S 167 IS
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 167
To allow a State to combine certain funds to improve the academic
achievement of all its students.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 24, 2001
Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BROWNBACK, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CRAIG,
Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HELMS, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. KYL, Mr.
LOTT, Mr. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
A BILL
To allow a State to combine certain funds to improve the academic
achievement of all its students.
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 `Academic Achievement for All Act' or
`Straight A'S Act'.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to create options for States and
communities--
(1) to improve the academic achievement of all students, and to focus
the resources of the Federal Government upon such achievement;
(2) to improve teacher quality and subject matter mastery, especially in
mathematics, reading, and science;
(3) to empower parents and schools to effectively address the needs of
their children and students;
(4) to give States and communities maximum freedom in determining how to
boost academic achievement and implement education reforms;
(5) to eliminate Federal barriers to implementing effective State and
local education programs;
(6) to hold States and communities accountable for boosting the academic
achievement of all students, especially disadvantaged children; and
(7) to narrow achievement gaps between the lowest and highest performing
groups of students so that no child is left behind.
SEC. 3. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED- States may, at their option, execute a performance
agreement with the Secretary under which the provisions of law described in
section 4(a) shall not apply to such State except as otherwise provided in
this Act. The Secretary shall execute performance agreements with States that
submit approvable performance agreements under this section.
(b) LOCAL INPUT- States shall provide parents, teachers, and local schools
and school districts notice and opportunity to comment on any proposed
performance agreement prior to submission to the Secretary as provided under
general State law notice and comment provisions.
(c) APPROVAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT- A performance agreement submitted
to the Secretary under this section shall be considered as approved by the
Secretary within 60 days after receipt of the performance agreement unless the
Secretary, before the expiration of the 60-day period, provides a written
determination to the State that the performance agreement fails to satisfy the
requirements of this Act.
(d) TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT- Each performance agreement executed
pursuant to this Act shall comply with the following provisions:
(1) TERM- The performance agreement shall contain a statement that the
term of the performance agreement shall be 5 years.
(2) APPLICATION OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS- The performance agreement shall
contain a statement that no program requirements of any program included by
the State in the performance agreement shall apply, except as otherwise
provided in this Act.
(3) LIST OF PROGRAMS- The performance agreement shall provide a list of
the programs that the State wishes to include in the performance
agreement.
(4) USE OF FUNDS TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT- The performance
agreement shall contain a 5-year plan describing how the State intends to
combine and use the funds from programs included in the performance
agreement to advance the education priorities of the State, improve student
achievement, and narrow achievement gaps between students.
(5) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS- If the State includes any of
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6301 et seq.) in the State's performance agreement, the performance
agreement shall include a certification that the State has--
(A)(i) developed and implemented the challenging State content
standards, challenging State student performance standards, and aligned
assessments described in section 1111(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6311(b));
or
(ii) developed and implemented a system to measure the degree of
change from one school year to the next in student performance;
(B) developed and is implementing a statewide accountability system
that has been or is reasonably expected to be effective in substantially
increasing the numbers and percentages of all students who meet the
State's proficient and advanced levels of performance;
(C) established a system under which assessment information may be
disaggregated within each State, local educational agency, and school by
each major racial and ethnic group, gender, English proficiency status,
migrant status, and by economically disadvantaged students as compared to
students who are not economically disadvantaged (except that such
disaggregation shall not be required in cases in which the number of
students in any such group is insufficient to yield statistically
reliable
information or will reveal the identity of an individual student);
(D) established specific, measurable, numerical performance objectives
for student achievement, including a definition of performance considered
to be proficient by the State on the academic assessment instruments
described in subparagraph (A); and
(E) developed and implemented a statewide system for holding its local
educational agencies and schools accountable for student performance that
includes--
(i) a procedure for identifying local educational agencies and
schools for improvement, using the assessments described in subparagraph
(A);
(ii) assisting and building capacity in local educational agencies
and schools identified for improvement to improve teaching and learning;
and
(iii) implementing corrective actions after not more than 3 years if
the assistance and capacity building under clause (ii) is not
effective.
