II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1472

To provide financial assistance to rural eligible local educational agencies

to improve rural education, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 20 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 7), 1993

Mr. SIMON (for himself, Mr. WELLSTONE, and Mr. JEFFORDS) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To provide financial assistance to rural eligible local educational agencies to improve rural education, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Rural Schools of America (RSA) Act of 1993’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is

7 as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Statement of purpose.

TITLE I—RURAL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
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Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 102. Allotment of funds.

Sec. 103. Application.

Sec. 104. Planning period.

Sec. 105. Uses of funds.

Sec. 106. Accountability.

Sec. 107. Incentive awards to exemplary programs.

Sec. 108. Regulatory assessment.

Sec. 109. Local advisory group.

TITLE II—SCHOOL BUILDING REPAIR AND RENOVATION

Sec. 201. Purpose; authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 202. Allotment of funds.

Sec. 203. Application.

Sec. 204. Repair and renovation.

Sec. 205. Environment and safety.

Sec. 206. Waiver.

Sec. 207. Application of the Davis-Bacon Act.

TITLE III—EVALUATION OF RESULTS

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 302. Establishment; operation; uses of funds.

Sec. 303. Local rural school evaluation.

Sec. 304. Local applications.

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Interagency Council on Rural Schools.

Sec. 402. White House Conference on Rural Education.

Sec. 403. Federal funds to supplement not supplant non-Federal funds.

Sec. 404. Definitions.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) the ability of America’s rural school systems

4 to meet the National Education Goals will contribute

5 to the economic competitiveness and academic stand6 ing of the Nation in the world community;

7 (2) the quality of public education in the rural

8 areas of the Nation has a direct effect on the eco9 nomic development of the rural communities of the

10 Nation;
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1 (3) the success of rural schools in boosting the

2 achievement of minority youth attending such

3 schools will determine the ability of the Nation to

4 close the gap between the ‘‘haves and have-nots’’ in

5 society;

6 (4) the cost to America’s businesses to provide

7 remedial education to secondary school graduates is

8 approximately $21,000,000,000 per year;

9 (5) approximately one-third of the Nation’s

10 work force will be minority by the year 2000;

11 (6) rural schools enroll a disproportionately

12 large share of the Nation’s poor and ‘‘at-risk’’

13 youth;

14 (7) approximately 60 percent of the Nation’s

15 public school districts are rural with a population of

16 less than 2,500;

17 (8) approximately one out of every four of

18 America’s rural children are living below the poverty

19 line;

20 (9) the academic performance of students in the

21 average rural school system is below that of students

22 in most other suburban school systems;

23 (10) rural preschoolers have less access to early

24 childhood development programs than other children;
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1 (11) shortages of teachers for rural school sys2 tems is greater than in other kinds of school sys3 tems;

4 (12) a declining number of rural secondary

5 school graduates are pursuing postsecondary edu6 cation opportunities;

7 (13) the average age of rural public school

8 buildings is more than 45 years old and such build9 ings are often in serious disrepair, creating poor and

10 demoralizing working and learning conditions;

11 (14) solving the challenges facing the Nation’s

12 rural schools will require the concerted and collabo13 rative efforts of all levels of government and all sec14 tors of the community;

15 (15) State and Federal funding of rural schools

16 has not adequately reflected need; and

17 (16) Federal funding that is well targeted, flexi18 ble and accountable would contribute significantly to

19 addressing the comprehensive needs of rural schools.

20 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

21 It is the purpose of this Act to provide financial as22 sistance for those rural schools most in need to encourage

23 the comprehensive restructuring of America’s rural

24 schools, the appropriate use of telecommunications tech25 nologies for learning and to support innovative programs
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1 which improve performance through programs and

2 projects designed to—

3 (1) assist rural schools in meeting National

4 Education Goals;

5 (2) encourage rural schools to engage in school

6 reform;

7 (3) develop pilot projects that experiment with

8 innovative ways to teach rural public school children

9 more effectively;

10 (4) improve the educational and social well

11 being of rural public school children;

12 (5) close the achievement gap between children

13 attending rural schools and other children, while im14 proving the achievement level of all children nation15 ally;

16 (6) renovate and repair aging rural school

17 buildings and facilities;

18 (7) conduct coordinated research on rural edu19 cation problems, solutions, promising practices, and

20 distance learning technologies;

21 (8) improve the Nation’s global economic and

22 educational competitiveness by improving the Na23 tion’s rural schools;
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1 (9) encourage community, parental and busi2 ness collaboration in the improvement of rural

3 schools;

4 (10) review regulations the simplification of

5 which might improve the achievement of rural school

6 children;

7 (11) encourage rural school consortia for the

8 purpose of increasing efficiency and course offerings;

9 (12) encourage a positive role for rural public

10 schools in local rural entrepreneurship and the iden11 tification of rural community economic development

12 opportunities;

13 (13) encourage ‘‘community as school’’ con14 cepts, which include the role public schools can play

15 to assist with rural community economic revitaliza16 tion; and

17 (14) provide meaningful inservice opportunities

18 for rural public school teachers.

19 TITLE I—RURAL SCHOOL

20 IMPROVEMENT

21 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated

23 $1,500,000,000 for 1994 and such sums as may be nec24 essary for each of the fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,

25 1999, and 2000 to carry out the provisions of this title.
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1 SEC. 102. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.

2 (a) RESERVATION.—From the amount appropriated

3 or otherwise made available to carry out the provisions of

4 this title for any fiscal year after the first fiscal year in

5 which the Secretary awards allotments to State edu6 cational agencies under this title, the Secretary shall re7 serve 5 percent of such funds to provide competitive

8 awards in accordance with section 107.

