SCHOOL Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4261 To establish a grant program to assist elementary and secondary schools with reopening after closures related to COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 22, 2020 Mr. PERDUE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish a grant program to assist elementary and sec- ondary schools with reopening after closures related to COVID–19, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safely Creating 4 Healthy Opening Options Locally Act’’ or the ‘‘SCHOOL 5 Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4261 IS (1) The absence of in-person learning has re- 1 minded the Nation of how critical schools are for 2 children, parents, families, and their communities. 3 (2) Our Nation’s goal is safely getting students 4 back to school in the Fall. To do so successfully, our 5 teachers and schools will need the support necessary 6 to maintain safety. 7 (3) School districts must apply recommenda- 8 tions from State and local health officials to ensure 9 that students, teachers, and faculty can safely re- 10 turn to the classroom. 11 SEC. 3. STATE GRANT PROGRAM TO SAFELY REOPEN 12 SCHOOLS. 13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) 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 (2) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.—The 19 term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ has the mean- 20 ing given the term in section 20005 of the CARES 21 Act (Public Law 116–136). 22 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 23 the Secretary of Education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4261 IS (b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM.—From 1 the amount appropriated to carry out this section, the Sec- 2 retary, acting in partnership with the Secretary of Health 3 and Human Services, shall award grants to local education 4 agencies to enable those local educational agencies to carry 5 out the activities described in subsection (d). 6 (c) APPLICATIONS; AWARD CRITERIA.— 7 (1) APPLICATION.—A local educational agency 8 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 9 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 10 manner, and containing such information as the Sec- 11 retary may require, including— 12 (A) school reopening plans, which shall in- 13 clude— 14 (i) a process for notifying parents of 15 a student’s potential interaction with 16 known cases of COVID–19 during school 17 activities, which shall be carried out in a 18 manner that complies with the require- 19 ments under section 444 of the General 20 Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 21 1232g), commonly known as the ‘‘Family 22 Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 23 1974’’, and other applicable privacy laws, 24 and is developed and implemented in con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4261 IS sultation with administrators of the local 1 educational agency and State and local 2 public health officials; and 3 (ii) a certification that those reopen- 4 ing plans do not infringe on student suc- 5 cess and meet the guidelines, recommenda- 6 tions, and other public health communica- 7 tions issued by the Centers for Disease 8 Control and Prevention; and 9 (B) information relating to the award cri- 10 teria described in paragraph (2). 11 (2) AWARD CRITERIA.—In awarding grants 12 under this section, the Secretary shall determine 13 which local educational agencies will receive a grant, 14 and the amount of each such grant, after consid- 15 ering school size, school setting, specific school 16 needs, and timing of in-person classes. 17 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency re- 18 ceiving funds under this section shall use such funds to 19 carry out one or more of the following: 20 (1) Purchasing personal protective equipment. 21 (2) Cleaning and disinfection of schools. 22 (3) Purchase of supplies necessary to carry out 23 reopening plans described in subsection (c). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4261 IS (4) Paying costs associated with school compli- 1 ance with guidelines, recommendations, and other 2 public health communications issued by the Centers 3 for Disease Control and Prevention, or a State, In- 4 dian Tribe, Tribal organization, or locality related to 5 mitigating the hazards presented by Coronavirus 6 Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 7 SEC. 4. CONNECTING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WITH 8 SCHOOLS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in partnership 10 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 11 develop a process for connecting health care professionals 12 to schools in order to assist such schools with symptom 13 checks, check-ins, and additional supports that schools 14 need relating to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 15 (b) TELEHEALTH.—The Secretary shall work jointly 16 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to de- 17 velop recommendations about how to expand access to 18 telehealth services for students and teachers in areas with 19 a shortage of health care professionals. 20 (c) GUIDANCE ON REQUIREMENT FOR COVERAGE OF 21 TESTING FOR COVID–19 IN SCHOOL SETTINGS.—Not 22 later than September 8, 2020, the Secretary of Health and 23 Human Services shall issue guidance clarifying that the 24 requirement under section 6001(a)(1) of the Families 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4261 IS First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116–127), 1 as amended by the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136), 2 applies in the case of items and services furnished to an 3 individual during a health care provider office visit that 4 occurs in a school setting through telehealth, to the extent 5 provided in such section. 6 (d) GUIDANCE ON PROVIDING REIMBURSEMENT FOR 7 TELEHEALTH SERVICES PROVIDED IN A SCHOOL-BASED 8 SETTING UNDER MEDICAID AND CHIP.—Not later than 9 September 8, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human 10 Services, through the Administrator of the Centers for 11 Medicare & Medicaid Services, shall issue a State Health 12 Official letter to advise directors of State Medicaid pro- 13 grams under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 14 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and State Children’s Health Insur- 15 ance Programs under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 16 1397aa et seq.) on how States may provide for coverage 17 under such programs for telehealth services furnished to 18 students, teachers, and other school officials in a school- 19 based setting, including actions States can take without 20 Federal approval to provide coverage under such programs 21 for such services. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4261 IS SEC. 5. CLEARINGHOUSE OF BEST PRACTICES RELATING 1 TO SCHOOL REOPENING. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 3 online data clearinghouse to collect and maintain informa- 4 tion relating to school reopening after school closures due 5 to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), including best 6 practices for such reopening. 7 (b) CRITERIA FOR CLEARINGHOUSE INFORMA- 8 TION.—The information contained in such clearing- 9 house— 10 (1) shall be evidence-based (as defined in sec- 11 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 13 (2) shall not promote specific types of products; 14 and 15 (3) shall be organized by school setting (such as 16 urban, rural, or suburban), school size, and the age 17 of students attending the school. 18 (c) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—The online data clear- 19 inghouse established under this section shall be publicly 20 available online. 21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 22 There are authorized to be appropriated— 23 (1) $50,000,000,000 to carry out section 3; and 24 (2) $500,000,000 to carry out sections 4 and 5. 25 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4261.IS S4261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS