I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8150 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study 

with respect to safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID– 

19 in schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 

Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL (for herself, Mr. SOTO, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mrs. 

MCBATH, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. FRANKEL, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. HASTINGS, 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

conduct a study with respect to safety precautions to 

prevent the spread of COVID–19 in schools, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Considerations 

3 of the Health Of Our Learning Students Act’’ or 

4 ‘‘SCHOOLS Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. STUDY ON COVID–19 SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR 

6 SCHOOLS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec9 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

10 Disease Control and Prevention, shall conduct a study 

11 with respect to safety precautions to prevent the spread 

12 of COVID–19 in schools. 

13 (b) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study conducted 

14 under subsection (a) shall address each of the following: 

15 (1) REOPENING CRITERIA AND BEST PRAC16 TICES.— 

17 (A) MINIMUM CRITERIA.—The minimum 

18 criteria that a community needs to meet with 

19 respect to the spread of COVID–19, including 

20 the sufficiency of such criteria, before opening 

21 schools for full-time and in-person instruction, 

22 including— 

23 (i) a decreasing positivity rate re24 ported over a 28-day period that shall in 

25 no case exceed 5 percent; and 


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1 (ii) a reproductive number over such 

2 28-day period of less than 1. 

3 (B) BEST PRACTICES.—Best practices with 

4 respect to the criteria under subparagraph (A), 

5 including with respect to— 

6 (i) public health capacity to conduct 

7 testing and contract tracing in the commu8 nity; 

9 (ii) surge capacity in hospitals; and 

10 (iii) the amounts of personal protec11 tive equipment needed. 

12 (2) CRISIS RESPONSE PERSONNEL.—Practices 

13 for crisis response personnel in schools, including— 

14 (A) the designation of at least 1 staff 

15 member (or nurse who may not be a staff mem16 ber) to provide crisis response in each school; 

17 (B) the metrics to be reported by such 

18 staff member; 

19 (C) with respect to a school that has at 

20 least 2 such staff members, the composition of 

21 a team of such staff members; and 

22 (D) the actions such staff member should 

23 take to minimize the spread of COVID–19 in 

24 schools (including actions with respect to in25 clement weather). 


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1 (3) STAFFING.—Recommended practices to in2 crease the safety of staff and reduce the spread of 

3 COVID–19 among staff, including— 

4 (A) the use of common spaces, such as 

5 break rooms; 

6 (B) allowing staff to work remotely; 

7 (C) the use of face coverings, including— 

8 (i) appropriate times for and exemp9 tions to such use; and 

10 (ii) appropriate spaces to suggest such 

11 use; and 

12 (D) health screenings and reporting of 

13 symptoms of COVID–19, and any associated 

14 testing for COVID–19, taking into account pri15 vacy protections. 

16 (4) FACILITY CONDITIONS.—Recommended 

17 practices with respect to facility conditions, includ18 ing— 

19 (A) the minimum physical distancing to re20 duce the risk of spread between individuals in 

21 classrooms and common spaces, including hall22 ways; 

23 (B) the appropriate ventilation and air 

24 flow; 


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1 (C) cleaning and disinfection of school sup2 plies and common areas; and 

3 (D) the minimum physical distancing to 

4 reduce the risk of spread during physical edu5 cation and recreation activities, and the level of 

6 risk associated with any such physical education 

7 or recreation activity. 

8 (5) TRANSPORTATION.—Recommended prac9 tices to increase the safety of staff and students 

10 with respect to transporting students to and from 

11 schools, including— 

12 (A) with respect to dropping students off 

13 at and picking students up from schools— 

14 (i) conducting health screenings; 

15 (ii) implementing staggered schedules; 

16 and 

17 (iii) physical distancing and hygiene 

18 practices; and 

19 (B) safety protocols with respect to the use 

20 of buses. 

21 (6) ORGANIZATION OF TEACHING AND CLASS22 ES.—Recommended practices with respect to the or23 ganization of teaching, classes, and other group set24 tings, including— 


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1 (A) consistent and small cohort groups 

2 among students and teachers; 

3 (B) rotating schedules or other alternate 

4 schedules; and 

5 (C) administering meal time. 

6 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 60 days 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 shall— 

9 (1) submit to Congress recommendations based 

10 on the results of the study under subsection (a); and 

11 (2) update the recommendations under para12 graph (1) as necessary. 

13 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT CDC GUIDANCE 

14 RELATING TO COVID–19. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

16 shall carry out a grant program to make grants to State 

17 educational agencies to carry out the activities described 

18 in subsection (c). 

