Chapter 575 - 2d Session AN ACT To provide for a White House Conference on Education. All 68 Stat. 532. Be it enacted by the Senate and Ilouse of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That appropriations White House Conare hereby authorized, as set forth in sections 2 and 3, to enable the ference on President to hold in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, Education. before November 30, 1955, a conference broadly representative of educators and other interested citizens from all parts of the Nation, to be called the White House Conference on Education, to consider and report to the President on significant and pressing problems in the field of education. GRANTS FOR STATE CONFERENCES ON EDUCATION SEC. 2. (a) To assist each State to bring together, prior to the White House Conference on Education, educators and other interested citizens to discuss educational problems in the State and make recommendations for appropriate action to be taken at local, State, and Federal levels, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $1.000,000. Sums appropriated pursuant to this section shall be allotted to the States on the basis of their respective populations according to the latest figures certified by the Department of Commerce, except that no State's allotment shall be less than $15,000. (b) The Commissioner of Education shall pay, through the disbursing facilities of the Treasury Department, its allotment to each State which, through its Governor or other State official designated by the Governor, undertakes to accept and use the sums so paid exclusively for the purpose set forth in subsection (a), and to make a report of the Report. findings and recommendations of the State conference for use of the White House Conference on Education. Sums appropriated pur- Availability. suant to this section shall remain available until December 31, 1955, and any such sums remaining unpaid to the States or unobligated by them as of that date shall be returned to the Treasury. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES SEC. 3. There are also authorized to be appropriated to the Commis- Commissioner of sioner of Education for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1955, and Education. June 30, 1956, such sums as Congress determines to be necessary for the administration of this Act, including the expenses of the Office of Education in making available to the public the findings and recom mendations of the conference. The Commissioner of Education is Donations. DEFINITION OF STATE SEC. 4. For the purpose of this Act the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Approved July 26, 1954. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) in order Educational reto enable the Office of Education more effectively to accomplish the search. purposes and to perform the duties for which it was originally estab- Cooperative arlished, the Commissioner of Education is authorized to enter into con- rangements, etc. tracts or jointly financed cooperative arrangements with universities and colleges and State educational agencies for the conduct of research, surveys, and demonstrations in the field of education. (b) No contract or jointly financed cooperative arrangement shall Advice of be entered into under this section until the Commissioner of Education specialists. has obtained the advice and recommendations of educational research specialists who are competent to evaluate the proposals as to the soundness of their design, the possibilities of securing productive results, the adequacy of resources to conduct the proposed research, surveys, or demonstrations, and their relationship to other similar educational research already completed or in process. (c) The Commissioner of Education shall transmit to the Congress Report to annually a report concerning the research, surveys, and demonstra- Congress tions initiated under this Act, the recommendations made by research specialists pursuant to subsection (b), and any action taken with respect to such recommendations. SEC. 2. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually to Appropriation. the Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, such sums as the Congress determines to be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Approved July 26, 1954. (274) Chapter 577 - 2d Session AN ACT To establish a National Advisory Committee on Education. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in order to National Advissecure for the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (herein- ory Committee after referred to in this Act as the "Secretary") the advice of a group on Education. of representative citizens on the initiation and conduct of studies of problems of national concern in the field of education and on appropriate action as a result thereof, there is hereby established in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a National Advisory Committee on Education (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee"). SEC. 2. The Committee shall be composed of nine members Members. appointed without regard to civil-service laws by the Secretary from among individuals who are not otherwise in office under or in the employ of the Federal Government, a majority of whom shall be other than professional educators, one of whom shall be designated by the Secretary as Chairman. Each member shall hold office for a term 68 Stat. 533. of three years, except that (1) any member appointed to fill a vacancy 68 Stat. 534. occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed, shall be appointed