Public School Emergency Relief Act
Bill: H.R.4667 | Sponsor: Rep. Rice, Kathleen M. (D-NY)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Public School Emergency Relief Act
This bill authorizes a Department of Education program to provide temporary emergency impact aid payments to states for assisting local educational agencies and Bureau of Indian Education schools in responding to increases in the enrollment of immigrant children.

To provide for temporary emergency impact aid for local educational 
                               agencies.

    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 ``Public School Emergency Relief 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States continues to experience an 
        unprecedented influx in arrivals of unaccompanied children.
            (2) In fiscal year 2019, the Department of Health and Human 
        Services Office of Refugee Resettlement released 72,837 
        unaccompanied alien children to sponsors nationwide.
            (3) Federal law, as upheld by the Supreme Court decision in 
        Plyer v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), permits all children 
        residing in the United States access to a public elementary and 
        secondary education regardless of their immigration status.
            (4) An unprecedented influx of unaccompanied alien children 
        has resulted in a strain on the Nation's public school system.
            (5) In response to these conditions, this Act creates an 
        emergency grant for the 2021-2022 school year tailored to the 
        needs of local educational agencies affected by enrollment 
        increases attributable to unaccompanied alien children.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY IMPACT AID FOR IMMIGRANT STUDENTS.

    (a) Temporary Emergency Impact Aid Authorized.--
            (1) Aid to state educational agencies.--From amounts 
        appropriated to carry out this Act, the Secretary of Education 
        shall provide emergency impact aid to State educational 
        agencies to enable the State educational agencies to make 
        emergency impact aid payments to eligible local educational 
        agencies and eligible BIA-funded schools to enable such 
        eligible local educational agencies and schools to provide for 
        the instruction of students served by such agencies and 
        schools.
            (2) Aid to local educational agencies and bia-funded 
        schools.--A State educational agency shall make emergency 
        impact aid payments to eligible local educational agencies and 
        eligible BIA-funded schools in accordance with subsection (c).
            (3) Notice of funds availability.--Not later than 14 
        calendar days after funds are made available to carry out this 
        Act, the Secretary of Education shall publish in the Federal 
        Register a notice of the availability of funds under this 
        section.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) State educational agency.--Not later than 7 calendar 
        days after the date by which applications under paragraph (2) 
        shall be submitted, a State educational agency that desires to 
        receive emergency impact aid under this section shall submit an 
        application to the Secretary of Education, in such manner and 
        accompanied by such information as the Secretary of Education 
        may require, including information on the total immigrant 
        student child count of the State provided in applications 
        submitted under paragraph (2) by eligible local educational 
        agencies and eligible BIA-funded schools in the State.
            (2) Local educational agencies and bia-funded schools.--Not 
        later than 14 days after the date of the publication of the 
        notice described in subsection (a)(3), an eligible local 
        educational agency or eligible BIA-funded school that desires 
        an emergency impact aid payment under this section shall submit 
        an application to the State educational agency, in such manner, 
        and accompanied by such information as the State educational 
        agency may require, including documentation submitted for the 
        most recent quarter completed that indicates the following:
                    (A) In the case of an eligible local educational 
                agency, the number of immigrant students enrolled in 
                the elementary schools and secondary schools (including 
                charter schools) served by such agency for such 
                quarter.
                    (B) In the case of an eligible BIA-funded school, 
                the number of immigrant students enrolled in such 
                school for such quarter.
            (3) Determination of number of immigrant students.--In 
        determining the number of immigrant students for a quarter 
        under paragraph (2), an eligible local educational agency or 
        eligible BIA-funded school shall include the number of 
        immigrant students served--
                    (A) in the case of a determination for the first 
                quarterly installment, during the most recent quarter 
                completed before the date of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) in the case of a determination for each 
                subsequent quarterly installment, during the quarter 
                immediately preceding the quarter for which the 
                installment is provided.
    (c) Amount of Emergency Impact Aid.--
            (1) Aid to state educational agencies.--
                    (A) In general.--The amount of emergency impact aid 
                received by a State educational agency for the 2021-
                2022 school year shall equal the product of--
                            (i) the increase (if any) in the total 
                        number of immigrant students--
                                    (I) as determined by the eligible 
                                local educational agencies and eligible 
                                BIA-funded schools in the State under 
                                subsection (b)(2); over
                                    (II) the number of such students 
                                enrolled in such State during the 
                                corresponding quarter of the 2019-2020 
                                school year; and
                            (ii) $12,000.
                    (B) Insufficient funds.--If the amount available to 
                provide emergency impact aid under this section is 
                insufficient to pay the full amount that each State 
                educational agency is eligible to receive under this 
                section, the Secretary of Education shall ratably 
                reduce the amount of such emergency impact aid to each 
                such State educational agency.
                    (C) Retention of state share.--In the case of a 
                State educational agency that has made a payment to a 
                local educational agency prior to the date of enactment 
                of this Act for the purpose of covering additional 
                costs incurred as a result of enrolling an immigrant 
                student in a school served by the local educational 
                agency for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years, 
                the State educational agency may retain a portion of 
                the payment described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) that 
                bears the same relation to the total amount of the 
                payment under such paragraph as the sum of such prior 
                payments bears to the total cost of attendance for all 
                students in that local educational agency for whom the 
                State educational agency made such prior payments.
            (2) Aid to eligible local educational agencies and eligible 
        bia-funded schools.--
                    (A) Quarterly installments.--
                            (i) In general.--A State educational agency 
                        shall provide emergency impact aid payments 
                        under this section to eligible local 
                        educational agencies and eligible BIA-funded 
                        schools on a quarterly basis for the 2021-2022 
                        school year by such dates as determined by the 
                        Secretary of Education. Such quarterly 
