106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2789

AN ACT

To amend the Congressional Award Act to establish a Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education

Board.

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. CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION FOR EXCEL2 LENCE IN ARTS EDUCATION.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Congressional Award Act (2

4 U.S.C. 801–808) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘TITLE II—CONGRESSIONAL

7 RECOGNITION FOR EXCEL8 LENCE IN ARTS EDUCATION

9 ‘‘SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

10 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Congressional Rec11 ognition for Excellence in Arts Education Act’.

12 ‘‘SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

13 ‘‘Congress makes the following findings:

14 ‘‘(1) Arts literacy is a fundamental purpose of

15 schooling for all students.

16 ‘‘(2) Arts education stimulates, develops, and

17 refines many cognitive and creative skills, critical

18 thinking and nimbleness in judgment, creativity and

19 imagination, cooperative decisionmaking, leadership,

20 high-level literacy and communication, and the ca21 pacity for problem-posing and problem-solving.

22 ‘‘(3) Arts education contributes significantly to

23 the creation of flexible, adaptable, and knowledge24 able workers who will be needed in the 21st century

25 economy.
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1 ‘‘(4) Arts education improves teaching and

2 learning.

3 ‘‘(5) Where parents and families, artists, arts

4 organizations, businesses, local civic and cultural

5 leaders, and institutions are actively engaged in in6 structional programs, arts education is more suc7 cessful.

8 ‘‘(6) Effective teachers of the arts should be en9 couraged to continue to learn and grow in mastery

10 of their art form as well as in their teaching com11 petence.

12 ‘‘(7) The 1999 study, entitled ‘Gaining the Arts

13 Advantage: Lessons from School Districts that

14 Value Arts Education’, found that the literacy, edu15 cation, programs, learning and growth described in

16 paragraphs (1) through (6) contribute to successful

17 districtwide arts education.

18 ‘‘(8) Despite all of the literacy, education, pro19 grams, learning and growth findings described in

20 paragraphs (1) through (6), the 1997 National As21 sessment of Educational Progress reported that stu22 dents lack sufficient opportunity for participatory

23 learning in the arts.

24 ‘‘(9) The Arts Education Partnership, a coali25 tion of national and State education, arts, business,
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1 and civic groups, is an excellent example of one or2 ganization that has demonstrated its effectiveness in

3 addressing the purposes described in section 205(a)

4 and the capacity and credibility to administer arts

5 education programs of national significance.

6 ‘‘SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

7 ‘‘In this title:

8 ‘‘(1) ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP.—The

9 term ‘Arts Education Partnership’ means a private,

10 nonprofit coalition of education, arts, business, phil11 anthropic, and government organizations that dem12 onstrates and promotes the essential role of arts

13 education in enabling all students to succeed in

14 school, life, and work, and was formed in 1995.

15 ‘‘(2) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

16 Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

17 Education Awards Board established under section

18 204.

19 ‘‘(3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; SECONDARY

20 SCHOOL.—The terms ‘elementary school’ and ‘sec21 ondary school’ mean—

22 ‘‘(A) a public or private elementary school

23 or secondary school (as the case may be), as de24 fined in section 14101 of the Elementary and
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1 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

2 8801); or

3 ‘‘(B) a bureau funded school as defined in

4 section 1146 of the Education Amendments of

5 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2026).

6 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

7 the several States of the United States, the District

8 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

9 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin

10 Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar11 iana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,

12 the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Repub13 lic of Palau.

14 ‘‘SEC. 204. ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.

15 ‘‘There is established within the legislative branch of

16 the Federal Government a Congressional Recognition for

17 Excellence in Arts Education Awards Board. The Board

18 shall be responsible for administering the awards program

19 described in section 205.

20 ‘‘SEC. 205. BOARD DUTIES.

21 ‘‘(a) AWARDS PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Board

22 shall establish and administer an awards program to be

23 known as the ‘Congressional Recognition for Excellence in

24 Arts Education Awards Program’. The purpose of the pro25 gram shall be to—
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1 ‘‘(1) celebrate the positive impact and public

2 benefits of the arts;

3 ‘‘(2) encourage all elementary schools and sec4 ondary schools to integrate the arts into the school

5 curriculum;

6 ‘‘(3) spotlight the most compelling evidence of

7 the relationship between the arts and student learn8 ing;

9 ‘‘(4) demonstrate how community involvement

10 in the creation and implementation of arts policies

11 enriches the schools;

12 ‘‘(5) recognize school administrators and faculty

13 who provide quality arts education to students;

14 ‘‘(6) acknowledge schools that provide profes15 sional development opportunities for their teachers;

16 ‘‘(7) create opportunities for students to experi17 ence the relationship between early participation in

18 the arts and developing the life skills necessary for

19 future personal and professional success;

20 ‘‘(8) increase, encourage, and ensure com21 prehensive, sequential arts learning for all students;

22 and

23 ‘‘(9) expand student access to arts education in

24 schools in every community.