9 (b) ALLOTMENTS.—

10 (1) FEDERAL ALLOTMENT.—From the remain11 der of the funds not reserved under subsection (a),

12 the Secretary shall allot to each State educational

13 agency with an approved application in each fiscal

14 year an amount which bears the same relationship to

15 such funds as the amount all rural eligible local edu16 cational agencies with approved applications in the

17 State were allocated under chapter 1 of title I of the

18 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

19 in the preceding fiscal year bears to the total

20 amount received under such chapter in such preced21 ing fiscal year by all rural eligible local educational

22 agencies with approved applications in all States.

23 (2) STATE ALLOTMENT.—

24 (A) RESERVATION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE

25 EXPENSES.—From amounts received pursuant

26 to paragraph (1), each State educational agency
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1 may reserve not more than 1 percent of such

2 amount for administrative expenses.

3 (B) RESERVATION FOR COMMUNITY-BASED

4 ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFIT PARTNER5 SHIPS.—From amounts received under para6 graph (1) for any fiscal year, each State edu7 cational agency shall reserve not more than 5

8 percent to make as many grants as practicable

9 for activities in accordance with the National

10 Education Goals and described in section 105

11 to—

12 (i) community-based organizations; or

13 (ii) nonprofit partnerships among

14 rural eligible local educational agencies,

15 local colleges or universities, private sector

16 businesses, or any combination thereof,

17 that enter into a written agreement with at

18 least one rural eligible local educational

19 agency.

20 (C) FORMULA.—From the remainder of

21 amounts received pursuant to paragraph (1)

22 and not reserved pursuant to subparagraphs

23 (A) and (B) in each fiscal year, each State edu24 cational agency shall allot to each rural eligible

25 local educational agency with an approved ap-
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1 plication an amount which bears the same rela2 tionship to such funds as the amount such rural

3 eligible local educational agency was allocated

4 under chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary

5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in the

6 preceding fiscal year bears to the total amount

7 received under such chapter in such preceding

8 fiscal year by all rural eligible local educational

9 agencies with approved applications in the

10 State.

11 (D) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more

12 than 5 percent of any rural eligible local edu13 cational agency’s allotment under this sub14 section may be used for administrative costs.

15 (c) REALLOTMENT.—Any amounts available for real16 lotment pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) shall be real17 lotted in the same manner as the original allotments were

18 made.

19 SEC. 103. APPLICATION.

20 (a) STATE APPLICATION.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational

22 agency desiring to receive an allotment in any fiscal

23 year to carry out the provisions of this title shall

24 submit an application to the Secretary at such time,
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1 in such manner, and accompanied by such informa2 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require.

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

4 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—

5 (A) describe the State’s approach to im6 proving education in rural schools;

7 (B) contain such information as the Sec8 retary may reasonably require in order to make

9 the allotment described in section 102(b)(1);

10 and

11 (C) contain such other information or as12 surances as the Secretary determines necessary

13 to ensure compliance with the provisions of this

14 title.

15 (b) LOCAL APPLICATION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any rural eligible local edu17 cational agency desiring to receive an allotment to

18 carry out the provisions of this title, shall—

19 (A) develop and prepare an application

20 with the local advisory group in accordance with

21 section 109 of this Act; and

22 (B) submit the application described in

23 subparagraph (A) to the State educational

24 agency at such time, in such manner and ac-
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1 companied by such information as the State

2 educational agency may reasonably require.

3 (2) CONTENTS OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN4 CY APPLICATION.—Each application submitted by a

5 rural eligible local educational agency pursuant to

6 paragraph (1) shall include a description of—

7 (A) the community served by the rural eli8 gible local educational agency and the effects of

9 the community on the educational conditions

10 within the schools served by the rural eligible

11 local educational agency;

12 (B) the collaboration in program planning

13 with the local advisory group described in sec14 tion 109;

15 (C) the goals selected by the rural eligible

16 local educational agency pursuant to section

17 106(b), the rationale for choosing such goals

18 over others, and a description of whether the

19 goals selected differ between elementary and

20 secondary schools in the district;

21 (D) how funds received under this title will

22 be used to meet the National Educational Goals

23 selected by the rural eligible local educational

24 agency;
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1 (E) how promising or successful models or

2 programs will be replicated in designing activi3 ties assisted under this title;

4 (F) which federally funded programs and

5 activities are being expanded under this title;

6 and

7 (G) the statistical indicators and other cri8 teria that the rural eligible local educational

9 agency will use to measure progress toward

10 meeting National Education Goals, and a de11 scription of what the local educational agency

12 has done to ensure that any assessments used

13 to measure such progress will not have a nega14 tive effect on minority or language minority

15 students.

16 (3) DURATION.—Except as provided in section

17 106, the application described in paragraph (1) may

18 be for a period of not more than 3 years.

19 (c) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND NON20 PROFIT PARTNERSHIPS.—Any community-based organiza21 tion or nonprofit partnership described in section

22 102(b)(2)(B) desiring to receive a grant from a State edu23 cational agency pursuant to such section shall—

24 (1) prepare and submit an application to the

25 State educational agency;
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1 (2) describe in the application the collaborative

2 efforts undertaken with a rural eligible local edu3 cational agency in designing a program to meet the

4 purposes of the Act; and

5 (3) describe in the application how funds will be

6 used to help meet the education goals selected by a

7 rural eligible local educational agency pursuant to

8 subsection (b) of this section.

9 SEC. 104. PLANNING PERIOD.

10 Any rural eligible local educational agency requiring

11 additional planning efforts to meet the provisions of this

12 title may use the first 3 months of the initial program

13 year for planning purposes, subject to approval by the

14 State educational agency, except that not more than 10

15 percent of the first year’s allotment shall be used for such

16 purposes. A written report of the results of the plan shall

17 be submitted to the State educational agency.

