H. R. 1—555
‘‘(B) NEW OR MODIFIED FINDINGS.—Any new or modified
findings of fact shall likewise be conclusive if supported
by substantial evidence.
‘‘(4) JURISDICTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the filing of a petition, the
court shall have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the
Secretary or to set the action aside, in whole or in part.
‘‘(B) JUDGMENT.—The judgment of the court shall be
subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United
States upon certiorari or certification as provided in section
1254 of title 28, United States Code.
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION.—Any determination by the Secretary
under this section shall continue in effect until the Secretary deter-
mines, in consultation with that agency, consortium, or entity and
representatives of the affected private school children, teachers,
or other educational personnel, that there will no longer be any
failure or inability on the part of the agency, consortium, or entity
to meet the applicable requirements of section 9501 or any other
provision of this Act.
‘‘(c) PAYMENT FROM STATE ALLOTMENT.—When the Secretary
arranges for services pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall,
after consultation with the appropriate public and private school
officials, pay the cost of those services, including the administrative
costs of arranging for those services, from the appropriate allocation
or allocations under this Act.
‘‘(d) PRIOR DETERMINATION.—Any by-pass determination by the
Secretary under this Act as in effect on the day preceding the
date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 shall
remain in effect to the extent the Secretary determines that that
determination is consistent with the purpose of this section.
‘‘SEC. 9505. PROHIBITION AGAINST FUNDS FOR RELIGIOUS WORSHIP
OR INSTRUCTION.
‘‘Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to authorize
the making of any payment under this Act for religious worship
or instruction.
‘‘SEC. 9506. PRIVATE, RELIGIOUS, AND HOME SCHOOLS.
‘‘(a) APPLICABILITY
TO
NONRECIPIENT
PRIVATE
SCHOOLS.—
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect any private school
that does not receive funds or services under this Act, nor shall
any student who attends a private school that does not receive
funds or services under this Act be required to participate in any
assessment referenced in this Act.
‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY TO HOME SCHOOLS.—Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to affect a home school, whether or not a home
school is treated as a home school or a private school under State
law, nor shall any student schooled at home be required to partici-
pate in any assessment referenced in this Act.
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON PROHIBITION OF FEDERAL CON-
TROL OVER NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal
control over any aspect of any private, religious, or home school,
whether or not a home school is treated as a private school or
home school under State law. This section shall not be construed
to bar private, religious, or home schools from participation in
programs or services under this Act.
H. R. 1—556
‘‘(d) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION
ON STATE
AND LOCAL EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY MANDATES.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to require any State educational agency or local educational
agency that receives funds under this Act to mandate, direct, or
control the curriculum of a private or home school, regardless
or whether or not a home school is treated as a private school
under state law, nor shall any funds under this Act be used for
this purpose.
‘‘Subpart 2—Other Provisions
‘‘SEC. 9521. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency may receive funds
under a covered program for any fiscal year only if the State
educational agency finds that either the combined fiscal effort per
student or the aggregate expenditures of the agency and the State
with respect to the provision of free public education by the agency
for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 percent of the
combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the second
preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(b) REDUCTION IN CASE OF FAILURE TO MEET.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The State educational agency shall
reduce the amount of the allocation of funds under a covered
program in any fiscal year in the exact proportion by which
a local educational agency fails to meet the requirement of
subsection (a) of this section by falling below 90 percent of
both the combined fiscal effort per student and aggregate
expenditures (using the measure most favorable to the local
agency).
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—No such lesser amount shall be used
for computing the effort required under subsection (a) of this
section for subsequent years.
‘‘(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the requirements of
this section if the Secretary determines that a waiver would be
equitable due to—
‘‘(1) exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, such as
a natural disaster; or
‘‘(2) a precipitous decline in the financial resources of the
local educational agency.
‘‘SEC. 9522. PROHIBITION REGARDING STATE AID.
‘‘A State shall not take into consideration payments under
this Act (other than under title VIII) in determining the eligibility
of any local educational agency in that State for State aid, or
the amount of State aid, with respect to free public education
of children.
‘‘SEC. 9523. PRIVACY OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS.
‘‘Any results from an individual assessment referred to in this
Act of a student that become part of the education records of
the student shall have the protections provided in section 444
of the General Education Provisions Act.
‘‘SEC. 9524. SCHOOL PRAYER.
