AHEAD Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3011 To authorize demonstration projects to improve educational and housing outcomes for children. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 10, 2019 Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To authorize demonstration projects to improve educational and housing outcomes for children. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Affordable Housing 4 for Educational Achievement Demonstration Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘AHEAD Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 7 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 8 (1) To provide incentives for local educational 9 agencies to partner with public housing agencies or 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3011 IS tribally designated housing entities, and community- 1 based or social service organizations to improve out- 2 comes for children and youth from low-income fami- 3 lies, including students experiencing homelessness 4 and students at risk of experiencing homelessness. 5 (2) To connect children and families with re- 6 sources to reduce and prevent child, youth, and fam- 7 ily homelessness and increase housing and edu- 8 cational stability. 9 (3) To support and evaluate innovative ideas in 10 the areas of educational success and housing sta- 11 bility, in order to develop evidence-based practices. 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO- 15 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro- 16 gram’’ has the meaning given the term in section 17 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 18 U.S.C. 1003). 19 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 20 ty’’ means a partnership that— 21 (A) shall include— 22 (i) a local educational agency or tribal 23 educational agency, which shall be des- 24 ignated as the lead agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3011 IS (ii) a public housing agency or tribally 1 designated housing entity; and 2 (iii) a community-based or social serv- 3 ice organization; and 4 (B) may include— 5 (i) a housing developer or property 6 owner; 7 (ii) an early childhood education pro- 8 gram; 9 (iii) a community development finan- 10 cial institution or State housing finance 11 agency; 12 (iv) a program that provides shelter to 13 unaccompanied youth who are homeless, 14 which may include a program established 15 or supported under the Runaway and 16 Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et 17 seq.); 18 (v) a local transportation authority; 19 (vi) an institution of higher education, 20 as described in section 101 of the Higher 21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 22 (vii) a child welfare agency; 23 (viii) a public health agency; 24 (ix) a domestic violence organization; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3011 IS (x) an owner of a property with a 1 project-based rental assistance contract 2 under section 8 of the United States Hous- 3 ing Act of 1937 (2 U.S.C. 1437f); and 4 (xi) other community partners. 5 (3) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 6 term ‘‘homeless children and youths’’ has the mean- 7 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney- 8 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 9 (4) LOCAL COLLABORATIVE APPLICANT.—The 10 term ‘‘local collaborative applicant’’ means an entity 11 described in section 401(3) of the McKinney-Vento 12 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360(3)) that 13 serves the geographic area covered by an eligible en- 14 tity. 15 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 16 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 17 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 19 (6) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term 20 ‘‘public housing agency’’ has the meaning given the 21 term in section 3 of the United States Housing Act 22 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a). 23 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of Education. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3011 IS (8) TRIBAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 1 ‘‘tribal educational agency’’ means the agency, de- 2 partment, or instrumentality of an Indian tribe that 3 is primarily responsible for supporting tribal stu- 4 dents’ elementary and secondary education. 5 (9) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED HOUSING ENTI- 6 TY.—The term ‘‘tribally designated housing entity’’ 7 has the meaning given the term in section 4(22) of 8 the Native American Housing Assistance and Self 9 Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103(22)). 10 (10) UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.—The term ‘‘un- 11 accompanied youth’’ has the meaning given the term 12 in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As- 13 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 14 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the funds authorized under 16 section 11(a) and not reserved under section 11(b), the 17 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing 18 and Urban Development and the Secretary of Health and 19 Human Services, shall award on a competitive basis— 20 (1) planning grants to eligible entities to enable 21 such eligible entities to prepare to conduct a dem- 22 onstration project as described in section 7(a); and 23 (2) implementation grants to eligible entities 24 (which shall include eligible entities that received a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3011 IS planning grant under paragraph (1) and eligible en- 1 tities that demonstrate that they have completed the 2 activities described in section 7(a)) to enable such el- 3 igible entities to conduct a demonstration project as 4 described in section 7(b). 5 (b) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 6 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—A planning grant 7 awarded under this section shall be for a term of not 8 more than 2 years. 9 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—An implemen- 10 tation grant awarded under this section shall be for 11 a term of not more than 5 years. 12 (c) MINIMUM AWARDS.— 13 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—The amount of a 14 planning grant awarded under this section shall be 15 for not less than $150,000. 16 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The amount 17 of an implementation grant awarded under this sec- 18 tion shall be for not less than $250,000. 19 (d) TRIBAL COMMUNITIES.—Not less than 2 plan- 20 ning grants and 2 implementation grants shall be awarded 21 under this section to an eligible entity that includes a trib- 22 ally designated housing entity or a tribal educational agen- 23 cy. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3011 IS (e) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—In awarding planning 1 grants and implementation grants under this section, the 2 Secretary shall ensure representation from all geographic 3 regions of the United States. 