Supporting Students in Response to Coronavirus Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6275 To support children and students in responding to safety and health risks presented by qualifying emergencies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 13, 2020 Mr. SCOTT of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To support children and students in responding to safety and health risks presented by qualifying emergencies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Students 4 in Response to Coronavirus Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. EDUCATION PREPAREDNESS AND SUPPORT 6 GRANTS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 9 ‘‘child with a disability’’ has the meaning given the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6275 IH term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil- 1 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 2 (2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 3 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 4 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5 12102). 6 (3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen- 7 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 8 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 10 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 11 ty’’ means— 12 (A) a Bureau of Indian Education school; 13 (B) a local educational agency, as defined 14 in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 16 7801); or 17 (C) an institution of higher education, as 18 defined by the Secretary in accordance with the 19 definitions of the term under title I of the 20 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 21 et seq.). 22 (5) LOW-INCOME CHILD OR STUDENT.—The 23 term ‘‘low-income child or student’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6275 IH (A) a child described under section 1124(c) 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); or 3 (B) a student who is eligible for a Federal 4 Pell Grant under subpart 1 of part A of title 5 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.). 7 (6) NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘non-pub- 8 lic school’’ means a non-public elementary school or 9 secondary school that— 10 (A) is accredited, licensed, or otherwise op- 11 erates in accordance with State law; and 12 (B) was in existence prior to the date of 13 the qualifying emergency for which grants are 14 awarded under this section. 15 (7) QUALIFYING EMERGENCY.—The term 16 ‘‘qualifying emergency’’ means— 17 (A) a public health emergency declared by 18 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 19 pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 20 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 21 (B) an emergency for which a Governor of 22 a State or territory has declared a state of 23 emergency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6275 IH (C) an event for which the President de- 1 clared a major disaster or an emergency under 2 section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert 3 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- 4 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191); or 5 (D) a national emergency declared by the 6 President under section 201 of the National 7 Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621). 8 (8) PUBLIC SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘public 9 school’’ means a public elementary school or sec- 10 ondary school. 11 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Education. 13 (10) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 14 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 15 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 17 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 18 ing given the term in section 8101 of the Elemen- 19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 20 U.S.C. 7801). 21 (12) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 22 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 23 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6275 IH (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 2 to carry out this section and not reserved under 3 paragraph (3), the Secretary is authorized to award 4 grants, on a competitive basis, to States and the Bu- 5 reau of Indian Education to enable the States and 6 Bureau of Indian Education to respond to safety 7 and health risks presented by qualifying emer- 8 gencies. 9 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—Grant funds awarded 10 under this section shall be expended not later than 11 2 years after the date on which such funds are 12 awarded. 13 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 14 shall reserve not less than 0.5 percent and not more 15 than 1 percent of amounts appropriated to carry out 16 this section to enable the Department of Edu- 17 cation— 18 (A) to provide technical assistance to eligi- 19 ble entities that request technical assistance; 20 and 21 (B) to coordinate technical assistance that 22 is provided by State, local, tribal, and territorial 23 public health departments and other relevant 24 agencies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6275 IH (4) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall issue a notice 1 inviting applications for grants under this section 2 not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 3 of this Act. 4 (5) RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary 5 shall accept applications from States and the Bu- 6 reau of Indian Education under this section on a 7 rolling basis. 8 (6) RESPONSE.—The Secretary shall approve or 9 deny applications from States and the Bureau of In- 10 dian Education under subsection (c) not later than 11 30 days after the date of the submission of the ap- 12 plication. 13 (c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES AND 14 BIE.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State or the Bureau of In- 16 dian Education shall submit an application to the 17 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and includ- 18 ing such information as the Secretary may reason- 19 ably require. Each application shall include a de- 20 scription of the competitive grant process the State 21 or Bureau of Indian Education will establish to 22 award subgrant funds to eligible entities, includ- 23 ing— 24 (A) a demonstration of the need for funds; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6275 IH (B) a description of how the State will co- 1 ordinate with— 2 (i) the State educational agency; and 3 (ii) if applicable, the State agency 4 with jurisdiction over public higher edu- 5 cation in the State; 6 (C) a description of how the State or Bu- 7 reau of Indian Education will make eligible en- 8 tities aware of available funds; 9 (D) a description of the criteria the State 10 or Bureau of Indian Education will use to 11 award the subgrants; and 12 (E) a description of how the subgrant 13 funds will be allocated. 