I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1743

To amend the Educational Organizational Act to establish an Office of Women’s Equity and to amend part A of title IV of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to encourage gender

equity throughout the education system in the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 20, 1993

Mrs. MINK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the Educational Organizational Act to establish

an Office of Women’s Equity and to amend part A

of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965 to provide grants to encourage gender equity

throughout the education system in the United States.

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

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF WOMEN’S

4 EQUITY.

5 (a) OFFICE OF WOMEN’S EQUITY.—The Department

6 of Education Organization Act is amended—

7 (1) by redesignating section 215 as 216; and
2

•HR 1743 IH

1 (2) by inserting after section 214 the following:

2 ‘‘SEC. 215. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S EQUITY.

3 ‘‘(a) There shall be in the Department, an Office of

4 Women’s Equity, to be administered by a Director of

5 Women’s Equity, who shall be appointed by the Secretary.

6 The Director shall promote, coordinate and evaluate gen7 der equity programs, disseminate information, provide

8 technical assistance, coordinate research activities, and ad9 minister grant programs. The Director shall report di10 rectly to the Secretary, and shall perform such additional

11 functions as the Secretary shall prescribe.

12 ‘‘(b) The Director shall, not later than the final day

13 of each fiscal year, submit a report to the President and

14 the Congress setting forth the programs and activities as15 sisted under the Women’s Educational Equity Act, and

16 provide for the distribution of such report to all interested

17 groups and individuals.’’.

18 (b) ORGANIZATIONAL ENTITY.—For purposes of sec19 tion 413(a) of the Department of Education Organization

20 Act, the Office of Women’s Equity shall be considered to

21 be an organizational entity established under such Act and

22 shall not be subject to the reorganization authority of the

23 Secretary of Education under such section or any other

24 provision of law.
3

•HR 1743 IH

1 SEC. 2. WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL EQUITY PROGRAM.

2 Part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary

3 Education Act of 1965 is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘PART A—WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL EQUITY

5 ‘‘SEC. 4001. SHORT TITLE.

6 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Women’s Educational

7 Equity Act of 1993’.

8 ‘‘SEC. 4002. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

9 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares

10 that—

11 (1) educational programs in the United States

12 are frequently inequitable as such programs relate to

13 women and girls;

14 (2) such inequities limit the full participation of

15 all individuals in American society; and

16 (3) efforts to improve the quality of public edu17 cation also must include efforts to ensure equal ac18 cess to quality education programs for all women

19 and girls.

20 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part is to pro21 vide gender equity in education in the United States, to

22 provide financial assistance to enable educational agencies

23 and institutions to meet the requirements of title IX of

24 the Educational Amendments of 1972, and to provide eq25 uity in education to women and girls who suffer multiple
4

•HR 1743 IH

1 forms of discrimination based on sex, race, ethnic origin,

2 limited English proficiency, disability, or age.

3 ‘‘SEC. 4003. PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED.

4 ‘‘The Director of the Office of Women’s Educational

5 Equity (referred to in this part as the ‘Director’ is author6 ized—

7 ‘‘(1) to promote, coordinate and evaluate gen8 der equity policies, programs, activities and initia9 tives in all Federal education programs and offices;

10 ‘‘(2) to develop, maintain, and disseminate ma11 terials, resources, analyses and research relating to

12 education equity for women and girls;

13 ‘‘(3) to provide information and technical as14 sistance to assure the effective implementation of

15 gender equity programs;

16 ‘‘(4) coordinate gender equity programs and ac17 tivities with other Federal agencies that have juris18 diction over education and related programs;

19 ‘‘(5) to provide grants to develop model equity

20 programs;

21 ‘‘(6) to provide funds for the implementation of

22 equity programs in schools throughout the Nation;

23 and
5

•HR 1743 IH

1 ‘‘(7) to coordinate or provide any other activi2 ties consistent with achieving the purposes of this

3 part.

4 ‘‘SEC. 4004. LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.

5 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized to

6 make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public agen7 cies, private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institu8 tions, including students and community groups, for ac9 tivities designed to achieve the purposes of this part at

10 all levels of education, including preschool, elementary and

11 secondary education, higher education, adult education

12 and vocational and technical education; for the establish13 ment and operation, for a period not exceeding 4 years,

14 of local programs to ensure—

15 ‘‘(1) educational equity for women and girls;

16 ‘‘(2) equal opportunities for both sexes; and

17 ‘‘(3) to conduct activities incident to achieving

18 compliance with title IX of the Education Amend19 ments of 1972.

