II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1708

To improve education.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 4, 1998

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DODD, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. ROBB, Mr. LEVIN, Mr.

LAUTENBERG, Mr. GLENN, Mr. KERRY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. REID, Mr.

REED, and Mr. BRYAN) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To improve education.

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 ‘‘Revitalize and Em5 power Public School Communities to Upgrade for Long6 Term Success Act’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 Congress makes the following findings:

9 (1) Our Nation’s investment in a high quality

10 public education system is necessary not only for the
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1 future of our children and our families, but also for

2 the future of America. A well-educated citizenry and

3 workforce are essential to compete in the global

4 economy and maintain a strong democracy. In order

5 to promote prosperity and ensure individual oppor6 tunity, America must make education a national pri7 ority.

8 (2) Strong leadership in education is needed

9 more than ever. Schools are facing the challenge of

10 educating more highly skilled workers to meet the

11 demands of a modern economy. The Bureau of

12 Labor Statistics estimates that 60 percent of all jobs

13 created at the turn of the 21st century will require

14 more than a high school education.

15 (3) Record numbers of students are enrolled in

16 our Nation’s elementary and secondary schools and

17 we can expect to break that record every year from

18 1998 through 2007. The record numbers are strain19 ing many school facilities. Addressing that growth

20 will require an increasing commitment of resources

21 to build and modernize schools, and to hire and

22 train new teachers. In addition, the increasing use of

23 technology in the workplace is creating new demands

24 to incorporate computers and other high-technology
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1 equipment into the classroom starting in elementary

2 schools.

3 (4) Too many students are learning in out-of4 date and overcrowded school buildings. Government

5 Accounting Office reports indicate that 14,000,000

6 children in a third of the Nation’s schools are learn7 ing in substandard classrooms. There is clear evi8 dence that the quality of school facilities affects stu9 dent achievement levels. In addition, new classrooms

10 will be needed to accommodate smaller class sizes,

11 and improvements in wiring are needed to accommo12 date high-technology equipment.

13 (5) Across the Nation, schools will need to re14 cruit and hire an additional 2,000,000 teachers dur15 ing the period from 1998 through 2008. More than

16 200,000 teachers will be needed annually. Current

17 teacher development programs produce 100,000 to

18 150,000 teachers per year. Too many schools of edu19 cation do not adequately train teachers to use tech20 nology in the classroom.

21 (6) Rigorous research shows that students in

22 smaller classes in the early grades make more rapid

23 educational progress than students in larger classes.

24 The progress is most likely to occur if classes are

25 taught by qualified, well-trained teachers.
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1 (7) Young people aged 12 through 17 are most

2 at risk of committing violent acts and being the vic3 tims of violent acts between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Chil4 dren who attend quality after-school programs are

5 less likely to engage in delinquent behavior and have

6 better grades and emotional development than their

7 counterparts who are left unsupervised after school.

8 In 1993, only 33 percent of schools in low-income

9 neighborhoods offered before- and after-school pro10 grams and only 50 percent of schools in affluent

11 neighborhoods offered such programs.

12 (8) Higher levels of academic achievement will

13 be required to equip American students for the

14 workplace of the 21st century. Employers will de15 mand increasingly sophisticated levels of literacy,

16 communication, mathematical, and technical skills.

17 60 percent of all jobs will require computer skills.

18 Additional resources will be needed for effective pro19 grams, such as the School Technology Resource

20 Grants Program and the National Challenge Grants

21 for Technology in Education Program, and addi22 tional emphasis needs to be placed on training teach23 ers to use technology effectively in the classroom.

24 (9) Some communities are improving student

25 achievement levels by adopting high standards for
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1 teachers and students, abolishing social promotions,

2 and taking other steps to improve the quality of edu3 cation. Some of this can be done by implementing

4 high standards, restructuring existing budgets, and

5 reordering priorities. But some communities, par6 ticularly those serving a high number of low-income

7 students, do not have the same resources as higher

8 income communities. Despite efforts in many States

9 to supplement funding in poor school districts, the

10 General Accounting Office found that wealthier

11 school districts in 37 States had more total funding

12 than poor school districts in the 1991–1992 school

13 year. On average, wealthy school districts had about

14 24 percent more total funding per weighted pupil

15 than poor school districts. It is in the national inter16 est that children from low-income families be pro17 vided with opportunities to achieve to the best of

18 their ability in order to become productive, contrib19 uting members of society. Additional Federal re20 sources should be committed to implement effective

21 reforms and improve the quality of education in low22 income rural and inner-city schools.

23 (10) Coordinated national actions to lower class

24 size, raise student and teacher standards, and re25 build school facilities are also needed to help address
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1 high school and college dropout rates, which have in2 volved over 500,000 students each year in high

3 school and 28 percent of college freshmen, of whom

4 a disproportionate number are Hispanic Americans.

5 (11) Meeting the challenges of the 21st century

6 will require the involvement of all Americans, includ7 ing public officials, educators, parents, business and

8 community leaders, and students. Encouraging ac9 tive community participation is essential for the suc10 cess of students in the 21st century.

11 TITLE I—HELPING COMMU12 NITIES RENOVATE AMERICA’S

13 SCHOOLS

14 SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE.

15 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Public School Con16 struction Act of 1998’’.

17 SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

18 Congress makes the following findings:

19 (1) The General Accounting Office has per20 formed a comprehensive survey of the Nation’s pub21 lic elementary and secondary school facilities and

22 has found severe levels of disrepair in all areas of

23 the United States.

24 (2) The General Accounting Office has con25 cluded that more than 14,000,000 children attend
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1 schools in need of extensive repair or replacement,

2 7,000,000 children attend schools with life safety

3 code violations, and 12,000,000 children attend

4 schools with leaky roofs.

5 (3) The General Accounting Office has found

6 the problem of crumbling schools transcends demo7 graphic and geographic boundaries. At 38 percent of

8 urban schools, 30 percent of rural schools, and 29

9 percent of suburban schools, at least one building is

10 in need of extensive repair or should be completely

11 replaced.

12 (4) The condition of school facilities has a di13 rect affect on the safety of students and teachers

14 and on the ability of students to learn. Academic re15 search has provided a direct correlation between the

16 condition of school facilities and student achieve17 ment. At Georgetown University, researchers have

18 found the test scores of students assigned to schools

19 in poor condition can be expected to fall 10.9 per20 centage points below the test scores of students in

21 buildings in excellent condition. Similar studies have

22 demonstrated up to a 20 percent improvement in

23 test scores when students were moved from a poor

24 facility to a new facility.
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1 (5) The General Accounting Office has found

2 most schools are not prepared to incorporate modern

3 technology in the classroom. Forty-six percent of

4 schools lack adequate electrical wiring to support the

5 full-scale use of technology. More than a third of

6 schools lack the requisite electrical power. Fifty-six

7 percent of schools have insufficient phone lines for

8 modems.

9 (6) The Department of Education has reported

10 that elementary and secondary school enrollment, al11 ready at a record high level, will continue to grow

12 over the next 10 years, and that in order to accom13 modate this growth, the United States will need to

14 build an additional 6,000 schools.

15 (7) The General Accounting Office has deter16 mined the cost of bringing schools up to good, over17 all condition to be $112,000,000,000, not including

18 the cost of modernizing schools to accommodate

19 technology, or the cost of building additional facili20 ties needed to meet record enrollment levels.

21 (8) Schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs

22 (BIA) for Native American children are also in dire

23 need of repair and renovation. The General Account24 ing Office has reported that the cost of total inven25 tory repairs needed for BIA facilities is
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1 $754,000,000. The December 1997 report by the

2 Comptroller General of the United States states

3 that, ‘‘Compared with other schools nationally, BIA

4 schools are generally in poorer physical condition,

5 have more unsatisfactory environmental factors,

6 more often lack key facilities requirements for edu7 cation reform, and are less able to support computer

8 and communications technology.’’.

9 (9) State and local financing mechanisms have

10 proven inadequate to meet the challenges facing to11 day’s aging school facilities. Large numbers of local

12 educational agencies have difficulties securing fi13 nancing for school facility improvement.

14 (10) The Federal Government has provided re15 sources for school construction in the past. For ex16 ample, between 1933 and 1939, the Federal Govern17 ment assisted in 70 percent of all new school con18 struction.

19 (11) The Federal Government can support ele20 mentary and secondary school facilities without

21 interfering in issues of local control, and should help

22 communities leverage additional funds for the im23 provement of elementary and secondary school facili24 ties.
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1 SEC. 103. EXPANSION OF INCENTIVES FOR PUBLIC

2 SCHOOLS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IV of subchapter U of chap4 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to

5 incentives for education zones) is amended to read as fol6 lows:

7 ‘‘PART IV—INCENTIVES FOR QUALIFIED PUBLIC

8 SCHOOL MODERNIZATION BONDS

‘‘Sec. 1397E. Credit to holders of qualified public school modernization bonds.

‘‘Sec. 1397F. Qualified zone academy bonds.

‘‘Sec. 1397G. Qualified school construction bonds.

9 ‘‘SEC. 1397E. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED PUBLIC

10 SCHOOL MODERNIZATION BONDS.

11 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of a tax12 payer who holds a qualified public school modernization

13 bond on the credit allowance date of such bond which oc14 curs during the taxable year, there shall be allowed as a

15 credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for such

16 taxable year the amount determined under subsection (b).

17 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the credit

19 determined under this subsection with respect to any

20 qualified public school modernization bond is the

21 amount equal to the product of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the credit rate determined by the Sec2 retary under paragraph (2) for the month in

3 which such bond was issued, multiplied by

4 ‘‘(B) the face amount of the bond held by

5 the taxpayer on the credit allowance date.

6 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—During each calendar

7 month, the Secretary shall determine a credit rate

8 which shall apply to bonds issued during the follow9 ing calendar month. The credit rate for any month

10 is the percentage which the Secretary estimates will

11 on average permit the issuance of qualified public

12 school modernization bonds without discount and

13 without interest cost to the issuer.

14 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION BASED ON AMOUNT OF TAX.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The credit allowed under

16 subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed

17 the excess of—

18 ‘‘(A) the sum of the regular tax liability

19 (as defined in section 26(b)) plus the tax im20 posed by section 55, over

21 ‘‘(B) the sum of the credits allowable

22 under part IV of subchapter A (other than sub23 part C thereof, relating to refundable credits).

24 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED CREDIT.—If the

25 credit allowable under subsection (a) exceeds the
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1 limitation imposed by paragraph (1) for such taxable

2 year, such excess shall be carried to the succeeding

3 taxable year and added to the credit allowable under

4 subsection (a) for such taxable year.

5 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED PUBLIC SCHOOL MODERNIZATION

6 BOND; CREDIT ALLOWANCE DATE.—For purposes of this

7 section—

8 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED PUBLIC SCHOOL MODERNIZA9 TION BOND.—The term ‘qualified public school mod10 ernization bond’ means—

11 ‘‘(A) a qualified zone academy bond, and

12 ‘‘(B) a qualified school construction bond.

