Reopen Schools Act
Bill: H.R.682 | Sponsor: Rep. Hinson, Ashley (R-IA)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Reopen Schools Act
This bill requires a local educational agency (LEA) to reopen its elementary and secondary schools as a condition for receiving certain supplemental education emergency relief funding. Specifically, an LEA must provide in-person instruction to at least 50% of its students in order to receive the full funding. An LEA that provides in-person instruction to at least some of its students shall have its funding reduced on a pro rata basis.

To encourage local educational agencies to resume in-person instruction 
      at elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Reopen Schools Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO SUPPORT IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION.

    Subsection (c) of section 313 of the Coronavirus Response and 
Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (division M of Public Law 
116-260) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--From the allocation provided by the 
        Secretary under subsection (b), the State educational agency 
        shall provide services and assistance to local educational 
        agencies and non-public schools, consistent with the provisions 
        of this section. Each State shall allocate not less than 90 
        percent of the allocation awarded to the State under this 
        section as subgrants to local educational agencies (including 
        charter schools that are local educational agencies) in the 
        State in proportion to the amount of funds such local 
        educational agencies and charter schools that are local 
        educational agencies received under part A of title I of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 
        et seq.) in the most recent fiscal year. The State educational 
        agency shall make such subgrants to local educational agencies 
        as follows:
                    ``(A) One-third of funds shall be awarded not less 
                than 15 calendar days after receiving an award from the 
                Secretary under this section.
                    ``(B) The remaining two-thirds of funds shall be 
                awarded only after the local educational agency submits 
                to the Governor and the Governor approves a 
                comprehensive school reopening plan based on criteria 
                determined by the Governor in consultation with the 
                State educational agency (including criteria for the 
                Governor to carry out paragraph (2)), that describes 
                how the local educational agency will safely reopen 
                schools with the physical presence of students, 
                consistent with maintaining safe and continuous 
                operations aligned with challenging State academic 
                standards.
            ``(2) Approval of plans.--The Governor shall approve plans 
        submitted under paragraph (1)(B) within 30 days after the plan 
        is submitted, subject to the following requirements:
                    ``(A) A local educational agency that provides in-
                person instruction for at least 50 percent of its 
                students where the students physically attend school no 
                less than 50 percent of each school-week, as it was 
                defined by the local educational agency prior to the 
                coronavirus emergency, shall have its plan 
                automatically approved.
                    ``(B) A local educational agency that does not 
                provide in-person instruction to any students where the 
                students physically attend school in-person shall not 
                be eligible to receive a subgrant under paragraph 
                (1)(B).
                    ``(C) A local educational agency that provides in-
                person instruction to at least some students where the 
                students physically attend school in-person but does 
                not satisfy the requirements in subparagraph (A) shall 
                have its allocation reduced on a pro rata basis as 
                determined by the Governor.
            ``(3) Plan contents.--A school reopening plan submitted to 
        a Governor under paragraph (1)(B) shall include, in addition to 
        any other information necessary to meet the criteria determined 
        by the Governor--
                    ``(A) a detailed timeline for when the local 
                educational agency will provide in-person instruction, 
                including the goals and criteria used for providing 
                full time in-person instruction to all students;
                    ``(B) a description of how many days of in-person 
                instruction per calendar week the local educational 
                agency plans to offer to students; and
                    ``(C) an assurance that the local educational 
                agency will offer students as much in-person 
                instruction as is safe and practicable, consistent with 
                maintaining safe and continuous operations aligned with 
                challenging State academic standards.''.
                                 <all>