II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2189 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 17, 2007 Mr. Dodd (for himself 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Student Bill of Rights.

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—ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY Sec. 101. State public school systems. Sec. 102. Fundamentals of educational opportunity. TITLE II—STATE ACCOUNTABILITY Sec. 201. State accountability plan. Sec. 202. Consequences of failure to meet requirements. TITLE III—REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE PUBLIC Sec. 301. Annual report on State public school systems. TITLE IV—REMEDY Sec. 401. Civil action for enforcement. TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 501. Definitions. Sec. 502. Rulemaking. Sec. 503. Construction.

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)In 2005, the National Academies found in their report Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future that the inadequate preparation of kindergarten through grade 12 students in science and mathematics, including the significant lack of teachers qualified to teach these subjects, threatens the economic prosperity of the United States. When students do not receive quality mathematics and science preparation in kindergarten through grade 12, they are not prepared to take advanced courses in these subjects at the postsecondary level, leaving the United States with a critical shortage of scientists and engineers—a shortfall being filled by professionals from other countries. (3)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. (4)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. (5)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. (6)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. (7)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. (8)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. (9)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)). (10)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.. (11)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. (12)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. (13)Raising standards without ensuring access to educational resources may in fact exacerbate achievement gaps and set children up for failure. (14)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. (15)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. (16)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. (17)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).