(A) STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT- Each State that includes part A of
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311 et seq.) in its performance agreement shall establish annual student
performance goals for the 5-year term of the performance agreement that,
at a minimum--
(i) establish a single high standard of performance for all
students;
(ii) take into account the progress of students from every local
educational agency and school in the State;
(iii) are based primarily upon the State's challenging content and
student performance standards and assessments described in paragraph
(5);
(iv) include specific annual improvement goals in each subject and
grade included in the State assessment system, which shall include, at a
minimum, reading or language arts and mathematics;
(v) compare the proportions of students at levels of performance (as
defined by the State) with the proportions of students at the levels in
the same grade in the previous school year;
(vi) include annual numerical goals for improving the performance of
each group specified in paragraph (5)(C) and narrowing gaps in
performance between the highest and lowest performing students in
accordance with section 10(b); and
(vii) require all students in the State to make substantial gains in
achievement.
(B) ADDITIONAL INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE- A State may identify in the
performance agreement any additional indicators of performance such as
graduation, dropout, or attendance rates.
(C) CONSISTENCY OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES- A State shall maintain, at a
minimum, the same level of challenging State student performance standards
and assessments throughout the term of the performance agreement.
(7) FISCAL RESPONSIBILITIES- The performance agreement shall contain an
assurance that the State will use fiscal control and fund accounting
procedures that will ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting for,
Federal funds paid to the State under this Act.
(8) CIVIL RIGHTS- The performance agreement shall contain an assurance
that the State will meet the requirements of applicable Federal civil rights
laws.
(9) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION- The performance agreement shall
contain assurances--
(A) that the State will provide for the equitable participation of
students and professional staff in private schools; and
(B) that sections 10104, 10105, and 10106 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8004-8006) shall apply to all
services and assistance provided under this Act in the same manner as such
sections apply to services and assistance provided in accordance with
section 10103 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 8003).
(10) STATE FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION- The performance agreement shall
contain an assurance that the State will not reduce the level of spending of
State funds for elementary and secondary education during the term of the
performance agreement.
(11) ANNUAL REPORTS- The performance agreement shall contain an
assurance that not later than 1 year after the execution of the performance
agreement, and annually thereafter, each State shall disseminate widely to
parents and the general public, submit to the Secretary, distribute to print
and broadcast media, and post on the Internet, a report that
includes--
(A) student academic performance data, disaggregated as provided in
paragraph (5)(C); and
(B) a detailed description of how the State has used Federal funds to
improve student academic performance and reduce achievement gaps to meet
the terms of the performance agreement.
(e) SPECIAL RULES- If a State does not include part A of title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) in its
performance agreement, the State shall--
(1) certify that the State developed a system to measure the academic
performance of all students; and
(2) establish challenging academic performance goals for such other
programs in accordance with paragraph (6)(A) of subsection (d), except that
clause (vi) of such paragraph shall not apply to such performance
agreement.
(f) AMENDMENT TO PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT- A State may submit an amendment to
the performance agreement to the Secretary under the following
circumstances:
(1) REDUCTION IN SCOPE OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT- Not later than 1 year
after the execution of the performance agreement, a State may amend the
performance agreement through a request to withdraw a program from such
agreement. If the Secretary approves the amendment, the requirements of
existing law shall apply for any program withdrawn from the performance
agreement.
(2) EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT- Not later than 1 year
after the execution of the performance agreement, a State may amend its
performance agreement to include additional programs and performance
indicators for which the State will be held accountable.
(3) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT- An amendment submitted to the Secretary under
this subsection shall be considered as approved by the Secretary within 60
days after receipt of the amendment unless the Secretary provides, before
the expiration of the 60-day period, a written determination to the State
that the performance agreement, if amended by the amendment, will fail to
satisfy the requirements of this Act.
SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.
(a) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS- The provisions of law referred to in section 3(a)
except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), are as follows:
(1) Part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).
(2) Part B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6361 et seq.).
(3) Part C of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6391 et seq.).
(4) Part D of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6421 et seq.).
(5) Section 1502 of part E of title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6492).
(6) Part B of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6641 et seq.).
(7) Section 3132 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6842).
(8) Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.)
(9) Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7301 et seq.).
(10) Part C of title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7541 et seq.).
(11) Section 307 of the Department of Education Appropriations Act of
1999.
(12) Titles II, III, and IV of the School-to-Work Opportunities
Act.
(13) Title III of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (20 U.S.C. 5881 et
seq.).
(14) Sections 115 and 116, and parts B and C of title I of the Carl D.
Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998.
(15) Subtitle B of title VII of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.).
