I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4316

To improve the quality of public elementary and secondary school libraries,

media centers, and facilities in order to help meet the National Education

Goals.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 28, 1994

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

on Education and Labor

A BILL

To improve the quality of public elementary and secondary

school libraries, media centers, and facilities in order

to help meet the National Education Goals.

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 ‘‘Education Infrastruc5 ture Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) improving the quality of public elementary

9 and secondary school libraries, media centers, and
2

•HR 4316 IH

1 facilities will help our Nation meet the National

2 Education Goals;

3 (2) Federal, State, and local funding for the re4 pair, renovation, alteration and construction of pub5 lic elementary and secondary school libraries, media

6 centers, and facilities has not adequately reflected

7 need; and

8 (3) the challenges facing our Nation’s public el9 ementary and secondary schools require the con10 certed and collaborative efforts of all levels of gov11 ernment and all sectors of the community.

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

13 It is the purpose of this Act to help our Nation meet

14 the National Education Goals through the repair, renova15 tion, alteration and construction of public elementary and

16 secondary school libraries, media centers, and facilities,

17 used for academic or vocational instruction.

18 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

19 For purposes of this Act—

20 (1) the term ‘‘alteration’’ refers to any change

21 to an existing property for use for a different pur22 pose or function;

23 (2) the term ‘‘construction’’ refers to the erec24 tion of a building, structure, or facility, including the

25 concurrent installation of equipment, site prepara-
3

•HR 4316 IH

1 tion, associated roads, parking, and utilities, which

2 provides area or cubage not previously available, in3 cluding—

4 (A) freestanding structures, additional

5 wings, or floors, enclosed courtyards or

6 entryways, and any other means to provide usa7 ble program space that did not previously exist;

8 and

9 (B) the complete replacement of an exist10 ing facility;

11 (3) the term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’

12 means a local educational agency, as such term is

13 defined in section 1471 of the Elementary and Sec14 ondary Education Act of 1965, which demonstrates

15 in the application submitted under section 7 that

16 such agency—

17 (A) has urgent repair, renovation, alter18 ation and construction needs for its public ele19 mentary or secondary school libraries, media

20 centers, and facilities, used for academic or vo21 cational instruction; and

22 (B) serves large numbers or percentages of

23 disadvantaged students;
4

•HR 4316 IH

1 (4) the term ‘‘renovation’’ refers to any change

2 to an existing property to allow its more efficient use

3 within such property’s designated purpose;

4 (5) the term ‘‘repair’’ refers to the restoration

5 of a failed or failing real property facility, compo6 nent, or a building system to such a condition that

7 such facility, component, or system may be used ef8 fectively for its designated purpose, if, due to the na9 ture or extent of the deterioration or damage to such

10 facility, component, or system, such deterioration or

11 damage cannot be corrected through normal mainte12 nance; and

13 (6) the term ‘‘Secretary’’, unless otherwise

14 specified, means the Secretary of Education.

15 SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SEC16 ONDARY EDUCATION FACILITIES PROGRAM

17 AUTHORIZED.

18 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—From amounts appro19 priated pursuant to the authority of subsection (b) in any

20 fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to eligible

21 local educational agencies having applications approved

22 under section 6 to carry out the authorized activities de23 scribed in section 7.

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

25 are to be appropriated $600,000,000 for fiscal year 1995,
5

•HR 4316 IH

1 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal

2 years 1996 through 2004, to carry out this Act.

3 SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS.

4 (a) CONTENTS REQUIRED.—Each eligible local edu5 cational agency desiring to receive a grant under this Act

6 shall submit an application to the Secretary. Each such

7 application shall—

8 (1) contain an assurance that such application

9 was developed in consultation with parents and

10 classroom teachers; and

11 (2) include—

12 (A) a description of each architectural,

13 civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, or tele14 phone line, deficiency to be corrected with funds

15 provided under this Act, including the priority

16 for the repair of the deficiency;

17 (B) a description of the corrective action to

18 be supported with funds provided under this

19 Act;

20 (C) a cost estimate of the proposed correc21 tive action;

22 (D) an identification of the total amount

23 and percentage of such agency’s budget used in

24 the preceding fiscal year for the maintenance,

25 repair, renovation, alteration, and construction
6

•HR 4316 IH

1 of public elementary and secondary school li2 braries, media centers, and facilities;

3 (E) a description of how such agency plans

4 to maintain the repair, renovation, alteration,

5 or construction supported with funds provided

6 under this Act;

7 (F) a description of the extent to which the

8 repair, renovation, alteration, or construction

9 will help the Secretary meet the goals described

10 in section 9(1)(A); and

11 (G) such other information as the Sec12 retary may reasonably require.

