II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4081 

To provide a grant program for elementary schools, secondary schools, and 

institutions of higher education to help offset costs associated with complying with guidelines, recommendations, and other public health communications issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

or a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or locality related to 

mitigating the hazards presented by COVID–19. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 25, 2020 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide a grant program for elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to 

help offset costs associated with complying with guidelines, recommendations, and other public health communications issued by the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, or a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, 

or locality related to mitigating the hazards presented 

by COVID–19. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reopen Schools Safely 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) In order to safely return to school in the 

7 fall, elementary schools, secondary schools, and insti8 tutions of higher education must follow the guide9 lines provided by the Centers for Disease Control 

10 and Prevention (CDC), States, Indian Tribes, Tribal 

11 organizations, or localities. 

12 (2) In order to follow the guidelines provided by 

13 the CDC and other entities, schools and institutions 

14 must have the resources, training, and expertise nec15 essary to ensure students, faculty, and staff can re16 turn to a safe school environment. 

17 (3) Safely reopening schools is critical to the 

18 long-term health and well-being of children, espe19 cially children from low-income households and chil20 dren with disabilities. 

21 (4) If schools are unable to safely reopen in the 

22 fall of 2020, student achievement gaps will be exac23 erbated, the digital divide will widen, social and emo24 tional learning needs will become greater, and par25 ents of young children will be forced to choose be26 tween paying for daycare services and returning to 


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1 work or staying home with their children and for2 going employment opportunities. 

3 (5) For many institutions of higher education, 

4 safely reopening campuses is essential to long-term 

5 survivability, especially for institutions that serve a 

6 high percentage of low-income, Federal Pell Grant7 eligible students. 

8 (6) On June 10, 2020, the Committee on 

9 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen10 ate held the hearing titled, ‘‘COVID–19: Going Back 

11 to School Safely’’ where Ms. Susana Cordova, the 

12 Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, testified 

13 that, after conducting a community-wide survey, the 

14 survey was ‘‘loud and clear: prioritize health and 

15 wellness’’. 

16 (7) On June 4, 2020, the Committee on Health, 

17 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate held 

18 the hearing titled, ‘‘COVID–19: Going Back to Col19 lege Safely’’, where Dr. Logan Hampton, the Presi20 dent of Lane College in the State of Tennessee, tes21 tified that Congress needs to ‘‘provide funding for 

22 the safety of our students, faculty, and staff’’ and 

23 that doing so will ‘‘help institutions adequately pre24 pare and effectively execute the return of students to 


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1 the classroom as we protect our campuses and larger 

2 communities’’. 

3 (8) Safely reopening elementary schools, sec4 ondary schools, and institutions of higher education 

5 requires robust funding support to ensure schools 

6 and institutions are not left with unfunded man7 dates. 

8 SEC. 3. STATE GRANT PROGRAM TO SAFELY REOPEN 

9 SCHOOLS. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

12 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 

13 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu14 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

15 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

19 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

20 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

21 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

23 (4) OUTLYING AREAS.—The term ‘‘outlying 

24 areas’’ means American Samoa, the Commonwealth 


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1 of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 

2 United States Virgin Islands. 

3 (5) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.—The 

4 term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ has the mean5 ing given the term in section 20005 of the CARES 

6 Act (Public Law 116–136). 

7 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Education. 

9 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

10 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

11 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

12 (8) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

13 organization’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘trib14 al organization’’ in section 4 of the Indian Self-De15 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 

16 U.S.C. 5304). 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 

18 (1) RESERVATION.—From the amount appro19 priated to carry out this section for a fiscal year, the 

20 Secretary shall reserve one-half of 1 percent for the 

21 Bureau of Indian Education and one-half of 1 per22 cent for the outlying areas. 

23 (2) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall 

24 award grants to States from allotments made to the 

25 States under paragraph (3) to offset costs associated 


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1 with complying with guidelines, recommendations, 

2 and other public health communications issued by 

3 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or 

4 a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or local5 ity related to mitigating the hazards presented by 

6 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 

7 (3) ALLOTMENT FORMULA.—From the amount 

8 appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal 

9 year and not reserved under paragraph (1), the Sec10 retary shall allot to each State for such fiscal year 

11 an amount that is equal to the sum of— 

12 (A) the amount that bears the same rela13 tion to 60 percent of the amount appropriated 

14 for such fiscal year and not reserved under 

15 paragraph (1), as the number of individuals 

16 aged 5 through 24 in the State bears to the 

17 total number of such individuals in all States; 

18 and 

19 (B) the amount that bears the same rela20 tion to 40 percent of the amount appropriated 

21 for such fiscal year and not reserved under 

22 paragraph (1), as the number of children count23 ed under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and 

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


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1 6333(c)) in the State bears to the total number 

2 of such children counted in all States. 

