I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1148
To provide grants to certain rural local educational agencies.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 21, 2001
Mr. HILLEARY (for himself, Mr. JOHN, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. DEMINT, and Mr.
NORWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide grants to certain rural local educational agencies.
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 ‘‘Low-Income and Rural
School Program’’.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) RESERVATIONS.—From amounts appropriated
under section 7 for this Act for a fiscal year, the Secretary
shall reserve 1⁄2 of 1 percent to make awards to elementary
or secondary schools operated or supported by the Bureau
of Indian Affairs to carry out the purpose of this Act.
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(b) GRANTS TO STATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated
under section 7 for this Act that are not reserved
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall award
grants for a fiscal year to State educational agencies
that have applications approved under section 4 to
enable the State educational agencies to award sub-
grants to eligible local educational agencies for local
authorized activities described in subsection (c)(2).
(2) ALLOCATION.—From amounts appropriated
for this Act, the Secretary shall allocate to each
State educational agency for a fiscal year an amount
that bears the same ratio to the amount of funds ap-
propriated under section 7 for this Act that are not
reserved under subsection (a) as the number of stu-
dents in average daily attendance served by eligible
local educational agencies in the State bears to the
number of all such students served by eligible local
educational agencies in all States for that fiscal
year.
(3) DIRECT AWARDS TO SPECIALLY QUALIFIED
AGENCIES.—
(A) 
NONPARTICIPATING
STATE.—If 
a
State educational agency elects not to partici-
pate in the program under this Act or does not
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have an application approved under section 4 a
specially qualified agency in such State desiring
a grant under this Act shall apply directly to
the Secretary to receive such a grant.
(B) 
DIRECT
AWARDS
TO
SPECIALLY
QUALIFIED
AGENCIES.—The Secretary may
award, on a competitive basis, the amount the
State educational agency is eligible to receive
under paragraph (2) directly to specially quali-
fied agencies in the State.
(c) LOCAL AWARDS.—
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—A local educational agency
shall be eligible to receive funds under this Act if—
(A) 20 percent or more of the children
aged 5 to 17, inclusive, served by the local edu-
cational agency are from families with incomes
below the poverty line; and
(B) all of the schools served by the agency
are located in a community with a School Lo-
cale code of 6, 7, or 8, as determined by the
Secretary of Education.
(2) USES OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded to
local educational agencies or made available to
schools under this Act shall be used for—
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(A) teacher recruitment and retention, in-
cluding the use of signing bonuses and other fi-
nancial incentives;
(B) teacher professional development, in-
cluding programs that train teachers to utilize
technology to improve teaching and to train
special needs teachers;
(C) educational technology, including soft-
ware and hardware as described in title III of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965; or
(D) programs that promote academic en-
richment.
SEC. 3. STATE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.
(a) AWARD BASIS.—A State educational agency shall
award grants to eligible local educational agencies—
(1) on a competitive basis; or
(2) according to a formula based on the number
of students in average daily attendance served by the
eligible local educational agencies or schools (as ap-
propriate) in the State, as determined by the State.
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State educational
agency receiving a grant under this Act may not use more
than 5 percent of the amount of the grant for State ad-
ministrative costs.
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SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.
Each State educational agency and specially qualified
agency desiring to receive a grant under this Act shall sub-
mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec-
retary may require. Such application shall include specific
measurable goals and objectives relating to increased stu-
dent academic achievement, decreased student drop-out
rates, or such other factors that the State educational
agency or specially qualified agency may choose to meas-
ure.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
(a) STATE REPORTS.—Each State educational agen-
cy that receives a grant under this Act shall provide an
annual report to the Secretary. The report shall de-
scribe—
(1) the method the State educational agency
used to award grants to eligible local educational
agencies and to provide assistance to schools under
this Act;
(2) how local educational agencies and schools
used funds provided under this Act; and
(3) the degree to which progress has been made
toward meeting the goals and objectives described in
the application submitted under section 4.
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(b) SPECIALLY QUALIFIED AGENCY REPORT.—Each
specially qualified agency that receives a grant under this
Act shall provide an annual report to the Secretary. Such
report shall describe—
(1) how such agency uses funds provided under
this Act; and
(2) the degree to which progress has been made
toward meeting the goals and objectives described in
the application submitted under section 2(b)(4)(A).
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall pre-
pare and submit to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce for the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for the
Senate an annual report. The report shall describe—
(1) the methods the State educational agency
used to award grants to eligible local educational
agencies and to provide assistance to schools under
this Act;
(2) how eligible local educational agencies and
schools used funds provided under this Act; and
(3) progress made in meeting specific measur-
able educational goals and objectives.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act—
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(1) The term ‘‘poverty line’’ means the poverty
line (as defined by the Office of Management and
Budget, and revised annually in accordance with sec-
tion 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant
Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family of
the size involved.
(2) The term ‘‘specially qualified agency’’
means an eligible local educational agency, located in
a State that does not participate in a program under
this Act in a fiscal year, that may apply directly to
the Secretary for a grant in such year in accordance
with section 2(b)(4).
(3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico.
SEC. 7. PERFORMANCE REVIEW.
Three years after a State educational agency or spe-
cifically qualified agency receives funds under this Act, the
Secretary shall review the progress of such agency toward
achieving the goals and objectives included in its applica-
tion to determine if the agency has made progress toward
meeting such goals and objectives. To review the perform-
ance of each agency, the Secretary shall—
(1) review the use of funds of such agency
under section 2(c)(2); and
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(2) deny the provision of additional funds in
subsequent fiscal years to an agency only if the Sec-
retary determines, after notice and an opportunity
for a hearing, that the agency’s use of funds has
been inadequate to justify the continuation of such
funding.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums
as may be necessary for each of 4 succeeding fiscal years.
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