S. 959 | STAR Act | U.S. Senate Bill | School Turnaround and Rewards Act of 2011

S 959

112th CONGRESS
1st Session

S. 959

To improve outcomes for students in persistently low-performing schools, to create a culture of recognizing, rewarding, and replicating educational excellence, to authorize school turnaround grants, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 12, 2011

Mrs. HAGAN (for herself and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `School Turnaround and Rewards Act of 2011' or the `STAR Act of 2011'.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are to--

(1) significantly improve outcomes for students in persistently low-performing schools by--

(A) building the capacity of State educational agencies and local educational agencies to improve student academic achievement in low-performing and persistently low-performing schools;

(B) supporting States and local educational agencies in implementing school intervention models; and

(2) create a culture of recognizing, rewarding, and replicating educational excellence in every State by--

(A) providing financial and other incentives and rewards to schools that are identified as Reward Schools; and

(B) supporting State educational agency efforts to identify, collect, and disseminate effective practices for increasing student academic achievement used by Reward Schools.

TITLE I--ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS

SEC. 101. ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS.

(a) In General- The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1116 the following:

`SEC. 1116A. REWARD SCHOOLS.

`(a) In General- Notwithstanding section 1116 or any other provision of this part, each State educational agency that receives funds under this part shall identify Reward Schools in the State and take the actions described with respect to those schools, in accordance with this section.

`(b) Identification of Reward Schools-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Each State educational agency that receives funds under this part shall annually identify as Reward Schools public elementary schools or secondary schools served by the State that are making significant progress, as determined by the State educational agency, in closing the achievement gap and increasing student academic achievement, student growth, and, at the high school level, graduation rates, for students in the aggregate and for 1 or more subgroups of students identified under section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II).

`(2) REWARD SCHOOLS- Each school that is identified as a Reward School under paragraph (1)--

`(A) is eligible for recognition and rewards under subsection (c); and

`(B) may use funds provided under this Act, except for those funds related to serving special populations under parts C and D of title I, title III, and title VII, in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, to design innovative programs consistent with the requirements of title IX.

`(c) Reward Schools-

`(1) ALLOTMENTS; ALLOCATION TO STATES-

`(A) IN GENERAL-

`(i) ALLOTMENT- In accordance with clause (ii), the Secretary shall allot among each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Secretary of the Interior for programs under this subsection in schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education, the total amount made available to carry out this subsection under paragraph (6) for any fiscal year, to carry out activities under this subsection.

`(ii) DETERMINATION OF ALLOTMENTS- The Secretary shall use the amount made available under clause (i) for a fiscal year to award a grant to each entity described in clause (i) in an amount that bears the same relation to such amount made available under clause (i) as the amount the entity received under this part for the preceding fiscal year bears to the amount received by all the entities described in clause (i) under this part for the preceding fiscal year.

`(B) REALLOTMENT- If an entity described in subparagraph (A)(i) does not receive funds under this subsection, the Secretary shall reallot those funds to other entities described in subparagraph (A)(i) in the same proportion in which funds are allotted under subparagraph (A).

`(2) STATE APPLICATION- Each State educational agency desiring to receive a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, each application shall include--

`(A) a description of how the State educational agency will distribute funds under this program, by formula or through a competitive process, to local educational agencies serving Reward Schools identified under subsection (b);

`(B) a description of how the State educational agency will take into account poverty rates within local educational agencies and schools proposed to be served when distributing funds under this program;

`(C) an assurance that the State educational agency will provide rewards and incentives under this subsection that are large enough to motivate changes in behavior by schools throughout the State;

`(D) a description of how the State educational agency will identify, collect, and disseminate information on effective practices for increasing student achievement that are used by the Reward Schools and how the State will create communities of practice among Reward Schools, in order to share best practices and replicate successful strategies to assist lower-performing schools and districts; and

`(E) a description of how the State will create mentoring partnerships between Reward Schools and other schools and local educational agencies in the State.

`(3) STATE USE OF FUNDS-

`(A) STATE RESERVATION- A State educational agency that receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall use not less than 90 percent of the grant funds to make subgrants to local educational agencies serving Reward Schools to carry out the activities described in paragraph (4).