4 SEC. 5. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. 5 (a) PLANNING GRANT.—An eligible entity that de- 6 sires a planning grant shall submit an application at such 7 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 8 the Secretary may reasonably require. Such application 9 shall include— 10 (1) a comprehensive needs assessment, includ- 11 ing information about— 12 (A) the number and percentage of home- 13 less children and youths enrolled in schools 14 served by, and the socioeconomic and racial de- 15 mographics of, the local educational agency that 16 is a partner in the eligible entity; 17 (B) the number and percentage of students 18 who were chronically absent and the number 19 and percentage of students who were suspended 20 from schools served by the local educational 21 agency that is a partner in the eligible entity, 22 disaggregated by homeless status, race and eth- 23 nicity, income status, disability status, and 24 English language learner status, except in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 3011 IS case that such disaggregation would result in 1 revealing personally identifiable information; 2 and 3 (C) the four-year adjusted cohort gradua- 4 tion rate (as defined in section 8101 of the Ele- 5 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 7801) and results from academic as- 7 sessments described under section 1111(b)(2) 8 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) for stu- 10 dents served by the local educational agency 11 that is a partner in the eligible entity, disaggre- 12 gated by homeless status, race and ethnicity, in- 13 come status, disability status, and English lan- 14 guage learner status, except in the case that 15 such disaggregation would result in revealing 16 personally identifiable information; 17 (2) a description of how the eligible entity 18 will— 19 (A) conduct sufficient stakeholder outreach 20 within the community, including through public 21 hearings and engagement with students, par- 22 ents, teachers, and principals and other school 23 leaders, in order to inform the development of 24 the memorandum of understanding described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 3011 IS subparagraph (B) and the activities carried out 1 through the demonstration project described in 2 subsection (b)(3)(B); and 3 (B) develop the memorandum of under- 4 standing described in section 7(a)(1); 5 (3) a description of the goals of the demonstra- 6 tion project, which shall include improving outcomes 7 and creating educational and housing stability for 8 children from low-income families; 9 (4) a description of the target population to be 10 served using grant funds, which may include home- 11 less children and youths, unaccompanied youths, 12 children or youths living in public or subsidized 13 housing, or children that face other risk factors; 14 (5) an assurance that each local educational 15 agency that is a partner in the eligible entity will 16 meet the applicable requirements of paragraphs (3) 17 and (6) of section 722(g) of the McKinney-Vento 18 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g) (3) 19 and (6)); 20 (6) a description, including a timeline and a 21 budget, of how the eligible entity plans to spend 22 planning grant funds consistent with section 7(a); 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 3011 IS (7) a description of how the eligible entity will 1 improve the identification of children and youth ex- 2 periencing homelessness or who are at risk of home- 3 lessness. 4 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—An eligible entity 5 that desires an implementation grant to conduct a dem- 6 onstration project shall submit an application at such 7 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 8 the Secretary may reasonably require. Such application 9 shall include— 10 (1) a description of how the eligible entity used 11 funds under section 7(a), if such entity received a 12 planning grant under subsection (a); 13 (2) a memorandum of understanding between 14 all partners of the eligible entity, which includes the 15 information described in section 7(a)(1); 16 (3) a description of— 17 (A) the goals described in subsection 18 (a)(3), updated as necessary to reflect the re- 19 sults of the planning period, if applicable; 20 (B) the activities the eligible entity plans 21 to conduct, in accordance with section 7(b), in- 22 cluding any evidence-based practices to promote 23 housing and educational stability if the eligible 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 3011 IS entity chooses to use such evidence-based prac- 1 tices; 2 (C) how the eligible entity conducted stake- 3 holder outreach described in subsection 4 (a)(2)(A) that informed the demonstration 5 project; and 6 (D) the outcomes for children that the eli- 7 gible entity plans to achieve, including how the 8 eligible entity will collect data in accordance 9 with section 8; 10 (4) a description, including a timeline and a 11 budget, of how the eligible entity plans to spend 12 grant funds consistent with section 7(b); 13 (5) an assurance that the eligible entity will 14 provide State, local, or private matching funds in an 15 amount equal to not less than 10 percent of the 16 amount of funds awarded under the grant, which 17 may be provided in cash or in-kind, to support the 18 demonstration project, except if the Secretary grants 19 a waiver of such requirement upon the petition of 20 the eligible entity due to the eligible entity dem- 21 onstrating financial need; 22 (6) a description of how the eligible entity will 23 coordinate services with those provided by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3011.IS S3011 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 3011 IS (A) the State educational agency, the State 1 Coordinator for the Education of Homeless 2 Children and Youths, other local educational 3 agencies, and the local educational agencies’ 4 homeless liaisons; 5 (B) the public and private child health and 6 welfare systems and Federal housing, early 7 childhood, education, juvenile justice, and child 8 health and welfare programs, such as— 9 (i) the Runaway and Homeless Youth 10 Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); and 11 (ii) programs authorized under the 12 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), 13 the Child Care and Development Block 14 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 15 seq.), and the Elementary and Secondary 16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 17 seq.); and 18 (C) the local collaborative applicant; and 19 (7) an assurance that the eligible entity will 20 participate in the evaluation described in section 21 8(a). 22 SEC. 6. SELECTION CRITERIA. 23 In selecting among applications to receive grants 24 under this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 F [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]