[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2428 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2428

  To provide for educational opportunities for all students in State 
             public school systems, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 17, 2004

   Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Reed, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. 
Clinton, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Reid, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Stabenow, 
 Mr. Corzine, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for educational opportunities for all students in State 
             public school systems, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Student Bill of Rights''.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Findings and purposes.
    TITLE I--EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS

             Subtitle A--Access to Educational Opportunity

Sec. 101. State public school systems.
Sec. 102. Fundamentals of educational opportunity.
                    Subtitle B--State Accountability

Sec. 111. State accountability plan.
Sec. 112. Consequences of failure to meet requirements.
             Subtitle C--Report to Congress and the Public

Sec. 121. Annual report on State public school systems.
                           Subtitle D--Remedy

Sec. 131. Civil action for enforcement.
  TITLE II--EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND 
                            NATIONAL DEFENSE

Sec. 201. Effects on economic growth and productivity.
Sec. 202. Effects on national defense.
                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Definitions.
Sec. 302. Rulemaking.
Sec. 303. Construction.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) A high-quality, highly competitive education for all 
        students is imperative for the economic growth and productivity 
        of the United States, for its effective national defense, and 
        to achieve the historical aspiration to be one Nation of equal 
        citizens. It is therefore necessary and proper to overcome the 
        nationwide phenomenon of State public school systems that do 
        not meet the requirements of section 101(a), in which high-
        quality public schools typically serve high-income communities 
        and poor-quality schools typically serve low-income, urban, 
        rural, and minority communities.
            (2) There exists in the States a significant educational 
        opportunity gap for low-income, urban, rural, and minority 
        students characterized by the following:
                    (A) Continuing disparities within States in 
                students' access to the fundamentals of educational 
                opportunity described in section 102.
                    (B) Highly differential educational expenditures 
                (adjusted for cost and need) among school districts 
                within States.
                    (C) Radically differential educational achievement 
                among students in school districts within States as 
                measured by the following:
                            (i) Achievement in mathematics, reading or 
                        language arts, and science on State academic 
                        assessments required under section 1111(b)(3) 
                        of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
                        of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) and on the 
                        National Assessment of Educational Progress.
                            (ii) Advanced placement courses taken.
                            (iii) SAT and ACT test scores.
                            (iv) Dropout rates and graduation rates.
                            (v) College-going and college-completion 
                        rates.
                            (vi) Job placement and retention rates and 
                        indices of job quality.
            (3) As a consequence of this educational opportunity gap, 
        the quality of a child's education depends largely upon where 
        the child's family can afford to live, and the detriments of 
        lower quality education are imposed particularly on--
                    (A) children from low-income families;
                    (B) children living in urban and rural areas; and
                    (C) minority children.
            (4) Since 1785, Congress, exercising the power to admit new 
        States under section 3 of article IV of the Constitution (and 
        previously, the Congress of the Confederation of States under 
        the Articles of Confederation), has imposed upon every State, 
        as a fundamental condition of the State's admission, that the 
        State provide for the establishment and maintenance of systems 
        of public schools open to all children in such State.
            (5) Over the years since the landmark ruling in Brown v. 
        Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 493 (1954), when a unanimous 
        Supreme Court held that ``the opportunity of an education..., 
        where the State has undertaken to provide it, is a right which 
        must be made available to all on equal terms'', courts in 44 
        States have heard challenges to the establishment, maintenance, 
        and operation of State public school systems that are separate 
        and not educationally adequate.
            (6) In 1970, the Presidential Commission on School Finance 
        found that significant disparities in the distribution of 
        educational resources existed among school districts within 
        States because the States relied too significantly on local 
        district financing for educational revenues, and that reforms 
        in systems of school financing would increase the Nation's 
        ability to serve the educational needs of all children.
            (7) In 1999, the National Research Council of the National 
        Academy of Sciences published a report entitled ``Making Money 
