Education

Transition to Teaching Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999

Transition to Teaching Act - Establishes a Transition- to-Teaching program, and continues the Troops-to-Teachers program, to address the need of high-poverty school districts for highly qualified teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, and special education needed by those school districts. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to use funds under this Act to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education (IHEs) and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and of Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program; and (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications for Transition-to-Teaching program assistance. Authorizes use of such funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants; (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants; (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching; (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty local educational agencies (LEAs) with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs; and (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive.

Safe Food Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1999

Safe Food Act of 1999 - Establishes in the executive branch an independent Food Safety Administration which shall administer and enforce the food safety laws for the protection of the public health. Directs the Administrator of Food Safety to oversee the: (1) implementation of Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts, based on scientifically supportable assessments of risks to public health; (2) development of consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (3) coordination and prioritization of food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (4) coordination of the Federal response to foodborne illness outbreaks with other Federal agencies and State agencies; and (5) integration of Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of the following Federal agencies that relate to administration or enforcement of the food safety laws, as determined by the President: (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); (3) the Center for Veterinary Medicine of FDA; (4) the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce as it relates to the Seafood Inspection Program; and (5) such others as the President may designate by executive order.

Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999 - Title I: Use of Controlled Substances Consistent With the Controlled Substances Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that for purposes of such Act, alleviating pain or discomfort in the usual course of professional practice is a legitimate medical purpose for the dispensing, distributing, or administering of a controlled substance consistent with public health and safety even if the use of such a substance may increase the risk of death. Declares that nothing in this Act authorizes intentionally dispensing or administering a controlled substance for purposes of causing death or assisting another person in causing death. Prohibits the Attorney General, in determining whether a controlled substance manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser registration is consistent with the public interest under the Act, from giving force and effect to State law permitting assisted suicide or euthanasia. Authorizes certain educational and research programs carried out by the Attorney General under the Act to include educational and training programs for local, State, and Federal personnel on the necessary and legitimate use of controlled substances in pain management and palliative care and means by which investigation and enforcement actions by law enforcement personnel may accommodate such use. Title II: Promoting Palliative Care - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to carry out a program to: (1) develop and advance scientific understanding of palliative care; and (2) collect and disseminate protocols and evidence-based practices regarding such care, with priority given to pain management for terminally ill patients, and make such information publicly available. Defines "palliative care" as the active total care of patients whose prognosis is limited due to progressive, far-advanced disease. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to health professions schools, hospices, and other entities for programs to provide education and training to health care professionals in palliative care. Sets forth requirements for grant applicants. Provides for the evaluation of such programs to determine their effect on knowledge and practice regarding palliative care. Makes funds available for such grants and contracts.

Education Express Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Education Express Act - Title I: Direct Check - Directs each State Governor to notify the Secretary of Education regarding its election to receive its portion of funding for various education programs (applicable funding) under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) according to: (1) a Direct Check option, through a State allotment based on its relative funding under part B (State and Local Activities) of title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program) of ESEA; or (2) a Federal statute option, according to the various ESEA provisions for the applicable funding programs or activities. (Sec. 101) Applies such options to all funds appropriated for the Department of Education for FY 2000 through 2004 to carry out such programs or activities under various ESEA provisions. (Sec. 102) Sets forth requirements for allotment and use of Direct Check funds. Requires States to use at least 98 percent of Direct Check allotments to award assistance to local educational agencies (LEAS) for authorized educational improvement activities, according to a formula developed by the Governor that targets the funds to the lowest achieving school districts according to most recent State assessments. Allows States to use not more than two percent of such allotments for administrative expenses. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Secretary to make awards to States selecting the Federal statute option, according to the specified ESEA provisions for the various applicable funding programs and activities, from the applicable funding that remains after making the Direct Check allotments. Title II: Challenge Fund - Establishes a Challenge Fund. Directs the Secretary to reserve a portion of Fund appropriations for assistance to outlying areas or Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. (Sec. 201) Authorizes the Secretary to award amounts from such Fund allotments to State Governors for use by LEAS. Requires such allotments to be made to each State on the basis of its relative funding under ESEA title II part B. Requires a ten percent increase in such Fund allotment for States selecting the Direct Check option (paid for by ratable reductions in allotments for States that do not select such option). Requires States to use at least 98 percent of Challenge Fund allotments to award assistance to local educational agencies (LEAS) for authorized educational improvement activities. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Teacher Quality Fund - Establishes a Teacher Quality Fund. Directs the Secretary to reserve a portion of such Fund appropriations for assistance to outlying areas or Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. (Sec. 301) Authorizes the Secretary to award amounts from such Fund allotments to State Governors for use by LEAS. Requires such allotments to be made to each State on the basis of its relative funding under ESEA title II part B. Requires a ten percent increase in such Fund allotment for States selecting the Direct Check option (paid for by ratable reductions in allotments for States that do not select such option). Requires States to use at least 85 percent of Teacher Quality Fund allotments to award assistance to local educational agencies (LEAS) for authorized teacher quality improvement activities. Allows States to use not more than 13 percent of such allotments for statewide efforts to improve elementary and secondary school teacher quality. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Academic Opportunity Fund - Establishes an Academic Opportunity Fund. Directs the Secretary to reserve a portion of such Fund appropriations for assistance to outlying areas or Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. (Sec. 401) Authorizes the Secretary to award funds from such Fund allotments to State Governors for use by LEAS. Requires such allotments to be made to each State on the basis of its relative funding under ESEA title II part B. Requires a ten percent increase in such Fund allotment for any States that: (1) agrees to devote 25 percent or more of the allotted funds to meet the educational needs of children with disabilities in a manner that supplements and does not supplant existing Federal, State, and local funding for such children; (2) demonstrates that it has improved the educational performance of limited English proficient students, students who at one time or another have dropped out of school, and students who are eligible for a free school lunch; or (3) adopts or shows improved performance on the State-level National Assessment of Educational Progress (paid for by ratable reductions in allotments for States that do not qualify for such increase). Requires State Governors to use at least 98 percent of Academic Opportunity Fund allotments to: (1) implement statewide education reforms such as implementing standards and assessments; or (2) provide bonus payments to elementary schools, secondary schools, or LEAS that adopt reforms or achieve goals determined important by the Governor, including rewarding schools that encourage more students to take honors courses or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), or rewarding LEAS that improve discipline policies or teacher training. Allows States to use not more than 13 percent of such allotments for statewide efforts to improve elementary and secondary school teacher quality. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements for State five-year educational reform plans and annual progress reports. (Sec. 502) Requires LEAS receiving assistance under title I or II of this Act to: (1) use such funds to design and implement programs to improve student learning; (2) set yearly targets for how to achieve the goals in the State plan and describe plans for corrective action if the targets are not met; and (3) use not more than 25 percent of the total amount of funds it receives under titles I and II for a fiscal year to carry out any one of specified authorized activities. Includes among authorized activities any activity focused on improved student learning, new books, additional technology, high standards and assessments, teacher hiring and quality improvements, class size reduction, alternative schools, school-to-work programs or partnerships with institutions of higher education, school construction, special education, vouchers, charter schools or other school choice initiatives, character education, dropout prevention, tutoring and remedial help for struggling students, or any activity determined by the Governor or LEA to improve the educational achievement of all children. (Sec. 503) Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) supplementation, rather than supplanting, of other funds; and (2) civil rights. Directs the Commissioner of Education Statistics to: (1) develop key definitions for terms and uniform and comparable reporting methods related to core indicators of State education performance; (2) report to Congress and the American people regarding such core indicators; and (3) provide technical assistance to States in developing accountability systems relating to the academic performance goals that States establish under this Act. Authorizes the Commissioner to make awards, at the Commissioner's discretion, through the National Cooperative Educational Statistics System to assist States in developing such measures. Directs the Secretary to work with the Commissioner to provide any necessary personnel support to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to carry out such activities. Authorizes appropriations to NCES for such activities.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that appreciation be shown for the extraordinary work of Mildred Winter as Missouri teacher and leader in creating the Parents as Teachers program on the occasion that Mildred Winter steps down as Executive Director of such program.

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) admiration and respect be shown for the visionary and innovative work of Mildred Winter in the field of childhood education; and (2) appreciation be shown for the work that Mildred Winter has done through the Parents as Teachers program.

Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) establish and implement a national monitoring and surveillance program to identify and promote the investigation of deaths and severe complications that occur during pregnancy; (2) expand the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to provide surveillance and collect data in each of the 50 States; (3) expand the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program to provide technical support, financial assistance, or the time-limited assignment of senior epidemiologists to maternal and child health programs in each of the 50 States. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to expand research relating to: (1) encouraging preconception counseling; (2) identifying critical components of prenatal delivery and postpartum care, outreach and support services for pregnant women, and women who are at high risk for complications; (3) preventing preterm delivery, urinary tract infections, and unnecessary caesarean sections; (4) examining the higher rates of maternal mortality among African American women and the relationship between domestic violence and maternal complications and mortality; and (5) preventing substance abuse during and after pregnancy and infections that cause maternal and infant complications. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to carry out activities to promote safe motherhood, including public education campaigns on healthy pregnancies, education programs for health care providers, and activities to promote community support for pregnant women. Authorizes appropriations.

To allow States to use a portion of their welfare block grants for general education spending.

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1999

Amends the Social Security Act to allow a State to use specified limited amounts of its title IV (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) (TANF) welfare block grant funds for: (1) State programs under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services); and (2) State education programs.

Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's Act)

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's Act) - Allows States flexibility in combining and using use specified Federal elementary and secondary education formula program funds for State education priorities and programs, in exchange for being held accountable for meeting, in a five- year period, certain performance goals which they propose. (Sec. 3) Allows a State to opt to enter into such a performance agreement with the Secretary of Education, under which provisions of law relating to specified eligible programs shall not apply to the State, with certain exceptions. Includes under the terms of such agreements requirements relating to: (1) use of such funds to improve student achievement; (2) an accountability system; (3) performance goals and measures, and student achievement data; (4) fiscal responsibilities; (5) civil rights; (6) private school student and staff participation; (7) State financial participation; and (8) annual reports. (Sec. 4) Lists such eligible programs, under various provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the Department of Education Appropriations Act of 1999, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, and the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 5) Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) within-State distribution of funds; (2) local participation; and (3) a set-aside for State administrative expenditures. (Sec. 8) Requires performance reviews at the end of the five-year period. Requires reductions of State administrative funds for States that have made little or no progress. Allows States that have met at least 80 percent of their performance goals to apply for renewal of performance agreements for an additional five-year period. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary annually to set aside sufficient funds from the Fund for the Improvement of Education under ESEA to grant achievement gap reduction rewards to States. Requires a performance reward to equal at least five percent of funds allocated to the State during the first year of the performance agreement for programs included in the agreement. Makes a State eligible to receive a reward if, over the five-year term of the performance agreement, it reduces by at least 25 percent the difference between the percentage of highest and lowest performing groups of students that meet the State's definition of proficient, with such reduction occurring in at least: (1) two content areas, one of which must be mathematics or reading; and (2) one grade level.

Educating America's Girls Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Educating America's Girls Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to: (1) ensure education technology and teacher training programs are targeted in a manner that addresses the unique needs and different learning styles of all students, including girls; (2) gather data on often hidden offenses and provide schools with resources for programs to prevent sexual harassment and abuse; (3) collect data on high school athletic participation by girls; (4) establish dropout prevention programs to keep pregnant and parenting teens in school; and (5) reauthorize the Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA). (Sec. 2) Requires that attention be given to the incorporation and use of technology to enhance teaching and learning, under specified ESEA requirements relating to school improvement, professional development, teacher training, and educational innovation. Requires schools to give attention to professional development that incorporates technology used to improve teaching and learning. Requires professional development activities to include instruction in the use of technology. Adds technology to the list of core subject areas for the National Teacher Training Project grants program. Requires authorized professional development activities to incorporate effective technology for meeting the educational needs of diverse groups of students. Includes technological innovation as a higher education activity to improve teacher education programs. Directs the Secretary of Education to take into special consideration the different learning needs for and exposures to technology for all students, including girls and students who have economic and educational disadvantages, in carrying out ESEA titles I (Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards), II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program), and III (Technology for Education). Requires the Secretary, as well as applicants and grantees, to provide for such special consideration to be given under specified programs, including: (1) such Technology for Education programs as national challenge grants, regional technical support and professional development, educational technology product development, and Star Schools grants; and (2) the Fund for the Improvement of Education (part A of ESEA title X Programs of National Significance). (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Technology, to award matching grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible consortia to develop or redesign programs to prepare prospective elementary and secondary school teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) High Technology for Girls Act - Amends ESEA to provide for programs to encourage students, including young women, to pursue careers and higher education degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology, under ESEA requirements for professional development activities, national teacher training projects, and technology for education. (Sec. 5) Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Grants Act - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to State and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) or other public or private entities to train teachers and administrators in identifying and preventing sexual harassment. Authorizes appropriations. Amends ESEA title IV (the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994) to include high rates of reported incidences of sexual harassment and abuse on the list of examples of objective data which an SEA is required to consider in determining which LEAs have the greatest need for additional funds. Includes, under authorized uses of grants and contracts under Governor's programs, developing and implementing strategies and programs to greatly reduce the incidence of sexual harassment and abuse and to encourage positive and respectful interactions between girls and boys. Requires LEA drug and violence prevention programs to be designed, for all students and employees, to greatly reduce the incidence of sexual harassment and abuse. Includes sexual harassment and abuse among the types of school violence for which the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is required to collect data to determine frequency, seriousness, and incidence. (Sec. 6) Amends the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 to require NCES to collect and disseminate statistics on the participation, by gender, of secondary school students in elective physical education and athletic programs. (Sec. 7) Amends ESEA title V part C (the School Dropout Assistance Act) to direct the Secretary to give additional special consideration to grant applications that include provisions that emphasize mentoring and other support services for pregnant and parenting teenagers. Revises implementation or expansion plans for ESEA title XI coordinated services projects to include: (1) an assessment of the needs of children requiring specialized comprehensive services such as students who are pregnant or parenting; and (2) strategies to ensure addressing the health and welfare needs of families with pregnant or parenting children in school. (Sec. 8) Women's Educational Equity Act of 1999 - Renames, reauthorizes, and revises ESEA title V part B (currently the Women's Educational Equity Act of 1994) (WEEA). Directs the Secretary to report: (1) to the President and Congress on the status of educational equity for girls and women in the Nation; and (2) to Congress on evaluation, materials, and programs under WEEA. Extends the authorization of appropriations for WEEA programs.

Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Resources, Training, and Advanced Technology Assistance Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Resources, Training, and Advanced Technology Assistance Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a program to provide for elementary and secondary school library media resources, including mandatory State allotments for library media resources and discretionary grants for school library access during non-school hours. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such allotments to applicant State educational agencies (SEAs) according to a specified formula. Allows the SEA and the Secretary to reserve specified amounts for certain statewide and national activities, including information dissemination. Requires SEAs to make allocations to applicant local educational agencies (LEAs) that have: (1) the greatest need for school library media improvement; and (2) the highest percentages of poverty. Sets forth authorized uses of such funds by LEAs, including: (1) acquisition of resources, including books; (2) acquisition of advanced technology; (3) resource-sharing among schools and their library media centers and public and academic libraries; (4) professional development for school library media specialists; and (5) collaboration between such specialists and teachers and administrators. Sets forth accountability requirements for continuation of funding. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to applicant LEAs to provide students with access to libraries in elementary schools and secondary schools during non-school hours, including the hours before and after school, weekends, and summer vacation periods. Requires that priority be given to LEAs that: (1) seek to provide activities that will increase reading skills and student achievement; (2) have effectively coordinated services and funding with entities involved in other Federal, State, and local efforts to provide programs and activities for students during non-school hours; and (3) have a high level of community support. Authorizes appropriations.

Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's Act)

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's Act) - Allows States flexibility in combining and using use specified Federal elementary and secondary education formula program funds for State education priorities and programs, in exchange for being held accountable for meeting, in a five- year period, certain performance goals which they propose. (Sec. 3) Allows a State to opt to enter into such a performance agreement with the Secretary of Education, under which provisions of law relating to specified eligible programs shall not apply to the State, with certain exceptions. Includes under the terms of such agreements requirements relating to: (1) use of such funds to improve student achievement; (2) an accountability system; (3) performance goals and measures, and student achievement data; (4) fiscal responsibilities; (5) civil rights; (6) private school student and staff participation; (7) State financial participation; and (8) annual reports. (Sec. 4) Lists such eligible programs, under various provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the Department of Education Appropriations Act of 1999, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, and the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 5) Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) within-State distribution of funds; (2) local participation; and (3) a set-aside for State administrative expenditures. (Sec. 8) Requires performance reviews at the end of the five-year period. Requires reductions of State administrative funds for States that have made little or no progress. Allows States that have met at least 80 percent of their performance goals to apply for renewal of performance agreements for an additional five-year period. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary annually to set aside sufficient funds from the Fund for the Improvement of Education under ESEA to grant achievement gap reduction rewards to States. Requires a performance reward to equal at least five percent of funds allocated to the State during the first year of the performance agreement for programs included in the agreement. Makes a State eligible to receive a reward if, over the five-year term of the performance agreement, it reduces by at least 25 percent the difference between the percentage of highest and lowest performing groups of students that meet the State's definition of proficient, with such reduction occurring in at least: (1) two content areas, one of which must be mathematics or reading; and (2) one grade level.

Osteoporosis Education and Prevention Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Osteoporosis Education and Prevention Act of 1999 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require plans by area agencies on aging to provide that such agencies will coordinate education relating to osteoporosis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and cooperate with State or localities which have implemented such programs. Includes osteoporosis screening in the list of disease prevention and health promotion services eligible for grants under the Act. Adds to the list of demonstration projects to receive special consideration for grants and contracts to improve supportive services to, or otherwise promote the well-being of, older individuals projects that: (1) determine the best practices for providing information and outreach services relating to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis; and (2) measure the effectiveness of osteoporosis prevention programs over a three-year period.

New Millennium Classrooms Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

New Millennium Classrooms Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand the tax deduction for computer donations by corporations to tax-exempt schools to include donations to public libraries; (2) increase from two to three years the age of computers that can be contributed for such deduction; and (3) allow a business tax credit of 30 percent of the value of computers donated to tax-exempt schools and public libraries. Increases the amount of such credit to 50 percent for contributions to schools or public libraries in empowerment zones, enterprise communities, and Indian reservations.

