II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 897

To provide matching grants for the construction, renovation and repair of

school facilities in areas affected by Federal activities, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 28, 1999

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself and Mr. HAGEL) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education,

Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To provide matching grants for the construction, renovation

and repair of school facilities in areas affected by Federal

activities, 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. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Federally Impacted School Improvement Act’’.

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings:

8 (1) In 1950 Congress recognized its obligation,

9 through the passage of Public Law 81–815, to pro-
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1 vide school construction funding for local educational

2 agencies impacted by the presence of Federal activi3 ties.

4 (2) The conditions of federally impacted school

5 facilities providing educational programs to children

6 in areas where the Federal Government is present

7 have deteriorated to such an extent that the health

8 and safety of the children served by such agencies

9 is being compromised, and the school conditions

10 have not kept pace with the increase in student pop11 ulation causing classrooms to become severely over12 crowded and children to be educated in trailers.

13 (3) Local educational agencies in areas where

14 there exists a significant Federal presence have little

15 if any capacity to raise local funds for purposes of

16 capital construction, renovation and repair due to

17 the nontaxable status of Federal land.

18 (4) The need for renewed support by the Fed19 eral Government to help federally connected local

20 educational agencies modernize their school facilities

21 is far greater in 2000 than at any time since 1950.

22 (5) Federally connected local educational agen23 cies and the communities the agencies serve are will24 ing to commit local resources when available to mod25 ernize and replace existing facilities, but do not al-
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1 ways have the resources available to meet their total

2 facility needs due to the nontaxable presence of the

3 Federal Government.

4 (6) Due to the conditions described in para5 graphs (1) through (5) there is in 1999, as there

6 was in 1950, a need for Congress to renew its obli7 gation to assist federally connected local educational

8 agencies with their facility needs.

9 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide

10 matching grants to local educational agencies for the mod11 ernization of minimum school facilities that are urgently

12 needed because—

13 (1) the existing school facilities of the agency

14 are in such disrepair that the health and safety of

15 the students served by the agency is threatened; and

16 (2) increased enrollment results in a need for

17 additional classroom space.

18 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

19 In this Act:

20 (1) MODERNIZATION.—The term ‘‘moderniza21 tion’’ means the repair, renovation, alteration, or

22 construction of a facility, including—

23 (A) the concurrent installation of equip24 ment; and
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1 (B) the complete or partial replacement of

2 an existing facility, but only if such replacement

3 is less expensive and more cost-effective than

4 repair, renovation, or alteration of the facility.

5 (2) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’ means a

6 public structure suitable for use as a classroom, lab7 oratory, library, media center, or related facility, the

8 primary purpose of which is the instruction of public

9 elementary school or secondary school students.

10 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

11 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given

12 the term in section 14101 of the Elementary and

13 Secondary Education Act of 1965.

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

15 means—

16 (A) with respect to funds made available

17 under paragraph (1) or (3) of section 4(a) for

18 grants under section 6 or 8, respectively, the

19 Secretary of Education; and

20 (B) with respect to funds made available

21 under paragraph (2) of section (4)(a) for grants

22 under section 6, the Secretary of Defense.

23 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated to the Department of Education to carry out this
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1 Act $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as

2 may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

3 (b) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds authorized to

4 be appropriated under subsection (a) shall be available to

5 a local educational agency to pay the cost of administra6 tion of the activities assisted under this Act.

7 SEC. 4. FEDERAL DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated

9 under section 3(a) for a fiscal year the Secretary of

10 Education—

11 (1) shall use 45 percent to award grants under

12 section 6 to local educational agencies—

13 (A) that are eligible for assistance under

14 section 8002(a); and

15 (B) for which the number of children de16 termined under section 8003(a)(1)(C) of the El17 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

18 constitutes at least 25 percent of the number of

19 children who were in average daily attendance

20 in the schools of such local educational agency

21 during the school year preceding the school year

22 for which the determination is made;

23 (2) shall make available to the Secretary of De24 fense 45 percent to enable the Secretary of Defense

25 to award grants under section 6 to local educational
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1 agencies for which the number of children deter2 mined under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of

3 section 8003(a)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary

4 Education Act of 1965 constitutes at least 25 per5 cent of the number of children who were in average

6 daily attendance in the schools of such local edu7 cational agency during the school year preceding the

8 school year for which the determination is made; and

9 (3) shall use 10 percent to award grants under

10 section 8.

11 (b) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FUNDING.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

13 the date the Secretary of Education receives funds

14 appropriated under section 3(a) for a fiscal year, the

15 Secretary of Education shall make available to the

16 Secretary of Defense from such funds the portion of

17 such funds described in subsection (a)(2) for the fis18 cal year. The Secretary of Defense shall use the por19 tion to award grants under section 6 through the

20 Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department

21 of Defense.

