Public School Emergency Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to provide emergency impact aid payments to states and, through them, to local educational agencies and Indian schools for each quarter of the 2014-2015 school year for any increase in the enrollment of immigrant children from the corresponding quarter of the 2012-2013 school year.
Requires the payments to be used to provide services and assistance to schools that enroll immigrant students.
Authorizes the funds to be used for:
Requires any payment made on behalf of a disabled immigrant student to be used for special education and related services.
Prohibits the use of the emergency impact aid for any expenses that are not incurred during the 2014-2015 school year.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5611 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5611
To provide for temporary emergency impact aid for local educational
agencies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2014
Mr. Israel (for himself and Mr. King of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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) In 2014, the United States experienced an unprecedented
influx in arrivals of unaccompanied alien children.
(2) Between January 1, 2014, and July 31, 2014, the
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee
Resettlement released 37,477 unaccompanied alien children to
sponsors nationwide.
(3) Federal law, as upheld by the Supreme Court decision
Plyer v. Doe, 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 2014-2015 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 the date of enactment of 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.--A State educational agency
that desires to receive emergency impact aid under this section
shall submit an application to the Secretary of Education, not
later than 7 calendar days after the date by which an
application under paragraph (2) must be submitted, in such
manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary of
Education may reasonably require, including information on the
total immigrant student child count of the State provided by
eligible local educational agencies in the State and eligible
BIA-funded schools in the State under paragraph (2).
(2) Local educational agencies and bia-funded schools.--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,
not later than 14 calendar days after the date of the
publication of the notice described in subsection (a)(3), in
such manner, and accompanied by such information as the State
educational agency may reasonably require, including
documentation submitted quarterly for the 2014-2015 school year
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 quarter prior to 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 2014-
2015 school year shall equal the product of--
(i) the increase (if any) in the 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 during the corresponding
quarter of the 2012-2013 school year;
and
(ii) $12,000.
(B) Insufficient funds.--If the amount available
under this section to provide emergency impact aid
under this subsection is insufficient to pay the full
amount that a State educational agency is eligible to
receive under this section, the Secretary of Education
shall ratably reduce the amount of such emergency
impact aid.
(C) Retention of state share.--In the case of a
State educational agency that has made a payment prior
to the date of enactment of this Act to a local
educational agency 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, 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 on a quarterly basis for the
2014-2015 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 under this
section to make payments 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.
(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 2014-2015 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 2014-2015 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 2014-2015 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 9101 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).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
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