I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4349
To provide grants to local educational agencies to provide financial assistance
to elementary and secondary schools for obtaining computer software
for bilingual education, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 2, 2000
Mr. BACA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide grants to local educational agencies to provide
financial assistance to elementary and secondary schools
for obtaining computer software for bilingual education,
and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Bilingual Education
and Technological Advancement Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR BILIN-
GUAL EDUCATION.
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations, the Secretary of Education may
award grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational
agencies to provide financial assistance to elementary and
secondary schools for obtaining computer software for bi-
lingual education.
(b) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall give preference to local
educational agencies that serve an elementary or sec-
ondary school in which—
(1) a majority of the students are from families
with incomes below the poverty line, as defined by
the Office of Management and Budget and in effect
under section 673(2) of the Community Services
Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); or
(2) there is a high concentration of students
with low levels of English proficiency.
(c) ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS.—A grant under this section
may be used to provide financial assistance only to an ele-
mentary or secondary school that meets the criteria of
paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b).
(d) STUDY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct
an annual study of the effectiveness of the grant
program under this section.
(2) REPORT.—By the end of each fiscal year
for which appropriations to carry out this Act are
available, the Secretary shall transmit to the Con-
gress a report that includes the following:
(A) Findings on the effectiveness of this
grant program, including the effectiveness of
the computer software.
(B) Recommendations for improving this
grant program.
(e) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under subsection
(a), a local educational agency shall submit an application
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may require.
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for
grants under this section $80,000,000 for fiscal years
2001 through 2005.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR COMPUTERS.
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations, the Secretary of Education may
award grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational
agencies to provide financial assistance to elementary and
secondary schools for obtaining computers.
(b) MANDATORY
GRANTS.—The Secretary shall
award a grant under subsection (a) to any local edu-
cational agency that—
(1) submits an application under subsection (c);
and
(2) serves elementary or secondary schools in
which, cumulatively, a majority of the students are
from families with incomes below the poverty line, as
defined by the Office of Management and Budget
and in effect under section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)).
(c) ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS.—A grant under this section
may be used to provide financial assistance only to an ele-
mentary or secondary school in which—
(1) a majority of students are from families
with incomes below the poverty line, as defined by
the Office of Management and Budget and in effect
under section 673(2) of the Community Services
Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); or
(2) there are fewer computers than the greater
of—
(A) 6 computers; or
(B) a number of computers for that type
school established by the Secretary by a regula-
tion under this paragraph.
(d) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec-
tion, a local educational agency shall submit an application
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may require.
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for
grants under this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2001 through 2005.
SEC. 4. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING AND BILIN-
GUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM GRANTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap-
propriations, the Secretaries may make grants to eligible
partnerships to pay the Federal share of the cost of estab-
lishing and carrying out—
(1) information technology training programs
for former participants in information technology
training programs who have not received information
technology certification, minorities, women, older in-
dividuals, veterans, Native Americans, and dis-
located workers; and
(2) bilingual education programs.
(b) PARTNERSHIPS.—To be an eligible partnership
under subsection (a), a partnership shall consist of—
(1) an institution of higher education; and
(2) a private organization, such as a certified
commercial information technology training provider
or an information technology trade or professional
association.
(c) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under subsection
(a), an eligible partnership shall submit an application to
the Secretaries at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretaries may require.
(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the
cost described in subsection (a) shall be 50 percent.
(2) NON-FEDERAL
SHARE.—The non-Federal
share of the cost shall be provided in cash or in
kind, fairly evaluated by the Secretaries, and may
include plant, equipment, or services.
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretaries to
carry out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001
and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent
fiscal year.
SEC. 5. BONUS GRANTS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
CERTIFICATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap-
propriations, the Secretary of Education may make grants
to local educational agencies to assist such agencies in
awarding bonuses to teachers who achieve information
technology certification.
(b) LIMITATION
ON AMOUNT.—The amount of a
grant to a local educational agency under subsection (a)
shall not exceed the product determined by multiplying
$5,000 by the number of teachers described pursuant to
subsection (c)(2) in the application for the grant.
(c) APPLICATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To seek a grant under this
section, a local educational agency shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require.
(2) CONTENTS.—The application shall include
information describing the number of teachers em-
ployed by the local educational agency who—
(A) have achieved information technology
certification, including such certification for in-
tegrating information technology into the class-
room or a curriculum; and
(B) have not previously received a bonus
under this section.
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Edu-
cation to carry out this section $120,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
SEC. 6. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TEACHER TRAINING.
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations, the Secretary of Education may
award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of
higher education to provide scholarships to any eligible
student.
(b) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘eligible student’’ means a student who—
(1) is preparing to enter the teaching work-
force; and
(2) meets the criteria established under sub-
section (c).
(c) CRITERIA.—For purposes of subsection (b)(2),
the Secretary shall establish criteria that require a student
to obtain both technological and bilingual education.
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry
out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and
such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 suc-
ceeding fiscal years.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CERTIFIED
COMMERCIAL
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘cer-
tified commercial information technology training
provider’’ means a private sector provider of edu-
cational products and services utilized for training in
information technology that is certified by 1 or more
software publishers or hardware manufacturers (the
products of which are the subject of the training)
with respect to—
(A) the curriculum that is used for the
training; or
(B) the technical knowledge of the instruc-
tors of such provider.
(2) DISLOCATED
WORKER.—The term ‘‘dis-
located worker’’ has the meaning given the term in
section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801).
(3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(4) 
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
CERTIFI-
CATION.—The term ‘‘information technology certifi-
cation’’ means certification in information tech-
nology, in accordance with such standards as—
(A)(i) the Computing Technology Industry
Association or the Information Technology
Training Association may issue, after consulta-
tion with chief education officers of States,
State boards, entities that certify or license
teachers, and other entities affected by the
standards; or
(ii) a State board or entity that certifies or
licenses teachers may issue, after consultation
with chief education officers of States, and
other entities affected by the standards; and
(B) the Secretaries may approve.
(5) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘‘information technology training
program’’ means a program for the training of—
(A) computer programmers, systems ana-
lysts, and computer scientists or engineers (as
such occupations are defined by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics); and
(B) persons for such other occupations as
are determined to be appropriate by the Secre-
taries, after consultation with a working group
broadly solicited by the Secretaries and open to
all interested information technology entities
and trade and professional associations.
(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
(7) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given
the term in section 14101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(8) NATIVE
AMERICAN.—The term ‘‘Native
American’’ means an Indian or a Native Hawaiian,
as defined in section 166(b) of the Workforce Invest-
ment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2911(b)).
(9) SECONDARY
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec-
ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in
section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(10) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’
means the Secretary of Education and the Secretary
of Labor, acting jointly.
(11) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Work-
force Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801).
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