II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1842 

To provide assistance to rebuild communities, schools, and hospitals damaged 

by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 6, 2005 

Ms. LANDRIEU introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide assistance to rebuild communities, schools, and 

hospitals damaged by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane 

Rita, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS ENROLLING EVACU4 ATED STUDENTS. 

5 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

6 provide financial assistance to eligible entities that serve 

7 students who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hur8 ricane Rita and enroll in the elementary or secondary 

9 schools (including charter schools) served by the eligible 

10 entities or in the eligible entities (as the case may be). 
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1 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts appro2 priated under subsection (k), the Secretary of Education 

3 shall award grants to eligible entities to enable the eligible 

4 entities to award subgrants under subsection (g) and to 

5 carry out the activities described in subsection (h). 

6 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘el7 igible entity’’ means— 

8 (1) in Louisiana or Mississippi, a State edu9 cational agency; 

10 (2) in a State other than Louisiana or Mis11 sissippi, a local educational agency that enrolls a 

12 student who is displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 

13 Hurricane Rita; or 

14 (3) an elementary school or secondary school 

15 funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that enrolls 

16 a student who is displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 

17 Hurricane Rita. 

18 (d) CONDITIONS OF GRANT.— 

19 (1) DURATION OF GRANT.—Each grant award20 ed under this section shall be for the period begin21 ning on the date of the award and ending on the last 

22 day of the 2005–2006 school year. 

23 (2) RETURN OF NON-OBLIGATED FUNDS.—An 

24 eligible entity receiving a grant under this section 

25 shall return to the Secretary of Education any grant 
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1 funds that have not been expended or obligated dur2 ing the grant period. 

3 (e) STUDENT COUNT.—An eligible entity desiring to 

4 receive a grant under this section shall— 

5 (1) submit to the Secretary of Education a 

6 count of the number of students enrolled in the eligi7 ble entity or in the elementary and secondary schools 

8 served by the eligible entity (as the case may be) 

9 who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurri10 cane Rita; and 

11 (2) maintain the records necessary to document 

12 the student enrollment count under paragraph (1). 

13 (f) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as feasible after re15 ceiving an enrollment count described in subsection 

16 (e)(1) from an eligible entity, the Secretary of Edu17 cation shall award a grant in the amount described 

18 in paragraph (2) to such eligible entity. 

19 (2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount of a 

20 grant described in this paragraph shall be equal to 

21 the product of— 

22 (A) the number of students enrolled in the 

23 eligible entity or in the elementary and sec24 ondary schools served by the eligible entity (as 
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1 the case may be) who were displaced by Hurri2 cane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; multiplied by 

3 (B) 90 percent of the average per-pupil ex4 penditure for elementary and secondary edu5 cation in the State in which the eligible entity 

6 is located, as determined by the Secretary of 

7 Education using data from the most recent year 

8 for which satisfactory data are available, except 

9 that the amount described in this subparagraph 

10 shall not exceed $7,500. 

11 (3) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount ap12 propriated for grants under this section is insuffi13 cient to pay the grants to all eligible entities in the 

14 amount calculated under paragraph (2), the grants 

15 to all eligible entities shall be ratably reduced. 

16 (g) USE OF FUNDS BY STATE EDUCATIONAL AGEN17 CIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible agency described 

19 in subsection (c)(1) that receives a grant under this 

20 section shall use grant funds to— 

21 (A) award subgrants, in the amount de22 scribed in paragraph (2), to local educational 

23 agencies within the State that serve students 

24 who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 

25 Hurricane Rita, to enable the local educational 
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1 agencies to carry out the activities described in 

2 subsection (h); and 

3 (B) to carry out the activities described in 

4 paragraph (3). 

