[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 946 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 946
To establish an Office of Rural Education Policy in the Department of
Education.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 11, 2011
Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Begich, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Udall of
Colorado, Mr. Franken, and Mr. Conrad) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an Office of Rural Education Policy in the Department of
Education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Office of Rural Education Policy
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Secretary of Education has recognized that
``[r]ural schools have unique challenges and benefits'', but a
recent report by the Rural School and Community Trust refers to
the ``paucity of rural education research in the United
States''.
(2) Rural education is becoming an increasingly large and
important part of the United States public school system.
According to the Digest of Education Statistics reported
annually by the National Center for Education Statistics, the
number of students attending rural schools increased by more
than 11 percent, from 10,500,000 to nearly 11,700,000, between
the 2004-2005 and 2008-2009 school years. The share of the
Nation's public school enrollment attending rural schools
increased from 21.6 percent to 23.8 percent. In school year
2008-2009, these students attended 31,635 rural schools, nearly
one-third of all schools in the United States.
(3) Despite the overall growth of rural education, rural
students represent a demographic minority in all but 3 States,
according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
(4) Rural education is becoming increasingly diverse.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the
increase in rural enrollment between the 2004-2005 and 2008-
2009 school years was disproportionally among students of
color. Enrollment of children of color in rural schools
increased by 31 percent, and the proportion of students
enrolled in rural schools who are children of color increased
from 23.0 to 26.5 percent. More than one-third of rural
students in 12 States are children of color, according to
research by the Rural School and Community Trust (Why Rural
Matters 2009).
(5) Rural education is varied and diverse across the
Nation. In school year 2007-2008, the national average rate of
student poverty in rural school districts, as measured by the
rate of participation in federally subsidized meals programs,
was 39.1 percent, but ranged from 9.7 percent in Connecticut to
71.9 percent in New Mexico, according to the National Center
for Education Statistics.
(6) Even policy measures intended to help rural schools can
have unintended consequences. In awarding competitive grants
under the Investing in Innovation Fund program under section
14007 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Public Law 111-5), the Secretary of Education attempted to
encourage and support rural applicants by providing additional
points for proposals to serve at least 1 rural local
educational agency. But according to research by the Rural
School and Community Trust (Taking Advantage, 2010), this
``rural preference'' mainly had the effect of inducing urban
applicants to include rural participation merely in order to
gain additional scoring points for primarily urban projects.
(7) Rural schools generally utilize distance education more
often for both students and teachers. A fall 2008 survey of
public schools by the National Center for Education Statistics
found that rural schools were 1\1/2\ times more likely to
provide students access for online distance learning than
schools in cities. A September 2004 study from the Government
Accountability Office reported that rural school districts used
distance learning for teacher training more often than non-
rural school districts.
(8) The National Center for Education Statistics reports
that base salaries of both the lowest and highest paid teachers
are lower in rural schools than any other community type.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to establish an Office of Rural Education Policy in the
Department of Education; and
(2) to provide input to the Secretary of Education
regarding the impact of proposed changes in law, regulations,
policies, rules, and budgets on rural schools and communities.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF RURAL EDUCATION POLICY.
(a) In General.--Title II of the Department of Education
Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``SEC. 221. OFFICE OF RURAL EDUCATION POLICY.
``(a) In General.--There shall be, in the Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education of the Department, an Office of Rural Education
Policy (referred to in this section as the `Office').
``(b) Director; Duties.--
``(1) In general.--The Office shall be headed by a
Director, who shall advise the Secretary on the characteristics
and needs of rural schools and the effects of current policies
and proposed statutory, regulatory, administrative, and
budgetary changes on State educational agencies, and local
educational agencies, that serve schools with a locale code of
32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary.
``(2) Additional duties of the director.--In addition to
advising the Secretary with respect to the matters described in
paragraph (1), the Director of the Office of Rural Education
Policy (referred to in this section as the `Director'), through
the Office, shall--
``(A) establish and maintain a clearinghouse for
collecting and disseminating information on--
``(i) teacher and principal recruitment and
retention at rural elementary schools and rural
secondary schools;
``(ii) access to, and implementation and
use of, technology and distance learning at
such schools;
``(iii) rigorous coursework delivery
through distance learning at such schools;
``(iv) student achievement at such schools,
including the achievement of low-income and
minority students;
``(v) innovative approaches in rural
education to increase student achievement;
``(vi) higher education and career
readiness and secondary school completion of
students enrolled in such schools;
``(vii) access to, and quality of, early
childhood development for children located in
rural areas;
``(viii) access to, or partnerships with,
community-based organizations in rural areas;
``(ix) the availability of professional
development opportunities for rural teachers
and principals;
``(x) the availability of Federal and other
grants and assistance that are specifically
geared or applicable to rural schools; and
``(xi) the financing of such schools;
``(B) identify innovative research and
demonstration projects on topics of importance to rural
elementary schools and rural secondary schools,
including gaps in such research, and recommend such
topics for study by the Institute of Education Sciences
and other research agencies;
``(C) coordinate the activities within the
Department that relate to rural education;
``(D) provide information to the Secretary and
others in the Department with respect to the activities
of other Federal departments and agencies that relate
to rural education, including activities relating to
rural housing, rural agricultural services, rural
transportation, rural economic development, rural
career and technical training, rural health care, rural
disability services, and rural mental health;
``(E) coordinate with the Bureau of Indian
Education, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department
of the Interior, and the schools administered by such
agencies regarding rural education;
``(F) provide, directly or through grants,
cooperative agreements, or contracts, technical
assistance and other activities as necessary to support
activities related to improving education in rural
areas; and
``(G) produce an annual report on the condition of
rural education that is delivered to the members of the
Education and the Workforce Committee of the House of
Representatives and the Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions Committee of the Senate and published on the
Department's Web site.
``(c) Impact Analyses of Rules and Regulations on Rural Schools.--
``(1) Proposed rulemaking.--Whenever the Secretary
publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking for any rule
or regulation that may have a significant impact on State
educational agencies or local educational agencies serving
schools with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as
determined by the Secretary, the Secretary (acting through the
Director) shall prepare and make available for public comment
an initial regulatory impact analysis. Such analysis shall
describe the impact of the proposed rule or regulation on such
State educational agencies and local educational agencies and
shall set forth, with respect to such agencies, the matters
required under section 603 of title 5, United States Code, to
be set forth with respect to small entities. The initial
regulatory impact analysis (or a summary) shall be published in
the Federal Register at the time of the publication of general
notice of proposed rulemaking for the rule or regulation.
``(2) Final rule.--Whenever the Secretary promulgates a
final version of a rule or regulation with respect to which an
initial regulatory impact analysis is required by paragraph
(1), the Secretary (acting through the Director) shall prepare
a final regulatory impact analysis with respect to the final
version of such rule or regulation. Such analysis shall set
forth, with respect to State educational agencies and local
educational agencies serving schools with a locale code of 32,
33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary, the matters
required under section 604 of title 5, United States Code, to
be set forth with respect to small entities. The Secretary
shall make copies of the final regulatory impact analysis
available to the public and shall publish, in the Federal
Register at the time of publication of the final version of the
rule or regulation, a statement describing how a member of the
public may obtain a copy of such analysis.
``(3) Regulatory flexibility analysis.--If a regulatory
flexibility analysis is required by chapter 6 of title 5,
United States Code, for a rule or regulation to which this
subsection applies, such analysis shall specifically address
the impact of the rule or regulation on State educational
agencies and local educational agencies serving schools with a
locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the
Secretary.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Section 221(c) of the Department of Education
Organization Act, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to
regulations proposed more than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
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