3 (c) APPLICATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a State 

5 that desires to receive a grant under this section 

6 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

7 time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in8 formation as the Secretary may require. 

9 (2) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall— 

10 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, issue a notification for 

12 applications for grants under this section; and 

13 (B) not later than 30 days after the date 

14 of notification for applications for grants under 

15 this section, begin to award grants under this 

16 section. 

17 (d) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

19 grant under this section shall use not less than 95 

20 percent of the grant funds to award subgrants only 

21 to local educational agencies or institutions of higher 

22 education to enable such agencies and institutions to 

23 offset costs associated with complying with guide24 lines, recommendations, and other public health 

25 communications issued by the Centers for Disease 


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1 Control and Prevention, or a State, Indian Tribe, 

2 Tribal organization, or locality related to mitigating 

3 the hazards presented by Coronavirus Disease 2019 

4 (COVID–19), including by carrying out the fol5 lowing: 

6 (A) Designing and implementing exposure 

7 control plans. 

8 (B) Hiring personnel and purchasing 

9 equipment necessary for health screenings, in10 cluding temperature screenings. 

11 (C) Purchasing in vitro diagnostic products 

12 (as defined in section 809.3 of title 21, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations) for the detection of 

14 SARS–CoV–2 or the diagnosis of the virus that 

15 causes COVID–19 that are approved, cleared, 

16 or authorized under section 510(k), 513, or 564 

17 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

18 (21 U.S.C. 360(k); 360c; 360bbb–3), including 

19 both diagnostic and serological tests, as appro20 priate. 

21 (D) Purchasing and installing physical 

22 barriers and reconfiguring physical public 

23 school buildings, including classrooms and other 

24 aspects of the school’s learning environment, to 

25 provide for adequate social distancing. 


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1 (E) Providing students, educators, and 

2 school staff with personal protective equipment. 

3 (F) Purchasing sanitation supplies, includ4 ing EPA-approved disinfectant and hiring ade5 quate personnel to conduct school cleanings. 

6 (G) Developing and providing training re7 lated to COVID–19, including the use of per8 sonal protective equipment. 

9 (H) Purchasing and installing new ventila10 tion systems, as necessary. 

11 (I) Purchasing any other items, personnel, 

12 or services determined necessary or rec13 ommended by the Secretary or a State, Indian 

14 Tribe, Tribal organization, or locality related to 

15 mitigating the hazards presented by COVID– 

16 19. 

17 (J) Hiring transportation personnel and 

18 purchasing vehicles to transport students. 

19 (K) Purchasing connected devices for stu20 dents to use at home, high-speed internet or 

21 broadband access, or other technology to ensure 

22 students can complete all schoolwork at home. 

23 (L) Purchasing secure, third-party applica24 tions for symptom monitoring and associated 

25 information technology services. 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—A State that receives a 

2 grant under this section shall engage in meaningful 

3 consultation on the distribution of grant funds with 

4 local educational agencies, institutions of higher edu5 cation, labor organizations, parents, students, school 

6 support staff, public health experts, the State edu7 cational agency, and educators. 

8 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS.—A State that re9 ceives a grant under this section may reserve not 

10 more than 5 percent of the grant funds for adminis11 trative costs and to develop State standards for miti12 gating COVID–19 in schools. 

13 (4) APPLICATION FOR SUBGRANTS.—A State 

14 that receives a grant under this section shall estab15 lish an application process for local educational 

16 agencies and institutions of higher education to 

17 apply for subgrants under this section. 

18 (e) REIMBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

20 grant under this section may reimburse a local edu21 cational agency or institution of higher education for 

22 costs associated with safely reopening if the local 

23 educational agency or institution of higher education 

24 purchased or had expenditures that qualify as an al25 lowable use of funds under subsection (d). 


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1 (2) DATE OF REIMBURSEMENT ELIGIBILITY.— 

2 A local educational agency or institution of higher 

3 education may only be reimbursed under paragraph 

4 (1) for a cost incurred after the date of the COVID– 

5 19 national emergency. 