22 (2) LIMITATIONS.—

23 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—No

24 funds made available under subsection (a)(2)

25 shall be used by the Secretary of Defense to
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1 pay the costs of administration of the activities

2 assisted under this Act.

3 (B) SPECIAL RATE.—No funds made avail4 able under subsection (a)(2) shall be used to re5 place Federal funds provided to enhance the

6 quality of life of dependents of members of the

7 Armed Forces as determined by the Secretary

8 of Defense.

9 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency shall

11 be eligible to receive funds under this Act if—

12 (1) the local educational agency is described in

13 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 4(a); and

14 (2) the local educational agency—

15 (A) received a payment under section 8002

16 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

17 Act of 1965 during the fiscal year preceding the

18 fiscal year for which the determination is made,

19 and the assessed value of taxable property per

20 student in the school district of the local edu21 cational agency is less than the average of the

22 assessed value of taxable property per student

23 in the State in which the local educational

24 agency is located; or
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1 (B) received a basic payment under section

2 8003(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 during the fiscal year pre4 ceding the fiscal year for which the determina5 tion is made, and for which the number of chil6 dren determined under subparagraphs (A), (B),

7 (C), and (D) of section 8003(a)(1) of the Ele8 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

9 constituted at least 25 percent of the number of

10 children who were in average daily attendance

11 in the schools of such local educational agency

12 during the school year preceding the school year

13 for which the determination is made.

14 (b) SPECIAL RULE.—Any local educational agency

15 described in subsection (a)(2)(B) may apply for funds

16 under this section for the modernization of a facility lo17 cated on Federal property (as defined in section 8013 of

18 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965)

19 only if the Secretary determines that the number of chil20 dren determined under section 8003(a)(1) of the Elemen21 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 who were in

22 average daily attendance in such facility constituted at

23 least 50 percent of the number of children who were in

24 average daily attendance in the facilities of the local edu-
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1 cational agency during the school year preceding the

2 school year for which the determination is made.

3 SEC. 6. BASIC GRANTS.

4 (a) AWARD BASIS.—From the amounts made avail5 able under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 4(a) the Sec6 retary shall award grants to local educational agencies on

7 such basis as the Secretary determines appropriate,

8 including—

9 (1) in the case of a local educational agency de10 scribed in section 5(a)(2)(A), a high percentage of

11 the property in the school district of the local edu12 cational agency is nontaxable due to the presence of

13 the Federal Government;

14 (2) in the case of a local educational agency de15 scribed in section 5(a)(2)(B), a high number or per16 centage of children determined under subparagraphs

17 (A), (B), (C), and (D) of section 8003(a)(1) of the

18 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;

19 (3) the extent to which the local educational

20 agency lacks the fiscal capacity, including the ability

21 to raise funds through the full use of the local edu22 cational agency’s bonding capacity and otherwise, to

23 undertake the modernization project without Federal

24 assistance;

25 (4) the need for modernization to meet—
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1 (A) the threat the condition of the facility

2 poses to the safety and well-being of students;

3 (B) the requirements of the Americans

4 with Disabilities Act of 1990;

5 (C) the costs associated with asbestos re6 moval, energy conservation, and technology up7 grading; and

8 (D) overcrowding conditions as evidenced

9 by the use of trailers and portable buildings and

10 the potential for future overcrowding because of

11 increased enrollment;

12 (5) the facility needs of the local educational

13 agency resulting from the acquisition or construction

14 of military family housing under subchapter IV of

15 chapter 169 of title 10, United Sates Code, and

16 other actions of the Federal Government that cause

17 an adverse impact on the facility needs of the local

18 educational agency; and

19 (6) the age of the facility to be modernized re20 gardless of whether the facility was originally con21 structed with funds authorized under Public Law

22 81–815.

23 (b) GRANT AMOUNT.—In determining the amount of

24 a grant the Secretary shall—
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1 (1) consider the relative costs of the moderniza2 tion;

3 (2) determine the cost of a project based on the

4 local prevailing cost of the project;

5 (3) require that the Federal share of the cost

6 of the project shall not exceed 50 percent of the

7 total cost of the project;

8 (4) not provide a grant in an amount greater

9 than $3,000,000 over any 5-year period; and

10 (5) take into consideration the amount of cash

11 available to the local educational agency.

12 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS.—In awarding

13 grants under this section the Secretary shall—

14 (1) establish by regulation the date by which all

15 applications are to be received;

16 (2) consider in-kind contributions when calcu17 lating the 50 percent matching funds requirement

18 described in subsection (b)(3); and

19 (3) subject all applications to a review process.

