II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3545 

To enhance after-school programs in rural areas of the United States by 

establishing a pilot program to help communities establish and improve 

rural after-school programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 23 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To enhance after-school programs in rural areas of the 

United States by establishing a pilot program to help 

communities establish and improve rural after-school programs. 

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 ‘‘Investment in After5 School Programs Act of 2008’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS. 

2 Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De3 velopment Act is amended by inserting after section 365 

4 (7 U.S.C. 2008) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 366. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS. 

6 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en7 hance after-school programs in rural areas by helping 

8 communities— 

9 ‘‘(1) to establish after-school programs; and 

10 ‘‘(2) to improve existing programs by over11 coming barriers to service. 

12 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM.—The term 

14 ‘after-school program’ means a program that carries 

15 out a broad array of activities during periods when 

16 school is not in session (such as before school, after 

17 school, or during summer recess and other vacation 

18 periods) that advance student academic achievement 

19 and promote positive youth development. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en21 tity’ means a local educational agency (as such term 

22 is defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

23 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 7801)), community-based organization, another pub25 lic or private entity, or a consortium of 2 or more 

26 such agencies, organizations, or entities. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 

2 means an area that is served by an elementary or 

3 secondary school that is designated with a school lo4 cale code of Distant Town, Remote Town, Fringe 

5 Rural, Distant Rural, or Remote Rural, as deter6 mined by the Secretary of Education. 

7 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

9 grants to eligible entities to improve, expand, or es10 tablish after-school programs in rural areas. 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Each grant under this 

12 section shall be in an amount of not less than 

13 $50,000. 

14 ‘‘(d) DURATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) TERM OF GRANT.—The term of a grant 

16 under this section may not be for less than 3 years. 

17 ‘‘(2) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew a 

18 grant under this section for a period of not less than 

19 3 years, based on the performance of the eligible en20 tity during the previous grant term. 

21 ‘‘(e) USES.—As a condition of the receipt of a grant 

22 under this section, an eligible entity shall use the grant 

23 to fund projects and activities described in subsection (c), 

24 including transportation, professional development, trainVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:51 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3545.IS S3545

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1 ing, recruitment and retention of staff, increasing access 

2 to technology, and planning. 

3 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary may use not more 

4 than 1 percent of the funds under this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) to conduct evaluations of the effectiveness 

6 of programs and activities assisted under subsection 

7 (c); and 

8 ‘‘(2) to disseminate the results of those evalua9 tions for the purpose of refining, improving, and 

10 strengthening programs. 

11 ‘‘(g) OUTREACH, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL AS12 SISTANCE.—The Secretary may use not more than 3 per13 cent of the funds made available to carry out this sec14 tion— 

15 ‘‘(1) to conduct outreach, including bidders’ 

16 conferences, to ensure widespread knowledge of the 

17 availability of resources described in subsection (c); 

18 ‘‘(2) to disseminate information on best prac19 tices and successful program models for serving chil20 dren and youth in rural areas; and 

21 ‘‘(3) to provide capacity building, training, and 

22 technical assistance to afterschool programs and 

23 providers in rural areas. 

24 ‘‘(h) APPLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be considered for a 

2 grant under this section, each eligible entity shall 

3 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

4 in such manner, and accompanied by such informa5 tion as the Secretary may require. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

7 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include— 

8 ‘‘(A) a description of the after-school pro9 gram to be funded, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) an assurance that the program 

11 will take place in a safe and easily acces12 sible facility; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a description of how children and 

14 youth participating in the program will 

15 travel safely between the program site and 

16 home; 

17 ‘‘(iii) a description of how the eligible 

18 entity will disseminate information about 

19 the program, including the location of the 

20 program, to the community in a manner 

21 that is understandable and accessible; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) a description of the services to 

23 be provided to children and youth, the 

24 roles and responsibilities of the partners in 

25 providing the services, and how the servVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:51 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3545.IS S3545

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1 ices enhance an existing after-school pro2 gram; 

3 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the proposed pro4 gram was developed, and will be carried out, in 

5 active collaboration with the schools the stu6 dents attend; 

7 ‘‘(C) an assurance that funds provided 

8 under this section will be used to increase the 

9 level of State, local, and other non-Federal 

10 funds that would, in the absence of funds under 

11 this section, be made available for programs 

12 and activities authorized under this section, and 

13 in no case supplant Federal, State, local, or 

14 non-Federal funds; 

15 ‘‘(D) a description of the partnership be16 tween a local educational agency, a community17 based organization, or another public entity or 

18 private entity, if applicable; and 

19 ‘‘(E) such additional assurances as the 

20 Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure 

21 compliance with this section. 

22 ‘‘(i) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

23 applications that propose partnerships between 2 or more 

24 eligible entities. 


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1 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec3 tion— 

4 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

5 ‘‘(2) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

6 ‘‘(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

7 ‘‘(4) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

8 ‘‘(5) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’. 

Æ 


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