                        installment payments shall be based on the 
                        number of immigrant students reported under 
                        subsection (b)(2).
                            (ii) Payment amount.--Subject to paragraph 
                        (1)(B), each quarterly installment payment 
                        under clause (i) shall equal 25 percent of the 
                        amount determined under paragraph (1)(A).
                            (iii) Timeline.--The Secretary of Education 
                        shall establish a timeline for quarterly 
                        reporting on the number of immigrant students 
                        in order to make the appropriate disbursements 
                        in a timely manner.
                            (iv) Insufficient funds.--If, for any 
                        quarter, the amount available to a State 
                        educational agency under this section to make 
                        payments to eligible local educational agencies 
                        and eligible BIA-funded schools under this 
                        subsection is insufficient to pay the full 
                        amount that an eligible local educational 
                        agency or eligible BIA-funded school is 
                        eligible to receive under this section, the 
                        State educational agency shall ratably reduce 
                        the amount of such payments to each such agency 
                        and school.
            (3) Immigrant students.--Subject to the subsection (d), an 
        eligible local educational agency or eligible BIA-funded school 
        receiving emergency impact aid payments under this section 
        shall use the payments to provide services and assistance to 
        elementary schools and secondary schools (including charter 
        schools) served by such agency, or to such BIA-funded school, 
        that enrolled an immigrant student.
    (d) Use of Funds.--
            (1) Authorized uses.--The authorized uses of funds are the 
        following:
                    (A) Paying the compensation of personnel, including 
                teacher aides, in schools enrolling immigrant students.
                    (B) Identifying and acquiring curricular material, 
                including the costs of providing additional classroom 
                supplies, and mobile educational units and leasing 
                sites or spaces.
                    (C) Basic instructional services for such students, 
                including tutoring, mentoring, or academic counseling.
                    (D) Reasonable transportation costs.
                    (E) Health and counseling services.
                    (F) Education and support services.
                    (G) Other uses as allowed under title III of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6801 et seq.).
            (2) Provision of special education and related services.--
                    (A) In general.--In the case of an immigrant 
                student who is a child with a disability, any payment 
                made on behalf of such student to an eligible local 
                educational agency shall be used to pay for special 
                education and related services consistent with the 
                Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
                1400 et seq.).
                    (B) Definitions.--In subparagraph (A), the terms 
                ``child with a disability'', ``special education'', and 
                ``related services'' have the meaning given such terms 
                in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
                Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401).
    (e) Return of Aid.--
            (1) Eligible local educational agency or eligible bia-
        funded school.--An eligible local educational agency or 
        eligible BIA-funded school that receives an emergency impact 
        aid payment under this section shall return to the State 
        educational agency any payment provided to the eligible local 
        educational agency or school under this section that the 
        eligible local educational agency or school has not obligated 
        by the end of the 2021-2022 school year in accordance with this 
        section.
            (2) State educational agency.--A State educational agency 
        that receives emergency impact aid under this section, shall 
        return to the Secretary of Education--
                    (A) any aid provided to the agency under this 
                section that the agency has not obligated by the end of 
                the 2019-2020 school year in accordance with this 
                section; and
                    (B) any payment funds returned to the State 
                educational agency under paragraph (1).
    (f) Limitation on Use of Aid and Payments.--Aid and payments 
provided under this section shall only be used for expenses incurred 
during the 2021-2022 school year.
    (g) Administrative Expenses.--A State educational agency that 
receives emergency impact aid under this section may use not more than 
1 percent of such aid for administrative expenses. An eligible local 
educational agency or eligible BIA-funded school that receives 
emergency impact aid payments under this section may use not more than 
2 percent of such payments for administrative expenses.
    (h) Special Funding Rule.--In calculating funding under section 
8003 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7703) for an eligible local educational agency that receives an 
emergency impact aid payment under this section, the Secretary of 
Education shall not count immigrant students served by such agency for 
whom an emergency impact aid payment is received under this section, 
nor shall such students be counted for the purpose of calculating the 
total number of children in average daily attendance at the schools 
served by such agency as provided in section 8003(b)(3)(B)(i) of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 7703(b)(3)(B)(i)).
    (i) Nondiscrimination.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to 
        alter or modify the provisions of the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), title VI 
        of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), 
        title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 
        seq.), and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
        seq.).
            (2) Prohibition.--A school that enrolls an immigrant 
        student under this section shall not discriminate against 
        students on the basis of race, color, national origin, 
        religion, disability, or sex.
            (3) Rule of construction.--The amount of any payment (or 
        other form of support provided on behalf of an immigrant 
        student) under this section shall not be treated as income of a 
        parent or guardian of the student for purposes of Federal tax 
        laws or for determining eligibility for any other Federal 
        program.
    (j) Treatment of State Aid.--A State shall not take into 
consideration emergency impact aid payments received under this section 
by a local educational agency in the State in determining the 
eligibility of such local educational agency for State aid, or the 
amount of State aid, with respect to free public education of children.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Unless otherwise specified, the terms used in this 
Act have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
    (b) Specific Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Eligible local educational agency.--The term ``eligible 
        local educational agency'' means a local educational agency 
        that serves an elementary school or secondary school (including 
        a charter school) in which there is enrolled an immigrant 
        student.
            (2) Eligible bia-funded school.--The term ``eligible BIA-
        funded school'' means a school funded by the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs in which there is enrolled an immigrant student.
            (3) Immigrant student.--The term ``immigrant student'' has 
        the meaning given the term ``immigrant children and youth'' in 
        section 3301 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7011) (as such section was in effect on the day 
        before the date of enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act 
        (Public Law 114-95)).
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