(20 U.S.C. 644) Similar provisions enacted Aug. 8, 1953, P.L. 246, 83rd Cong., sec. 1, 67 Stat. 526, as Title IV, sec. 401 of P.L. 815, 81st Cong. Enacted Aug. 12. 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 101, 72 Stat. 555, as sec. 14 of P.L. 815, 81st Cong.; amended Oct. 3, 1961, P.L. 87-344, Title I, sec. 101 (b), 75 Stat. 759; amended Dec. 18, 1963, P.L. 88-210, sec. 31(b), 77 Stat. 419; amended Oct. 16, 1964, P.L. 88-665, Title XI, sec 1101 (b), 78 Stat. 1109; amended Nov. 3, 1966, P.L. 89-750, Title II, sec. 225, 80 Stat. 1214.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 15. For the purposes of this Act

(1) The term "Federal property" means real property which is owned by the United States or is leased by the United States, and which is not subject to taxation by any State or any political subdivision of a State or by the District of Columbia. Such term includes real property which is owned by the United States and leased there from and the improvements thereon, even though the lessee's interest, or any improvement on such property, is subject to taxation by a State or a political subdivision of a State or by the District of Columbia. Except for the purposes of section 10, such term also includes (A) real property held in trust by the United States for individual Indians or Indian tribes, and real property held by individual Indians or Indian tribes which is subject to restrictions on alienation imposed by the United States, and (B) any school which is providing flight training to members of the Air Force under contractual arrangements with the Department of the Air Force at an airport which is owned by a State or a political subdivision of a State. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, such term does not include (A) any real property used for a labor supply center, labor home, or labor camp for migratory farm workers, (B) any real property under the jurisdiction of the Post Office Department and used primarily for the provision of postal services, or (C) any low-rent housing project held under title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, the United States Housing Act of 1937, the Act of June 28, 1940 (Public Law 671, Seventy-sixth Congress), or any law amendatory of or supplementary to any such Acts. (2) The term "child" means any child who is within the age limits for which the applicable State provides free public education.

(3) The term "parent" includes a legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis.

(4) The term "free public education" means education which is provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without tuition charge, and which is provided as elementary or secondary school education in the applicable State.

(5) The membership of schools shall be determined in accordance with State law or in the absence of State law governing such a determination, in accordance with regulations of the Commissioner; except that, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where the local educational agency of the school district in which any child resides makes or contracts to make a tuition payment for the free public education of such child in a school situated in another school district, for purposes of this Act the membership of such child, shall be held and considered

(A) if the two local educational agencies concerned so agree, and if such agreement is approved by the Commissioner, as mem

bership of a school of the local educational agency receiving such tuition payment;

(B) in the absence of any such approved agreement, as membership of a school of the local educational agency so making or contracting to make such tuition payment.

In any determination of membership of schools, children who are not provided free public education (as defined in paragraph (4)) shall

not be counted.

(6) The average per pupil cost of constructing minimum school facilities in the State in which the school district of a local educational agency is situated shall be determined by the Commissioner of Education on the basis of the contract cost per square foot under contracts for the construction of school facilities (exclusive of costs of site improvements, equipment, and architectural, engineering and legal fees) entered into in the State for the second year of the four year increase period designated in the application, increased by a percentage estimated by the Commissioner to represent additional costs for site improvements, equipment, and architectural, engineering, and legal fees, and multiplied by a factor estimated by the Commissioner to represent the area needed per pupil in minimum school facilities. If the Commissioner finds that the information available for the State concerned for such preceding fiscal year is inadequate or not sufficiently representative, he shall determine such cost on the basis of such information as he has available and after consultation with the State educational agency. The cost of constructing minimum school facilities in the school district of a local educational agency shall be determined by the Commisisoner, after consultation with the State and local educational agencies, on the basis of such information as may be contained in the application of such local educational agency and such other information as he may obtain.

(7) Estimates of membership, and all other determinations with respect to eligibility and maximum amount of payment, shall be made as of the time of the approval of the application for which made, and shall be made on the basis of the best information available at the time of such approval.