6 (3) COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—In 

7 this subsection, the term ‘‘COVID–19 national 

8 emergency’’ means the national emergency declared 

9 by the President under the National Emergencies 

10 Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) on March 13, 2020, 

11 with respect to the coronavirus. 

12 (f) RECEIPTS AND RECORDS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 

14 grant under this section or a local educational agen15 cy or institution of higher education that receives a 

16 subgrant under this section shall keep all receipts 

17 and records on the use of such grant or subgrant 

18 funds. 

19 (2) RECEIPTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF

20 FUNDS.—Prior to reimbursing a local educational 

21 agency or institution of education for an allowable 

22 use of funds under subsection (d) pursuant to sub23 section (e), the State shall certify that such funds 

24 were spent on expenses that are deemed an allowable 

25 use of funds as described in subsection (d). 


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1 (g) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AND INSTI3 TUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTS.—Each 

4 local educational agency or institution of higher edu5 cation that receives a subgrant under this section 

6 shall submit a report to the State that awarded the 

7 subgrant that details the use of the subgrant funds. 

8 (2) STATE REPORTS.—Each State that receives 

9 a grant under this section shall submit an annual re10 port to the Secretary that details the use of the 

11 grant funds, including the amount of funds reim12 bursed by the State to local educational agencies or 

13 institutions of higher education. 

14 (3) SECRETARY REPORT.—The Secretary 

15 shall— 

16 (A) submit an annual report to Congress 

17 on the grant program carried out under this 

18 section; and 

19 (B) make such report publicly available. 

20 (h) RETURNING FUNDS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any funds received under 

22 this section that are unexpended on the date that is 

23 1 year after the date of receipt of the funds shall be 

24 returned to the Secretary. 


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1 (2) REALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall re2 allocate funds returned under paragraph (1) to the 

3 remaining States in accordance with subsection 

4 (b)(3). 

5 (i) RESTRICTIONS.—A State that receives a grant 

6 under this section or a local educational agency or institu7 tion of higher education that receives a subgrant under 

8 this section may not resell any unused supplies or mate9 rials purchased with funds received under this section. 

10 (j) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State’s applica11 tion for grant funds under this section shall include assur12 ances that the State shall, to the greatest extent prac13 ticable, maintain support for elementary and secondary 

14 education, and State support for higher education (which 

15 shall include State funding to institutions of higher edu16 cation and State need-based financial aid, and shall not 

17 include support for capital projects or for research and 

18 development or tuition and fees paid by students) in fiscal 

19 years 2020, 2021, and 2022 at least at the levels of such 

20 support that is the average of such State’s support for 

21 elementary and secondary education and for higher edu22 cation provided in the 3 fiscal years preceding the date 

23 of enactment of this Act. 

24 (k) EQUITABLE SERVICES.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (A) PROVISION OF EQUITABLE SERV2 ICES.—Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 

3 a local educational agency receiving funds 

4 under this section shall provide equitable serv5 ices to students from low-income families, and 

6 teachers of such students, in non-public schools 

7 in the same manner as provided under section 

8 1117 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6320) (including 

10 the specific requirements of subsections 

11 (a)(4)(A)(i) and (c) of such section), subject to 

12 paragraph (2), as determined in consultation 

13 with representatives of non-public schools. 

14 (B) DETERMINATION OF PROPORTIONAL

15 SHARE.—In determining the proportional share 

16 of expenditures for the equitable services de17 scribed in subparagraph (A), a local educational 

18 agency shall use the proportion determined 

19 under section 1117(a)(4)(A)(i) of the Elemen20 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 6320(a)(4)(A)(i)) for the purposes of 

22 part A of title I of such Act for fiscal year 

23 2019. 

24 (C) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS AND TEACH25 ERS.—A local educational agency required to 


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1 provide equitable services under subparagraph 

2 (A) shall provide such services to students and 

3 teachers at non-public schools whose students 

4 or teachers were eligible to receive equitable 

5 services from such local educational agency dur6 ing fiscal year 2019 under section 1117 of the 

7 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6320). 

9 (2) PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS.—The control 

10 of funds for the services and assistance provided to 

11 a non-public school under paragraph (1), and title to 

12 materials, equipment, and property purchased with 

13 such funds, shall be in a public agency, and a public 

14 agency shall administer such funds, materials, equip15 ment, and property and shall provide such services 

16 (or may contract for the provision of such services 

17 with a public or private entity). 

18 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2020 

21 through 2022. 

Æ 


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