I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2446 
To amend the small rural school achievement program and the rural and 
low-income school program under part B of title VI of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2009 
Mr. POMEROY (for himself and Mr. GRAVES) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the small rural school achievement program and 
the rural and low-income school program under part 
B of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965. 
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 ‘‘Rural Education 
Achievement Program Reauthorization Act’’. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
SEC. 2. SMALL, RURAL SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM. 
Sections 6211 and 6212 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7345, 7345a) 
are amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 6211. USE OF APPLICABLE FUNDING. 
‘‘(a) ALTERNATIVE USES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, an eligible local educational agency 
may use the applicable funding that the agency is el-
igible to receive from the State educational agency 
for a fiscal year to carry out local activities author-
ized under any of the following provisions: 
‘‘(A) Part A of title I. 
‘‘(B) Part A or D of title II. 
‘‘(C) Title III. 
‘‘(D) Part A or B of title IV. 
‘‘(E) Part A of title V. 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—An eligible local edu-
cational agency shall notify the State educational 
agency of the local educational agency’s intention to 
use the applicable funding in accordance with para-
graph (1), by a date that is established by the State 
educational agency for the notification. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 
shall be eligible to use the applicable funding in ac-
cordance with subsection (a) if— 
‘‘(A)(i)(I) the total number of students in 
average daily attendance at all of the schools 
served by the local educational agency is fewer 
than 600; or 
‘‘(II) each county in which a school served 
by the local educational agency is located has a 
total population density of fewer than 10 per-
sons per square mile; and 
‘‘(ii) all of the schools served by the local 
educational agency are designated with a school 
locale code of Fringe Rural, Distant Rural, or 
Remote Rural, as determined by the Secretary; 
or 
‘‘(B) the agency meets the criteria estab-
lished in subparagraph (A)(i) and the Sec-
retary, in accordance with paragraph (2), 
grants the local educational agency’s request to 
waive the criteria described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii). 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall de-
termine whether to waive the criteria described in 
paragraph (1)(A)(ii) based on a demonstration by 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
the local educational agency, and concurrence by the 
State educational agency, that the local educational 
agency is located in an area defined as rural by a 
governmental agency of the State. 
‘‘(c) APPLICABLE FUNDING DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘applicable funding’ means funds provided 
under any of the following provisions: 
‘‘(1) Subpart 2 and section 2412(a)(2)(A) of 
title II. 
‘‘(2) Section 4114. 
‘‘(3) Part A of title V. 
‘‘(d) DISBURSEMENT.—Each State educational agen-
cy that receives applicable funding for a fiscal year shall 
disburse the applicable funding to local educational agen-
cies for alternative uses under this section for the fiscal 
year at the same time as the State educational agency dis-
burses the applicable funding to local educational agencies 
that do not intend to use the applicable funding for such 
alternative uses for the fiscal year. 
‘‘(e) APPLICABLE RULES.—Applicable funding under 
this section shall be available to carry out local activities 
authorized under subsection (a). 
‘‘SEC. 6212. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 
award grants to eligible local educational agencies to en-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
section for a fiscal year not later than July 1 of that fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL ELIGIBILITY RULE.—A local edu-
cational agency that receives a grant under this subpart 
for a fiscal year is not eligible to receive funds for such 
fiscal year under subpart 2.’’. 
SEC. 3. RURAL AND LOW-INCOME SCHOOL PROGRAM. 
Section 6221 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7351) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 6221. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—From amounts appro-
priated under section 6234 for this subpart for a fis-
cal year that are not reserved under subsection (c), 
the Secretary shall award grants (from allotments 
made under paragraph (2)) for the fiscal year to 
State educational agencies that have applications 
submitted under section 6223 approved to enable the 
State educational agencies to award grants to eligi-
ble local educational agencies for local authorized ac-
tivities described in section 6222(a). 
‘‘(2) ALLOTMENT.—From amounts described in 
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
allot to each State educational agency for that fiscal 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
year an amount that bears the same ratio to those 
amounts as the number of students in average daily 
attendance served by eligible local educational agen-
cies in the State for that fiscal year bears to the 
number of all such students served by eligible local 
educational agencies in all States for that fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(3) SPECIALLY QUALIFIED AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION.—If a 
State educational agency elects not to partici-
pate in the program under this subpart or does 
not have an application submitted under section 
6223 approved, a specially qualified agency in 
such State desiring a grant under this subpart 
may submit an application under such section 
directly to the Secretary to receive an award 
under this subpart. 
‘‘(B) DIRECT
AWARDS.—The Secretary 
may award, on a competitive basis or by for-
mula, the amount the State educational agency 
is eligible to receive under paragraph (2) di-
rectly to a specially qualified agency in the 
State that has submitted an application in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (A) and obtained 
approval of the application. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
‘‘(C) SPECIALLY QUALIFIED AGENCY DE-
FINED.—In this subpart, the term ‘specially 
qualified agency’ means an eligible local edu-
cational agency served by a State educational 
agency that does not participate in a program 
under this subpart in a fiscal year, that may 
apply directly to the Secretary for a grant in 
such year under this subsection. 
‘‘(b) LOCAL AWARDS.— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—A local educational agency 
shall be eligible to receive a grant under this subpart 
if— 
‘‘(A) 40 percent or more of the children 
ages 5 through 17 years served by the local 
educational agency are eligible for a free or re-
duced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act; and 
‘‘(B) all of the schools served by the agen-
cy are designated with a school locale code of 
Distant Town, Remote Town, Fringe Rural, 
Distant Rural, or Remote Rural, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) AWARD BASIS.—A State educational agen-
cy shall award grants to eligible local educational 
agencies— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
‘‘(A) on a competitive basis; 
‘‘(B) according to a formula based on the 
number of students in average daily attendance 
served by the eligible local educational agencies 
or schools in the State; or 
‘‘(C) according to an alternative formula, 
if, prior to awarding the grants, the State edu-
cational agency demonstrates, to the satisfac-
tion of the Secretary, that the alternative for-
mula enables the State educational agency to 
allot the grant funds in a manner that serves 
equal or greater concentrations of children from 
families eligible for a free or reduced price 
lunch under the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act, relative to the concentrations 
that would be served if the State educational 
agency used the formula described in subpara-
graph (B). 
‘‘(c) RESERVATIONS.—From amounts appropriated 
under section 6234 for this subpart for a fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall reserve— 
‘‘(1) one-half of 1 percent to make awards to el-
ementary schools or secondary schools operated or 
supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to carry 
out the activities authorized under this subpart; and 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
‘‘(2) one-half of 1 percent to make awards to 
the outlying areas in accordance with their respec-
tive needs, to carry out the activities authorized 
under this subpart. 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL ELIGIBILITY RULE.—A local edu-
cational agency that is eligible to receive a grant under 
this subpart and is also eligible to receive a grant under 
subpart 1, may receive a grant under this subpart for a 
fiscal year only if the local educational agency does not 
receive a grant under subpart 1 for such fiscal year.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:59 May 16, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2446.IH
H2446
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS