II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 232

To provide assistance to States to enable such States to raise the quality

of instruction in mathematics and science by providing equipment and

materials necessary for hands-on instruction.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 27 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 1993

Mr. HATFIELD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To provide assistance to States to enable such States to

raise the quality of instruction in mathematics and

science by providing equipment and materials necessary

for hands-on instruction.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elementary Mathe5 matics and Science Equipment Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

7 It is the purpose of this Act to raise the quality of

8 instruction in mathematics and science in the Nation’s ele-
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1 mentary schools by providing equipment and materials

2 necessary for hands-on instruction through assistance to

3 State and local educational agencies and schools.

4 SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

5 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to make

6 allotments to State educational agencies under section 4

7 to enable such agencies to award grants to local edu8 cational agencies for the purpose of providing equipment

9 and materials to elementary schools to improve mathe10 matics and science education in such schools.

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal

13 year 1994, and such sums as necessary for each of the

14 fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 to carry out this

15 Act.

16 SEC. 4. ALLOTMENTS OF FUNDS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appropriated

18 under section 3(b) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall

19 reserve—

20 (1) not more than one-half of 1 percent for al21 lotment among Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin

22 Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic

23 of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Mi24 cronesia, and the Republic of Palau according to
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1 their respective needs for assistance under this Act;

2 and

3 (2) one-half of 1 percent for programs for In4 dian students served by schools funded by the Sec5 retary of the Interior which are consistent with the

6 purposes of this part.

7 (b) ALLOTMENT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2) and from the amount not reserved pursu10 ant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall make allot11 ments among State educational agencies in the

12 States as follows:

13 (A) One-half of such remainder shall be

14 distributed among such State educational agen15 cies by allotting to each State educational agen16 cy an amount which bears the same ratio to

17 such one-half of such remainder as the number

18 of children aged 5 to 11, inclusive, in the State

19 bears to the number of such children in all

20 States.

21 (B) One-half of such remainder shall be

22 distributed among such State educational agen23 cies according to each State’s share of alloca24 tions under chapter 1 of title I of the Elemen25 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
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1 (2) MINIMUM.—No State shall receive in any

2 fiscal year an allotment under paragraph (1) which

3 is less than—

4 (A) one-half of 1 percent of the amount

5 available under this subsection in such fiscal

6 year; or

7 (B) the amount allotted to such State for

8 fiscal year 1988 under title II of the Education

9 for Economic Security Act.

10 (c) REALLOTMENT OF UNUSED FUNDS.—The

11 amount of any State’s allotment under subsection (b) for

12 any fiscal year to carry out this Act which the Secretary

13 determines will not be required for that fiscal year to carry

14 out this Act shall be available for reallotment from time

15 to time, on such dates during that year as the Secretary

16 may determine, to other States in proportion to the origi17 nal allotments to those States under subsection (b) for

18 that year but with such proportionate amount for any of

19 those other States being reduced to the extent it exceeds

20 the sum the Secretary estimates that the State needs and

21 will be able to use for that year, and the total of those

22 reductions shall be similarly reallotted among the States

23 whose proportionate amounts were not so reduced. Any

24 amounts reallotted to a State under this subsection during
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1 a year shall be deemed a subpart of its allotment under

2 subsection (b) for that year.

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act—

4 (1) the term ‘‘elementary school’’ has the same

5 meaning given such term in section 1471(8) of the

6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;

7 (2) the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the

8 same meaning given such term in section 1471(12)

9 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

10 1965;

11 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’, unless otherwise

12 specified, means the Secretary of Education;

13 (4) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50

14 States, the District of Columbia, and the Common15 wealth of Puerto Rico; and

16 (5) the term ‘‘State educational agency’’ has

17 the same meaning given to such term by section

18 1471(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965.

20 (e) DATA.—The number of children aged 5 to 11, in21 clusive, in a State and in all States shall be determined

22 by the Secretary on the basis of the most recent satisfac23 tory data available to the Secretary.
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1 SEC. 5. STATE APPLICATION.

2 (a) APPLICATION.—Each State educational agency

3 desiring to receive an allotment under this Act shall file

4 an application with the Secretary which covers a period

5 of 5 fiscal years. Such application shall be filed at such

6 time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied by

7 such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

8 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each application

9 described in subsection (a) shall—

10 (1) provide assurances that—

11 (A) the State educational agency shall use

12 the allotment provided under this Act to award

13 grants to local educational agencies within the

14 State to enable such local educational agencies

15 to carry out the purpose of this Act;

16 (B) the State educational agency will pro17 vide such fiscal control and funds accounting as

18 the Secretary may require;

19 (C) every public elementary school in the

20 State is eligible to receive a grant under this

21 Act once over the 5-year duration of the pro22 gram assisted under this Act;

23 (D) funds provided under this Act will sup24 plement, not supplant, State and local funds

25 made available for activities authorized under

26 this Act;
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1 (E) during the 5-year period described in

2 the application, the State educational agency

3 will evaluate its standards and programs for

4 teacher preparation and inservice professional

5 development for elementary mathematics and

6 science;

7 (F) the State educational agency will take

8 into account the needs for greater access to and

9 participation in mathematics and science by

10 students and teachers from historically

11 underrepresented groups, including females, mi12 norities, individuals with limited-English pro13 ficiency, the economically disadvantaged, and

14 individuals with disabilities; and

15 (G) the needs of teachers and students in

16 areas with high concentrations of low-income

17 students and sparsely populated areas will be

18 considered in awarding grants under this Act;

19 (2) provide a description of how funds made

20 available under this Act will be coordinated with

21 State and local funds and other Federal resources,

22 particularly with respect to programs for the profes23 sional development and inservice training of elemen24 tary school teachers in science and mathematics; and

25 (3) describe procedures—
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1 (A) for submitting applications for assist2 ance in accordance with sections 6 and 7;

3 (B) for the distribution of grant payments

4 under this Act within the State; and

5 (C) for approval of applications by the

6 State educational agency, including appropriate

7 procedures to assure that such agency will not

8 disapprove an application without notice and

9 opportunity for a hearing.

