[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 167 Introduced in Senate (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.
(6) Performance goals.--
(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.
(c) Application.--
(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.
In this Act:
(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.
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