13 (b) PRIORITIES IN SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS.—

14 In selecting applications for the award of grant funds

15 under this Act, the Secretary shall give priority to local

16 educational agencies that—

17 (1) are seeking funds for the repair, renovation,

18 alteration, or construction of facilities that are the

19 oldest for which funds are sought under this Act;

20 (2) have the highest number of facilities with

21 health and safety hazards from one or more of the

22 following sources: asbestos, lead, radon, plumbing,

23 electrical wiring; and

24 (3) serve areas with high rates of unemploy25 ment.
7

•HR 4316 IH

1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

2 Each eligible local educational agency receiving a

3 grant under this Act shall use such grant funds to help

4 our Nation meet the National Education Goals through

5 the repair, renovation, alteration, and construction of a

6 public elementary or secondary school library, media cen7 ter, or facility, used for academic or vocational instruction,

8 including—

9 (1) inspection of such library, center, or facility;

10 (2) repairing such library, center, or facility

11 that poses a health or safety risk to students;

12 (3) upgrading of and alteration to such library,

13 center, or facility in order to accommodate new in14 structional technology;

15 (4) meeting the requirements of section 504 of

16 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans

17 with Disabilities Act of 1990;

18 (5) removal or containment of severely hazard19 ous material such as asbestos, lead, and radon using

20 a cost-effective method;

21 (6) installation or upgrading of school security

22 and communications systems;

23 (7) energy conservation;

24 (8) meeting Federal, State, or local codes relat25 ed to fire, air, light, noise, waste disposal, building
8

•HR 4316 IH

1 height, or other codes passed since the initial con2 struction of such library, center, or facility; and

3 (9) replacing an old library, center, or facility

4 that is most cost-effectively torn down rather than

5 renovated.

6 SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS.

7 (a) SPECIAL RULES.—

8 (1) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—An eligible

9 local educational agency may receive a grant under

10 this Act for any fiscal year only if the Secretary

11 finds that either the combined fiscal effort per stu12 dent or the aggregate expenditures of that agency

13 and the State with respect to the provision of free

14 public education by such local educational agency for

15 the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 per16 cent of such combined fiscal effort or aggregate ex17 penditures for the fiscal year for which the deter18 mination is made.

19 (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible

20 local educational agency shall use funds received

21 under this Act only to supplement the amount of

22 funds that would, in the absence of such Federal

23 funds, be made available from non-Federal sources

24 for the repair and construction of school facilities
9

•HR 4316 IH

1 used for educational purposes, and not to supplant

2 such funds.

3 (b) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—

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

5 funds under this Act shall be used for the acquisi6 tion of any interest in real property.

7 (2) MAINTENANCE.—Nothing in this Act shall

8 be construed to authorize the payment of mainte9 nance costs in connection with any projects con10 structed in whole or in part with Federal funds pro11 vided under this Act.

12 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS.—All

13 projects carried out with Federal funds provided

14 under this Act shall comply with all relevant Fed15 eral, State, and local environmental laws and regula16 tions.

17 (4) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS REGARDING INDI18 VIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—Sections 504 and

19 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Amer20 icans with Disabilities Act of 1990 shall apply to

21 projects carried out with Federal funds provided

22 under this Act.
10

•HR 4316 IH

1 SEC. 9. CONTRACTS.

2 If a project assisted under this Act will be carried

3 out pursuant to a contract, the following limitations shall

4 apply:

5 (1) MINORITY PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary

6 shall establish—

7 (A) goals for the participation of small

8 business concerns as contractors or subcontrac9 tors that meet or exceed the governmentwide

10 goals established pursuant to section 15(g)(1)

11 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.

12 644(g)(1)) for the participation of such con13 cerns in contracts supported with funds under

14 this Act (and subcontracts under such con15 tracts); and

16 (B) an evaluation process for such partici17 pation that gives significant weight to the goals

18 described in subparagraph (A).

19 (2) DAVIS-BACON.—All laborers and mechanics

20 employed by contractors or subcontractors in the

21 performance of any contract and subcontract for the

22 repair, renovation, alteration, or construction, in23 cluding painting and decorating, of any building or

24 work that is financed in whole or in part by a grant

25 under this Act, shall be paid wages not less than

26 those determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac-
11

•HR 4316 IH

1 cordance with the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly

2 known as the Davis-Bacon Act); as amended (40

3 U.S.C. 276a–276a–5). The Secretary of Labor shall

4 have the authority and functions set forth in reorga5 nization plan of No. 14 of 1950 (15 FR 3176; 64

6 Stat. 1267) and section 2 of the Act of June 1,

7 1934 (commonly known as the Copeland Anti-Kick8 back Act) as amended (40 U.S.C. 276c, 48 Stat.

9 948).

10 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

11 The comprehensive regional centers established under

12 section 2203 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

13 Act of 1965 may provide assistance in the repair, renova14 tion, alteration, and construction of public elementary or

15 secondary school libraries, media centers, or facilities to

16 eligible local educational agencies receiving assistance

17 under this Act.

18 SEC. 11. FEDERAL ASSESSMENT.

19 The Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 percent

20 of funds appropriated pursuant to the authority of section

21 5(b)—

22 (1) to collect such data as the Secretary deter23 mines necessary at the school, local, and State levels;

24 and
12

•HR 4316 IH

1 (2) to conduct studies and evaluations, includ2 ing national studies and evaluations, in order to—

3 (A) monitor the progress of projects sup4 ported with funds provided under this Act; and

5 (B) evaluate the state of American public

6 elementary and secondary school libraries,

7 media centers, and facilities; and

8 (3) to report to the Congress by July 1, 1997,

9 regarding the findings of the studies and evaluations

10 described in paragraph (2).

Æ