Expressing the sense of the Congress that Haiti should conduct free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1999

Acknowledges that the Government of Haiti has made progress toward democratization. Urges such Government to engage in dialog with all elements of Haitian society to further a self-sustainable democracy. Encourages the Government and all political parties in Haiti to proceed toward conducting free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections as scheduled, in the presence of domestic and international observers, without pressure or interference. Urges the Clinton Administration and the international community to continue to play a positive role in Haiti's economic and political development. Commends: (1) the United Nations and other countries and international organizations for their support of health, education, nutrition, and environmental programs in Haiti; and (2) the U.S. military's efforts on the ground in Haiti for providing civil support and medical assistance. Encourages: (1) the Clinton Administration and the international community to provide substantial assistance for the coming elections; and (2) the Government of Haiti to adopt adequate security measures in preparation for such elections. Urges: (1) all elements of Haitian civil society to promote a climate of security; and (2) the United States and other members of the international community to continue support towards a lasting and committed transition to democracy in Haiti.

A. Lee Fritschler, of Pennsylvania, to be Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, Department of Education, vice David A. Longanecker.

United States · United States Senate · 21 June 1999

Coral Reef Protection Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1999

Coral Reef Protection Act of 1999 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to conserve coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to provide: (1) financial assistance for projects that provide for the restoration or conservation of coral reefs or coral reef ecosystems; and (2) technical assistance to any State or Federal agency with coral reef jurisdiction. (Sec. 7) Authorizes: (1) the conducting of activities that conserve coral reefs or coral reef ecosystems or that further public awareness and education; and (2) joint projects with any Federal, State, or local authority or financial assistance to any person for such activities. (Sec. 8) Amends Federal law relating to vessels eligible for documentation to prohibit a vessel that is otherwise qualified to be documented as a vessel of the United States from being documented if the owner has abandoned any vessel on a reef subject to U.S. jurisdiction and the vessel remains on the reef or was removed using funds under this Act or any other Act on the same subject enacted after 1998. (Sec. 9) Designates, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, nine fishing vessels driven by Typhoon Val in 1991 onto coral reefs inside Pago Pago harbor near the villages of Leloaloa and Aua and the reefs they are on as sites at which there is a substantial threat of release of a hazardous substance into the environment. Declares that, for purposes of that Act, the site shall not be considered to have resulted from an act of God. (Sec. 10) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement with a foundation under which the foundation may receive, hold, and administer amounts to support public-private partnerships that further this Act's purposes. Authorizes such a foundation to solicit and accept any gift or donation to further this Act's purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer certain funds appropriated under this Act to such a foundation. (Sec. 11) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.

Standardized School Report Card Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1999

Standardized School Report Card Act - Requires annual State and school report cards with respect to elementary and secondary education, in easily understandable language. Requires each State educational agency (SEA) receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to produce and widely disseminate a State report card for parents, the general public, teachers and the Secretary of Education. Requires each school receiving assistance under ESEA, or the local educational agency (LEA) serving that school, to produce and widely disseminate a school report card for parents, the general public, teachers and the SEA, in easily understandable language, with respect to elementary or secondary education in the school. Requires such State and school report cards to contain, as appropriate, specified information regarding indicators of school performance and quality, including: (1) student performance in language arts and mathematics, and other assessed subject areas, including comparisons with students elsewhere; (2) attendance and graduation rates; (3) professional qualifications of teachers, and numbers teaching out-of-field or with emergency certification; (4) average class size; (5) school safety; (6) parental involvement; (7) annual school dropout rate; and (8) student access to technology, including computers and the Internet. Directs the Secretary to use Office of Educational Research and Improvement funds to develop a model school report card for dissemination, upon request, to a school, LEA, or SEA. Requires a certain disaggregation of student performance data in State and school report cards.

Veterans' Long-Term Care Enhancement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1999

Veterans' Long-Term Care Enhancement Act of 1999 - Includes noninstitutional extended care services within the definition of medical services authorized to be provided to eligible veterans. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide assisted living services to a veteran who is eligible to receive hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary care, and to the spouse of such veteran. Requires such veteran and spouse to agree to reimburse the United States for the cost of such care. Repeals provisions authorizing respite care for such veterans. Directs the Secretary to carry out three pilot programs to determine the feasibility and practicability of various methods of meeting the long-term care needs of eligible veterans. Requires each program to be carried out at two Veterans Integrated Service Networks. Requires services provided to include a comprehensive array of health care services and other services that meet such needs, including case management services. Directs the Secretary to emphasize the provision of preventive care services, including screening and education. Requires one pilot program to be carried out: (1) directly through facilities and personnel of the Department of Veterans Affairs; (2) through a combination of Department facilities and personnel and services provided under cooperative arrangements with public and private nongovernmental entities; and (3) through cooperative arrangements with non-Department entities. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) payment for services under the pilot programs; (2) required data collection; and (3) annual reports from the Secretary to Congress for the duration of the programs. Terminates such programs three years after their commencement.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Agricultural Programs Title II: Conservation Programs Title III: Rural Economic and Community Development Programs Title IV: Domestic Food Programs Title V: Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Title VI: Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration Title VII: General Provisions Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Title I: Agricultural Programs - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for the following Department of Agriculture programs and services: (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture; (2) executive operations ; (3) Office of the Chief Information Officer; (4) Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (5) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (6) Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (7) hazardous waste management; (8) departmental administration; (9) outreach for socially disadvantaged farmers; (10) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (11) Office of Communications; (12) Office of the Inspector General; (13) Office of the General Counsel; (14) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (15) Economic Research Service; (16) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (17) Agricultural Research Service; (18) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; (Native American Institutions Endowment Fund); (19) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (20) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (19) Agricultural Marketing Service; (21) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (22) Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety; (23) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (24) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (25) Farm Service Agency; (26) Risk Management Agency; (27) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and (28) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Title II: Conservation Programs - Appropriates funds for the: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Title III: Rural Economic and Community Development Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) Rural Housing Service; (3) Rural Business-Cooperative Service; (4) Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Corporation Revolving Fund; and (5) Rural Utilities Service. Title IV: Domestic Food Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; and (2) Food and Nutrition Service. Title V: Foreign Assistance and Related Programs - Appropriates funds for the Foreign Agricultural Service and General Sales Manager. Title VI: Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Food and Drug Administration; and (2) Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Title VII: General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act.

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2000 - Title I: Export and Investment Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for: (1) direct loans, loan guarantees, tied-aid grants, insurance, and administrative expenses under Export-Import Bank programs; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) direct and guaranteed loans and credit and insurance programs, including administrative expenses; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency. Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for: (1) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the Agency for International Development (AID) for specified development assistance (allowing availability of amounts for the Inter-American Foundation (pending the outcome of certain civil and criminal investigations) and of limited amounts for the African Development Foundation); (3) specified projects aimed at reunification of Cyprus; (4) democracy and humanitarian activities in Burma; (5) specified assistance for Indonesia; (6) specified assistance for the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Charles Darwin Foundation to support research, conservation, training and other activities to protect the Province of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador; (7) specified assistance for conflict resolution programs involving teenagers of different ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds from the Middle East and other regions of conflict; (8) international disaster assistance; (9) micro and small enterprise development programs; (10) guaranteed loans for the urban and environmental credit program; (11) private and voluntary organizations; (12) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (13) operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General; (14) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, and to support victims of and programs related to the Holocaust); (15) assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States (earmarking amounts for Kosova, Albania, Romania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, subject to specified conditions); (16) assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union (subject to specified conditions, and earmarking amounts for Mongolia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia); (17) the Peace Corps (but with a prohibition on the use of such funds for abortions); (18) international narcotics control and law enforcement; (19) migration and refugee assistance; (20) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; (21) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs and activities (specifying conditions on funds for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO); (22) the Department of the Treasury technical assistance program; and (23) debt restructuring of concessional loans, guarantees, and credits made to eligible Latin American, Caribbean, and sub-Saharan African countries. Bars the use of development assistance funds for: (1) coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations; and (2) U.S. private and voluntary organizations which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding from sources other than the U.S. Government. Prohibits funds to: (1) Russia unless the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that it has terminated arrangements to provide Iran with technology to develop a nuclear program; (2) Russia unless the Secretary of State certifies to such committees that Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in Kosova have not established a separate zone of operational control and are fully integrated under North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) unified command;(3) Cambodia until the Secretary of State reports to such Committees that specified democratic conditions have been met; and (4) the Government of Azerbaijan until the President reports to Congress that it has ceased all blockades against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Bars ESF assistance to the KEDO.. Title III: Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for: (1) expanded international military education and training (IMET) to Guatemala; (2) foreign military financing grants and direct loans (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia (including drawdowns of defense articles and services); and (3) international peacekeeping operations (subject to certain conditions). Prohibits foreign military financing for Sudan, Liberia, and Guatemala. Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the U.S. contribution to: (1) the International Development Association; (2) the Global Environment Facility of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); (3) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; (4) the Inter-American Development Bank; (5) the Asian Development Bank; (6) the Asian Development Fund; (7) the African Development Bank; and (8) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for international programs and organizations. Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding, including prohibiting the use of funds made available to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for activities in China. Prohibits the use of funds for the KEDO or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including that no more than 15 percent of such appropriations shall be obligated during the last month of availability. (Sec. 502) Prohibits the use of funds for bilateral funding of international financial institutions. (Sec. 503) Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including no more than specified maximums for official residence expenses, entertainment expenses, and representation allowances for AID, and for entertainment and representation allowances for the Inter-American Foundation and the Trade and Development Agency. Limits the use of funds for entertainment expenses of the Peace Corps, and of entertainment and representation allowances under the Foreign Military Financing Program. (Sec. 506) Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) the export of nuclear equipment, fuel, or technology (except for nuclear safety purposes); (2) direct assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, or Syria; (3) assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree; (4) certain transfers between appropriations accounts without prior presidential consultation with Congress; (5) assistance to any country in default in excess of a year on payments on a U.S. loan (except for any narcotics-related assistance for Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru); and (6) assistance (except in certain circumstances) for production of any commodity for export by a foreign country, if the commodity is likely to be in surplus on world markets when the resulting productive capacity is expected to become operative, and if the assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity. (Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to oppose any assistance for the production or extraction of any commodity or mineral for export if it is in surplus on world markets and such assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity. (Sec. 516) Declares that funds appropriated for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs, that are returned or not made available for international organizations and programs, shall remain available for obligation until FY 2001. (Sec. 517) Prohibits U.S. sale of Stinger missiles in the Persian Gulf region, with certain exceptions. (Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations as methods of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, or provide any financial incentive to undergo sterilization. (Sec. 519) Declares that nongovernmental and multilateral organizations shall not be subjected to requirements more restrictive than requirements applicable to foreign governments in determining eligibility for population planning assistance. (Sec. 520) Directs the Attorney General to report to the Committees on Appropriations on the circumstances under which individuals involved in the December 2, 1980, murders or cover-up of the murders of four American churchwomen in El Salvador obtained residence in the United States. (Sec. 521) Prohibits the use of funds for Colombia, India, Haiti, Liberia, Pakistan, Serbia, Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 523) Makes funds available to AID for family planning, health, child survival, environment, and basic education and AIDS research and control in developing countries. (Sec. 524) Bars funding for indirect assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, North Korea, or China unless the President certifies that the withholding of such funds is contrary to the U.S. national security interest. (Sec. 525) Designates the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) (defined as Serbia, but not Montenegro or Kosova) as a terrorist state. Requires all provisions of law that impose sanctions against a country whose government is engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights to be fully enforced against the FRY. Urges the President to seek multilateral cooperation to: (1) deny dangerous technologies to the FRY; (2) induce the Government of the FRY to respect internationally recognized human rights; and (3) induce such government to allow appropriate international humanitarian and human rights organizations to have access to the FRY. (Sec. 526) Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Committees on Appropriations before providing excess DOD articles to certain NATO and major non-NATO countries. (Sec. 528) Prohibits bilateral assistance funds to any country which the President determines grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism or otherwise supports such activities. Authorizes a waiver of this prohibition by the President for national security and humanitarian reasons, requiring notification to the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 529) Authorizes the commercial leasing of defense articles (instead of government-to-government sale) to Israel, Egypt, NATO, and major non-NATO allies if the President determines that there are compelling foreign policy or national security reasons. (Sec. 530) Requires all AID contracts and subcontracts to include a clause requiring that U.S. insurance companies have a fair opportunity to bid for insurance when insurance is necessary or appropriate. (Sec. 531) Authorizes the payment of a $10,000 cash award (distinguished development service award) to a career or non-career AID employee who through extraordinary efforts makes a significant contribution to assisting developing countries to meet the basic needs of their people. (Sec. 532) Authorizes nongovernmental organizations which are AID grantees or contractors to place funds made available to them under this Act in interest bearing accounts in order to enhance their participation in economic activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including endowments and debt-for-development and debt-for-nature exchanges. (Sec. 533) Directs the Administrator of AID to require foreign countries that receive foreign assistance which results in the generation of local currencies to deposit such currencies in a separate account to be used to finance foreign assistance activities. (Sec. 534) Prohibits payments to any international financial institution while the U.S. Executive Director to the institution is compensated at a rate in excess of that for a specified position under the Executive Schedule. (Sec. 535) Bars assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iraq unless the President certifies to the Congress that such assistance: (1) is in the U.S. national interest; (2) will directly benefit the needy people in that country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait. (Sec. 537) Declares that provisions under this or any other Act authorizing appropriations for foreign operations or export financing shall not be construed to prohibit activities authorized by the Peace Corps Act, the Inter-American Foundation Act, or the African Development Foundation Act. Requires an agency to report to the Committees on Appropriations whenever it is conducting or proposing activities in a country for which such assistance is prohibited. Declares that limits on the availability of funds for international organizations and programs shall not be construed as applying to the International Fund for Agricultural Development. (Sec. 538) Prohibits the use of funds to provide: (1) any financial incentive to a business for purposes of inducing it to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of employees in the United States; (2) assistance for establishing or developing in a foreign country an export processing zone or other designated area in which a country's tax, tariff, labor, environment, and safety laws do not apply to activities in the area, unless the President certifies that such assistance is not likely to cause a loss of U.S. jobs; or (3) assistance for any project that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in the recipient country. (Sec. 539) Directs OPIC to establish a $200 million Maritime Fund to support international maritime projects. (Sec. 540) Declares that funds appropriated under this Act for Afghanistan, Lebanon, and for victims of war, displaced children, displaced Burmese, humanitarian assistance for Romania, and humanitarian assistance for the peoples of Kosova may be made available notwithstanding any other provision of law. Authorizes the use of foreign assistance funds to support tropical forestry and biodiversity conservation programs, and (subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations) energy programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Authorizes AID to employ personal services contractors to administer programs for the West Bank and Gaza. (Sec. 541) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to: (1) immediate public renunciation by Arab League countries of the boycott of Israel (reinstated in 1997) and of American firms having commercial ties with Israel; and (2) steps the President should take to encourage such renunciation. (Sec. 542) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions. (Sec. 543) Declares that restrictions on assistance to foreign countries contained in this Act or any other Act (except those relating to international terrorism or human rights violations) shall not be construed to restrict assistance: (1) in support of certain programs of nongovernmental organizations; or (2) under specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. (Sec. 544) Authorizes the reprogramming of earmarked appropriations for other programs within the same account, provided certain requirements are met. (Sec. 546) Prohibits the use of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States that were not authorized before the enactment of this Act. Makes specified funds available to private and voluntary organizations to deal with world hunger problems abroad. (Sec. 547) Declares that assistance under this Act should make full use of American resources, including commodities, products, and services, to the maximum extent possible. Declares the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all agricultural commodities, equipment, and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. Requires Federal agency heads, in providing financial assistance to or entering into any contract with any entity using funds made available in this Act, to notify such entity of this intention. (Sec. 548) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any U.N. member. (Sec. 550) Prohibits the provision of funds to a private voluntary organization that fails to provide any document, file, or record necessary to the auditing requirements of AID. (Sec. 551) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country that the Secretary of State has determined has a terrorist government, unless the President determines that the furnishing of such assistance is in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 552) Withholds assistance to a foreign country in an amount equal to 110 percent of the total unpaid parking fines and penalties owed by the country to the District of Columbia. (Sec. 553) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions on assistance to the PLO. (Sec. 554) Permits the President to provide up to a specified amount of commodities and services to the UN War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a just resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 555) Authorizes disposal on a grant basis in foreign countries of demining equipment used in support of the clearance of land mines and unexploded ordnance for humanitarian purposes. (Sec. 556) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles. (Sec. 557) Prohibits the obligation of certain funds appropriated for Informational Program activities to pay for: (1) alcoholic beverages; (2) food (other than food provided at a military installation) not provided in conjunction with Informational Program trips where students do not stay at a military installation; or (3) entertainment expenses for recreational activities. (Sec. 558) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of: (1) housing guarantees made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act; or (3) any obligation for a Latin American country to pay for purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities guaranteed by the Commodity Credit Corporation. Permits exercise of such authority only: (1) to implement multilateral official debt relief and referendum agreements known as the Paris Club Agreed Minutes; and (2) with respect to countries with heavy debt burdens that are eligible to borrow from the International Development Association (but not from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) (IDA-only countries). Prescribes additional conditions for the exercise of such authority. (Sec. 559) Authorizes the President to engage in certain debt buybacks or sales. Authorizes sale, reduction, or cancellation of certain loans to foreign governments, upon receipt of payment from an eligible purchaser that plans to use such loans only for the purposes of engaging in debt-for-equity swaps, debt-for-development swaps, or debt-for-nature swaps. Limits such authority to funds appropriated by this Act under the heading of debt restructuring. (Sec. 560) Makes funds available for assistance to the central Government of Haiti only if the President reports to specified congressional committees that such Government: (1) has completed privatization of three major public utilities; (2) has signed or is implementing the bilateral Repatriation Agreement with the United States and is cooperating with the United States in halting illegal emigration from Haiti; (3) is conducting thorough investigations of extrajudicial and political killings and has made substantial progress in bringing to justice the persons responsible for such killings in Haiti; (4) has taken action to remove from the Haitian National Police, national palace and residential guard, ministerial guard, and any other public security entity individuals who have committed human rights violations; and (5) has ratified or is implementing the maritime counter-narcotics agreements signed in October 1997. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to funds made available to support elections in Haiti and the Ministry of Justice for the training of judges, prosecutors, judicial mentoring, legal assistance, and case management if the President reports to Congress that specified conditions have been met. Sets forth additional specified exceptions to such prohibitions. (Sec. 561) Requires a specified annual report of the Secretary of State containing the voting record of each foreign member country of the UN to include a side-by-side comparison of each country's overall support for the United States at the UN and the amount of U.S. assistance provided to it in FY 1998. (Sec. 562) Makes the Government of Haiti eligible to purchase U.S. defense articles and services for the civilian-led Haitian National Police and Coast Guard. (Sec. 563) Prohibits the use of funds for the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State believes they have committed gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such country is taking steps to bring the responsible persons to justice. (Sec. 564) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of international financial institutions to oppose loans to the Government of Cambodia (except to support basic human needs) unless it has: (1) held free and fair elections in which all political candidates were permitted freedom of speech, assembly and equal access to the media, and the central Election Commission was composed of representatives from all parties; and (2) established a panel and begun prosecution of Khmer Rouge leaders including Ta Mok, Khieu Sampan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ke Pauk, and Duch (Kang Khev Leu). (Sec. 565) Requires that any agreement between the United States and the Government of Indonesia for the sale of lethal weapons shall state that such items will not be used in East Timor. (Sec. 566) Prohibits the United States from paying any voluntary contribution to the UN, including the UN Development Program, unless the President certifies to Congress 15 days in advance of such payment that the UN is not engaged in any effort to implement or impose any taxation on U.S. persons in order to raise revenue for itself or any of its specialized agencies. (Sec. 567) Provides for bilateral and multilateral assistance sanctions (with humanitarian, democratization, and certain infrastructure project exceptions) against countries harboring war criminals indicted with respect to the former Yugoslavia. Prohibits the provision of bilateral assistance for programs, projects, or activities: (1) in which publicly indicted war criminals are known to have any financial interest; or (2) in communities that are not in compliance with specified sections of the Dayton Agreement relating to war crimes and the Tribunal. (Sec. 568) Authorizes for FY 1999 and 2000 the use of DOD funds for crating, packing, handling, and transportation of excess defense articles to countries that are eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace and that are eligible for assistance under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989. (Sec. 569) Makes funds available for FY 2000 for defense article stockpiles in foreign countries, including the Republic of Korea and Thailand. (Sec. 570) Prohibits the use of funds for the Government of the Russian Federation unless the President certifies to specified congressional committees that the Federation has not enacted laws or promulgated executive orders that discriminate against religious minorities in violation of international agreements on human rights and religious freedoms to which it is a party. (Sec. 571) Subjects the availability of funds in this Act to support programs or activities promoting country participation in the Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 572) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being provided to the Central Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Sec. 574) Bars funds for a Government of the new Independent States of the former Soviet Union: (1) unless it is making progress in implementing economic reforms based on market principles, private ownership, respect for commercial contracts, and equitable treatment of foreign private investment; (2) if it transfers U.S. assistance to any entity for the purpose of expropriating or seizing ownership or control of assets, investments, or ventures; (3) if it directs any action in violation of the territorial integrity or national sovereignty of any other new independent state; or (4) to enhance its military capability. (Sec. 575) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to declare that the prohibition on the use of funds under such Act to provide law enforcement training to foreign governments within the United States or abroad shall not apply with respect to assistance provided to customs personnel for customs law enforcement. (Sec. 576) Authorizes voluntary separation incentive payments to AID employees to eliminate AID positions and functions contained in a mandatory strategic plan outlining such payments. (Sec. 577) Prohibits the obligation of funds appropriated under this Act for the Palestinian Authority. Provides a waiver for such prohibition if the President certifies to Congress that it is in the national interest. (Sec. 578) Imposes certain economic and political sanctions against Serbia unless the President makes a certain certification with respect to Serbia to specified congressional committees. Exempts the governments of Montenegro and Kosova from such sanctions. (Sec. 579) Urges the export of U.S. clean coal technology.