‘‘(a) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall provide and revise guid-
ance, not later than September 1, 2002, and of every second year
thereafter, to State educational agencies, local educational agencies,
and the public on constitutionally protected prayer in public
H. R. 1—557
elementary schools and secondary schools, including making the
guidance available on the Internet. The guidance shall be reviewed,
prior to distribution, by the Office of Legal Counsel of the Depart-
ment of Justice for verification that the guidance represents the
current state of the law concerning constitutionally protected prayer
in public elementary schools and secondary schools.
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—As a condition of receiving funds under
this Act, a local educational agency shall certify in writing to
the State educational agency involved that no policy of the local
educational agency prevents, or otherwise denies participation in,
constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary schools and
secondary schools, as detailed in the guidance required under sub-
section (a). The certification shall be provided by October 1 of
each year. The State educational agency shall report to the Sec-
retary by November 1 of each year a list of those local educational
agencies that have not filed the certification or against which com-
plaints have been made to the State educational agency that the
local educational agencies are not in compliance with this section.
‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary is authorized and directed
to effectuate subsection (b) by issuing, and securing compliance
with, rules or orders with respect to a local educational agency
that fails to certify, or is found to have certified in bad faith,
that no policy of the local educational agency prevents, or otherwise
denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public
elementary schools and secondary schools.
‘‘SEC. 9525. EQUAL ACCESS TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES.
‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the ‘Boy Scouts
of America Equal Access Act’.
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) EQUAL ACCESS.—Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, no public elementary school, public secondary school,
local educational agency, or State educational agency that has
a designated open forum or a limited public forum and that
receives funds made available through the Department shall
deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, or discrimi-
nate against, any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts
of America, or any other youth group listed in title 36 of
the United States Code (as a patriotic society), that wishes
to conduct a meeting within that designated open forum or
limited public forum, including denying such access or oppor-
tunity or discriminating for reasons based on the membership
or leadership criteria or oath of allegiance to God and country
of the Boy Scouts of America or of the youth group listed
in title 36 of the United States Code (as a patriotic society).
‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY
SPONSORSHIP.—Nothing in this section
shall be construed to require any school, agency, or a school
served by an agency to sponsor any group officially affiliated
with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group
listed in title 36 of the United States Code (as a patriotic
society).
‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE AND OTHER ACTION.—
‘‘(1) DEPARTMENTAL ACTION.—The Secretary is authorized
and directed to effectuate subsection (b) by issuing and securing
compliance with rules or orders with respect to a public
elementary school, public secondary school, local educational
agency, or State educational agency that receives funds made
H. R. 1—558
available through the Department and that denies equal access,
or a fair opportunity to meet, or discriminates, as described
in subsection (b).
‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall issue and secure
compliance with the rules or orders, under paragraph (1),
through the Office for Civil Rights and in a manner consistent
with the procedure used by a Federal department or agency
under section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If the public
school or agency does not comply with the rules or orders,
then notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds
made available through the Department shall be provided to
a school that fails to comply with such rules or orders or
to any agency or school served by an agency that fails to
comply with such rules or orders.
‘‘(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any action taken by the Secretary
under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the judicial review
described in section 603 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Any
person aggrieved by the action may obtain that judicial review
in the manner, and to the extent, provided in section 603
of such Act.
‘‘(d) DEFINITION AND RULE.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘youth group’
means any group or organization intended to serve young people
under the age of 21.
‘‘(2) RULE.—For the purpose of this section, an elementary
school or secondary school has a limited public forum whenever
the school involved grants an offering to, or opportunity for,
one or more outside youth or community groups to meet on
school premises or in school facilities before or after the hours
during which attendance at the school is compulsory.
‘‘SEC. 9526. GENERAL PROHIBITIONS.
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds authorized under this
Act shall be used—
‘‘(1) to develop or distribute materials, or operate programs
or courses of instruction directed at youth, that are designed
to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homosexual
or heterosexual;
‘‘(2) to distribute or to aid in the distribution by any
organization of legally obscene materials to minors on school
grounds;
‘‘(3) to provide sex education or HIV-prevention education
in schools unless that instruction is age appropriate and
includes the health benefits of abstinence; or
‘‘(4) to operate a program of contraceptive distribution in
schools.
‘‘(b) LOCAL CONTROL.—Nothing in this section shall be con-
strued to—
‘‘(1) authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Govern-
ment to mandate, direct, review, or control a State, local edu-
cational agency, or school’s instructional content, curriculum,
and related activities;
‘‘(2) limit the application of the General Education Provi-
sions Act;
‘‘(3) require the distribution of scientifically or medically
false or inaccurate materials or to prohibit the distribution
of scientifically or medically true or accurate materials; or