Title: SCHOOL Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Safely Creating Healthy Opening Options Locally Act or the SCHOOL Act
This bill establishes a grant program and other resources to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) with reopening schools after closures related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) must partner with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to LEAs for certain activities to reopen schools. These activities include (1) purchasing personal protective equipment; (2) cleaning and disinfecting schools; (3) purchasing the supplies necessary to carry out their reopening plans; and (4) complying with the guidelines, recommendations, and other public health communications issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other entities to mitigate the hazards of COVID-19.
Additionally, ED and HHS must (1) develop a process to connect health care professionals with schools to assist them with symptom checks and additional supports, and (2) develop recommendations to expand telehealth services to students and teachers in areas with a shortage of health care professionals.
Further, HHS must issue guidance to clarify that private health insurance must cover COVID-19 testing, without imposing cost-sharing, through telehealth services in school-based settings. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must issue a letter to advise states on providing coverage for telehealth services in school-based settings under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Finally, ED must develop an online clearinghouse to collect and maintain evidence-based information, including best practices, related to reopening schools after closures due to COVID-19.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4261 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4261

To establish a grant program to assist elementary and secondary schools 
   with reopening after closures related to COVID-19, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 22, 2020

  Mr. Perdue introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a grant program to assist elementary and secondary schools 
   with reopening after closures related to COVID-19, 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 ``Safely Creating Healthy Opening 
Options Locally Act'' or the ``SCHOOL Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The absence of in-person learning has reminded the 
        Nation of how critical schools are for children, parents, 
        families, and their communities.
            (2) Our Nation's goal is safely getting students back to 
        school in the Fall. To do so successfully, our teachers and 
        schools will need the support necessary to maintain safety.
            (3) School districts must apply recommendations from State 
        and local health officials to ensure that students, teachers, 
        and faculty can safely return to the classroom.

SEC. 3. STATE GRANT PROGRAM TO SAFELY REOPEN SCHOOLS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
            (2) Personal protective equipment.--The term ``personal 
        protective equipment'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 20005 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
    (b) Authorization of Grant Program.--From the amount appropriated 
to carry out this section, the Secretary, acting in partnership with 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award grants to local 
education agencies to enable those local educational agencies to carry 
out the activities described in subsection (d).
    (c) Applications; Award Criteria.--
            (1) Application.--A local educational agency desiring a 
        grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
        Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require, including--
                    (A) school reopening plans, which shall include--
                            (i) a process for notifying parents of a 
                        student's potential interaction with known 
                        cases of COVID-19 during school activities, 
                        which shall be carried out in a manner that 
                        complies with the requirements under section 
                        444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 
                        U.S.C. 1232g), commonly known as the ``Family 
                        Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974'', 
                        and other applicable privacy laws, and is 
                        developed and implemented in consultation with 
                        administrators of the local educational agency 
                        and State and local public health officials; 
                        and
                            (ii) a certification that those reopening 
                        plans do not infringe on student success and 
                        meet the guidelines, recommendations, and other 
                        public health communications issued by the 
                        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and
                    (B) information relating to the award criteria 
                described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Award criteria.--In awarding grants under this section, 
        the Secretary shall determine which local educational agencies 
        will receive a grant, and the amount of each such grant, after 
        considering school size, school setting, specific school needs, 
        and timing of in-person classes.
    (d) Use of Funds.--A local educational agency receiving funds under 
this section shall use such funds to carry out one or more of the 
following:
            (1) Purchasing personal protective equipment.
            (2) Cleaning and disinfection of schools.
            (3) Purchase of supplies necessary to carry out reopening 
        plans described in subsection (c).
            (4) Paying costs associated with school compliance with 
        guidelines, recommendations, and other public health 
        communications issued by the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, or a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or 
        locality related to mitigating the hazards presented by 
        Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

SEC. 4. CONNECTING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WITH SCHOOLS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in partnership with the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, shall develop a process for connecting 
health care professionals to schools in order to assist such schools 
with symptom checks, check-ins, and additional supports that schools 
need relating to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
    (b) Telehealth.--The Secretary shall work jointly with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop recommendations about 
how to expand access to telehealth services for students and teachers 
in areas with a shortage of health care professionals.
    (c) Guidance on Requirement for Coverage of Testing for COVID-19 in 
School Settings.--Not later than September 8, 2020, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall issue guidance clarifying that the 
requirement under section 6001(a)(1) of the Families First Coronavirus 
Response Act (Public Law 116-127), as amended by the CARES Act (Public 
Law 116-136), applies in the case of items and services furnished to an 
individual during a health care provider office visit that occurs in a 
school setting through telehealth, to the extent provided in such 
section.
    (d) Guidance on Providing Reimbursement for Telehealth Services 
Provided in a School-Based Setting Under Medicaid and CHIP.--Not later 
than September 8, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services, shall issue a State Health Official letter to advise 
directors of State Medicaid programs under title XIX of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and State Children's Health 
Insurance Programs under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et 
seq.) on how States may provide for coverage under such programs for 
telehealth services furnished to students, teachers, and other school 
officials in a school-based setting, including actions States can take 
without Federal approval to provide coverage under such programs for 
such services.

SEC. 5. CLEARINGHOUSE OF BEST PRACTICES RELATING TO SCHOOL REOPENING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish an online data 
clearinghouse to collect and maintain information relating to school 
reopening after school closures due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
19), including best practices for such reopening.
    (b) Criteria for Clearinghouse Information.--The information 
contained in such clearinghouse--
            (1) shall be evidence-based (as defined in section 8101 of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801));
            (2) shall not promote specific types of products; and
            (3) shall be organized by school setting (such as urban, 
        rural, or suburban), school size, and the age of students 
        attending the school.
    (c) Publicly Available.--The online data clearinghouse established 
under this section shall be publicly available online.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated--
            (1) $50,000,000,000 to carry out section 3; and
            (2) $500,000,000 to carry out sections 4 and 5.
                                 <all>