14 (2) LEAD APPLICANT.—In the case of a State 15 that is applying for a grant under this section, the 16 Governor shall be the lead applicant. 17 (d) USE OF FUNDS; SUBGRANTS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State or the Bureau of In- 19 dian Education receiving a grant under this section 20 shall— 21 (A) reserve 5 percent of grant funds to 22 provide technical assistance, including providing 23 technical assistance to eligible entities with lim- 24 ited administrative capacity, and carry out the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6275 IH reporting requirements described in subsection 1 (h); and 2 (B) use 95 percent of grant funds to 3 award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to eli- 4 gible entities or consortia of eligible entities. 5 (2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring 6 to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit 7 to the State, or the Bureau of Indian Education, as 8 applicable, an application containing— 9 (A) a description of the need for funds; 10 (B) a description of how the eligible entity 11 will use the funds, including by providing a 12 budget; 13 (C) a description of how the eligible entity 14 will address the unique needs of low-income 15 children or students, children with disabilities 16 and students with disabilities, English learners, 17 racial and ethnic minorities, students experi- 18 encing homelessness, and children in foster 19 care; 20 (D) in the case of an eligible entity that is 21 a local educational agency, an assurance that 22 the local educational agency— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6275 IH (i) has taken the needs of public 1 schools and non-public schools into account 2 prior to the application for funds; 3 (ii) will notify all public schools and 4 non-public schools in its boundaries of the 5 receipt of grant funds under this section; 6 and 7 (iii) based on the severity of impact 8 and demonstrated need, will address the 9 needs of public schools and non-public 10 schools in its boundaries; and 11 (E) any other requirements established by 12 the Governor. 13 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding subgrants under 14 this section a grantee shall prioritize the following 15 eligible entities: 16 (A) Eligible entities with respect to which 17 a significant percentage of the population 18 served by the eligible entity is impacted by a 19 qualifying emergency. 20 (B) Eligible entities serving a high per- 21 centage of low-income children or students. 22 (e) USES OF FUNDS FOR SUBGRANTS.—An eligible 23 entity receiving a subgrant under this section shall use 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6275 IH subgrant funds to carry out one or more of the following 1 activities: 2 (1) Coordinating preparedness and response ef- 3 forts of eligible entities with State, local, tribal, and 4 territorial public health departments, and other rel- 5 evant agencies, to improve coordinated responses to 6 qualifying emergencies among such entities. 7 (2) Activities coordinated with State, local, trib- 8 al, and territorial public health departments to de- 9 tect, prevent, or mitigate the spread of infectious 10 disease or otherwise respond to a qualifying emer- 11 gency. 12 (3) Developing and implementing procedures 13 and systems to improve the preparedness and re- 14 sponse efforts of eligible entities. 15 (4) Providing mental health services and sup- 16 ports, including— 17 (A) counseling, for students and staff of 18 the eligible entity; and 19 (B) mental health crisis response and 20 intervention services for students and staff of 21 the eligible entity affected by a qualifying emer- 22 gency. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6275 IH (5) Training and professional development for 1 staff of the eligible entity on sanitation and mini- 2 mizing the spread of infectious diseases. 3 (6) Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean 4 the facilities of an eligible entity, including buildings 5 operated by local educational agencies or institutions 6 of higher education. 7 (7) Hiring outside experts to provide training 8 and professional development for staff to mitigate 9 and minimize the spread of infectious disease in ele- 10 mentary schools and secondary schools, and build- 11 ings operated by local educational agencies and insti- 12 tutions of higher education and compensating such 13 staff for any regular or overtime hours spent during 14 such training or professional development and for 15 any duties performed as a result of that training or 16 professional development. If an eligible entity dem- 17 onstrates that the severity of the hazard precludes 18 the feasible use of existing staff and that services by 19 outside experts is necessary to remedy the hazard, 20 such amounts may be utilized for hiring outside ex- 21 perts to mitigate and minimize spread of infectious 22 disease in such facilities. 23 (8) Planning for long-term closures, including 24 planning for how to provide meals to eligible stu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6275 IH dents, how to provide technology for virtual instruc- 1 tion to all students, how to provide guidance for car- 2 rying out requirements under the Individuals with 3 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), 4 and how to ensure other educational services can 5 continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, 6 State, and local requirements. 7 (9) Purchasing educational technology for stu- 8 dents who are served by the eligible entity, including 9 low-income students and students with disabilities, 10 which may include assistive technology or adaptive 11 equipment. 12 (10) Other activities that are necessary to 13 maintain the operation of and continuity of services 14 in local educational agencies or institutions of higher 15 education, such as providing information to parents 16 on efforts to prevent and respond to a qualifying 17 emergency. 18 (11) Hiring temporary employees that are nec- 19 essary to maintain the operations of the eligible enti- 20 ty in the event that the employees of the eligible en- 21 tity are unable to work by reason of a qualifying 22 emergency, provided that the eligible entity carries 23 out and agrees to all of the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6275.IH H6275 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 6275 IH (A) The eligible entity compensates any 1 such temporary employees at a minimum 2 amount of the greater of— 3 (i) the regular rate of pay of the em- 4 ployee who is unable to work by [Text truncated for display. 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