5 (2) AMOUNT OF SUBGRANTS.—The amount of a 

6 subgrant made to a local educational agency under 

7 paragraph (1)(A) shall be equal to— 

8 (A) the product of — 

9 (i) the average per-pupil expenditure 

10 for elementary and secondary education in 

11 the local educational agency; multiplied by 

12 (ii) the number of students enrolled in 

13 schools served by the local educational 

14 agency who were displaced by Hurricane 

15 Katrina or Hurricane Rita; or 

16 (B) an amount calculated by an alternate 

17 methodology, if the use of such methodology is 

18 approved by the Secretary of Education. 

19 (3) USE OF REMAINING FUNDS.—From any 

20 grant funds awarded to an eligible agency described 

21 in subsection (c)(1) that remain after the eligible 

22 agency has awarded subgrants in accordance with 

23 paragraph (1), the eligible agency may use such re24 maining funds to carry out activities that assist local 

25 educational agencies serving schools that are closed 
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1 as a result of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, 

2 in order to reopen such schools as quickly and effec3 tively as possible. Such activities may include— 

4 (A) arranging for the temporary facilities 

5 necessary to operate educational programs while 

6 permanent facilities are being rebuilt or re7 paired; 

8 (B) purchasing equipment and materials to 

9 replace those items destroyed or damaged by 

10 Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; 

11 (C) paying the cost of student transpor12 tation; 

13 (D) recruiting or retraining teachers or 

14 other school personnel to serve in reopened 

15 schools; and 

16 (E) providing nonfinancial assistance to 

17 students and their families when such students 

18 return to the areas affected by Hurricane 

19 Katrina or Hurricane Rita or reenroll in schools 

20 that are affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hur21 ricane Rita. 

22 (h) USES OF FUNDS BY BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

23 SCHOOLS AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An eli24 gible entity described in paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection 

25 (c) that receives a grant under this section, or a local edu-
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1 cational agency that receives a subgrant under subsection 

2 (g)(1), shall use the grant funds to pay for the costs re3 lated to educating students enrolled in the schools served 

4 by the eligible entity or in the eligible entity (as the case 

5 may be), which costs may include— 

6 (1) teacher and staff salaries; 

7 (2) building maintenance; 

8 (3) materials and equipment; 

9 (4) student transportation; 

10 (5) special services and instruction, such as— 

11 (A) English language acquisition services 

12 and programs for students with limited English 

13 proficiency; 

14 (B) services for children with disabilities; 

15 and 

16 (C) mental health counseling for children 

17 displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane 

18 Rita; 

19 (6) after-school programs; 

20 (7) supplemental educational services; and 

21 (8) early childhood programs. 

22 (i) ACCOUNTABILITY.—An eligible entity that re23 ceives a grant under this section shall take appropriate 

24 measures to ensure the proper use of, and accounting for, 
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1 all grant funds received by the eligible entity under this 

2 section. 

3 (j) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—On June 30, 2006, 

4 the authority described in subsection (b) shall expire and 

5 all funds under this section that are not expended or obli6 gated by such date shall be transferred to the general fund 

7 of the Treasury. 

8 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $1,860,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

11 SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR THE ENROLLMENT OF EVACU12 ATED STUDENTS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

13 (a) AUTHORITY.—From funds appropriated under 

14 subsection (j), the Secretary of Education shall make one15 time, emergency grants to State educational agencies to 

16 enable the State educational agencies to reimburse the 

17 parents or guardians of students who were displaced by 

18 Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita and who are attend19 ing a private school in the State that is accredited or li20 censed or otherwise operates in accordance with State law. 

21 (b) LENGTH OF GRANT.— 

22 (1) DURATION OF GRANT.—Each emergency 

23 grant awarded under this section shall be for the pe24 riod beginning on the date of the award and ending 

25 on the last day of the 2005–2006 school year. 
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1 (2) RETURN OF NON-OBLIGATED FUNDS.— 

2 Each State educational agency that receives a grant 

3 under this section shall return to the Secretary of 

4 Education any grant funds that have not been ex5 pended or obligated during the grant period. 

6 (c) APPLICATIONS.—A State educational agency that 

7 desires to receive an emergency grant under this section 

8 shall submit an application to the Secretary of Education 

9 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor10 mation as the Secretary may require, including— 

11 (1) the number of students who were displaced 

12 by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita and whose 

13 parents or guardians the State educational agency 

14 expects to reimburse under this section; and 

15 (2) a detailed description of the procedures the 

16 State educational agency plans to use— 

17 (A) to provide reimbursements to the par18 ents or guardians of the displaced students de19 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

20 (B) to ensure fiscal accountability for any 

21 funds received by the State educational agency 

22 under this section. 