25 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) SCHOOL AWARDS.—The Board shall—

2 ‘‘(A) make annual awards to elementary

3 schools and secondary schools in the States in

4 accordance with criteria established under sub5 paragraph (B), which awards—

6 ‘‘(i) shall be of such design and mate7 rials as the Board may determine, includ8 ing a well-designed certificate or a work of

9 art, designed for the awards event by an

10 appropriate artist; and

11 ‘‘(ii) shall be reflective of the dignity

12 of Congress;

13 ‘‘(B) establish criteria required for a school

14 to receive the award, and establish such proce15 dures as may be necessary to verify that the

16 school meets the criteria, which criteria shall in17 clude criteria requiring—

18 ‘‘(i) that the school—

19 ‘‘(I) provides comprehensive, se20 quential arts learning; and

21 ‘‘(II) integrates the arts through22 out the curriculum in subjects other

23 than the arts; and

24 ‘‘(ii) 3 of the following:
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1 ‘‘(I) that the community serving

2 the school is actively involved in shap3 ing and implementing the arts policies

4 and programs of the school;

5 ‘‘(II) that the school principal

6 supports the policy of arts education

7 for all students;

8 ‘‘(III) that arts teachers in the

9 school are encouraged to learn and

10 grow in mastery of their art form as

11 well as in their teaching competence;

12 ‘‘(IV) that the school actively en13 courages the use of arts assessment

14 techniques for improving student,

15 teacher, and administrative perform16 ance; and

17 ‘‘(V) that school leaders engage

18 the total school community in arts ac19 tivities that create a climate of sup20 port for arts education; and

21 ‘‘(C) include, in the procedures necessary

22 for verification that a school meets the criteria

23 described in subparagraph (B), written evidence

24 of the specific criteria, and supporting docu25 mentation, that includes—
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1 ‘‘(i) 3 letters of support for the school

2 from community members, which may in3 clude a letter from—

4 ‘‘(I) the school’s Parent Teacher

5 Association (PTA);

6 ‘‘(II) community leaders, such as

7 elected or appointed officials; and

8 ‘‘(III) arts organizations or insti9 tutions in the community that partner

10 with the school; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the completed application for the

12 award signed by the principal or other edu13 cation leader such as a school district arts

14 coordinator, school board member, or

15 school superintendent;

16 ‘‘(D) determine appropriate methods for

17 disseminating information about the program

18 and make application forms available to schools;

19 ‘‘(E) delineate such roles as the Board

20 considers to be appropriate for the Director in

21 administering the program, and set forth in the

22 bylaws of the Board the duties, salary, and ben23 efits of the Director;

24 ‘‘(F) raise funds for the operation of the

25 program;
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1 ‘‘(G) determine, and inform Congress re2 garding, the national readiness for interdiscipli3 nary individual student awards described in

4 paragraph (2), on the basis of the framework

5 established in the 1997 National Assessment of

6 Educational Progress and such other criteria as

7 the Board determines appropriate; and

8 ‘‘(H) take such other actions as may be

9 appropriate for the administration of the Con10 gressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

11 Education Awards Program.

12 ‘‘(2) STUDENT AWARDS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At such time as the

14 Board determines appropriate, the Board—

15 ‘‘(i) shall make annual awards to ele16 mentary school and secondary school stu17 dents for individual interdisciplinary arts

18 achievement; and

19 ‘‘(ii) establish criteria for the making

20 of the awards.

21 ‘‘(B) AWARD MODEL.—The Board may use

22 as a model for the awards the Congressional

23 Award Program and the President’s Physical

24 Fitness Award Program.
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1 ‘‘(c) PRESENTATION.—The Board shall arrange for

2 the presentation of awards under this section to the recipi3 ents and shall provide for participation by Members of

4 Congress in such presentation, when appropriate.

5 ‘‘(d) DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT.—The Board shall

6 determine an appropriate date or dates for announcement

7 of the awards under this section, which date shall coincide

8 with a National Arts Education Month or a similarly des9 ignated day, week or month, if such designation exists.

