H. R. 2673—261
OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
For expenses necessary for the Office for Civil Rights, as author-
ized by section 203 of the Department of Education Organization
Act, $89,275,000.
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
For expenses necessary for the Office of the Inspector General,
as authorized by section 212 of the Department of Education
Organization Act, $47,137,000.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. No funds appropriated in this Act may be used
for the transportation of students or teachers (or for the purchase
of equipment for such transportation) in order to overcome racial
imbalance in any school or school system, or for the transportation
of students or teachers (or for the purchase of equipment for such
transportation) in order to carry out a plan of racial desegregation
of any school or school system.
SEC. 302. None of the funds contained in this Act shall be
used to require, directly or indirectly, the transportation of any
student to a school other than the school which is nearest the
student’s home, except for a student requiring special education,
to the school offering such special education, in order to comply
with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For the purpose
of this section an indirect requirement of transportation of students
includes the transportation of students to carry out a plan involving
the reorganization of the grade structure of schools, the pairing
of schools, or the clustering of schools, or any combination of grade
restructuring, pairing or clustering. The prohibition described in
this section does not include the establishment of magnet schools.
SEC. 303. No funds appropriated under this Act may be used
to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer
and meditation in the public schools.
(TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
SEC. 304. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary funds
(pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985, as amended) which are appropriated for the Depart-
ment of Education in this Act may be transferred between appro-
priations, but no such appropriation shall be increased by more
than 3 percent by any such transfer: Provided, That the Appropria-
tions Committees of both Houses of Congress are notified at least
15 days in advance of any transfer.
SEC. 305. SPECIAL STUDY OF SIMPLIFICATION OF NEED ANALYSIS
AND APPLICATION FOR TITLE IV AID. (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance established
by section 491 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1098), hereafter in this section referred to as ‘‘the Advisory Com-
mittee’’, shall conduct a thorough study of the feasibility of simpli-
fying the need analysis methodology for all Federal student financial
assistance programs and the process of applying for such assistance.
(b) REQUIRED SUBJECTS OF STUDY.—In performing the study,
the Advisory Committee shall, at a minimum, examine the fol-
lowing:
H. R. 2673—262
(1) whether the methodology used to calculate the expected
family contribution can be simplified without significant
adverse effects on program intent, costs, integrity, delivery,
and distribution of awards;
(2) whether the number of data elements, and, accordingly,
the number and complexity of questions asked of students
and families, used to calculate the expected family contribution
can be reduced without such adverse effects;
(3) whether the procedures for determining such data ele-
ments, including determining and updating offsets and allow-
ances, is the most efficient, effective, and fair means to deter-
mine a family’s available income and assets;
(4) whether the methodology used to calculate the expected
family contribution, specifically the consideration of income
earned by a dependent student and its effect on Pell grant
eligibility, is an effective and fair means to determine a family’s
available income and a student’s need;
(5) whether the nature and timing of the application
required in section 483 (a)(1) of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(1)), eligibility and award determina-
tion, financial aid processing, and funds delivery can be stream-
lined further for students and families, institutions, and States;
(6) whether it is feasible to allow students to complete
only those limited sections of the financial aid application that
apply to their specific circumstances and the State in which
they reside;
(7) whether a widely disseminated printed form, or the
use of an Internet or other electronic means, can be developed
to notify individuals of an estimation of their approximate
eligibility for grant, work-study, and loan assistance upon
completion and verification of the simplified application form;
(8) whether information provided on other Federal forms
(such as the form applying for supplemental security income
under title XVI of the Social Security Act, the form for applying
for food stamps under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and the
schedule for applying for the earned income tax credit under
section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) that are
designed to determine eligibility for various Federal need-based
assistance programs could be used to qualify potential students
for the simplified needs test; and
(9) whether any proposed changes to data elements col-
lected, in addition to those used to calculate expected family
contribution, or any proposed changes to the form’s design
or the process of applying for aid, may have adverse effects
on program costs, integrity, delivery, or distribution of awards,
as well as, application development or application processing.