`(B) STATE ACTIVITIES- A State educational agency that receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall use any portion of its grant funds that it does not use under subparagraph (A) to carry out activities, which may include the following:

`(i) Identifying, collecting, and disseminating information on effective practices that are used by Reward Schools to increase student achievement.

`(ii) Supporting mentoring partnerships between Reward Schools and other schools and local educational agencies.

`(iii) Creating communities of practice among Reward Schools.

`(iv) Administration of this subsection.

`(4) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES-

`(A) IN GENERAL- From funds available under paragraph (3), a State educational agency shall make 1-year subgrants to local educational agencies serving Reward Schools.

`(B) ACTIVITIES- A local educational agency that receives a subgrant under this subsection shall use the funds--

`(i) to provide financial rewards for principals, teachers, and other staff in Reward Schools; and

`(ii) to provide financial rewards to Reward Schools, which may be used at the school's discretion, including for financial rewards or to improve or enrich the school's or local educational agency's program.

`(5) OTHER REWARDS FOR REWARD SCHOOLS- A local educational agency may provide Reward Schools with increased flexibility in making budgeting and staffing decisions, by--

`(A) providing Reward Schools with priority in receiving Federal or State funds;

`(B) reducing reporting requirements of Reward Schools; or

`(C) taking other actions to provide Reward Schools with greater autonomy.

`(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.'.

(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1116 the following:

`Sec. 1116A. Reward schools.'.

TITLE II--SCHOOL TURNAROUND GRANTS

SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

The terms used in this title have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

SEC. 202. IDENTIFICATION OF PERSISTENTLY LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS.

(a) In General- Each State educational agency that receives funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) shall annually identify as a Persistently Low-Performing School a public elementary school or secondary school that, based on the percentage of students scoring at or above the proficient level in each of the subjects included in a State's accountability system under such part, is not making progress and--

(1) if the school is an elementary school, is in the bottom 5 percent of the State's public elementary schools;

(2) if the school is a secondary school that does not award a high school diploma, is in the bottom 5 percent of the State's public secondary schools that do not award a high school diploma; or

(3) if the school is a secondary school that does award a high school diploma, is in the bottom 5 percent of the State's public secondary schools that award a high school diploma or has a graduation rate below 60 percent, or both.

(b) Ranking-

(1) SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT AWARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS- To determine if a school that does not award a high school diploma is a Persistently Low-Performing School, the State educational agency shall, not less frequently than once every 3 years, rank all such public elementary schools and secondary schools served by the State on the basis of the combined or averaged percentages across subjects of students who are proficient or above on the reading or language arts and mathematics assessments required under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)).

(2) SCHOOLS THAT AWARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS- To determine if a school that awards a high school diploma is a Persistently Low-Performing school, the State educational agency shall, not less frequently than once every 3 years, rank all such schools on the basis of--

(A) the combined or averaged percentages across subjects of students who are proficient or above on the reading or language arts and mathematics assessments required by section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)); and

(B) the graduation rate, with such rate given weight equal to the weight of the factor described in subparagraph (A).

(c) Schools Making Progress- The State educational agency shall not identify as a Persistently Low-Performing school a school that is making significant progress as defined by the State, subject to any limitations specified in regulation by the Secretary.

(d) No Identification of Certain Schools- The State may choose not to identify those schools in which the total number of students assessed is below the minimum group size used by the State to ensure the validity and reliability of State assessments or to protect the privacy of individual students.

(e) School Intervention Models- Each local educational agency that serves a school identified as a Persistently Low-Performing School under this section and receives a grant under this title shall select and implement 1 of the 4 school intervention models described in section 207 in such school, and provide for family and community engagement in the choice and implementation of the model selected in each case.

SEC. 203. RESERVATION AND ALLOTMENTS.

(a) Reservation for Activities of National Significance- From the total amount appropriated under section 208 for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 10 percent to carry out activities of national significance, such as--

(1) building State and local educational agency turnaround capacity, including through technical assistance and support, identification and dissemination of best practices, and facilitating the creation and operation of communities of practice;

(2) supporting the use of school quality review teams by making grants to State educational agencies, consortia of such agencies, or partnerships of State educational agencies or State consortia and public or private nonprofit organizations to develop and implement school quality review teams that review and provide support and technical assistance to local educational agencies and schools for activities such as expanded learning time;

(3) identifying and disseminating effective rural turnaround practices, making available targeted technical assistance, and expanding the availability and capacity of turnaround partners that operate in rural areas;

(4) identifying schools and school improvement partners that are effectively implementing school intervention models and other effective strategies to improve schools, and making information on those schools available to State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and schools in a manner that facilitates replication of effective practices; and

(5) other activities designed to support State and local efforts to turn around persistently low-performing schools.