13 ‘‘(2) CREDIT ALLOWANCE DATE.—The term

14 ‘credit allowance date’ means, with respect to any

15 issue, the last day of the 1-year period beginning on

16 the date of issuance of such issue and the last day

17 of each successive 1-year period thereafter.

18 ‘‘(e) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

19 part—

20 ‘‘(1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

21 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given to

22 such term by section 14101 of the Elementary and

23 Secondary Education Act of 1965. Such term in24 cludes the local educational agency that serves the
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1 District of Columbia but does not include any other

2 State agency.

3 ‘‘(2) BOND.—The term ‘bond’ includes any ob4 ligation.

5 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the

6 District of Columbia and any possession of the

7 United States.

8 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITY.—The term

9 ‘public school facility’ shall not include any stadium

10 or other facility primarily used for athletic contests

11 or exhibitions or other events for which admission is

12 charged to the general public.

13 ‘‘(f) CREDIT INCLUDED IN GROSS INCOME.—Gross

14 income includes the amount of the credit allowed to the

15 taxpayer under this section and the amount so included

16 shall be treated as interest income.

17 ‘‘(g) BONDS HELD BY REGULATED INVESTMENT

18 COMPANIES.—If any qualified public school modernization

19 bond is held by a regulated investment company, the credit

20 determined under subsection (a) shall be allowed to share21 holders of such company under procedures prescribed by

22 the Secretary.

23 ‘‘SEC. 1397F. QUALIFIED ZONE ACADEMY BONDS.

24 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED ZONE ACADEMY BOND.—For pur25 poses of this part—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified zone

2 academy bond’ means any bond issued as part of an

3 issue if—

4 ‘‘(A) 95 percent or more of the proceeds of

5 such issue are to be used for a qualified pur6 pose with respect to a qualified zone academy

7 established by a local educational agency,

8 ‘‘(B) the bond is issued by a State or local

9 government within the jurisdiction of which

10 such academy is located,

11 ‘‘(C) the issuer—

12 ‘‘(i) designates such bond for purposes

13 of this section,

14 ‘‘(ii) certifies that it has written as15 surances that the private business con16 tribution requirement of paragraph (2) will

17 be met with respect to such academy, and

18 ‘‘(iii) certifies that it has the written

19 approval of the local educational agency

20 for such bond issuance, and

21 ‘‘(D) the term of each bond which is part

22 of such issue does not exceed 15 years.

23 ‘‘(2) PRIVATE BUSINESS CONTRIBUTION RE24 QUIREMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para2 graph (1), the private business contribution re3 quirement of this paragraph is met with respect

4 to any issue if the local educational agency that

5 established the qualified zone academy has writ6 ten commitments from private entities to make

7 qualified contributions having a present value

8 (as of the date of issuance of the issue) of not

9 less than 10 percent of the proceeds of the

10 issue.

11 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS.—For

12 purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘quali13 fied contribution’ means any contribution (of a

14 type and quality acceptable to the local edu15 cational agency) of—

16 ‘‘(i) equipment for use in the qualified

17 zone academy (including state-of-the-art

18 technology and vocational equipment),

19 ‘‘(ii) technical assistance in developing

20 curriculum or in training teachers in order

21 to promote appropriate market driven tech22 nology in the classroom,

23 ‘‘(iii) services of employees as volun24 teer mentors,
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1 ‘‘(iv) internships, field trips, or other

2 educational opportunities outside the acad3 emy for students, or

4 ‘‘(v) any other property or service

5 specified by the local educational agency.

6 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED ZONE ACADEMY.—The term

7 ‘qualified zone academy’ means any public school (or

8 academic program within a public school) which is

9 established by and operated under the supervision of

10 a local educational agency to provide education or

11 training below the postsecondary level if—

12 ‘‘(A) such public school or program (as the

13 case may be) is designed in cooperation with

14 business to enhance the academic curriculum,

15 increase graduation and employment rates, and

16 better prepare students for the rigors of college

17 and the increasingly complex workforce,

18 ‘‘(B) students in such public school or pro19 gram (as the case may be) will be subject to the

20 same academic standards and assessments as

21 other students educated by the local educational

22 agency,

23 ‘‘(C) the comprehensive education plan of

24 such public school or program is approved by

25 the local educational agency, and
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1 ‘‘(D)(i) such public school is located in an

2 empowerment zone or enterprise community

3 (including any such zone or community des4 ignated after the date of the enactment of this

5 section), or

6 ‘‘(ii) there is a reasonable expectation (as

7 of the date of issuance of the bonds) that at

8 least 35 percent of the students attending such

9 school or participating in such program (as the

10 case may be) will be eligible for free or reduced11 cost lunches under the school lunch program es12 tablished under the National School Lunch Act.

13 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED PURPOSE.—The term ‘quali14 fied purpose’ means, with respect to any qualified

15 zone academy—

16 ‘‘(A) constructing, rehabilitating, or repair17 ing the public school facility in which the acad18 emy is established,

19 ‘‘(B) providing equipment for use at such

20 academy,

21 ‘‘(C) developing course materials for edu22 cation to be provided at such academy, and

23 ‘‘(D) training teachers and other school

24 personnel in such academy.
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1 ‘‘(5) TEMPORARY PERIOD EXCEPTION.—A bond

2 shall not be treated as failing to meet the require3 ment of paragraph (1)(A) solely by reason of the

4 fact that the proceeds of the issue of which such

5 bond is a part are invested for a reasonable tem6 porary period (but not more than 36 months) until

7 such proceeds are needed for the purpose for which

8 such issue was issued. Any earnings on such pro9 ceeds during such period shall be treated as proceeds

10 of the issue for purposes of applying paragraph

11 (1)(A).

12 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES13 IGNATED.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is a national zone

15 academy bond limitation for each calendar year.

16 Such limitation is—

17 ‘‘(A) $400,000,000 for 1998,

18 ‘‘(B) $1,400,000,000 for 1999,

19 ‘‘(C) $1,400,000,000 for 2000, and

20 ‘‘(D) except as provided in paragraph (3),

21 zero after 2000.

22 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION.—

23 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION AMONG STATES.—

24 ‘‘(i) 1998 LIMITATION.—The national

25 zone academy bond limitation for calendar
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1 year 1998 shall be allocated by the Sec2 retary among the States on the basis of

3 their respective populations of individuals

4 below the poverty line (as defined by the

5 Office of Management and Budget).

6 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION AFTER 1998.—The

7 national zone academy bond limitation for

8 any calendar year after 1998 shall be allo9 cated by the Secretary among the States in

10 the manner prescribed by section

11 1397G(d); except that, in making the allo12 cation under this clause, the Secretary

13 shall take into account Basic Grants at14 tributable to large local educational agen15 cies (as defined in section 1397G(e)).

16 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION TO LOCAL EDU17 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—The limitation amount

18 allocated to a State under subparagraph (A)

19 shall be allocated by the State education agency

20 to qualified zone academies within such State.

21 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATION SUBJECT TO LIMITA22 TION AMOUNT.—The maximum aggregate face

23 amount of bonds issued during any calendar

24 year which may be designated under subsection

25 (a) with respect to any qualified zone academy
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1 shall not exceed the limitation amount allocated

2 to such academy under subparagraph (B) for

3 such calendar year.

4 ‘‘(3) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If

5 for any calendar year—

6 ‘‘(A) the limitation amount under this sub7 section for any State, exceeds

8 ‘‘(B) the amount of bonds issued during

9 such year which are designated under sub10 section (a) with respect to qualified zone acad11 emies within such State,

12 the limitation amount under this subsection for such

13 State for the following calendar year shall be in14 creased by the amount of such excess. The preceding

15 sentence shall not apply if such following calendar

16 year is after 2002.

17 ‘‘SEC. 1397G. QUALIFIED SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BONDS.

18 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND.—

19 For purposes of this part, the term ‘qualified school con20 struction bond’ means any bond issued as part of an issue

21 if—

22 ‘‘(1) 95 percent or more of the proceeds of such

23 issue are to be used for the construction, rehabilita24 tion, or repair of a public school facility,
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1 ‘‘(2) the bond is issued by a State or local gov2 ernment within the jurisdiction of which such school

3 is located,

4 ‘‘(3) the issuer designates such bond for pur5 poses of this section, and

6 ‘‘(4) the term of each bond which is part of

7 such issue does not exceed 15 years.

8 Rules similar to the rules of section 1397F(a)(5) shall

9 apply for purposes of paragraph (1).

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES11 IGNATED.—The maximum aggregate face amount of

12 bonds issued during any calendar year which may be des13 ignated under subsection (a) by any issuer shall not exceed

14 the sum of—

15 ‘‘(1) the limitation amount allocated under sub16 section (d) for such calendar year to such issuer,

17 and

18 ‘‘(2) if such issuer is a large local educational

19 agency (as defined in subsection (e)) or is issuing on

20 behalf of such an agency, the limitation amount allo21 cated under subsection (e) for such calendar year to

22 such agency.

23 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF BONDS

24 DESIGNATED.—There is a national qualified school con-
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1 struction bond limitation for each calendar year. Such lim2 itation is—

3 ‘‘(1) $9,700,000,000 for 1999,

4 ‘‘(2) $9,700,000,000 for 2000, and

5 ‘‘(3) except as provided in subsection (f), zero

6 after 2000.

7 ‘‘(d) 50 PERCENT OF LIMITATION ALLOCATED

8 AMONG STATES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Fifty percent of the limita10 tion applicable under subsection (c) for any calendar

11 year shall be allocated among the States under para12 graph (2) by the Secretary. The limitation amount

13 allocated to a State under the preceding sentence

14 shall be allocated by the State education agency to

15 issuers within such State and such allocations may

16 be made only if there is an approved State applica17 tion.

18 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The amount to

19 be allocated under paragraph (1) for any calendar

20 year shall be allocated among the States in propor21 tion to the respective amounts each such State re22 ceived for Basic Grants under subpart 2 of part A

23 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu24 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.) for the

25 most recent fiscal year ending before such calendar
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1 year. For purposes of the preceding sentence, Basic

2 Grants attributable to large local educational agen3 cies (as defined in subsection (e)) shall be dis4 regarded.

5 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

7 adjust the allocations under this subsection for

8 any calendar year for each State to the extent

9 necessary to ensure that the sum of—

10 ‘‘(i) the amount allocated to such

11 State under this subsection for such year,

12 and

13 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate amounts allocated

14 under subsection (e) to large local edu15 cational agencies in such State for such

16 year,

17 is not less than an amount equal to such

18 State’s minimum percentage of 50 percent of

19 the national qualified school construction bond

20 limitation under subsection (c) for the calendar

21 year.

22 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM PERCENTAGE.—A State’s

23 minimum percentage for any calendar year is

24 the minimum percentage described in section

25 1124(d) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
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1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6334(d)) for

2 such State for the most recent fiscal year end3 ing before such calendar year.

4 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATIONS TO CERTAIN POSSES5 SIONS.—The amount to be allocated under para6 graph (1) to any possession of the United States

7 other than Puerto Rico shall be the amount which

8 would have been allocated if all allocations under

9 paragraph (1) were made on the basis of respective

10 populations of individuals below the poverty line (as

11 defined by the Office of Management and Budget).