18 SEC. 105. USES OF FUNDS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Funds allotted under section

20 102(b)(2) shall be used by rural eligible local educational

21 agencies, or community-based organizations or nonprofit

22 partnerships described in section 102(b)(2)(B), to meet

23 National Education Goals through programs designed

24 to—
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1 (1) increase the academic achievement of rural

2 school children to at least the national average, in3 cluding such education reform initiatives as—

4 (A) effective schools programs;

5 (B) tutoring, mentoring, and other activi6 ties to improve academic achievement directly;

7 (C) supplementary academic instruction;

8 (D) efforts to improve problem-solving and

9 higher-order critical thinking skills;

10 (E) programs to increase student motiva11 tion for learning;

12 (F) efforts to lengthen the school day,

13 school year or reduce class sizes; and

14 (G) encouraging the establishment of rural

15 school consortia to increase efficiency and

16 course offerings;

17 (2) ensure the readiness of all rural children for

18 school, including—

19 (A) full workday, full calendar-year com20 prehensive early childhood development pro21 grams;

22 (B) parenting classes, including parenting

23 classes for teenage parents, and parent involve24 ment activities;
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1 (C) activities designed to coordinate pre2 kindergarten and child care programs;

3 (D) efforts to integrate developmentally

4 appropriate prekindergarten services into the

5 overall school program;

6 (E) improving the skills of early childhood

7 education staff and standards for programs;

8 (F) collaborative efforts with health and

9 social service agencies to provide comprehensive

10 services and to facilitate the transition from

11 home to school;

12 (G) establishment of comprehensive child

13 care centers in secondary schools for student14 parents and their children; and

15 (H) augmenting early childhood develop16 ment programs to meet the special educational

17 and cultural needs of limited-English proficient

18 and migrant preschool children;

19 (3) increase the graduation rates of rural stu20 dents to at least the national average, including—

21 (A) dropout prevention activities and sup22 port services for students at-risk of dropping

23 out of school;
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1 (B) re-entry, outreach and support activi2 ties to recruit students who have dropped out of

3 school to return to school;

4 (C) development of systemwide policies and

5 practices that encourage students to stay in

6 school;

7 (D) efforts to provide individualized stu8 dent support;

9 (E) collaborative activities between schools,

10 parents, community groups, agencies and insti11 tutions of higher education aimed at preventing

12 individuals from dropping out of school;

13 (F) programs to increase student attend14 ance; and

15 (G) alternative programs for students, es16 pecially bilingual, special education and migrant

17 students, who have dropped out of school or are

18 at-risk of dropping out of school;

19 (4) prepare rural school graduates to enter

20 higher education, pursue careers and exercise their

21 responsibilities as citizens, including—

22 (A) activities designed to increase the

23 number and percentages of students, enrolling

24 in postsecondary educational institutions after

25 graduation from secondary schools;
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1 (B) in-school youth employment, vocational

2 education, and career education programs that

3 improve the transition from school to work;

4 (C) activities designed in collaboration with

5 colleges and universities to assist rural school

6 graduates in completing higher education;

7 (D) activities designed in conjunction with

8 community colleges to provide a kindergarten

9 through grade 14 experience for rural school

10 secondary school students;

11 (E) efforts to increase voter registration

12 among eligible secondary school students at13 tending schools served by rural eligible local

14 educational agencies;

15 (F) activities designed to promote commu16 nity service and volunteerism among students,

17 parents, teachers, and the community;

18 (G) civic education, law-related education

19 and other programs designed to enhance re20 sponsible citizenship and understanding of the

21 political process; and

22 (H) encouraging a positive role for rural

23 public schools in local rural entrepreneurship

24 and the identification of rural community eco25 nomic development opportunities;
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1 (5) recruit and retain qualified teachers, includ2 ing—

3 (A) school-based management projects and

4 activities;

5 (B) programs designed to increase the sta6 tus of the teaching profession;

7 (C) alternative routes to certification for

8 qualified individuals from business, the military

9 and other fields;

10 (D) efforts to recruit and retain teachers

11 in critical shortage areas, including early child12 hood teachers, mathematics and science teach13 ers, foreign language teachers, and special edu14 cation and bilingual teachers;

15 (E) upgrading the skills of existing class16 room teachers through the use of year-round,

17 systematic, comprehensive inservice training

18 programs;

19 (F) upgrading the skills of teacher aides

20 and paraprofessionals to assist such individuals

21 in becoming certified teachers;

22 (G) efforts specifically designed to increase

23 the number of minority teachers in rural

24 schools;
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1 (H) programs designed to encourage par2 ents and students to enter the teaching profes3 sion;

4 (I) incentives for teachers to work in rural

5 schools;

6 (J) collaborative activities with colleges

7 and universities to revise and upgrade teacher

8 training programs to meet the needs of rural

9 school students; and

10 (K) training activities for the purpose of

11 incorporating distance learning technologies; or

12 (6) decrease the use of drugs and alcohol

13 among rural students, and to enhance the physical

14 and emotional health of such students, including—

15 (A) activities designed to improve the self16 esteem and self-worth of rural students;

17 (B) the provision of health care services

18 and other social services and the coordination of

19 such services with other health care providers;

20 (C) programs designed to improve safety

21 and discipline and reduce in-school violence and

22 vandalism;

23 (D) activities that begin in the early

24 grades and are designed to prevent drug and al25 cohol abuse and smoking among students;
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1 (E) collaborative activities with other agen2 cies, businesses, and community groups;

3 (F) efforts to enhance health education

4 and nutrition education; and

5 (G) alternative schools, and schools-within6 schools programs, including bilingual, migrant

7 and special education programs for students

8 with special needs.