(b) Allotment to States-

(1) IN GENERAL-

(A) ALLOTMENT- In accordance with subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall allot among each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the outlying areas, and the Secretary of the Interior for programs under this title in schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education, the total amount made available to carry out this title under section 208 for any fiscal year and not reserved under subsection (a), to carry out activities under this title.

(B) DETERMINATION OF ALLOTMENTS- The Secretary shall use the amount made available under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year to award a grant to each entity described in subparagraph (A) in an amount that bears the same relation to such amount made available under subparagraph (A) as the amount the entity received under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the preceding fiscal year bears to the amount received by all the entities described in subparagraph (A) under such part for the preceding fiscal year.

(2) REALLOTMENT- If an entity described in paragraph (1)(A) does not receive funds under this title, the Secretary shall reallot those funds to other entities described in paragraph (1)(A) in the same proportion in which funds are allotted under paragraph (1).

SEC. 204. APPLICATION.

Each State educational agency that desires to receive a grant under this title shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each application shall include--

(1) a copy of the application form and instructions that the State will use in making competitive subgrants under this title;

(2) the criteria the State educational agency will use to determine whether each eligible applicant applying for a subgrant under section 206--

(A) has analyzed the needs of each school the eligible applicant seeks to serve and has selected an appropriate intervention model;

(B) has the capacity to implement fully and effectively the selected school intervention model; and

(C) has submitted a budget that includes sufficient funds to implement fully and effectively the selected school intervention model;

(3) a description of how the State educational agency will set priorities for subgrants if the State educational agency does not have sufficient funds to support all persistently low-performing schools that eligible applicants have applied to serve;

(4) the criteria the State educational agency will use to determine the quality of applications the State educational agency receives;

(5) a description of how the State educational agency will--

(A) monitor each subgrantee to ensure that the subgrantee is fully and effectively implementing the selected school intervention model and is improving student achievement and making progress on leading indicators; and

(B) communicate to each subgrantee in a timely fashion about what expectations the State has for the subgrantee to make progress;

(6) a description of how the State educational agency, subject to section 205(b)(1), will use the funds it reserves at the State level to provide technical assistance and other support to subgrantees; and

(7) a description of how the State will--

(A) help develop pipelines of teachers and leaders trained for turnaround schools;

(B) collect and report data that inform the work of subgrantees;

(D) support effective extended learning time strategies; and

(E) build capacity in the State educational agency for assisting turnaround schools.

SEC. 205. STATE USE OF FUNDS.

(a) State Reservation-

(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (2), a State educational agency that receives a grant under section 203(b) shall use not less than 90 percent of the grant funds to make competitive subgrants to eligible applicants under section 206 to carry out the purposes of this title.

(2) EXCEPTION FOR SCHOOL TAKEN OVER BY THE STATE- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a State may, subject to regulations of the Secretary, reserve from the amount to be used to make subgrants under paragraph (1) such funds as are necessary to implement a school intervention model, either directly or through a turnaround partner designated by the State, in a school that has been taken over by the State.

(b) State Activities- A State educational agency that receives a grant under section 203(b) shall use any portion of the grant funds that the State educational agency does not use to make subgrants under subsection (a) to carry out activities designed to build State capacity to support school improvement. These activities may include--

(1) providing technical assistance and other support, either directly, or through the creation of a school turnaround office, or through turnaround partners, to eligible applicants, which may include the use of school quality review teams or regular site visits to monitor the implementation of selected models;

(2) evaluating State and local implementation of school intervention models and other improvement activities, and using the results to improve State strategies for supporting and providing flexibility for targeted schools;

(3) providing subgrants to turnaround partners and expanded learning time partners to enable the partners to increase their capacity to help turn around schools;

(4) developing pipelines of teachers and leaders trained for turnaround schools;

(5) collecting and reporting data that inform the work of subgrantees;

(6) clustering turnaround schools; and

(7) building capacity in the State educational agency for assisting turnaround schools.