20 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—Authorized activities under

21 subsection (a) may include—

22 ‘‘(1) introduction into the curriculum and class23 room of curricula, textbooks, and other material de24 signed to achieve equity for women and girls;
6

•HR 1743 IH

1 ‘‘(2) implementation of preservice and inservice

2 training with special emphasis on programs and ac3 tivities designed to provide educational equity for

4 women and girls;

5 ‘‘(3) evaluation of promising or exemplary

6 model programs to assess the ability of such pro7 grams to improve local efforts to advance edu8 cational equity for women and girls;

9 ‘‘(4) implementation of programs and policies

10 to address sexual harassment and violence against

11 women and girls and to ensure that educational in12 stitutions are free from threats to the safety of stu13 dents and personnel;

14 ‘‘(5) implementation of guidance and counseling

15 activities, including career education programs, de16 signed to ensure educational equity for women and

17 girls;

18 ‘‘(6) implementation of nondiscriminatory tests

19 of aptitude and achievement and of alternative as20 sessments that eliminate biased assessment instru21 ments from use;

22 ‘‘(7) implementation of programs to increase

23 educational opportunities, including higher edu24 cation, vocational training, and other educational

25 programs for low-income women; including under-
7

•HR 1743 IH

1 employed and unemployed women and women receiv2 ing Aid to Families with Dependent Children bene3 fits;

4 ‘‘(8) implementation of programs to improve

5 representation of women in educational administra6 tion at all levels; and

7 ‘‘(9) planning, development and initial imple8 mentation of—

9 ‘‘(A) comprehensive plans for implementa10 tion of equity programs in State and local edu11 cational agencies and institutions of higher edu12 cation, including community colleges;

13 ‘‘(B) innovative approaches to school-com14 munity partnerships for educational equity; and

15 ‘‘(C) innovative approaches to equity pro16 grams addressing combined bias, stereotyping,

17 and discrimination on the basis of sex and race,

18 ethnic origin, limited English proficiency, and

19 disability.

20 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION; PARTICIPATION.—A grant may be

21 made, and a contract may be entered into, under this part

22 only upon application to the Secretary, at such time, in

23 such form, and containing or accompanied by such infor24 mation as the Secretary may prescribe. Each such applica25 tion shall—
8

•HR 1743 IH

1 ‘‘(1) provide that the program or activity for

2 which assistance is sought will be administered by or

3 under the supervision of the applicant and in co4 operation with appropriate educational and commu5 nity leaders, including parent, teacher and student

6 organizations, educational institutions, business

7 leaders, community-based organizations serving

8 women, and other significant groups and individuals;

9 ‘‘(2) describe a program for carrying out the

10 purposes described in section 4004(b) which is likely

11 to make a substantial contribution in attaining such

12 purposes;

13 ‘‘(3) describe plans for continuation and institu14 tionalization of the program with local support fol15 lowing completion of the grant period and termi16 nation of Federal support under this part;

17 ‘‘(4) establish policies and procedures which en18 sure adequate documentation and evaluation of the

19 activities intended to be carried out under the appli20 cation.

21 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA; PRIORITIES; CATEGORIES OF COM22 PETITION.—The Secretary shall establish criteria, prior23 ities, and categories of competition for awards under this

24 part to ensure that available funds are used to achieve

25 the purposes of this part.
9

•HR 1743 IH

1 ‘‘(1) The criteria shall address the extent to

2 which—

3 ‘‘(A) the program addresses the needs of

4 women and girls of color and women and girls

5 with disabilities;

6 ‘‘(B) the program meets locally defined

7 and documented educational equity needs and

8 priorities, including compliance with the re9 quirements of title IX of the Education Amend10 ments of 1972;

11 ‘‘(C) the program is a significant compo12 nent of a comprehensive plan for educational

13 equity and compliance with the requirements of

14 title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

15 in the particular local educational agency, insti16 tution of higher education, vocational-technical

17 institution, or other educational agency or insti18 tution; and

19 ‘‘(D) the program implements an institu20 tional strategy with long-term impact that will

21 continue as a central activity of the applicant

22 agency or institution after the grant is com23 pleted.

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall establish not more

25 than 4 priorities, 1 of which shall be a priority for
10

•HR 1743 IH

1 compliance with title IX of the Educational Amend2 ments of 1972. Not more than 60 percent of the

3 funds available in each fiscal year under this part

4 which implement the 4 priorities.

5 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall establish 3 categories

6 of competition, distinguishing among 3 types of ap7 plicants and levels of education that are—

8 ‘‘(A) grants to local educational agencies,

9 State education agencies, and other agencies

10 and organizations providing elementary and

11 secondary education;

12 ‘‘(B) grants to institutions of higher edu13 cation, including community colleges and other

14 agencies and organizations providing post15 secondary education, including vocational-tech16 nical education, adult education, and other pro17 grams; and

18 ‘‘(C) grants to nonprofit organizations, in19 cluding community-based organizations groups

20 representing students, parents, and women, in21 cluding women and girls of color and women

22 and girls with disabilities.

