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to as the ‘Interagency Group’). The Secretary may include
in the Institute any research and development center, in-
stitute, or clearinghouse established within the Depart-
ment of Education whose purpose is determined by the
Secretary to be related to the purpose of the Institute.
‘‘(2) The Interagency Group shall consider the rec-
ommendations of the National Institute for Literacy Advi-
sory Board (the ‘Board’) under subsection (e) in planning
the goals of the Institute and in the implementation of
any programs to achieve such goals. The daily operations
of the Institute shall be carried out by the Director.
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—(1) In order to provide leadership for
the improvement and expansion of the system for delivery
of literacy services, the Institute is authorized to—
‘‘(A) establish a national electronic data base of
information that disseminates information to the
broadest possible audience within the literacy and
basic skills field, and that includes—
‘‘(i) effective practices in the provision of
literacy and basic skills instruction, including
the integration of such instruction with occupa-
tional skills training;
‘‘(ii) public and private literacy and basic
skills programs and Federal, State, and local
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policies affecting the provision of literacy serv-
ices at the national, State, and local levels;
‘‘(iii) opportunities for technical assistance,
meetings, conferences, and other opportunities
that lead to the improvement of literacy and
basic skills services; and
‘‘(iv) a communication network for literacy
programs, providers, social service agencies, and
students;
‘‘(B) coordinate support for the provision of lit-
eracy and basic skills services across Federal agen-
cies and at the State and local levels;
‘‘(C) coordinate the support of research and de-
velopment on literacy and basic skills in families and
adults across Federal agencies, especially with the
Office of Educational Research and Improvement in
the Department of Education, and carry out basic
and applied research and development on topics that
are not being investigated by other organizations or
agencies;
‘‘(D) collect and disseminate information on
methods of advancing literacy that show great prom-
ise;
‘‘(E) work with the National Education Goals
Panel, assist local, State, and national organizations
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and agencies in making and measuring progress to-
wards the National Education Goals, as established
by Public Law 103–227;
‘‘(F) coordinate and share information with na-
tional organizations and associations that are inter-
ested in literacy and workforce development;
‘‘(G) inform the development of policy with re-
spect to literacy and basic skills; and
(H) undertake other activities that lead to the
improvement of the Nation’s literacy delivery system
and that complement other such efforts being under-
taken by public and private agencies and organiza-
tions.
‘‘(2) The Institute may enter into contracts or coop-
erative agreements with, or make grants to, individuals,
public or private institutions, agencies, organizations, or
consortia of such institutions, agencies, or organizations
to carry out the activities of the Institute. Such grants,
contracts, or agreements shall be subject to the laws and
regulations that generally apply to grants, contracts, or
agreements entered into by Federal agencies.
‘‘(d) LITERACY LEADERSHIP.—(1) The Institute
may, in consultation with the Board, award fellowships,
with such stipends and allowances that the Director con-
siders necessary, to outstanding individuals pursuing ca-
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reers in adult education or literacy in the areas of instruc-
tion, management, research, or innovation.
‘‘(2) Fellowships awarded under this subsection shall
be used, under the auspices of the Institute, to engage
in research, education, training, technical assistance, or
other activities to advance the field of adult education or
literacy, including the training of volunteer literacy provid-
ers at the national, State, or local level.
‘‘(3) The Institute, in consultation with the Board,
is authorized to award paid and unpaid internships to in-
dividuals seeking to assist in carrying out the Institute’s
mission and to accept assistance from volunteers.
‘‘(e) NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY ADVISORY
BOARD.—(1)(A) There shall be a National Institute for
Literacy Advisory Board, which shall consist of 10 individ-
uals appointed by the President.
‘‘(B) The Board shall comprise individuals who are
not otherwise officers or employees of the Federal Govern-
ment and who are representative of such entities as—
‘‘(i) literacy organizations and providers of lit-
eracy services, including nonprofit providers, provid-
ers of English as a second language programs and
service, social service organizations, and providers
receiving assistance under this title;
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‘‘(ii) businesses that have demonstrated interest
in literacy programs;
‘‘(iii) literacy students, including those with dis-
abilities;
‘‘(iv) experts in the area of literacy research;
‘‘(v) State and local governments;
‘‘(vi) State Directs of adult education; and
‘‘(vii) labor organizations.
‘‘(2) The Board shall—
‘‘(A) make recommendations concerning the ap-
pointment of the Director and staff of the Institute;
and
‘‘(B) provide independent advice on the oper-
ation of the Institute.
