I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2884

To provide dollars to the classroom. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2003

Mr. PITTS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To provide dollars to the classroom.

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 ‘‘Dollars to the Class5 room Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES. 

7 The Secretary may award grants in accordance with 

8 this Act to States for use by States and local educational 

9 agencies to improve classroom services and activities for 

10 students. 
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1 SEC. 3. GRANT AWARD. 

2 (a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the amount ap3 propriated to carry out this Act for any fiscal year, the 

4 Secretary shall reserve—

(1) 1 5 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the outlying areas, to be 

6 distributed among the outlying areas on the basis of 

7 their relative need, as determined by the Secretary 

8 in accordance with the purposes of this section; and 

(2) 1 9 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the Secretary of the In10 terior for programs under this Act in schools oper11 ated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

12 (b) STATE ALLOCATIONS.—Funds appropriated to 

13 carry out this Act for any fiscal year, which are not re14 served under subsection (a), shall be allocated among the 

15 States as follows: 

16 (1) HOLD HARMLESS.—Subject to paragraph 

17 (2), no State shall receive an award under this sec18 tion for any fiscal year that is less than the aggre19 gate amount such State received to carry out pro20 grams or activities for fiscal year 2003 under the 

21 following provisions (as in effect on the day pre22 ceding the date of the enactment of this Act): 

23 (A) Part F of title I of the Elementary and 

24 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

25 (B) Part A of title II of the Elementary 

26 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 
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1 (C) Subpart 1 of part D of title II of the 

2 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965. 

4 (D) Part A of title V of the Elementary 

5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

6 (E) Subtitle B of title VII of the McKin7 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 

8 (2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount of 

9 appropriations to carry out this Act for any fiscal 

10 year is insufficient to pay the full amounts that all 

11 States are eligible to receive under paragraph (1) for 

12 such year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce such 

13 amounts for such year. 

14 (3) REMAINING FUNDS.—If funds remain after 

15 meeting the requirements of paragraph (1), such re16 maining funds shall be allocated among the States 

17 in the following manner: 

18 (A) 50 percent of such remaining funds 

19 shall be allocated to the States in proportion to 

20 their grants under part A of title I of the Ele21 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

22 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

23 (B) 50 percent of such remaining funds 

24 shall be allocated to the States in proportion to 

25 the number of children ages 5 through 17 who 
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1 reside in the States, according to the most re2 cent available data that are satisfactory to the 

3 Secretary. 

4 (c) DEFINITION OF STATE.—For purposes of this 

5 section, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the 50 States, the Dis6 trict of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

7 (d) DEFINITION OF OUTLYING AREA.—For purposes 

8 of this section, the term ‘‘outlying area’’ includes Amer9 ican Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and 

10 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

11 (e) PAYMENTS.—Funds awarded to a State under 

12 this Act shall be paid to the individual or entity in the 

13 State that is responsible for the State administration of 

14 Federal education funds pursuant to State law. 

15 (f) USE OF STATE AWARDS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount made 

17 available to a State under subsection (b) for a fiscal 

18 year, the State—

19 (A) shall use not more than 5 percent of 

20 the amount to support programs or activities, 

21 for children ages 5 through 17, that the State 

22 determines appropriate, of which the State shall 

23 distribute 20 percent of the 5 percent to local 

24 educational agencies in the State to pay the ad25 ministrative expenses of the local educational 
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1 agencies that are associated with the activities 

2 and services assisted under this section; and 

3 (B) shall distribute, pursuant to section 

4 4(a), not less than 95 percent of the amount to 

5 local educational agencies in the State for the 

6 fiscal year to enable the local educational agen7 cies to pay the costs of activities or services 

8 provided in the classroom, for children ages 5 

9 through 17, that the local educational agencies 

10 determine appropriate subject to the require11 ments of section 4(b). 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—For the pur13 pose of paragraph (1)(B), the costs of activities and 

14 services provided in the classroom exclude the ad15 ministrative expenses associated with the activities 

16 and services. 

17 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A State or local 

18 educational agency shall use funds received under this Act 

19 only to supplement the amount of funds that would, in 

20 the absence of such Federal funds, be made available from 

21 non-Federal sources for the education of pupils partici22 pating in programs assisted under this Act, and not to 

23 supplant such funds. 