10 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall prepare

12 and submit an annual report to Congress not later

13 than March 1 of each year summarizing the activi14 ties of the Congressional Recognition for Excellence

15 in Arts Education Awards Program during the pre16 vious year and making appropriate recommendations

17 for the program. Any minority views and rec18 ommendations of members of the Board shall be in19 cluded in such reports.

20 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The annual report shall con21 tain the following:

22 ‘‘(A) Specific information regarding the

23 methods used to raise funds for the Congres24 sional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu-
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1 cation Awards Program and a list of the

2 sources of all money raised by the Board.

3 ‘‘(B) Detailed information regarding the

4 expenditures made by the Board, including the

5 percentage of funds that are used for adminis6 trative expenses.

7 ‘‘(C) A description of the programs formu8 lated by the Director under section 207(b)(1),

9 including an explanation of the operation of

10 such programs and a list of the sponsors of the

11 programs.

12 ‘‘(D) A detailed list of the administrative

13 expenditures made by the Board, including the

14 amounts expended for salaries, travel expenses,

15 and reimbursed expenses.

16 ‘‘(E) A list of schools given awards under

17 the program, and the city, town, or county, and

18 State in which the school is located.

19 ‘‘(F) An evaluation of the state of arts

20 education in schools, which may include anec21 dotal evidence of the effect of the Congressional

22 Recognition for Excellence in Arts Education

23 Awards Program on individual school cur24 riculum.
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1 ‘‘(G) On the basis of the findings described

2 in section 202 and the purposes of the Congres3 sional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu4 cation Awards Program described in section

5 205(a), a recommendation regarding the na6 tional readiness to make individual student

7 awards under subsection (b)(2).

8 ‘‘SEC. 206. COMPOSITION OF BOARD; ADVISORY BOARD.

9 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall consist of

11 9 members as follows:

12 ‘‘(A) 2 Members of the Senate appointed

13 by the Majority Leader of the Senate.

14 ‘‘(B) 2 Members of the Senate appointed

15 by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

16 ‘‘(C) 2 Members of the House of Rep17 resentatives appointed by the Speaker of the

18 House of Representatives.

19 ‘‘(D) 2 Members of the House of Rep20 resentatives appointed by the Minority Leader

21 of the House of Representatives.

22 ‘‘(E) The Director of the Board, who shall

23 serve as a nonvoting member.

24 ‘‘(2) ADVISORY BOARD.—There is established

25 an Advisory Board to assist and advise the Board
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1 with respect to its duties under this title, that shall

2 consist of 15 members appointed—

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of the initial such mem4 bers of the Advisory Board, by the leaders of

5 the Senate and House of Representatives mak6 ing the appointments under paragraph (1),

7 from recommendations received from organiza8 tions and entities involved in the arts such as

9 businesses, civic and cultural organizations, and

10 the Arts Education Partnership steering com11 mittee; and

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other such mem13 bers of the Advisory Board, by the Board.

14 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR ADVISORY BOARD.—In

15 making appointments to the Advisory Board, the in16 dividuals and entity making the appointments under

17 paragraph (2) shall consider recommendations sub18 mitted by any interested party, including any mem19 ber of the Board.

20 ‘‘(4) INTEREST.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Members of Congress

22 appointed to the Board shall have an interest in

23 1 of the purposes described in section 205(a).

24 ‘‘(B) DIVERSITY.—The membership of the

25 Advisory Board shall represent a balance of ar-
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1 tistic and education professionals, including at

2 least 1 representative who teaches in each of

3 the following disciplines:

4 ‘‘(i) Music.

5 ‘‘(ii) Theater.

6 ‘‘(iii) Visual Arts.

7 ‘‘(iv) Dance.

8 ‘‘(b) TERMS.—

9 ‘‘(1) BOARD.—Members of the Board shall

10 serve for terms of 6 years, except that of the mem11 bers first appointed—

12 ‘‘(A) 1 Member of the House of Represent13 atives and 1 Member of the Senate shall serve

14 for terms of 2 years;

15 ‘‘(B) 1 Member of the House of Represent16 atives and 1 Member of the Senate shall serve

17 for terms of 4 years; and

18 ‘‘(C) 2 Members of the House of Rep19 resentatives and 2 Members of the Senate shall

20 serve for terms of 6 years,

21 as determined by lot when all such members have

22 been appointed.