        Matter, Financing America's Schools'', which found that the 
        concept of funding adequacy, which moves beyond the more 
        traditional concepts of finance equity to focus attention on 
the sufficiency of funding for desired educational outcomes, is an 
important step in developing a fair and productive educational system.
            (8) In 2001, the Executive Order establishing the 
        President's Commission on Educational Resource Equity declared, 
        ``A quality education is essential to the success of every 
        child in the 21st century and to the continued strength and 
        prosperity of our Nation. . . . [L]ong-standing gaps in access 
        to educational resources exist, including disparities based on 
        race and ethnicity.'' (Exec. Order No. 13190, 66 Fed. Reg. 5424 
        (2001)).
            (9) According to the Secretary of Education, as stated in a 
        letter (with enclosures) from the Secretary to States dated 
        January 19, 2001--
                    (A) racial and ethnic minorities continue to suffer 
                from lack of access to educational resources, including 
                ``experienced and qualified teachers, adequate 
                facilities, and instructional programs and support, 
                including technology, as well as...the funding 
                necessary to secure these resources''; and
                    (B) these inadequacies are ``particularly acute in 
                high-poverty schools, including urban schools, where 
                many students of color are isolated and where the 
                effect of the resource gaps may be cumulative. In other 
                words, students who need the most may often receive the 
                least, and these students often are students of 
                color.''.
            (10) In the amendments made by the No Child Left Behind Act 
        of 2001, Congress--
                    (A)(i) required each State to establish standards 
                and assessments in mathematics, reading or language 
                arts, and science; and
                    (ii) required schools to ensure that all students 
                are proficient in mathematics, reading or language 
                arts, and science not later than 12 years after the end 
                of the 2001-2002 school year, and held schools 
                accountable for the students' progress; and
                    (B) required each State to describe how the State 
                will help local educational agencies and schools to 
                develop the capacity to improve student academic 
                achievement.
            (11) The standards and accountability movement will succeed 
        only if, in addition to standards and accountability, all 
        schools have access to the educational resources necessary to 
        enable students to achieve.
            (12) Raising standards without ensuring access to 
        educational resources may in fact exacerbate achievement gaps 
        and set children up for failure.
            (13) According to the World Economic Forum's Global 
        Competitiveness Report 2001-2002, the United States ranks last 
        among developed countries in the difference in the quality of 
        schools available to rich and poor children.
            (14) The persistence of pervasive inadequacies in the 
        quality of education provided by State public school systems 
        effectively deprives millions of children throughout the United 
        States of the opportunity for an education adequate to enable 
        the children to--
                    (A) acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for 
                responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy, 
                including the ability to participate fully in the 
                political process through informed electoral choice;
                    (B) meet challenging student academic achievement 
                standards; and
                    (C) be able to compete and succeed in a global 
                economy.
            (15) Each State government has ultimate authority to 
        determine every important aspect and priority of the public 
        school system that provides elementary and secondary education 
        to children in the State, including whether students throughout 
        the State have access to the fundamentals of educational 
        opportunity described in section 102.
            (16) Because a well educated populace is critical to the 
        Nation's political and economic well-being and national 
        security, the Federal Government has a substantial interest in 
        ensuring that States provide a high-quality education by 
        ensuring that all students have access to the fundamentals of 
        educational opportunity described in section 102 to enable the 
        students to succeed academically and in life.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To further the goals of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (as amended by the No Child Left Behind 
        Act of 2001), by holding States accountable for providing all 
        students with access to the fundamentals of educational 
        opportunity described in section 102.
            (2) To ensure that all students in public elementary 
        schools and secondary schools receive educational opportunities 
        that enable such students to--
                    (A) acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for 
                responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy, 
                including the ability to participate fully in the 
                political process through informed electoral choice;
                    (B) meet challenging student academic achievement 
                standards; and
                    (C) be able to compete and succeed in a global 
                economy.
            (3) To end the pervasive pattern of States maintaining 
        public school systems that do not meet the requirements of 
        section 101(a).

