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106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3984
To establish a National Clearinghouse for Character Education.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 15, 2000
Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To establish a National Clearinghouse for Character
Education.
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 ‘‘Commitment to Kids
and Character Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It is vitally important for school systems to
ensure that their students understand, care about,
and act upon ethical values, such as honesty, fair-
ness, responsibility, and respect for self and others.
(2) Schools adopting intentional comprehensive
approaches to character education are developing
moral and ethical values in their students and pro-
moting a more compassionate and responsible soci-
ety. Students are less prone to violence and sub-
stance abuse, and are more community minded, and
often more committed and successful academically
when character education programs have been imple-
mented.
(3) An increasing number of schools, districts,
and States are taking steps to incorporate character
education into their classrooms and school cultures.
They need information on best practices, effective
curricula, quality programs, criteria for assessing
programs, and cost-effective opportunities to net-
work nationally with each other, especially through
electronic means.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) GRANT.—The Secretary is authorized to provide
a grant to an organization that is described in section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex-
empt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code (referred
to in this Act as the ‘‘Organization’’) which has—
(1) demonstrated expertise on a National level
in providing comprehensive and objective informa-
tion services and assistance regarding character edu-
cation policies, programs, models of curricula, re-
search and assessment;
(2) a membership representative of individuals
and groups committed to providing character edu-
cation; and
(3) demonstrated a commitment to furthering
the implementation of quality practices in the imple-
mentation of character education programs.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER.—The Organiza-
tion shall establish and support the operation of a Na-
tional Clearinghouse for Character Education (referred to
in this Act as the ‘‘Clearinghouse’’) to synthesize and dis-
seminate information about character education and re-
lated programs. The Organization, through the Clearing-
house, shall develop programs that incorporate the fol-
lowing elements of character:
(1) Caring.
(2) Civic virtue and citizenship.
(3) Justice and fairness.
(4) Respect.
(5) Responsibility.
(6) Honesty.
(7) Any other elements considered appropriate
by the Organization.
SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS.
The Organization, through the Clearinghouse, shall—
(1) develop a searchable database that contains
background and contact information on the leading
character education groups, curricula, books, pro-
grams, and videos;
(2) make available information on best prac-
tices;
(3) make available models of professional devel-
opment in character education;
(4) make available research findings on the ef-
fectiveness of various approaches and programs;
(5) make available information on available as-
sessment tools and instruments;
(6) make available information on leading char-
acter education groups nationally and the services
they provide;
(7) collect and make available information re-
garding how character education can be integrated
into State and national content and performance
standards for the various academic subjects and in-
corporated in other educational reform efforts;
(8) make available a checklist of criteria for
users to assess the appropriateness of particular
character education curricula to their needs;
(9) provide a network of State sponsored
websites on character education;
(10) make available any other information that
may be helpful to character educators in imple-
menting programs; and
(11) provide telephone assistance and a toll-free
access number.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
The Organization shall submit to the Secretary an
annual report that—
(1) specifies the number of people who request
information from the Clearinghouse and the types of
information requested; and
(2) identifies unmet and future information
needs in the field of character education.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $500,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as
may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
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