(8) The terms "construct", "constructing", and "construction" in clude the preparation of drawings and specifications for school facilities; erecting, building, acquiring, altering, remodeling, improving, or extending school facilities; and the inspection and supervision of the construction of school facilities.

(9) The term "school facilities" includes classrooms and related facilities; and initial equipment, machinery, and utilities necessary or appropriate for school purposes. Such term does not include athletic stadiums, or structures or facilities intended primarily for athletic exhibitions, contests, or games or other events for which admission is to be charged to the general public. Except as used in sections 9 and 10, such term does not include interests in land and off-site improvements. (10) Whether or not school facilities are minimum school facilities shall be determined by the Commissioner, after consultation with the State and local educational agencies, in accordance with regulations prescribed by him. Such regulations shall (A) require the local educational agency concerned to give due consideration to excellence

of architecture and design, (B) provide that no facility shall be disqualified as a minimum school facility because of the inclusion of works of art in the plans therefor if the cost of such works of art does not exceed 1 per centum of the cost of the project, and (C) require compliance with such standards as the Secretary may prescribe or approve in order to insure that facilities constructed with the use of Federal funds under this Act shall be, to the extent appropriate in view of the uses to be made of the facilities, accessible to and usable by handicapped persons.

(11) The term "local educational agency" means a board of education or other legally constituted local school authority having administrative control and direction of free public education in a county, township, independent, or other school district located within a State. Such term includes any State agency which directly operates and maintains facilities for providing free public education or which has responsibility for the provision of such facilities.

(12) The term "State educational agency" means the officer or agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary and secondary schools.

(13) The term "State" means a State, Puerto Rico, Guam, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, or Wake Island.

(14) The terms "Commissioner of Education" and "Commissioner" mean the United States Commissioner of Education.

(15) The term "base year" means the third or fourth regular school year preceding the fiscal year in which an application was filed under this Act, as may be designated in the application, except that in the case of an application based on children referred to in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 5(a), the base year shall in no event be later than the regular school year 1962-1963; and

(16) The term "increase period" means the period of four consecutive regular school years immediately following such base year.

(20 U.S.C. 645) Similar provisions enacted Sept. 23, 1950, P.L. 815, 81st Cong., Title II, sec. 210, 64 Stat. 976. Enacted Aug. 12, 1958, P.L. 85-620, Title I, sec. 101, 72 Stat. 556, as sec. 15 of P.L. 815, 81st Cong.; amended June 25, 1959, P.L. 86–70, sec. 18(c), 73 Stat. 144; amended July 12, 1960, P.L. 86–624, sec. 14(c), 74 Stat. 414; amended Oct. 3, 1961, P.L. 87-344, Title I, sec. 101(c), 75 Stat. 759; amended Dec. 18, 1963, P.L. 88-210, sec. 31(e), 77 Stat. 419; amended Oct. 16, 1964. P.L. 88-665, Title XI, sec. 1101 (c), (d), 78 Stat. 1109; amended Nov. 3, 1966, Title II, secs. 222(b), (c), (d), 230-232, 80 Stat. 1213-1216.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE IN MAJOR DISASTER AREAS

SEC. 16. (a) If the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning determines with respect to any local educational agency that

(1)(A) such agency is located in whole or in part within an area which, after August 30, 1965, and prior to July 1, 1967, has suffered a major disaster as a result of any flood, drought, fire, hurricane, earthquake, storm, or other catastrophe which, in the determination of the President pursuant to section 2(a) of the Act of September 30, 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1855a (a)), is or threatens to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant disaster assistance by the Federal Government, and

(B) the Governor of the State in which such agency is located has certified the need for disaster assistance under this section,

and has given assurance of expenditure of a reasonable amount of the funds of the government of such State, or of any political subdivision thereof, for the same or similar purposes with respect to such catastrophe,

and if the Commissioner determines with respect to such local educational agency that

(2) public elementary or secondary school facilities of such agency have been destroyed or seriously damaged as a result of this major disaster;

