Reopen Schools Safely Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7692 To provide a grant program for elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to help offset costs associated with com- plying with guidelines, recommendations, and other public health commu- nications issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or locality related to mitigating the hazards presented by COVID–19. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 20, 2020 Ms. TITUS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide a grant program for elementary schools, sec- ondary schools, and institutions of higher education to help offset costs associated with complying with guide- lines, recommendations, and other public health commu- nications issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or locality related to mitigating the hazards presented by COVID–19. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7692 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reopen Schools Safely 2 Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. STATE GRANT PROGRAM TO SAFELY REOPEN 4 SCHOOLS. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 7 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 8 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 9 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 10 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 12 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 14 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 15 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 16 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 18 (4) OUTLYING AREAS.—The term ‘‘outlying 19 areas’’ means American Samoa, the Commonwealth 20 of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 21 United States Virgin Islands. 22 (5) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.—The 23 term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ has the mean- 24 ing given the term in section 20005 of the CARES 25 Act (Public Law 116–136). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7692 IH (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Education. 2 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 3 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 4 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 5 (8) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 6 organization’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘trib- 7 al organization’’ in section 4 of the Indian Self-De- 8 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 9 U.S.C. 5304). 10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 11 (1) RESERVATION.—From the amount appro- 12 priated to carry out this section for a fiscal year, the 13 Secretary shall reserve one-half of 1 percent for the 14 Bureau of Indian Education and one-half of 1 per- 15 cent for the outlying areas. 16 (2) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall 17 award grants to States from allotments made to the 18 States under paragraph (3) to offset costs associated 19 with complying with guidelines, recommendations, 20 and other public health communications issued by 21 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or 22 a State, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or local- 23 ity related to mitigating the hazards presented by 24 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7692 IH (3) ALLOTMENT FORMULA.—From the amount 1 appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal 2 year and not reserved under paragraph (1), the Sec- 3 retary shall allot to each State for such fiscal year 4 an amount that is equal to the sum of— 5 (A) the amount that bears the same rela- 6 tion to 60 percent of the amount appropriated 7 for such fiscal year and not reserved under 8 paragraph (1), as the number of individuals 9 aged 5 through 24 in the State bears to the 10 total number of such individuals in all States, 11 and 12 (B) the amount that bears the same rela- 13 tion to 40 percent of the amount appropriated 14 for such fiscal year and not reserved under 15 paragraph (1), as the number of children count- 16 ed under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and 17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 18 6333(c)) in the State bears to the total number 19 of such children counted in all States. 20 (c) APPLICATION.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a State 22 that desires to receive a grant under this section 23 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7692 IH time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in- 1 formation as the Secretary may require. 2 (2) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall— 3 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 4 of enactment of this Act, issue a notification for 5 applications for grants under this section; and 6 (B) not later than 30 days after the date 7 of notification for applications for grants under 8 this section, begin to award grants under this 9 section. 10 (d) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 12 grant under this section shall use not less than 95 13 percent of the grant funds to award subgrants only 14 to local educational agencies or institutions of higher 15 education to enable such agencies and institutions to 16 offset costs associated with complying with guide- 17 lines, recommendations, and other public health 18 communications issued by the Centers for Disease 19 Control and Prevention, or a State, Indian Tribe, 20 Tribal organization, or locality related to mitigating 21 the hazards presented by Coronavirus Disease 2019 22 (COVID–19), including by carrying out the fol- 23 lowing: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7692 IH (A) Designing and implementing exposure 1 control plans. 2 (B) Hiring personnel and purchasing 3 equipment necessary for health screenings, in- 4 cluding temperature screenings. 5 (C) Purchasing in vitro diagnostic products 6 (as defined in section 809.3 of title 21, Code of 7 Federal Regulations) for the detection of 8 SARS–CoV–2 or the diagnosis of the virus that 9 causes COVID–19 that are approved, cleared, 10 or authorized under section 510(k), 513, or 564 11 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 12 (21 U.S.C. 360(k); 360c; 360bbb–3), including 13 both diagnostic and serological tests, as appro- 14 priate. 15 (D) Purchasing and installing physical 16 barriers and reconfiguring physical public 17 school buildings, including classrooms and other 18 aspects of the school’s learning environment, to 19 provide for adequate social distancing. 20 (E) Providing students, educators, and 21 school staff with personal protective equipment. 22 (F) Purchasing sanitation supplies, includ- 23 ing EPA-approved disinfectant and hiring ade- 24 quate personnel to conduct school cleanings. