School Construction in Areas Affected by Federal Activities

(P.L. 815, 81st Congress)

AN ACT Relating to the construction of school facilities in areas affected by Federal activities, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

PURPOSE AND APPROPRIATION

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to provide assistance for the construction of urgently needed minimum school facilities in school districts which have had substantial increases in school membership as a result of new or increased Federal activities. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1959, and each fiscal year thereafter, such sums as the Congress may determine to be necessary for such purpose. Sums so appropriated, other than sums appropriated for administration, shall remain available until expended.

(20 U.S.C. 631) Similar provision enacted Aug. 8, 1953, P.L. 246, 83rd Cong., sec. 1, 67 Stat. 522 as Title III, sec. 301, P.L. 815, 1st Cong. Enacted Aug. 12, 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 10, 72 Stat. 548, as sec. 1, P.L. 815, 81st Cong.

PORTION OF APPROPRIATIONS AVAILABLE FOR PAYMENTS

SEC. 2. For each fiscal year the Commissioner shall determine the portion of the funds appropriated pursuant to section 1 which shall be available for carrying out the provisions of sections 9 and 10. The remainder of such funds shall be available for paying to local educational agencies the Federal share of the cost of projects for the construction of school facilities for which applications have been approved under section 6.

(20 U.S.C. 632) Similar provision enacted Aug. 8, 1953, P.L. 246, 83rd Cong., sec. 1, 67 Stat. 522 as Title III, sec. 302, P.L. 815, 81st Cong. Enacted Aug. 12, 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 101, 72 Stat. 548, as sec. 2, P.L. 815, 81st Cong.

ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITIES

SEC. 3. The Commissioner shall from time to time set dates by which applications for payments under this Act with respect to construction projects must be filed, except that the last such date with respect to applications for payments on account of children referred to in paragraphs (2) or (3) of section 5 (a) shall be not later than June 30, 1967. The Commissioner shall by regulation prescribe an order of priority, based on relative urgency of need, to be followed in approving applications in the event the funds appropriated under this Act and remaining available on any such date for payment to local educational agencies are less than the Federal share of the cost of the projects with respect to which applications have been filed prior to such date (and for which funds under this Act have not already been obligated). Only applications meeting the conditions for approval under this Act (other than section 6(b) (2) (C)) shall be considered applications for purposes of the preceding sentence.

(20 U.S.C. 633) Similar provisions enacted Aug. 8, 1953, P.L. 246, 83rd Cong., sec. 1, 67 Stat. 522 as Title III, sec. 303, P.L. 815, 81st Cong. Enacted Aug. 12, 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 101, 72 Stat. 548, as sec. 3, of P.L. 815, 81st Cong., amended Oct. 3, 1961, P.L. 87-344, Title I, sec. 101 (a), 75 Stat. 759; amended Dec. 18, 1963, P.L. 88-210, sec. 31(a), 77 Stat. 419; amended Oct. 16, 1964, P.L. 88-665, Title XI, sec. 1101 (a), 78 Stat. 1109; amended Nov. 3, 1966, P.L. 89750, Title II, sec. 221, 80 Stat. 1213.

FEDERAL SHARE FOR ANY PROJECT

SEC. 4. Subject to section 5 (which imposes limitations on the total of the payments which may be made to any local educational agency), the Federal share of the cost of a project under this Act shall be equal to such cost, but in no case to exceed the cost, in the school district of the applicant, of constructing minimum school facilities, and in no case to exceed the cost in such district of constructing minimum school facilities for the estimated number of children who will be in the membership of the schools of such agency at the close of the second year following the increase period and who will otherwise be without such facilities at such time. For the purposes of the preceding sentence, the number of such children who will otherwise be without such facilities at such time shall be determined by reference to those facilities which (1) are built or under contract as of the date on which the Commissioner set, under section 3, the earliest date on or before which the application for such project was filed, or (2) as of the date the application for such project is approved, are included in a project the application for which has been approved under this Act.