(16) Section 321 of the Department of Education Appropriations Act,
2001.
(b) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES- A State may choose to consolidate funds from
any or all of the programs described in subsection (a) without regard to the
program requirements of the provisions referred to in such subsection, except
that the proportion of funds made available for national programs and
allocations to each State for State and local use, under such provisions,
shall remain in effect unless otherwise provided.
(c) USE OF FUNDS- Funds made available under this Act to a State shall be
used for any elementary and secondary educational purposes permitted by State
law of the participating State.
SEC. 5. WITHIN-STATE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.
(a) IN GENERAL- The distribution of funds from programs included in a
performance agreement from a State to a local educational agency within the
State shall be determined by the Governor of the State and the State
legislature. In a State in which the constitution or State law designates
another individual, entity, or agency to be responsible for education, the
allocation of funds from programs included in the performance agreement from a
State to a local educational agency within the State shall be determined by
that individual, entity, or agency, in consultation with the Governor and
State Legislature. Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or
modify any provision of a State constitution or State law.
(b) LOCAL INPUT- States shall provide parents, teachers, and local schools
and school districts notice and opportunity to comment on the proposed
allocation of funds as provided under general State law notice and comment
provisions.
(c) LOCAL HOLD HARMLESS OF PART A TITLE I FUNDS-
(1) IN GENERAL- In the case of a State that includes part A of title I
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et
seq.) in the performance agreement, the agreement shall provide an assurance
that each local educational agency shall receive under the performance
agreement an amount equal to or greater than the amount such agency received
under part A of title I of such Act in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal
year in which the performance agreement is executed.
(2) PROPORTIONATE REDUCTION- If the amount made available to the State
from the Secretary for a fiscal year is insufficient to pay to each local
educational agency the amount made available under part A of title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) to
such agency for the preceding fiscal year, the State shall reduce the amount
each local educational agency receives by a uniform percentage.
SEC. 6. LOCAL PARTICIPATION.
(a) NONPARTICIPATING STATE-
(1) IN GENERAL- If a State chooses not to submit a performance agreement
under this Act, any local educational agency in such State is eligible, at
the local educational agency's option, to submit to the Secretary a
performance agreement in accordance with this section.
(2) AGREEMENT- The terms of a performance agreement between an eligible
local educational agency and the Secretary shall specify the programs to be
included in the performance agreement, as agreed upon by the State and the
agency, from the list under section 4(a).
(b) STATE APPROVAL- When submitting a performance agreement to the
Secretary, an eligible local educational agency described in subsection (a)
shall provide written documentation from the State in which such agency is
located that the State has no objection to the agency's proposal for a
performance agreement.
(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in this section, and to the extent
applicable, the requirements of this Act shall apply to an eligible local
educational agency that submits a performance agreement in the same manner
as the requirements apply to a State.
(2) EXCEPTIONS- The following provisions shall not apply to an eligible
local educational agency:
(A) WITHIN STATE DISTRIBUTION FORMULA NOT APPLICABLE- The distribution
of funds under section 5 shall not apply.
(B) STATE SET ASIDE NOT APPLICABLE- The State set aside for
administrative funds under section 7 shall not apply.
SEC. 7. LIMITATIONS ON STATE AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENDITURES.
(a) IN GENERAL- Except as otherwise provided under subsection (b), a State
that includes part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) in the performance agreement may use not more
than 1 percent of such total amount of funds allocated to such State under the
programs included in the performance agreement for administrative purposes.
(b) EXCEPTION- A State that does not include part A of title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) in the
performance agreement may use not more than 3 percent of the total amount of
funds allocated to such State under the programs included in the performance
agreement for administrative purposes.
(c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- A local educational agency participating in
this Act under a performance agreement under section 6 may not use for
administrative purposes more than 4 percent of the total amount of funds
allocated to such agency under the programs included in the performance
agreement.
SEC. 8. PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND PENALTIES.
(a) MID-TERM PERFORMANCE REVIEW- If, during the 5-year term of the
performance agreement, student achievement significantly declines for 3
consecutive years in the academic performance categories established in the
performance agreement, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for a
hearing, terminate the agreement.
(b) FAILURE TO MEET TERMS- If, at the end of the 5-year term of the
performance agreement, a State has not substantially met the performance goals
submitted in the performance agreement, the Secretary shall, after notice and
an opportunity for a hearing, terminate the performance agreement and the
State shall be required to comply with the program requirements, in effect at
the time of termination, for each program included in the performance
agreement.