23 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT.—Not less than 25 percent of

24 funds used to support activities covered by subsection (b)
11

•HR 1743 IH

1 shall be used for awards under each category of competi2 tion in each fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary shall ensure

4 that the grants awarded each year address—

5 ‘‘(1) all levels of education, including preschool,

6 elementary and secondary education, higher edu7 cation, vocational education, and adult education;

8 ‘‘(2) all regions of the United States, including

9 at least 1 grant in each of the 10 Federal regions;

10 and

11 ‘‘(3) urban, rural, and suburban educational in12 stitutions.

13 ‘‘SEC. 4005. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized to

15 make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public agen16 cies, private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institu17 tions, including students, and community groups, for ac18 tivities designed to achieve the purpose of this part at all

19 levels of education, including preschool, elementary and

20 secondary education, higher education, adult education,

21 and vocational-technical education, to develop model poli22 cies and programs, and to conduct research to address and

23 ensure educational equities for women and girls, including

24 but not limited to—
12

•HR 1743 IH

1 ‘‘(1) the development and evaluation of gender2 equitable curricula, textbooks, software, and other

3 educational material and technology;

4 ‘‘(2) the development of model preservice and

5 inservice training programs for educational person6 nel with special emphasis on programs and activities

7 designed to provide educational equity;

8 ‘‘(3) the development of guidance and counsel9 ing activities, including career education programs,

10 designed to ensure gender equity;

11 ‘‘(4) the development and evaluation of non12 discriminatory assessment systems;

13 ‘‘(5) the development of policies and programs

14 to address and prevent sexual harassment and vio15 lence to ensure that educational institutions are free

16 from threats to safety of students and personnel;

17 ‘‘(6) the development and improvement of pro18 grams and activities to increase opportunity for

19 women, including continuing educational activities,

20 vocational education, and programs for low-income

21 women, including underemployed and unemployed

22 women, and women receiving Aid to Families with

23 Dependent Children;

24 ‘‘(7) the development of instruments and strate25 gies for program evaluation and dissemination of
13

•HR 1743 IH

1 promising or exemplary programs designed to im2 prove local efforts to achieve gender equity;

3 ‘‘(8) the development of instruments and proce4 dures to assess the presence or absence of gender

5 equity in educational settings; and

6 ‘‘(9) the development and evaluation of various

7 strategies to institutionalize gender equity in edu8 cation.

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—A grant may be made, and a

10 contract may be entered into, under this part only upon

11 application to the Secretary, at such time, in such form,

12 and containing or accompanied by such information as the

13 Secretary may prescribe. Each such application shall—

14 ‘‘(1) provide that the program or activity for

15 which assistance is sought will be administered by or

16 under the supervision of the applicant;

17 ‘‘(2) describe a plan for carrying out 1 or more

18 research and development activities authorized in

19 subsection (a) above, which is likely to make sub20 stantial contribution toward attaining the purposes

21 of this part; and

22 ‘‘(3) set forth policies and procedures which en23 sure adequate documentation, data collection, and

24 evaluation of the activities intended to be carried out

25 under the application, including an evaluation or es-
14

•HR 1743 IH

1 timate of the potential for continued significance fol2 lowing completion of the grant period.

3 ‘‘(c) CRITERIA AND PRIORITIES.—(1) The Secretary

4 shall establish criteria and priorities to ensure that avail5 able funds are used for programs that most effectively will

6 achieve the purposes of this part.

7 (2) The criteria and priorities shall be promulgated

8 in accordance with section 431 of the General Education

9 Provisions Act.

10 (3) In establishing priorities the Secretary shall es11 tablish not more than 4 priorities, 1 of which shall be a

12 program which addresses the educational needs of women

13 and girls who suffer multiple or compound discrimination

14 based on sex and on race, ethnic origin, disability, or age.

15 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary shall ensure

16 that the total of grants awarded each year address—

17 ‘‘(1) all levels of education, including preschool,

18 elementary and secondary education, higher edu19 cation, vocational education, and adult education;

20 ‘‘(2) all regions of the United States.

21 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this part shall be con22 strued as prohibiting men and boys from participating in

23 any programs or activities assisted under this part.
15

•HR 1743 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 4006. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated

3 $100,000,000 for the fiscal year 1994, and such sums as

4 may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995, 1996,

5 1997, and 1998, to carry out the provisions of section

6 4004 of this part; and $10,000,000 for the fiscal year

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

8 fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 to carry out the

9 provisions of section 4005 of this part.’’.

Æ