secretary shall

first use such excess amount to increase the payment that would

otherwise be made under this section to not more than 50 percent

of the maximum amount determined under subsection (b) for any

local educational agency that—

‘‘(1) received a payment under this section for fiscal year

1996;

‘‘(2) serves a school district that contains all or a portion

of a United States military academy;

‘‘(3) serves a school district in which the local tax assessor

has certified that at least 60 percent of the real property

is federally owned; and

‘‘(4) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that

such agency’s per-pupil revenue derived from local sources for

current expenditures is not less than that revenue for the

preceding fiscal year.’’.

SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF IMPACT AID PAYMENTS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall treat any

State as having met the requirements of section 5(d)(2)(A) of the

Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for
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fiscal year 1991 (as such section was in effect for such fiscal year),

and as not having met those requirements for each of the fiscal

years 1992, 1993, and 1994 (as such section was in effect for

fiscal year 1992, 1993, and 1994, respectively), if—

(1) the State’s program of State aid was not certified by

the Secretary under section 5(d)(2)(C)(i) of the Act of September

30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for any fiscal year

prior to fiscal year 1991;

(2) the State submitted timely notice under that section

of the State’s intention to seek that certification for fiscal year

1991;

(3) the Secretary determined that the State did not meet

the requirements of section 5(d)(2)(A) of such Act for fiscal

year 1991; and

(4) the State made a payment to each local educational

agency in the State (other than a local educational agency

that received a payment under section 3(d)(2)(B) of such Act

for fiscal year 1991) in an amount equal to the difference

between the amount such agency received under such Act for

fiscal year 1991 and the amount such agency would have

received under such Act for fiscal year 1991 if payments under

such Act had not been taken into consideration in awarding

State aid to such agencies for fiscal year 1991.

(b) REPAYMENT NOT REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, any local educational agency in a State that

meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection

(a) and that received funds under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act

of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for fiscal

year 1991 (as such section was in effect for such fiscal year) shall

not, by virtue of subsection (a), be required to repay those funds

to the Secretary of Education.

SEC. 8. SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR

THE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY SERVING THE NORTH

HANOVER TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NEW JERSEY,

UNDER PUBLIC LAW 874, 81ST CONGRESS.

The Secretary of Education shall not consider any funds that

the Secretary of Education determines the local educational agency

serving the North Hanover Township Public Schools, New Jersey,

has designated for a future liability under an early retirement

incentive program as funds available to such local educational

agency for purposes of determining the eligibility of such local

educational agency for a payment for fiscal year 1994, or the amount

of any such payment, under section 3(d)(2)(B) of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress), as such section

was in effect for such fiscal year.

SEC. 9. CORRECTED LOCAL CONTRIBUTION RATE.

(a) COMPUTATION.—The Secretary of Education shall compute

a payment for a local educational agency under the Act of September

30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for each of the fiscal

years 1991 through 1994 (as such Act was in effect for each of

those fiscal years, as the case may be) using a corrected local

contribution rate based on generally comparable school districts,

if—

(1) an incorrect local contribution rate was submitted to

the Secretary of Education by the State in which such agency
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is located, and the incorrect local contribution rate was verified

as correct by the Secretary of Education; and

(2) the corrected local contribution rate is subject to review

by the Secretary of Education.

(b) PAYMENT.—Using funds appropriated under the Act of

September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, 81st Congress) for fiscal

years 1991 through 1994 that remain available for obligation (if

any), the Secretary of Education shall make payments based on

the computations described in subsection (a) to the local educational

agency for such fiscal years.

SEC. 10. STATE EQUALIZATION PLANS.

Subparagraph (A) of section 8009(b)(2) of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7709(b)(2)) is amended

by striking ‘‘more than’’ and all that follows through the period

and inserting ‘‘more than 25 percent.’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.