(c) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO IMPROVE STUDENT PERFORMANCE- If a State has
made no progress toward achieving its performance goals by the end of the term
of the agreement, the Secretary may reduce funds for State administrative
costs for each program included in the performance agreement by up to 50
percent for each year of the 2-year period following the end of the term of
the performance agreement.
SEC. 9. RENEWAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.
(a) NOTIFICATION- A State that wishes to renew its performance agreement
shall notify the Secretary of its renewal request not less than 6 months prior
to the end of the term of the performance agreement.
(b) RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS- A State that has met or has substantially met
its performance goals submitted in the performance agreement at the end of the
5-year term may apply to the Secretary to renew its performance agreement for
an additional 5-year period. Upon the completion of the 5-year term of the
performance agreement or as soon thereafter as the State submits data required
under the agreement, the Secretary shall renew, for an additional 5-year term,
the performance agreement of any State that has met or has substantially met
its performance goals.
SEC. 10. ACHIEVEMENT GAP REDUCTION REWARDS.
(a) CLOSING THE GAP REWARD FUND-
(1) IN GENERAL- To reward States that make significant progress in
eliminating achievement gaps by raising the achievement levels of the lowest
performing students, the Secretary shall set aside sufficient funds from the
Fund for the Improvement of Education under part A of title X of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8001 et seq.) to
grant a reward to States that meet the conditions set forth in subsection
(b) by the end of their 5-year performance agreement.
(2) REWARD AMOUNT- The amount of the reward referred to in paragraph (1)
shall be not less than 5 percent of funds allocated to the State during the
first year of the performance agreement for programs included in the
agreement.
(b) CONDITIONS OF PERFORMANCE REWARD- Subject to paragraph (3), a State is
eligible to receive a reward under this section as follows:
(1) A State is eligible for such an award if the State reduces by not
less than 25 percent, over the 5-year term of the performance agreement, the
difference between the percentage of highest and lowest performing groups of
students described in section 3(d)(5)(C) that meet the State's proficient
level of performance.
(2) A State is eligible for such an award if a State increases the
proportion of 2 or more groups of students under section 3(d)(5)(C) that
meet State proficiency standards by 25 percent.
(3) A State shall receive such an award if the following requirements
are met:
(A) CONTENT AREAS- The reduction in the achievement gap or improvement
in achievement shall include not less than 2 content areas, 1 of which
shall be mathematics or reading.
(B) GRADES TESTED- The reduction in the achievement gap or improvement
in achievement shall occur in at least 2 grade levels.
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Student achievement gaps shall not be considered
to have been reduced in circumstances where the average academic performance
of the highest performing quintile of students has decreased.
SEC. 11. STRAIGHT A'S PERFORMANCE REPORT.
The Secretary shall make the annual State reports described in section
3(d)(11) available to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions of the Senate not later than 60 days after the Secretary receives the
report.
SEC. 12. APPLICABILITY OF TITLE X.
To the extent that provisions of title X of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8001 et seq.) are inconsistent with this Act,
this Act shall be construed as superseding such provisions.
SEC. 13. APPLICABILITY OF GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT.
To the extent that the provisions of the General Education Provisions Act
(20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) are inconsistent with this Act, this Act shall be
construed as superseding such provisions, except where relating to civil
rights, withholding of funds and enforcement authority, and family educational
and privacy rights.
SEC. 14. APPLICABILITY TO HOME SCHOOLS.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect home schools regardless
of whether a home school is treated as a private school or home school under
State law.
SEC. 15. GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING NON-RECIPIENT, NON-PUBLIC
SCHOOLS.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit, allow, encourage, or
authorize any Federal control over any aspect of any private, religious, or
home school, regardless of whether a home school is treated as a private
school or home school under State law.
SEC. 16. DEFINITIONS.
(1) ALL STUDENTS- The term `all students' means all students attending
public schools or charter schools that are participating in the State's
accountability and assessment system.
(2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- The term `local educational agency' has
the same meaning given such term in section 14101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
(3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of
Education.
(4) STATE- The term `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin
Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American
Samoa.
SEC. 17 EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect with respect to funds appropriated for the
fiscal year beginning October 1, 2001.
END