An Act to make available to children who are handicapped by deafness the specially trained teachers of the deaf needed to develop their abilities and to make available to individuals suffering speech and hearing impairments the specially trained speech pathologists and audiologists needed to help them overcome their handicaps
PL 87-276 (S.336), enacted 09/22/1961

75 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 87-276-SEPT. 22, 1961 
575 
Public Law 87-276 
AN ACT 
To make available to children who are handicapped by deafness the specially 
trained teachers of the deaf needed to develop their abilities and to makel 
available to individuals suffering speech and hearing impairments the specially 
trained speech pathologists and audiologists needed to help them overcome 
their handicaps. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That, in order to 
encourage and facilitate the training of more teachers of the deaf, 
the Commissioner of Education (hereinafter in this Act referred to as 
the "Commissioner") shall, with the advice and assistance of the 
Advisory Committee on the Training of Teachers of the Deaf (estab-
lished by section 5 and hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 
"Advisory Committee")^ establish and conduct a program of grants-
in-aid to accredited public and nonprofit institutions of higher educa-
tion which are approved training centers for teachers of the deaf or 
are affiliated with approved public or other nonprofit institutions 
which are approved for the training of teachers of the deaf to assist 
such institutions in providing courses of training and study for 
teachers of the deaf and in improving such courses. 
Such grants-in-
aid shall be used by such institutions to assist in covering the cost of 
such courses of training and study and for establishing and main-
taining scholarships for qualified persons who desire to enroll in such 
courses of training and study, the stipends of any such scholarships 
to be determined by the Commissioner. 
The Commissioner shall sub-
mit all applications for grants-in-aid under this Act to the Advisory 
Committee for its review and recommendations, and the Commissioner 
shall not approve any such application before he has received and 
studied the recommendations of the Advisory Committee with respect 
to such application, unless the Advisory Committee shall have failed 
to submit its recommendations to him after having had adequate time 
to do so. 
SEC. 2. Payments of grants-in-aid pursuant to this Act shall be 
made by the Commissioner from time to time and on such conditions 
as he may determine, including the making of such reports as the 
Commissioner may determine to be necessary to carry out the provi-
sions of this Act, 
Such payments may be made either in advance 
or by way of reimbursement. 
SKC. 3. For the purposes of this Act— 
(a) The term "nonprofit", as applied to an institution, means an 
institution owned and operated by one or more corporations or associa-
tions no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully 
inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual; 
(b) The term "accredited , as applied to an institution of higher 
education, means an institution of higher education accredited by a 
nationally recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by 
the Commissioner; and 
(c) The term "approved", as applied to training centers for teachers 
of the deaf, means centers approved by a nationally recognized body 
or bodies approved for the purpose by the Commissioner, excej)t that 
a training center for teachers of the deaf which is not, at the time of 
its application for a grant under this Act, approved by such a recog-
nized oody or bodies may be deemed approved for purposes of this 
Act if the Commissioner finds, after consultation with the appropriate 
approved body or bodies, that there is reasonable assurance that the 
center will, with the aid of such grant, meet the appro v^al standards 
of such body or bodies. 
September 22, 1961 
[S. 336] 
Teachers of the 
deaf, training. 
Definitions. 
576 
PUBLIC LAW 87-276-SEPT. 22, 1961 
[75 ST A T . 
Advisory 
C o m -
m i t t e e on the 
Training of Teach-
ers of the Deaf. 
Establishment. 
Report to C o n -
gress. 
Compensation. 
C o n f 1 i ct-of-in-
terest exemption. 
Appropriation. 
72 Stat. 1603. 
20 u s e 583. 
T e r m i n a t i o n 
date. 
SEC. 4. The Commissioner is authorized to delegate any of his func-
tions under this Act, except the making of regulations, to any officer 
or employee of the Office of Education. 
SEC. 5. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of Education an 
Advisory Committee on the Training of Teachers of the Deaf. The 
Advisory Committee shall consist of the Commissioner, who shall be 
Chairman, and twelve persons appointed, without regard to the civil 
service laws, by the Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary 
of Health, Education, and Welfare. 
The twelve appointed members 
shall be selected so as to secure on the Committee a balanced representa-
tion from among individuals identified with institutions approved for 
the training of teachers of the deaf, individuals identified with institu-
tions of higher education which are affiliated with institutions 
approved for the training of teachers of the deaf, individuals who 
have responsibilities in the teaching of the deaf, and individuals iden-
tified with the general public who have demonstrated an interest in 
the education of the deaf. 
(b) The Advisory Committee shall periodically review the opera-
tions of the grants-in-aid program established pursuant to this Act 
with a view to determining the extent to which such program is 
succeeding in carrying out the purposes for which it was established. 
On the basis of such reviews the Advisory Committee shall submit to 
the Commissioner such recommendations with respect to the operation 
and administration of the program as it may deem advisable, together 
with any recommendations for legislation wnich it may deem necessary 
or desirable to carry out the purposes for which this Act was enacted. 
Such recommendations, together with the Commissioner's comments 
thereon, shall be referred to the Secretary of Health, Educajtion, and 
Welfare for transmittal by him to the Congress. 
(c) The Advisory Committee is authorized to review all applications 
for grants-in-aid under this Act and recommend to the Commissioner 
the approval of such applications as, in the opinion of the Advisory 
Committee, contribute to the carrying out of the purposes of this Act, 
and the disapproval of such applications as, in the opinion of the 
Advisory Committee, do not contribute to the carrying out of such 
purposes. 
(d) The Commissioner may utilize the services of any member or 
members of the Advisory Committee in connection with matters 
relating to the provisions of this Act, for such periods, in addition to 
conference periods, as he may determine. 
(e) Members of the Advisory Committee shall, while serving on 
business of the Advisory Committee or at the request of the Commis-
sioner under subsection (d) of this section, receive compensation at 
rates fixed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, not 
to exceed $75 per day, and shall also be entitled to receive an allowance 
for actual and necessary travel and subsistence expenses while so 
serving away from their places of residence, except that any member 
may waive his right to receive such compensation or allowance, or 
both. The provisions of section 1003 of the National Defense Educa-
tion Act of 1958 shall apply to members of the Advisory Committee. 
SEC. 6. (a) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this 
Act there are authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1962, and $1,500,000 for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1963. Any grant for training or scholarships made from an 
appropriation under this Act for any fiscal year maj^ include such 
amounts for providing such training or scholarships during succeeding 
years as the Commissioner may determine. 
(b) The provisions of this Act shall terminate on June 30, 1963. 
Approved September 22, 1961.