Medicare HEAL (Hospital Emergency Assistance Legislation) Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

Medicare HEAL (Hospital Emergency Assistance Legislation) Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase certain payment amounts made under the Medicare program for prospective payment system hospitals, for indirect medical education, and for disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustments.

To provide for the transfer of 10 percent of a State's apportionment of certain highway funds to the State's highway safety apportionment if the State does not suspend the driver's license of individuals under the age of 21 convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

Directs the Secretary of Transportation to transfer ten percent of a State's apportionment of certain highway funds for a fiscal year to the State's apportionment for highway safety programs to be used for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures, especially for individuals under age 21, if a State has not enacted or is not enforcing a law requiring the revocation or suspension of the driver's license of any such individual who is convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol. Requires that such suspension or revocation to be until the individual's 21st birthday. Prohibits the transfer of a State's apportionment if the State allows an individual convicted while driving under the influence of alcohol to drive, during the period of revocation or suspension of the individual's driver's license in accordance with this Act, only for the purposes of going to and from such individual's place of employment or to and from a college or other institution of higher education or a trade school.

Pain Relief Promotion Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999 - Title I: Use of Controlled Substances Consistent With the Controlled Substances Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that for purposes of such Act, alleviating pain or discomfort in the usual course of professional practice is a legitimate medical purpose for the dispensing, distributing, or administering of a controlled substance consistent with public health and safety even if the use of such a substance may increase the risk of death. Declares that nothing in this Act authorizes intentionally dispensing or administering a controlled substance for purposes of causing death or assisting another person in causing death. Prohibits the Attorney General, in determining whether a controlled substance manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser registration is consistent with the public interest under the Act, from giving force and effect to State law permitting assisted suicide or euthanasia. Authorizes certain educational and research programs carried out by the Attorney General under the Act to include educational and training programs for local, State, and Federal personnel on the necessary and legitimate use of controlled substances in pain management and palliative care and means by which investigation and enforcement actions by law enforcement personnel may accommodate such use. Title II: Promoting Palliative Care - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to carry out a program to: (1) develop and advance scientific understanding of palliative care; and (2) collect and disseminate protocols and evidence-based practices regarding such care, with priority given to pain management for terminally ill patients, and make such information publicly available. Defines "palliative care" as the active total care of patients whose prognosis is limited due to progressive, far-advanced disease. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to health professions schools, hospices, and other entities for programs to provide education and training to health care professionals in palliative care. Sets forth requirements for grant applicants. Provides for the evaluation of such programs to determine their effect on knowledge and practice regarding palliative care. Makes funds available for such grants and contracts.

Expressing the sense of the Congress relating to the timely distribution of payments to local educational agencies under the Impact Aid program.

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1999

Expresses the sense of the Congress relating to the timely distribution of payments to local educational agencies (LEAs) under the Impact Aid (IA) program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Declares such IA program should be funded at a level that allows its funds to be made available on the currently-required, forward-funded basis. Urges the Secretary of Education, upon completion of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for each fiscal year, to distribute such IA program payments to eligible LEAs within 45 days after the enactment of each such Act, if other congressional action has not caused a delay and State education agencies have supplied all the necessary information to the Department of Education for such distribution.

Rural Education Initiative Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999

Rural Education Initiative Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish Rural Education Initiative (REI) programs under subpart 2 of part J (Urban and Rural Education Assistance) of title X (Programs of National Significance). (Replaces current subpart 2 provisions for demonstration grants for rural education, but retains provisions for higher education grants partnerships for rural education.) (Sec. 1) Makes a local educational agency (LEA) eligible for REI alternative use formula grants and competitive grants if: (1) the total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is less than 600; and (2) all of the schools served by the LEA are located in a community with a Rural-Urban Continuum Code of 6, 7, 8, or 9, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. Provides, under the alternative use formula grant program, that an eligible LEA may use applicable funding that it is eligible to receive from the State educational agency (SEA) for a fiscal year to support local or statewide education reform efforts intended to improve the achievement of elementary school and secondary school students and the quality of instruction provided for the students. Defines applicable funding as that received under: (1) specified provisions of the Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999; (2) ESEA title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program); (3) ESEA title IV (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities); and (4) ESEA title VI (Innovative Education Program Strategies). Requires each SEA receiving applicable funding to disburse it to LEAs for alternative uses at the same times it disburses it to LEAs that do not intend to use it for alternative uses for that fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible LEAs to support local or statewide education reform efforts intended to improve the achievement of elementary school and secondary school students and the quality of instruction provided for the students. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such grants, based on numbers of children in average daily attendance at schools served by the LEAs, minus amounts received under applicable funding. Makes LEAs that receive such competitive grants ineligible for funds under specified ESEA programs. Sets forth accountability provisions. Requires LEAs that receive REI alternative use formula grants or competitive grants to administer tests to assess the academic achievement of students in their schools. Requires each SEA that receives applicable funding to: (1) determine, after the fifth year of an LEA's participation in either REI grant program, whether the LEA's students are performing better on such tests than after the first year of participation; (2) only permit LEAs that perform better to continue to participate for an additional five years; and (3) prohibit LEAs that do not perform better from participating for five years from the date of determination. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2004 for the following ESEA title X part J programs: (1) the REI program established by this Act; (2) higher education grants partnerships for rural education; and (3) Urban Education Demonstration Grants.

High Technology for Girls Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1999

High Technology for Girls Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide for programs to encourage students, including young women, to pursue careers and higher education degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology, under ESEA requirements for professional development activities, national teacher training projects, and technology for education.

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide grants to State and local educational agencies to pay such agencies for one-half of the salary of a teacher who uses approved sabbatical leave to pursue a course of study that will improve his or her classroom teaching.

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to State and local educational agencies to pay for one-half of the salaries of teachers who use approved sabbatical leave to pursue courses of study to improve their classroom teaching. Authorizes appropriations.

Recognizing the severity of the disease of colon cancer, the preventable nature of the disease, and the need for education in the areas of prevention and early detection, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1999

Declares that Congress recognizes: (1) the severity of the issue of colorectal cancer; (2) such disease's preventable nature; and (3) the importance of the Screen for Life Campaign. Calls on health educators, elected officials, and the people of the United States to: (1) broaden the message of the Screen for Life Campaign to reach all individuals; and (2) learn about colorectal cancer and its preventable nature and learn to recognize the risk factors and symptoms which enable early detection and treatment.

Rural Methamphetamine Use Response Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1999

Rural Methamphetamine Use Response Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to specified congressional committees an annual report on the problems caused by methamphetamine consumption in rural areas, small cities, and mid-size cities. (Sec. 4) Authorizes appropriations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for each fiscal year after FY 1999. Makes sums appropriated available to the DEA for activities to alleviate the growing financial burden on rural communities, small cities, mid-size cities, and other communities resulting from the cleanup of clandestine laboratories and other drug related hazardous waste. Requires the Administrator of the DEA to establish within the DEA a select cadre of special agents with Spanish language capabilities who show work with State and local law enforcement agencies across the United States on matters relating to the combating of methamphetamine related drug trafficking. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Directs the Administrator to establish within the DEA four regional satellite training centers for purposes of providing clandestine laboratory training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel, to establish such centers at appropriate locations throughout the United States, and to assign to such centers 12 special agents, four drug prevention specialists, and eight support personnel, as appropriate. Requires the drug prevention specialists to work with communities that have been previously assisted by the DEA's Mobile Enforcement and Regional Enforcement Teams to assist such communities in the development of drug prevention programs and coalitions and provide a solid foundation for the long-term elimination of drug trafficking, abuse, and violence in such communities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to establish: (1) Advanced Clandestine Laboratory Investigations schools for State and local law enforcement personnel; (2) Additional Basic Clandestine Laboratory Certification schools for both DEA and State and local law enforcement personnel; and (3) a "Train the Trainer" program to provide State and local law enforcement personnel with the skills necessary to provide clandestine laboratory re-certification and awareness training to other law enforcement personnel within their jurisdictions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Directs the Attorney General to submit to the Committees annually a report containing a detailed strategy to combat the problem of methamphetamine production and abuse in the United States. (Sec. 8) Amends of the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit the theft and transportation across State lines of stolen anhydrous ammonia. Directs the Administrator to seek to enter into an agreement with Iowa State University to permit the University to continue and expand its current research into the development of inert agents that, when added to anhydrous ammonia, eliminate the usefulness of anhydrous ammonia as an ingredient in the production of methamphetamine. Allows such agreement to provide for the provision to such University, on a reimbursable basis, of $500,000. Authorizes appropriations for the DEA for FY 2000.

Conquering Pain Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Emergency Response to the Public Health Crisis of Pain Title II: Developing Community Resources Title III: Reimbursement Barriers Title IV: Improving Federal Coordination of Policy, Research, and Information Title V: Demonstration Projects Conquering Pain Act of 1999 - Title I: Emergency Response to the Public Health Crisis of Pain - Requires development and maintenance of an Internet website on evidence-based practice guidelines for pain treatment. (Sec. 102) Requires the Medicare and Medicaid programs (titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act), programs through the Public Health Service Act, programs through the Indian Health Service, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), and other programs administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, where relevant, to inform individuals that they should expect to have their pain managed under such programs. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to provide funds for implementation of special education projects carried out by peer review organizations to improve the quality of pain and symptom management. (Sec. 105) Amends Medicare provisions relating to the Medicare+Choice program to provide for dissemination to Medicare beneficiaries and prospective beneficiaries of information about an organization's coverage, and an evaluation of plan performance and quality, regarding pain and symptom management. Directs the Secretary to determine how to include measurements of pain and symptom management in Medicare, Medicaid, and other appropriate Federal programs. (Sec. 106) Mandates a report by the Surgeon General to appropriate congressional committees and the public on the state of pain and symptom management in the United States. Title II: Developing Community Resources - Mandates grants to health care provider training entities for the establishment of six National Family Support Networks in Pain and Symptom Management. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Reimbursement Barriers - Requires the existing Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the way Medicare policies may limit pain and symptom management and palliative care services; (2) Medicare and Medicaid financial barriers to continuity of care and interdisciplinary or supportive care for chronic pain patients and those who are terminally ill; (3) reimbursement barriers in providing pain and symptom management through hospice care; (4) whether the Medicare reimbursement system provides providers incentives to delay informing terminally ill patients of hospice and palliative care availability; and (5) the impact of providing payments for drug therapy management services in pain and symptom management and palliative care. (Sec. 302) Requires the General Accounting Office to survey public and private health insurance providers and report to appropriate congressional committees on whether the insurers' reimbursement policies inhibit patient access to pain and symptom management. Title IV: Improving Federal Coordination of Policy, Research, and Information - Establishes the Advisory Committee on Pain and Symptom Management. (Sec. 402) Directs the Secretary, through a contract with the Institute of Medicine, to review research findings and report to appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the effects of controlled substance regulation on patient access to effective care; (2) factors that may contribute to the underuse of pain medications, including opioids; and (3) State legal and regulatory barriers that may impact patient access to medications for pain and symptom management. (Sec. 403) Mandates the convening of a national conference to discuss the translation of pain research into the delivery of health services, using unobligated amounts appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services. Title V: Demonstration Projects - Mandates grants to establish at least five demonstration projects on effective methods to measure improvement in the skills and knowledge of health care personnel in pain and symptom management. Authorizes appropriations.

Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2000

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2000 - Appropriates funds for FY 2000 for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure functions administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), namely: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (2) military construction, DOD (including a transfer of funds); (3) military construction for the Army and Air National Guards; (4) military construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves; (5) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (6) family housing for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force; (7) family housing, DOD; (8) the Family Housing Revitalization Transfer Fund (including a transfer of funds); (9) the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund; and (10) the Base Realignment and Closure Account, Part IV. (Sec. 101) Specifies restrictions and authorizations regarding the use of funds appropriated in this Act and in other military construction appropriations Acts. (Sec. 113) Directs the Secretary of Defense to notify the appropriate congressional committees 30 days in advance of the plans and scope of any military exercise involving U.S. personnel if construction costs are anticipated to exceed $100,000. (Sec. 118) Authorizes the transfer of lapsed unobligated military construction and family housing funds into the Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Defense account. (Sec. 119) Directs the Secretary to report to the congressional appropriations committees on actions proposed by DOD to encourage other member nations of NATO, Japan, Korea, and U.S. allies in the Arabian Gulf to assume a greater share of the common defense burden of such nations and the United States. (Sec. 123) Authorizes the transfer of DOD funds for expenses associated with the Homeowners Assistance Program under the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966. (Sec. 125) Reduces, with specified exceptions, each amount of budget authority provided in this Act for FY 2000 by five percent. (Sec. 126) Directs the Secretary to report to the congressional defense committees examining the adequacy of special education facilities and services available to the dependent children of military personnel stationed in the United States. (Sec. 127) Earmarks funds appropriated under the 1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program.