    TITLE I--EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS

             Subtitle A--Access to Educational Opportunity

SEC. 101. STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

    (a) Requirements.--Each State receiving Federal financial 
assistance for elementary or secondary education shall ensure that the 
State's public school system provides all students within the State 
with an education that enables the students to acquire the knowledge 
and skills necessary for responsible citizenship in a diverse 
democracy, including the ability to participate fully in the 
political process through informed electoral choice, to meet 
challenging student academic achievement standards, and to be able to 
compete and succeed in a global economy, through--
            (1) the provision of fundamentals of educational 
        opportunity described in section 102, at adequate or ideal 
        levels as defined by the State under section 111(a)(1)(A) to 
        students at each public elementary school and secondary school 
        in the State;
            (2) the provision of educational services in school 
        districts that receive funds under part A of title I of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 
        et seq.) that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to 
        educational services provided in school districts not receiving 
        such funds; and
            (3) compliance with any final Federal or State court order 
        in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the 
        State's public school system.
    (b) Determinations Concerning State Public School Systems.--Not 
later than October 1 of each year, the Secretary shall determine 
whether each State maintains a public school system that meets the 
requirements of subsection (a). The Secretary may make a determination 
that a State public school system does not meet such requirements only 
after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
    (c) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish and make available to 
the general public (including by means of the Internet) the 
determinations made under subsection (b).

SEC. 102. FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.

    The fundamentals of educational opportunity are the following:
            (1) Highly qualified teachers, principals, and academic 
        support personnel.--
                    (A) Highly qualified teachers.--Instruction from 
                highly qualified teachers in core academic subjects.
                    (B) Highly qualified principals.--Leadership, 
                management, and guidance from principals who meet State 
                certification standards.
                    (C) Highly qualified academic support personnel.--
                Necessary additional academic support in reading or 
                language arts, mathematics, and other core academic 
                subjects from personnel who meet applicable State 
                standards.
            (2) Rigorous academic standards, curricula, and methods of 
        instruction.--Rigorous academic standards, curricula, and 
        methods of instruction, as measured by the extent to which each 
        school district succeeds in providing high-quality academic 
        standards, curricula, and methods of instruction to students in 
        each public elementary school and secondary school within the 
        district.
            (3) Small class sizes.--Small class sizes, as measured by--
                    (A) the average class size and the range of class 
                sizes; and
                    (B) the percentage of classes with 17 or fewer 
                students.
            (4) Textbooks, instructional materials, and supplies.--
        Textbooks, instructional materials, and supplies, as measured 
        by--
                    (A) the average age and quality of textbooks, 
                instructional materials, and supplies used in core 
                academic subjects; and
                    (B) the percentage of students who begin the school 
                year with school-issued textbooks, instructional 
                materials, and supplies.
            (5) Library resources.--Library resources, as measured by--
                    (A) the size and qualifications of the library's 
                staff, including whether the library is staffed by a 
                full-time librarian certified under applicable State 
                standards;
                    (B) the size (relative to the number of students) 
                and quality (including age) of the library's collection 
                of books and periodicals; and
                    (C) the library's hours of operation.
            (6) School facilities and computer technology.--
                    (A) Quality school facilities.--Quality school 
                facilities, as measured by--
                            (i) the physical condition of school 
                        buildings and major school building features;
                            (ii) environmental conditions in school 
                        buildings; and
                            (iii) the quality of instructional space.
                    (B) Computer technology.--Computer technology, as 
                measured by--
                            (i) the ratio of computers to students;
                            (ii) the quality of computers and software 
                        available to students;
                            (iii) Internet access;
                            (iv) the quality of system maintenance and 
                        technical assistance for the computers; and
                            (v) the number of computer laboratory 
                        courses taught by qualified computer 
                        instructors.
            (7) Quality guidance counseling.--Qualified guidance 
        counselors, as measured by the ratio of students to qualified 
        guidance counselors who have been certified under an applicable 
        State or national program.