12 In making other allocations, the amount to be allo13 cated under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by the

14 aggregate amount allocated under this paragraph to

15 possessions of the United States.

16 ‘‘(5) APPROVED STATE APPLICATION.—For

17 purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘approved State

18 application’ means an application which is approved

19 by the Secretary of Education and which includes—

20 ‘‘(A) the results of a recent publicly-avail21 able survey (undertaken by the State with the

22 involvement of local education officials, mem23 bers of the public, and experts in school con24 struction and management) of such State’s
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1 needs for public school facilities, including de2 scriptions of—

3 ‘‘(i) health and safety problems at

4 such facilities,

5 ‘‘(ii) the capacity of public schools in

6 the State to house projected enrollments,

7 and

8 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the public

9 schools in the State offer the physical in10 frastructure needed to provide a high-qual11 ity education to all students, and

12 ‘‘(B) a description of how the State will al13 locate to local educational agencies, or other14 wise use, its allocation under this subsection to

15 address the needs identified under subpara16 graph (A), including a description of how it

17 will—

18 ‘‘(i) give highest priority to localities

19 with the greatest needs, as demonstrated

20 by inadequate school facilities coupled with

21 a low level of resources to meet those

22 needs,

23 ‘‘(ii) use its allocation under this sub24 section to assist localities that lack the fis25 cal capacity to issue bonds on their own,
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1 including but not limited to issuance of

2 bonds by the State on behalf of such local3 ities, and

4 ‘‘(iii) ensure that its allocation under

5 this subsection is used only to supplement,

6 and not supplant, the amount of school

7 construction, rehabilitation, and repair in

8 the State that would have occurred in the

9 absence of such allocation.

10 Any allocation under paragraph (1) by a State edu11 cation agency shall be binding if such agency reason12 ably determined that the allocation was in accord13 ance with the plan approved under this paragraph.

14 ‘‘(e) 50 PERCENT OF LIMITATION ALLOCATED

15 AMONG LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Fifty percent of the limita17 tion applicable under subsection (c) for any calendar

18 year shall be allocated under paragraph (2) by the

19 Secretary among local educational agencies which

20 are large local educational agencies for such year.

21 No qualified school construction bond may be issued

22 by reason of an allocation to a large local edu23 cational agency under the preceding sentence unless

24 such agency has an approved local application.
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1 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The amount to

2 be allocated under paragraph (1) for any calendar

3 year shall be allocated among large local educational

4 agencies in proportion to the respective amounts

5 each such agency received for Basic Grants under

6 subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary and

7 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331

8 et seq.) for the most recent fiscal year ending before

9 such calendar year.

10 ‘‘(3) LARGE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

11 For purposes of this section, the term ‘large local

12 educational agency’ means, with respect to a cal13 endar year, any local educational agency if such

14 agency is—

15 ‘‘(A) among the 100 local educational

16 agencies with the largest numbers of children

17 aged 5 through 17 from families living below

18 the poverty level, as determined by the Sec19 retary using the most recent data available

20 from the Department of Commerce that are

21 satisfactory to the Secretary, or

22 ‘‘(B) 1 of not more than 25 local edu23 cational agencies (other than those described in

24 clause (i)) that the Secretary of Education de25 termines (based on the most recent data avail-
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1 able satisfactory to the Secretary) are in par2 ticular need of assistance, based on a low level

3 of resources for school construction, a high level

4 of enrollment growth, or such other factors as

5 the Secretary deems appropriate.

6 ‘‘(4) APPROVED LOCAL APPLICATION.—For

7 purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘approved local

8 application’ means an application which is approved

9 by the Secretary of Education and which includes—

10 ‘‘(A) the results of a recent publicly-avail11 able survey (undertaken by the local educational

12 agency with the involvement of school officials,

13 members of the public, and experts in school

14 construction and management) of such agency’s

15 needs for public school facilities, including de16 scriptions of—

17 ‘‘(i) the overall condition of the local

18 educational agency’s school facilities, in19 cluding health and safety problems,

20 ‘‘(ii) the capacity of the agency’s

21 schools to house projected enrollments, and

22 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the agency’s

23 schools offer the physical infrastructure

24 needed to provide a high-quality education

25 to all students,
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1 ‘‘(B) a description of how the local edu2 cational agency will use its allocation under this

3 subsection to address the needs identified under

4 subparagraph (A), and

5 ‘‘(C) a description of how the local edu6 cational agency will ensure that its allocation

7 under this subsection is used only to supple8 ment, and not supplant, the amount of school

9 construction, rehabilitation, or repair in the lo10 cality that would have occurred in the absence

11 of such allocation.

12 A rule similar to the rule of the last sentence of sub13 section (d)(5) shall apply for purposes of this para14 graph.

15 ‘‘(f) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If for

16 any calendar year—

17 ‘‘(1) the amount allocated under subsection (d)

18 to any State, exceeds

19 ‘‘(2) the amount of bonds issued during such

20 year which are designated under subsection (a) pur21 suant to such allocation,

22 the limitation amount under such subsection for such

23 State for the following calendar year shall be increased

24 by the amount of such excess. A similar rule shall apply

25 to the amounts allocated under subsection (e). The sub-
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1 section shall not apply if such following calendar year is

2 after 2002.’’.

3 (b) REPORTING.—Subsection (d) of section 6049 of

4 such Code (relating to returns regarding payments of in5 terest) is amended by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(8) REPORTING OF CREDIT ON QUALIFIED

8 PUBLIC SCHOOL MODERNIZATION BONDS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub10 section (a), the term ‘interest’ includes amounts

11 includible in gross income under section

12 1397E(f) and such amounts shall be treated as

13 paid on the credit allowance date (as defined in

14 section 1397E(d)(2)).

15 ‘‘(B) REPORTING TO CORPORATIONS,

16 ETC.—Except as otherwise provided in regula17 tions, in the case of any interest described in

18 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, subsection

19 (b)(4) of this section shall be applied without

20 regard to subparagraphs (A), (H), (I), (J), (K),

21 and (L)(i).

22 ‘‘(C) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Sec23 retary may prescribe such regulations as are

24 necessary or appropriate to carry out the pur25 poses of this paragraph, including regulations
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1 which require more frequent or more detailed

2 reporting.’’

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—

4 (1) The table of parts for subchapter U of

5 chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the

6 item relating to part IV and inserting the following

7 new item:

‘‘Part IV. Incentives for qualified public school modernization

bonds.’’.

8 (2) Part V of subchapter U of chapter 1 of

9 such Code is amended by redesignating both section

10 1397F and the item relating thereto in the table of

11 sections for such part as section 1397H.

12 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

15 shall apply to obligations issued after December 31,

16 1998.

17 (2) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ZONE ACAD18 EMY BOND HOLDERS.—The repeal of the limitation

19 of section 1397E of the Internal Revenue Code of

20 1986 (as in effect on the day before the date of the

21 enactment of this Act) to eligible taxpayers (as de22 fined in subsection (d)(6) of such section) shall

23 apply to obligations issued after December 31, 1997.
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1 SEC. 104. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING FUNDING

2 FOR BIA SCHOOL FACILITIES.

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

4 (1) the Bureau of Indian Affairs operates one

5 of only two federally-run school systems; and

6 (2) there is a clear Federal responsibility to en7 sure that the more than 50,000 students attending

8 these schools have decent, safe schools.

9 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

10 Senate that—

11 (1) at a minimum, an additional $32,200,000

12 should be provided, for a total of at least

13 $86,600,000 in fiscal year 1999, to begin construc14 tion of 3 new Bureau of Indian Affairs school facili15 ties and to increase funds available for the improve16 ment and repair of existing facilities; and

17 (2) In addition, Congress should consider enact18 ing legislation to establish other funding mechanisms

19 that would leverage federal investments on behalf of

20 Bureau of Indian Affairs schools in order to address

21 the serious construction backlog which exists at trib22 al schools.

23 TITLE II—REDUCING CLASS SIZE

24 SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

25 Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) Qualified teachers in small classes can pro2 vide students with more individualized attention,

3 spend more time on instruction and less on other

4 tasks, cover more material effectively, and are better

5 able to work with parents to help the parents further

6 their children’s education.

7 (2) Rigorous research has shown that students

8 attending small classes in the early grades make

9 more rapid educational progress than the students in

10 larger classes, and that those achievement gains per11 sist through at least the 8th grade. For example:

12 (A) In a landmark 4-year experimental

13 study of class size reduction in grades kinder14 garten through grade 3 in Tennessee, research15 ers found that students in smaller classes

16 earned significantly higher scores on basic skills

17 tests in all 4 years and in all types of schools,

18 including urban, rural, and suburban schools.

19 (B) After 2 years in reduced class sizes,

20 students in the Flint, Michigan Public School

21 District improved their reading scores by 44

22 percent.

23 (3) The benefits of smaller classes are greatest

24 for lower-achieving, minority, poor, and inner-city

25 children. One study found that urban 4th-graders in
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•S 1708 IS

smaller than average classes were 3 1 ⁄4 of a school

2 year ahead of their counterparts in larger than aver3 age classes.

4 (4) Smaller classes allow teachers to identify

5 and work sooner with students who have learning

6 disabilities and, potentially, can reduce those stu7 dents’ need for special education services in the later

8 grades.

9 (5) Students in smaller classes are able to be10 come more actively engaged in learning than their

11 peers in large classes.

12 (6) Efforts to improve educational outcomes by

13 reducing class sizes in the early grades are likely to

14 be successful only if well-qualified teachers are hired

15 to fill additional classroom positions and if teachers

16 received intensive, continuing training in working ef17 fectively in smaller classroom settings.

18 (7) State certified and licensed teachers help

19 ensure high quality instruction in the classroom.

20 (8) According to the National Commission on

21 Teaching and America’s Future, the most important

22 influence on student achievement is the expertise of

23 their teachers. One New York City study comparing

24 high- and low-achieving elementary schools with

25 similar student characteristics, found that more than
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1 90 percent of the variation in achievement in mathe2 matics and reading was due to differences in teacher

3 qualifications.

4 (9) Our Nation needs more qualified teachers to

5 meet changing demographics and to help students

6 meet high standards, as demonstrated by the follow7 ing:

8 (A) Over the next decade, our Nation will

9 need to hire over 2,000,000 teachers to meet in10 creasing student enrollments and teacher retire11 ments.

12 (B) 1 out of 4 high school teachers does

13 not have a major or minor in the main subject

14 that they teach. This is true for more than 30

15 percent of mathematics teachers.

16 (C) In schools with the highest minority

17 enrollments, students have less than a 50 per18 cent chance of getting a science or mathematics

19 teacher who holds a degree in that field.

20 (D) In 1991, 25 percent of new public

21 school teachers had not completed the require22 ments for a license in their main assignment

23 field. This number increased to 27 percent by

24 1994, including 11 percent who did not have a

25 license.
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1 (10) We need more teachers who are adequately

2 prepared for the challenges of the 21st century

3 classroom, as demonstrated by the fact that—

4 (A) 50 percent of teachers have little or no

5 experience using technology in the classroom;

6 and

7 (B) in 1994, only 10 percent of new teach8 ers felt they were prepared to integrate new

9 technology into their instruction.