SEC. 206. SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.

(a) Authority-

(1) IN GENERAL- From the funds available under section 205(a), a State educational agency shall make subgrants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants.

(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT- In this title, the term `eligible applicant' means--

(A) a local educational agency that receives funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) and serves at least 1 persistently low-performing school; or

(B) a local educational agency described in subparagraph (A) in partnership with a turnaround partner or an expanded learning time partner, or both, with experience supporting successful school turnaround efforts.

(b) Duration- A State educational agency--

(1) shall award subgrants under this section for a period of not more than 3 years; and

(2) may extend such a subgrant for an additional 2-year period if the State educational agency determines that schools served by the subgrantee are making significant progress, as described in subsection (h).

(c) Criteria- Subgrants awarded under this section shall be of sufficient size to enable subgrantees to implement the selected intervention model fully and effectively.

(d) Application- In order to receive a subgrant under this section, an eligible applicant shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such form, and including such information as the State educational agency may reasonably require. Each application shall include, at a minimum--

(1) a description of the process the applicant has used for selecting an appropriate school intervention model for each school to be served (which process shall include family and community input as to which of the school intervention models is most likely to improve student achievement), including how the applicant has analyzed the needs of each such school;

(2) the school intervention model to be used in each school to be served and the timeline for implementing the selected school intervention model in each school to be served;

(3) a detailed budget covering the grant period, including planned expenditures at the school level and by the eligible applicant for activities supporting full and effective implementation of the selected intervention model;

(4) a description of how the eligible applicant will--

(A) design and implement interventions consistent with the requirements of the selected school intervention model, including how the applicant will use appropriate leading indicators and student achievement measures to monitor the effectiveness of implementation;

(B) use a rigorous review process to recruit, screen, and select turnaround partners with which the local educational agency will partner;

(D) modify practices and policies, if necessary, to provide operational flexibility that enables full and effective implementation of the selected school intervention model;

(E) collect and use data on an ongoing basis to adjust implementation of the school intervention model during implementation (while maintaining consistency with the requirements of section 207) in order to achieve the desired outcomes;

(F) ensure that the implementation of the school intervention model addresses the needs of all subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) in each school to be served; and

(G) sustain successful reforms and practices after the funding period ends;

(5) a description of the technical assistance and other support that the eligible applicant will provide to ensure effective implementation of intervention models in eligible schools, which may include--

(A) assistance in data analysis;

(B) recruiting staff;

(D) professional development;

(E) coordination of services to address students' social, emotional, and health needs;

(F) facilitating the creation and operation of professional learning communities and communities of practice; and

(G) progress monitoring;

(6) an assurance that each school the applicant proposes to serve will receive all of the State and local funds it would have received in the absence of these funds; and

(7) a description of how the eligible applicant will strengthen its capacity improvement for the implementation of intervention models, including through partnerships with entities that have demonstrated the ability to effectively support school improvement efforts.

(e) Priority- In making subgrants under this section, a State educational agency shall give priority to an eligible applicant if the applicant--

(1) demonstrates that it has a sufficient pool of effective educators within or outside the local educational agency to staff low-performing schools or a comprehensive plan to recruit retain, reward, and improve staff using comprehensive evaluation systems;

(2) demonstrates the support of school management, teachers, parents, community partners, and public stakeholders to implement strategies described in section 207;

(3) demonstrates a commitment to an expanded school day, expanded school week, or expanded school year schedule that increases the total number of school hours for the school year at a school by not fewer than 300 hours (which shall include hours in which a student is engaged in academic activities, experiential learning, work-based learning, and enrichment) and that includes a strong partnership with a quality expanded learning time partner;

(4) demonstrates that the school leaders serving the school that will be supported through the subgrant, have sufficient flexibility in making budgeting, staffing, and program decisions; and

(5) demonstrates the ability to collect, report, and use data to inform decisionmaking and to target resources at the school level.