                    Subtitle B--State Accountability

SEC. 111. STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN.

    (a) General Plan.--
            (1) Contents.--Each State receiving Federal financial 
        assistance for elementary and secondary education shall 
        annually submit to the Secretary a plan, developed by the State 
        educational agency, in consultation with local educational 
        agencies, teachers, principals, pupil services personnel, 
        administrators, other staff, and parents, that contains the 
        following:
                    (A) A description of 2 levels of high access 
                (adequate and ideal) to each of the fundamentals of 
                educational opportunity described in section 102 that 
                measure how well the State, through school districts, 
                public elementary schools, and public secondary 
                schools, is achieving the purposes of this Act by 
                providing children with the resources they need to 
                succeed academically and in life.
                    (B) A description of a third level of access 
                (basic) to each of the fundamentals of educational 
                opportunity described in section 102 that measures how 
                well the State, through school districts, public 
                elementary schools, and public secondary schools, is 
                achieving the purposes of this Act by providing 
                children with the resources they need to succeed 
                academically and in life.
                    (C) A description of the level of access of each 
                school district, public elementary school, and public 
                secondary school in the State to each of the 
                fundamentals of educational opportunity described in 
                section 102, including identification of any such 
                schools that lack high access (as described in 
                subparagraph (A)) to any of the fundamentals.
                    (D) An estimate of the additional cost, if any, of 
                ensuring that the system meets the requirements of 
                section 101(a).
                    (E) Information stating the percentage of students 
                in each school district, public elementary school, and 
                public secondary school in the State that are 
                proficient in mathematics, reading or language arts, 
                and science, as measured through assessments 
                administered as described in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) 
                of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)).
                    (F) Information stating whether each school 
                district, public elementary school, and public 
                secondary school in the State is making adequate yearly 
                progress, as defined under section 1111(b)(2) of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)).
                    (G)(i) For each school district, public elementary 
                school, and public secondary school in the State, 
                information stating--
                            (I) the number and percentage of children 
                        counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary 
                        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        6333(c)); and
                            (II) the number and percentage of students 
                        described in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the 
                        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                        (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)).
                    (ii) For each such school district, information 
                stating whether the district is an urban, mixed, or 
                rural district (as defined by the National Center for 
                Education Statistics).
            (2) Levels of access.--For purposes of the plan submitted 
        under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in defining basic, adequate, and ideal levels 
                of access to each of the fundamentals of educational 
                opportunity, each State shall consider, in addition to 
                the factors described in section 102, the access 
                available to students in the highest-achieving decile 
                of public elementary schools and secondary schools, the 
                unique needs of low-income, urban and rural, and 
                minority students, and other educationally appropriate 
                factors; and
                    (B) the levels of access described in subparagraphs 
                (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall be aligned with the 
                challenging academic content standards, challenging 
                student academic achievement standards, and high-
                quality academic assessments required under the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).
            (3) Information.--The State shall annually disseminate to 
        parents, in an understandable and uniform format, the 
        descriptions, estimate, and information described in paragraph 
        (1).
    (b) Accountability and Remediation.--
            (1) Accountability.--If the Secretary determines under 
        section 101(b) that a State maintains a public school system 
        that fails to meet the requirements of section 101(a)(1), the 
        plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) shall--
                    (A) demonstrate that the State has developed and is 
                implementing a single, statewide State accountability 
                system that will be effective in ensuring that the 
                State makes adequate yearly progress under this Act (as 
                defined by the State in a manner that annually reduces 
                the number of public elementary schools and secondary 
                schools in the State without high access (as described 
                in subsection (a)(1)(A)) to each of fundamentals of 
educational opportunity described in section 102);
                    (B) demonstrate, based on the levels of access 
                described in paragraph (1) what constitutes adequate 
                yearly progress of the State under this Act toward 
                providing all students with high access to the 
                fundamentals of educational opportunity described in 
                section 102; and
                    (C) ensure--
                            (i) the establishment of a timeline for 
                        that adequate yearly progress that includes 
                        interim yearly goals for the reduction of the 
                        number of public elementary schools and 
                        secondary schools in the State without high 
                        access to each of the fundamentals of 
                        educational opportunity described in section 
                        102; and
                            (ii) that not later than 12 years after the 
                        end of the 2001-2002 school year, each public 
                        elementary or secondary school in the State 
                        shall have high access to each of the 
                        fundamentals of educational opportunity 
                        described in section 102.
            (2) Remediation.--If the Secretary determines under section 
        101(b) that a State maintains a public school system that fails 
        to meet the requirements of section 101(a)(2), not later than 1 
        year after the Secretary makes the determination, the State 
        shall include in the plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) a 
        strategy to remediate the conditions that caused the Secretary 
        to make such determination, not later than the end of the 
        second school year beginning after submission of the plan.
    (c) Amendments.--A State may amend the plan submitted under 
subsection (a)(1) to improve the plan or to take into account 
significantly changed circumstances.
    (d) Disapproval.--The Secretary may disapprove the plan submitted 
under subsection (a)(1) (or an amendment to such a plan) if the 
Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that 
the plan (or amendment) is inadequate to meet the requirements 
described in subsections (a) and (b).
    (e) Waiver.--
            (1) In general.--A State may request, and the Secretary may 
        grant, a waiver of the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) 
        for 1 year for exceptional circumstances, such as a precipitous 
        decrease in State revenues, or another circumstance that the 
        Secretary determines to be exceptional, that prevents a State 
        from complying with the requirements of subsections (a) and 
        (b).
            (2) Contents of waiver request.--A State that requests a 
        waiver under paragraph (1) shall include in the request--
                    (A) a description of the exceptional circumstance 
                that prevents the State from complying with the 
                requirements of subsections (a) and (b); and
                    (B) a plan that details the manner in which the 
                State will comply with such requirements by the end of 
                the waiver period.

SEC. 112. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Interim Yearly Goals.--
            (1) In general.--For a fiscal year and a State described in 
        section 111(b)(1), the Secretary shall withhold from the State 
        2.75 percent of funds otherwise available to the State for the 
        administration of Federal elementary and secondary education 
        programs, for each covered goal that the Secretary determines 
        the State is not meeting during that year.
            (2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``covered 
        goal'', used with respect to a fiscal year, means an interim 
        yearly goal described in section 111(b)(1)(C)(i) that is 
        applicable to that year or a prior fiscal year.
    (b) Consequences of Nonremediation.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, if the Secretary determines that a State required to 
include a strategy under section 111(b)(2) continues to maintain a 
public school system that does not meet the requirements of section 
101(a)(2) at the end of the second school year described in section 
111(b)(2), the Secretary shall withhold from the State not more than 
33\1/3\ percent of funds otherwise available to the State for the 
administration of Federal elementary and secondary education programs 
until the Secretary determines that the State maintains a public school 
system that meets the requirements of section 101(a)(2).
    (c) Consequences of Noncompliance With Court Orders.--If the 
Secretary determines under section 101(b) that a State maintains a 
public school system that fails to meet the requirements of section 
101(a)(3), the Secretary shall withhold from the State not more than 
33\1/3\ percent of funds otherwise available to the State for the 
administration of Federal elementary and secondary education programs.
    (d) Disposition of Funds Withheld.--
            (1) Determination.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        Secretary withholds funds from a State under this section, the 
        Secretary shall determine whether the State has corrected the 
        condition that led to the withholding.
            (2) Disposition.--
                    (A) Correction.--If the Secretary determines under 
                paragraph (1), that the State has corrected the 
                condition that led to the withholding, the Secretary 
                shall make the withheld funds available to the State to 
                use for the original purpose of the funds during 1 or 
                more fiscal years specified by the Secretary.
                    (B) Noncorrection.--If the Secretary determines 
                under paragraph (1), that the State has not corrected 
                the condition that led to the withholding, the 
                Secretary shall allocate the withheld funds to public 
                school districts, public elementary schools, or public 
                secondary schools in the State that are most adversely 
                affected by the condition that led to the withholding, 
                to enable the districts or schools to correct the 
                condition during 1 or more fiscal years specified by 
                the Secretary.
            (3) Availability.--Amounts made available or allocated 
        under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) shall remain 
        available during the fiscal years specified by the Secretary 
        under that subparagraph.