‘‘(3)(A) Appointments to the Board made after the
date of enactment of the Adult Basic Education and Lit-
eracy for the Twenty-First Century Act shall be for three-
year terms, except that the initial terms for members may
be established at one, two, or three years in order to estab-
lish a rotation in which one-third of the members are se-
lected each year.
‘‘(B) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occur-
ring before the expiration of the term for which the mem-
ber’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only
for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after
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the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has
taken office.
‘‘(4) The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the
Board shall be elected by the members.
‘‘(5) The Board shall meet at the call of the Chair-
person or a majority of its members.
‘‘(f) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—(1) The In-
stitute may accept, administer, and use gifts or donations
of services, money, or property, whether real or personal,
tangible or intangible.
‘‘(2) The responsible official shall establish written
rules setting forth the criteria to be used by the Institute
in determining whether the acceptance of contributions of
services, money, or property whether real or personal, tan-
gible or intangible, would reflect unfavorably upon the
ability of the Institute or any employee to carry out its
responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objective
manner, or would compromise the integrity or the appear-
ance of the integrity of its programs or any official in-
volved in those programs.
‘‘(g) MAILS.—The Board and the Institute may use
the United States mails in the same manner and under
the same conditions as other departments and agencies of
the United States.
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‘‘(h) STAFF.—The Interagency Group, after consid-
ering recommendations made by the Board, shall appoint
and fix the pay of a Director.
‘‘(i) APPLICABILITY
OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE
LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Institute may be
appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, Unit-
ed States Code, governing appointments in the competitive
service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions
of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that
title relating to classification and General Schedule pay
rates, except that an individual so appointed may not re-
ceive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay payable
for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
‘‘(j) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Institute
may procure temporary and intermittent services under
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.
‘‘(k) REPORT.—The Institute shall submit a biennial
report to the Interagency Group and the Congress.
‘‘(l) NONDUPLICATION.—The Institute shall not du-
plicate any functions carried out by the Secretaries of
Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services under
this title. This subsection shall not be construed to pro-
hibit the Secretaries from delegating such functions to the
Institute.
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‘‘(m) FUNDING.—Any amounts appropriated to the
Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, or any other department that par-
ticipates in the Institute for purposes that the Institute
is authorized to perform under this section may be pro-
vided to the Institute for such purposes.
‘‘PART C—GENERAL PROVISIONS
‘‘WAIVERS
‘‘SEC. 341. (a) REQUEST FOR WAIVER.—A State
educational agency may request, on its own behalf or on
behalf of a local recipient, a waiver by the Secretary of
one or more statutory or regulatory provisions described
in subsection (c) in order to carry out adult education and
literacy programs under part A more effectively.
‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—(1) Except as provided
in subsection (d), the Secretary may waive any require-
ment of a statute listed in subsection (c), or of the regula-
tions issued under that statute, for a State that requests
such a waiver—
‘‘(A) if, and only to the extent that, the Sec-
retary determines that such requirement impedes the
ability of the State or a subgrant or contract recipi-
ent under part A to carry out adult education and
literacy programs or activities in an effective man-
ner;
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‘‘(B) if the State waives, or agrees to waive,
any similar requirements of State law;
‘‘(C) if, in the case of a statewide waiver, the
State—
‘‘(i) has provided all subgrant or contract
recipients under part A in the State with notice
of, and an opportunity to comment on, the
State’s proposal to request a waiver; and
‘‘(ii) has submitted the comments of such
recipients to the Secretary; and
‘‘(D) if the State provides such information as
the Secretary reasonably requires in order to make
such determinations.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall act promptly on any request
submitted under paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) Each waiver approved under this subsection
shall be for a period not to exceed five years, except that
the Secretary may extend such period if the Secretary de-
termines that the waiver has been effective in enabling the
State to carry out the purposes of this title.
‘‘(c) EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The statutes subject
to the waiver authority of the Secretary under this section
are—
‘‘(1) this title;
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‘‘(2) part A of title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (authorizing pro-
grams and activities to help disadvantaged children
meet high standards);
‘‘(3) part B of title II of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Dwight D. Eisen-
hower Professional Development Program);
‘‘(4) title VI of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (Innovative Education Pro-
gram Strategies);
‘‘(5) part C of title VII of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Emergency Im-
migrant Education Program);
‘‘(6) the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of
1994, but only with the concurrence of the Secretary
of Labor; and
‘‘(7) the Carl D. Perkins Career Preparation
Education Act of 1997.
