consumers’ education

consumers’ education Sec. 505. (a) (1) The Congress of the United States finds that there do not exist adequate resources for educating and informing consumers about their role as participants in the marketplace. (2) It is the purpose of the amendment made by this section to encourage and support the development of new improved curricula to prepare consumers for participation in the marketplace to demonstrate the use of such curriculums in model educational programs and to evaluate the effectiveness thereof; to provide support for the initiation and maintenance of programs in consumer education at the elementary and secondary and higher education levels; to disseminate curricular materials and other information for use in educational programs throughout the Nation; to provide training programs for teachers, other educational personnel, public service personnel, and community and labor leaders and employees, and government employees at State, Federal, and local levels; to provide for Community Consumer education programs; and to provide for the preparation and distribution of materials by mass media in dealing with consumer education. (3) Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: 86 Stat. 349 “consumers’ education programs “Sec. 811. (a) There shall be within the Office of Education, a Director of Consumers’ Education (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Director’) who, subject to the management of the Commissioner, shall have primary responsibility for carrying out the provisions of this section. “(b) (1) (A) The Director shall carry out a program of making grants to, and contracts with, institutions of higher education, State and local educational agencies, and other public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions (including libraries) to support research, demonstration, and pilot projects designed to provide consumer education to the public except that no grant may be made other than to a nonprofit agency, organization, or institution. “(B) Funds appropriated for grants and contracts under this section shall be available for such activities as— “(i) the development of curricula (including interdisciplinary curricula) in consumer education; “(ii) dissemination of information relating to such curricula; “(iii) in the case of grants to State and local educational agencies and institutions of higher education, for the support of education programs at the elementary and secondary and higher education levels: and “(iv) preservice and inservice training programs and projects (including fellowship programs, institutes, workshops, symposiums, and seminars) for educational personnel to prepare them to teach in subject matter areas associated with consumer education. In addition to the activities specified in the first sentence of this paragraph, such funds may be used for projects designed to demonstrate, test, and evaluate the effectiveness of any such activities, whether or not assisted under this section. Activities pursuant to this section shall provide bilingual assistance when appropriate. “(C) Financial assistance under this subsection may be made available only upon application to the Director. Applications under this subsection shall be submitted at such time, in such form, and containing such information as the Director shall prescribe by regulation and shall be approved only if it— “(i) provides that the activities and service for which assistance is sought will be administered by, or under the supervision of, the applicant: “(ii) describes a program for carrying out one or more of the purposes set forth in the first sentence of paragraph (2) which holds promise of making a substantial contribution toward attaining the purposes of this section; “(iii) sets forth such policies and procedures as will insure adequate, evaluation of the activities intended to be carried out under the application; “(iv) sets forth policies and procedures which assure that Federal funds made available under this section for any fiscal year will be so used as to supplement and. to the extent practical, increase the level of funds that would, in the absence of such Federal funds, he made available by the applicant for the purposes described in this section, and in no case supplant such funds; “(v) provides for such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to assure proper disbursement of an accounting for Federal funds paid to the applicant under this section; and 86 Stat. 350 “(vi) provides for making an annual report and such other reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Commissioner may reasonably require and for keeping such records, and for affording such access thereto as the Commissioner may find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports. Applications from local educational agencies for financial assistance under this section may be approved by the Director only if the State educational agency has been notified of the application and been given the opportunity to offer recommendations. “(2) Federal assistance to any program or project under this subsection, other than those involving curriculum development, dissemination of curricular materials, and evaluation, shall support up to 100 per centum of the cost of such program including costs of administration; contributions in kind are acceptable as local contributions to program costs. “(c) Each recipient of Federal funds under this section shall make such reports and evaluations as the Commissioner shall prescribe by regulation. “(d) There is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973; $25,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974; and $35,000,000 for the year ending June 30, 1975, for carrying out the purposes of this section.”. (b) The amendment made by this section shall be effective after June 30, 1972.