(3) such agency is making a reasonable tax effort and is exercising due diligence in availing itself of State and other financial assistance available for the replacement or restoration of such school facilities;

(4) such agency does not have sufficient funds available to it from State, local, and other Federal sources (including funds available under other provisions of this Act), and from the proceeds of insurance on such school facilities, to provide the minimum school facilities needed for the restoration or replacement of the school facilities so destroyed or seriously damaged; and (5) to the extent that the operation of private elementary and secondary schools in the school attendance area of the local educational agency has been disrupted or impaired by such disaster, such local educational agency has complied with the provisions of section 7(a) (3) of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, Eighty-first Congress), with respect to provisions for the conduct of educational programs under public auspices and administration in which children enrolled in such private elementary and secondary schools may attend and participate, the Commissioner may provide the additional assistance necessary to enable such agency to provide such facilities, upon such terms and in such amounts (subject to the provisions of this section) as the Commissioner may consider to be in the public interest; but such additional assistance, plus the amount which he determines to be available from State, local, and other Federal sources (including funds available under the other provisions of this Act), and from the proceeds of insurance, may not exceed the cost of construction incident to the restoration or replacement of the school facilities destroyed or damaged as a result of the disaster. In any case deemed appropriate by the Commissioner such assistance may be in the form of a repayable advance subject to such terms and conditions as he considers to be in the public interest.

(b) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. Pending such appropriation, the Commissioner may expend (without regard to subsections (a) and (e) of section 3679 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 665)) from any funds heretofore or hereafter appropriated for expenditures in accordance with other sections of this Act such sums as may be necessary for immediately providing assistance under this section, such appropriations to be reimbursed from the appropriations authorized by this subsection

when made.

(c) No payment may be made to any local educational agency under subsection (a) except upon application there for which is submitted through the appropriate State educational agency and is filed

with the Commissioner in accordance with regulations prescribed by him, and which meets the requirements of section 6(b) (1). In determining the order in which such applications shall be approved, the Commissioner shall consider the relative educational and financial needs of the local educational agencies which have submitted approvable applications. No payment may be made under subsection (a) unless the Commissioner finds, after consultation with the State and local educational agencies, that the project or projects with respect to which it is made are not inconsistent with overall State plans for the construction of school facilities. All determinations made by the Commissioner under this section shall be made only after consultation with the appropriate State educational agency and the local educational agency.

(d) Amounts paid by the Commissioner to local educational agencies under subsection (a) may be paid in advance or by way of reimbursement and in such installments as the Commissioner may determine. Any funds paid to a local educational agency and not expended or otherwise used for the purposes for which paid shall be repaid to the Treasury of the United States.

(e) None of the provisions of sections 1 to 10, both inclusive, other than section 6(b)(1), shall apply with respect to this section.

(20 U.S.C. 646) Enacted Nov. 1, 1965, P.L. 89-313, sec. 1, 79 Stat. 1158.

SPECIAL BASE CLOSING PROVISION

SEC. 17. In determining the payment to be made to a local educational agency under this Act the Commissioner shall disregard the announcement, made November 19, 1964, of a decrease in or cessation of Federal activities in certain areas, and shall carry out such Act as if such announcement had not been made.

(20 U.S.C. 647) Enacted Nov. 1, 1965, P.L. 89-313, sec. 3, 79 Stat. 1161.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

(P.L. 815, 81st Cong.)

Senate Report No. 948 (Committee on Labor and Public Welfare).

House Reports No. 2810 (Committee on Education and Labor) and No. 3064 (committee on conference).

Congressional Record, (1949, 1950):

October 17, 1949: Passed Senate.

August 22, 1950: Passed House.

September 7, 1950: Senate agreed to conference report.

September 15, 1950: House agreed to conference report.

Approved: September 23, 1950.

(P.L. 246, 83rd Cong.)

House Reports No. 702 (Committee on Education and Labor) and No. 1091 (committee on conference).

Senate Report No. 713.

Congressional Record (1953):

July 8: Passed House.

August 1: Passed Senate.

August 3, House agreed to conference report.

August 3: Senate agreed to conference report.

Approved: August 8, 1953.