‘‘(d) WAIVERS
NOT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary
may not waive any statutory or regulatory requirement of
the programs listed in subsection (c) relating to—
‘‘(1) the basic purposes or goals of the affected
programs;
‘‘(2) maintenance of effort;
‘‘(3) comparability of services;
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‘‘(4) the equitable participation of students at-
tending private schools;
‘‘(5) parental participation and involvement;
‘‘(6) the distribution of funds to States or to
local recipients;
‘‘(7) the eligibility of an individual for partici-
pation in the affected programs;
‘‘(8) public health or safety, labor standards,
civil rights, occupational safety and health, or envi-
ronmental protection; or
‘‘(9) prohibitions or restrictions relating to the
construction of buildings or facilities.
‘‘(e) TERMINATION
OF WAIVERS.—The Secretary
shall periodically review the performance of any State or
local recipient for which the Secretary has granted a waiv-
er under this section and shall terminate such waiver if
the Secretary determines that the performance of the
State affected by the waiver has been inadequate to justify
a continuation of the waiver, or the State fails to waive
similar requirements of State law in accordance with sub-
section (b)(1)(B).
‘‘DEFINITIONS
‘‘SEC. 342. For the purposes of this title—
‘‘(1) except under section 320(a)(2)(B)(ii), the
term ‘adult’ means an individual who is 16 years of
age, or beyond the age of compulsory school attend-
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ance under State law, and who is not enrolled, or re-
quired to be enrolled, in secondary school;
‘‘(2) the term ‘adult education’ means services
or instruction below the college level for adults
who—
‘‘(A) lack sufficient education or literacy
skills to enable them to function effectively in
society; or
‘‘(B) do not have a certificate of gradua-
tion from a school providing secondary edu-
cation and who have not achieved an equivalent
level of education;
‘‘(3) the term ‘community-based organization’
means a private nonprofit organization that is rep-
resentative of a community or significant segments
of a community and that provides education, voca-
tional rehabilitation, job training, or internship serv-
ices and programs;
‘‘(4) the term ‘individual of limited English pro-
ficiency’ means an adult or out-of-school youth who
has limited ability in speaking, reading, writing, or
understanding the English language and—
‘‘(A) whose native language is a language
other than English; or
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‘‘(B) who lives in a family or community
environment where a language other than Eng-
lish is the dominant language;
‘‘(5) the term ‘institution of higher education’
means any such institution as defined by section
1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965;
‘‘(6) the term ‘literacy’ means as individual’s
ability to read, write, and speak in English, and
compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency
necessary to function on the job and in society, to
achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and
potential;
‘‘(7) the term ‘local educational agency’ means
a public board of education or other public authority
legally constituted within a State for either adminis-
trative control or direction of, or to perform a serv-
ice function for, public elementary or secondary
schools in a city, county, township, school district, or
other political subdivision of a State, or such com-
bination of school districts or counties as are recog-
nized in a State as an administrative agency for its
public elementary or secondary schools, except that,
if there is a separate board or other legally con-
stituted local authority having administrative control
and direction of adult education in public schools
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under the preceding sentence, such term shall mean
an appropriate agency or officer designated for the
purposes of this title by the Governor.’’.
TITLE II—EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION
EFFECTIVE DATE
SEC. 201. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1998.
TRANSITION
SEC. 202. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
law—
(1) upon enactment of the Adult Basic Edu-
cation and Literacy for the Twenty-First Century
Act, a State or local recipient of funds under the
Adult Education Act as it was in effect prior to the
enactment of the Adult Basic Education and Lit-
eracy for the Twenty-First Century Act, may use
any such unexpended funds to carry out services and
activities that are authorized by the Adult Education
Act or part A of the Adult Basic Education and Lit-
eracy Act; and
(2) a State or local recipient of funds under
part A of the Adult Basic Education and Literacy
Act for the fiscal year 1998 may use such funds to
carry out services and activities that are authorized
either by such part or were authorized by the Adult
Education Act as it was in effect prior to the enact-
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ment of the Adult Basic Education and Literacy for
the Twenty-First Century Act.
TITLE III—REPEALS OF OTHER ACTS
REPEALS
SEC. 301 (a) NATIONAL LITERACY ACT.—The Na-
tional Literacy Act of 1991 (20 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) is
repealed.
(b) GRANTS TO STATES FOR WORKPLACE AND COM-
MUNITY
TRANSITION
TRAINING
FOR
INCARCERATED
YOUTH OFFENDERS.—Part E of title X of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1135g) is repealed.
Æ