9 (b) SPECIAL RULE.—Funds allotted under section

10 102(b)(2) may be used by rural eligible local educational

11 agencies, or community-based organizations or nonprofit

12 partnerships, described in section 102(b)(2)(B), for the

13 planning, development, operation, or expansion of pro14 grams and activities which are designed to assist rural

15 schools in meeting National Education Goals, and may

16 include—

17 (1) training of teachers and other educational

18 personnel in subject areas, or instructional tech19 nology and methods that would improve the delivery

20 of services in rural settings in any of the National

21 Education Goal areas, including staff development

22 efforts which emphasize multicultural, gender and

23 disability bias-free curricula;

24 (2) coordination and collaboration with other

25 rural agencies, including State rural development
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1 councils, child care organizations, universities or the

2 private sector;

3 (3) parental involvement and outreach efforts

4 and other activities designed to enhance parental en5 couragement of student learning;

6 (4) guidance counseling, psychological, social

7 work, and other support services that contribute to

8 progress in achieving National Education Goals;

9 (5) efforts to acquire and improve access to

10 educational technology, including distance learning

11 technologies;

12 (6) programs to serve homeless children, chil13 dren in schools undergoing desegregation, immi14 grants, migrants, or other highly mobile populations,

15 even if such individuals do not attend a rural project

16 school assisted under this title;

17 (7) efforts to improve, reform and strengthen

18 the curriculum, especially efforts to enhance critical

19 thinking skills among rural students, and efforts to

20 coordinate services across grade levels; and

21 (8) other activities designed to assist in achiev22 ing the National Education Goals.

23 (c) PRIORITY.—Each local educational agency sub24 mitting an application under this section shall give priority

25 in designing the program assisted under this title to activi-
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1 ties that replicate successful efforts in other local edu2 cational agencies or expand successful programs within

3 the rural eligible local educational agency.

4 SEC. 106. ACCOUNTABILITY.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The State educational agency

6 may award an allotment under this title to a rural eligible

7 local educational agency to enable such an agency to oper8 ate a program under this title for a period of not more

9 than 3 years. If a rural eligible local educational agency

10 receiving an allotment under this title meets the account11 ability requirements described in subsection (b) at the end

12 of 3 years and the requirements described in subsection

13 (c) at the end of each year, as determined by the State

14 educational agency, such local educational agency shall be

15 eligible to continue the project with funds under this title

16 for an additional 3 years if such local educational agency

17 so desires.

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS TO MOVE TOWARD NATIONAL

19 EDUCATION GOALS.—

20 (1) PROGRAM CONTINUATION.—If, after 3 years

21 of receiving an allotment under this title, a rural eli22 gible local educational agency is able to demonstrate

23 to the satisfaction of the State educational agency

24 that such rural eligible local educational agency has

25 increased the achievement within the lowest 2 quar-
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1 tiles of students in schools assisted under this title

2 as measured by the statistical indicators and other

3 criteria specified in the application in comparison to

4 the year prior to the initiation of the project, then

5 such agency shall be eligible to continue the project

6 with funds under this title for an additional 3 years

7 upon reapplication under section 103.

8 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—If, after 3 years of receiv9 ing an allotment under this title, a rural eligible

10 local educational agency is able to demonstrate

11 progress on meeting at least 3 other National Edu12 cation Goals as measured by the criteria described in

13 paragraph (3), then such agency shall be deemed to

14 have met the requirements of paragraph (1) so long

15 as the average achievement level of the schools as16 sisted under this title did not decline in any of the

17 3 previous school years.

18 (3) CRITERIA.—For purposes of paragraph (2),

19 the criteria are:

20 (A) The number or percentage of preschool

21 children served by the rural eligible local edu22 cational agency is greater than the average such

23 number or percentage in the 3 previous school

24 years.
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1 (B) The secondary school graduation rate

2 in the rural eligible local educational agency is

3 greater than the average such rate for the 3

4 previous school years.

5 (C) The percentage of secondary school

6 graduates in the rural eligible local educational

7 agency enrolled in postsecondary education is

8 greater than such percentage for the 3 previous

9 school years.

10 (D) The incidence of discipline, drug-relat11 ed or in-school crime in the rural eligible local

12 educational agency is less than the average such

13 incidence in the 3 previous school years.

14 (c) COLLECTION OF DATA AND CERTIFICATION.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each rural eligible local edu16 cational agency, community-based organizations or

17 nonprofit partnerships described in section

18 102(b)(2)(B), receiving assistance under this title

19 shall annually collect and submit to the State edu20 cational agency data based on the statistical indica21 tors and other criteria described in the application

22 submitted by such rural eligible local educational

23 agency for the purposes of monitoring progress in

24 achieving the National Education Goals in accord25 ance with paragraph (2). Such data shall include
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1 multiple measures or indicators of each variable, and

2 may take into consideration the mobility of students

3 in the schools served under this title or other special

4 factors.

5 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Each rural eligible local

6 educational agency receiving an allotment pursuant

7 to section 102(b)(2) shall annually certify to the

8 State educational agency that such rural eligible

9 local educational agency has—

10 (A) complied with the provisions of this

11 subsection; and

12 (B) made progress toward meeting Na13 tional Education Goals and the goals described

14 in section 103(b)(2)(D).