(20 U.S.C. 634) Similar provision enacted Aug. 8, 1953, P.L. 246, 83rd Cong., sec. 1, 67 Stat. 522, as Title III, sec. 304, P.L. 815, 81st Cong. Enacted Aug. 12, 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 101, 72 Stat. 549, as sec. 4 of P.L. 815, 81st Cong.; amended Nov. 3, 1966, P.L. 89-750, Title II, sec. 224, 80 Stat. 1214.

LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS TO ANY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

SEC. 5. (a) Subject to the limitations in subsections (c) and (d), the total of the payments to a local educational agency under this Act may not exceed the sum of the following:

(1) the estimated increase, since the base year, in the number of children residing on Federal property, (A) who so resided with a parent employed on Federal property (situated in whole or in part in the same State as the school district of such agency or within reasonable commuting distance from such school district), or (B) who had a parent who was on active duty in the uniformed services (as defined in section 102 of the Career Compensation Act of 1949) multiplied by 95 per centum of the average per pupil cost of constructing minimum school facilities in the State in which the school district of such agency is situated; and

(2) the estimated increase, since the base year, in the number of children (A) residing on Federal property, or (B) residing with a parent employed on Federal property (situated in whole or in part in the same State as the school district of such agency or within reasonable commuting distance from such school district), or (C) who had a parent who was on active duty in the uniformed services (as defined in section 102 of the Career Compensation Act

of 1949), multiplied by 50 per centum of the average per pupil cost of constructing minimum school facilities in the State in which the school district of such agency is situated. ; and

(3) the estimated increase, since the base year, in the number of children whose membership results directly from activities of the United States (carried on either directly or through a contractor), multiplied by 45 per centum of the average per pupil cost of constructing minimum school facilities in the State in which the school district of such agency is situated. For purposes of this paragraph, the Commissioner shall not consider as activities of the United States those activities which are carried on in connection with real property excluded from the definition of Federal property by the last sentence of paragraph (1) of section 15, but shall (if the local educational agency so elects pursuant to subsection (b)) consider as children whose membership results directly from activities of the United States children residing on Federal property or residing with a parent employed on Federal property; and

(4) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1967, the estimated number of children, without regard to the limitation in subsection (d), whose membership in the schools of such local educational agency resulted from a change in residence from land transferred to Mexico as part of a relocation of an international boundary of the United States, multiplied by 50 per centum of the average per pupil cost of constructing minimum school facilities in the State in which the school district of such agency is situated.

In computing for any local educational agency the number of children in an increase under paragraph (1), (2), or (3), the estimated number of children described in such paragraph who will be in the membership of the schools of such agency at the close of the increase period shall be compared with the estimated number of such children in the average daily membership of the schools of such agency during the base year.

(b) If two or more of the paragraphs of subsection (a) apply to a child, the local educational agency shall elect which of such paragraphs shall apply to such child, except that, notwithstanding the election of a local educational agency to have paragraph (2) apply to a child instead of paragraph (1), the determination of the maximum amount for such agency under subsection (a) shall be made without regard to such election.

(c) A local educational agency shall not be eligible to have any amount included in its maximum by reason of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) unless the increase in children referred to in such paragraph, prior to the application of the limitation in subsection (d), is at least twenty and is equal to at least 6 per centum in the case of paragraph (1) or (2), and 10 per centum in the case of paragraph (3), of the number of all children who were in the average daily membership of the schools of such agency during the base year, and unless, in the case of paragraph (3), the construction of additional minimum school facilities for the number of children in such increase will, in the judgment of the Commissioner, impose an undue financial burden on the taxing and borrowing authority of such agency: Provided, That

children residing on any housing property which, prior to sale or transfer by the United States, was considered to be Federal property for the purposes of this Act, shall not be considered as having been federally connected in determining the eligibility of the local educational agency under this subsection.

(d) If (1) the estimated number of nonfederally connected children who will be in the membership of the schools of a local educational agency at the close of the increase period is less than (2) 106 per centum of the number of such children who were in the average daily membership of such agency during the base year, the total number of children counted for purposes of subsection (a) with respect to such agency shall be reduced by the difference between (1) and (2) hereof. For purposes of this subsection, all children in the membership of a local educational agency shall be counted as nonfederally connected children except children whose membership in the base year and increase period was compared in computing an increase which meets the requirements of subsection (c).