(f) Local Activities- An eligible applicant that receives a subgrant under this section--

(1) shall use the subgrant funds to implement 1 or more of the school intervention models described in section 207 in persistently low-performing schools; and

(2) may use such funds to carry out local educational agency-level activities that directly support the implementation of the school intervention model selected for implementation, such as--

(A) carrying out pre-implementation activities at the school or local educational agency level during the school year prior to the school year in which the local educational agency will fully implement the school intervention model;

(B) recruiting effective teachers and principals for the schools at which the local educational agency will fully implement the school intervention model;

(C) implementing a rigorous process to evaluate the quality of charter management organizations or education management organizations applying to operate restart schools as described in section 206;

(D) developing rigorous, transparent, and equitable teacher and principal evaluation systems; or

(E) in the case of a school closing, establishing and supporting a local transition team, composed of parents from both the closing school community and any receiving school community, to ensure a smooth transition and mutual academic benefit for all students as a result of the school closing.

(g) Reporting- Each eligible applicant that receives a subgrant under this section shall--

(1) comply with the reporting and accountability requirements of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for each of the schools the eligible applicant serves with subgrant funds; and

(2) monitor and report data that include, with respect to students served by the applicant with grant funds received under this section--

(A) core academic indicators, such as--

(i) percentage of students at or above each proficiency level on State assessments in reading or language arts and mathematics;

(ii) progress toward core academic benchmarks, as determined under the State's accountability system;

(iii) average scale scores on State assessments in reading or language arts and in mathematics;

(iv) percentage of English language learner students who attain English language proficiency on the State's summative language assessments;

(v) graduation rates; and

(vi) college enrollment rates, including data for all students and for all subgroups of students identified under section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and

(B) leading indicators such as--

(i) student attendance rates;

(ii) number and percentage of students completing advanced coursework;

(iii) student participation rates on State assessments in reading or language arts and mathematics;

(iv) dropout rates;

(v) discipline incident rates;

(vi) teacher attendance rates;

(vii) distribution of teachers by performance level on the applicant's teacher evaluation system; and

(viii) reduction in the percentage of students in the bottom level of achievement on State assessments in reading or language arts and mathematics, including data for all students and all subgroups of students identified under such section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II).

(h) Accountability-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each eligible applicant that receives a subgrant under this section shall demonstrate sufficient progress, as defined by the State, on the core academic indicators and leading indicators described in subsection (g).

(2) ADDITIONAL TWO-YEAR GRANT PERIOD FOR SUFFICIENT PROGRESS- An eligible applicant that makes sufficient progress, as described under paragraph (1) and determined by the State educational agency, shall be eligible for an extension of the applicant's subgrant for an additional 2-year period.

(3) INSUFFICIENT PROGRESS- An eligible applicant that does not make sufficient progress, as described under paragraph (1) and determined by the State educational agency, shall be required to--

(A) modify its existing school intervention model;

(B) restart the school using the restart model described in section 207(a)(2); or

SEC. 207. SCHOOL INTERVENTION MODELS.

(a) In General- Each eligible applicant that receives a subgrant under section 206 may choose to implement any 1 of the following 4 school intervention models:

(1) TRANSFORMATION MODEL- A transformation model is one in which the local educational agency--

(A) if the principal has led the school for 2 or more years, replaces the principal with a new principal who has demonstrated effectiveness in turning around a low-performing school;

(B) uses rigorous, transparent, and equitable evaluation systems to--

(i) identify and reward school leaders, teachers, and other staff who, in implementing the model, increase student achievement and, if applicable, high school graduation rates; and

(ii) identify and remove school leaders, teachers, and other staff who, after ample opportunities have been provided for such individuals to improve their professional practice--

(I) do not increase student achievement;

(II) if applicable, do not increase high school graduation rates; and

(III) have not demonstrated effectiveness according to the local educational agency's evaluation system;

(C) provides staff with ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded professional development that is aligned with the school's instructional program and evaluation system and facilitates effective teaching and learning, and supports the implementation of school-reform strategies;

(D) implements strategies, such as financial incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and career growth, and more flexible work conditions that are designed to recruit, place, and retain staff with the skills necessary to meet the needs of the students in the school;

(E) uses data to identify and implement a research-based instructional program that--

(i) is aligned with State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards; and

(ii) has proven to raise student academic achievement by not less than 10 percent in 1 year;

(F) establishes schedules and strategies that provide increased learning time, which may include offering full-day kindergarten or a high-quality preschool program or using a longer school day, week, or year that increases the total number of school hours for the school year at a school by not fewer than 300 hours to significantly increase the total number of school hours to include additional time for--

