[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 829 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                 S. 829

  To provide waivers for the establishment of educational opportunity 
                                schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 18 (legislative day, May 15), 1995

Mrs. Hutchison introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide waivers for the establishment of educational opportunity 
                                schools.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part F as part G;
            (2) by redesignating sections 1601 through 1604 as sections 
        1701 through 1704, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after part E the following new part:
        ``PART F--EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

``SEC. 1701. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; AND PURPOSES.

    ``(a) Short Title.--This part may be cited as the `Educational 
Opportunity Demonstration Act'.
    ``(b) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) while low-income students have made significant gains 
        with respect to educational achievement and attainment, 
        considerable gaps still persist for these students in 
        comparison to those from more affluent socioeconomic 
        backgrounds;
            ``(2) our Nation has a compelling interest in assuring that 
        all children receive a high quality education;
            ``(3) new methods and experiments to revitalize educational 
        achievement and opportunities of low-income individuals must be 
        a part of any comprehensive solution to the problems in our 
        Nation's educational system;
            ``(4) preliminary research shows that same gender classes 
        and schools may produce promising academic and behavioral 
        improvements in both sexes for low-income, educationally 
        disadvantaged students;
            ``(5) extensive data on same gender classes and schools are 
        needed to determine whether same gender classes and schools are 
        closely tailored to achieving the compelling government 
        interest in assuring that all children are educated to the best 
        of their ability;
            ``(6) in recent years efforts to experiment with same 
        gender classes and schools have been inhibited by lawsuits and 
        threats of lawsuits by private groups as well as governmental 
        entities; and
            ``(7) there is a compelling government interest in granting 
        the Secretary authority to insulate a limited number of local 
        educational agencies and schools which are experimenting with 
        same gender classes for a limited period of time from certain 
        law suits under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 
        section 204 of the Education Amendments of 1974, section 1979 
        of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983), or any other law 
        prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, in order to 
        collect data on the effectiveness of such classes in educating 
        children from low-income, educationally disadvantaged 
        backgrounds.
    ``(c) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this part--
            ``(1) to give the Secretary discretion to allow 
        experimentation with same gender classes for low-income, 
        educationally disadvantaged students;
            ``(2) to determine whether same gender classes make a 
        difference in the educational achievement and opportunities of 
        low-income, educationally disadvantaged individuals; and
            ``(3) to involve parents in the educational options and 
        choices of their children.

``SEC. 1702. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this part--
            ``(1) the term `educational opportunity school' means a 
        public elementary, middle, or secondary school established by a 
        local educational agency receiving a waiver under this part, or 
        a consortium of such schools, that--
                    ``(A) establishes a plan for voluntary, same gender 
                classes at one or more than one school in the 
                community;
                    ``(B) provides same gender classes for both boys 
                and girls, as well as a coeducational option for any 
                parent that chooses that option;
                    ``(C) gives parents the option of choosing to send 
                their child to a same gender class or to a 
                coeducational class;
                    ``(D) admits students on the basis of a lottery, if 
                more students apply for admission to the same gender 
                classes than can be accommodated;
                    ``(E) has a program in which a member of the 
                community is asked to volunteer such member's time in 
                classes of children of the same gender as the member; 
                and
                    ``(F) operates in pursuit of improving achievement 
                among all children based on a specific set of 
                educational objectives determined by the local 
                educational agency applying for a waiver under this 
                part, in conjunction with the educational opportunity 
                advisory board established under section 1703(b) and 
                agreed to by the Secretary; and
            ``(2) the term `educational opportunity advisory board' 
        means an advisory board established in accordance with section 
        1703(b).

``SEC. 1703. WAIVER AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) Authority.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall waive any statutory 
        or regulatory requirement of title IX of the Education 
        Amendments of 1972, section 204 of the Education Amendments of 
        1974, section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983), 
        and any other law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of 
        sex, for each local educational agency (but not more than 10) 
        that has an application approved under section 1704 and 
        otherwise meets the requirements of this part, and for any 
        educational opportunity school established by such agency, but 
        only to the extent the Secretary determines necessary to ensure 
        the development and operation of same gender classes in 
        accordance with this part.
            ``(2) Duration.--The Secretary shall issue a waiver under 
        subsection (a) for a period not to exceed 5 years.
    ``(b) Educational Opportunity Advisory Board.--Each local 
educational agency receiving a waiver under this part shall establish 
an educational opportunity advisory board. Such advisory board shall be 
composed of school administrators, parents, teachers, local government 
officials and volunteers involved with an educational opportunity 
school. Such advisory board shall assist the local educational agency 
in developing the application under section 1704 and serve as an 
advisory board in the functioning of the educational opportunity 
school.

