105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3248
AN ACT
To provide dollars to the classroom.
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3248
AN ACT
To provide dollars to the classroom.
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 ‘‘Dollars to the Class-
room Act’’.
TITLE 
I—IMPROVEMENT 
OF
CLASSROOM SERVICES AND
ACTIVITIES
SEC. 101. GRANTS TO STATES.
The Secretary is authorized to award grants in ac-
cordance with this title to States for use by States and
local educational agencies to improve classroom services
and activities for students.
SEC. 102. GRANT AWARD.
(a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the amount ap-
propriated to carry out this title for any fiscal year, the
Secretary shall reserve—
(1) 1⁄2 of 1 percent for the outlying areas, to be
distributed among the outlying areas on the basis of
their relative need, as determined by the Secretary
in accordance with the purposes of this section; and
(2) 1⁄2 of 1 percent for the Secretary of the In-
terior for programs under this title in schools oper-
ated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(b) STATE ALLOCATIONS.—Funds appropriated to
carry out this title for any fiscal year, which are not re-
served under subsection (a), shall be allocated among the
States as follows:
(1) HOLD HARMLESS.—If the amount of funds
appropriated to carry out this title in any fiscal year
equals or exceeds the aggregate amount all States
received in fiscal year 1998 under—
(A) title III of the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act (20 U.S.C. 5881 et seq.);
(B) section 1002(g)(2) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6302(g));
(C) section 1502 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6492);
(D) part B of title II of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6641 et seq.);
(E) section 3132 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6842 et seq.);
(F) title VI of the Elementary and Second-
ary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7311 et
seq.); and
(G) part B of title VII of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11421 et seq.),
as such provisions were in effect on the day preced-
ing the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall allocate to each State the aggregate
amount such State received for fiscal year 1998
under such provisions.
(2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount of
appropriations to carry out this title for any fiscal
year is insufficient to pay the full amounts that all
States are eligible to receive under paragraph (1) for
such year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce such
amounts for such year.
(3) REMAINING FUNDS.—If funds remain after
meeting the requirements of paragraph (1), such re-
maining funds shall be allocated among the States
in the following manner:
(A) 50 percent of such remaining funds
shall be allocated to States in proportion to
their grants under part A of title I of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
for the preceding fiscal year; and
(B) 50 percent of such remaining funds
shall be allocated to States in proportion to the
number of children ages 5 through 17, inclu-
sive, according to the most recent available data
that are satisfactory to the Secretary.
(c) DEFINITION OF STATE.—For purposes of this
section, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the 50 States, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) DEFINITION OF OUTLYING AREA.—For purposes
of this section, the term ‘‘outlying area’’ includes Amer-
ican Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(e) PAYMENTS.—Funds awarded to a State under
this section shall be paid to the individual or entity in the
State that is responsible for the State administration of
Federal education funds pursuant to State law.
(f) USE OF STATE AWARDS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—From the amount made
available to a State under subsection (b) for a fiscal
year, the State—
(A) shall use not more than 5 percent of
the total amount to support programs or activi-
ties, for children ages 5 through 17, that the
State determines appropriate, of which the
State shall distribute 20 percent of the 5 per-
cent to local educational agencies in the State
to pay the administrative expenses of the local
educational agencies that are associated with
the activities and services assisted under this
section; and
(B) shall distribute, pursuant to section
103(a), not less than 95 percent of the amount
to local educational agencies in the State for
the fiscal year to enable the local educational
agencies to pay the costs of activities or services
provided in the classroom, for children ages 5
through 17, that the local educational agencies
determine appropriate subject to the require-
ments of section 103(b).
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—For the pur-
pose of paragraph (1)(B), the costs of activities and
services provided in the classroom exclude the ad-
ministrative expenses associated with the activities
and services.
(g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A State or local
educational agency shall use funds received under this title
only to supplement the amount of funds that would, in
the absence of such Federal funds, be made available from
non-Federal sources for the education of pupils participat-
ing in programs assisted under this title, and not to sup-
plant such funds.
(h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving assist-
ance under this part shall issue a report on an an-
nual basis, not later than April 1 of each year begin-
ning the year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, to the Secretary, the Committee on Education
and the Workforce of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of
the Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations
of the Senate and the House of Representatives that
describes how funds under this title have been used
to improve student performance in that State.