10 (11) Teacher quality cannot be further com11 promised to meet the demographic demand for new

12 teachers and smaller class sizes. Comprehensive im13 provements in teacher preparation and development

14 programs are also necessary to ensure the effective15 ness of new teachers and the academic success of

16 students in the classroom. These comprehensive im17 provements should include encouraging more institu18 tions of higher education that operate teacher prepa19 ration programs to work in partnership with local

20 educational agencies and elementary and secondary

21 schools; providing more hands-on, classroom experi22 ence to prospective teachers; creating mentorship

23 programs for new teachers; providing high quality

24 content area training and classroom skills for new
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•S 1708 IS

1 teachers; and training teachers to incorporate tech2 nology into the classroom.

3 (12) Efforts should be made to provide prospec4 tive teachers with a greater knowledge of instruc5 tional programs that are research-based, of dem6 onstrated effectiveness, replicable in diverse and

7 challenging circumstances, and supported by net8 works of experts and experienced practitioners.

9 (13) Several States have begun serious efforts

10 to reduce class sizes in the early elementary grades,

11 but these actions may be impeded by financial limi12 tations or difficulties in hiring qualified teachers.

13 (14) The Federal Government can assist in this

14 effort by providing funding for class size reductions

15 in grades 1 through 3, and by helping to ensure that

16 the new teachers brought into the classroom are

17 well-qualified.

18 SEC. 202. PURPOSE.

19 It is the purpose of this title to help States and local

20 educational agencies recruit, train, and hire 100,000 addi21 tional qualified teachers in order to reduce class sizes na22 tionally, in grades 1 through 3, to an average of 18 stu23 dents per classroom and to improve teaching in the early

24 grades so that all students can learn to read independently

25 and well by the end of the third grade.
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1 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this title $1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

4 $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $1,500,000,000 for

5 fiscal year 2001, $1,700,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

6 $1,735,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, $2,300,000,000 for

7 fiscal year 2004, and $2,800,000,000 for each of the fiscal

8 years 2005 through 2008.

9 SEC. 204. ALLOTMENT TO STATES.

10 (a) ENTITLEMENT TO PAYMENTS.—Each State hav11 ing an application approved under section 205 shall be en12 titled to a payment for a fiscal year in an amount equal

13 to the State’s allotment under this section.

14 (b) RESERVATIONS.—

15 (1) EVALUATIONS.—From the amount made

16 available under section 203 for a fiscal year, the

17 Secretary may reserve not more than

18 $1,000,000,000 to carry out the evaluation required

19 under section 213.

20 (2) OUTLYING AREAS; SECRETARY OF THE IN21 TERIOR.—From the amount made available under

22 section 203 and not reserved under paragraph (1)

23 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not

24 more than 1 percent for payments to the outlying

25 areas, and to the Secretary of the Interior for

26 schools supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
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1 for activities that are consistent with the purpose of

2 this title. The Secretary shall allocate funds among

3 the outlying areas and the Secretary of the Interior

4 in accordance with their respective needs for assist5 ance under this title.

6 (c) ALLOTMENT FORMULA.—From the amount made

7 available under section 203 and not reserved under sub8 section (b) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to

9 each State an amount that bears the same relationship

10 to the amount so made available as the amount of funding

11 the State received under part A of title I of the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

13 6311 et seq.) for the previous fiscal year bears to the total

14 amount so received by all States for the previous fiscal

15 year.

16 (d) REALLOTMENT.—If the Secretary determines

17 that any amount of a State’s allotment under this section

18 will not be available to the State for such year, then the

19 Secretary shall reallot such amount to other States in the

20 same manner as the funds were originally allotted under

21 subsection (b).

22 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this title:

23 (1) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying

24 area’’ means the United States Virgin Islands,
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1 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of

2 the Northern Mariana Islands.

3 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

4 the several States of the United States, the District

5 of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

6 SEC. 205. APPLICATIONS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The State educational agency of

8 each State desiring to receive funding under this title shall

9 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in

10 such form, and containing such information as the Sec11 retary may require.

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The application shall include—

13 (1) the State educational agency’s goals for

14 using funds under this title to reduce average class

15 sizes in grades 1 through 3, including a description

16 of current class sizes in the schools served by local

17 educational agencies of the State;

18 (2) a description of the State educational agen19 cy’s plan for using funds under this title to reduce

20 average class size in grades 1 through 3;

21 (3) a description of the State educational agen22 cy’s plan for allocating funds provided under this

23 title within the State, including an estimate of the

24 impact of those allocations on class sizes in the

25 schools served by individual local educational agen-
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1 cies of the State, and an assurance that the State

2 educational agency will make this plan public within

3 the State;

4 (4) a description of the State educational agen5 cy’s strategy for improving teacher quality in grades

6 1 through 3 within the State (which may be a part

7 of a broader strategy to improve teacher quality gen8 erally), including actions the State educational agen9 cy will take to ensure the availability, within the

10 State, of a sufficient number of qualified teachers to

11 fill the positions created with funds provided under

12 this title, which strategy shall describe how the State

13 educational agency and the local educational agen14 cies within the State will ensure that—

15 (A) individuals hired for positions created

16 with funds provided under this title will meet

17 all of the State’s requirements for full certifi18 cation or licensure of teachers, or will make sat19 isfactory progress toward achieving such full

20 certification or licensure (which may include in21 dividuals pursuing alternative routes to such

22 certification or licensure); and

23 (B) individuals hired for positions created

24 with funds provided under this title, and other

25 teachers affected by the funds, will be prepared
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1 to teach reading effectively to all children and

2 will take part in continuing professional devel3 opment in effective reading instruction and in

4 teaching effectively in small classes; and

5 (5) a description of how the State will use other

6 funds, including other Federal funds, to improve

7 teacher quality and reading achievement within the

8 State.

9 (c) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve an ap10 plication of a State if such application meets the require11 ments of this section and holds reasonable promise of

12 achieving the purpose of this title.

13 SEC. 206. WITHIN STATE ALLOCATIONS.

14 (a) RESERVATION.—From the amount allotted to a

15 State under this title for a fiscal year, the State may re16 serve a total of not more than 1 percent for the adminis17 trative costs of the State educational agency under this

18 title and for State level activities described in section 207.

19 (b) ALLOCATIONS.—

20 (1) MINIMUM ALLOCATION TO CERTAIN LOCAL

21 EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount allot23 ted to a State under this title and not reserved

24 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year, the State

25 shall make an allocation to each local edu-
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1 cational agency in the State that is described in

2 subparagraph (B) in an amount that bears the

3 same relation to such amount as the amount

4 such local educational agency received under

5 part A of title I of the Elementary and Second6 ary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et

7 seq.) for the preceding fiscal year bears to the

8 total amount all such local educational agencies

9 in the State received under such part for the

10 preceding year.

11 (B) CERTAIN LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN12 CIES.—A local educational agency referred to in

13 subparagraph (A) is a local educational agency

14 that serves schools in which—

15 (i) at least 30 percent of the children

16 enrolled in the schools are from families

17 with incomes below the poverty line; or

18 (ii) at least 10,000 of the children en19 rolled in the schools are from such fami20 lies.

21 (2) REMAINDER.—From the amount allotted to

22 a State under this title, not reserved under sub23 section (a), and that remain after application of

24 paragraph (1), the State shall make allocations to

25 local educational agencies in the State—
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1 (A) on the basis of—

2 (i) the local educational agencies’ cur3 rent or projected class sizes in grades 1

4 through 3; and

5 (ii) the relative ability of the local

6 educational agencies to finance class size

7 reductions with local educational agency

8 funds; and

9 (B) in such a manner as to enable local

10 educational agencies to reduce their average

11 class sizes, in grades 1 through 3, to the aver12 age class size proposed in the State application.

13 (3) CLARIFICATION REGARDING CERTAIN LOCAL

14 EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—A State shall make an

15 allocation under paragraph (1) to a local educational

16 agency described in paragraph (1)(B) and may make

17 an allocation under paragraph (2) to a local edu18 cational agency described in paragraph (1)(B).

19 SEC. 207. STATE LEVEL ACTIVITIES.

20 From the amount reserved under section 206(a) for

21 a fiscal year the State may carry out activities described

22 in the application submitted under section 205. Such ac23 tivities may include—

24 (1) revision of State teacher certification or li25 censure standards so as to promote the hiring of
45

•S 1708 IS

1 teachers with high academic and pedagogical quali2 fications;

3 (2) developing opportunities for professional de4 velopment for teachers with respect to skills and

5 strategies that enable the teachers to teach effec6 tively in smaller classes; and

7 (3) monitoring of activities assisted under this

8 title and other administrative costs associated with

9 the operation of the activities.

10 SEC. 208. LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.

11 (a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—

13 (A) HIRING OF TEACHERS.—Each local

14 educational agency receiving an allocation under

15 this title shall use the allocated funds, with the

16 exception of funds reserved under paragraph

17 (2), for the payment of the salaries and benefits

18 for the additional teachers needed to reduce

19 class sizes in grades 1 through 3 to the level de20 termined as the State goal in the State applica21 tion under section 205(b)(1).

22 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—A local educational

23 agency that has achieved the goal described in

24 section 205(b)(1) may use the allocated

25 funds—
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1 (i) to make further class size reduc2 tions in grades 1 through 3;

3 (ii) to reduce class sizes in grades

4 other than grades 1 through 3; or

5 (iii) to undertake quality improvement

6 activities such as the activities described in

7 paragraph (2).

8 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—From the amount allo9 cated to a local educational agency under this title

10 for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2003, the

11 local educational agency shall use not less than 10

12 percent for activities to ensure that teachers hired

13 with funds provided under this title, and other

14 teachers who will teach smaller classes as a result of

15 activities assisted under this title, are prepared to

16 teach reading and other subjects effectively in a

17 smaller class setting. Activities undertaken in pur18 suit of this objective may include—

19 (A) training teachers in effective reading

20 instructional practices (including practices for

21 teaching students who experience initial dif22 ficulty in learning to read) and in effective in23 structional practices in small classes;

24 (B) paying the costs for teachers hired in

25 grades 1 through 3 who are not fully certified
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1 or licensed to obtain full certification or licen2 sure;

3 (C) providing mentors or other support for

4 teachers in grades 1 through 3;

5 (D) establishing programs for the recruit6 ment of qualified teachers for schools that have

7 a shortage of certified or licensed teachers; and

8 (E) providing scholarships or other aid to

9 paraprofessionals or undergraduate students in

10 order to expand the pool of qualified teachers.

11 (b) SCHOOLS.—Each school receiving funds from a

12 local educational agency under this title may use the funds

13 to produce for the public an annual report regarding the

14 school’s—

15 (1) student achievement in reading (using the

16 assessments the State uses under section 1111(b) of

17 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)), and disaggregating data

19 in the same manner as required under such section;

20 (2) average class size; and

21 (3) teacher qualifications for teachers of grades

22 1 through 3.

23 SEC. 209. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

24 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.—In order to receive an allo25 cation under this title for a fiscal year a local educational
48

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1 agency shall provide matching funds, in the amount deter2 mined under subsection (b), to pay the cost of activities

3 assisted under this title for the fiscal year.

