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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1902
To establish a computer education program for certain students.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 28, 1993
Ms. LONG (for herself and Mr. MYERS of Indiana) introduced the following
bill which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
A BILL
To establish a computer education program for certain
students.
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 ‘‘Buddy System Com-
puter Education Act’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this Act to award demonstration
grants to develop and expand public-private partnership
programs which extend the learning experience, via com-
puters, beyond the classroom environment in order to—
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(1) enhance learning by providing students with
the technological tools and guidance necessary to de-
velop skills critical to educational growth and suc-
cess in the workplace, including—
(A) mastery of fundamental computer
technology and applications;
(B) improved written and visual commu-
nication skills;
(C) improved critical thinking and problem
solving abilities; and
(D) improved ability to work in a collabo-
rative, teamwork-driven environment;
(2) encourage parental involvement in education
and total family use and understanding of computers
and telecommunications through at-home applica-
tions; and
(3) established foundations for life-long learning
through improvement in education skills and student
motivation and attitudes.
SEC. 3. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.
(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct
a program of awarding a grant to each of 3 States
to enable such States to create a computer-based
education project in accordance with the require-
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ments of section 4 for children—(A) grades 4–6;
and or (B) middle or junior high school.
(2) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award
grants under this Act on a competitive basis.
(3) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under
this Act, the Secretary shall give preference to appli-
cations—
(A) from States that have a demonstrated
ability or commitment to computer-based tech-
nology education; and
(B) describing projects that serve school
districts which serve a large number or percent-
age of economically disadvantaged students.
(b) SITE SELECTION AND PROJECT IMPLEMENTA-
TION.—Site selection and implementation of the com-
puter-based education projects assisted under this Act
shall take place not later than 9 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
Each State receiving a grant to conduct a computer-
based education project under this Act shall—
(1) provide a continuous 4-year computer-based
education project to—(A) consecutive groups of 4th,
5th, and 6th (if applicable) grade school students
during the period commencing with each such
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group’s entry into 4th grade and ending the summer
following each such group’s completion of elementary
school; and or (B) consecutive groups of middle or
junior high school students during the period com-
mencing with each such group’s entry into the 1st
grade taught at such middle or junior high school
and ending the summer following each such groups
completion of the last grade taugtht at such middle
or junior high school.
(2) ensure that each student in each of the
classes participating in the project shall participate
in the project;
(3) conduct such project in not more than 7
public schools within the State; and
(4) ensure that each student participating in
the project shall have access to a computer—
(A) at school during the school year; and
(B) at home during the school year and
summer.
SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS.
(a) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—In order to receive a
grant under this Act, the chief State school officer of a
State shall submit an application to the Secretary in such
form and containing such information as the Secretary
may reasonably require. Such application shall include an
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assurance from the State educational agency that the
State educational agency has made every effort to match
on a dollar-for-dollar basis from private or public sources
the funds received under this Act, except that no such ap-
plication shall be penalized or denied assistance under this
Act on the basis of the failure to provide such matching
funds.
(b) APPLICATION PERIOD.—States shall be eligible to
submit applications for assistance under this Act during
a 3-month period determined by the Secretary.
SEC. 6. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.
Grant funds under this Act shall be used to provide
hardware and software components to all sites, and train-
ing for classroom teachers as well as parents, administra-
tors and technical personnel.
SEC. 7. EVALUATION.
The Secretary shall evaluate the demonstration pro-
gram assisted under this Act and shall report to the Con-
gress regarding the overall effectiveness of such program.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ means
each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Is-
lands, Guam, and American Samoa.
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SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000
for fiscal year 1994, $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1995,
$5,500,000 for fiscal year 1996, and $3,500,000 for fiscal
year 1997 to carry out this Act.
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