             Subtitle C--Report to Congress and the Public

SEC. 121. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

    (a) Annual Report to Congress.--Not later than October 1 of each 
year, beginning the year after completion of the first full school year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report that includes a full and complete analysis of the 
public school system of each State.
    (b) Contents of Report.--The analysis conducted under subsection 
(a) shall include the following:
            (1) Public school system information.--The following 
        information related to the public school system of each State:
                    (A) The number of school districts, public 
                elementary schools, public secondary schools, and 
                students in the system.
                    (B)(i) For each such school district and school--
                            (I) information stating the number and 
                        percentage of children counted under section 
                        1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary 
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and
                            (II) the number and percentage of students, 
                        disaggregated by groups described in section 
                        1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and 
                        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)).
                    (ii) For each such district, information stating 
                whether the district is an urban, mixed, or rural 
                district (as defined by the National Center for 
                Education Statistics).
                    (C) The average per-pupil expenditure (both in 
                actual dollars and adjusted for cost and need) for the 
                State and for each school district in the State.
                    (D) Each school district's decile ranking as 
                measured by achievement in mathematics, reading or 
                language arts, and science on State academic 
                assessments required under section 1111(b)(3) of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) and on the National Assessment of 
                Educational Progress.
                    (E) For each school district, public elementary 
                school, and public secondary school--
                            (i) the level of access (as described in 
                        section 111(a)(1)) to each of the fundamentals 
                        of educational opportunity described in section 
                        102;
                            (ii) the percentage of students that are 
                        proficient in mathematics, reading or language 
                        arts, and science, as measured through 
                        assessments administered as described in 
                        section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the Elementary and 
                        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        6311(b)(3)(C)(v)); and
                            (iii) whether the school district or school 
                        is making adequate yearly progress--
                                    (I) as defined under section 
                                1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and 
                                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                                U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)); and
                                    (II) as defined by the State under 
                                section 111(b)(1)(A).
                    (F) For each State, the number of public elementary 
                schools and secondary schools that lack, and names of 
                each such school that lacks, high access (as described 
                in section 111(a)(1)(A)) to any of the fundamentals of 
                educational opportunity described in section 102.
                    (G) For the year covered by the report, a summary 
                of any changes in the data required in subparagraphs 
                (A) through (F) for each of the preceding 3 years 
                (which may be based on such data as are available, for 
                the first 3 reports submitted under subsection (a)).
                    (H) Such other information as the Secretary 
                considers useful and appropriate.
            (2) State actions.--For each State that the Secretary 
        determines under section 101(b) maintains a public school 
        system that fails to meet the requirements of section 101(a), a 
        detailed description and evaluation of the success of any 
        actions taken by the State, and measures proposed to be taken 
        by the State, to meet the requirements.
            (3) State plans.--A copy of each State's most recent plan 
        submitted under section 111(a)(1).
            (4) Relationship between compliance and achievement.--An 
        analysis of the relationship between meeting the requirements 
        of section 101(a) and improving student academic achievement, 
        as measured on State academic assessments required under 
        section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)).
    (c) Scope of Report.--The report required under subsection (a) 
shall cover the school year ending in the calendar year in which the 
report is required to be submitted.
    (d) Submission of Data to Secretary.--Each State receiving Federal 
financial assistance for elementary and secondary education shall 
submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the 
Secretary may reasonably require, such data as the Secretary determines 
to be necessary to make a determination under section 101(b) and to 
submit the report under this section. Such data shall include the 
information used to measure the State's success in providing the 
fundamentals of educational opportunity described in section 102.
    (e) Failure To Submit Data.--If a State fails to submit the data 
that the Secretary determines to be necessary to make a determination 
under section 101(b) regarding whether the State maintains a public 
school system that meets the requirements of section 101(a)--
            (1) such State's public school system shall be deemed not 
        to have met the applicable requirements until the State submits 
        such data and the Secretary is able to make such determination 
        under section 101(b); and
            (2) the Secretary shall provide, to the extent practicable, 
        the analysis required in subsection (a) for the State based on 
        the best data available to the Secretary.
    (f) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish and make available to 
the general public (including by means of the Internet) the report 
required under subsection (a).

