Access to School Supplies Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9503 | Sponsor: Rep. Bush, Cori (D-MO)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Access to School Supplies Act of 2022
This bill directs the Department of Education to carry out a pilot program to make competitive grants for up to 10 qualified local educational agencies to purchase school supplies. School supplies refer to books, supplies, and supplementary materials used by students and instructional staff in the classroom.

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot program to 
   assist local educational agencies with the acquisition of school 
                   supplies, 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 ``Access to School Supplies Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to demonstrate the 
feasibility of providing grants to local educational agencies to enable 
such agencies--
            (1) to provide school supplies at no cost to students and 
        instructional staff;
            (2) to increase the number of students who have access to 
        the school supplies needed to maintain a stable learning 
        environment; and
            (3) to improve student academic achievement in schools, 
        particularly for low-income students.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Instructional staff.--The term ``instructional staff'' 
        includes, at a minimum, teachers, paraprofessionals, 
        librarians, and other staff deemed necessary to provide 
        classroom instruction (including virtual and in-person 
        instruction), as determined by the Secretary.
            (2) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``local 
        educational agency'', and ``secondary school'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (3) High-poverty school.--The term ``high-poverty school'' 
        means a public school that is in the highest 2 quartiles of 
        schools in a State, based on the percentage of enrolled 
        students from low-income families.
            (4) Outlying area.--The term ``outlying area'' means 
        American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, 
        Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands.
            (5) Qualified local educational agency.--The term 
        ``qualified local educational agency'' means a local 
        educational agency that--
                    (A) serves one or more high-poverty schools; and
                    (B) provides an assurance to the Secretary that the 
                agency will use any funds received under this Act only 
                to serve such schools.
            (6) School supplies.--The term ``school supplies'' refers 
        to books, supplies, and supplementary materials used by 
        students and instructional staff in the classroom, as 
        determined by the Secretary.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, 
        the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 3. RESERVATIONS FOR OUTLYING AREAS AND BIE SCHOOLS.

    (a) In General.--From the total amount appropriated under section 8 
for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall reserve--
            (1) one-half of 1 percent for allotments to the outlying 
        areas, to be distributed among those outlying areas on the 
        basis of their relative need; and
            (2) one-half of 1 percent for the Secretary of the Interior 
        for activities funded under this Act in schools operated or 
        funded by the Bureau of Indian Education.
    (b) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        provisions of this Act shall apply to a recipient of funds 
        under subsection (a) in the same manner that such provisions 
        apply to a qualified local educational agency that receives 
        funds under section 4(a).
            (2) Exception.--An outlying area or school operated or 
        funded by the Bureau of Indian Education shall not be required 
        to submit an application under section 4(b) as a precondition 
        to receiving funds under subsection (a).

SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE ACQUISITION OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES.

    (a) Pilot Program.--Using amounts appropriated under section 8 and 
not reserved under section 3, the Secretary of Education shall carry 
out a pilot program under which the Secretary makes grants, annually 
and on a competitive basis, to not more than 10 qualified local 
educational agencies to assist such agencies in acquiring school 
supplies as described in subsection (c).
    (b) Qualified Local Educational Agency Applications.--
            (1) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        subsection (a), a qualified local educational agency shall 
        submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
        manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
        reasonably require. At a minimum, each such application shall 
        include the information described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Contents of application.--Each application submitted 
        under paragraph (1) shall include assurances that the qualified 
        local educational agency will--
                    (A) prioritize the distribution of funds to schools 
                served by the qualified local educational agency that 
                are among the schools with the greatest needs, as 
                determined by such agency;
                    (B) comply with the reporting requirement under 
                section 6; and
                    (C) provide a description of how the agency will 
                determine the needs of individual schools, in 
                coordination with each school.
            (3) Reapplication.--A qualified local educational agency 
        that receives a grant under subsection (a) may reapply for a 
        grant under such subsection for one or more additional award 
        periods.
            (4) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary shall prioritize the award of grants to qualified 
        local educational agencies that demonstrate the highest level 
        of need for such grants, as determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Use of Funds.--A qualified local educational agency that 
receives a grant under subsection (a) shall use the grant to purchase 
school supplies--
            (1) for students to participate in classroom activities; 
        and
            (2) for instructional staff to provide such activities.
    (d) Contracts With Outside Entities.--A qualified local educational 
agency may contract with outside entities for purposes of carrying out 
the activities authorized under subsection (c).
    (e) Limitations.--A qualified local educational agency that 
receives a grant under subsection (a) for a fiscal year may reserve not 
more than 2 percent of the amount of the grant for the administrative 
costs of carrying out its responsibilities, including the preparation 
of the annual reports required under section 6.
    (f) Geographic Diversity.--In awarding grants under this section, 
the Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants are 
distributed among qualified local educational agencies that will serve 
geographically diverse areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 
areas.

SEC. 5. SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.

    Funds made available to a qualified local educational agency under 
this Act shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal 
funds that would otherwise be used for the activities supported with 
the funds made available under this Act.

SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    On an annual basis, each qualified local educational agency that 
receives a grant under section 4 shall submit to the Secretary of 
Education a report that includes--
            (1) a list of schools that received school supplies;
            (2) the amount of grant funds expended at each school to 
        provide school supplies;
            (3) a description on a school-by-school basis of the school 
        supplies provided;
            (4) the number of students in each school provided directly 
        with school supplies;
            (5) the number of instructional staff in each school 
        provided directly with school supplies; and
            (6) a list of any outside entities used by the agency to 
        carry out the activities described in section 4(c).

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

    No grants may be awarded under this Act after September 30, 2027.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
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