24 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving assist2 ance under this part shall issue a report on an an3 nual basis, not later than April 1 of each year begin4 ning the year after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, to the Secretary, the Committee on Education 

6 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, 

7 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 

8 Pensions of the Senate, and the Committees on Ap9 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

10 Senate that describes how funds under this Act have 

11 been used to improve student performance in that 

12 State. 

13 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Each report submitted 

14 under this subsection shall include a certification by 

15 the State that 95 percent of funding provided under 

16 this Act during the preceding fiscal year has been 

17 expended by local educational agencies within that 

18 State for classroom activities and services pursuant 

19 to subsection (f)(1)(B). 

20 (3) MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE.—In deter21 mining student academic performance within the 

22 State, the State shall use such measures of student 

23 academic performance as it deems appropriate. The 

24 State may disaggregate data by poverty, subject 
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1 area, race, gender, geographic location, or other cri2 teria as the State deems appropriate. 

3 (4) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—Each State 

4 shall make the report described in this subsection 

5 available to parents and members of the public 

6 throughout that State. 

7 SEC. 4. LOCAL AWARDS. 

8 (a) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF FUNDS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The individual or entity in 

10 the State that is responsible for the State adminis11 tration of Federal education funds pursuant to State 

12 law of each State receiving assistance under this 

13 Act, in consultation with the Governor of such State, 

14 the chief State school officer of such State, rep15 resentatives from the State legislature, and rep16 resentatives from local educational agencies within 

17 such State, shall develop a formula for the allocation 

18 of funds described in section 3, to local educational 

19 agencies, taking into consideration—

20 (A) poverty rates within each local edu21 cational agency; 

22 (B) children living in sparsely populated 

23 areas; 

24 (C) an equitable distribution of funds 

25 among urban, rural, and suburban areas; 
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1 (D) children whose education imposes a 

2 higher than average cost per child; and 

3 (E) such other factors as considered appro4 priate. 

5 (2) HOLD HARMLESS.—Subject to paragraph 

6 (3), no local educational agency shall receive an 

7 award under this subsection for any fiscal year in an 

8 amount that is less than the sum of the following: 

9 (A) The aggregate amount the local edu10 cational agency received to carry out programs 

11 or activities for fiscal year 2003 under the fol12 lowing provisions (as in effect on the day pre13 ceding the date of the enactment of this Act): 

14 (i) Part F of title I of the Elementary 

15 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

16 (ii) Part A of title II of the Elemen17 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

18 1965. 

19 (iii) Subpart 1 of part D of title II of 

20 the Elementary and Secondary Education 

21 Act of 1965. 

22 (iv) Part A of title V of the Elemen23 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

24 1965. 
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1 (v) Subtitle B of title VII of the 

2 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 

3 (B) For each of fiscal years 2004 through 

4 2008, the aggregate amount the local edu5 cational agency is eligible to receive during the 

6 fiscal year pursuant to all multiyear awards 

7 made prior to the date of enactment of this Act 

8 under any program that is repealed by section 

9 8 and is not listed in subparagraph (A). 

10 (3) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount allo11 cated to a State to carry out this Act for any fiscal 

12 year is insufficient to pay the full amounts that all 

13 local educational agencies in such State are eligible 

14 to receive under paragraph (2) for such year, the 

15 State shall ratably reduce such amounts for such 

16 year. 

17 (b) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available 

18 under this section to a local educational agency shall be 

19 used for the following classroom services and activities: 

20 (1) Programs for the acquisition and use of in21 structional and educational materials, including li22 brary services and materials (including media mate23 rials), assessments, reference materials, and other 

24 curricular materials which are tied to high academic 

25 standards and which will be used to improve student 
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1 achievement and which are part of an overall edu2 cation reform program. 

3 (2) Professional development for instructional 

4 staff. 

5 (3) Programs to improve the higher order 

6 thinking skills of disadvantaged elementary and sec7 ondary school students and to prevent students from 

8 dropping out of school. 

9 (4) Efforts to lengthen the school day or the 

10 school year. 

11 (5) Programs to combat illiteracy in the student 

12 population. 

13 (6) Programs to provide for the educational 

14 needs of gifted and talented children. 

15 (7) Promising education reform projects that 

16 are tied to State student content and performance 

17 standards. 

18 (8) Carrying out comprehensive school reform 

19 programs that are based on reliable research. 

20 (9) Programs for homeless children and youth. 

21 (10) Programs that are built upon partnerships 

22 between local educational agencies and institutions 

23 of higher education, educational service agencies, li24 braries, businesses, regional educational laboratories, 

25 or other educational entities, for the purpose of pro-
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1 viding educational services consistent with this sec2 tion. 

3 (11) The acquisition of books, materials and 

4 equipment, payment of compensation of instructional 

5 staff, and instructional activities that are necessary 

6 for the conduct of programs in magnet schools. 