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of this section, whenever and to extent that, in his judgment, exceptional circumstances exist which make such action necessary to avoid inequity and avoid defeating the purposes of this Act, the Commissioner may do any one or more of the following: (1) he may waive or reduce the minimum number requirement or any percentage requirement or requirements in subsection (c); (2) he may waive the requirement contained in the first sentence of subsection (d) or reduce the percentage specified in clause (2) of such sentence.

(f) In determining under this section the total of the payments which may be made to a local educational agency on the basis of any application, the total number of children counted for purposes of paragraph (1), (2), or (3), as the case may be, of subsection (a) may not exceed

(1) the number of children whose membership at the close of the increase period for the application is compared with membership in the base period for purposes of that paragraph, minus

(2) the number of such children whose membership at the close of the increase period was compared with membership in the base year for purposes of such paragraph under the last previous application, if any, of the agency on the basis of which any payment has been or may be made to that agency.

(20 U.S.C. 635) Similar provision enacted Aug. 8, 1953, P.L. 246, 83rd Cong., sec. 1, 67 Stat. 523, as Title III, sec. 305, P.L. 815, 81st Cong. Enacted Aug. 12, 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 101, 72 Stat. 549, as sec. 5, of P.L. 815, 81st Cong. ; amended Nov. 1, 1965, P.L. 89-313, sec. 5, 79 Stat. 1161; amended Nov. 3, 1966, P.L. 89-750, Title II, secs. 222 (c), (e), 223, 226, 227, 80 Stat. 1213–1215.

APPLICATIONS

SEC. 6. (a) No payment may be made to any local educational agency under this Act except upon application therefor which is submitted through the appropriate State educational agency and is filed with the Commissioner in accordance with regulations prescribed by

(b) (1) Each application by a local educational agency shall set forth the project for the construction of school facilities for such agency with respect to which it is filed, and shall contain or be supported by

(A) a description of the project and the site therefor, preliminary drawings of the school facilities to be constructed thereon, and such other information relating to the project as may reasonably be required by the Commissioner;

(B) assurance that such agency has or will have title to the site, or the right to construct upon such site school facilities as specified in the application and to maintain such school facilities on such site for a period of not less than twenty years after the comple completion of the construction;

(C) assurance that such agency has legal authority to undertake the construction of the project and to finance any nonFederal share of the cost thereof as proposed, and assurance that adequate funds to defray any such non-Federal share will be available when needed;

(D) assurance that such agency will cause work on the project to be commenced within a reasonable time and prosecuted to completion with reasonable diligence;

(E) assurance that the rates of pay for laborers and mechanics engaged in the construction will be not less than the prevailing local wage rates for similar work as determined in accordance with Public Law Numbered 403 of the Seventy-fourth Congress, approved August 30, 1935, as amended;

(F) assurance that the school facilities of such agency will be available to the children for whose education contributions are provided in this Act on the same terms, in accordance with the laws of the State in which the school district of such Agency is situated, as they are available to other children in such school district; and

(G) assurance that such agency will from time to time prior to the completion of the project submit such reports relating to the project as the Commissioner may reasonably require.

(2) The Commissioner shall approve any application if he finds (A) that the requirements of paragraph (1) have been met and that approval of the project would not result in payments in excess of those permitted by sections 4 and 5, (B) after consultation with the State and local educational agencies, that the project is not inconsistent with overall State plans for the construction of school facilities, and (C) that there are sufficient Federal funds available to pay the Federal share of the cost of such project and of all other projects for which Federal funds have not already been obligated and applications for which, under section 3, have a higher priority: Provided, That the Commissioner may approve any application for payments under this Act at any time after it is filed and before any priority is established with respect thereto under section 3 if he determines that

(i) on the basis of information in his possession, it is likely that the urgency of the need of the local educational agency is such that it would have priority under section 3 which would qualify it for payments under this Act when such priorities are established, and

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