                           Subtitle D--Remedy

SEC. 131. CIVIL ACTION FOR ENFORCEMENT.

    A student or parent of a student aggrieved by a violation of this 
Act may bring a civil action against the appropriate official in an 
appropriate Federal district court seeking declaratory or injunctive 
relief to enforce the requirements of this Act, together with 
reasonable attorney's fees and the costs of the action.

  TITLE II--EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND 
                            NATIONAL DEFENSE

SEC. 201. EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY.

    (a) Study.--The Commissioner for Education Statistics, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, 
Secretary of the Treasury, and the National Research Council of the 
National Academy of Sciences, shall conduct a comprehensive study 
concerning the effects on economic growth and productivity of ensuring 
that each State public school system meets the requirements of section 
101(a). Such study shall include assessments of--
            (1) the economic costs to the Nation resulting from the 
        maintenance by States of public school systems that do not meet 
        the requirements of section 101(a);
            (2) the economic gains to be expected from States' 
        compliance with the requirements of section 101(a); and
            (3) the costs, if any, of ensuring that each State 
        maintains a public school system that meets the requirements of 
        section 101(a).
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner for Education Statistics shall 
submit to Congress a final report detailing the results of the study 
required under subsection (a).

SEC. 202. EFFECTS ON NATIONAL DEFENSE.

    (a) Study.--The Commissioner for Education Statistics, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct a 
comprehensive study concerning the effects on national defense of 
ensuring that each State public school system meets the requirements of 
section 101(a). Such study shall include assessments of--
            (1) the detriments to national defense resulting from the 
        maintenance by States of public school systems that do not meet 
        the requirements of section 101(a), including the effects on--
                    (A) knowledge and skills necessary for the 
                effective functioning of the Armed Forces;
                    (B) the costs to the Armed Forces of training; and
                    (C) efficiency resulting from the use of 
                sophisticated equipment and information technology; and
            (2) the gains to national defense to be expected from 
        ensuring that each State public school system meets the 
        requirements of section 101(a).
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner for Education Statistics shall 
submit to Congress a final report detailing the results of the study 
required under subsection (a).

                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Referenced terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', 
        ``secondary school'', ``local educational agency'', ``highly 
        qualified'', ``core academic subjects'', ``parent'', and 
        ``average per-pupil expenditure'' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) Federal elementary and secondary education programs.--
        The term ``Federal elementary and secondary education 
        programs'' means programs providing Federal financial 
        assistance for elementary or secondary education, other than 
        programs under the following provisions of law:
                    (A) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
                (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
                    (B) Title III of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.).
                    (C) The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
                    (D) The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 
                et seq.).
            (3) Public school system.--The term ``public school 
        system'' means a State's system of public elementary and 
        secondary education.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico.

SEC. 302. RULEMAKING.

    The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this Act.

SEC. 303. CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a jurisdiction to 
increase its property tax or other tax rates or to redistribute 
revenues from such taxes.
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