113 S2451 IS: Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act
U.S. Senate
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Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
This Act may be cited as the
Local School Board Governance and
Flexibility Act
.
2.
It is the sense of
Congress that—
(1)
the responsibility
for education resides with the States, which have delegated to local
school
boards the power and authority to adopt policies, establish priorities,
and
provide accountability to direct the operation of neighborhood schools;
(2)
local school boards are held accountable by
local voters to represent the interests of students, parents, local
businesses,
civic organizations, taxpayers, and the community at large in determining,
subject to State laws and policies, the direction, values, climate, and
financial support of the schools in their community;
(3)
the vital national
interest in local self-governance of local educational agencies has been
weakened through Department of Education requirements that are either
unnecessary to achieve the specific direction of legislation enacted by
Congress, or that impose unnecessary limits on the flexibility needed by
local
educational agencies in order to meet local, State, and Federal goals in
education; and
(4)
to support the
local decisionmaking function of local educational agencies, the Secretary
of
Education should engage only in issuing regulations, rules, grant
conditions,
guidance materials, and other requirements under the jurisdiction of the
Department that are—
(A)
specifically
required to implement Federal legislation; and
(B)
demonstrated to be
educationally, operationally, and financially within the capacity of local
educational agencies to implement.
3.
Authority of the
Secretary
Unless specifically
authorized by Federal law, the Secretary may not issue a Federal
regulation,
rule, grant condition, guidance material, or other requirement pertaining
to a
State educational agency or a local educational agency that—
(1)
conflicts with the
power and authority of the local educational agency delegated by the State
regarding the operation of the schools (including the school system’s
mission
and goals, organization, local budget and budget priorities, education
program,
curriculum, or extra-curricular activities), student health services and
safety, transportation and school boundaries, procurement policies,
staffing
and personnel policies, capital construction, authority to levy taxes,
issue
bonds, and acquire land, and other functions essential to the daily
operation
of
the schools within the jurisdiction of the local educational agency;
(2)
results in
additional costs to the local educational agency for reporting, grant
administration, and general operations, unless fully funded from Federal
funds;
(3)
conflicts with the
power and authority of the local educational agency to determine how to
engage
or act upon community participation and advice;
(4)
imposes
requirements on a local educational agency or State educational agency
that would limit or adversely
affect
the authority of the local educational agency or State educational agency
to function as a legislative, executive, or
quasi-judicial
agency;
(5)
conflicts with the
authority of—(A)a State to determine the appropriate governance structure of—(i)the State educational agency; or(ii)the State's
local educational agencies; or(B)a State educational agency or local educational agency
to
determine the appropriate governance and management of the schools that
the State educational agency or local educational agency serve;
(6)
establishes
reporting requirements for State educational agencies or local
educational agencies that duplicate
existing
Federal requirements or that are issued without first conducting a fiscal
impact statement related to the costs to State educational agencies or
local educational agencies, as the case may be,
including
requests for data and recommendations from State educational agencies or
local educational agencies and
national education organizations consistent with the provisions of section
4(a); or
(7)
places conditions
or requirements on a grant to a State or local educational agency that are
not
directly related to, or that do not directly support, the intent of the
specific purpose of the
grant
or the legislation authorizing such grant.
4.
Opportunity for
comment regarding local impact
(a)
During each fiscal year (beginning with the fiscal year
following the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted), the Secretary of
Education shall provide local educational agencies and the major national
education organizations, including those representing local school boards,
local school superintendents, principals, and teachers, a minimum of 60
days in
order to provide written comments regarding the local impact of
implementing
Federal regulations, rules, grant conditions, guidance materials, or other
requirements for any applicable program or activity of the Secretary.
(b)
The Secretary of Education shall prepare
and publish a report based on the comments received pursuant to subsection
(a),
which shall be forwarded to the chairs and ranking members of the
Education and
the Workforce Committee of the House of Representatives and the Health,
Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee of the Senate not later than July 1 of each
year
and shall be simultaneously posted on the Department of Education’s
website.
5.
Efficiency in
implementing Federal programs
(a)
Eliminating
reporting duplications
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall
conduct a
review of
existing reporting requirements applicable to local educational agencies
resulting from programs and activities under the jurisdiction of the
Department
of Education to determine duplications and make modifications as necessary
to
eliminate such reporting duplications.
(b)
The
Secretary may not promulgate any regulation, rule, guidance material,
grant
condition, or other requirement pertaining to a State educational agency
or a
local educational agency, without first taking the following actions:
(1)
Requesting data
and recommendations from State educational agencies, local educational
agencies, and the major national
education organizations representing chief State school officers, local
school boards, local school
superintendents, principals, and teachers regarding the educational,
financial,
and operational costs involved for implementation, and publishing the data
and
recommendations provided upon issuance of such regulation, rule, guidance
material, grant condition, or other requirement and posting that
information on
the Department of Education’s website.
(2)
Verifying, based
on the data set forth in paragraph (1), that local educational agencies
will
have the financial resources and the technical assistance such agencies
may need to
successfully implement the regulation, rule, guidance material, grant
condition, or other requirement, including any Federal requirement that
would
extend beyond the time that Federal assistance is available for that
purpose.
(3)
Providing State educational agencies, local
educational agencies, and the national education organizations identified
in
paragraph (1) with not less than 60 days notice following the Secretary’s
publication of a notice of intent to issue any regulation, rule, guidance
material, grant condition, or other requirement to respond, unless a
shorter
time period is needed to meet an emergency such as a declared natural
disaster.
(4)
Ensuring that
maximum flexibility is provided to State educational agencies and local
educational agencies in
implementing
any regulation, rule, guidance material, grant condition, or other
requirement.
(c)
If a local educational agency or an organization
identified in subsection (b) provides the Secretary of Education with a
written
statement demonstrating that a regulation, rule, guidance material, grant
condition, or other requirement does not meet the substantive or
procedural
requirements of this Act, the Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee,
shall
review the merits of that statement, provide a written response within 60
days,
and post that response on the Department of Education’s website, including
a description of
what
action, if any, the Secretary will take to correct any deficiency that the
Secretary determines exists.