Access to School Supplies Act of 2022
This bill directs the Department of Education to carry out a pilot program to make competitive grants for up to 10 qualified local educational agencies to purchase school supplies. School supplies refer to books, supplies, and supplementary materials used by students and instructional staff in the classroom.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9503 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9503
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot program to
assist local educational agencies with the acquisition of school
supplies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 13, 2022
Ms. Bush (for herself, Mr. Bowman, and Mrs. Hayes) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a pilot program to
assist local educational agencies with the acquisition of school
supplies, 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 ``Access to School Supplies Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to demonstrate the
feasibility of providing grants to local educational agencies to enable
such agencies--
(1) to provide school supplies at no cost to students and
instructional staff;
(2) to increase the number of students who have access to
the school supplies needed to maintain a stable learning
environment; and
(3) to improve student academic achievement in schools,
particularly for low-income students.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Instructional staff.--The term ``instructional staff''
includes, at a minimum, teachers, paraprofessionals,
librarians, and other staff deemed necessary to provide
classroom instruction (including virtual and in-person
instruction), as determined by the Secretary.
(2) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``local
educational agency'', and ``secondary school'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(3) High-poverty school.--The term ``high-poverty school''
means a public school that is in the highest 2 quartiles of
schools in a State, based on the percentage of enrolled
students from low-income families.
(4) Outlying area.--The term ``outlying area'' means
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands,
Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands.
(5) Qualified local educational agency.--The term
``qualified local educational agency'' means a local
educational agency that--
(A) serves one or more high-poverty schools; and
(B) provides an assurance to the Secretary that the
agency will use any funds received under this Act only
to serve such schools.
(6) School supplies.--The term ``school supplies'' refers
to books, supplies, and supplementary materials used by
students and instructional staff in the classroom, as
determined by the Secretary.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
SEC. 3. RESERVATIONS FOR OUTLYING AREAS AND BIE SCHOOLS.
(a) In General.--From the total amount appropriated under section 8
for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Education shall reserve--
(1) one-half of 1 percent for allotments to the outlying
areas, to be distributed among those outlying areas on the
basis of their relative need; and
(2) one-half of 1 percent for the Secretary of the Interior
for activities funded under this Act in schools operated or
funded by the Bureau of Indian Education.
(b) Applicability.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
provisions of this Act shall apply to a recipient of funds
under subsection (a) in the same manner that such provisions
apply to a qualified local educational agency that receives
funds under section 4(a).
(2) Exception.--An outlying area or school operated or
funded by the Bureau of Indian Education shall not be required
to submit an application under section 4(b) as a precondition
to receiving funds under subsection (a).
SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE ACQUISITION OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
(a) Pilot Program.--Using amounts appropriated under section 8 and
not reserved under section 3, the Secretary of Education shall carry
out a pilot program under which the Secretary makes grants, annually
and on a competitive basis, to not more than 10 qualified local
educational agencies to assist such agencies in acquiring school
supplies as described in subsection (c).
(b) Qualified Local Educational Agency Applications.--
(1) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), a qualified local educational agency shall
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
reasonably require. At a minimum, each such application shall
include the information described in paragraph (2).
(2) Contents of application.--Each application submitted
under paragraph (1) shall include assurances that the qualified
local educational agency will--
(A) prioritize the distribution of funds to schools
served by the qualified local educational agency that
are among the schools with the greatest needs, as
determined by such agency;
(B) comply with the reporting requirement under
section 6; and
(C) provide a description of how the agency will
determine the needs of individual schools, in
coordination with each school.
(3) Reapplication.--A qualified local educational agency
that receives a grant under subsection (a) may reapply for a
grant under such subsection for one or more additional award
periods.
(4) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall prioritize the award of grants to qualified
local educational agencies that demonstrate the highest level
of need for such grants, as determined by the Secretary.
(c) Use of Funds.--A qualified local educational agency that
receives a grant under subsection (a) shall use the grant to purchase
school supplies--
(1) for students to participate in classroom activities;
and
(2) for instructional staff to provide such activities.
(d) Contracts With Outside Entities.--A qualified local educational
agency may contract with outside entities for purposes of carrying out
the activities authorized under subsection (c).
(e) Limitations.--A qualified local educational agency that
receives a grant under subsection (a) for a fiscal year may reserve not
more than 2 percent of the amount of the grant for the administrative
costs of carrying out its responsibilities, including the preparation
of the annual reports required under section 6.
(f) Geographic Diversity.--In awarding grants under this section,
the Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants are
distributed among qualified local educational agencies that will serve
geographically diverse areas, including urban, suburban, and rural
areas.
SEC. 5. SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.
Funds made available to a qualified local educational agency under
this Act shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal
funds that would otherwise be used for the activities supported with
the funds made available under this Act.
SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
On an annual basis, each qualified local educational agency that
receives a grant under section 4 shall submit to the Secretary of
Education a report that includes--
(1) a list of schools that received school supplies;
(2) the amount of grant funds expended at each school to
provide school supplies;
(3) a description on a school-by-school basis of the school
supplies provided;
(4) the number of students in each school provided directly
with school supplies;
(5) the number of instructional staff in each school
provided directly with school supplies; and
(6) a list of any outside entities used by the agency to
carry out the activities described in section 4(c).
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
No grants may be awarded under this Act after September 30, 2027.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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