Older Americans Act Amendments of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Older Americans Act Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Amendments to the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Part A: Administration on Aging - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging to develop and operate, either directly or through contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, a National Eldercare Locator Service, providing nationwide toll-free information and assistance services to identify community resources for older individuals. (Sec. 103) Requires the Assistant Secretary to develop, in collaboration with a representative group of State and area agencies on aging, according to a specified procedure, and publish by December 31, 2000, a set of performance outcome measures to be used for planning, managing, and evaluating activities performed and services provided by such agencies under the Act. (Sec. 104) Requires the Assistant Secretary to cooperate with the Secretary of Labor under title I (Workforce Investment Systems) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to accept, on behalf of the United States, gifts (in cash or in kind, including voluntary and uncompensated services), which shall be available until expended, for: (1) design and implementation of demonstrations of innovative ideas and best practices in programs and services for older individuals; (2) planning and conduct of conferences for exchange of information on programs under this Act and other related programs and services; and (3) development, publication, and dissemination of pertinent informational materials. Requires the Assistant Secretary to establish written ethics guidelines for the acceptance of gifts or donations. (Sec. 106) Makes a permanent authorization of appropriations for the Federal Council on the Aging. Authorizes appropriations for the Administration on Aging through FY 2004. Part B: State and Community Programs on Aging - Restricts the use of Federal funds paid to States under the Act, and cash and in-kind contributions required as the non-Federal share of expenditures, for activities and services to benefit older individuals and other individuals as specifically provided in the Act. (Sec. 112) Revises and consolidates requirements for the area plans of area agencies on aging. Repeals specified procedures for area agencies to follow when requesting State waiver of required assurances that adequate proportions of the area allotment will be expended for priority services. (Sec. 113) Requires area plans to provide assurances that the area agency will coordinate services for older individuals with disabilities, especially severe disabilities, with agencies that develop or provide services for such individuals. (Sec. 114) Requires an area agency to make services under the area plan available to Native Americans age 60 or older to the same extent they are available to older individuals within the service area. (Sec. 115) Revises and consolidates State plan requirements. Requires area agencies to submit area plans for State agency approval in accordance with a uniform format. (Sec. 116) Requires State plans to assure that the State agency will make demonstrable efforts to develop and operate a system providing one or more specified services, or coordinate the provision of such services by other entities in the State, including health care information services, counseling, a health care ombudsman program, and needs identification assistance to nutrition and supportive service providers and acute and chronic health care providers. (Sec. 117) Allows States to elect to require cost sharing by service recipients, but limited to individuals with incomes above a low-income threshold. Requires the State plan to: (1) exempt from cost-sharing any individuals with incomes below the low-income threshold; and (2) waive cost sharing for information and assistance, outreach, or case management services, ombudsman or other protective services, and congregate or home-delivered nutrition services. (Sec. 118) Requires a State plan to specify whether (and if so, with respect to which supportive or nutrition services) the State elects to permit area agencies to provide: (1) services to older individuals through direct contracts with the individuals delivering such services; or (2) vouchers or cash to older individuals to permit them to contract with individuals or entities for the delivery of such (consumer-directed) services (and, if so, any requirements for the setting of payment rates or amounts). (Sec. 119) Requires a State plan to declare whether the State elects to operate a project or projects, in collaboration with one or more area agencies, to develop, test, and implement innovative, cost-effective methods of delivering to older individuals and their families services (service innovation development project). Provides for funding delivery of services but not administrative activities. (Sec. 120) Repeals the Assistant Secretary's discretionary authority to permit a State to transfer additional amounts between congregate and home-delivered meal programs. (Sec. 121) Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to make disaster relief funds available to tribal organizations. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make nutrition services incentive payments, according to a specified formula, to State agencies and tribal organizations with plans for delivering nutritious meals to older Americans. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 123) Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to waive one or more of certain requirements for State programs on aging that meet specified criteria. (Sec. 124) Revises and consolidates specified authorities for supportive services, senior centers, and nutrition services. (Sec. 126) Replaces the current program of in-home services for frail older individuals with a national family caregiver support program. Directs the Assistant Secretary to make grants to States under State plans for multi-faceted systems of support for families and other informal providers of in-home and community care to older individuals. Requires State family caregiver support services to include: (1) provision of information to caregivers about available services; (2) assistance to caregivers in gaining access to such services; (3) individual counseling, organization of support groups, and caregiver training to help families make decisions and solve problems relating to their caregiving roles; (4) respite care to enable families and other informal caregivers to be temporarily relieved from their caregiving responsibilities; and (5) provision of supplemental services, on a limited basis, to complement the care provided by families and other informal caregivers. Allows a State to elect to require cost sharing on a sliding-fee scale based on income (or to require or permit area agencies on aging to require such cost sharing) by service recipients, except those with incomes below the Federal poverty line. Provides for funding, with the Federal share of up to 75 percent of service costs. Declares that Federal funds under this program are in addition to, and may not supplant, any funds that are or would otherwise be expended under any Federal, State, or local law. Directs the Assistant Secretary to make innovation grants on a competitive basis to foster the development and testing of new approaches to: (1) sustaining the efforts of families and other informal caregivers of older individuals: and (2) serving particular groups of such caregivers, including minority caregivers and distant caregivers. Directs the Assistant Secretary, directly or by grant or contract, to carry out activities of national significance to promote quality and continuous improvement in the support provided to family and other informal caregivers of older individuals through program evaluation, training, technical assistance, and research. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 127) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2004 for supportive services and senior centers, congregate nutrition services, home-delivered nutrition services, and preventive health services. Part C: State and Local Innovations and Programs of National Significance - Replaces current requirements for training, research, and discretionary projects and programs with new requirements for State and local innovations and programs of national significance. (Sec. 141) Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to make grants to States, public or nonprofit private agencies, organizations, and institutions, and tribal organizations, and to enter into contracts with any agency, organization, institution, or individual for certain discretionary projects and programs, including: (1) education and training to develop an adequately trained workforce to work with and on behalf of older individuals; (2) applied social research and analysis to improve access and delivery of services for older individuals; (3) demonstration of new approaches to design, deliver, and coordinate programs and services for older individuals; (4) technical assistance in planning, development, implementation, and improvement of services and activities; (5) dissemination of information related to longevity and its ramifications for various segments of the elderly population; and (6) life course planning. Authorizes appropriations, making funds available for the national ombudsman and elder abuse centers as well. Part D: Community Service Employment For Older Americans - Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary for this Part) to encourage projects to place participants in unsubsidized employment under the older American community service employment program. (Sec. 152) Requires a community service employment project to include among its methods of recruitment and selection arrangements with the local one-stop delivery system established under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Repeals the requirement that the project authorize funds for including individuals participating in it under the State unemployment insurance plan. Requires the project to: (1) provide appropriate services for participants through the local one-stop delivery system; and (2) be involved in the planning and operations of such system under a memorandum of understanding with the local workforce investment board. Repeals the Secretary's authority to establish a Senior Environmental Employment Corps. Requires the Secretary to evaluate such projects on a regular basis and monitor programs receiving financial assistance to determine whether the grantees are complying with requirements and regulations. (Sec. 154) Revises requirements for distribution of national grants or contracts and State allotments for projects. Requires the Secretary to study and report to Congress on improvement in the formula for distributing funds for the older American community service employment program. (Sec. 155) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 157) Declares grantees in the older American community service employment program to be partners under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 in the appropriate local one-stop delivery system. Authorizes the Secretary, upon grantee request, to waive any of the statutory or regulatory requirements of the program except its basic purposes, wage and labor standards, worker rights, participation and protection of workers and participants, grievance procedures, judicial review, and participant eligibility criteria. Requires the Secretary to establish performance measures appropriate to older worker activities, including specified indicators. Part E: Grants for Native Americans - Revises requirements for the Native American grant program to limit a federally recognized tribe to eligibility for only one grant per fiscal year. (Sec. 162) Requires the Assistant Secretary for Aging, in determining whether a tribal grant application complies with nutrition services requirements, to provide maximum flexibility that seeks to take into account subsistence needs, local customs, and other characteristics appropriate to the unique cultural, regional, and geographic needs of the Indian populations to be served. (Sec. 163) Authorizes appropriations. Part F: Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection - Consolidates the authorization of appropriations for specified vulnerable elder rights protection activities. Repeals minimum allotments for ombudsman and elder rights activities. (Sec. 171) Requires a State plan to assure that total State expenditures in any fiscal year for the long-term care ombudsman program shall not be less than total State expenditures for such programs in FY 1999. (Sec. 172) Redesignates the State outreach, counseling, and assistance program a State life course planning program. Defines life course planning as the identification and implementation by an individual of appropriate measures to prepare for the financial, health, and social aspects of longevity, and to ensure the protection of elder rights, including planning for: (1) economic security; (2) options for community participation and social activities; (3) housing options; (4) insurance benefits; and (5) consumer protection, especially defenses against telemarketing scams and fraudulent investment offers. Specifies minimum requirements for a program of outreach, information, counseling, and assistance related to life course planning. (Sec. 173) Authorizes a State to establish a demonstration project for outreach to assist older individuals with greatest economic need in life course planning. Part G: Definitions - Revises certain definitions used in such Act. Part H: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this title. Title II: White House Conference on Aging - Directs the President to convene by December 31, 2005, the White House Conference on Aging, under the direction of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in cooperation with the Assistant Secretary and other Federal agency heads, to: (1) increase the public awareness of the interdependence of generations and the essential contributions of older individuals to society; (2) identify the problems facing older individuals and their commonalities with problems of younger generations; (3) examine the well-being of older individuals; (4) develop specific and comprehensive recommendations for executive and legislative action; (5) develop recommendations for the coordination of Federal policy with State and local needs; and (6) review the status and multigenerational value of recommendations adopted at previous White House Conferences on Aging. (Sec. 203) Establishes a Policy Committee to plan the Conference. (Sec. 206) Authorizes appropriations.

Child Care Quality Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Child Care Quality Improvement Act of 1999 - Establishes a Child Care Quality Improvement Grant program under the Social Security Act. (Sec. 2) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make such grant program allotments to eligible States to pay the Federal share of costs of State grants to local collaboratives for activities to improve the quality of child care. Bases such allotment amounts on relative numbers of children in poverty in the States. Requires State Governors, in order for their States to be eligible for such grants, to establish or designate an entity to serve as a Child Care Quality Advisory Board (State board), which shall receive the grant and make the grants to local collaboratives. Requires such State boards, in order to be eligible for such grants, to submit to the Secretary annual applications containing specified information, including comprehensive State plans for reaching quantifiable goals for child care quality improvements in the following areas: (1) increased training for child care providers and administrators; (2) enhanced licensing standards that will apply to a broader range of providers; (3) reduced numbers of unlicensed providers; (4) increased monitoring and enforcement; (5) reduce caregiver turnover, through incentives such as increased compensation or scholarships for continuing education; and (6) higher levels of accreditation among licensed providers. Provides for monitoring, enforcement, and technical assistance by the Secretary. (Sec. 3) Requires State boards to use such grants to: (1) establish and enforce State child care licensing requirements; and (2) make competitive grants to local collaboratives to carry out child care quality improvement activities. Sets forth requirements for composition and eligibility of local collaboratives and their uses of grant funds to carry out planned activities and make reports. Requires State boards to: (1) ensure that at least 60 percent of the funds made available through each grant are used to provide the activities to improve the quality of child care to children (and parents of children) who reside in school districts in which half or more of the students would be eligible to receive free or reduced price lunches under the National School Lunch Act; and (2) monitor activities of local collaboratives that receive such grants. (Sec. 6) Amends the Social Security Act to make appropriations for the Child Care Quality Improvement Grant program. (Sec. 7) Establishes the Advisory Commission on Quality Child Care to study and report to the President, the Congress, and the Secretary on: (1) the most important issues affecting the quality of child care; and (2) the most efficient and effective manner of ensuring that families in the United States receive quality health care. Directs the Commission to make recommendations regarding: (1) feasible goals and targets for child care programs to improve the quality of child care; and (2) national standards for the quality of child care.

After School Education and Anti-Crime Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

After School Education and Anti-Crime Act of 1999 - Revises the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the support of public elementary or secondary schools, including middle schools, that serve communities with substantial needs for expanded learning opportunities for children and youth in the communities, to enable the schools to establish or expand projects that benefit specified community needs; (2) direct the Secretary, in awarding grants, to assure an equitable distribution of assistance among the States and among urban and rural areas of the United States; and (3) direct the Secretary to award such grants for a period not to exceed five years. (Sec. 6) Requires an LEA, to be eligible to receive a grant, to submit an application including: (1) information demonstrating that the LEA will provide not less than 35 percent of the annual cost of the activities assisted under the project from sources other than funds provided under the Act, which may be provided in cash or in kind, and provide not more than 25 percent of the annual cost of the activities assisted under the project from funds provided by the Secretary under other Federal programs that permit their use; and (2) an assurance that the LEA, in each year of the project, will maintain the agency's fiscal effort, from non-Federal sources, from the preceding fiscal year. (Sec. 7) Allows the use of grant funds to establish or expand community learning centers. Allows such centers to provide one or more of specified activities, including after school programs that: (1) include (at least two of the following) mentoring programs, academic assistance, recreational activities, or technology training; and (2) may include drug, alcohol, and gang prevention activities, health and nutrition counseling, and job skills preparation activities. Limits the amount of appropriated funds that may be used for after school programs. (Sec. 8) Directs an LEA to: (1) request volunteers from business and academic communities, and law enforcement organizations, to serve as mentors or to assist in other ways; (2) ensure that youth in the local community participate in designing the after school activities; (3) develop creative methods of conducting outreach to youth in the community; (4) request donations of computer equipment and other materials and equipment; and (5) work with State and local park and recreation agencies so that activities carried out by the agencies prior to this Act's enactment are not duplicated. (Sec. 10) Authorizes appropriations.

To commission a study by the Federal Trade Commission of the marketing practices of the motion picture, recording, and video/personal computer game industries.

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Directs the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General to jointly conduct a study and report to Congress on the marketing practices of the motion picture, recording, and video and personal computer game industries, including regarding: (1) marketing of violent, sexually explicit, or other unsuitable material to minors; (2) restrictions on sale or rental to minors; (3) industry enforcement of voluntary rating or labeling systems; (4) possible violations of Federal law; and (5) industry public education activities.

To make technical corrections regarding the applicability of certain amendments made by Public Law 105-392 to the Health Education Assistance Program under the Public Health Service Act.

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Amends the Nursing Education and Practice Improvement Act of 1998 (NEPIA) to change to November 13, 1998, (instead of six months after such date) the effective date of provisions: (1) removing mandatory performance standards for lenders and holders of loans under the health education assistance loan (HEAL) program under the Public Health Service Act; and (2) allowing Federal payment of a HEAL loan after default, unless the lender, holder, or servicer has a compliance performance rating under 97 percent, in which case payment must be made at 98 percent of the loss. Provides that: (1) such provisions apply to any HEAL program loan to graduate students made by an eligible lender and insured by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on or after November 13, 1998; and (2) the HEAL program provisions superseded by NEPIA, as in effect on November 12, 1998, apply to a HEAL loan made by an eligible lender and insured by the Secretary before November 13, 1998.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the dollar limitation on the deduction for interest on education loans, to increase the income threshold for the phase out of such deduction, and to repeal the 60-month limitation on the amount of such interest that is allowable as a deduction.

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the current dollar limitation on the deduction for interest on educational loans provision and replace it with a limitation on such deduction based on modified adjusted gross income. Repeals the 60-month limitation period on the allowance of the interest deduction on such loans.

ESOP Promotion Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1999

ESOP Promotion Act of 1999 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to deductions for dividends paid on certain employer securities to allow dividends of employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) to be reinvested without loss of the dividend deduction. Allows ESOP closely-held corporate sponsors to pay estate tax if an estate transferred the stock of the corporation to an ESOP. Excludes from gross income transfers of qualified securities in connection with the performance of services if such securities are sold to an ESOP within 60 days of the taxable event. Permits, without payment of the ten-percent additional tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans and under specified conditions, early distributions from employee stock ownership plans for qualified higher education expenses and qualified first-time homebuyer purchases.

Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Access to Care Title II: Program Administration Title III: Miscellaneous Veterans' Millennium Health Care Act - Title I: Access to Care - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to operate and maintain a program to provide the following extended care services to eligible veterans: (1) geriatric evaluation; (2) nursing home care, either in facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) or in community-based facilities; (3) domiciliary services; (4) adult day health care; (5) noninstitutional alternatives to nursing home care; and (6) respite care. Makes eligible for such care any veteran in need of such care: (1) for a service-connected disability; or (2) who has a service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or more. Directs the Secretary to give the highest priority to such veterans in making placements for nursing home care in Department facilities. Prohibits the Secretary from furnishing such services for a nonservice-connected disability not rated at least 50 percent unless such veteran agrees to make a copayment for services of more than 21 days in any year. Requires the Secretary to establish a methodology for establishing the copayment amount. Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Extended Care Fund for deposits and disbursements to cover such care. Directs the Secretary to develop and begin to implement a plan to carry out the recommendations of the Federal Advisory Committee on the Future of Long-Term Care to increase the options, services, and budget level of community-based care for eligible veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish adult day health care to veterans enrolled in the Department's annual patient enrollment system who would otherwise require nursing home care. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish respite care services: (1) outside of a hospital, nursing home, or Department facility; and (2) through contract arrangements. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse for the reasonable value of emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility those veterans who are active Department health-care participants (enrolled in the annual patient enrollment system and recipients of Department hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care under such system within the last 12-month period) and who are personally liable for such treatment. Provides reimbursement limitations. Provides an independent right of recovery for the United States when a third-party subsequently makes a payment for the same treatment. Requires the veteran to notify the Secretary of any such payment. Authorizes the Secretary to waive recovery of such payment in the best interests of the United States. Requires the Secretary to include in annual budget justification materials a report on implementation of the extended care services. (Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary to furnish hospital and medical services, and authorizes the Secretary to furnish nursing home care, to a veteran who: (1) is wounded in action by an enemy of the United States or by any weapon fire while directly engaged in armed conflict; or (2) is retired from active-duty service, is eligible for care under the TRICARE Program (a Department of Defense managed health care program), and is not otherwise eligible for such care. Requires, in the latter case, a memorandum of understanding between the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense for reimbursement to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for services provided. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the payment of veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for persons disabled by participation in a compensated work therapy program. (Sec. 106) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to provide primary health care services for the spouse or child of a veteran who is enrolled in the annual patient enrollment system and is able to pay for such care or services either directly or through reimbursement or indemnification from a third-party insurer. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such services either through a Department facility or by contract. Prohibits such services from being provided in a Department facility if it would deny or delay access to care for any enrolled veteran at that facility. Entitles the United States to recover from a third-party insurer the reasonable charges for such care or services. Requires the Secretary to designate (under specified criteria) no more than four veterans integrated service networks in which such pilot program shall be carried out. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) monitor the program; and (2) report to the Secretary on findings and recommendations. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary, in providing hospital care and medical services through network-based planning, to establish an enhanced service program at Department medical centers that are so designated by the Secretary (designated centers). Requires such designated centers to improve access and quality of services provided to veterans served by those medical centers. Directs the Secretary to develop a plan for each center to improve access to, and quality of, care and services provided. Outlines designation criteria and plan requirements. Prohibits any such plan from being implemented until at least 45 days after its submission to the appropriate congressional committees. Provides for plan implementation and funds allocation. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on implementation of the enhanced service program. (Sec. 108) Revises a program providing counseling and treatment for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma to: (1) extend such program through calendar year 2002; (2) require (current law authorizes) the Secretary to provide such care and services to those in need; and (3) ensure that information about such care and services is revised and updated and made available through appropriate means (requiring a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees on implementation of such outreach efforts). Requires the Secretary: (1) to study, and report to the veterans' committees on, the possibility of extending eligibility for such care and services to former reserve personnel; and (2) report to the veterans' committees on implementation of the sexual trauma program. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense to jointly report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the efforts of their respective departments to ensure that military personnel, upon separation, are provided appropriate and current information about such counseling and treatment programs, including eligibility requirements and application procedures. Title II: Program Administration - Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to required copayments by veterans for medication furnished by the Department on an outpatient basis for the treatment of a nonservice-connected disability or condition, to: (1) increase the amount of such copayment (currently $2 for each 30-day supply of medication); (2) establish a maximum annual copayment for veterans who have multiple outpatient prescriptions; and (3) require certain veterans to pay a reasonable copayment for sensori-neural aids, electronic equipment, and any other costly item furnished for a nonservice-connected disability (other than a wheelchair or artificial limb). (Sec. 202) Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund for the deposit and disbursement of funds used for improving various health services to veterans, including services under this Act. (Sec. 203) Establishes in the Treasury the Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund. Provides that if a lawsuit is brought by the United States against tobacco manufacturers for costs incurred due to tobacco- related illnesses, there shall be credited to the Fund, without further appropriation, the amount that bears the same ratio to the amount recovered as the amount of the Department's costs for health care attributable to tobacco-related illnesses bears to the total amount sought in the suit. Makes such amounts available to the Secretary for: (1) furnishing veterans' medical care and services; and (2) conducting medical, rehabilitation, and health systems research, with particular emphasis on research relating to the prevention and treatment of, and rehabilitation from, tobacco addiction and diseases associated with tobacco use. (Sec. 204) Revises provisions establishing nonprofit research corporations at Department medical centers to: (1) authorize such corporations to provide education and training to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health-care personnel; (2) include additional personnel on its board of directors; and (3) prohibit such corporation from expending funds for an education activity unless it is approved under procedures prescribed by the Department's Under Secretary for Health. (Sec. 205) Extends through: (1) calendar year 2002 the veterans' readjustment counseling program; (2) 2003 required reports concerning the provision of care to severely chronically mentally ill veterans; and (3) March 1, 2000, and February 1, 2001, certain reports concerning the provision of counseling and treatment for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Amends the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 to: (1) extend through FY 2002 the authority to make grants for housing assistance for homeless veterans; and (2) remove a limitation on the number of such programs which may incorporate the procurement of vans as part of such program. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to prescribe for each State the number of nursing home and domiciliary beds for which assistance under veterans' domiciliary, nursing home, and hospital care may be authorized. Requires such regulations to be based on the projected demand for such care ten years after enactment of this Act by veterans who are 65 years old or older. Directs the Secretary, with respect to State applications for the construction or acquisition of new nursing facilities or the replacement or increase of the number of beds at a current facility, to characterize the need of such facility as great, significant, or limited and to grant applications accordingly. Allows financial assistance only for renovation projects for which total construction costs are in excess of $400,000. Outlines State application requirements for such projects or assistance. (Sec. 207) Adds as a required condition to the authority of the Secretary to enter into an enhanced-use lease (the leasing of Department property not currently used by the Department) the Secretary's determination that the business plan proposed by the Under Secretary for Health for applying lease payments to the provision of medical care and services demonstrably improves services to eligible veterans in the geographic service-delivery area within which the leased property is located. Increases to 75 years the authorized term for such leases. Requires funds received under such a lease and remaining after expense deductions to be deposited in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund and used for authorized purposes. Requires at least 75 percent of such funds to be made available to the designated VHA health care region within which the leased property is located. (Sec. 208) Makes ineligible for employment as a VHA health-care professional an individual who was licensed, registered, or certified to practice in more than one State when any one of those States has since terminated such license, registration, or certification. Title III: Miscellaneous - Prohibits the Secretary from closing in any fiscal year more than 50 percent of the beds within a Department medical center unless the Secretary first submits to the veterans' committees a justification for such closure. Prohibits any such closure until 21 days after submission of the report. Requires the Secretary to report annually to such committees on bed closures during the preceding fiscal year. (Sec. 302) Revises provisions concerning the Veterans Canteen Service to remove a provision limiting such services to the sales of merchandise and services for consumption and use on the premises. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the feasibility of establishing a pilot program to assist veterans in receiving assisted living services. (Sec. 304) Requires the Department's Under Secretary for Health to establish a VHA policy regarding the role of chiropractic treatment in the care of veterans.

