I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3734

To expand the role of public schools to provide community services.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 26, 1994

Mr. GUNDERSON (for himself and Mr. GOODLING) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To expand the role of public schools to provide community

services.

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 ‘‘21st Century Commu5 nity Learning Centers Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) a local public school often serves as a center

9 for the delivery of education and human resources

10 for all members of a community;
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1 (2) public schools, primarily in rural and inner

2 city communities, should collaborate with other pub3 lic and nonprofit agencies and organizations, local

4 businesses, educational entities (such as vocational

5 and adult education programs, school to work pro6 grams, community colleges, and universities), rec7 reational, cultural, and other community and human

8 service entities for the purpose of meeting the needs

9 and expanding the opportunities available to the

10 residents of the communities served by such schools;

11 (3) by using school facilities, equipment, and

12 resources, communities can promote a more efficient

13 use of public education facilities, especially in rural

14 and inner city areas where limited financial re15 sources have enhanced the necessity for local public

16 schools to become social service centers;

17 (4) the high technology, global economy of the

18 21st century will require lifelong learning to keep

19 America’s workforce competitive and successful, local

20 public schools should provide centers for lifelong

21 learning and educational opportunities for individ22 uals of all ages; and

23 (5) 21st Century Community Learning Centers

24 enable the entire community to develop an education
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1 strategy that addresses the educational needs of all

2 members of local communities.

3 SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION AND DISTRIBUTION.

4 (a) GRANTS BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary is

5 authorized in accordance with the provisions of this sub6 section to make grants to rural and inner city schools or

7 consortia thereof to plan, implement, or to expand projects

8 that benefit the educational, health, social service, cul9 tural, and recreational needs of a rural or inner city com10 munity.

11 (1) No school or consortia thereof shall receive

12 a grant award of less than $50,000 in each fiscal

13 year; and

14 (2) such grant projects do not exceed a 3-year

15 period.

16 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive funds

17 under this Act, a school or consortia thereof shall submit

18 an application to the Secretary of Education at such time

19 and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably pre20 scribe, that shall include—

21 (1) a comprehensive local plan that enables

22 such school to serve as a center for the delivery of

23 education and human resources for members of a

24 community; and
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1 (2) an initial evaluation of needs, available re2 sources, and goals and objectives for the proposed

3 community education program to determine pro4 grams that will be developed to address these needs:

5 (A) A mechanism to disseminate informa6 tion in a manner that is understandable and ac7 cessible to the community.

8 (B) Identification of Federal, State, and

9 local programs to be merged or coordinated so

10 that public resources may be maximized.

11 (C) A description of the collaborative ef12 forts of community-based organizations, related

13 public agencies, businesses, or other appropriate

14 organizations.

15 (D) A description of how the school will as16 sist as a delivery center for existing and new

17 services, especially inter-active telecommuni18 cation used for education and professional

19 training.

20 (E) The establishment of a facility utiliza21 tion policy that specifically states rules and reg22 ulations for building and equipment use and su23 pervision guidelines.
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1 (c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to

2 applications that offer a broad selection of services that

3 address the needs of the community.

4 SEC. 4. USES OF FUNDS.

5 (a) AUTHORIZED PROGRAMS.—Grants awarded

6 under this Act may be used to plan, implement, or expand

7 community learning centers which shall include not less

8 than 4 of the following activities:

9 (1) Literacy education programs.

10 (2) Senior citizen programs.

11 (3) Children’s day care services.

12 (4) Integrated education, health, social service,

13 recreational, or cultural programs.

14 (5) Summer and weekend school programs in

15 conjunction with summer recreation programs.

16 (6) Nutrition, health, and/or physical therapy.

17 (7) Expanded library service hours to serve

18 community needs.

19 (8) Telecommunications and technology edu20 cation programs for all ages.

21 (9) Parenting skills education programs.

22 (10) Support and training for child day care

23 providers.

24 (11) Employment counseling, training, and

25 placement.
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1 (12) Services for students who withdraw from

2 school before graduating high school, regardless of

3 age.

4 (13) Services for individuals who are either

5 physically or mentally challenged.

6 SEC. 5. AWARD OF GRANTS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In approving grants under this

8 part, the Secretary shall assure an equitable distribution

9 of assistance among the States, among urban and rural

10 areas of the United States, and among urban and rural

11 areas of a State.

12 (b) GRANT PERIOD—Grants may be awarded for a

13 period not to exceed 3 years.

14 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

15 For purposes of this Act—

16 (1) the term ‘‘Community Learning Center’’

17 means the provision of educational, recreational,

18 health, and social service programs for residents of

19 all ages of a local community in public school build20 ings, primarily in rural and inner city areas, oper21 ated by the local educational agency in conjunction

22 with local governmental agencies, businesses, voca23 tional education programs, community colleges, uni24 versities, and cultural, recreational, and other com25 munity and human service entities; and
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1 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

2 of Education.

3 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000

5 for fiscal year 1995 and such sums as may be necessary

6 for each of the fiscal years 1996 through 1999.

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