school construction assistance

school construction assistance Sec. 217. Section 16(a) of the Act of September 23, 1950 (Public Law 815, Eighty-first Congress), is amended to read as follows: “school construction assistance in cases of certain disasters “Sec. 16. (a) In any case in which— “(1) (A) the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning determines with respect to any local educational agency (including for the purpose of this section any other public agency which operates schools providing technical, vocational, or other special education to children of elementary or secondary school age) that such agency is located in whole or in part within an area which, after August 30, 1965, and prior to July 1, 1970, has suffered a major disaster as the 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 or magnitude to warrant disaster assistance by the Federal Government; or “(B) the Commissioner determines with respect to any such agency that public elementary or secondary school facilities (or, in the case of a public agency other than a local educational agency, school facilities providing technical, vocational, or other special education to children of elementary or secondary school age) of such agency have been destroyed or seriously damaged as a result of flood, hurricane, earthquake, storm, fire, or other catastrophe, except any such catastrophe caused by negligence or malicious action; and “(2) 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 agency that— “(3) as a result of such major disaster, (A) public elementary or secondary school facilities of such agency (or, in the case of a public agency other than a local educational agency, school facilities providing technical, vocational, or other special education to children of elementary or secondary school age) have been destroyed or seriously damaged, or (B) private elementary or secondary school facilities serving children who reside in the area served by such agency have been destroyed and will not be replaced, thereby increasing the need of such agency for school facilities; “(4) such agency is utilizing or will utilize all State and other financial assistance available for the replacement or restoration of such school facilities; “(5) 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, and requires an amount of additional assistance equal to at least $1,000 or one-half of 1 per centum of such agency’s current operating expendi-81 Stat. 811tures during the fiscal year preceding the one in which such disaster occurred, whichever is less, to provide the minimum school facilities needed (A) for the restoration or replacement of the school facilities of such agency so destroyed or seriously damaged or (B) to serve, in facilities of such agency, children who but for the destruction of the private facilities referred to in clause (3)(B) would be served by such private facilities; and “(6) in the case of any such major disaster, 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)(4) 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 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 all cases determined pursuant to clause (1)(B) of this subsection, and in any other case deemed appropriate by the Commissioner, such assistance shall be in the form of a repayable advance subject to such terms and conditions as he considers to be in the public interest.”