15 SEC. 107. INCENTIVE AWARDS TO EXEMPLARY PROGRAMS.

16 From amounts reserved pursuant to section 102(a)

17 or otherwise made available, the Secretary is authorized

18 to make competitive awards to rural eligible local edu19 cational agencies to enable such agencies to provide assist20 ance to individual schools participating in a program as21 sisted under this title which demonstrate to the satisfac22 tion of the Secretary at least 3 of the following:

23 (1) Unusual or exemplary progress in achieving

24 the National Education Goals through programs de25 scribed in section 105.
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1 (2) Exemplary or unusually effective collabo2 rative arrangements between the schools, commu3 nity-based organizations, agencies, parent groups,

4 colleges and businesses.

5 (3) Identification, review and removal of poten6 tial barriers to student performance in the National

7 Education Goal areas, such as suspensions and ex8 pulsions, in-grade retentions, ability grouping, and

9 lack of access to course offerings, and other such

10 barriers.

11 SEC. 108. REGULATORY ASSESSMENT.

12 (a) REPORT ON RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS.—In order

13 to assist rural eligible local educational agencies under this

14 Act in improving the performance of the school children

15 enrolled in the schools served by such agencies, the Sec16 retary shall, not later than January 1, 1995, prepare a

17 report on the impact of Federal regulations, guidelines

18 and policies on rural public schools.

19 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report shall ana20 lyze the impact of Federal legal, regulatory, policy and or21 ganizational requirements on the time and resources that

22 rural eligible local educational agencies assisted under this

23 Act have for educating students, including fiscal resources,

24 staff time, facilities, instructional equipment, and services.

25 The report shall make recommendations on how best to
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1 simplify Federal legal, regulatory, policy and organiza2 tional requirements so that more resources can be devoted

3 to improving rural school performance. The report shall

4 also identify the regulations whose waiver might be used

5 as incentives or rewards for unusual progress toward

6 meeting National Education Goals.

7 (c) SPECIFIC ISSUES FOR ANALYSIS.—In preparing

8 the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall

9 analyze—

10 (1) the effect of regulatory requirements on

11 local program flexibility and management within

12 rural eligible local educational agencies;

13 (2) the effect of regulatory requirements on the

14 size, cost and composition of administrative practices

15 within rural eligible local educational agencies;

16 (3) the extent to which regulatory requirements

17 are duplicative or contradictory;

18 (4) the amount of time and resources that

19 school administrators and teachers must spend re20 sponding to data requests and reporting require21 ments pursuant to Federal law;

22 (5) the extent to which regulatory requirements

23 are related to instructional rather than

24 noninstructional practices in rural eligible local edu25 cational agencies;
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1 (6) the relationship between specific regulatory

2 requirements and the educational performance of

3 rural students; and

4 (7) how the waiver or simplification of regu5 latory requirements could enhance the performance

6 of rural school children and the progress of rural

7 schools in meeting National Education Goals.

8 (d) SAMPLE DATA.—The Secretary may, in develop9 ing the report described in subsection (a), use appropriate

10 sampling techniques.

11 (e) CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.—The Sec12 retary shall consult with the Committee on Education and

13 Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee

14 on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate concerning

15 the design of the report described in this section.

16 SEC. 109. LOCAL ADVISORY GROUP.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Any rural eligible local edu18 cational agency desiring to receive an allotment under this

19 Act shall form a local advisory group.

20 (b) COMPOSITION.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local advisory group

22 described in subsection (a) shall be composed of rep23 resentatives of groups such as—

24 (A) local government agencies;

25 (B) community-based organizations;
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1 (C) service providers;

2 (D) teachers;

3 (E) parents;

4 (F) colleges and universities;

5 (G) businesses;

6 (H) principals, other school administrators

7 and school personnel, including the local voca8 tional education administrator;

9 (I) counselors, school psychologists and so10 cial workers;

11 (J) students;

12 (K) State educational agencies and State

13 boards of education;

14 (L) labor;

15 (M) offices of the Mayor or other rural

16 government leader;

17 (N) religious leaders; and

18 (O) organizations with an interest in im19 proving rural education and expertise in the de20 livery of services needed by the schools selected

21 to participate in a program assisted under this

22 Act.

23 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The superintendent of

24 schools and the head of the head of the rural eligible

25 local educational agency applying for funds under
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1 this title shall appoint the members of the local advi2 sory group, in consultation with teachers from the

3 rural eligible local educational agency and the teach4 er’s local bargaining agent where one exists. The

5 local advisory group may contain as many members

6 as is necessary to ensure a comprehensive commu7 nity-wide program to improve education in the

8 schools served by the rural eligible local educational

9 agency.

10 (3) REPRESENTATION.—The local advisory

11 group shall be representative of the community and

12 shall be balanced according to the race, ethnicity,

13 native language background, and gender of its mem14 bers, to the extent practicable.

15 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The local advisory group shall—

16 (1) advise the rural eligible local educational

17 agency on the design and conduct of a needs assess18 ment for all schools expected to participate in the

19 program assisted under this title;

20 (2) assist in planning for community-wide col21 laboration in service delivery for students in schools

22 expected to be served by the program assisted under

23 this title;

24 (3) advise the rural eligible local educational

25 agency and the community on how such agency and
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1 community can work together to use multiple service

2 providers;

3 (4) advise and assist the rural eligible local edu4 cational agency on the implementation of the pro5 gram assisted under this title and review evaluations

6 of such program’s success;

7 (5) advise the rural eligible local educational

8 agency on strategies for increasing parent involve9 ment and the number of school volunteers and role

10 models in schools; and

11 (6) review the success of community-based pro12 grams assisted under this title for progress toward

13 meeting the National Education Goals.

14 (d) USE OF EXISTING LOCAL ADVISORY GROUP.—

15 To the extent that a rural eligible local educational agency

16 has established a broadly representative local advisory

17 group before the date of enactment of this Act that is com18 parable to the local advisory group described in this sec19 tion, such existing local advisory group shall be considered

20 to be in compliance with the provisions of this section.