``SEC. 1704. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) Applications Required.--Each local educational agency 
desiring a waiver under this part shall submit, within 180 days of the 
date of enactment of the Educational Opportunity Demonstration Act, an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require.
    ``(b) Scope of Application.--Each application described in 
subsection (a) may request a waiver for a single educational 
opportunity school or for a consortium of such schools.
    ``(c) Application Contents.--Each application described in 
subsection (a) shall include--
            ``(1) a description of the educational program to be 
        implemented by the proposed educational opportunity school, 
        including--
                    ``(A) the grade levels or ages of children to be 
                served; and
                    ``(B) the curriculum and instructional practices to 
                be used;
            ``(2) a description of the objectives of the local 
        educational agency and a description of how such agency intends 
        to monitor and study the progress of children participating in 
        the educational opportunity school;
            ``(3) a description of how the local educational agency 
        intends to include in the educational opportunity school 
        administrators, teaching personnel, and role models from the 
        private sector;
            ``(4) a description of how school administrators, parents, 
        teachers, local government, and volunteers will be involved in 
        the design and implementation of the educational opportunity 
        school;
            ``(5) a justification for the waiver or inapplicability of 
        any Federal statutory or regulatory requirements that the local 
        educational agency believes are necessary for the successful 
        operation of the educational opportunity school and a 
        description of any State or local statutory or regulatory 
        requirements, that will be waived for, or will not apply to, 
        the educational opportunity school, if necessary;
            ``(6) a description of how students in attendance at the 
        educational opportunity school, or in the community, will be--
                    ``(A) informed about such school; and
                    ``(B) informed about the fact that admission to 
                same gender classes is completely voluntary;
            ``(7) an assurance that the local educational agency will 
        annually provide the Secretary such information as the 
        Secretary may require to determine if the educational 
        opportunity school is making satisfactory progress toward 
        achieving the objectives described in paragraph (2);
            ``(8) an assurance that the local educational agency will 
        cooperate with the Secretary in evaluating the waivers issued 
        under this part;
            ``(9) assurances that resources shall be used equally for 
        same gender classes for boys and for girls;
            ``(10) assurances that the activities assisted under this 
        part will not have an adverse affect, on either sex, that is 
        caused by--
                    ``(A) the distribution of teachers between same 
                gender classes for boys and for girls;
                    ``(B) the quality of facilities for boys and for 
                girls;
                    ``(C) the nature of the curriculum for boys and for 
                girls;
                    ``(D) program activities for boys and for girls; 
                and
                    ``(E) instruction for boys and for girls;
            ``(11) an assurance that the local educational agency will 
        comply with the research and evaluation protocols developed by 
        the Secretary under section 1706(a); and
            ``(12) such other information and assurances as the 
        Secretary may require.

``SEC. 1705. SELECTION OF GRANTEES.

    ``The Secretary shall issue waivers under this part on the basis of 
the quality of the applications submitted under section 1704, taking 
into consideration such factors as--
            ``(1) the quality of the proposed curriculum and 
        instructional practices;
            ``(2) the organizational structure and management of the 
        school;
            ``(3) the quality of the plan for assessing the progress 
        made by children in same gender classes over the period of the 
        waiver;
            ``(4) the extent of community support for the application;
            ``(5) the likelihood that the educational opportunity 
        school will meet the objectives of such school and improve 
        educational results for students; and
            ``(6) the assurances submitted pursuant to section 
        1704(c)(10).

``SEC. 1706. STUDY AND REPORT.

    ``(a) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a study of the waivers 
issued under this part, including establishing appropriate research and 
evaluation protocols, to compare the educational and behavioral 
achievement of those students choosing same gender classes established 
under this part and those students choosing the coeducational option.
    ``(b) Report.--The Secretary shall submit, within 1 year after the 
date of enactment of the Educational Opportunity Demonstration Act, a 
report to the appropriate committees of the Congress regarding the 
findings of the study conducted under subsection (a).

``SEC. 1707. CONSTRUCTION.

    ``Nothing in this part shall be construed to affect the 
availability under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 of 
remedies to overcome the effects of past discrimination on the basis of 
sex.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Committee of practitioners.--Section 1111(c)(5) of such 
        Act (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)(5)) is amended by striking ``section 
        1603(b)'' and inserting ``section 1703(b)''.
            (2) State assistance for school support and improvement.--
        Section 1117(a)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6318(a)(2)) is 
        amended by striking ``section 1603(c)'' and inserting ``section 
        1703(c)''.
            (3) State applications.--Section 1304(c)(2) of such Act (20 
        U.S.C. 6394(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``part F'' and 
        inserting ``part G''.
            (4) Use of funds.--Section 1415(a)(2)(C) of such Act (20 
        U.S.C. 6435(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ``part F'' and 
        inserting ``part G''.
            (5) State data.--The matter preceding subparagraph (A) of 
        section 14204(a)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 8824(a)(2)) is 
        amended by striking ``section 1603'' and inserting ``section 
        1703''.
                                 <all>