Education Priorities for Research and Construction

(Conference report filed in House, H. Rept. 100-1062)

Education Priorities for Research and Construction - Title I: The Taft Institute - Amends the Education Amendments of 1980 to extend through FY 1991 the authorization of appropriations for the Robert A. Taft Institute of Government, in New York, New York.

Title II: Constitutional Bicentennial Education Program - Amends the Arts, Humanities, and Museums Amendments of 1985 to increase the authorization of appropriations for the Constitutional Bicentennial Education Program, and to reserve such increased funds for elementary and secondary teacher training and retraining programs in history, geography, and other related disciplines in social sciences and humanities designed to enhance understanding of the Constitution.

Title III: Library and Education Resource Authorizations - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to provide financial assistance to the Washington Library Consortium to construct and equip a facility in Prince George's County, Maryland, to link by computer eight university libraries in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and provide central storage for the rare books of the eight participating institutions of higher education (American University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Catholic University, George Mason University, Gallaudet University, Marymount University, and the University of the District of Columbia). Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Vermont Higher Education Council in Hyde Park, Vermont, for development activities for faculty at institutions which are members of the Council. Provides that such activities are to be designed to address and overcome professional isolation. Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, for construction and related costs for a Health and Human Resources Center. Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the University of Mississippi Law School for the renovation and completion of its library facilities at Oxford, Mississippi. Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to pay the Federal share of construction and related costs for an international center on trade, diplomacy, and development. Provides that such center shall: (1) be a national research and training resource in trade, finance, and international business and diplomacy development; (2) be a forum for exchange of information among government leaders and policymakers; and (3) train political and corporate participants in the conduct of international trade. Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles, California, for construction and operation of a center for international business studies to improve the effectiveness of education and training for international economic competitiveness. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and 1991 for such assistance.

Directs the Secretary to make grants to establish a clinical law center at Seton Hall University in Newark, New Jersey, in accordance with specified Federal law. Authorizes the Secretary to receive, review, and certify payment applications for such grants. Limits the portion of such grants which may be used for facilities. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds to the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library at the University of Montana for acquisition and processing of library materials to bolster all areas of that library's collection. Authorizes the Secretary to provide additional funds to initiate the Maureen and Mike Mansfield endowment at the Mansfield library. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance.

Directs the Secretary to use specified appropriations for specified provisions of the Omnibus Trade and Competiveness Act of 1988 to provide financial assistance to the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana to establish and operate a center for international business under specified provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for the Claude and Mildred Pepper Scholarship Program, to be administered by the Washington Workshops Foundation of the District of Columbia.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to pay construction and related costs for: (1) a Biotechnology Research Center at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, to serve the Midwestern States; and (2) a Bioscience Research Laboratory at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, to serve the Pacific Northwest. Provides that such centers shall serve as catalysts for attracting research and industrial activity to those regions. Requires applications, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications in Boston, Massachusetts, to pay part of the cost of design and construction of, and equipment for, model educational telecommunciations network and technology resource centers. Requires an application for such assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Rocky Mountain States Partnership for Educational Telecommunications, a Utah nonprofit corporation in Salt Lake City, Utah, to pay the development costs of a distance-learning network to serve the States of Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Western Star Schools Partnership to pay the development costs of a distance-learning network to serve Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Designates as the grant recipient for the partnership the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, an Oregon nonprofit organization in Portland, Oregon. Requires an application, and authorizes appropriations, for such assistance.

Title IV: Higher Education Provisions - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to add to title VI (International Educational Programs) provisions for a new program of Grants to Consortia for Critical Languages and Area Studies. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to eligible consortia to operate critical languages and area studies programs, and to develop, construct, and acquire educational equipment, materials, and facilities, and to develop teacher training programs, texts, curricula, and other activities designed to improve and expand instruction in foreign languages at secondary and elementary schools. Limits the amount, in any single fiscal year, of a demonstration grant to an eligible critical languages and area studies partnership under such title. Defines an eligible consortium as one consisting of: (1) a not-for-profit corporation with extensive experience in administering both cultural exchange programs and language and culture training programs in the United States and abroad; and (2) public and/or private secondary and elementary schools committed to providing quality language and area studies programs to their students and students in the surrounding area. Provides that the Critical Language and Area Studies Consortium, Inc., shall receive sufficient funds to carry out the purposes of this new grants program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and 1991 to carry out the purposes of such new grants program.

Amends HEA to revise provisions for College Work-Study Programs funds reallotment. Grants priority for the first 25 percent of reallocated funds to institutions with community service-learning programs. Provides that the next one percent of reallocated funds would be realloted to institutions that require all students to work as part of their general course requirements.

Declares the Kentucky Polytechnic Institute of Louisville to be an eligible institution holding a valid program participation agreement for purposes of title IV (Student Assistance) of HEA, and to have been such an eligible institution holding such an agreement continuously since August 29, 1984. Declares the transfer of such Institute's ownership to Res-Care Development Company on December 31, 1986 to have complied with HEA and to have no effect on such Institute's eligibility to participate in HEA title IV student financial assistance programs or on the validity of its agreement. Deems, for purposes of HEA title IV, each student attending such Institute and receiving a federally insured loan or Pell Grant for academic years 1984-1985, 1985-1986, 1986-1987, or 1987-1988 pursuant to such title IV, to be attending an eligible institution holding a valid program participation agreement for that academic year.