II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 696 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding 

the transfer of students from certain schools. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5, 2005 

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

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 regarding the transfer of students from certain 

schools. 

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 ‘‘Rural Schools Geog5 raphy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) There are significant differences between 

9 urban and rural school districts with regard to stu10 dent transportation, distances between schools and 
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1 school districts, and school of choice options. Local 

2 educational agencies (LEAs) in rural areas often 

3 have only 1 school servicing a particular grade-level, 

4 and the distance between these schools is often much 

5 greater than in urban areas. These differences are 

6 not addressed by existing guidelines under the Ele7 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

8 (2) In 2000, rural schools (those in commu9 nities with populations below 2,500) taught 32 per10 cent of the children in the United States, but rural 

11 schools accounted for $5,670,000,000 of the Na12 tion’s spending on school transportation, or nearly 

13 half of such spending. 

14 (3) Rural transportation costs, per-pupil, are 

15 double that of urban transportation costs. As a per16 centage of total spending, rural areas spend 77 per17 cent more than urban areas for education transpor18 tation. 

19 (4) Commutes in rural areas are much more 

20 likely to be on rougher, unpaved roads. This not only 

21 undermines the physical health of the students, but 

22 makes transportation during poor weather much 

23 more difficult or impossible. Students with longer 

24 commutes are more likely to miss school because of 
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1 inclement weather. School attendance is an impor2 tant factor in school performance. 

3 (5) School students who have long commutes 

4 actively avoid advanced and high-level courses be5 cause they do not have time for the extra homework. 

6 This self-imposed restriction retards maximization of 

7 educational potential. 

8 (6) Students with long commutes are less likely 

9 to engage in in-home and out-of-home activities, 

10 such as family dinners, after-school jobs, and ath11 letic or musical extracurricular activities. Participa12 tion in these activities benefits overall educational 

13 progress. 

14 (7) Section 1116(b)(10)(C) of the Elementary 

15 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 instructs that 

16 the lowest achieving children be given priority for 

17 out-of-district transportation. Thus, the negative im18 pacts of long commutes disproportionately affect the 

19 very students who need the most help. 

20 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC21 ONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 

22 Section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316) is amended by add24 ing at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(i) GEOGRAPHY LIMITS.—Notwithstanding sub2 sections (b) and (c), a local educational agency shall not 

3 be required to provide a student the option to transfer to 

4 another school pursuant to this section if providing the 

5 option is impractical due to the distance to be traveled, 

6 a geographical barrier or hazard, the duration of the trav7 el, or an unusually high cost of travel.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

9 The Secretary of Education, not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, shall promulgate 

11 such regulations as the Secretary determines necessary to 

12 implement this Act. 

13 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

14 The amendment made by section 3 shall take effect 

15 on the first July 1 that occurs after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act. 

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