Rural Schools of America (RSA) Act of 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Rural School Improvement

Title II: School Building Repair and Renovation

Title III: Evaluation of Results

Subtitle A: Assistant Secretary

Subtitle B: Rural School Research and Evaluation

Title IV: General Provisions

Rural Schools of America (RSA) Act of 1993 - Title I: Rural School Improvement - (Sec. 101) Establishes, and authorizes appropriations for, a rural school improvement (RSI) grants program to help meet national educational goals.

(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Education, under such program, to: (1) reserve specified funds for competitive grant awards to exemplary school programs; and (2) make allotments to State educational agencies (SEAs), for suballotment to local educational agencies (LEAs), based on relative Chapter 1 funding (for educationally disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965). Requires recipient LEAs to make subgrants to community-based organizations or nonprofit partnerships between the LEA, local colleges or universities, or area-wide collaboratives of private sector businesses.

(Secs. 103-106, 109, and 110) Sets forth: (1) requirements for applications, local planning, uses of funds, accountability, and local advisory groups; and (2) special rules for ranking schools within an LEA by need, flexibility, and coordination with Chapter 1 planning.

(Sec. 107) Authorizes incentive awards to individual schools that demonstrate exemplary progress.

(Sec. 108) Directs the Secretary to report on the impact of Federal regulations, guidelines, and policies on rural public schools.

Title II: School Building Repair and Renovation - (Sec. 201) Establishes, and authorizes appropriations for, a program of assistance for rural school building repair and renovation.

(Sec. 202) Allots program funds to SEAs based on relative Chapter 1 funding, with suballotments to LEAs based on number of: (1) children from families below the poverty line; (2) school buildings used for instructional purposes; and (3) school buildings more than 25 years old used for instructional purposes.

(Secs. 204-207) Requires eligible LEAs to use half of their suballotment for programs for school building repair and renovation, and half for programs for school environmental concerns and safety improvements. Authorizes SEA waivers of such requirement. Applies Davis-Bacon Act requirements to such programs.

Title III: Evaluation of Results - Subtitle A: Assistant Secretary - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Assistant Secretary for Rural Education in the Department of Education.

Subtitle B: Rural School Research and Evaluation - (Sec. 311) Establishes, and authorizes appropriations for, a program of rural school research and evaluation.

(Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to establish for each region a National Rural Regional Education Research Center, to be operated by the appropriate regional educational laboratory.

(Sec. 313) Requires each Center to make direct grants to rural LEAs in its region participating in a program assisted under title I of this Act, to conduct local schoool district research and evaluation of efforts toward meeting the national education goals.

Title IV: General Provisions - (Sec. 401) Establishes the Interagency Council on Rural Schools.

(Sec. 402) Directs the President to conduct a White House Conference on Rural Education. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 403) Requires eligible LEAs to use Federal funds received under this Act only to supplement but not supplant non-Federal funds.