20 (d) SECTION 8007 FUNDING.—In awarding grants

21 under this section, the Secretary shall not take into con22 sideration any funds received under section 8007 of the

23 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
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1 SEC. 7. APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agency de3 siring a grant under this Act shall submit an application

4 to the Secretary.

5 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application shall contain—

6 (1) a listing of the school facilities to be mod7 ernized, including the number and percentage of

8 children determined under section 8003(a)(1) of the

9 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

10 in average daily attendance in each facility;

11 (2) a description of the ownership of the prop12 erty on which the current facility is located or on

13 which the planned facility will be located;

14 (3) a description of each architectural, civil,

15 structural, mechanical, or electrical deficiency to be

16 corrected with funds provided under this Act, includ17 ing the priority for the repair of the deficiency;

18 (4) a description of any facility deficiency that

19 poses a health or safety hazard to the occupants of

20 the facility and a description of how that deficiency

21 will be repaired;

22 (5) a description of the criteria used by the

23 local educational agency to determine the type of

24 corrective action necessary to meet the purposes of

25 this Act;
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1 (6) a description of the modernization to be

2 supported with funds provided under this Act;

3 (7) a cost estimate of the proposed moderniza4 tion;

5 (8) an identification of other resources (such as

6 unused bonding capacity), if applicable, that are

7 available to carry out the modernization, and an as8 surance that such resources will be used for the

9 modernization;

10 (9) a description of how activities assisted with

11 funds provided under this Act will promote energy

12 conservation; and

13 (10) such other information and assurances as

14 the Secretary may reasonably require.

15 (c) CONTINUING CONSIDERATION.—A local edu16 cational agency that applies for assistance under this Act

17 (other than section 8) for any fiscal year and does not

18 receive the assistance shall have the application for the

19 assistance considered for the following 5 fiscal years.

20 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY GRANTS.

21 (a) WAIVER OF MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—From

22 the amount made available under section 4(a)(3) the Sec23 retary shall award grants to any local educational agency

24 for which the number of children determined under section

25 8003(a)(1)(C) constituted at least 50 percent of the num-
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1 ber of children who were in average daily attendance in

2 the schools of such agency during the school year pre3 ceding the school year for which the determination is

4 made, if the Secretary determines a facility emergency ex5 ists that poses a health or safety hazard to the students

6 and school personnel assigned to the facility.

7 (b) CERTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY.—In addition to

8 meeting the requirements of section 7, a local educational

9 agency desiring funds under this section shall include in

10 the application submitted under section 7 a signed state11 ment from a State official certifying that a health or safe12 ty deficiency exists.

13 (c) GRANT AMOUNT; PRIORITIZATION RULES; CON14 TINUING CONSIDERATION.—

15 (1) GRANT AMOUNT.—In determining the

16 amount of grant awards under this section, the Sec17 retary shall make every effort to fully meet the facil18 ity needs of the local educational agencies applying

19 for funds under this section.

20 (2) PRIORITIZATION RULE.—If the Secretary

21 receives more than 1 application under this section

22 for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall prioritize the

23 applications based on when an application was re24 ceived and the severity of the emergency as deter25 mined by the Secretary.
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1 (3) CONTINUING CONSIDERATION.—A local

2 educational agency that applies for assistance under

3 this section for any fiscal year and does not receive

4 the assistance shall have the application for the as5 sistance considered for the following fiscal year, sub6 ject to the prioritization requirement described in

7 paragraph (2).

8 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS.

9 (a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A local educational

10 agency may receive a grant under this Act for any fiscal

11 year only if the Secretary finds that either the combined

12 fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of

13 that agency and the State with respect to the provision

14 of free public education by such local educational agency

15 for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 percent

16 of such combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures

17 for the fiscal year for which the determination is made.

18 (b) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible local

19 educational agency shall use funds received under this

20 subsection only to supplement the amount of funds that

21 would, in the absence of such Federal funds, be made

22 available from non-Federal sources for the modernization

23 of school facilities used for educational purposes, and not

24 to supplant such funds.
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1 SEC. 10. GENERAL LIMITATIONS.

2 (a) REAL PROPERTY.—No part of any grant funds

3 awarded under this Act shall be used for the acquisition

4 of any interest in real property.

5 (b) MAINTENANCE.—Nothing in this Act shall be

6 construed to authorize the payment of maintenance costs

7 in connection with any facilities modernized in whole or

8 in part with Federal funds provided under this Act.

9 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS.—All projects

10 carried out with Federal funds provided under this Act

11 shall comply with all relevant Federal, State, and local en12 vironmental laws and regulations.

13 (d) ATHLETIC AND SIMILAR FACILITIES.—No funds

14 received under this Act shall be used for outdoor stadiums

15 or other facilities that are primarily used for athletic con16 tests or exhibitions, or other events, for which admission

17 is charged to the general public.

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