Teacher Technology Training Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Teacher Technology Training Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide classroom-related computer training to licensed or certified elementary or secondary school teachers. Requires SEAs to make such grant awards on the basis of an LEA's demonstrated need to strengthen teacher training in using technology in instruction. Limits grant duration to five years. Mandates State and local applications for such grants, but also requires: (1) the SEA to award at least one grant to an LEA that meets criteria established by the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to award one grant to each SEA in the 50 States, if appropriations are above a specified amount for a fiscal year. Allows LEAs to use grant funds to: (1) strengthen instruction and learning, provide professional development, and pay the costs of teacher training, related to the use of technologies in instruction; and (2) provide such training by LEA personnel on school premises. Directs the Secretary to evaluate within three years these LEA- developed technology training programs for teachers. Authorizes appropriations.

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for financial assistance for higher education for spouses and dependant children of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the retroactive eligibility dates for financial assistance for higher education for spouses and dependent children of law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.

Railway Safety and Funding Equity Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Railway Safety and Funding Equity Act of 1999 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) for each of FY 2000 through 2003 to carry out projects for the elimination of hazards of railway-highway crossings and projects for the elimination of railway-railway crossings an amount determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be equivalent to the total of amounts received in the Treasury in the previous fiscal year that are attributable to taxes imposed on fuel used in a train. Sets forth provisions regarding apportionment of funds. Directs that at least five percent of sums available to a State in a fiscal year be expended on education and awareness campaigns, and that at least ten percent be expended on projects for the elimination of railway-railway crossing hazards. Sets the Federal cost share at 80 percent. Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to exclude such funding from the obligation ceiling for Federal-aid highway and highway construction programs. (Sec. 3) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) transfer the excise taxes on fuel used in trains to the HTF beginning on October 1, 1999; and (2) terminate such excise taxes on October 1, 2004.

Imported Food Safety Improvement Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1999

Imported Food Safety Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Improvements to the Food Safety Import System - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require imported food to be prepared, packed, and held under a system meeting the requirements of such Act, or determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to be equivalent to domestic requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop an implementation plan; and (2) conduct overseas food system evaluations. Directs the Secretary to establish, for use by the Secretary of the Treasury, a system to deny the entry of imported food from a specific area, producer, manufacturer, or transporter into the United States that: (1) has been repeatedly adulterated or associated with repeated outbreaks of foodborne disease, presents a health danger, and is likely without systematic changes to cause disease or be adulterated again; or (2) in an emergency determination, has been strongly associated with a serious outbreak of foodborne disease. Makes a conforming amendment to the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 102) Deems as adulterated an imported (or offered for import) food: (1) withheld for review that is distributed prior to the Secretary's authorization of distribution; (2) ordered to be held in secure storage prior to distribution that is not so held; (3) required to be destroyed that is not so destroyed; (4) previously denied admission that is subsequently offered for admission without a showing of appropriate compliance (port shopping); or (5) owned or consigned by a debarred person. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) prohibit distribution of an imported food until the Secretary so authorizes; (2) prohibit distribution and require the secure storage of an imported food if the importer, owner, or consignee of such food is a person against whom the Secretary of the Treasury has assessed certain liquidated damages for failure to redeliver food subject to a bond; (3) order dangerous imported food to be destroyed; and (4) require marking of refused entry (but not ordered destroyed) food until brought into appropriate compliance. Deems as misbranded a refused entry food not so marked. (Sec. 108) Shortens the period before a refused entry article which is not exported shall be destroyed. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the collection and analysis of imported food by entities other than the Food and Drug Administration. Title II: Enforcement and Penalties for Importing Contaminated Food - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish increased bonding requirements for persons involved in prior importing of adulterated or misbranded food. (Sec. 202) Authorizes the Secretary to debar a person from importing food into the United States for food import-related repeat or felony activities. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations for additional Food and Drug Administration laboratory, inspection, and compliance personnel. Title III: Improvements to Public Health Infrastructure and Awareness - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to make grants to, enter into contracts with, and provide technical assistance to State and local health entities for enhanced surveillance and prevention of foodborne disease, particularly related to imported food. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to foodborne disease, to: (1) conduct pathogen detection research and development; and (2) provide for training, education, and public information. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide related international public health training and technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that State and local governments and local educational agencies are encouraged to dedicate a day of learning to the study and understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Federalist Papers.

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999

Expresses the sense of Congress that State and local governments and local educational agencies are encouraged to: (1) dedicate at least one day of learning to the study and understanding of the significance of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers; and (2) include a requirement that, before receiving a certificate or diploma of graduation from high school, students be tested on their competency in understanding those works.

Safe School Security Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999

Safe School Security Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Energy to enter into an agreement for the establishment of a School Security Technology Center at the Sandia National Laboratories in partnership with the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center--Southeast . Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 (which is subtitle B of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to include, among required components of local drug and violence prevention programs, the establishment or expansion of a free information service, using print, electronic media, and the Internet, for parents, principals, school security officers, parent-teacher associations, and community safety groups regarding comprehensive technical and non-technical measures to improve safety.

To honor the ExploraVision Awards Program and to encourage more students to participate in this innovative national student science competition.

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1999

Honors the ExploraVision Awards Program as an innovative national student science competition for its outstanding contribution to science education. Encourages students in kindergarten through grade 12 across the country to participate in this innovative student science competition. Commends the Toshiba Corporation and the National Science Teachers Association for their dedication to such Program. Authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to support the goals of such Program.

Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards Part A: Basic Grants Part B: Even Start Part C: Education of Migratory Children Part D: Neglected and Delinquent Children Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects Part F: General Provisions Part G: Reading Excellence Title II: High Standards in the Classroom Part A: Teaching to High Standards Title III: Technology for Education Part A: Federal Leadership and National Activities Part B: Special Projects Part C: Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology Part D: Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources Title IV: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Title V: Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice Title VI: Class-Size Reduction Title VII: Bilingual Education Act Title VIII: Impact Aid Title IX: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education Part A: Indian Education Part B: Native Hawaiian Education Act Part C: Alaska Native Education Title X: Programs of National Significance Title XI: General Provisions, Definitions, and Accountability Title XII: Amendments to Other Laws; Repeals Part A: Amendments to Other Laws Part B: Repeals Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise and reauthorize ESEA programs through FY 2005. (Sec. 3) Renames the National Education Goals (currently in title I of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act), as America's Education Goals, revises such Goals, and includes them under ESEA. Title I: Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the following ESEA title I programs: (1) part A basic grants to States for improving programs of local educational agencies (LEAs); (2) part B Even Start program; (3) part C education of migratory children; (4) part D State agency programs for neglected or delinquent children; (5) part E Reading Excellence program (transferred from title II); and (6) part F Federal activities. (Sec. 103) Requires each State educational agency (SEA) to: (1) reserve a portion (2.5 percent in FY 2001 and 2002, 3.5 percent in subsequent fiscal years) of its annual basic grant under part A of title I to carry out certain LEA assistance and school improvement activities; and (2) allocate at least 70 percent of such reserved amount directly to LEAs in accordance with specified priorities, or use at least that portion of the reserved amount to carry out an alternative system of school and LEA improvement and corrective action described in the State plan and approved by the Secretary of Education. Part A: Basic Grants - Revises requirements for State plans. (Sec. 111) Requires State plan coordination with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (VTEA). Revises provisions relating to assessments of limited English proficient (LEP) children. Requires submission of accountability plans and establishment of accountability systems that are based on challenging standards, include all students, promote continuous improvement, and include rigorous criteria for identifying and intervening in schools and districts in need of improvement. Eliminates a requirement that States identify languages other than English that are present in the participating school population, indicate the languages for which assessments are not available, and make every effort to develop those assessments. Directs the Secretary to include experts on educational standards, assessments, accountability, and the diverse educational needs of students in the peer-review process used to review State plans. (Sec. 112) Revises requirements for LEA plans. Requires LEA plan coordination with IDEA and VTEA. Requires LEA plans to describe any assessments that they will use to determine the literacy levels of first graders and their need for interventions and how they will ensure that those assessments: (1) are developmentally appropriate; (2) use multiple measures to provide information about the variety of relevant skills; and (3) are administered to students in the language most likely to yield valid results. Requires LEA professional development strategies under title I part A to be components of their professional development plans under the new title II, if they receive title II funds. Includes Indian children served under title IX of ESEA among those for whom LEA plans must describe coordination of title I services with other educational services. Requires LEA plans to include descriptions of: (1) the actions an LEA will take to assist its low-performing schools, if any, in making the changes needed to educate all children to the State standards; and (2) how the LEA will promote the use of extended learning time, such as an extended school year, before- and after-school programs, and summer programs. Requires LEA assurances regarding: (1) annual assessment of the English proficiency of all LEP children participating in part A programs, using assessment results to help guide and modify instruction in the content areas, and providing those results to the children's parents; and (2) compliance with specified requirements regarding teacher qualifications and the use of paraprofessionals. Requires States to use a peer-review process in reviewing LEA plans. (Sec. 113) Revises provisions relating to eligible school attendance areas. Authorizes an LEA to: (1) continue serving an attendance area for one year after it loses its eligibility; and (2) allocate greater per-child amounts of title I funds to higher-poverty areas and schools than it provides to lower-poverty areas and schools. Requires LEAs to reserve sufficient funds to serve homeless children who do not attend participating schools. (Sec. 114) Revises provisions for schoolwide programs. Allows use of IDEA funds for such programs under certain conditions. Requires peer review and LEA approval of a schoolwide plan before implementation. (Sec. 115) Revises provisions for targeted assistance schools. Allows preschool children of any age to be served under part A if they can benefit from an organized instructional program. Provides that children who, within the prior two years, had received title I preschool services are eligible for services under part A (as are children who participated in a Head Start or Even Start program in such period). (Sec. 116) Revises provisions relating to assessment and LEA and school improvement. Sets forth examples of criteria to be used by SEAs in designating Distinguished Schools. Requires each participating school identified by an LEA as being in need of improvement, to develop or revise a school plan, in consultation with parents, school staff, the LEA, and a State school support team or other outside experts. Requires an LEA to take at least one of a number of specified corrective actions in the case of a school that fails to make progress within three years of its identification as being in need of improvement. Requires an LEA that has been identified by the SEA as needing improvement to submit a revised part A plan to the SEA for peer review and approval. Requires an SEA to take certain corrective actions in the case of an LEA that fails to make sufficient progress within three years of being identified as in need of improvement. (Sec. 117) Revises provisions for State assistance for school support and improvement. Requires SEAs to provide such assistance according to the following order of priorities: first, to LEAs identified for corrective action and to individual schools for which an LEA has failed to carry out certain responsibilities; next, to other LEAs identified as in need of improvement, but not identified as in need of corrective action; and finally, to other LEAs and schools that need those services in order to achieve the purpose of part A. Directs SEAs to use for such State assistance certain funds available for technical assistance and support. Authorizes SEAs also to use for such State assistance certain State administrative funds. (Sec. 118) Applies to all part A activities the requirement to provide full opportunities for participation by parents with limited English proficiency and parents with disabilities. (Sec. 119) Requires each participating LEA to: (1) hire qualified instructional staff; (2) provide high-quality professional development to staff members; and (3) use for such professional development at least five percent of its part A grant for FY 2001 and 2002, and ten percent of such grant for subsequent fiscal years. Sets forth minimum qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals in programs supported with part A funds. Revises a list of professional development activities. Includes child-care providers among those with whom an LEA could choose to conduct joint professional development activities. (Sec. 120) Revises provisions for program participation of children enrolled in private schools. Allows LEAs to determine the number of poor children in private schools every year or every two years. Revises provisions relating to consultation with private school officials regarding provision of program services to children. (Sec. 120A) Revises criteria for determining the required comparability of services that a participating LEA provides in title I schools, from State and local sources, with those it provides in its other schools. Requires LEAs to update their records documenting compliance with such comparability requirement annually. (Sec. 120B) Sets forth additional requirements for quality assurance by preschool programs carried out with part A funds. (Sec. 120C) Revises formulas and other requirements for allocations of part A basic grant funds to territories, States, and LEAs. (Sec. 120D) Requires States to report annually to the Secretary on specified program indicators relating to schools participating in the part A program. Part B: Even Start - Revises the ESEA title I part B Even Start program. (Sec. 121) Requires Even Start programs to be based on the best available research on language development, reading instruction, and prevention of reading difficulties. (Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary to reserve five percent of program funds to support national demonstration and model projects for isolated and especially hard-to-reach populations, including projects for: (1) children of migratory workers; (2) the outlying areas; (3) Indian tribes and tribal organizations; and (4) other populations, such as families that are homeless, that have children with severe disabilities, or that include incarcerated mothers of young children. Limits to not more than one percent of program funds the amount which may be reserved to provide technical assistance, program improvement, and replication activities. Makes discretionary, rather than mandatory, the Secretary's making of competitive grants for interagency coordination of statewide family literacy initiatives. Allows for-profit, as well as nonprofit, organizations to qualify as providers of technical assistance. (Sec. 123) Requires States applying for Even Start grants to submit State plans, including State indicators of program quality. (Sec. 124) Includes family literacy services among permissible uses of Even Start program funds. (Sec. 125) Revises required elements of Even Start programs. Allows career counseling and job placement services to be offered to accommodate participants' work schedules and other responsibilities. Requires instructional programs to integrate all elements of family literacy services. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) qualifications of instructional staff and paraprofessionals; and (2) staff training to obtain certification in relevant instructional areas, as well as necessary skills. Includes individuals with disabilities among those who may be most in need of program services. Revises various provisions relating to retention of families in Even Start programs. (Sec. 126) Includes as eligible for Even Start program participation teenage parents who are attending school, but who are above the State's age for compulsory school attendance. (Sec. 127) Revises application provisions relating to local Even Start plans to require: (1) program improvement emphasis; (2) outcome goals for participating children and families that are consistent with the State's program indicators; (3) addressing of specified program elements; and (4) evaluation plans. (Sec. 128) Revises subgrant award provisions to require a State's review panel to include an individual with expertise in family literacy programs. Makes optional, rather than mandatory, the inclusion of one or more of other specified types of individuals on such panels. Authorizes each State to continue Even Start funding, for up to two years beyond the eight-year limit, for up to two exemplary projects in the State that have been highly successful and that show substantial potential to serve as models for other projects throughout the Nation and as mentor sites for other family literacy projects in the State. (Sec. 130) Sets the end of FY 2000 as the deadline for States to develop certain required indicators of program quality. Adds to such required indicators others relating to the levels of intensity of services and the duration of participating children and adults needed to reach the outcomes the State specifies. (Sec. 130A) Repeals specified provisions relating to research. Part C: Education of Migratory Children - Revises part C title I ESEA provisions for education of migratory children. (Sec. 131) Revises formulas and other requirements for allocation of funds to the States and Puerto Rico. Establishes minimum and maximum annual State allocation amounts. (Sec. 132) Revises State application requirements to include certain elements of the separate comprehensive service-delivery plan requirements removed by this Act. (Sec. 133) Revises authorized activities. Removes requirements that a State develop a comprehensive service-delivery plan that is separate from its application for funds. (Sec. 134) Makes for-profit entities (as well as nonprofit entities) eligible for awards of funds to carry out various activities to support the interstate and intrastate coordination of migrant education activities. Increases the maximum amount that may be reserved each year from the appropriation for the Migrant Education program to support coordination activities. Authorizes awarding of incentive grants to States that form consortia to improve the delivery of services to migratory children whose education is interrupted. (Current law makes such grant awards mandatory and competitive.) Increases the maximum amount that may be reserved for such grant awards. Part D: Neglected and Delinquent Children - Revises and renames part D title I ESEA as State Agency Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected or Delinquent. (Sec. 143) Revises requirements for payments for part D programs. (Sec. 144) Revises requirements for allocation of part D funds to the States and Puerto Rico. (Sec. 145) Requires State plans to provide that participating children will be held to the same challenging academic standards, as well as given the same opportunity to learn, as they would if they were attending local public schools. (Sec. 147) Repeals provisions for Local Agency Programs. (Sec. 148) Revises program evaluation provisions to require that an SEA to use multiple measures of student progress that are: (1) appropriate for the students and feasible for the SEA; and (2) consistent with the requirement to provide participating children the same opportunities to learn, and to hold them to the same standards that would apply if they were attending local public schools. Part E: Federal Evaluations, Demonstrations, and Transition Projects - Revises provisions relating to evaluations, management information, demonstrations of innovative practices and other Federal activities. Part F: General Provisions - Repeals certain requirements relating to rulemaking and issuance of a program assistance manual. Part G: Reading Excellence - Transfers the Reading Excellence Act program (currently part C of title II of ESEA) to a new part E of title I of ESEA. (Sec. 171) Revises provisions for reading and literacy activities grants to allow an SEA to apply for and receive a subsequent grant. Requires SEA grant applications to include the process and criteria to be used to review and approve LEA applications for local reading improvement subgrants and tutorial assistance subgrants, including a peer-review process with individuals with relevant expertise. (Sec. 172) Requires SEAs receiving part G grants to use such funds as follows: (1) not more than five percent for State administrative costs, including a specified two percent maximum for such costs with respect to a specified program; and (2) award up to 15 percent through at least one tutorial assistance subgrant. (Sec. 173) Limits eligibility for local reading improvement subgrants to LEAs that operate schools for grades one through three. Requires that the schools in which such reading instruction activities are provided serve children in the third grade or below. (Sec. 174) Limits eligibility for tutorial assistance subgrants to LEAs that serve children for grades one through three. Requires that such grant funds serve children in the third grade or below. (Sec. 176) Authorizes the National Institute for Literacy to use a specified amount to pay for the costs of administering information dissemination activities. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a specified amount for the Reading Excellence program for technical assistance, program improvement, and replication activities. (Sec. 177) Repeals an authorization of appropriations (but transfers the authorization of appropriations for the Reading Excellence program to another part of ESEA). (Sec. 178) Transfers the authority for the Reading Excellence program (currently in part C of title II of ESEA) to part E of title I of ESEA. Title II: High Standards in the Classroom - Revises and renames title II of ESEA as High Standards in the Classroom. Part A: Teaching to High Standards - Authorizes a new program by consolidating the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program (current title II ESEA) and Innovative Education Program Strategies (current title VI ESEA) and the current title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. (Sec. 201) Authorizes appropriations for the following part A programs: (1) State and local activities (subpart 2); and (2) national activities for the improvement of teaching and school leadership (subpart 3). Sets forth subpart 2 provisions for State and Local Activities. Sets forth formulas for allocations to the States, the outlying areas, and schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Requires priority use of part A funds for professional development in mathematics and science. Increases the amount of the current Eisenhower program's set-aside amount for professional development in mathematics and science. Allows such professional development in mathematics and science to include interdisciplinary activities, as long as these activities include a strong focus on mathematics and science. Requires funds in excess of the set-aside amount to be used in one or more of the core academic subjects, including mathematics and science. Sets forth State application requirements. Requires States to submit annual reports to the Secretary on their own program activities and on the progress of subgrant recipients against program performance indicators. Sets forth requirements relating to funds for: (1) State-level activities, program evaluations, and administration, including certain amounts for the State higher education agency (SHEA); and (2) within-State allocations for formula and competitive grants to LEAs. Sets forth authorized State-level activities to promote high-quality instruction. Allows SHEAs to reserve a portion of their allocation for administrative activities and program evaluations and require them, in cooperation with SEAs, to award competitive subgrants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, institutions of higher education (IHEs) or nonprofit organizations to provide professional development in the core academic subjects. Requires priority to be given to projects that focus on teacher induction programs. Requires awards to be made only to projects that include an LEA, are coordinated with related activities under title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and involve the IHE's school or department of education and the school or departments in the specific disciplines in which the professional development will be provided. Sets forth program activities and reporting requirements. Requires SEAs to award competitive subgrants to LEAs, using a peer-review process that includes reviewers knowledgeable in the academic content areas. Requires SEAs to adopt strategies to ensure that LEAs with the greatest need are provided a reasonable opportunity to receive an award. Sets a three-year subgrant period, allowing extension for an additional two years if the SEA determines that the LEA is making substantial progress toward meeting the goals in the LEA's district-wide plan for raising student achievement against State standards and against the performance indicators identified by the Secretary. Sets forth requirements for LEA applications to SEAs for formula or competitive subgrants. Requires a district-wide plan that describes how the LEA will raise student achievement against State standards by: (1) supporting the alignment of curricula, assessments, and professional development to challenging State and local content standards; (2) providing professional development in the core academic content areas; (3) carrying out activities to assist new teachers during their first three years in the classroom; and (4) ensuring that teachers employed by the LEA are proficient in teaching skills and content knowledge. Requires the LEA application also to identify specific goals for achieving program purposes, assure collection of data that measures progress toward program performance indicators, and describe how it will: (1) address the needs of high-poverty, low-performing schools, and of teachers of students with limited English proficiency and other students with special needs; (2) coordinate program funds with professional development activities funded through other State and Federal programs, use its formula subgrant funds to address the items in the district-wide plan, and use any additional funds from a competitive subgrant to implement that plan. Sets forth authorized uses of program funds by LEAs to implement their district-wide plans. Requires LEAs to submit program reports to SEAs. Sets forth formulas for Federal and local shares of program costs. Prohibits subgrantees from using program funds for equipment, computer hardware, textbooks, telecommunications fees, or other items, that would otherwise be provided by the LEA or State, or by a private school whose students receive services under the program. Directs the Secretary to identify indicators of program performance against which recipients would report their progress. Sets forth subpart 3 provisions for National Activities for the Improvement of Teaching and School Leadership. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and contracts with LEAs, SEAs, SHEAs, IHEs, educational service agencies, and other public and private nonprofit entities to support: (1) activities of national significance that are not supported through other sources and that will contribute to the improvement of teaching and school leadership in the Nation's schools; (2) activities of national significance that will contribute to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and principals in high-poverty LEAs; and (3) a national evaluation of the part A program. Directs the Secretary to support: (1) the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and (2) the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (Clearinghouse). Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant or contract to continue the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education. Sets forth part B provisions for the Transition-to-Teaching program, and the Troops-to-Teachers program, to address the need of high-poverty school districts for highly qualified teachers in subject areas such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, and special education needed by those school districts. Authorizes the Secretary to use part B funds to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to IHEs and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out part B Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program; and (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth part B requirements for applications. Authorizes use of part B funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants; (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants; (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching; (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty LEAs with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs; and (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive. Sets forth part C provisions for Early Childhood Educator Professional Development. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants to eligible partnerships consisting of: (1) at least one IHE (or another public or private, nonprofit entity) that provides professional development for early childhood educators who work with children from low-income families in high-need communities; and (2) one or more public agencies (including LEAs, SEAs, State human services agencies, and State and local agencies administering programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990), Head Start agencies, or private nonprofit entities. Gives priority to applications from partnerships that include one or more LEAs that operate early childhood programs for children from low-income families in high-need communities. Sets forth requirements for applications, selection of grantees, uses of funds, allowable activities, technologies, and data collection, evaluation, and reporting activities necessary to meet program accountability requirements, performance indicators, reports, and cost-sharing. Directs the Secretary (of Education) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate activities of this program and other early childhood programs that they administer. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth part D provisions for technical assistance programs, including the following subparts: (1) strengthening the capacity of SEAs and LEAs to become effective, informed consumers of technical assistance; (2) technical assistance centers serving special needs; (3) technology-based technical assistance information dissemination; and (4) national evaluation activities. Sets forth requirements for allocation of subpart 1 funds, formula grants to SEAs, State applications and uses of funds, direct formula grants to large LEAs, local applications and uses of funds, and equitable services for private schools. Directs the Secretary to establish, through one or more contracts, an independent source of consumer information regarding the quality and effectiveness of technical assistance activities and providers available to States, LEAs, and other recipients of funds under ESEA, in selecting technical assistance activities and providers for their use. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth subpart 2 provisions for technical assistance centers serving special needs. Sets forth general requirements applicable to all technical assistance providers that receive funds under this subpart 2, all consortia that receive funds under subpart 2 part B title III ESEA, and the educational laboratories, and clearinghouses of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), supported under the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public or private nonprofit entities (or consortia of those entities) to operate two centers for technical assistance on the needs of special populations. Requires such centers to provide training and technical assistance to SEAs, LEAs, schools, tribes, community-based organizations, and other recipients of funds under ESEA on: (1) addressing specific linguistic, cultural, or other needs of limited English proficient, migratory, Indian, and Alaska Native students; and (2) educational strategies to enable those students to meet challenging State academic content and performance standards. Requires each center to give priority to providing services to schools, including BIA-funded schools, that educate such students and have the highest percentages or numbers of children in poverty and the lowest student achievement levels. Sets forth accountability requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) (currently authorized under Title IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act). Provides for such awards to nonprofit organizations that serve parents, particularly those organizations that make substantial efforts to reach low-income, minority, or limited English proficient parents. Requires PIRCs to: (1) coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, and local parent education and family involvement initiatives; and (2) provide training, information, and support to SEAs, LEAs, schools, and organizations that support family-school partnerships. Sets forth requirements for applications, matching funds, and uses of funds. Increases from 50 percent to 75 percent the minimum portion of its award which each recipient of such funds must use to support activities that serve areas with large numbers or concentrations of low-income families. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a portion of program funds for technical assistance to the PIRCs and evaluations of program activities. Sets forth reporting and general program provisions. Authorizes appropriations for the PIRC program. Revises and authorizes provisions for the Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia (currently authorized under part C title XIII ESEA). Authorizes appropriations for the Eisenhower Consortia. Sets forth subpart 3 provisions for technology-based technical assistance information dissemination. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out, through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, a national system, through the Worldwide Web and other advanced telecommunications technologies, that supports interactive information sharing and dissemination about ways to improve educational practices throughout the Nation. Directs the Secretary, in designing and implementing such system, to create opportunities for the continuing input of students, teachers, administrators, and other individuals who participate in, or may be affected by, the Nation's educational system. Requires such system to include information on: (1) stimulating instructional materials that are aligned with challenging content standards; and (2) successful and innovative practices in instruction, professional development, challenging academic content and student performance standards, assessments, effective school management, and other appropriate areas. Authorizes the Secretary to require certain technical assistance providers funded under ESEA or the ERIC educational laboratories and clearinghouses to participate in such information dissemination system in specified ways. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such system's dissemination activities are integrated with those of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and that the public has access, through this system, to the latest research, statistics, and other information supported by, or available from, OERI. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out additional activities to assist LEAs, SEAs, tribes, and other ESEA recipients in meeting the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 3. Sets forth subpart 4 provisions for national evaluation activities. Directs the Secretary to conduct, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, activities necessary to: (1) determine what constitutes effective technical assistance; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the technical assistance and dissemination programs authorized by, or assisted under, part E title II ESEA, and the ERIC educational laboratories, and clearinghouses; and (3) increase the effectiveness of those programs. Title III: Technology for Education - Technology for Education Act - Revises and reorganizes title III of ESEA to change its short title to the Technology for Education Act. (Sec. 304) Requires recipients to use title III funds only to supplement, and not to supplant, those non-Federal funds or resources. Part A: Federal Leadership and National Activities - Revises and renames part A title III ESEA as Federal Leadership and National Activities. (Sec. 311) Repeals authority for the Product Development program. (Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to update the national long-range technology plan and to broadly disseminate the updated plan. Includes among requirements for such plan descriptions of how the Secretary will promote or encourage: (1) full integration of technology into learning, including the creation of new instructional opportunities through access to challenging courses and information that would otherwise not have been available, and independent learning opportunities for students through technology; (2) creation of opportunities for teachers to develop, through the use of technology, their own networks and resources for sustained and intensive, high- quality professional development; and (3) commercial development of effective, high-quality, cost-competitive educational technology and software. (Sec. 313) Replaces the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Systems with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on the list of agencies with which the Secretary consults under the program for Federal leadership in promoting the use of technology in education. Authorizes the Secretary to develop a national repository of information on the effective uses of educational technology, including its use for sustained and intensive, high-quality professional development, and the dissemination of that information nationwide. (Sec. 314) Eliminates a requirement that funds be used for a discretionary grant program when appropriations for part A of title III of the ESEA are less than a specified amount, and for a State formula grant program when the appropriation exceeds that amount. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a strategy for an ongoing National Evaluation of Education Technology. Authorizes appropriations for the national evaluation strategy, national plan, and Federal leadership activities. Part B: Special Projects - Repeals the following ESEA title III provisions: (1) part B, the Star Schools Program; and (2) part E, the Elementary Mathematics and Science Equipment Program. (Sec. 321) Redesignates and renames the following ESEA title III provisions: (1) part C, Ready-To-Learn Television, as subpart 2 part B title III ESEA, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television; and (2) part D, Telecommunications Demonstration Project for Mathematics, as subpart 3 part B title III ESEA. Establishes a program of Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards, as subpart 1 part B title III ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Technology (OET), to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis to eligible applicants, which are consortia that include: (1) at least one SEA or LEA; and (2) at least one IHE, for-profit business, museum, library, other public or private entity with appropriate expertise. Sets forth requirements for applications, plans, priorities, uses of funds, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 1, Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards. (Sec. 322) Authorizes appropriations for the revised subpart 2, Ready-to-Learn-Digital-Television. (Sec. 323) Authorizes appropriations for the Telecommunications Program for Professional Development in the Core Content Areas. (Sec. 324) Establishes a program for Community Technology Centers, as subpart 4 part B title III ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible applicants to create or expand community technology centers that expand access to information technology and related training for disadvantaged residents of distressed urban or rural communities or to provide technical assistance and support to such centers. Sets forth requirements for eligibility, applications, required and permissible uses of funds, and cost-sharing. Authorizes appropriations for subpart 4, Community Technology Centers. Part C: Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology - Establishes a part C title III ESEA program, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology. (Sec. 331) Authorizes the Secretary, through OET, to award competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to develop or redesign teacher preparation programs to enable prospective teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms. Requires applicants to be consortia that include at least one IHE that offers a baccalaureate degree and prepares teachers for their initial entry into teaching, at least one SEA or LEA, and at least one other of specified types of entities with the capacity to contribute to the technology-related reform of teacher preparation programs. Sets forth requirements for applications, matching funds, required and permissible uses of funds. Authorizes appropriations. Part D: Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources - Establishes a part D title III ESEA program, Regional, State, and Local Educational Technology Resources, including: (1) subpart 1, the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF); and (2) subpart 2, Regional Technology in Education Consortia (RTEC). (Sec. 342) Revises provisions for allotment and reallotment of TLCF funds to include the BIA as a State educational agency for such purposes. Revises provisions for minimum TLCF grant amounts for States and outlying areas. (Sec. 343) Revises requirements under the subpart 1 TLCF, including: (1) State use of grant funds to make subgrants to LEAs; (2) State and local applications; and (3) local uses of funds. (Sec. 347) Repeals a current part D program for National Challenge Grants for Technology in Education (but establishes a similar program, the Next-Generation Technology Innovation Awards program, as the new subpart 1 part C title III ESEA). (Sec. 348) Adds certain definitions to target subpart 1 funds to low-performing schools in needy areas. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 349) Revises requirements under the subpart 2 RTEC. Directs the Secretary to make subpart 2 grants to, or enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, consortia that meet specified requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act - Revises ESEA title IV to change the short title (currently, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994). Revises Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) programs to require: (1) emphasis on environments in and around schools; (2) competitive, as well as non-competitive, awarding funds to LEAs under certain conditions; and (3) increased coordination among related programs. (Sec. 401) Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth title IV part A provisions for State grants for drug and violence prevention programs. Revises requirements for reservations and allotments. Prohibits outlying areas from consolidating SDFSC funds with other Federal education funds. Requires State applications to be jointly submitted by the SEA and Governor and to include descriptions of: (1) procedures the SEA will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to LEAs competitively, based on need and quality of the ESEA, those the SEA will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to LEAs non-competitively, based on need and quality; (2) procedures the Governor will use for reviewing applications and awarding funds to eligible applicants competitively, based on need and quality; (3) SEA's and Governor's proposed use of funds reserved for coordinated capacity-building, technical assistance, and program accountability services and activities at the State and local levels; and (4) proposed SEA technical assistance for LEAs not receiving SDFSC State grant funds to improve their programs. Requires part A funds to be used for SEA and LEA programs and activities designed to create and maintain drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for learning in and around schools. Requires SEAs to reserve between ten percent and 20 percent of their part A allocations for State-level activities. Authorizes SEAs to use such reserved funds to plan, develop, and implement, jointly with the Governor, capacity building and technical assistance and accountability services to support the effective implementation of local drug and violence prevention activities throughout the State and promote program accountability and improvement. Revises provisions for State administrative costs. Authorizes SEAs and Governors to provide emergency intervention services to schools and communities following a traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident that has disrupted the learning environment. Requires SEAs to: (1) use at least 80 percent of part A funds for local-level activities; (2) use at least 70 percent of their total SDFSC State grant funding for competitive awards to LEAs that the SEA determines have need for assistance; (3) base their competition on the quality of an LEA's proposed program and how closely it is aligned with specified principles of effectiveness; (4) make competitive awards to no more than 50 percent of the LEAs in the State, with certain exceptions; and (5) make their competitive awards to LEAs of sufficient size to support high-quality, effective programs and activities that are designed to create safe, disciplined, and drug- free learning environments in schools, and that are consistent with the needs, goals, and objectives identified in the State's plan. Allows SEAs to use up to ten percent of their total SDFSC State grant funding for non-competitive awards to LEAs with the greatest need for assistance that did not receive a competitive award. Requires, in order for an SEA to make a non-competitive award to an LEA, the SEA must assist the LEA in meeting the information requirements pertaining to LEA needs assessment, results-based performance measures, comprehensive safe and drug-free schools plan, evaluation plan, and assurances, and provide continuing technical assistance to the LEA to build its capacity to develop and implement high-quality, effective programs. Sets forth authorized services and activities of local drug and violence prevention programs. Requires each LEA receiving SDFSC funding to use such funds to support research-based drug and violence prevention services and activities consistent with specified principles of effectiveness. Allows an LEA to use such funds for additional activities other than research-based programming, under specified conditions. Authorizes SEAs to waive, under certain conditions, a 20 percent cap on SDFSC subgrant funds that LEAs may spend for the acquisition or use of metal detectors and security personnel. Requires Governors to: (1) use Governor's Programs funds (20 percent of the State allocation) to support community efforts that directly complement the efforts of LEAs to foster drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments for learning in and around schools; (2) reserve between ten percent and 20 percent of their allocations for State-level activities to plan, develop, and implement, jointly with the SEA, capacity building, technical assistance, and accountability services to support the effective implementation of local drug and violence prevention activities throughout the State and promote program accountability and improvement; (3) use at least 80 percent of SDFSC State grant funding to make competitive subgrants to community-based organizations, LEAs, and other public entities and private non-profit organizations to support community efforts that directly complement the efforts of LEAs to foster drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments in and around schools; and (4) base competition for subgrants on the quality of the applicant's proposed program and how closely it is aligned with the principles of effectiveness, and on objective criteria, determined by the Governor, on the needs of the schools or LEAs to be served. Allows subgrants made by Governors to support community efforts on a Statewide, regional, or local basis and the efforts of LEAs and schools that do not receive subgrants. Allows use of such funds to support research-based drug and violence prevention services and activities consistent with the principles of effectiveness, and for additional activities other than research-based programming, under specified conditions. Revises local application requirements to emphasize the applicant's need for assistance and the quality of its proposed programming. Requires each applicant LEA for SEA competitive and formula grants to include assurances that it: (1) has a policy, consistent with State law, that requires the expulsion of students who possess a firearm at school consistent with the Gun-Free Schools Act; (2) has, or will have, a full- or part-time program coordinator whose primary responsibility is planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating the applicant's programs (unless the applicant demonstrates in its application, to the satisfaction of the SEA, that such a program coordinator is not needed); (3) will evaluate its program every two years to assess its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives, and will use the results of its evaluation to improve its program and refine its goals and objectives, as needed; and (4) has, or the schools to be served have, a comprehensive Safe and Drug-Free Schools plan that includes specified elements. Requires any eligible entity that applies to the Governor for a subgrant to include in its application: (1) a description of how the services and activities to be supported will be coordinated with relevant SDFSC State grant programs that are supported by SEAs, including how recipients will share resources, services, and data; (2) a description of how the applicant will coordinate its activities under this part with those implemented under the Drug-Free Communities Act, if any; and (3) an assurance that it will evaluate its program every two years to assess its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives, and will use the results of its evaluation to improve its program and refine its goals and objectives as needed (if the applicant is not an LEA, or other specified assurances if the applicant is an LEA). Requires SEAs to use a peer review process, but allows Governors to use other methods, for reviewing local applications to ensure that SDFSC subgrants are made on the basis of need and quality. Revises national evaluation and data collection requirements under title IV. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to publish an annual report on school safety. Revises the State and local report requirements to focus on progress toward attaining performance indicators for achieving drug-free, safe, and orderly learning environments in schools. Requires States to report to the Secretary all school-related suicides and homicides within the State within 30 days of the incident. Requires LEAs to report to SEAs any problems in SDFSC program implementation that warrant provision of SEA technical assistance. Requires SEAs to: (1) review annual LEA reports; and (2) terminate funding for the second or third year of an LEA's program unless the LEA is making reasonable progress toward meeting its objectives. Sets forth annual progress report and program funding review requirements for Governor's award recipients. Sets forth title IV part B provisions for National Programs. Revises the list of authorized national program activities. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs for students that promote lifelong physical activity. Establishes a title IV part C program, School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV), to provide education-related services to LEAs in which the learning environment has been disrupted due to a violent or traumatic crisis, such as a shooting or major accident. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out Project SERV directly, through contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with public and private organizations, agencies, and individuals, or through agreements with other Federal agencies. Sets forth authorized activities under Project SERV. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria and application requirements as may be needed to select which LEAs are assisted under Project SERV. Authorizes the Secretary to establish reporting requirements for uniform data and other information from all LEAs assisted under Project SERV. Requires the establishment of a Federal Coordinating Committee on school crises, to coordinate the Federal responses to crises that occur in schools or directly affect the learning environment in schools. Requires the Committee to be composed of the Secretary (who shall serve as Chair), the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and such other members as the Secretary shall determine. Gun-Free Schools Act - Revises and transfers to ESEA title IV part D the provisions of the Gun-Free Schools Act (currently under ESEA title XIV part F). Requires each State receiving Federal funds under ESEA to have in effect a State law that: (1) requires LEAs to expel from school, for a period of not less than one year, a student who is determined to have possessed a firearm at school under the jurisdiction of the LEA in that State; and (2) allows the chief administering officer of that LEA to modify the expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis. Sets forth local and State reporting requirements. Prohibits awarding ESEA funds to any LEA unless it has a policy ensuring that: (1) any student who possesses a firearm at a school served by such agency is referred to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system; (2) students who possess a firearm at school are referred to mental health professionals for assessment as to whether they pose an imminent threat of harm to themselves or others and need appropriate mental health services before readmission to school; and (2) any student determined to pose such a threat receives appropriate mental health services, in addition to other services, before being permitted to return to school. Requires drug prevention programs supported under title IV ESEA convey a clear and consistent message that the illegal use of alcohol and other drugs is wrong and harmful. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing the use of particular curricula for programs under title IV ESEA, but allows the Secretary to evaluate and disseminate information about the effectiveness of such curricula and programs. Prohibits use of title IV ESEA funds for: (1) construction (except for minor remodeling needed to accomplish the purposes of this part); and (2) medical services, drug treatment or rehabilitation, except for pupil services or referral to treatment for students who are victims of, or witnesses to, crime or who use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. Sets forth a requirement for Drug-Free, Alcohol-Free, and Tobacco-Free Schools. Requires each SEA and LEA that receives title IV ESEA funds to have a policy that prohibits possession or use of tobacco, and the illegal use of drugs or alcohol, in any form, at any time, and by any person, in school buildings, on school grounds, or at any school-sponsored event. Requires LEA applications to include an assurance of compliance with such requirement. Requires annual SEA reports to the Secretary if any LEAs are not in compliance with such requirement. Requires that title IV funds supplement, not supplant, State, local, and other non-Federal funds. Title V: Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice - Revises and renames ESEA title V as Promoting Equity, Excellence, and Public School Choice (currently Promoting Equity). (Sec. 502) Revises the Magnet Schools Assistance program under part A to emphasize projects that consider the diversity of the student populations and that have the capacity to continue after the Federal grant has run out. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 503) Revises the Women's Educational Equity program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 504) Repeals the Assistance to Address School Dropout Problems program (currently in part C). (Sec. 505) Transfers Public Charter Schools provisions to part B (currently in title X part C). (Sec. 506) Establishes a part C program of Options: Opportunities to Improve Our Nation's Schools. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and LEAs to support programs that promote innovative approaches to high-quality public school choice, including worksite and college-based schools. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Class-Size Reduction - Establishes a new title VI of ESEA, Class-Size Reduction. (Replaces the current title VI, Innovative Education Program Strategies.) (Sec. 601) Establishes a grants program to help States and LEAs recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers over a seven-year period in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth program requirements for: (1) allotments to States; (2) within-State allocations; (3) local uses of funds; (4) cost-sharing; and (5) participation of teachers from private schools in professional development activities. Title VII: Bilingual Education Act - Revises the Bilingual Education Act, which is ESEA title VII (Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language Acquisition Programs). (Sec. 701) Makes it policy that limited English proficient students be tested in English after three consecutive years in U.S. schools. (Sec. 702) Authorizes appropriations for part A, Bilingual Education, including the following subparts: (1) bilingual education capacity and demonstration grants; (2) research, evaluation, and dissemination; (3) professional development; and (4) transition. (Sec. 703) Establishes a Program Development and Enhancement Grants program (which consolidates activities of the current Program Development and Implementation Grants program and Enhancement Grants program). Requires such grants to be used to: (1) develop and implement comprehensive, preschool, elementary, or secondary education programs for children and youth with limited English proficiency, that are aligned with standards-based State and local school reform efforts and coordinated with other relevant programs and services; (2) provide high-quality professional development; and (3) require annual assessment of student progress in learning English. Revises allowable activities to emphasize effective instructional practice and the use of technology in the classroom. Authorizes the Secretary to give priority to applicants that enroll fewer than 10,000 students and that have limited or no experience in serving limited English proficient students. (Sec. 704) Revises provisions for Comprehensive School Grants for school-wide instructional programs (in coordination with title I ESEA) for children and youth with limited English proficiency, to assist such children and youth to learn English and achieve to challenging State content and performance standards, and to improve, reform, and upgrade relevant programs and operations in schools with significant concentrations of such students or that serve significant numbers of them. Revises conditions for termination or continuation of grant awards. Limits to 90 days the period during which grant funds may be used for planning. Limit to two the number of schools that may be included in the grant. (Sec. 705) Revises provisions for Systemwide Improvement Grants for projects within an entire school district. Revises conditions for termination or continuation of grant awards. Sets forth required activities, including building school district capacity to continue to operate similar instructional programs once Federal funding is no longer available, aligning programs for limited English proficient students with school, district, and State reform efforts and coordinating with other relevant programs, and annually assessing student progress in learning English. Revises allowable activities to emphasize effective instructional practice, developing student proficiency in two languages, and the use of technology in the classroom. (Sec. 706) Revises application requirements with respect to program accountability and related matters. Adds priorities for applicants that experience a dramatic increase in the number of limited English proficient students enrolled and demonstrate that they have a proven record of success in helping children and youth with limited English proficiency learn English and achieve to high academic standards. (Sec. 707) Requires subpart 1 grantee evaluations to: (1) be conducted annually, rather than biennially; (2) use application data as the baseline against which to report academic achievement and gains in English proficiency for students; (2) report on the validity and reliability of all instruments used to measure student progress; (3) enable results to be disaggregated by such relevant factors as a student's grade, gender, and language group, and whether the student has a disability; and (4) include specified types of data, program implementation indicators, and coordination descriptions. Requires the Secretary to establish performance indicators to determine if comprehensive school grant and systemwide improvement grant programs are making continuous and substantial progress. Authorizes establishing such indicators to determine if program development and enhancement grant programs are making such progress. (Sec. 708) Eliminates the requirement that Bilingual Education Program research be conducted through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in collaboration with the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs. Includes among allowable research activities: (1) data collection needed for compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act; and (2) identifying technology-based approaches that show effectiveness in helping limited English proficient students reach challenging State standards. (Sec. 709) Establishes a program of discretionary grants to States to make Academic Excellence Awards (which replaces current Academic Excellence provisions for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to promote the adoption of promising instructional and professional development programs). Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to SEAs to assist them in recognizing LEAs and other public and non-profit entities whose programs have demonstrated significant progress in assisting limited English proficient students to learn English and to meet the same challenging State content standards expected of all children and youth, within three years. (Sec. 710) Revises the State Grant Program to require States to use such funds to: (1) assist LEAs with program design, capacity building, assessment of student performance, program evaluation, and development of data collection and accountability systems for limited English proficient students that are aligned with State reform efforts; and (2) collect data on limited English proficient populations in the State and the educational programs and services available to such populations. (Sec. 711) Renames the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education as the National Clearinghouse on the Education of Children and Youth with Limited English Proficiency. Eliminates requirements that the Clearinghouse: (1) be administered as an adjunct to the Educational Resources Information Center Clearinghouse system; (2) develop a database management and monitoring system; and (3) develop, maintain, and disseminate a listing of bilingual education professionals. (Sec. 712) Revises provisions for grants to develop, publish, and disseminate instructional materials to include materials: (1) in other low-incidence languages in the United States for which instructional materials are not readily available; and (2) on State content standards and assessments for dissemination to parents of limited English proficient students. Requires the Secretary to give priority to applications for developing instructional materials in languages indigenous to the United States or to the outlying territories and for developing and evaluating instructional materials that reflect challenging State and local content standards, in collaboration with specified assisted activities. (Sec. 713) Revises subpart 3 Professional Development provisions to eliminate a reference to dissemination of information. (Sec. 714) Revises the Training for all Teachers Program to limit grants to ongoing professional development. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs or consortia of LEAs and IHEs, SEAs, or nonprofit organizations. Reduces the grant period from five to three years. Requires professional development activities to be of high quality and long-term. Revises allowable activities to include induction programs, coaching by experienced teachers, and teacher use of education technologies. (Sec. 715) Revises the Bilingual Education Teachers and Personnel Grants program. Limits grants to IHEs for preservice professional development. Requires use of grant funds to put in place a course of study that prepares teachers to serve limited English proficient students, integrate course content relating to meeting the needs of limited English proficient students into all programs for prospective teachers, assign tenured faculty to train teachers to serve limited English proficient students, incorporate State content and performance standards into the institution's coursework, and expand clinical experiences for participants. Authorizes grantees to use funds for activities such as supporting partnerships with LEAs, restructuring higher education course content, assisting other institutions of higher education to improve the quality of relevant professional development programs, and expanding recruitment efforts for students who will participate in relevant professional development programs. (Sec. 716) Revises the Bilingual Education Career Ladder Program to authorize grants to consortia of one or more IHEs and one or more SEAs or LEAs to develop and implement bilingual education career ladder programs. Requires such programs to be designed to provide high-quality, pre-baccalaureate coursework and teacher training to educational personnel who do not have a baccalaureate degree, and to lead to timely receipt of a baccalaureate degree and certification or licensure of program participants as bilingual education teachers or other educational personnel who serve limited English proficient students. Requires grantees to coordinate with programs under title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and other relevant programs, for the recruitment and retention of bilingual students in postsecondary programs to train them to become bilingual educators, and make use of all existing sources of student financial aid before using grant funds to pay tuition and stipends for participating students. Eliminates certain special considerations. Requires the Secretary to give special consideration to applications that provide training in English as a second language, including developing proficiency in the instructional use of English and, as appropriate, a second language in classroom contexts. (Sec. 717) Revises the Graduate Fellowships in Bilingual Education Program to eliminate: (1) the authorization for fellowships at the post-doctoral level; and (2) the requirement that the Secretary make a specific number of fellowship awards in any given year. (Sec. 718) Requires SEAs to review and submit written comments on all applications for professional development grants, with the exception of those for fellowships, to the Secretary. (Sec. 719) Revises program evaluation requirements. Requires an annual evaluation. (Sec. 721) Continues the part C Emergency Immigrant Education Program. (Sec. 722) Authorizes States to use up to two percent of their grant for administrative costs if they distribute funds to LEAs within the State on a competitive basis. (Sec. 723) Revises provisions for competitive State grants to LEAs. Eliminates an appropriations trigger on, and a cap for, allowing States each year to reserve funds from their program allotments and award grants, on a competitive basis, to LEAs. (Sec. 724) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 725) Defines reclassification rate, for purposes of Bilingual Education Program applications and evaluations under subpart 1 of part A, as the annual percentage of limited English proficient students who have met the State criteria for no longer being considered limited English proficient. (Sec. 726) Adds requirements for projects funded under subpart 1 Part A relating to: (1) parental notification of right to withdraw from programs at any time; and (2) the use of paraprofessionals or other instructional staff who are not certified in the field in which they teach. (Sec. 728) Repeals specified provisions under title VII, including a requirement that all professional development grants assist educational personnel in meeting State and local certification requirements. Title VIII: Impact Aid - Revises title VIII of ESEA, Impact Aid, to provide assistance to certain LEAs that are financially burdened as a result of activities of the Federal Government carried out in their jurisdictions, in order to help those LEAs provide educational services to their children, including federally connected children, so that they can meet challenging State standards. (Sec. 802) Revises the program of payments relating to Federal acquisition of real property, which authorizes the Secretary to partially compensate certain LEAs for revenue lost due to the presence of non-taxable Federal property in their jurisdictions. Requires that the Federal property claimed as the basis of eligibility have a current aggregate assessed value that is at least ten percent of the total assessed value of all real property in the LEA. Provides for a three-year phase-out of payments to LEAs that received such payments for FY 1999, but that would no longer be eligible because of the new requirement that Federal property constitute at least ten percent of the current assessed value of all real property in the LEA. (Sec. 803) Revises the program of payments for eligible federally connected children. Eliminates the various "(b)" categories of students. Continues payments with respect to "(a)" categories of students: (1) children of Federal employees who both live and work on Federal property; (2) children of military personnel (and other members of the uniformed services) living on Federal property; (3) children living on Indian lands; and (4) children of foreign military officers living on Federal property. Eliminates the requirement that an LEA have at least 400 eligible students (or that those students constitute at least three percent of its average daily attendance) in order to receive a basic support payment. Revises options for determining an LEA's local contribution rate (LCR), which is used to compute its maximum payment, to include a measure of the amount or proportion of funds that are provided at the local level. Provides that LCRs' local contribution rates are to be determined using data from the third preceding fiscal year. Revises the formula for computing each LEA's "learning opportunity threshold" (LOT), a factor used in determining actual payment amounts when sufficient funds are not available to pay the maximum amounts, to give priority to LEAs with high concentrations of federally connected students. Revises provisions for additional payments to LEAs on behalf of children with disabilities. Eliminates hold-harmless provisions relating to basic support payments. Revises provisions for additional payments to LEAs that are heavily impacted by the presence of federally connected children in their schools. Requires an LEA to meet the following criteria to qualify for a payment: (1) having federally connected children as at least 40 percent of its enrollment, and a tax rate for general-fund purposes of at least 100 percent of the average tax rate of comparable LEAs in the State (or being an LEA whose boundaries are the same as those of a military installation); (2) exercising due diligence to obtain financial assistance from the State and from other sources; and (3) having State aid made available to it on a basis at least as favorable as that for other LEAs. Sets forth a formula that, for each eligible LEA, factors in per-pupil expenditures, number of federally connected children, amount available to it from other sources for current expenditures, and amounts of basic support payments and supplemental payments for children with disabilities it receives. Directs the Secretary, in determining eligibility and payment amounts for heavily impacted LEAs, to use data from the second preceding fiscal year, if that data is provided by the affected LEA (or the SEA) within 60 days of being requested by the Secretary to do so. Prohibits an LEA from receiving a payment on behalf of federally connected children if Federal funds (other than Impact Aid funds) provide a substantial portion of their educational program. Eliminates the requirement that LEAs maintain their fiscal effort for education from year to year as a condition of receiving an impact aid payment. (Sec. 804) Revises requirements concerning LEAs that receive related Impact Aid payments carrying out specified activities to ensure: (1) equitable participation of children residing on Indian lands in LEA programs and activities; and (2) the participation of parents of Indian children and Indian tribes in determining the education of their children. (Sec. 805) Revises requirements for applications for Impact Aid payments. (Sec. 806) Repeals provisions for payments for sudden and substantial increases in attendance of military dependents. (Sec. 807) Revises provisions for grants to certain categories of LEAs to support the construction or renovation of schools. Limits such assistance to LEAs that receive basic support payments and in which children residing on Indian lands make up at least half of the average daily attendance. Requires applicants to include an assessment of their school-construction needs. Allocates grant funds to qualifying LEAs in proportion to their respective numbers of children residing on Indian lands. Sets the maximum Federal portion of the cost of an assisted project at 50 percent. Gives an LEA three years after its proposal is approved to demonstrate that it can provide its share of the project's cost. Allows an LEA to use such a grant only for the minimum initial equipment necessary for the operation of the new or renovated school, as well as for construction. (Sec. 808) Revises provisions relating to certain federally-owned school facilities used by LEAs to serve dependents of military personnel. (Sec. 809) Adds to preconditions for State consideration of Impact Aid payments a requirement that the average per-pupil expenditure in the State be at least 80 percent of that in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. (Sec. 813) Revises the definition of Federal property, as a basis of eligibility for Impact Aid payments, to eliminate special references to certain property not usually regarded as Federal property. (Sec. 814) Authorizes appropriations for Impact Aid programs. Title IX: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Part A: Indian Education - Revises ESEA title IX part A (Indian Education) with respect to: (1) grants to LEAs; (2) amount of grants to schools operated or supported by the BIA; (3) applications, plans, local assessments, parent committees, and schoolwide programs; (4) authorized services and activities relating to curriculum development, creation and implementation of standards, improvement of student achievement, and gifted and talented education; (5) student eligibility forms and timing of child counts; (6) payments; (7) SEA review; (8) project applications for support for services and activities to improve educational opportunities for Indian children; and (9) professional development and training to perform related work that benefits Indian people, adding grants to consortia to provide in-service training to teachers in LEAs with substantial numbers of Indian children in their schools. (Sec. 911) Repeals specified provisions for fellowships for Indian students, gifted and talented education, tribal administrative planning and development, and adult education. (Sec. 913) Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Native Hawaiian Education Act - Revises ESEA title IX part B (Native Hawaiian Education) to replace a series of categorical programs serving Native Hawaiian children and adults with a single, more flexible authority for the Secretary to assist such program activities. (Sec. 921) Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Alaska Native Education - Revises ESEA title IX part C (Alaska Native Education) to replace a series of categorical programs serving Alaska Native children and adults with a single, more flexible authority for the Secretary to assist such program activities. (Sec. 921) Authorizes appropriations. Title X: Programs of National Significance - Revises ESEA title X Programs of National significance. (Sec. 1001) Revises part A (Fund for the Improvement of Education) with respect to: (1) authorized uses of funds; (2) application goals and objectives; (3) reports; (4) matching funds; and (5) limitation of competitions to particular types of entities, such as SEAs or LEAs. Requires each part A grant recipient to submit to the Secretary, by the mid-point of the program, and no later than one year after program completion, a comprehensive evaluation on the effectiveness of its program in achieving its goals and objectives, including the impact of the program on students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Revises provisions for character education. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out programs of: (1) grants for State and local character education; and (2) grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for character education research, dissemination, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1002) Revises part B (Gifted and Talented Children) with respect to peer review, dissemination, and evaluation. Requires the National Center for Research and Development in the Education of Gifted and Talented Children to focus the dissemination of the results of its activities on schools with high percentages of economically disadvantaged students. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1003) Transfers and redesignates the International Education Exchange program (currently title VI of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act) as part C of title X of ESEA. Makes eligible for such program the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and any other emerging democracy in a developing country. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1004) Revises part D (Arts in Education) to include among authorized activities model arts and cultural programs in the arts for at-risk children and youth, particularly programs that use arts and culture to promote students' academic progress. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1005) Authorizes appropriations for part E (Inexpensive Book Distribution Program). (Sec. 1006) Revises part F (Civic Education) to repeal the civics, government, and law instruction program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1007) Repeals the (current part G) Allen J. Ellender Program. (Sec. 1008) Revises and redesignates as part G the (current part I) 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs and community based organizations (CBOs) (with up to ten percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this part for any fiscal year) on behalf of public elementary or secondary schools in inner-cities, rural areas, and small cities. Limits such awards to schools or CBOs that serve communities with a substantial need for expanded learning opportunities due to: (1) high proportion of low-achieving students; (2) lack of resources to establish or expand community learning centers; or (3) other needs. Retains the current requirement for equitable distribution among the States and urban and rural areas of the United States, but eliminates the requirement for equitable distribution among urban and rural areas of a State. Lengthens the duration of such program grants from three years to five years. Changes the eligible applicant for such a grant from a school to an LEA (which would apply on behalf of one or more schools) or a CBO. Adds requirements relating to matching funds and maintenance of effort. Gives priority to applications that offer a broad selection of services that address community needs. Requires community learning centers to provide expanded learning opportunities, and allows them to also provide services that address health, social service, cultural, and recreational needs of the community. Requires a community learning center operated by an LEA (but not a CBO) to be located within a public elementary or secondary school building. Authorizes appropriations. Allows the Secretary to use part G funds to make continuation awards for projects that were funded with FY 1999 and 2000 funds, under the terms and conditions that applied to the original awards. (Sec. 1009) Repeals part J, Urban and Rural Education Assistance. (Sec. 1010) Establishes a new part H, High School Reform. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to LEAs to support: (1) planning and implementation of educational reforms in high schools, particularly in urban and rural high schools that educate concentrations of students from low-income families; (2) further development of educational reforms, designed specifically for high schools, that help students meet challenging State standards, and that increase connections between students and adults and provide safe learning environments; (3) positive incentives for serious change in high schools, by offering rewards to participating schools that achieve significant improvements in student achievement; (4) identification of the most effective approaches to high school reform and disseminating information on those approaches so that they can be adopted nationally; and (5) implementation of reforms in at least 5,000 U.S. high schools by the year 2007. Provides for equitable participation of personnel from private schools in any professional development carried out with part H funds. Requires grantees that use part H funds to develop curricular materials to make information about those materials available to private schools at their request. Directs the Secretary to reserve certain part H funds for certain activities relating to the program's purpose, including testing the effect of offering financial rewards to teachers and administrators in high schools if their students demonstrate significant gains in educational outcomes. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1011) Revises and redesignates the (current part B title VII ESEA) Elementary School Foreign Language Assistance Program to part I title X ESEA. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and to LEAs for the Federal share of the cost of specified activities. Allows an SEA to receive a grant if it: (1) has established, or is establishing, State standards for foreign language instruction; or (2) requires the public elementary schools of the State to provide foreign language instruction. Allows an LEA to receive a grant if the program in its application: (1) shows promise of being continued beyond the grant period; (2) would demonstrate approaches that can be disseminated to, and duplicated by, other LEAs; (3) would include performance measurements and assessment systems that measure students' proficiency in a foreign language; and (4) would use a curriculum that is aligned with State standards, if the State has such standards. Requires grants to SEAs to be used to support programs that promote the implementation of high-quality foreign language programs in the elementary schools of the State, which may include specified activities. Requires that grants to LEAs to be used for activities to develop and implement high-quality, standards-based elementary school foreign language programs, which may include specified activities, including support for the expansion of secondary school instruction, so long as that instruction is part of an articulated elementary-through-secondary school foreign language program that is designed to result in student fluency in a foreign language. Authorizes the Secretary, in awarding such grants, to establish priorities, including ones for projects carried out by LEAs that include immersion programs in which instruction is in the foreign language for a major portion of the day or that promote the sequential study of a foreign language for students, beginning in elementary schools. Sets forth application, reporting, cost-sharing, and evaluation requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1012) Revises and redesignates as part J the (current part K) National Writing Project. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct an independent evaluation of the Project. Authorizes appropriations. Title XI: General Provisions, Definitions, and Accountability - Revises ESEA title XIV (to be redesignated as title XI) (General Provisions) with respect to: (1) definitions; (2) administrative funds; (3) coordination of programs, including optional consolidated State plans and consolidated local plans; (4) waivers; and (5) uniform provisions. (Sec. 1106) Repeals ESEA title XIV part F (Gun Possession), which as the revised Gun-Free Schools Act is transferred to title IV of ESEA. (Sec. 1107) Revises and renames part G of title XIV ESEA as Evaluation and Indicators. Revises evaluation requirements to provide for: (1) national evaluation; (2) an independent review panel; (3) reports; and (4) technical assistance partnerships for performance information. Authorizes the Secretary to establish performance indicators, benchmarks, and targets for each program under ESEA (and under subtitle B of title VII-B of the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act) to assist in measuring program performance. Requires such indicators, benchmarks, and targets to be consistent with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, strategic plans adopted by the Secretary under such Act, and specified ESEA provisions. (Sec. 1108) Revises and transfers ESEA title XI (Coordinated Services) to part I of title XI ESEA. Revises provisions for project development and implementation. Provides that an SEA need not require eligible entities to submit an application in order to permit them to carry out coordinated services projects. (Sec. 1109) Redesignates title XIV of ESEA as title XI of ESEA. (Sec. 1110) Revises and redesignates the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-25) Partnerships) as part G of title XI of ESEA. Revises provisions for: (1) State eligibility and accountability; (2) the Federal education programs that are subject to ED-Flex authority; (3) certain waivers. Allows the Secretary to grant an extension of ED-Flex authority, beyond five years, only upon determination that the State has made significant statewide gains in student achievement and is closing the achievement gap between low- and high-performing students. (Sec. 1111) Education Accountability Act of 1999 - Establishes a new part B, Improving Education Through Accountability, of title XI of ESEA. Requires States that receive ESEA assistance to develop and implement a statewide system for holding its LEAs and schools accountable for student performance, including a procedure for identifying LEAs and schools in need of improvement, intervention, and corrective actions. Requires such States to have in effect, at the time they submit accountability plans, State policies with certain required elements to ensure that: (1) students progress through school on a timely basis and master challenging material to reach high standards of performance, and the practices of social promotion and retention are ended; (2) there are qualified teachers in every classroom in the State; (3) its LEAs and schools have in place and implement sound and equitable discipline policies to ensure a safe, and orderly, and drug-free learning environment in every school; (4) requires the development and dissemination of annual report cards regarding the status of education and educational progress in the State and in its LEAs and schools. Requires such States to have on file with the Secretary an approved accountability plan on or after July 1, 2000, and to submit annual progress reports. Authorizes the Secretary to ensure accountability, upon determination that a State has failed substantially to carry out a requirement of this part or its approved accountability plan, or that its performance has failed substantially to meet a performance indicator in its accountability plan. Includes among authorized steps to ensure prompt compliance: (1) providing, or arranging for, technical assistance to the SEA; (2) requiring a corrective action plan; (3) suspending or terminating authority to grant waivers under applicable ED-Flex authority; (4) suspending or terminating eligibility to participate in competitive programs under the ESEA; (5) withholding, in whole or in part, State administrative funds or program funds under the ESEA; (6) imposing one or more conditions upon the Secretary's approval of a State plan or application under the ESEA; (7) taking other actions under part D of the General Education Priorities Act; and (8) taking other appropriate steps, including referral to the Department of Justice for enforcement. Requires the Secretary to take one or more additional steps to bring the State into compliance upon determination that previous steps have failed to correct the State's non-compliance. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to recognize and reward States that have demonstrated significant, statewide achievement gains in core subjects as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress for three consecutive years, are closing the achievement gap between low- and high-performing students, and have in place strategies for continuous improvement in reducing the practices of social promotion and retention. Allows rewards to include conferring a priority in competitive programs under the ESEA, increased flexibility in administering programs under the ESEA (consistent with maintaining accountability), and supplementary grants or administrative funds to carry out ESEA purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information regarding best practices, models, and other forms of technical assistance. (Sec. 1112) Renames the National Education Goals Panel as America's Education Goals Panel. Transfers provisions for the Panel from title II of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act to a new part C of title XI of ESEA. Eliminates certain provisions relating to voluntary national content standards, voluntary national student performance standards, and the resource and technical planning groups on school readiness. Authorizes appropriations for the Panel. (Sec. 1113) Repeals ESEA title XII (School Facilities Infrastructure Improvement, also known as the Education Infrastructure Act of 1994). Title XII: Amendments to Other Laws; Repeals - Part A: Amendments to Other Laws -Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act with respect to: (1) providing that homelessness alone is not sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment; (2) grants for State and local activities for the education of homeless children and youth; (3) coordination at the State and local levels; (4) State plans; (5) parental involvement; (6) competitive subgrants to LEAs; and (7) national data collection, dissemination, and reports. (Sec. 1201) Authorizes appropriations for the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. (Sec. 1202) Amends various other Federal laws to reflect the revised ESEA, including specified provisions under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, the higher Education Act of 1965, and the Pro-Children Act of 1994. Part B: Repeals - Repeals ESEA title XIII (Support and Assistance Programs to Improve Education) (new part D title II ESEA contains new technical assistance and information dissemination programs). (Sec. 1211) Repeals the following titles and parts of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act: I, National Education Goals; II, National Education Reform Leadership, Standards, and Assessments; III, State and Local Education Systemic Improvement; IV, Parental Assistance; VII, Safe Schools; VIII, Minority-focused Civics Education; and X-part B, Gun-free Schools. Repeals the following parts of the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of 1994 (title IX of P.L. 103-227): F, Star Schools; G, Office of Comprehensive School Health Education; H, Field Readers; and I, Amendments to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act. Repeals title III, Partnerships in Education for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, of the Education for Economic Security Act.

Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 1999 - Deauthorizes the Blunt Reservoir feature of the Oahe Irrigation Project authorized as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to convey all of the preferential lease parcels to the Commission of Schools and Public Lands of South Dakota, on the condition that the Commission honor the purchase option provided to preferential leaseholders under this Act. Requires a preferential leaseholder to have an option to purchase from the Commission the preferential lease parcel that is the subject of the lease. Permits a preferential leaseholder to elect to purchase a parcel on one of the following terms: (1) cash purchase for the amount that is equal to the value of the parcel minus ten percent of that value; or (2) installment purchase, with 20 percent of the value of the parcel to be paid on the purchase date and the remainder to be paid over no more than 30 years at three percent annual interest. Provides that if the value of the parcel is under $10,000, the purchase shall be made on a cash basis. Provides for such leaseholders to have until ten years after the date of the conveyance to exercise such option. Requires the Commission, if a preferential leaseholder fails to purchase a parcel within such period, to convey the parcel to the State of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks to be used for mitigating the wildlife habitat that was lost as a result of the development of the Pick-Sloan project. Sets forth the uses of proceeds from such land sales. Directs the Secretary, through the Commissioner, to convey to the Department the nonpreferential leased parcels and unleased parcels of the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal to be used for the purpose of mitigating the wildlife habitat that was lost as a result of the development of the Pick-Sloan project. Authorizes the Commission, with the Department's concurrence, to allow a person to exchange land that the person owns elsewhere in South Dakota for a nonpreferential lease parcel or unleased parcel at Blunt Reservoir or Pierre Canal. Requires a preferential leaseholder that purchases land at Pierre Canal or exchanges land for land at the Canal to allow the State of South Dakota to retain an easement on the land for an irrigation pipe.