19 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

20 under this section, a State educational agency shall submit 

21 to the Secretary an application not later than 2 months 

22 after funds are first made available under subsection 

23 (g)(1) that includes— 

24 (1) a plan developed by the State educational 

25 agency to implement the guidance relating to health 


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1 and safety measures with respect to COVID–19 es2 tablished by the Secretary of Health and Human 

3 Services, acting through the Director of the Centers 

4 for Disease Control and Prevention, in local edu5 cational agencies, elementary schools, and secondary 

6 schools served by such State Educational agency; 

7 (2) an assurance that, with respect to school 

8 year 2020–2021, the State educational agency will— 

9 (A) offer remote digital learning options to 

10 students such that the number of hours offered 

11 for remote digital learning is equal to or greater 

12 than the number of hours offered for in-person 

13 learning; 

14 (B) not require a student who has an in15 creased health risk (as defined by the Secretary 

16 of Health and Human Services, acting through 

17 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

18 and Prevention) or lives with a family member 

19 with an increased health risk to attend in-per20 son learning; 

21 (C) limit in-person meetings and con22 ferences; 

23 (D) group students in such a manner as to 

24 minimize the burden placed on teachers; and 


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1 (E) provide guidance for teachers who have 

2 an increased health risk for instructing students 

3 remotely; 

4 (3) a plan to— 

5 (A) close in-person learning in the case of 

6 a resurgence (as defined by the Secretary of 

7 Health and Human Services, acting through the 

8 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

9 Prevention) of COVID–19 cases in the State; 

10 (B) with respect to a school in which a stu11 dent or staff member who attends such school 

12 in-person tests positive for COVID–19, close 

13 such school until it is safe for students and 

14 staff to return; and 

15 (C) notify each student and staff member 

16 who may have come in to contact with a stu17 dent or staff member described in subparagraph 

18 (B) of the potential exposure to COVID–19; 

19 and 

20 (4) such other information as the Secretary 

21 may require. 

22 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

24 that receives a grant under this section may only use 

25 such grant— 


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1 (A) to carry out such activities as are nec2 essary to implement the guidance described in 

3 subsection (b)(1), as determined by the Sec4 retary; and 

5 (B) to— 

6 (i) conduct teacher training on public 

7 safety protocols; 

8 (ii) establish or expand digital edu9 cation programs; 

10 (iii) carry out teacher professional de11 velopment for digital learning; 

12 (iv) establish or expand summer 

13 learning, weekend instruction, or expanded 

14 school years to supplement instruction; 

15 (v) hire substitute teachers, including 

16 substitute teachers for teachers who are 

17 medically vulnerable; 

18 (vi) provide paid sick and family leave 

19 for all staff, including substitute teachers 

20 and contract workers; 

21 (vii) establish or expand mental health 

22 support services, including by hiring staff 

23 and other personnel to meet the social, 

24 emotional, and mental health needs of stu25 dents; 


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1 (viii) purchase school supplies needed 

2 for student and staff health safety, includ3 ing personal protective equipment, sanita4 tion supplies, and equipment necessary for 

5 temperature checks of students and staff; 

6 (ix) purchase other school supplies 

7 (including books and laptops) for students; 

8 or 

9 (x) purchase equipment needed for 

10 physical distancing and digital learning. 

11 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A State edu12 cational agency may use not more than 5 percent of 

13 any grant received under this section for administra14 tive expenses related to carrying out the activities 

15 described in paragraph (1). 

16 (d) DEPARTMENT REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 30 

18 days thereafter until the last day of school year 2020– 

19 2021, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 

20 includes— 

21 (1) the number and amount of grants made 

22 under this section; and 

23 (2) with respect to each State, the number of 

24 students and faculty members in each such State 

25 who test positive for COVID–19. 


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1 (e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

2 (1) EMPLOYEE RIGHTS.—Nothing in this sec3 tion shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect 

4 the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to 

5 school or local education agency employees under 

6 Federal, State, or local laws (including applicable 

7 regulations or court orders) or under the terms of 

8 collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of un9 derstanding, or other agreements between such em10 ployers and their employees. 

11 (2) IMMIGRATION STATUS.—Nothing in this 

12 section shall be construed to limit any student, the 

13 State educational agency and local educational agen14 cy serving such student, or the elementary school or 

15 secondary school in which a student is enrolled from 

16 receiving funds pursuant to this section based on the 

17 immigration status of such student. 

18 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

20 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

21 school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State educational agen22 cy’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

23 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.). 


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1 (2) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means a 

2 student who attends a public elementary school or 

3 public secondary school. 

4 (g) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made avail6 able to the ‘‘Department of Education—Education 

7 Stabilization Fund’’ under Public Law 116–136, the 

8 Secretary shall use $300,000,000,000 to carry out 

9 grants under this section for fiscal year 2020. 

10 (2) NO FUNDING TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—None 

11 of the funds made available under paragraph (1) 

12 may be used to— 

13 (A) provide funding to a private elemen14 tary school or private secondary school; or 

15 (B) establish vouchers for students to at16 tend a school described in subparagraph (A). 

Æ 


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