4 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of matching funds re5 quired under subsection (a)—

6 (1) in the case of a local educational agency for

7 which the number of children from families with in8 comes below the poverty line that are served by the

9 agency is 25 percent or greater than 25 percent of

10 all students served by the agency, 0 percent of the

11 cost of activities to be assisted under this title;

12 (2) in the case of a local educational agency for

13 which such number is 20 percent or greater but less

14 than 25 percent, shall be not less than 10 percent

15 of the costs;

16 (3) in the case of a local educational agency for

17 which such number is 15 percent or greater but less

18 than 20 percent, shall be not less than 20 percent

19 of the costs;

20 (4) in the case of a local educational agency for

21 which such number is 10 percent or greater but less

22 than 15 percent, shall be not less than 30 percent

23 of the costs;

24 (5) in the case of a local educational agency for

25 which such number is 5 percent or greater but less
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1 than 10 percent, shall be not less than 40 percent

2 of the costs; and

3 (6) in the case of a local educational agency for

4 which such number is less than 5 percent, shall be

5 not less than 50 percent of the costs.

6 (c) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of determining

7 the applicable matching requirement under subsection (a),

8 the Secretary shall determine the number of children from

9 families with incomes below the poverty line for individual

10 local educational agencies using the most recent data

11 available from the Bureau of the Census.

12 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—A local educational agency shall

13 meet the matching requirement determined in subsection

14 (b) through cash expenditures from non-Federal sources,

15 except that schools operating schoolwide programs under

16 section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

17 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) may use funds provided

18 under part A of title I of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6311 et

19 seq.) to meet the requirements, if the use of the part A

20 funds is consistent with the school plan under section

21 1112 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6312) and the requirements

22 of sections 1120(c) and 1120A(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C.

23 6321(c) and 6322).
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1 SEC. 210. CARRYOVER.

2 Notwithstanding section 421 of the General Edu3 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1225), funds made avail4 able to a local educational agency under this title shall

5 be available for obligation until September 30, 2008.

6 SEC. 211. ACCOUNTABILITY.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after a

8 local educational agency receives funds under this title, the

9 local educational agency shall provide to the State edu10 cational agency evidence of the achievement of the local

11 educational agencies’ students, in grades 1 through 4, in

12 reading. Such evidence shall be—

13 (1) in a form determined by the State edu14 cational agency;

15 (2) based on the assessments local educational

16 agencies are using under section 1111(b) of the Ele17 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

18 U.S.C. 6311(b)) or on comparably rigorous State or

19 local assessments; and

20 (3) disaggregated to show the achievement of

21 students in individual schools and of students in dif22 ferent racial groups, by gender, by family income,

23 and for students with disabilities and with limited

24 English proficiency.

25 (b) IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—Each local educational

26 agency serving a school that fails to show improvement
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1 in reading achievement after receiving funds under this

2 title for 3 years shall develop a program improvement plan

3 that is approved by the Secretary. The program improve4 ment plan may provide for—

5 (1) additional technical assistance, in the school

6 failing to show improvement, in order to change cur7 riculum, change school leadership, or more effec8 tively use staff;

9 (2) implementation, in the school, of com10 prehensive, research-based education reform models;

11 or

12 (3) any other improvement strategy agreed to

13 by the local educational agency and the Secretary.

14 (c) REDUCTION OF ALLOCATION.—Beginning with

15 fiscal year 2004, a State educational agency shall reduce

16 the allocation to any local educational agency under sec17 tion 206 for a fiscal year if the State educational agency

18 determines that the local educational agency serves a

19 school which fails to show improvement in reading achieve20 ment. The reduction shall be in an amount equivalent to

21 the amount made available to the school for the fiscal year

22 for which the determination is made.

23 SEC. 212. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Proportionate to the number of

25 children who are enrolled in private elementary schools or
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1 secondary schools in the area served by a local educational

2 agency that receives an allocation under this title, the local

3 educational agency shall provide for the inclusion of pri4 vate school teachers in the professional development activi5 ties the local educational agencies and the schools served

6 by such agency carries out under this title.

7 (b) WAIVER.—If, by reason of any provision of law,

8 a local educational agency is prohibited from providing for

9 the professional development activities for private school

10 teachers and administrators as required by subsection (a),

11 or if the Secretary determines that the agency is unwilling

12 or unable to do so, the Secretary shall waive that require13 ment and shall use a portion of the agency’s grant to ar14 range for the provision of those activities.

15 SEC. 213. EVALUATION.

16 From the amount reserved under section 204(b)(1),

17 the Secretary shall carry out an evaluation of—

18 (1) the extent to which the activities assisted

19 under this title achieve the objective of reducing

20 class sizes;

21 (2) the impact of the activities on reading

22 achievement;

23 (3) the quality of the teachers hired with funds

24 provided under this title;
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1 (4) the success of State and local efforts to use

2 funds provided under this title to ensure high quality

3 teaching; and

4 (5) the effectiveness of the requirements under

5 section 211.

6 TITLE III—STRENGTHENING THE

7 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY

8 LEARNING CENTERS ACT

9 SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

10 Congress makes the following findings:

11 (1) In 1998 youth face far greater social risks

12 than did their parents and grandparents.

13 (2) Students spend more of their waking hours

14 alone, without supervision, companionship, or activ15 ity, than the students spend in school.

16 (3) Nearly 5,000,000 children are home alone

17 after school each week.

18 (4) Eighth graders left home alone after school

19 report greater use of cigarettes, alcohol, and mari20 juana than those in adult-supervised settings.

21 (5) Children who attend quality after-school

22 programs—

23 (A) experience positive effects on their de24 velopment;
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1 (B) have better peer relations, emotional

2 adjustment, grades, and conduct in school than

3 their peers in other care arrangements;

4 (C) have more learning opportunities and

5 enrichment activities then their peers in other

6 care arrangements; and

7 (D) are less likely to engage in delinquent

8 activity.

9 (6) Most juvenile delinquent activity, whether

10 committing criminal acts or becoming victims of

11 criminal acts, occurs between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

12 (7) From 1988 to 1992, juvenile arrests for vio13 lent acts increased by 50 percent.

14 (8) 1996 survey data indicate that parents

15 overwhelmingly support using school-based after16 school programs for learning and enrichment pro17 grams, but 70 percent of all public elementary and

18 secondary schools do not offer school-based after19 school programs.

20 (9) Parents want more than babysitting from

21 school-based after-school programs, and computer

22 classes, art and music courses, tutoring, and com23 munity service rank high as activities for after24 school programs.
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1 (10) In 1993, only 33 percent of schools in low2 income neighborhoods offered before- and after3 school programs, and only 50 percent of schools in

4 affluent neighborhoods offered such programs. Ef5 forts are clearly needed to expand access to such

6 programs both in schools and in other community7 based settings.

8 SEC. 302. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.

9 Section 10903 of the 21st Century Community

10 Learning Centers Act (20 U.S.C. 8243) is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)—

12 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting

13 ‘‘TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES FOR

14 SCHOOLS’’ after ‘‘SECRETARY’’; and

15 (B) by striking ‘‘rural and inner-city pub16 lic’’ and all that follows through ‘‘or to’’ and in17 serting ‘‘local educational agencies for the sup18 port of public elementary schools or secondary

19 schools, including middle schools, that serve

20 communities with substantial needs for ex21 panded learning opportunities for children and

22 youth in the communities, to enable the schools

23 to establish or’’; and

24 (C) by striking ‘‘a rural or inner-city com25 munity’’ and inserting ‘‘the communities’’;
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1 (2) in subsection (b)—

2 (A) by striking ‘‘States, among’’ and in3 serting ‘‘States and among’’; and

4 (B) by striking ‘‘United States,’’ and all

5 that follows through ‘‘a State’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘United States’’; and

7 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘3’’ and in8 serting ‘‘5’’.

9 SEC. 303. APPLICATIONS.

10 Section 10904 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 8244) is

11 amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub13 section (c);

14 (2) in subsection (a)—

15 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘an

16 elementary or secondary school or consortium’’

17 and inserting ‘‘a local educational agency’’;

18 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or con19 sortium’’;

20 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’

21 after the semicolon;

22 (D) in paragraph (3)—

23 (i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting

24 ‘‘, including programs under the Child
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1 Care and Development Block Grant Act of

2 1990’’ after ‘‘maximized’’;

3 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking

4 ‘‘or consortium’’; and

5 (iii) in subparagraph (E)—

6 (I) in the matter preceding clause

7 (i), by striking ‘‘or consortium’’; and

8 (II) in clause (ii), by striking the

9 period and inserting a semicolon;

10 (E) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(4) information demonstrating that the local

12 educational agency will—

13 ‘‘(A) provide not less than 50 percent of

14 the annual cost of the activities assisted under

15 the project from sources other than funds pro16 vided under this part, which contribution may

17 be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated;

18 ‘‘(B) provide not more than 25 percent of

19 the annual cost of the activities assisted under

20 the project from funds provided by the Sec21 retary under other Federal programs that per22 mit the use of those other funds for activities

23 assisted under the project; and

24 ‘‘(C) subject to subparagraph (B), in the

25 fourth and fifth years of a local educational
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1 agency’s project, increase the percentage of the

2 annual cost of activities assisted under the

3 project that is paid for from sources other than

4 the funds provided under this part; and

5 ‘‘(5) an assurance that the local educational

6 agency, in each year of the project, will maintain the

7 agency’s fiscal effort, from non-Federal sources,

8 from the preceding fiscal year for the activities the

9 local educational agency provides with funds pro10 vided under this part.’’; and

11 (F) in the second sentence of the matter

12 preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Each

13 such’’ and inserting the following:

14 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each such’’; and

15 (3) in subsection (c) (as redesignated by para16 graph (1)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘offer a broad selection of

18 services which’’; and

19 (B) by striking ‘‘the community’’ and in20 serting ‘‘low-income communities’’.

21 SEC. 304. USES OF FUNDS.

22 Section 10905 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 8245) is

23 amended—

24 (1) by amending the matter preceding para25 graph (1) to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), grants

2 awarded under this part may be used to establish or ex3 pand community learning centers that provide 1 or more

4 of the following activities:’’;

5 (2) in subsection (a)(11) (as redesignated by

6 paragraph (1)), by inserting ‘‘, and job skills prepa7 ration’’ after ‘‘placement’’;

8 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (a) (as

9 redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following:

10 ‘‘(14) Mentoring programs.

11 ‘‘(15) Academic assistance programs.

12 ‘‘(16) Drug, alcohol, and gang prevention ac13 tivities.’’; and

14 (4) by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES.—Each grant awarded under

16 this part—

17 ‘‘(1) shall be used for an activity described in

18 subsection (a) that—

19 ‘‘(A) offers expanded learning opportuni20 ties for children and youth in the community;

21 and

22 ‘‘(B) is conducted before or after school,

23 except that a supportive activity, such as train24 ing, may be conducted during school if the sup25 portive activity relates directly to the activity
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1 described in subsection (a) that is conducted be2 fore or after school; and

3 ‘‘(2) may be used for an activity described in

4 subsection (a) that does not offer expanded learning

5 opportunities for children and youth in the commu6 nity.’’.

