current school expenditures assistance

current school expenditures assistance Sec. 218. Section 7 of the Act of September 30, 1950 (Public Law 874, Eighty-first Congress), is amended to read as follows: “assistance for current school expenditures in cases of certain disasters “Sec. 7. (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 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 81 Stat. 812 “(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) such agency is utilizing or will utilize all State and other financial assistance available to it for the purpose of meeting the cost of providing free public education for the children attending the schools of such agency, but as a result of such disaster it is unable to obtain sufficient funds for such purpose 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 expenditures during the fiscal year preceding the one in which such disaster occurred, whichever is less, and “(4) 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 such local educational agency has been disrupted or impaired by such disaster, such local educational agency has made 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: Provided That nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to authorize the making of any payment under this Act for religious worship or instruction, the Commissioner may provide to such agency the additional assistance necessary to provide tree public education to the children attending the schools of such agency, 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. Such additional assistance may be provided for a period not greater than a five-fiscal-year period beginning with the fiscal year in which it is determined pursuant to clause (1) of this subsection that such agency suffered a disaster. The amount so provided for any fiscal year shall not exceed the amount which the Commissioner determines to be necessary to enable such agency, with the State, local, and other Federal funds available to it for such purpose, to provide a level of education equivalent to that maintained in the schools of such agency prior to the occurrence of such disaster, taking into account the additional costs reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions of clause (4) of this subsection. The amount, if any, so provided for the second, third, and fourth fiscal years following the fiscal year in which it is so determined that such agency has suffered a disaster shall not exceed 75 per centum, 50 per centum, and 25 per centum, respectively, of the amount so provided for the first fiscal year following such determination. “(b) In addition to and apart, from the funds provided under subsection (a), the Commissioner is authorized to provide to such agency an amount which he determines to be necessary to replace instructional and maintenance supplies, equipment, and materials (including textbooks) destroyed or seriously damaged as a result of such disaster, to make minor repairs, and to lease or otherwise provide (other than by acquisition of land or erection of facilities) school and cafeteria facilities needed to replace temporarily such facilities which have been made unavailable as a result of the disaster. “(c) There is 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 81 Stat. 813the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 665)) from any funds heretofore or hereafter appropriated for expenditure in accordance with other sections of this Act, such stuns 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. “(d) No payment may be made to any local educational agency under this section except upon application therefor which is submitted through the appropriate State educational agency and is filed with the Commissioner in accordance with the regulations prescribed by him. 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. “(e) Amounts paid by the Commissioner to local educational agencies under this section 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.”