23 ‘‘(2) ADVISORY BOARD.—Members of the Advi24 sory Board shall serve for terms of 6 years, except

25 that of the members first appointed, 3 shall serve
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1 for terms of 2 years, 4 shall serve for terms of 4

2 years, and 8 shall serve for terms of 6 years, as de3 termined by lot when all such members have been

4 appointed.

5 ‘‘(c) VACANCY.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy in the mem7 bership of the Board or Advisory Board shall be

8 filled in the same manner in which the original ap9 pointment was made.

10 ‘‘(2) TERM.—Any member appointed to fill a

11 vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term

12 for which the member’s predecessor was appointed

13 shall be appointed only for the remainder of such

14 term.

15 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—Any appointed member of

16 the Board or Advisory Board may continue to serve

17 after the expiration of the member’s term until the

18 member’s successor has taken office.

19 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—Vacancies in the mem20 bership of the Board shall not affect the Board’s

21 power to function if there remain sufficient members

22 of the Board to constitute a quorum under sub23 section (d).

24 ‘‘(d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

25 Board shall constitute a quorum.
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1 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board and

2 Advisory Board shall serve without pay but may be com3 pensated, from amounts in the trust fund, for reasonable

4 travel expenses incurred by the members in the perform5 ance of their duties as members of the Board.

6 ‘‘(f) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet annually at

7 the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as

8 the Chairperson may determine to be appropriate. The

9 Chairperson shall call a meeting of the Board whenever

1 10 ⁄3 of the members of the Board submit written requests

11 for such a meeting.

12 ‘‘(g) OFFICERS.—The Chairperson and the Vice

13 Chairperson of the Board shall be elected from among the

14 members of the Board, by a majority vote of the members

15 of the Board, for such terms as the Board determines.

16 The Vice Chairperson shall perform the duties of the

17 Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson.

18 ‘‘(h) COMMITTEES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may appoint

20 such committees, and assign to the committees such

21 functions, as may be appropriate to assist the Board

22 in carrying out its duties under this title. Members

23 of such committees may include the members of the

24 Board or the Advisory Board.
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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—Any employee or officer

2 of the Federal Government may serve as a member

3 of a committee created by the Board, but may not

4 receive compensation for services performed for such

5 a committee.

6 ‘‘(i) BYLAWS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The

7 Board shall establish such bylaws and other requirements

8 as may be appropriate to enable the Board to carry out

9 the Board’s duties under this title.

10 ‘‘SEC. 207. ADMINISTRATION.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the administration of the

12 Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu13 cation Awards Program, the Board shall be assisted by

14 a Director, who shall be the principal executive of the pro15 gram and who shall supervise the affairs of the Board.

16 The Director shall be appointed by a majority vote of the

17 Board.

18 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director

19 shall, in consultation with the Board—

20 ‘‘(1) formulate programs to carry out the poli21 cies of the Congressional Recognition for Excellence

22 in Arts Education Awards Program;

23 ‘‘(2) establish such divisions within the Con24 gressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts Edu25 cation Awards Program as may be appropriate; and
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1 ‘‘(3) employ and provide for the compensation

2 of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out

3 the Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

4 Education Awards Program, subject to such policies

5 as the Board shall prescribe under its bylaws.

6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each school or student desiring

7 an award under this title shall submit an application to

8 the Board at such time, in such manner and accompanied

9 by such information as the Board may require.

10 ‘‘SEC. 208. LIMITATIONS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such limitations as

12 may be provided for under this section, the Board may

13 take such actions and make such expenditures as may be

14 necessary to carry out the Congressional Recognition for

15 Excellence in Arts Education Awards Program, except

16 that the Board shall carry out its functions and make ex17 penditures with only such resources as are available to the

18 Board from the Congressional Recognition for Excellence

19 in Arts Education Awards Trust Fund under section 211.

20 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTS.—The Board may enter into such

21 contracts as may be appropriate to carry out the business

22 of the Board, but the Board may not enter into any con23 tract which will obligate the Board to expend an amount

24 greater than the amount available to the Board for the
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1 purpose of such contract during the fiscal year in which

2 the expenditure is made.