7 SEC. 305. CONTINUATION AWARDS UNDER CURRENT STAT8 UTE.

9 Such Act (20 U.S.C. 8241 et seq.) is further amend10 ed—

11 (1) by redesignating sections 10906 and 10907

12 (20 U.S.C. 8246 and 8247) as sections 10907 and

13 10908, respectively; and

14 (2) by inserting after section 10906 the follow15 ing:

16 ‘‘SEC. 10907. CONTINUATION AWARDS.

17 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec18 retary may use funds appropriated under this part to

19 make payments under this part for projects that were

20 funded under this part for fiscal year 1998, under the

21 terms and conditions that applied to the original grants

22 for the projects.’’.

23 SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 Section 10908 of such Act (as redesignated by section

25 305(1)) (20 U.S.C. 8247) is amended by striking
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1 ‘‘$20,000,000 for fiscal year 1995’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘$200,000,000 for fiscal year 1999’’.

3 SEC. 307. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 This title, and the amendments made by this title,

5 shall take effect on October 1, 1998.

6 TITLE IV—PROMOTING EFFEC7 TIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN

8 THE CLASSROOM

9 SEC. 401. FINDINGS.

10 Congress makes the following findings:

11 (1) Integrating technology effectively in the

12 classroom must be a central component of preparing

13 students for the 21st century. The American people

14 recognize that such effective integration must be a

15 priority. 74 percent of Americans agree that comput16 ers improve the quality of education, and 48 percent

17 believe their community’s public schools offer too lit18 tle access to adequate computers and technology.

(2) Nearly 1 19 ⁄4 of the jobs added to the economy

20 in 1997 were in technology-based occupations, ac21 cording to the Department of Labor. By the year

22 2000, 60 percent of all jobs in the Nation will re23 quire skills in computer and network use. In 1998,

24 just 22 percent of workers have those skills.
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1 (3) The effective use of technology in the class2 room improves students’ mastery of basic skills, test

3 scores, writing, and engagement in school. With

4 these gains come decreases in dropout rates and de5 creases in attendance and discipline problems.

6 (4) 78 percent of our Nation’s schools had ac7 cess to the Internet in 1997, representing an in8 crease from 35 percent in 1994, so our Nation is

9 making progress. But only 27 percent of our Na10 tion’s classrooms are wired for the Internet and far

11 fewer classrooms in high-poverty areas are so wired.

12 (5) The fund providing funds for the provision

13 of telecommunications services under section 254(h)

14 of the Telecommunications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

15 254(h)) (popularly known as the ‘‘E-rate’’), will pro16 vide up to $2,250,000,000 annually in discounts to

17 assure every American school and library access to

18 telecommunications services, internal connections,

19 and Internet access. More than 20,000 schools and

20 libraries have applied to participate in the program

21 assisted under such section.

22 (6) The National Governors’ Association has

23 urged Congress to maintain the integrity of the fund

24 described in paragraph (5), including providing ade-
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1 quate funding for the fund currently and in the fu2 ture.

3 (7) Congress has established important pro4 grams such as the School Technology Resource

5 Grants Program, the National Challenge Grants for

6 Technology in Education Program, and the Star

7 Schools Program to help schools obtain equipment.

8 Federal assistance has helped many communities in9 tegrate technology into the classroom. Additional re10 sources are needed to continue this effort, as well as

11 an effort to help train teachers in using technology

12 effectively.

13 (8) The Nation’s Governors and Congress have

14 endorsed a set of National Education Goals which

15 include preparation of teachers in the use of emerg16 ing technologies.

17 (9) According to a 1997 study, only 10 percent

18 of new teachers reported they felt prepared to use

19 technology in their classrooms, reflecting inadequate

20 training in the use of classroom educational tech21 nology during undergraduate preparation.

22 (10) There is no national standard for the ca23 pabilities of teachers in the use of emerging tech24 nologies, though several voluntary standards have

25 been developed by the National Council for the Ac-
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1 creditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and are

2 being developed by the Interstate Teacher Assess3 ment and Support Consortium (INTASC) and the

4 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

5 (NBPTS).

6 (11) In 1996, when asked to rate the greatest

7 barriers to integrating the Internet into the class8 room, 50 percent of teachers cited the lack of time

9 to train.

10 (12) Only 14 percent of public school teachers

11 had more than 8 hours of training (in in-service or

12 professional development programs) in the area of

13 educational technology in the 1993–1994 school

14 year.

15 (13) Among teachers who report having 1 or

16 more computer systems readily available at school,

17 only 62 percent use a computer regularly for in18 struction.

19 (14) The State of Florida has addressed the

20 issue of funding by requiring that recipients of its

21 educational technology grants set aside at least 30

22 percent of all grant funds for staff development.

23 (15) For most teachers, it will take between 3

24 and 6 years to fully integrate information tech25 nologies into the teachers’ teaching activities, and
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1 ongoing technological changes are likely to ensure

2 that the learning curve never levels off completely.

3 (16) 18 States require preservice technology

4 training, while only 2 require in-service technology

5 training, and 32 other States require a course or

6 some equivalent experience in educational tech7 nology.

8 (17) A majority of teachers felt they needed

9 training in order to adequately use a personal com10 puter (56 percent), standard computer software (61

11 percent), multimedia software (62 percent), instruc12 tional videodiscs (67 percent), and on-line databases

13 (72 percent).

14 (18) Accessing Federal funding for technology15 related teacher development is difficult. Many pro16 grams allow State or local grantees to decide wheth17 er to fund teacher technology training. Often tech18 nology-related training and, in general, professional

19 development are viewed as niceties rather than ne20 cessities.

21 (19) In academic year 1996–1997, school dis22 tricts around the Nation reported that only 6 per23 cent of the technology budget (or $4.18 per pupil),

24 was spent on technology training for teachers. This
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represents only 1 1 ⁄5 of the 30 percent recommended

2 by education experts.

3 (20) Congress must provide new funding to

4 help ensure that all new teachers are prepared to in5 tegrate technology effectively into the curriculum,

6 and can understand the new styles of teaching and

7 learning facilitated by technology.

8 (21) Most colleges of education do not ade9 quately prepare teachers to use educational tech10 nology. While many college students are technology

11 literate, incoming teachers require focused training

12 on how to use new technologies to enhance student

13 learning.

14 SEC. 402. INCREASED FUNDING FOR EDUCATION TECH15 NOLOGY.

16 It is the sense of Congress that it is in our Nation’s

17 interest for the Federal Government to invest at least

18 $4,000,000,000 in funding for Department of Education

19 technology programs between fiscal years 1999 and 2003.

20 SEC. 403. LIMITING INTERNET ACCESS TO INAPPROPRIATE

21 MATERIALS.

22 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the

23 ‘‘Internet Access Protection Act of 1998’’.
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1 (b) SUPERVISION POLICIES REQUIRED.—Section 254

2 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(l) SUPERVISION POLICIES REQUIRED.—

5 ‘‘(1) POLICY STATEMENT.—An elementary

6 school, secondary school, or library that obtains

7 services or preferential rates or treatment under this

8 section shall establish a policy with respect to access

9 to material that is inappropriate for children.

10 ‘‘(2) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONED ON

11 STATEMENT.—After January 1, 1999, an elemen12 tary school, secondary school, or library may not

13 continue to be eligible to obtain services or pref14 erential rates or treatment under this section unless

15 such school or library has filed a copy of the state16 ment required by paragraph (1) with the Commis17 sion or an entity designated by the Commission.’’.

18 SEC. 404. SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE GRANTS.

19 Subsection (a) of section 3132 of the Technology for

20 Education Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6842(a)) is amended

21 by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—Each State educational agen23 cy receiving a grant under paragraph (1) shall give

24 priority to awarding grants under this section to

25 local educational agencies that—
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1 ‘‘(A) serve the highest number or percent2 age of children in poverty, and have the lowest

3 level of technology resources, in the State; or

4 ‘‘(B) provide evidence in the application

5 submitted under section 3133 of a substantial

6 commitment to train teachers and staff in the

7 effective use of education technology, as dem8 onstrated by devoting not less than 30 percent

9 of the funds to be provided under the grant for

10 preparing teachers to use technology as a tool

11 in conducting lessons and academic instruction

12 in core academic subject areas.

13 ‘‘(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—In order to

14 receive a grant under paragraph (1) for any of the

15 fiscal years 1999 through 2004, a State educational

16 agency shall provide matching funds from non-Fed17 eral sources, in an amount equal to the amount of

18 the grant for the fiscal year, which matching funds

19 shall be used to award grants to local educational

20 agencies under this section for the fiscal year.

21 ‘‘(5) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant

22 funds provided to a State educational agency under

23 paragraph (1) shall be used to supplement and not

24 supplant State and local funds available to carry out

25 the activities assisted under this section.
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1 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Each State educational agency

2 receiving a grant under this section shall annually

3 report to the Secretary regarding—

4 ‘‘(A) the criteria the State educational

5 agency uses to award grants to local edu6 cational agencies under this section; and

7 ‘‘(B) the types of grants so awarded and a

8 description of the activities assisted under each

9 grant so awarded.’’.

10 SEC. 405. NATIONAL CHALLENGE GRANTS FOR TECH11 NOLOGY IN EDUCATION.

12 Section 3136 of the Technology for Education Act

13 of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6846) is amended by adding at the

14 end the following:

15 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL PRIORITY RULE.—Notwithstanding

16 any other provision of this section, the Secretary shall use

17 the greater of $30,000,000 or 30 percent of the amount

18 available to carry out this section for a fiscal year to award

19 grants to consortia that—

20 ‘‘(1) demonstrate in the application submitted

21 under subsection (d) that the consortia will focus the

22 activities assisted under the grant on professional

23 development in the effective use of learning tech24 nologies;
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1 ‘‘(2) have as members of the consortia depart2 ments of education within an institution of higher

3 education; and

4 ‘‘(3) demonstrate in the application that the

5 consortia have carried out, and are carrying out, the

6 professional development described in paragraph

7 (1).’’.

8 SEC. 406. TECHNOLOGY TRAINING FOR PRESERVICE AND

9 NOVICE TEACHERS.

10 Subpart 2 of part A of the Technology for Education

11 Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6841 et seq.) is amended by add12 ing at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 3138. TECHNOLOGY TRAINING FOR PRESERVICE AND

14 NOVICE TEACHERS.

15 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to

16 promote the training of teaching candidates and faculty

17 at schools of education within institutions of higher edu18 cation regarding the effective use and integration of edu19 cation technology in teaching academic subjects to elemen20 tary and secondary school students.

21 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—From amounts appropriated under

22 subsection (g), the Secretary may award grants, on a com23 petitive basis, to eligible partnerships to enable the eligible

24 partnerships to carry out the authorized activities de25 scribed in subsection (d).
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1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS DEFINED.—In this

2 section the term ‘eligible partnership’ means a partnership

3 between 2 or more of the following:

4 ‘‘(1) A State educational agency.

5 ‘‘(2) A school of education within an institution

6 of higher education.