23 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each State educational 

2 agency, the amount of an emergency grant under 

3 this section shall be equal to the product of— 

4 (A) the number of students who were dis5 placed by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita 

6 and whose parents or guardians will be reim7 bursed by the State educational agency, as de8 termined by the Secretary of Education; multi9 plied by 

10 (B) 90 percent of the average per-pupil ex11 penditure for elementary and secondary edu12 cation in the State, as determined by the Sec13 retary of Education using data from the most 

14 recent year for which satisfactory data are 

15 available, except that the amount described in 

16 this subparagraph shall not exceed $7,500. 

17 (2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount ap18 propriated for emergency grants under this section 

19 is insufficient to pay the emergency grants to all 

20 State educational agencies in accordance with para21 graph (1), the emergency grants to all State edu22 cational agencies shall be ratably reduced. 

23 (e) USES OF FUNDS.—Each State educational agen24 cy receiving an emergency grant under this section— 
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1 (1) shall use the grant funds to provide reim2 bursements, once per semester (or lesser portion of 

3 the school year, if the State so decides), directly to 

4 the parents or guardians of the displaced students, 

5 for the cost of those students’ tuition, fees, and 

6 transportation expenses, if any, at any private school 

7 of the parents’ or guardians’ choice in the State for 

8 that semester (or lesser period), in accordance with 

9 subsection (f); 

10 (2) shall ensure that a parent or guardian who 

11 receives funds under this section use those funds 

12 only for the purposes described in paragraph (1); 

13 (3) may use not more than 1 percent of the 

14 grant funds for the administrative expenses of car15 rying out this subsection; and 

16 (4) may contract with a public or private non17 profit agency or entity to administer and operate the 

18 reimbursement program under this subsection. 

19 (f) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS TO PARENTS OR GUARD20 IANS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The maximum reimburse22 ment that a State educational agency may provide to 

23 an eligible parent or guardian on behalf of a student 

24 who is displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane 
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1 Rita under this section shall be equal to the amount 

2 described in subsection (d)(1)(B). 

3 (2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR REIM4 BURSEMENT.— 

5 (A) CRITERIA FOR ENROLLING

6 SCHOOLS.—A parent of a student who is dis7 placed by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita 

8 is eligible for a reimbursement by the State 

9 educational agency under subsection (e) if the 

10 private school in which the parent enrolls the 

11 student— 

12 (i) is accredited or licensed or other13 wise operates in accordance with State law; 

14 and 

15 (ii) has in place a refund policy for 

16 the refund of tuition and fees (and trans17 portation expenses, if any) for displaced 

18 students that is at least as favorable as the 

19 refund policy applicable to other students 

20 at the school. 

21 (B) CRITERIA FOR PARENTS OR GUARD22 IANS.—In addition to the requirements of sub23 paragraph (A), the Secretary of Education shall 

24 establish criteria, which may include the use of 

25 criteria involving family income or assets, to de-
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1 termine the eligibility for or amount of assist2 ance provided under this section to a parent or 

3 guardian of a student who is displaced by Hur4 ricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. 

5 (g) BY-PASS.—If a State educational agency is un6 able or unwilling to carry out this section, the Secretary 

7 of Education may make such arrangements as the Sec8 retary determines appropriate to carry out this section on 

9 behalf of the students attending private schools in such 

10 State who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurri11 cane Rita. 

12 (h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 308 of the 

13 DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 (Public Law 108– 

14 199) shall apply to the program under this section in the 

15 same manner as such section applies to the program under 

16 such Act. 