for the remainder of such term, and (2) the terms of the members first taking office shall expire as follows: three shall expire with the close of the first calendar year which begins after the enactment of this Act, three shall expire with the close of the second such calendar year, and three shall expire with the close of the third such calendar year, as designated by the Secretary at the time of appointment. The Commissioner of Education shall be, ex Commissioner officio, a nonvoting member of the Committee. of Education. SEC. 3. The Committee shall meet at the call of the Secretary, but Meetings. not less often than three times each calendar year. SEC. 4. The Committee shall, from time to time, recommend to the Recommendations. Secretary the initiation of studies of national concern in the field of education. Consultants may be appointed without regard to civil- Consultants. service laws to assist in the conduct of such studies. The Committee shall propose to the Secretary appropriate action indicated by such studies and shall also, from time to time, advise the Secretary on the progress being made in carrying out its recommendations. The Report to Secretary shall transmit to the Congress annually a report concerning Congress. the studies initiated under this Act, the recommendations made by the Committee, and any action taken with respect to such recommendations. SEC. 5. Members of the Committee shall receive no compensation Per diem payfor their services, but while traveling to or from or attending meetings ments. of the Committee shall be paid travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law (5 U. S. C. 73b-2) for persons 60 Stat. 808. in the Government service employed intermittently. Approved July 26, 1954. To amend the Act of June 29, 1935 (the Bankhead-Jones Act), as amended, to strengthen the conduct of research of the Department of Agriculture. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of June 68 Stat. 574. 29, 1935 (the Bankhead-Jones Act), as amended (7 U. S. C. 427–427J), 68 Stat. 575. is amended by adding at the end of section 10 thereof the following: 60 Stat. 1085. "(e) Appropriations for research work in the Department of Agri- 7 USC 4271. culture shall be available for accomplishing such purposes by contract through the means provided in subsection (a) hereof." Approved July 28, 1954. (276) Chapter 655 2d Session S. 2759 AN ACT All 68 Stat. 652. To amend the Vocational Rehabilitation Act so as to promote and assist in the extension and improvement of vocational rehabilitation services, provide for a more effective use of available Federal funds, and otherwise improve the provisions of that Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be Vocational Recited as the "Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1954". AMENDMENTS TO THE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ACT habilitation Amendments of 1954. SEC. 2. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act (29 U. S. C. ch. 4) is 41 Stat. 735. amended to read as follows: "AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANTS; PURPOSES FOR WHICH AVAILABLE "SECTION 1. For the purpose of assisting the States in rehabilitating physically handicapped individuals so that they may prepare for and engage in remunerative employment to the extent of their capabilities, thereby increasing not only their social and economic well-being but also the productive capacity of the Nation, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1955, the sum of $30,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1956, the sum of $45,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1957, the sum of $55,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1958, the sum of $65,000,000, and for each fiscal year thereafter such sums as Congress may determine, for grants to carry out the purposes of this Act. The Types of grants. sums so appropriated for any fiscal year shall be available for "(1) grants to States under section 2 to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services; "(2) grants to States under section 3 to assist them in initiating projects for the extension and improvement of their vocational rehabilitation services; and "(3) grants to States and to public and other nonprofit organizations and agencies under section 4 to assist in meeting the costs of projects for research, demonstrations, training, and traineeships, and special projects, which hold promise of making a substantial contribution to the solution of vocational rehabilitation problems common to a number of States, including temporary assistance in initiating a substantial nationwide expansion of Vocational rehabilitation programs in the States. The portion of such sums which shall be available for each of such Availability. three types of grants shall be specified in the Act appropriating such sums, except that the first $23,000,000 of the aggregate sums so appropriated for any fiscal year shall be available for grants to States under section 2 to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services. "GRANTS TO STATES FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES "SEC. 2. (a) (1) From the sums available for any fiscal year for grants to States to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services, each State shall be entitled to an allotment of an amount which bears the same ratio to such sums as the product of (A) the population of the State and (B) the square of its allotment percentage (as defined in section 11 (h)) bears to the sum of the corresponding products for all the States. |