(i) instruction in core academic subjects, instructions in such core academic subjects as, English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography; and

(ii) instruction in other subjects and enrichment activities that contribute to a well-rounded education, such as physical education, service learning, and experiential and work-based learning opportunities that are provided by partnering, as appropriate, with other organizations;

(G) promotes the continuous use of student data to provide instruction that meets the academic needs of individual students, which may include, in elementary school, individual students' levels of school readiness;

(H) establishes schedules and strategies that provide increased learning time, which may include expanding the school program to offer full-day kindergarten or a high-quality preschool program;

(I) provides ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement;

(J) gives the school sufficient operational flexibility in programming, staffing, budgeting, and scheduling to fully implement a comprehensive strategy designed to substantially improve student achievement and, if applicable, increase the graduation rate;

(K) ensures that the school receives ongoing, intensive technical assistance and related support from the local educational agency, the State educational agency, or a designated external lead partner organization; and

(L) provides appropriate social-emotional and community-oriented services and supports for students and, at the discretion of the local educational agency, uses not more than 10 percent of the funds available for such school under this part to provide services to meet those needs.

(2) RESTART MODEL- A restart model is one in which the local educational agency--

(A) converts a school or closes and reopens the school--

(i) under a charter school operator, a charter management organization, or an education management organization; or

(ii) as an autonomous or redesigned school;

(B) implements a rigorous review process to select such a charter school operator, charter management organization, or education management organization, as applicable, which includes an assurance from such operator or organization that it will make significant changes in the leadership and staffing of the school; and

(3) SCHOOL CLOSURE- A school closure model is one in which the local educational agency--

(A) closes a school and enrolls the students who attended such school in other public schools served by the local educational agency that are higher performing, provided the other schools are within reasonable proximity to the closed school; and

(B) provides information, in a timely fashion, in the appropriate language, and prior to closing the school, to children who attended such closed school and their parents, about high-quality educational options and transition and support services.

(4) TURNAROUND MODEL- A turnaround model is one in which the local educational agency--

(A) if the principal has led the school for 2 or more years, replaces the principal with a new principal who has demonstrated effectiveness in turning around a low-performing school;

(B) gives the new principal sufficient operational flexibility (including over staffing, the school day and school calendar, and budgeting) to fully implement a comprehensive approach to improve student outcomes;

(C) using comprehensive evaluation systems, including the use of student achievement data to measure the effectiveness of staff who can work within the turnaround environment to meet the needs of students--

(i) screens all existing staff and retains not more than 50 percent of such staff; and

(ii) requires the principal to justify personnel decisions, such as hiring, dismissal, and providing rewards, based on results of such evaluations;

(D) provides staff with ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded professional development that is aligned with the school's instructional program, facilitates effective teaching and learning, and supports the implementation of school-reform strategies;

(E) adopts a new governance structure for the school, which may include requiring the school to report to a new turnaround office in the local educational agency or State educational agency, hire a turnaround leader who reports directly to the Superintendent or Chief Academic Officer, or enter into a multi-year agreement with the local educational agency or State educational agency to obtain added flexibility in exchange for greater accountability;

(F) uses data to identify and implement a research-based instructional program and promotes the continuous use of data to evaluate school improvement strategies and to inform the differentiated instruction in order to meet the academic needs of individual students;

(G) encourages the use of extended learning time partnerships;

(H) establishes schedules and strategies that provide increased learning time, which may include offering full-day kindergarten or a high-quality preschool program or using a longer school day, week, or year that increases the total number of school hours for the school year at a school by not fewer than 300 hours to significantly increase the total number of school hours to include additional time for--

(i) instruction in such core academic subjects as English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography;

(iii) teachers to collaborate, plan, and engage in professional development within and across grades and subjects;

(I) provides ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement;

(J) provides appropriate social-emotional and community-oriented services and supports for students; and

(K) may include any of the strategies described in paragraph (1).

(b) Using Funds for Comprehensive Services To Address Issues- In implementing any of the school intervention models described in subsection (a), the local educational agency--

(1) shall identify and address issues that may contribute to low academic achievement in those schools; and

(2) may use funds under this title to provide comprehensive services to address those issues and meet the full range of student needs.

SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

END