7 ‘‘(3) A local educational agency that frequently

8 employs individuals recently trained at a school de9 scribed in paragraph (2).

10 ‘‘(4) A nonprofit or other organization.

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds under

12 this section may be used—

13 ‘‘(1) to integrate technology into academic sub14 ject areas;

15 ‘‘(2) to provide training to faculty in effective

16 use of learning technologies in raising student

17 achievement and individualizing instruction to best

18 take advantage of reduced class size;

19 ‘‘(3) to expand exemplary practices within

20 States, with respect to the effective use and integra21 tion of technology in teaching;

22 ‘‘(4) to disseminate effective practices nation23 wide, with respect to the effective use and integra24 tion of technology in teaching;
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1 ‘‘(5) to support strategies such as intensive

2 summer institutes, faculty development and curricu3 lum reform, and hands-on experience pairing

4 preservice and master teachers, with respect to the

5 effective use and integration of technology in teach6 ing; and

7 ‘‘(6) to target 1 or more core subject areas, and

8 focus on specific grade levels, or to target school dis9 tricts with high rates of novice teachers, with respect

10 to the effective use and integration of technology in

11 teaching.

12 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—In awarding

14 grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure

15 an equitable distribution among eligible partnerships

16 serving different geographic areas of the United

17 States.

18 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall

19 carry out activities under this section and section

20 3136 through the same office or entity within the

21 Department.

22 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of this subpart

23 other than this section shall not apply to this section.

24 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

25 are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal
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1 year 1999 and such sums as may be necessary for each

2 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

3 SEC. 407. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND EVALUATION.

4 The Education for Technology Act of 1994 (20

5 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

6 the following:

7 ‘‘Subpart 5—Research, Development, and Education

8 ‘‘SEC. 3152. EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PRO9 GRAM.

10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es11 tablish funding, to be managed jointly by the Director of

12 the Office of Educational Research and Improvement and

13 the Chairperson of the National Science Foundation, to

14 support innovative research in education technology, devel15 opment of research results in partnership with the private

16 sector, and evaluation that identifies the most effective ap17 proaches of implementing education technology.

18 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts ap19 propriated under subsection (f), the Director of the Office

20 of Educational Research and Improvement and the Chair21 person of the National Science Foundation, in conjunction

22 with the Secretary’s adviser on education technology, shall

23 establish a program to be known as the ‘Education Tech24 nology Innovation and Evaluation Program’. Such pro25 gram shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) support early stage research on new edu2 cation technologies and innovative methods of inte3 grating technology and academic instruction;

4 ‘‘(2) promote joint product development, adop5 tion, and dissemination of high-quality software and

6 instructional approaches with private sector firms;

7 ‘‘(3) conduct evaluative research into the effec8 tiveness of integrating learning technology in raising

9 student achievement; and

10 ‘‘(4) demonstrate how technology can be used

11 to individualize instruction and capitalize on smaller

12 teacher-student ratios.

13 ‘‘(c) EVALUATIVE RESEARCH.—The evaluative re14 search described in subsection (b)(3) shall be performed

15 by conducting a large scale study comparing learning for

16 students exposed to education technology to a control

17 group.

18 ‘‘(d) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—The activities de19 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b)

20 (including the study described in subsection (c)) shall be

21 conducted through awards made on a competitive basis to

22 consortia of research entities.

23 ‘‘(e) OBJECTIVE AND ADMINISTRATION.—The Direc24 tor of the Office of Educational Research and Improve25 ment and the Chairperson of the National Science Foun-
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1 dation shall ensure an appropriate balance among the ac2 tivities described in subsection (b) in order to promote the

3 long-term growth and effectiveness of technology in

4 schools.

5 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

6 are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal

7 year 1999 and such sums as may be necessary for each

8 of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

9 TITLE V—EDUCATION

10 OPPORTUNITY ZONES

11 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Education Oppor13 tunity Zones Act of 1998’’.

14 SEC. 502. FINDINGS.

15 Congress makes the following findings:

16 (1) Students in schools that have high con17 centrations of poor children begin school academi18 cally behind their peers in other schools and are

19 often unable to close the gap as they progress

20 through school. In later years, these students are

21 less likely than other students to attend a college or

22 university and more likely to experience unemploy23 ment.

24 (2) Because of high levels of poverty in the

25 communities served by the schools and low levels of
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1 resources, many children who attend these high-pov2 erty schools lack access to the challenging curricula,

3 well-prepared teachers, and high expectations that

4 make better achievement possible.

5 (3) Data from the National Assessment of Edu6 cational Progress consistently show large gaps be7 tween the achievement of students in high-poverty

8 schools and those in other schools. High-poverty

9 schools will face special challenges in preparing their

10 students to succeed on new and more challenging

11 national and State assessments, such as voluntary

12 national tests and the assessments States are devel13 oping under the programs assisted under the Goals

14 2000: Educate America Act and section 1111(b) of

15 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

16 1965.

17 (4) Recent reports have found that students in

18 urban school districts are more likely to attend high19 poverty schools, are more frequently taught by

20 teachers possessing only an emergency or temporary

21 license, and are less likely to score above the basic

22 level on achievement tests, than are nonurban stu23 dents.

24 (5) High-poverty rural schools, because of their

25 isolation, small size, and low level of resources, also
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1 face particular challenges. For example, teachers in

2 rural school districts are nearly twice as likely as

3 nonrural teachers to provide instruction in 3 or more

4 subjects.

5 (6) Notwithstanding these general trends, some

6 high-poverty school districts have shown that they

7 can achieve outstanding educational outcomes, if

8 they adopt challenging standards for all children, ex9 pand public school choice for parents and students,

10 adopt the other components of systemic educational

11 reform, and hold schools, staff, and students ac12 countable for results. Generally, however, these suc13 cesses have occurred in isolated schools rather than

14 throughout a school district.

15 (7) School districts that have established the

16 policies needed to attain widespread student achieve17 ment gains, and have attained those gains in some

18 of their schools, can serve as models for other school

19 districts desiring to improve the academic achieve20 ment of their students. The Federal Government can

21 spur more school districts in this direction by provid22 ing targeted resources for urban and rural school

23 districts willing to carry out solid plans for improv24 ing the educational achievement of all their children.
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1 SEC. 503. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this title is to assist urban and rural

3 local educational agencies that—

4 (1) have high concentrations of children from

5 low-income families; and

6 (2) are implementing standards-based systemic

7 reform strategies in order to pursue further reforms

8 and raise the academic achievement of all their stu9 dents.

10 SEC. 504. DEFINITIONS.

11 In this title:

12 (1) CENTRAL CITY.—The term ‘‘central city’’

13 includes the area defined as such by the Director of

14 the Office of Management and Budget.

15 (2) HIGH-POVERTY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN16 CY.—The term ‘‘high-poverty local educational agen17 cy’’ means a local educational agency in which the

18 percentage of children, ages 5 through 17, from

19 families with incomes below the poverty level is 20

20 percent or greater or the number of such children

21 exceeds 10,000.

22 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

23 ‘‘local educational agency’’—

24 (A) has the meaning given that term in

25 subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 14101(18)
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1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801(18)); and

3 (B) includes elementary schools and sec4 ondary schools operated or supported by the

5 Bureau of Indian Affairs.

6 (4) METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.—The

7 term ‘‘metropolitan statistical area’’ includes the

8 area defined as such by the Director of the Office

9 of Management and Budget.

10 (5) RURAL LOCALITY.—The term ‘‘rural local11 ity’’ means a locality that is not within a metropoli12 tan statistical area and has a population of less than

13 25,000.

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

15 the several States of the United States, the District

16 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

17 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin

18 Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern

19 Mariana Islands.

20 (7) URBAN LOCALITY.—The term ‘‘urban local21 ity’’ means a locality that is—

22 (A) a central city of a metropolitan statis23 tical area; or

24 (B) any other locality within a metropoli25 tan statistical area if that area has a population
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1 of at least 400,000 or a population density of

2 at least 6,000 persons per square mile.

3 SEC. 505. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

4 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From funds appro5 priated under section 515 for a fiscal year, the Secretary

6 may award grants to eligible local educational agencies de7 scribed in subsection (b) to enable the local educational

8 agencies to carry out the authorized activities described

9 in section 510.

10 (b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—A

11 local educational agency is eligible to receive a grant under

12 this title if the local educational agency is—

13 (1) a high-poverty local educational agency;

14 (2) located in, or serves, an urban locality or a

15 rural locality; and

16 (3) serves schools located in a State.

17 (c) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—The Sec18 retary shall determine which local educational agencies

19 meet the eligibility requirements of subsection (a) on the

20 basis of the most recent data that are satisfactory to the

21 Secretary.

22 SEC. 506. APPLICATIONS.

23 (a) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—In order to receive a

24 grant under this title, an eligible local educational agency

25 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time,
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1 in such form, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may require.

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The application shall include evi4 dence that the local educational agency—

5 (1) has begun to raise student achievement

6 throughout the school district or, at a minimum, in

7 schools that have implemented a comprehensive

8 school improvement strategy that the Secretary de9 termines has the potential to raise student achieve10 ment, as measured through the assessments States

11 develop under title III of the Goals 2000: Educate

12 America Act (20 U.S.C. 5881 et seq.) or section

13 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu14 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), or

15 through comparably rigorous State or local assess16 ments (which shall include data disaggregated to

17 show the achievement of students in different racial

18 groups, by gender, and for students with disabilities

19 and with limited English proficiency);

20 (2) expects all students to achieve to challeng21 ing State or local content standards, has developed

22 or is developing assessments aligned with those

23 standards, and has implemented or is implementing

24 comprehensive reform policies designed to assist all

25 children to achieve to the standards;
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1 (3) has entered into a partnership that—

2 (A) includes the active involvement of rep3 resentatives of local educational organizations

4 and agencies, parents, and other members of

5 the community; and

6 (B) is designed to guide the implementa7 tion of the local educational agency’s com8 prehensive reform strategy; and

9 (4) has put or is putting into place effective

10 educational reform policies, including policies that—

11 (A) hold schools accountable for helping all

12 students, including students with limited

13 English proficiency and students with disabil14 ities, reach high academic standards, including

15 by rewarding schools that succeed and provid16 ing technical assistance to schools that fail to

17 make progress (including evidence of the ap18 proach that the local educational agency will

19 take to assist schools that fail to achieve

20 progress toward student achievement goals);

21 (B) require all students, including students

22 with disabilities and students with limited

23 English proficiency, to meet academic stand24 ards, such as standards adopted under section

25 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
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1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 (b)), before

2 being promoted to the next grade level at key

3 transition points in their academic careers or

4 graduating from secondary school, including

5 evidence of the local educational agency’s strat6 egy for providing students with effective, re7 search-based programs and a rich curriculum

8 tied to high standards, and with qualified teach9 ers and class sizes conducive to high student

10 achievement;

11 (C) identify, during the early stages of

12 their academic careers, students who have dif13 ficulty in achieving to high standards, and pro14 vide them, and other students who have failed

15 to meet the standards, with additional learning

16 opportunities, so that the students are able to

17 meet the standards at key transition points in

18 their academic careers;

19 (D) hold teachers and principals account20 able for quality, including the local educational

21 agency’s strategies for ensuring quality

22 through, among other things—

23 (i) development of clearly articulated

24 standards for teachers and school adminis25 trators, and development, in cooperation
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1 with teacher organizations, of procedures

2 for identifying, working with, and, if nec3 essary, fairly and expeditiously removing,

4 teachers who fail to meet the standards

5 (consistent with procedural and substantive

6 due process rights);

7 (ii) implementation of a comprehen8 sive professional development plan for

9 teachers, school employees, and school ad10 ministrators; and

11 (iii) encouraging excellent teaching by,

12 among other things, providing incentives

13 for teachers to obtain certification from

14 the National Board for Professional Teach15 ing Standards; and

16 (E) provide students and parents with ex17 panded choice within public education.

