I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4032
To establish a loan guarantee program under which the Federal government
shall guarantee payment of loans made by lending institutions for capital
projects for public charter schools, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 16, 2000
Mrs. WILSON (for herself and Mr. SCHAFFER) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish a loan guarantee program under which the
Federal government shall guarantee payment of loans
made by lending institutions for capital projects for pub-
lic charter schools, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Neighborhood Schools
Act’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM
FOR PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Small
Business Administration (hereafter in this Act referred to
as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall establish a program under
which the Administrator shall award loan guarantees to
eligible public charter schools to guarantee to lending in-
stitutions payment of principal and interest on loans made
to such schools for capital projects.
(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOLS.—A
public charter school is eligible to receive a loan guarantee
under the program under this Act if the school submits
to the Administrator (at such time and in such form as
the Administrator may require) an application containing
the following information and assurances:
(1) A certification that the school is a public
charter school as defined by the jurisdiction in which
the school is located.
(2) A certification that the school does not have
access to funding for the project involved through
the financing methods available to other public
schools in the jurisdiction.
(3) Assurances that the school will be unable to
obtain financing for the project at a reasonably af-
fordable rate of interest unless the school is awarded
a loan guarantee under the program.
(4) A business plan for the school that includes
reasonable assurances that the school will repay the
loan for which the guarantee will be made.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF PRINCIPAL
OF OUTSTANDING LOANS.
The cumulative total of the principal of the loans out-
standing at any time for which loan guarantees have been
made under the program under this Act may not exceed
$9,000,000,000.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
(a) CAPITAL PROJECT.—(1) In this Act, a ‘‘capital
project’’ for a public charter school means a project for—
(A) the construction, acquisition, moderniza-
tion, or renovation of facilities for the school; or
(B) the purchase or replacement of equipment
for the school.
(2) For purposes of determining the costs which are
to be incurred in carrying out any capital project for which
a loan guarantee is made under the program under this
Act, the project shall not be treated as a public work or
building.
(b) PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL.—In this Act, the
term ‘‘public charter school’’ means an institution defined
as a public charter school by the State in which the insti-
tution is located.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There 
are 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated
$600,000,000 for the program under this Act for fiscal
year 2001.
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