17 (i) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—On June 30, 2006, 

18 the authority described in subsection (a) shall expire and 

19 all grant funds that are not expended or obligated by such 

20 date shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treas21 ury. 

22 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $488,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 
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1 SEC. 3. IMMEDIATE AID TO RESTART EDUCATIONAL OPER2 ATIONS. 

3 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section— 

4 (1) to provide immediate services or assistance 

5 to institutions of higher education, local educational 

6 agencies, and eligible private schools that serve an 

7 area for which a major disaster has been declared in 

8 accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Staf9 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina or 

11 Hurricane Rita; 

12 (2) to assist school district administrators and 

13 personnel of such institutions, agencies, or eligible 

14 private schools who are working to restart oper15 ations; and 

16 (3) to facilitate the reopening of the institu17 tions, elementary schools and secondary schools 

18 served by such agencies, or eligible private schools 

19 and the enrollment of students in such institutions 

20 or schools as soon as possible. 

21 (b) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts appro22 priated to carry out this section, the Secretary of Edu23 cation is authorized to make payments to State edu24 cational agencies or State agencies for higher education 

25 that serve an area for which a major disaster has been 

26 declared in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. 
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1 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurri3 cane Rita, to enable such agencies to— 

4 (1) restart schools located in an area in which 

5 a major disaster has been declared in accordance 

6 with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

7 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane 

9 Rita; 

10 (2) provide assistance to institutions of higher 

11 education located in such an area; and 

12 (3) provide assistance to eligible private schools 

13 in accordance with subsection (c). 

14 (c) ASSISTANCE TO ELIGIBLE PRIVATE SCHOOLS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the payments provided 

16 by the Secretary of Education under subsection (b) 

17 and after timely and meaningful consultation with 

18 appropriate private school officials, a State edu19 cational agency that serves an area for which a 

20 major disaster has been declared in accordance with 

21 section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

22 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), 

23 related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, 

24 shall provide to eligible private schools special edu25 cational services or benefits for the students served 
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1 by such eligible private schools on the equitable basis 

2 described in paragraph (3). 

3 (2) SECULAR, NEUTRAL, NONIDEOLOGICAL.— 

4 The educational services or other benefits provided 

5 under paragraph (1), including materials and equip6 ment, shall be secular, neutral, and nonideological. 

7 (3) EQUITY.—Educational services and other 

8 benefits provided for eligible private school students 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be equitable in compari10 son to the educational services and other benefits 

11 provided for public school students under this sec12 tion. 

13 (4) PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS.—The control 

14 of funds provided to an eligible private school under 

15 paragraph (1), and title to materials, equipment, 

16 and property purchased with such funds, shall be in 

17 a public agency, and a public agency shall admin18 ister such funds, materials, equipment, and prop19 erty. 

20 (d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 

21 available under this section shall be used to supplement, 

22 and not supplant, any funds made available through the 

23 Federal Emergency Management Agency or through a 

24 State. 

25 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 (1) ELIGIBLE PRIVATE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘el2 igible private school’’ means a private elementary or 

3 secondary school that desires to participate in the 

4 program under this section and is located in an area 

5 in which a major disaster has been declared in ac6 cordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

7 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 5170), related to Hurricane Katrina or Hur9 ricane Rita. 

10 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

12 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High13 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

14 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

17 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, of the amounts made available to the Depart20 ment of Homeland Security under the heading ‘‘DISASTER

21 RELIEF’’ under the heading ‘‘EMERGENCY PRE22 PAREDNESS AND RESPONSE’’ of Public Law 109– 

23 62 (119 Stat. 1991), not less than $3,300,000,000 shall 

24 be available to the heads of the appropriate departments 
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1 or agencies of the Federal Government to carry out the 

2 programs and activities authorized under this Act. 

3 (b) AVAILABLE UNTIL EXPENDED.—The amounts 

4 appropriated under subsection (a) shall remain available 

5 until expended. 

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