21 TITLE II—SCHOOL BUILDING

22 REPAIR AND RENOVATION

23 SEC. 201. PURPOSE; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to pro25 vide assistance to rural eligible local educational agencies
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1 to assist such agencies in building or repairing, and ren2 ovating instructional facilities in rural schools, including

3 but not limited to the appropriate use of telecommuni4 cations techniques for learning.

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

6 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 for

7 1994 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the

8 fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 to

9 carry out the provisions of this title.

10 SEC. 202. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.

11 (a) ALLOTMENTS.—

12 (1) FEDERAL ALLOTMENT.—In each fiscal

13 year, the Secretary shall allot to each State edu14 cational agency with an approved application, an

15 amount which bears the same relationship to such

16 funds as the amount all rural eligible local edu17 cational agencies with approved applications in the

18 State were allocated under chapter 1 of title I of the

19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

20 in the preceding fiscal year bears to the total

21 amount received under such chapter in such preced22 ing fiscal year by all rural eligible local educational

23 agencies with approved applications in all States.

24 (2) STATE ALLOTMENT.—
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1 (A) RESERVATION.—From amounts re2 ceived pursuant to paragraph (1), each State

3 educational agency may reserve not more than

4 1 percent of such amount for administrative ex5 penses.

6 (B) FORMULA.—From the remainder of

7 amounts received pursuant to subparagraph (A)

8 in each fiscal year, each State educational agen9 cy shall allot to each rural eligible local edu10 cational agency within the State with an ap11 proved application an amount determined on

12 the basis of—

13 (i) the number of children in the rural

14 eligible local educational agency between

15 the ages of 5 and 17 who are members of

16 families whose income does not exceed the

17 income official poverty line (as defined by

18 the Office of Management and Budget),

19 according to the most recent decennial cen20 sus of the population; and

21 (ii) the number, age and size of school

22 buildings used for instructional purposes in

23 the rural eligible local educational agency.

24 (b) REALLOTMENT.—Any amounts available for real25 lotment pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) shall be real-
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1 lotted in the same manner as the original allotments were

2 made.

3 SEC. 203. APPLICATION.

4 (a) STATE APPLICATION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational

6 agency desiring to receive an allotment in any fiscal

7 year to carry out the provisions of this title shall

8 submit to the Secretary an application at such time,

9 in such manner and accompanied by such informa10 tion as the Secretary reasonably may require.

11 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

12 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—

13 (A) contain such information as the Sec14 retary may reasonably require in order to make

15 the allotment described in section 202(a)(1);

16 and

17 (B) contain such other information and as18 surances as the Secretary determines necessary

19 to ensure compliance with the provisions of this

20 title.

21 (b) LOCAL APPLICATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any rural eligible local edu23 cational agency desiring to receive an allotment to

24 carry out the provisions of this title shall submit to

25 the State educational agency an application at such
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1 time, in such manner and accompanied by such in2 formation as the State educational agency may rea3 sonably require.

4 (2) DURATION.—Each application submitted

5 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be for a period of

6 not more than 3 years.

7 (3) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Each application sub8 mitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be subject to

9 annual review.

10 (4) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

11 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall contain—

12 (A) an assessment of needs for building re13 pair, renovation and construction;

14 (B) the name and location of all sites

15 scheduled for repair, renovation or construction

16 and a description of the activities planned at

17 each site; and

18 (C) a description of accounting procedures

19 used to assure proper disbursement of Federal

20 funds.

21 SEC. 204. REPAIR AND RENOVATION.

22 Each rural eligible local educational agency receiving

23 an allotment under section 202(a)(2) shall use 50 percent

24 of such allotment to conduct programs for—
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1 (1) repair and renovation of school buildings

2 used for instruction;

3 (2) upgrading of and alterations to buildings to

4 accommodate new instructional technology, including

5 the installation or improvement of telecommuni6 cations facilities for learning and related tech7 nologies.

8 (3) installation or upgrading of school security

9 and communications systems;

10 (4) construction of new buildings that will serve

11 to replace old facilities that are most cost effectively

12 torn down rather than renovated;

13 (5) alterations to buildings to meet special pro14 gram, curricula, or school-site management needs;

15 (6) alterations to buildings to meet certain spe16 cial population needs, such as the needs of homeless

17 children, preschool children, and individuals with

18 disabilities;

19 (7) alterations to school buildings to enable

20 such buildings to serve as one-stop family support

21 centers; and

22 (8) facilities’ costs associated with lengthening

23 the school day or school year.
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1 SEC. 205. ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY.

2 Each rural eligible local educational agency receiving

3 an allotment under section 202(a)(2) shall use 50 percent

4 of such allotment to conduct programs for—

5 (1) energy conservation;

6 (2) removal or containment of environmentally

7 hazardous material;

8 (3) meeting the requirements of section 504 of

9 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and

10 (4) meeting local, State or Federal laws or reg11 ulations enacted or promulgated since the initial

12 construction of a building related to fire, air, light,

13 noise, waste disposal, or building height.

14 SEC. 206. WAIVER.

15 The State educational agency may waive the 50 per16 cent requirements described in sections 204 and 205 for

17 any rural eligible local educational agency that dem18 onstrates to the satisfaction of the State educational agen19 cy a greater need for services described in section 204 or

20 205.

21 SEC. 207. APPLICATION OF THE DAVIS-BACON ACT.

22 All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors

23 or subcontractors in any construction, alteration, or re24 pair, including painting and decorating, of projects, build25 ings, and works which are federally assisted under this

26 title, shall be paid wages at rates not less than those pre-
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1 vailing on similar construction in the locality as deter2 mined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the

3 Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis4 Bacon Act), as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.). The

5 Secretary of Labor shall have, with respect to such labor

6 standards, the authority and functions set forth in Reor7 ganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (15 F.R. 3176; 64

8 Stat. 1267) and section 2 of the Act of June 1, 1934,

9 as amended (48 Stat. 948, as amended; 40 U.S.C.