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7692 IH (G) Developing and providing training re- 1 lated to COVID–19, including the use of per- 2 sonal protective equipment. 3 (H) Purchasing and installing new ventila- 4 tion systems, as necessary. 5 (I) Purchasing any other items, personnel, 6 or services determined necessary or rec- 7 ommended by the Secretary or a State, Indian 8 Tribe, Tribal organization, or locality related to 9 mitigating the hazards presented by COVID– 10 19. 11 (J) Hiring transportation personnel and 12 purchasing vehicles to transport students. 13 (K) Purchasing connected devices for stu- 14 dents to use at home, high-speed internet or 15 broadband access, or other technology to ensure 16 students can complete all schoolwork at home. 17 (L) Purchasing secure, third-party applica- 18 tions for symptom monitoring and associated 19 information technology services. 20 (2) CONSULTATION.—A State that receives a 21 grant under this section shall engage in meaningful 22 consultation on the distribution of grant funds with 23 local educational agencies, institutions of higher edu- 24 cation, labor organizations, parents, students, school 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7692 IH support staff, public health experts, the State edu- 1 cational agency, and educators. 2 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS.—A State that re- 3 ceives a grant under this section may reserve not 4 more than 5 percent of the grant funds for adminis- 5 trative costs and to develop State standards for miti- 6 gating COVID–19 in schools. 7 (4) APPLICATION FOR SUBGRANTS.—A State 8 that receives a grant under this section shall estab- 9 lish an application process for local educational 10 agencies and institutions of higher education to 11 apply for subgrants under this section. 12 (e) REIMBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 14 grant under this section may reimburse a local edu- 15 cational agency or institution of higher education for 16 costs associated with safely reopening if the local 17 educational agency or institution of higher education 18 purchased or had expenditures that qualify as an al- 19 lowable use of funds under subsection (d). 20 (2) DATE OF REIMBURSEMENT ELIGIBILITY.— 21 A local educational agency or institution of higher 22 education may only be reimbursed under paragraph 23 (1) for a cost incurred after the date of the COVID– 24 19 national emergency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7692 IH (3) COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—In 1 this subsection, the term ‘‘COVID–19 national 2 emergency’’ means the national emergency declared 3 by the President under the National Emergencies 4 Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) on March 13, 2020, 5 with respect to the coronavirus. 6 (f) RECEIPTS AND RECORDS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a 8 grant under this section or a local educational agen- 9 cy or institution of higher education that receives a 10 subgrant under this section shall keep all receipts 11 and records on the use of such grant or subgrant 12 funds. 13 (2) RECEIPTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF 14 FUNDS.—Prior to reimbursing a local educational 15 agency or institution of education for an allowable 16 use of funds under subsection (d) pursuant to sub- 17 section (e), the State shall certify that such funds 18 were spent on expenses that are deemed an allowable 19 use of funds as described in subsection (d). 20 (g) REPORTS.— 21 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AND INSTI- 22 TUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTS.—Each 23 local educational agency or institution of higher edu- 24 cation that receives a subgrant under this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7692 IH shall submit a report to the State that awarded the 1 subgrant that details the use of the subgrant funds. 2 (2) STATE REPORTS.—Each State that receives 3 a grant under this section shall submit an annual re- 4 port to the Secretary that details the use of the 5 grant funds, including the amount of funds reim- 6 bursed by the State to local educational agencies or 7 institutions of higher education. 8 (3) SECRETARY REPORT.—The Secretary 9 shall— 10 (A) submit an annual report to Congress 11 on the grant program carried out under this 12 section; and 13 (B) make such report publicly available. 14 (h) RETURNING FUNDS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any funds received under 16 this section that are unexpended on the date that is 17 1 year after the date of receipt of the funds shall be 18 returned to the Secretary. 19 (2) REALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall re- 20 allocate funds returned under paragraph (1) to the 21 remaining States in accordance with subsection 22 (b)(3). 23 (i) RESTRICTIONS.—A State that receives a grant 24 under this section or a local educational agency or institu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7692 IH tion of higher education that receives a subgrant under 1 this section may not resell any unused supplies or mate- 2 rials purchased with funds received under this section. 3 (j) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State’s applica- 4 tion for grant funds under this section shall include assur- 5 ances that the State shall, to the greatest extent prac- 6 ticable, maintain support for elementary and secondary 7 education, and State support for higher education (which 8 shall include State funding to institutions of higher edu- 9 cation and State need-based financial aid, and shall not 10 include support for capital projects or for research and 11 development or tuition and fees paid by students) in fiscal 12 years 2020, 2021, and 2022 at least at the levels of such 13 support that is the average of such State’s support for 14 elementary and secondary education and for higher edu- 15 cation provided in the 3 fiscal years preceding the date 16 of enactment of this Act. 17 (k) EQUITABLE SERVICES.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.— 19 (A) PROVISION OF EQUITABLE SERV- 20 ICES.—Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 21 a local educational agency receiving funds 22 under this section shall provide equitable serv- 23 ices to students from low-income families, and 24 teachers of such students, in non-public schools 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7692.IH H7692 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7692 IH in the same manner as provided under section 1 1117 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6320) (including 3 the specific requirements of subsections 4 (a)(4)(A)(i) and (c) of such section), subject to 5 paragraph (2), as determined in consultation 6 with representatives of non-public schools. 7 (B) DETERMINATION OF PROPORTIO [Text truncated for display. 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