18 (c) DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROGRAM.—The ap19 plication shall also include a description of how the local

20 educational agency will use the grant funds provided

21 under this title, including descriptions of—

22 (1) how the local educational agency will use all

23 available resources (including Federal, State, local,

24 and private resources) to carry out the local edu25 cational agency’s reform strategy;
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1 (2) the specific measures that the local edu2 cational agency proposes to use to provide evidence

3 of future progress in improving student achievement,

4 including the subject areas and grade levels in which

5 the local educational agency will measure that

6 progress, and an assurance that the local edu7 cational agency will collect such student data in a

8 manner that demonstrates the achievement of stu9 dents in different racial groups, by gender, from

10 families with different income levels, and for stu11 dents with disabilities and with limited English pro12 ficiency; and

13 (3) how the local educational agency will con14 tinue the activities carried out under the grant after

15 the grant has expired.

16 SEC. 507. SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS.

17 (a) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, using a peer review

18 process, shall select a local educational agency to receive

19 a grant under this title based on—

20 (1) evidence that—

21 (A) the local educational agency has made

22 progress in improving student achievement, in

23 at least some of the schools served by the local

24 educational agency that enroll concentrations of

25 children from low-income families; or
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1 (B) the local educational agency has put or

2 is putting into place effective educational re3 form policies as described in section 506(b)(4);

4 and

5 (2) the quality of the local educational agency’s

6 plan for carrying out activities under the grant as

7 set forth in the application.

8 (b) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—In approving appli9 cations, the Secretary shall seek to ensure that there is

10 an equitable distribution of grants among—

11 (1) geographic regions of the States;

12 (2) varying sizes of urban local educational

13 agencies; and

14 (3) rural local educational agencies, including

15 rural local educational agencies serving concentra16 tions of Indian children.

17 SEC. 508. PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNATION; TECHNICAL AS18 SISTANCE.

19 (a) DESIGNATION AS EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY

20 ZONE.—The President shall designate the school district

21 served by each local educational agency selected by the

22 Secretary to receive a grant under this title as an ‘‘Edu23 cation Opportunity Zone’’.

24 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The President may

25 instruct Federal agencies to provide grant recipients under
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1 this title with such technical and other assistance as those

2 agencies can make available to enable the recipients to

3 carry out the activities assisted under this title.

4 SEC. 509. AMOUNT AND DURATION OF GRANTS; CONTINU5 ATION AWARDS.

6 (a) GRANT AMOUNTS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In determining the amount

8 of a grant, the Secretary shall consider such factors

9 as—

10 (A) the scope of the activities proposed in

11 the application;

12 (B) the number of students served by the

13 local educational agency who are from low-in14 come families;

15 (C) the number of low-performing schools

16 served by the local educational agency; and

17 (D) the number of students served by the

18 local educational agency who are not reaching

19 State or local standards.

20 (2) INCREASES.—The Secretary may increase

21 the amount of a grant in the second year, in order

22 to permit full implementation of grant activities, ex23 cept that—
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1 (A) the amount of a second-year award

2 shall be not more than 140 percent of the

3 award for the first year;

4 (B) the amount of a third-year award shall

5 be not more than 80 percent of the second-year

6 award;

7 (C) the amount of a fourth-year award

8 shall be not more than 70 percent of the sec9 ond-year award; and

10 (D) the amount of a fifth-year award shall

11 be not more than 50 percent of the second-year

12 award.

13 (b) GRANT DURATION.—Each grant shall be awarded

14 for a period of 3 years, but may be continued for not more

15 than 2 additional years if the local educational agency is

16 achieving the levels of achievement described in subsection

17 (c) before the end of the third year of the grant.

18 (c) EXPECTED LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT AND CON19 TINUATION AWARDS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before receiving an award

21 under this title, each local educational agency shall

22 develop and adopt, with the approval of the Sec23 retary, specific, ambitious levels of achievement that

24 the local educational agency will commit to attaining

25 during the period of the grant.
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1 (2) LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT.—The levels of

2 achievement—

3 (A) shall reflect progress in student aca4 demic achievement;

5 (B) shall also reflect progress in—

6 (i) dropout rates;

7 (ii) attendance; and

8 (iii) such other areas as may be pro9 posed by the local educational agency or

10 the Secretary; and

11 (C) shall provide for the disaggregation of

12 data on the basis of race and gender, and for

13 disabled and limited English proficient stu14 dents.

15 (3) CONTINUATION AWARDS.—The Secretary

16 shall make continuation awards for the 4th and 5th

17 years of a grant only after determining that the local

18 educational agency has achieved the agreed-upon lev19 els of achievement.

20 SEC. 510. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agency

22 shall use grant funds under this title only for activities

23 that support the comprehensive reform efforts described

24 in the local educational agency’s application or that are

25 otherwise consistent with the purpose of this title.
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1 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that may

2 be carried out with funds under this title include—

3 (1) implementing school-performance-informa4 tion systems to measure the performance of schools

5 in educating their students to high standards, main6 taining a safe school environment, and achieving the

7 anticipated school attendance and graduation rates;

8 (2) implementing school district accountability

9 systems that reward schools that raise student

10 achievement and provide assistance to, and ulti11 mately result in comprehensive reforms in and rede12 sign of, schools that fail to do so, including such

13 strategies as technical assistance on school manage14 ment and leadership, intensive professional develop15 ment for school staff, or institution of new instruc16 tional programs that are based on reliable research;

17 (3) providing students with expanded choice

18 and increased curriculum options within public edu19 cation, through such means as open-enrollment poli20 cies, schools within schools, magnet schools, charter

21 schools, distance-learning programs, and opportuni22 ties for secondary school students to take post23 secondary courses;

24 (4) implementing financial incentives for

25 schools to make progress against the goals and
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1 benchmarks the local educational agency has estab2 lished for the program;

3 (5) providing additional learning opportunities

4 to students who are failing, or are at risk of failing,

5 to achieve to high standards, such as after-school,

6 weekend, and summer programs;

7 (6) providing ongoing professional development

8 opportunities to teachers, principals, and other

9 school staff that are tailored to the needs of individ10 ual schools, and aligned with the State or local aca11 demic standards and to the objectives of the pro12 gram carried out under the grant;

13 (7) implementing programs to provide remu14 neration for teachers who earn certification from the

15 National Board for Professional Teaching Stand16 ards;

17 (8) implementing procedures for identifying in18 effective teachers, providing the teachers with assist19 ance to improve their skills and, if there is no im20 provement, fairly and expeditiously removing the

21 teachers from the classroom (consistent with proce22 dural and substantive due process rights);

23 (9) establishing programs to improve the re24 cruitment of qualified teachers;
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1 (10) implementing procedures for selecting and

2 retaining principals who have the ability to provide

3 the school with the leadership needed to raise stu4 dent achievement;

5 (11) strengthening the management of the local

6 educational agency so that all components of man7 agement are focused on improving student achieve8 ment;

9 (12) carrying out activities to build stronger

10 partnerships among schools, parents, local busi11 nesses, and communities; and

12 (13) assessing activities carried out under the

13 grant, including the extent to which the grant is

14 achieving the objectives for which the grant is

15 awarded.

16 SEC. 511. FLEXIBILITY.

17 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS

18 UNDER TITLE I OF THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

19 EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—Each school served by a local

20 educational agency receiving funding under this title shall

21 be considered as meeting the criteria for eligibility to im22 plement a schoolwide program described in section 1114

23 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

24 (20 U.S.C. 6314).
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1 (b) CARRYING OUT SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS.—Each

2 school that meets the criteria for eligibility to implement

3 a schoolwide program pursuant to subsection (a) and that

4 wishes to carry out a schoolwide program shall develop—

5 (1) a plan that satisfies the requirements of

6 section 1114(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary

7 Education Act of 1965; and

8 (2) a program that includes the components of

9 a schoolwide program described in section

10 1114(b)(1) of that Act.

11 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of section 1114

12 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

13 (other than the provisions referred to in subsection (b))

14 shall not apply to a school operating a schoolwide program

15 pursuant to this section.

16 SEC. 512. PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS

17 AND TEACHERS.

18 (a) MATERIALS AND TRAINING.—Proportionate to

19 the number of children who are eligible for assistance

20 under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) and are

22 enrolled in private elementary or secondary schools in the

23 area served by a local educational agency that receives a

24 grant under this title—
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1 (1) if the local educational agency uses funds

2 under this title to develop curricular materials, the

3 local educational agency shall, upon request, make

4 information about those materials available to pri5 vate schools; and

6 (2) if the local educational agency uses funds

7 under this title for teacher and administrator train8 ing, the local educational agency shall, upon request,

9 provide for the participation of teachers and admin10 istrators from private schools in that training.

11 (b) WAIVER.—If, by reason of any provision of law,

12 a local educational agency is prohibited from providing

13 training for private school teachers and administrators as

14 required by subsection (a)(2), or if the Secretary deter15 mines that the agency is unwilling or unable to do so, the

16 Secretary shall waive that requirement and shall use a

17 portion of the agency’s grant to arrange for the provision

18 of that training.

19 SEC. 513. EVALUATION.

20 The Secretary shall carry out an evaluation of the

21 program assisted under this title, that shall address such

22 issues as the extent to which—

23 (1) student achievement increases in local edu24 cational agencies receiving assistance under this

25 title;
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1 (2) local educational agencies receiving assist2 ance under this title expand the choices for students

3 and parents within public education;

4 (3) local educational agencies receiving assist5 ance under this title develop and implement systems

6 to hold schools, teachers, and principals accountable

7 for student achievement; and

8 (4) school staff and leadership receive ongoing

9 professional development aligned with the needs of

10 the school.

11 SEC. 514. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

12 The Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent

13 of the amount appropriated under section 515 for any fis14 cal year for—

15 (1) peer review activities;

16 (2) evaluation of the program under section

17 513 and measurement of the program’s effectiveness

18 in accordance with the amendments made by the

19 Government Performance and Results Act of 1993

20 (Public Law 103–62; 107 Stat. 285);

21 (3) dissemination of research findings, evalua22 tion data, and the experiences of other school dis23 tricts implementing comprehensive school reform;

24 and
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1 (4) technical assistance to local educational

2 agencies receiving grants under this title.

3 SEC. 515. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

5 this title $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, and such

6 sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding

7 fiscal years.

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