10 (c) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—Not more than 5 per11 cent of the funds allotted to each State educational agency

12 under this part shall be used for the administrative costs

13 of such agency associated with carrying out the program

14 assisted under this Act.

15 SEC. 6. LOCAL APPLICATION.

16 (a) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency that

17 desires to receive a grant under this part shall submit an

18 application to the State educational agency. Each such ap19 plication shall contain assurances that each school served

20 by the local educational agency shall be eligible for only

21 one grant under this Act.

22 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each application

23 described in subsection (a) shall—

24 (1) provide assurances that the local edu25 cational agency shall use the grant such agency re-
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1 ceives under this Act to award grants to schools

2 served by such agency to enable such schools to

3 carry out the purposes of this Act;

4 (2) describe how the local educational agency

5 plans to set priorities on the use and distribution

6 among schools of grant funds received under this

7 Act to meet the purpose of this Act;

8 (3) include assurances that the local edu9 cational agency has made every effort to match on

10 a dollar-for-dollar basis from private or public

11 sources the grant funds received under this Act, ex12 cept that no such application shall be penalized or

13 denied assistance under this Act based on failure to

14 provide such matching funds;

15 (4) describe how funds under this Act will be

16 coordinated with State, local, and other Federal re17 sources, especially with respect to programs for the

18 professional development and inservice training of el19 ementary school teachers in science and mathe20 matics; and

21 (5) describe the process which will be used to

22 determine different levels of grant amounts to be

23 awarded to schools with different needs.
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1 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this Act,

2 the State educational agency shall give priority to local

3 applications that—

4 (1) assign highest priority to providing assist5 ance to schools which are most seriously under6 equipped;

7 (2) are attentive to the needs of

8 underrepresented groups in science and mathe9 matics;

10 (3) demonstrate how science and mathematics

11 equipment will be part of a comprehensive plan of

12 curriculum planning or implementation and teacher

13 training supporting hands-on laboratory activities;

14 (4) give priority to providing equipment and

15 materials for students in grades 1 through 6; and

16 (5) provide assurances that equipment and ma17 terials provided under this Act shall be equitably

18 available to all children in the classroom.

19 SEC. 7. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE NONPROFIT ELEMEN20 TARY SCHOOLS.

21 (a) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—To the

22 extent consistent with the number of children in the State

23 or in the school district of each local educational agency

24 who are enrolled in private nonprofit elementary schools,

25 such State educational agency shall, after consultation
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1 with appropriate private school representatives, make pro2 vision to include services and arrangements for the benefit

3 of such children as will assure the equitable participation

4 of such children in the purposes and benefits of this Act.

5 (b) WAIVER.—If by reason of any provision of State

6 law a local educational agency is prohibited from providing

7 for the participation of children or teachers from private

8 nonprofit elementary schools as required by subsection (a),

9 or if the Secretary determines that a State or local edu10 cational agency has substantially failed or is unwilling to

11 provide for such participation on an equitable basis, the

12 Secretary shall waive such requirements and shall arrange

13 for the provision of services to such children or teachers

14 subject to the requirement of this Act. Such waivers shall

15 be subject to consultation, withholding, notice, and judicial

16 review requirements described in section 1017 of the Ele17 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

18 SEC. 8. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

19 (a) COORDINATION.—Each State educational agency

20 receiving a grant under this Act shall—

21 (1) disseminate information to school districts

22 and schools, including private nonprofit elementary

23 schools, regarding the grant program assisted under

24 this Act;
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1 (2) evaluate applications of local educational

2 agencies;

3 (3) award grants to local educational agencies

4 based on the priorities described in section 6(c); and

5 (4) evaluate local educational agencies’ end-of6 the-year summaries.

7 (b) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds and matching

9 funds under this Act only shall be used to purchase

10 science equipment, science materials, or mathemati11 cal manipulative materials and shall not be used for

12 computers, computer peripherals, software, text13 books, or staff development costs.

14 (2) CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.—Grant funds

15 under this Act may not be used for capital improve16 ments. Not more than 50 percent of matching funds

17 provided by the local educational agency may be

18 used for capital improvements of classroom science

19 facilities to support the hands-on instruction that

20 this Act is intended to support, such as the installa21 tion of electrical outlets, plumbing, lab tables or

22 counters, or ventilation mechanisms.

23 SEC. 9. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

24 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION PRO25 CEDURES.—The Secretary shall provide technical assist-
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1 ance and, in consultation with State and local representa2 tives of the program assisted under this Act, shall develop

3 procedures for State and local evaluations of the programs

4 under this part.

5 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to the Con6 gress each year on the program assisted under this Act.

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