7 (12) Programs to promote academic achieve8 ment among women and girls. 

9 (13) Programs to provide for the educational 

10 needs of children with limited English proficiency or 

11 who are American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native 

12 Hawaiian. 

13 (14) Activities to provide the academic support, 

14 enrichment, and motivation to enable all students to 

15 reach high State standards. 

16 (15) Efforts to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio. 

17 (16) Projects and programs which assure the 

18 participation in mainstream settings in arts and 

19 education programs of individuals with disabilities. 

20 (17) Projects and programs to integrate arts 

21 education into the regular elementary and secondary 

22 school curriculum. 

23 (18) Programs designed to educate students 

24 about the history and principles of the Constitution 
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1 of the United States, including the Bill of Rights, 

2 and to foster civic competence and responsibility. 

3 (19) Mathematics and science education in4 structional materials. 

5 (20) Programs designed to improve the quality 

6 of student writing and learning and the teaching of 

7 writing as a learning process. 

8 (21) Technology related to the implementation 

9 of school-based reform programs, including profes10 sional development to assist teachers and other 

11 school officials regarding how to effectively use such 

12 equipment and software. 

13 (22) Computer software and hardware for in14 structional use. 

15 (23) Developing, adapting, or expanding exist16 ing and new applications of technology. 

17 (24) Acquiring connectivity linkages, resources, 

18 and services, including the acquisition of hardware 

19 and software, for use by teachers, students, and 

20 school library media personnel in the classroom or in 

21 school library media centers, in order to improve 

22 student learning. 

23 (25) After-school programs designed to engage 

24 children in a constructive manner and to promote 

25 their academic, developmental, and personal growth. 
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1 (26) Developing, constructing, acquiring, main2 taining, operating, and obtaining technical assist3 ance in the use of telecommunications audio and vis4 ual facilities and equipment for use in the classroom. 

5 (27) Developing, acquiring, and obtaining tech6 nical assistance in the use of educational and in7 structional video programming for use in the class8 room. 

9 (c) PARENT INVOLVEMENT.—Each local educational 

10 agency receiving assistance under this section shall involve 

11 parents and members of the public in planning for the use 

12 of funds provided under this section. 

13 SEC. 5. PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRI14 VATE SCHOOLS. 

15 Each local educational agency that receives funds 

16 under this Act shall provide for the participation of chil17 dren enrolled in private schools, and their teachers or 

18 other educational personnel, in the activities and services 

19 assisted under this Act in the same manner as private 

20 school children, and their teachers or other educational 

21 personnel, participate in activities and services under the 

22 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) pursuant to sections 9501, 9502, 

24 9503, and 9504 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7881, 7882, 7883, 

25 and 7884). 
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1 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act—

3 (1) the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Ele5 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 7801); 

7 (2) the term ‘‘educational service agency’’ has 

8 the meaning given the term in section 9101 of the 

9 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 7801); 

11 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

12 of Education; and 

13 (4) except as otherwise provided, the term 

14 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States of the 

15 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com16 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 

17 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is18 lands, and the United States Virgin Islands. 

19 SEC. 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

20 (a) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

21 shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of 

22 the Federal Government to require, direct, or control a 

23 State, local educational agency, or school’s specific in24 structional content of pupil performance standards and as25 sessments, curriculum, or program of instruction as a con26 dition of eligibility to receive funds under this Act. 
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1 (b) STATE AND LOCAL DETERMINATIONS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not 

3 issue any regulation regarding the type of classroom 

4 activities or services that may be assisted under this 

5 Act. 

6 (2) INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD AND SETTING.—

7 No local educational agency shall be required to pro8 vide services under this Act through a particular in9 structional method or in a particular instructional 

10 setting in order to receive funding under this Act. 

11 SEC. 8. REPEALS. 

12 The following provisions are repealed: 

13 (1) Section 1503 of the Elementary and Sec14 ondary Education Act of 1965. 

15 (2) Part F of title I of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965. 

17 (3) Part A of title II of the Elementary and 

18 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

19 (4) Part B of title II of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

21 (5) Part C of title II of the Elementary and 

22 Secondary Education Act of 165. 

23 (6) Part D of title II of the Elementary and 

24 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 
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1 (7) Part D of title V of the Elementary and 

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

3 (8) Subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney4 Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 

5 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this Act $4,383,333,000 for fiscal year 2004, 

8 $4,470,999,000 for fiscal year 2005, $4,560,419,000 for 

9 fiscal year 2006, $4,651,628,000 for fiscal year 2007, and 

10 $4,744,660,000 for fiscal year 2008.

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