Public School Emergency Relief Act
This bill authorizes a Department of Education program to provide temporary emergency impact aid payments to states for assisting local educational agencies and Indian schools in responding to increases in the enrollment of immigrant children.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4316 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4316
To provide for temporary emergency impact aid for local educational
agencies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 12, 2019
Mr. King of New York (for himself and Miss Rice of New York) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
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) The United States continues to experience an
unprecedented influx in arrivals of unaccompanied children.
(2) In fiscal year 2018, the Department of Health and Human
Services Office of Refugee Resettlement released 49,100
unaccompanied alien children to sponsors nationwide.
(3) Federal law, as upheld by the Supreme Court decision in
Plyer v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), 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 2019-2020 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 funds are made available to carry out 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.--Not later than 7 calendar
days after the date by which applications under paragraph (2)
shall be submitted, a State educational agency that desires to
receive emergency impact aid under this section shall submit an
application to the Secretary of Education, in such manner and
accompanied by such information as the Secretary of Education
may require, including information on the total immigrant
student child count of the State provided in applications
submitted under paragraph (2) by eligible local educational
agencies and eligible BIA-funded schools in the State.
(2) Local educational agencies and bia-funded schools.--Not
later than 14 days after the date of the publication of the
notice described in subsection (a)(3), 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, in such manner,
and accompanied by such information as the State educational
agency may require, including documentation submitted for the
most recent quarter completed 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 most recent quarter
completed before 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 2019-
2020 school year shall equal the product of--
(i) the increase (if any) in the total
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 in such State during the
corresponding quarter of the 2018-2019
school year; and
(ii) $12,000.
(B) Insufficient funds.--If the amount available to
provide emergency impact aid under this section is
insufficient to pay the full amount that each State
educational agency is eligible to receive under this
section, the Secretary of Education shall ratably
reduce the amount of such emergency impact aid to each
such State educational agency.
(C) Retention of state share.--In the case of a
State educational agency that has made a payment to a
local educational agency prior to the date of enactment
of this Act 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 for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years,
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 to eligible local
educational agencies and eligible BIA-funded
schools on a quarterly basis for the 2019-2020
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 to a State
educational agency under this section to make
payments to eligible local educational agencies
and eligible BIA-funded schools 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 to each such agency
and school.
(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 2019-2020 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 2019-2020 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 2019-2020 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 8101 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) (as such section was in effect on the day
before the date of enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act
(Public Law 114-95)).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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