(2) CERTIFICATION.—The report must also in-
clude a certification by the State that 95 percent of
funding provided under this title during the preced-
ing fiscal year has been expended by local edu-
cational agencies within that State for classroom ac-
tivities 
and 
services 
pursuant 
to 
subsection
(f)(1)(B).
(3) MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE.—In deter-
mining student academic performance within the
State, the State shall use such measures of student
academic performance as it deems appropriate. The
State may disaggregate data by poverty, subject
area, race, gender, geographic location, or other cri-
teria as the State deems appropriate.
(4) AVAILABILITY
OF
REPORT.—Each State
shall make the report described in this subsection
available to parents and members of the public
throughout that State.
SEC. 103. LOCAL AWARDS.
(a) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF FUNDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The individual or entity in
the State that is responsible for the State adminis-
tration of Federal education funds pursuant to State
law of each State receiving assistance under this
title, in consultation with the Governor of such
State, the chief State school officer of such State,
representatives from the State legislature, and rep-
resentatives from local educational agencies within
such State, shall develop a formula for the allocation
of funds described in section 102, to local edu-
cational agencies, taking into consideration—
(A) poverty rates within each local edu-
cational agency;
(B) children living in sparsely populated
areas;
(C) an equitable distribution of funds
among urban, rural, and suburban areas;
(D) children whose education imposes a
higher than average cost per child; and
(E) such other factors as considered appro-
priate.
(2) HOLD
HARMLESS.—No local educational
agency shall receive an award under this subsection
for any fiscal year in an amount that is less than
the amount the local educational agency received to
carry out programs or activities for fiscal year 1998
for title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act
(20 U.S.C. 5881 et seq.), part B of title II of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6641 et seq.), section 3132 of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6842 et seq.), title VI of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7311
et seq.), and part B of title VII of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11421 et seq.) as in effect on the day preceding the
date of the enactment of this Act plus amounts the
local educational agency is eligible to receive during
fiscal years 1999 through 2003 pursuant to all
multiyear awards made prior to the date of enact-
ment of this Act under any program that is repealed
by section 107 that is not listed in this sentence.
(3) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount allo-
cated to a State to carry out this title for any fiscal
year is insufficient to pay the full amounts that all
local educational agencies in such State are eligible
to receive under paragraph (2) for such year, the
State shall ratably reduce such amounts for such
year.
(b) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available
under this section to a local educational agency shall be
used for the following classroom services and activities:
(1) Programs for the acquisition and use of in-
structional and educational materials, including li-
brary services and materials (including media mate-
rials), assessments, reference materials, and other
curricular materials which are tied to high academic
standards and which will be used to improve student
achievement and which are part of an overall edu-
cation reform program.
(2) Professional development for instructional
staff.
(3) Programs to improve the higher order
thinking skills of disadvantaged elementary and sec-
ondary school students and to prevent students from
dropping out of school.
(4) Efforts to lengthen the school day or the
school year.
(5) Programs to combat illiteracy in the student
population.
(6) Programs to provide for the educational
needs of gifted and talented children.
(7) Promising education reform projects that
are tied to State student content and performance
standards.
(8) Carrying out comprehensive school reform
programs that are based on reliable research.
(9) Programs for homeless children and youth.
(10) Programs that are built upon partnerships
between local educational agencies and institutions
of higher education, educational service agencies, li-
braries, businesses, regional educational laboratories,
or other educational entities, for the purpose of pro-
viding educational services consistent with this sec-
tion.
(11) The acquisition of books, materials and
equipment, payment of compensation of instructional
staff, and instructional activities that are necessary
for the conduct of programs in magnet schools.
(12) Programs to promote academic achieve-
ment among women and girls.
(13) Programs to provide for the educational
needs of children with limited English proficiency or
who are American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native
Hawaiian.
(14) Activities to provide the academic support,
enrichment, and motivation to enable all students to
reach high State standards.
(15) Efforts to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio.
(16) Projects and programs which assure the
participation in mainstream settings in arts and
education programs of individuals with disabilities.
(17) Projects and programs to integrate arts
education into the regular elementary and secondary
school curriculum.
(18) Programs designed to educate students
about the history and principles of the Constitution
of the United States, including the Bill of Rights,
and to foster civic competence and responsibility.
(19) Mathematics and science education in-
structional materials.
(20) Programs designed to improve the quality
of student writing and learning and the teaching of
writing as a learning process.
(21) Technology related to the implementation
of school-based reform programs, including profes-
sional development to assist teachers and other
school officials regarding how to effectively use such
equipment and software.