(c) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the feasibility
study, the Advisory Committee’s primary objective under this sub-
section shall be simplifying the financial aid application forms and
process and obtaining a substantial reduction in the number of
required data items. In carrying out that objective, the Advisory
Committee shall pay special attention to the needs of low-income
and moderate-income students and families.
(d) CONSULTATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee shall consult
with a broad range of interested parties in higher education,
H. R. 2673—263
including parents and students, high school guidance coun-
selors, financial aid and other campus administrators, appro-
priate State administrators, administrators of intervention and
outreach programs, and appropriate officials from the Depart-
ment of Education.
(2) FORMS DESIGN EXPERT.—With the goal of making signifi-
cant changes to the form to make the questions more easily
understandable, the Advisory Committee shall consult a forms
design expert to ensure that its recommendations for revision
of the application form would assist in making the form easily
readable and understood by parents, students, and other mem-
bers of the public.
(3) CONGRESSIONAL
CONSULTATION.—The Advisory Com-
mittee shall consult on a regular basis with the Committee
on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate in carrying out the feasibility study
required by this subsection.
(4) DEPARTMENTAL CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Edu-
cation shall provide such assistance to the Advisory Committee
as is requested and practicable in conducting the study required
by this subsection.
(e) REPORTS.—
(1) INTERIM REPORT.—The Advisory Committee shall, not
later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
prepare and submit an interim report containing any such
legislative changes as the Advisory Committee recommends
to reform and simplify the needs analysis under part F of
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk
et seq.) and forms and other requirements under such title
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House
of Representatives, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions of the Senate, and the Secretary of Education.
(2) FINAL
REPORT.—The Advisory Committee shall, not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,
prepare and submit a full final report on the study, including
recommendations for regulatory and administrative changes
required by this section, to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce of the House of Representatives, the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and
the Secretary of Education.
(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Education shall consult
with the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions of the Senate and shall subsequently initiate a
redesign of the form required by section 483 of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090). Such redesign shall include the
testing of alternative simplified versions of the free Federal form.
The Secretary shall keep the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate fully
and currently informed on the progress of these efforts.
(g) POSTPONEMENT OF TAX TABLE UPDATE PENDING REPORT
AND IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Education shall not imple-
ment or enforce for the award year 2004–2005 the annual update
to the allowances for State and other taxes in the tables used
H. R. 2673—264
in the Federal needs analysis methodology, as prescribed by the
Secretary on May 30, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 32473).
SEC. 306. The Secretary of Education shall treat as timely
filed an application under section 8003 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 from the local educational agency
for Hydaburg, Alaska, for a payment for fiscal year 2004, and
shall process such application for payment, if the Secretary has
received the fiscal year 2004 application not later than 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Education Appro-
priations Act, 2004’’.
TITLE IV—RELATED AGENCIES
ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME
For expenses necessary for the Armed Forces Retirement Home
to operate and maintain the Armed Forces Retirement Home—
Washington and the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Gulfport,
to be paid from funds available in the Armed Forces Retirement
Home Trust Fund, $65,279,000, of which $1,983,000 shall remain
available until expended for construction and renovation of the
physical plants at the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Washington
and the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Gulfport.
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
DOMESTIC VOLUNTEER SERVICE PROGRAMS, OPERATING EXPENSES
For expenses necessary for the Corporation for National and
Community Service to carry out the provisions of the Domestic
Volunteer Service Act of 1973, as amended, $356,443,000: Provided,
That none of the funds made available to the Corporation for
National and Community Service in this Act for activities author-
ized by section 122 of part C of title I and part E of title II
of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 shall be used to
provide stipends or other monetary incentives to volunteers or
volunteer leaders whose incomes exceed 125 percent of the national
poverty level.
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
For payment to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as
authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, an amount which
shall be available within limitations specified by that Act, for the
fiscal year 2006, $400,000,000: Provided, That no funds made avail-
able to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by this Act shall
be used to pay for receptions, parties, or similar forms of entertain-
ment for Government officials or employees: Provided further, That
none of the funds contained in this paragraph shall be available
or used to aid or support any program or activity from which
any person is excluded, or is denied benefits, or is discriminated
against, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or
sex: Provided further, That for fiscal year 2004, in addition to
the amounts provided above, $50,000,000 shall be for costs related