Physical Education for Progress Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Physical Education for Progress Act - Amends title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to, and enter into contracts with, local educational agencies (LEAs) to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs for all kindergarten through 12th grade students. Requires such grants and contracts to be used for: (1) providing equipment and support to enable students to actively participate in physical education activities; (2) developing or enhancing physical education curricula to meet national goals for physical education developed by the Secretary in consultation with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education; and (3) providing funds for staff and teacher training and education. Requires LEA applications for such assistance to contain plans for school physical education programs that meet specified requirements, including: (1) curricula providing students with at least 150 minutes per week of instructional physical education per week, along with certain types of instructional contents; (2) physical education teachers with baccalaureate degrees qualifying them as physical education specialists; and (3) professional development opportunities for physical education teachers. Prohibits extracurricular activities such as team sports and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program activities from being considered as part of the curriculum of a physical education program assisted under this Act. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) proportionality of awards; (2) private school students and home-schooled students; (3) LEA reports for continued funding; (4) the Secretary's report to the Congress; (5) administrative costs; and (6) Federal share. Authorizes appropriations.

A bill to provide for a teacher quality enhancement and incentive program.

United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1999

Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to award nontaxable bonuses to highly qualified individuals who agree to teach in elementary schools or secondary schools that are served by the LEA and located in high poverty areas. Requires such grants to be made to at least 50 LEAs per fiscal year, and to at least one eligible LEA in each State, for a period of not less than four years. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) LEA, school, and individual eligibility; (2) grant and bonus amounts; (3) a competitive award process based on objective measures and recommendations from higher education institutions; and (4) service obligations or award repayment. Authorizes appropriations.