I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3044
To provide grants to local educational agencies to develop smaller schools.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 7, 1999
Mr. HILL of Indiana (for himself, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. FROST, Mr. DUNCAN,
Mr. CRAMER, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. STUPAK, Mr.
ETHERIDGE, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. SANDLIN, Ms. HOOLEY of
Oregon, Ms. CARSON, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. LARSON, Mrs. JONES of
Ohio, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. PHELPS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr.
LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. WU, and Mr. MOORE) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force
A BILL
To provide grants to local educational agencies to develop
smaller schools.
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 ‘‘Smaller Schools,
Stronger Communities Act’’.
SEC. 2. SMALLER SCHOOLS.
Title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8001 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new part:
‘‘PART L—SMALLER SCHOOLS
‘‘SEC. 10995. FINDINGS.
‘‘Congress finds the following:
‘‘(1) Since World War II, the conventional wis-
dom among educators has been that larger schools
are better and accordingly the number of secondary
schools in the United States has declined by 70 per-
cent, while average school size has grown by 5 times.
But over the past few years, educators have begun
to question the approach that bigger schools are al-
ways better.
‘‘(2) The National Association of Secondary
School Principals (referred to in this section as the
NAASP) recently recommended that the high school
of the 21st Century be ‘‘much more student-centered
and above all much more personalized in programs,
support services and intellectual rigor.’’ The NAASP
stated that students take more interest in school
when they experience a sense of belonging and that
students benefit from a more intimate setting in
which their presence is more readily and repeatedly
acknowledged.
‘‘(3) The NAASP also warns that the ‘‘bigness’’
of high schools shrouds many young people ‘‘in a
cloak of anonymity’’ and recommends that high
schools should restructure the space and time of
high schools so that students are no longer ‘‘invisible
and melt into their surroundings’’. NAASP rec-
ommends that high schools change their structure to
limit their enrollments to self-operating units of not
more than 600 students, either through constructing
new buildings or through creating ‘‘school-within-
school’’ units. It also suggests changing the relation-
ship between teachers and students by reducing the
number of class changes students make each day
and allowing teachers to have more time with small-
er numbers of students.
‘‘(4) Research shows that larger school size
tends to stratify students into different tracks which
are often based on children’s educational and social
backgrounds. Larger schools foster inequitable edu-
cational outcomes, where there are great differences
between the educational achievement of students
within the same school.
‘‘(5) Research shows that in smaller, more per-
sonalized, and less bureaucratic schools, inequities
between student achievement are smaller and that
students in smaller schools perform better in the
core subjects of reading, math, history, and science
and are more engaged in their courses. In addition,
smaller schools have higher attendance rates and
higher participation in school activities.
‘‘(6) Research shows that because achievement
levels in smaller schools are more equitably distrib-
uted, students who come from more disadvantaged
economic and educational backgrounds show the
greatest achievement gains in smaller schools.
‘‘SEC. 10996. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to
provide flexible challenge grants to local educational agen-
cies to implement and administer plans to create smaller
schools.
‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION; ASSURANCE; AND PRIORITY.—
The Secretary, in awarding grants under this part to local
educational agencies shall—
‘‘(1) consider the number of students served
and the number, location, and size of the schools
which serve such students; and
‘‘(2) assure, to the extent practicable, an equi-
table distribution of assistance among urban and
rural areas of the United States and among urban
and rural areas of a State.
‘‘(3) give priority to local educational agencies
that establish a target number for attendance at—
‘‘(A) each high school of not more than
600 students or create self-operating academic
units within a high school of not more than
600; and
‘‘(B) each elementary school or middle
school of not more than 400 students.
‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may award not
more than $2,000,000 to any local educational agency se-
lected to receive a grant award under this part.
‘‘SEC. 10997. APPLICATION.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency
wishing to implement smaller school plans shall
apply to the Secretary for a flexible challenge grant
at such time and in such form as the Secretary may
reasonably require.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION FORM.—The Secretary shall
develop a application that is simple and brief in
form.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant
under this part, a local educational agency shall submit
a 5-year plan that—
‘‘(1) calculates the number of students enrolled
in each school during the preceding school year di-
vided by the number of schools in such agency; and
‘‘(2) describes how such agency plans to reduce
the size of its schools by creating ‘schools within
schools,’ or building new schools to reduce average
school sizes.
‘‘SEC. 10998. USES OF FUNDS AND REPORTING.
‘‘(a) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds received under this
part may be used—
‘‘(1) to hire additional staff;
‘‘(2) for planning, feasibility studies, and archi-
tectural fees to design or remodel school facilities;
and
‘‘(3) for any other reasonable expense, but shall
not include the costs directly associated with the
renovation of existing facilities or the purchase or
construction of new facilities.
‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Each local educational agency
that receives a grant under this part shall report annually
to the Secretary regarding how such funds were spent.
‘‘SEC. 10999. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $100,000,000
for fiscal year 2001, $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,
and $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.’’.
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