10 276(c)).

11 TITLE III—EVALUATION OF

12 RESULTS

13 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

15 as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1994,

16 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 to carry out the

17 provisions of this title.

18 SEC. 302. ESTABLISHMENT; OPERATION; USES OF FUNDS.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—From amounts appropriated

20 pursuant to the authority of section 301, the Secretary

21 shall establish for each region a center to be known as

22 the ‘‘National Rural Regional Education Research Cen23 ter’’ (hereafter in this title referred to as the ‘‘Center’’).

24 (b) OPERATION.—Each Center shall be operated by

25 the regional educational laboratory that is located in the
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1 region in which the Center is located and supported by

2 the Secretary pursuant to section 405(d)(4)(A) of the

3 General Education Provisions Act.

4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Each Center shall—

5 (1) conduct independent research in rural edu6 cation and distance learning technologies;

7 (2) evaluate the progress of rural schools receiv8 ing funds under title I of this Act toward meeting

9 the National Education Goals;

10 (3) serve as clearinghouses on rural education

11 research findings, policies, and practices;

12 (4) develop measurements of progress of rural

13 schools;

14 (5) disseminate results of evaluations and re15 search on rural schools to other Centers and rural

16 school district teachers and parents;

17 (6) develop collaborative arrangements and con18 sortia among rural schools in each region to conduct

19 joint research and evaluation activities;

20 (7) replicate successful models and program ap21 proaches in rural schools;

22 (8) provide technical assistance and outreach

23 services for rural schools in each region;

24 (9) provide staff training; and
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1 (10) develop curricula to assist rural schools in

2 moving toward meeting the National Education

3 Goals.

4 SEC. 303. LOCAL RURAL SCHOOL EVALUATION.

5 From the amount appropriated pursuant to the au6 thority of section 301 or otherwise made available to carry

7 out the provisions of this title in any fiscal year, each Cen8 ter shall reserve 25 percent of such funds to award direct

9 grants to rural eligible local educational agencies within

10 the region served by such Center and which are participat11 ing in a program assisted under title I to conduct local

12 school district research and evaluation of efforts toward

13 meeting the National Education Goals.

14 SEC. 304. LOCAL APPLICATIONS.

15 Any rural eligible local educational agency desiring

16 to receive a grant under this title shall—

17 (1) submit an application to the Center;

18 (2) describe in such application the research

19 and evaluation activities for measuring progress on

20 the National Education Goals;

21 (3) consult with local universities, research in22 stitutes, and other rural groups in developing a local

23 research and evaluation application; and

24 (4) describe capacities for conducting evalua25 tions with funds provided under this title.
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1 TITLE IV—GENERAL

2 PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 401. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON RURAL SCHOOLS.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

5 Interagency Council on Rural Schools (hereafter in this

6 section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’).

7 (b) COMPOSITION.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist

9 of—

10 (A) the Secretary of Education, who shall

11 serve as Chairperson of the Council;

12 (B) the Secretary of Labor;

13 (C) the Secretary of Health and Human

14 Services;

15 (D) the Secretary of Agriculture;

16 (E) the Secretary of Energy;

17 (F) the Secretary of Commerce;

18 (G) the Director of the Environmental

19 Protection Agency;

20 (H) the Director of the Commission on

21 Civil Rights;

22 (I) the Chairperson of the Advisory Com23 mission on Intergovernmental Relations;

24 (J) the Chairperson of the National En25 dowment on the Arts and the Humanities;
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1 (K) the Director of the National Science

2 Foundation; and

3 (L) such other officers of the Federal Gov4 ernment as may be designated by the President

5 or the Chairperson of the Council to serve

6 wherever matters within the jurisdiction of the

7 agency headed by such an officer are to be con8 sidered by the Council.

9 (2) REPRESENTATION.—Each individual de10 scribed in paragraph (1) may designate a person to

11 represent such individual on the Council.

12 (3) DURATION.—Each member shall be ap13 pointed for as long as such member serves as the

14 head of the appropriate department or agency.

15 (4) PRINCIPAL ADVISOR.—The Chairperson of

16 the Council shall be the President’s principal advisor

17 on rural schools.

18 (c) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Council shall

19 constitute a quorum for the purposes of transmitting rec20 ommendations and proposals to the President, but a lesser

21 number may meet for other reasons.

22 (d) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at least 2

23 times each year. When a Council member is unable to at24 tend a meeting, the Council member shall appoint an ap25 propriate Assistant Secretary or an equivalent individual
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1 from the department or agency of the member to represent

2 the member for that meeting.

3 (e) DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.—The Council shall—

4 (1) review programs and activities conducted by

5 each department or agency represented on the Coun6 cil to determine the effects of such programs and ac7 tivities on the ability of rural schools to meet Na8 tional Education Goals;

9 (2) track progress of rural schools in meeting

10 National Education Goals;

11 (3) solicit information and advice from experts

12 in rural education and representatives of rural

13 schools, including representatives from rural post14 secondary education, on how the Federal Govern15 ment may improve the programs and activities of the

16 Federal Government which serve rural school stu17 dents;

18 (4) review regulations across various depart19 ments or agencies of the Federal Government for

20 duplication or contradiction;

21 (5) issue an annual report to Congress and the

22 President on the progress rural schools are making

23 in meeting the National Education Goals, and on

24 how Congress might change Federal programs to
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1 improve the effectiveness of such programs in rural

2 schools;

3 (6) review and make recommendations regard4 ing ways to improve or streamline various Federal

5 data collection activities in rural schools; and

6 (7) conduct such research as may be helpful to

7 rural school practitioners at the elementary, second8 ary and postsecondary level in improving the per9 formance of students attending rural schools.

