Title 20 — EducationRelease 119-73

§3604 Asbestos hazards detection program

Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 49— - ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD DETECTION AND CONTROL › § 3604

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary may give grants to local and State school agencies to pay part of the cost of asbestos detection programs, but only during the two-year period beginning on June 14, 1980. The normal Federal share is 50 percent, but the Secretary can raise that share for applicants with limited money so they can take part. Grants can go to local agencies directly or to State agencies that regrant to locals. The Secretary must consult the Task Force and can only approve grants for programs that meet the Secretary’s standards. Applicants must send an approved application that explains how testing will be done, gives a cost estimate, names who will do the testing and their qualifications, and promises to follow the Secretary’s standards. The Secretary gives the Task Force a copy of each application. Grants may cover administrative costs and activities like visual inspections, material sampling, and tests to find asbestos or imminent dangers. Programs done before June 14, 1980, can get grants only if their application shows they substantially met the standards. Recipients must report within 120 days after the grant on what they did, the results, plans to fix hazards, and a detailed account of how funds were spent. Up to 20 percent of the money may be used by the Task Force for education and technical help.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §3604

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)(A)The Secretary may make grants to local educational agencies for the Federal share of the costs of carrying out an asbestos detection program meeting the standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title. Grants may be made under this section only during the two-year period beginning on June 14, 1980.

(B)The Secretary may make grants to State educational agencies for the Federal share of the costs of carrying out any asbestos detection program if—

(i)the State, through the State educational agency or some other appropriate State agency, is making grants to local educational agencies for asbestos hazard detection programs, and

(ii)such programs meet the standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title.

(C)Grants may be made under this section only during the two-year period beginning after June 14, 1980.

(2)Subject to the second sentence of this paragraph, the Federal share of the costs referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 50 percent. Upon a determination by the Secretary that an applicant has limited fiscal resources and would be unable to participate in the program under this section without receiving from the Federal Government, as its Federal share of such costs, an amount greater than the amount permitted under the first sentence of this paragraph, the Secretary may increase the Federal share which may be paid to such applicant by such amount as the Secretary considers appropriate to permit the applicant to participate in the program.

(b)(1)No grant may be made under this section unless an application has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the Task Force. The Secretary may not approve an application unless the application—

(A)contains a description of the methods to be used by the local educational agency, or in the case of an application by the State educational agency the methods to be used by the local educational agencies receiving grants from the State, to determine whether hazardous concentrations of asbestos fibers or materials emitting such fibers exist in school buildings under the jurisdiction of such agency;

(B)contains an estimate of the total cost of the detection program, including such detailed descriptions of the costs of each component of the program as the Secretary may require;

(C)designates the party which shall conduct the testing for the detection program and describes such party’s qualifications for conducting such testing;

(D)contains assurances that the program shall be carried out in accordance with standards established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title and that any party employed to conduct such testing shall satisfy the competency standards established under such section; and

(E)contains such other information or assurances as the Secretary may require.

(2)The Secretary shall provide the Task Force with a copy of any application submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1).

(3)No grant may be awarded by the Secretary under this section for asbestos hazards detection programs conducted before June 14, 1980, unless the applicant has submitted an application to the Secretary—

(A)containing the information required under paragraph (1); and

(B)providing assurances that any program for which a grant is sought was carried out in a manner which substantially conforms to the requirements established by the Secretary under section 3606(a)(1) of this title.

(4)After reviewing the application submitted under this section, together with any recommendations made by the Task Force, the Secretary shall determine the amount of any grant to be awarded under this section. Funds may be awarded by the Secretary for the administrative costs incurred in the preparation and supervision of the asbestos detection program and for the following activities:

(A)Visual inspections of school buildings.

(B)The sampling of building and insulation materials.

(C)Appropriate tests to determine the level of asbestos content in suspected materials, and tests determined to be essential to detect the likelihood of imminent danger to persons within school buildings.

(c)Local and State educational agencies receiving grants under this section shall file a report with the Secretary, not later than 120 days after the award of such grant, describing the detection activities which were undertaken, the results of the asbestos detection program, and plans for mitigating any imminent hazards which were detected by the testing. The report shall include a detailed accounting of the funds used to carry out the detection program.

(d)During the period in which grants may be made under this section, not more than 20 percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this section may be made available by the Secretary to the Task Force to conduct education and technical assistance programs related to the detection of asbestos hazards in school buildings and the implementation of appropriate actions to mitigate such hazards.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 3604

Title 20 — Education

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73