I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1952
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish
a demonstration program of grants for innovative projects relating to
character education, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 3, 1993
Mr. HALL of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 to establish a demonstration program of grants
for innovative projects relating to character education,
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 ‘‘Character Education
Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to explore, assess, and stimulate a variety of
approaches to character education;
(2) to lend Federal support to local and State
character education programs that seek to promote
commonly accepted civic and character values and
the principles of democracy.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) many Americans of all economic and social
levels and ages no longer make determinations of
right and wrong as to their own actions or the ac-
tions of others in matters of both public and private
concern;
(2) educational institutions, which have tradi-
tionally played a role in assisting students to make
such determinations, no longer receive explicit au-
thority or proper assistance necessary to fulfill this
responsibility;
(3) the Nation has witnessed a national moral
recession in governmental and political activities, sci-
entific research, and business and commerce, in
which individuals have failed to consider the ethics
governing their behavior;
(4) statistics show alarming incidents in indi-
vidual and gang violence, drug and substance abuse,
and suicide among both young people and adults;
(5) polls show that Americans overwhelmingly
prize values such as honesty, but believe that people
are less honest today than in the past;
(6) leaders representing a broad spectrum of
political, social, and religious backgrounds believe
that education in moral issues contributes to good
citizenship and have called for strengthening the
teaching of democratic values;
(7) local character education programs have
shown positive results in reducing negative student
behavior, including violence, vandalism, and dis-
respect for others, and in promoting an understand-
ing of shared civic and character values;
(8) training in ethics is an ongoing concern in
business and industry and in public service; and
(9) while education remains the responsibility of
local and State governments, the Congress and the
Federal Government may appropriately provide as-
sistance to educational agencies and institutions at-
tempting to promote ethics, civic and character val-
ues, and the principles of democracy through char-
acter education programs.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘character edu-
cation’’ means the teaching of commonly accepted civic
and character values and the principles of democracy that
contribute to ethical behavior.
TITLE 
I—CHARACTER 
EDU-
CATION 
DEMONSTRATION
PROGRAM
SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO SECRETARY’S FUND FOR INNO-
VATION IN EDUCATION.
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Paragraph (2) of sec-
tion 4601(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 3151(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (C);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(E) help stimulate understanding of ethics,
civic and character values, and the principles of de-
mocracy as a means of enhancing and improving ele-
mentary and secondary education in accordance with
section 4610.’’.
(b) CHARACTER EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION PRO-
GRAM.—Part F of title IV of the Elementary and Second-
ary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 3151 et seq.) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating section 4610 as section
4611; and
(2) by inserting before section 4611 (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘SEC. 4610. CHARACTER EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION
PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to make grants to State educational agencies,
local educational agencies, institutions of higher edu-
cation, and other public and private agencies, organiza-
tions, and institutions to conduct character education ac-
tivities designed to help stimulate understanding of ethics,
civic and character values, and the principles of democracy
as a means of enhancing and improving elementary and
secondary education.
‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants made under this sec-
tion may be used for—
‘‘(1) the development of teaching materials for
character education;
‘‘(2) teacher training and seminars;
‘‘(3) the establishment of clearinghouses for
character education programs;
‘‘(1) identify civic and character values and eth-
ics that receive widespread support from a consensus
of individuals in the community served;
‘‘(2) describe the school population intended to
benefit from the proposed activities;
‘‘(3) demonstrate how the proposal fulfills the
purpose described in subsection (a);
‘‘(4) describe the methods to be used to evalu-
ate the results of the proposed activities; and
‘‘(5) provide assurances that the applicant will
appoint an advisory board to assist the applicant in
conducting the proposed activities, which board shall
consist of individuals representative of—
‘‘(A) parents;
‘‘(B) educators and teachers;
‘‘(C) community leaders;
‘‘(D) social service professionals;
‘‘(E) business leaders; and
‘‘(F) the general public.’’.
TITLE 
II—NATIONAL 
CON-
FERENCE 
ON 
CHARACTER
EDUCATION
SEC. 201. NATIONAL CONFERENCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education
shall sponsor a National Character Education Conference
(referred to in this title as the ‘‘conference’’) not later
than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act
to evaluate local and State character education programs
throughout the Nation.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary of Education shall
invite individuals who have expertise regarding character
education to participate as members in the conference, in-
cluding—
(1) parents;
(2) teachers;
(3) educators;
(4) community leaders;
(5) social service professionals;
(6) business leaders;
(7) philosophers;
(8) government officials;
(9) representatives of the arts, entertainment,
and sports fields; and
(10) the general public.
SEC. 202. DUTIES.
Members of the conference shall—
(1) assess and evaluate what types of character
education programs are available at the State and
local level;
(2) assess and evaluate programs used by
schools to teach students character education;
(3) determine how to measure the content and
efficacy of character education programs in prepar-
ing students as productive members of society;
(4) determine how the Government can assist
with the development and implementation of char-
acter education programs; and
(5) evaluate and make recommendations re-
garding successful teaching methods and models for
character education.
SEC. 203. REPORTS.
The Secretary of Education shall submit to the Con-
gress a report which states the findings, conclusions, and
recommendations of the conference not later than 180
days after the conference is held.
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