10 SEC. 402. WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON RURAL EDU11 CATION.

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO CALL CONFERENCE.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized

14 to call and conduct a White House Conference on

15 Rural Education (hereafter in this section referred

16 to as the ‘‘Conference’’).

17 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—For the purpose of this

18 section the term ‘‘Conference’’ means the Conference

19 on Rural Education.

20 (3) DATE.—The Conference described in para21 graph (2) shall be held not earlier than November

22 1, 1994, and not later than October 30, 1996.

23 (4) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Conference

24 shall be to—
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1 (A) develop recommendations and strate2 gies for the improvement of rural education;

3 (B) marshal the forces of the private sec4 tor, governmental agencies at all levels, parents,

5 teachers, communities, and education officials

6 to assist rural schools in achieving National

7 Education Goals, and make recommendations

8 on the roles rural public schools can play to as9 sist with local rural community economic revi10 talization; and

11 (C) conduct the initial planning for a per12 manent national commission on rural education.

13 (b) COMPOSITION OF CONFERENCE.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Conference shall be

15 composed of—

16 (A) representatives of eligible public school

17 systems, including members of the governing

18 body of local educational agencies, school super19 intendents and classroom teachers;

20 (B) representatives of the Congress, the

21 Department of Education and other Federal

22 agencies;

23 (C) State elected officials and representa24 tives from State educational agencies;
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1 (D) individuals with special knowledge of

2 and expertise in rural education, including indi3 viduals involved with rural postsecondary edu4 cation; and

5 (E) individuals with special knowledge of

6 and expertise in rural business.

7 (2) SELECTION.—The President shall select

8 one-third of the participants of the Conference, the

9 Speaker of the House of Representatives shall select

10 one-third of such participants, and the majority

11 leader of the Senate shall select the remaining one12 third of such participants.

13 (3) REPRESENTATION.—In selecting the par14 ticipants of the Conference the President, the Speak15 er of the House of Representatives, and the majority

16 leader of the Senate shall ensure that the partici17 pants are as representative of the ethnic, racial, and

18 language diversity of rural areas as is practicable.

19 (c) REPORTS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The final reports of the

21 Conference, containing such findings and rec22 ommendations as may be made by the Conference,

23 shall be submitted to the President not later than

24 120 days following the termination of the Con25 ference. The final reports shall be made public and,
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1 within 90 days after receipt by the President, trans2 mitted to the Congress together with a statement of

3 the President containing recommendations for imple4 menting the reports.

5 (2) PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION.—The

6 Conference is authorized to publish and distribute

7 the reports described in this section. Copies of the

8 reports shall be provided to the Federal depository

9 libraries and made available to local rural school

10 leaders and teachers.

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

13 appropriated for each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995,

14 and 1996 such sums as may be necessary to carry

15 out the provisions of this section.

16 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available

17 pursuant to the authority of paragraph (1) shall re18 main available until expended.

19 SEC. 403. FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT NOT SUP20 PLANT NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.

21 A rural eligible local educational agency may use

22 funds received under this Act only to supplement and, to

23 the extent practicable, increase the level of funds that

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

25 available from non-Federal sources for the education of
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1 students participating in activities assisted under this Act

2 and in no such case may such funds be used to supplant

3 funds from non-Federal sources.

4 SEC. 404. DEFINITIONS.

5 Except as otherwise provided, for the purposes of this

6 Act—

7 (1) the term ‘‘community-based organization’’

8 means a private nonprofit organization which is rep9 resentative of a community or significant segments

10 of a community and which has a proven record of

11 providing effective educational or related services to

12 individuals in the community;

13 (2) the term ‘‘community as school concept’’

14 means the mutual sharing of the local public school’s

15 and the local community’s human, financial, tech16 nical, and environmental resources to help meet each

17 others needs;

18 (3) the term ‘‘elementary school’’ has the mean19 ing given to such term by section 1471(8) of the El20 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;

21 (4) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’

22 has the meaning given to such term in section

23 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965;

24 (5) the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the

25 meaning given to such term in section 1471(12) of
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1 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

2 1965, and includes a rural eligible local educational

3 agency;

4 (6) the term ‘‘poverty level’’ means the criteria

5 of poverty used by the Bureau of Census in compil6 ing the most recent decennial census for a family of

7 4 in such form as those criteria have been updated

8 by increases in the Consumer Price Index for All

9 Rural Consumers;

10 (7) the term ‘‘rural eligible local educational

11 agency’’ means a local educational agency—

12 (A)(i) in which at least 15 percent of the

13 children enrolled in the schools served by such

14 agency are eligible to be counted under section

15 1005 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965; and

17 (ii) which is not in a metropolitan statis18 tical area; or

19 (B) in which the total enrollment in the

20 schools served by such agency is less than 2,500

21 students and that does not serve schools located

22 in a metropolitan statistical area; and

23 (C) the term ‘‘secondary school’’ has the

24 same meaning given to such term by section
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1 1471(21) of the Elementary and Secondary

2 Education Act of 1965;

3 (8) the term ‘‘Secretary’’, except as otherwise

4 provided, means the Secretary of Education;

5 (9) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several

6 States, but does not include the District of Colum7 bia, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of

8 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, the

9 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

10 the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated

11 States of Micronesia, and Palau; and

12 (10) the term ‘‘State educational agency’’ has

13 the meaning given to such term in section 1471(23)

14 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

15 1965.

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