Title: Fab Lab Classroom Modernization Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Fab Lab Classroom Modernization Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Education to award grants for FY2019-FY2023 to states for local educational agencies to purchase digital-fabrication laboratory equipment or to provide professional development related to incorporating a digital-fabrication laboratory into the curriculum. A digital-fabrication laboratory is a high-technology workspace that includes equipment such as three-dimensional printers and laser engravers.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4386 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4386

   To establish a grant program that encourages States to establish 
 subgrant programs that encourage recipients to create, maintain, and 
   improve digital fabrication laboratories, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 14, 2017

  Mr. Duffy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a grant program that encourages States to establish 
 subgrant programs that encourage recipients to create, maintain, and 
   improve digital fabrication laboratories, 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 ``Fab Lab Classroom Modernization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--From the amounts made available pursuant to 
section 9 for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award a grant to 
each State with an approved application under section 3.
    (b) Grant Frequency.--The Secretary may not award more than 1 grant 
under this Act to a State for a fiscal year.
    (c) Award Amount Limit.--No grant awarded under this Act may exceed 
$200,000.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION.

    Each State desiring a grant under this Act shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 
Secretary may require that shall include--
            (1) a description of the State's proposed or existing 
        competitive subgrant program;
            (2) a description of how the State's program will comply or 
        does comply with the requirements set forth in section 4; and
            (3) any other information the Secretary may require.

SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Each State that receives a grant under this Act 
shall use the funds to--
            (1) establish a program that complies with the requirements 
        set forth in this section under which the State awards, on a 
        competitive basis, subgrants to eligible entities; or
            (2) expand an existing competitive subgrant program that 
        complies with such requirements.
    (b) Limitation; Priority.--
            (1) Limitation.--A State that receives a grant under this 
        Act may not use any of such grant to pay any administrative 
        costs associated with carrying out subsection (a).
            (2) Priority.--In awarding subgrants under this section, a 
        State shall use not less than 15 percent of the grant received 
        under this Act to award such subgrants to eligible entities in 
        rural areas, except that a State may apply to the Secretary for 
        a waiver of the requirement under this paragraph.
    (c) Subgrant Frequency.--A State may not award more than 1 subgrant 
under this section to an eligible entity for a fiscal year.
    (d) Subgrant Amount Limits.--A subgrant may not be awarded under 
this section in an amount greater than--
            (1) in the case of an eligible entity described in section 
        10(1)(A), $25,000; or
            (2) in the case of an eligible entity described in section 
        10(1)(B), $50,000.
    (e) Use of Subgrant.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a 
        subgrant under this section shall use the subgrant for the 
        purposes of--
                    (A) purchasing equipment for use in a digital 
                fabrication laboratory; or
                    (B) providing professional development that relates 
                to the incorporation of the digital fabrication 
                laboratory into curriculum instruction.
            (2) Limitation.--An eligible entity that receives a 
        subgrant under this section may not use any of such subgrant to 
        pay any administrative costs associated with carrying out 
        paragraph (1).
    (f) Application.--An eligible entity that desires a subgrant under 
this section shall, at such time and in such manner as the State that 
awards the subgrant may require, submit an application to such State 
that includes--
            (1) an assurance that the eligible entity will adopt a 
        policy that any digital fabrication laboratory equipped using 
        subgrant funds shall be used predominantly for instructional 
        and educational purposes by students enrolled in one of the 
        eligible entity's elementary or secondary schools; and
            (2) a description of--
                    (A) how the eligible entity plans to use the 
                subgrant;
                    (B) how ready the eligible entity is to purchase 
                equipment for a digital fabrication laboratory;
                    (C) the eligible entity's long-term plan for the 
                digital fabrication laboratory;
                    (D) how the eligible entity will incorporate the 
                digital fabrication laboratory into curriculum 
                instruction;
                    (E) how constructing the digital fabrication 
                laboratory aligns with the eligible entity's academic 
                goals;
                    (F) the extent to which the eligible entity plans 
                to partner with local businesses and other community 
                participants;
                    (G) the eligible entity's financial need;
                    (H) how, if applicable, the eligible entity has 
                utilized previous subgrant awards; and
                    (I) any other information the State may require.
    (g) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), an eligible 
        entity receiving a subgrant under this section shall provide, 
        from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to the amount of the 
        subgrant (which may be provided in cash or in-kind) to carry 
        out the activities supported by the subgrant, except that an 
        eligible may use up to 5 percent of such amount for 
        administrative costs associated with carrying out such 
        activities.
            (2) Waiver option authorized.--A State awarding a subgrant 
        under this section may waive all or part of the matching 
        requirement described in paragraph (1) for an eligible entity 
        if the State determines that applying the matching requirement 
        would--
                    (A) result in a serious financial hardship for the 
                eligible entity; or
                    (B) otherwise be inappropriate.
    (h) Reporting Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--At the end of each subgrant period, an 
        eligible entity receiving a subgrant under this section shall 
        submit, to the State that awards the subgrant, a performance 
        report that documents any information that the Secretary 
        determines to be appropriate.
            (2) Performance report form.--The performance report 
        described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted on a form created 
        by the State that awards the subgrant and approved by the 
        Secretary before being used.

SEC. 5. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

    Each State that receives a grant under this Act shall provide, from 
non-Federal sources, an amount equal to the amount of the grant to 
carry out the activities described in section 3.

SEC. 6. STATE REPORTS.

    Each State that receives a grant under this Act shall--
            (1) at the end of the 1-year period that begins on the date 
        the State receives the grant, submit a report to the Secretary 
        containing any information the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate; and
            (2) in the case in which the State does not receive a grant 
        for the next fiscal year following the fiscal year for which 
        the grant was received, submit a report to the Secretary 
        containing any information the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate at the end of a 2-year period that begins on the 
        date the State receives the grant.

SEC. 7. EVALUATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish an evaluation 
program to determine the efficacy of the grant program established by 
this Act that shall commence 18 months after the first grant under this 
Act is awarded.

SEC. 8. SUNSET.

    The Secretary may not award grants under this Act after the end of 
the 5-year period that begins on the date the Secretary awards the 
first grant under this Act.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2019 through 2023 to carry out this Act.
    (b) Limitation.--Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection 
(a) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may not use more than 5 percent to 
pay any administrative costs associated with carrying out section 1.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Digital fabrication laboratory.--The term ``digital 
        fabrication laboratory'' means a high-technology workspace that 
        is equipped with computer-controlled additive and subtractive 
        manufacturing components such as 3-dimensional printers, laser 
        engravers, computer numerical control routers, and plasma 
        cutters.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a local educational agency; or
                    (B) a consortium of two or more local educational 
                agencies.
            (3) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``elementary school'', 
        ``local educational agency'', ``professional development'', and 
        ``secondary school'' have the meanings given the terms, 
        respectively, in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (4) Existing competitive subgrant program.--The term 
        ``existing competitive subgrant program'' means a competitive 
        subgrant program that is being carried out by a State as of the 
        date the State applies for a grant under this Act and under 
        which the State awards subgrants to eligible entities to 
        purchase equipment to be used in a digital fabrication 
        laboratory or provide professional development that relates to 
        the incorporation of the digital fabrication laboratory into 
        curriculum instruction.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States 
        and the District of Columbia.
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