3 ‘‘(c) GIFTS.—The Board may seek and accept, from

4 sources other than the Federal Government, funds and

5 other resources to carry out the Board’s activities. The

6 Board may not accept any funds or other resources that

7 are—

8 ‘‘(1) donated with a restriction on their use un9 less such restriction merely provides that such funds

10 or other resources be used in furtherance of the

11 Congressional Recognition for Excellence in Arts

12 Education Awards Program; or

13 ‘‘(2) donated subject to the condition that the

14 identity of the donor of the funds or resources shall

15 remain anonymous.

16 ‘‘(d) VOLUNTEERS.—The Board may accept and uti17 lize the services of voluntary, uncompensated personnel.

18 ‘‘(e) REAL OR PERSONAL PROPERTY.—The Board

19 may lease (or otherwise hold), acquire, or dispose of real

20 or personal property necessary for, or relating to, the du21 ties of the Board.

22 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITIONS.—The Board shall have no

23 power—

24 ‘‘(1) to issue bonds, notes, debentures, or other

25 similar obligations creating long-term indebtedness;
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1 ‘‘(2) to issue any share of stock or to declare

2 or pay any dividends; or

3 ‘‘(3) to provide for any part of the income or

4 assets of the Board to inure to the benefit of any

5 director, officer, or employee of the Board except as

6 reasonable compensation for services or reimburse7 ment for expenses.

8 ‘‘SEC. 209. AUDITS.

9 ‘‘The financial records of the Board may be audited

10 by the Comptroller General of the United States at such

11 times as the Comptroller General may determine to be ap12 propriate. The Comptroller General, or any duly author13 ized representative of the Comptroller General, shall have

14 access for the purpose of audit to any books, documents,

15 papers, and records of the Board (or any agent of the

16 Board) which, in the opinion of the Comptroller General,

17 may be pertinent to the Congressional Recognition for Ex18 cellence in Arts Education Awards Program.

19 ‘‘SEC. 210. TERMINATION.

20 ‘‘The Board shall terminate 6 years after the date

21 of enactment of this title. The Board shall set forth, in

22 its bylaws, the procedures for dissolution to be followed

23 by the Board.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 211. TRUST FUND.

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There shall be es3 tablished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund

4 which shall be known as the ‘‘Congressional Recognition

5 for Excellence in Arts Education Awards Trust Fund’’.

6 The fund shall be administered by the Board, and shall

7 consist of amounts donated to the Board under section

8 208(c) and amounts credited to the fund under subsection

9 (d).

10 ‘‘(b) INVESTMENT.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of the

12 Secretary of the Treasury to invest, at the direction

13 of the Director of the Board, such portion of the

14 fund that is not, in the judgment of the Director of

15 the Board, required to meet the current needs of the

16 fund.

17 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS.—Such invest18 ments shall be in public debt obligations with matu19 rities suitable to the needs of the fund, as deter20 mined by the Director of the Board. Investments in

21 public debt obligations shall bear interest at rates

22 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking

23 into consideration the current market yield on out24 standing marketable obligations of the United States

25 of comparable maturity.
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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY TO SELL OBLIGATIONS.—Any obli2 gation acquired by the fund may be sold by the Secretary

3 of the Treasury at the market price.

4 ‘‘(d) PROCEEDS FROM CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

5 CREDITED TO FUND.—The interest on, and the proceeds

6 from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in

7 the fund shall be credited to and form a part of the fund.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Congres9 sional Award Act (2 U.S.C. 801–808) is amended—

10 (1) by inserting after section 1 the following:

11 ‘‘TITLE I—CONGRESSIONAL

12 AWARD PROGRAM’’,

13 (2) by redesignating sections 2 through 9 as

14 sections 101 through 108, respectively,

15 (3) in section 101 (as so redesignated)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘Act’’ and inserting ‘‘title’’,

17 and

18 (B) by striking ‘‘section 3’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘section 102’’,

20 (4) in section 102(e) (as so redesignated)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘section 5(g)(1)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘section 104(g)(1)’’, and

23 (B) by striking ‘‘section 7(g)(1)’’ and in24 serting ‘‘section 106(g)(1)’’, and
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1 (5) in section 103(i), by striking ‘‘section 7’’

2 and inserting ‘‘section 106’’.

Passed the Senate October 27 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2789

AN ACT

To amend the Congressional Award Act to establish

a Congressional Recognition for Excellence inArts Education Board.