1.Short title; table of
contents; purpose; definitions
(a)This Act may be cited as the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success
Act
or the A
PLUS Act
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; purpose;
definitions.
Sec. 2. Performance agreements.
Sec. 3. Programs eligible for consolidation and permissible use
of funds.
Sec. 4. Maintenance of academic performance standards;
accountability system.
Sec. 5. Maintenance of funding levels spent by States on
education.
Sec. 6. Administrative expenses.
Sec. 7. Equitable participation of private schools.
Sec. 8. Annual reports.
Sec. 9. Performance review and early termination.
(c)The
purpose of this Act is as follows:
(1)To give States
and local communities maximum flexibility to determine how to boost academic
achievement and implement education reforms.
(2)To reduce the
administrative costs and compliance burden of Federal education programs in
order to focus Federal resources on improving academic achievement.
(3)To ensure that
States and communities are accountable to the public for advancing the academic
achievement of all students, especially disadvantaged children.
(d)In
this Act:
(1)Except as otherwise provided, the terms used in this Act
have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.).
(2)The
term State has the meaning given the term in section 1122(e) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6332(e)).
2.
(a)In
accordance with this Act, the Secretary shall enter into performance agreements
with States under which, except as otherwise provided in this Act, States may
consolidate and use funds pursuant to section 3.
(b)Required terms
of performance agreementEach performance agreement entered into
by the Secretary under this Act shall include the following:
(1)The
performance agreement shall be for a period of 5 years. Such 5 year period
shall be determined by the State.
(2)Application of
program requirementsThe performance agreement shall provide that
no requirements of any program described in section 3 and included by the State
within the scope of the performance agreement shall apply to the State, except
as otherwise provided in this Act.
(3)The performance agreement shall list which of the
programs described in section 3 are included within the scope of the
performance agreement.
(4)Use of funds to
improve student achievementThe performance agreement shall
contain a 5-year plan describing how the State intends to combine and use the
funds from programs included within the scope of the performance agreement to
advance the education priorities of the State, improve student academic
achievement, and narrow achievement gaps.
(5)The performance agreement shall describe an accountability
system that meets the requirements of section 4.
(6)
(A)Student
academic achievementThe performance agreement shall require the
State to demonstrate the State's academic achievement goals and measures to be
achieved over the duration of the performance agreement.
(B)Consistency of
achievement measuresThe performance agreement shall require that
the State maintain, at a minimum, the same level of challenging State student
academic achievement standards and academic assessments throughout the duration
of the performance agreement.
(C)Reporting of
disaggregated dataThe performance agreement shall require the
State to report, in the annual report under section 8, data disaggregated in
the same manner as data are disaggregated under section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)).
(c)
(1)Each State desiring to enter into a performance agreement
with the Secretary under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary
at such time, and accompanied by such information, as the Secretary may
require.
(2)Each
such application shall contain—
(A)a proposed
performance agreement;
(B)a description of
the State's accountability system for the proposed performance agreement as
described in section 4;
(C)an assurance that
the State will use fiscal control and fund accounting procedures;
(D)an assurance that
the State will continue to pursue the goal of improving educational
opportunities for the disadvantaged; and
(E)an assurance that
not less than 2 of the following approved the proposed performance
agreement:
(i)The Governor of
the State.
(ii)The State
legislature.
(iii)The State
educational agency.
(d)Approval of
performance agreement
(1)Not later than 60 days after the receipt of a proposed
performance agreement submitted by a State, the Secretary shall approve the
performance agreement or provide the State with a written determination that
the performance agreement fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act.
(2)Each performance agreement for which the Secretary fails
to take the action required in paragraph (1) in the time period described in
such paragraph shall be considered to be approved.
(3)Requirement to
execute approved agreementsIn accordance with this Act, the
Secretary shall enter into each performance agreement approved under this
subsection.
(4)Disapproval of
performance agreementIf the State's performance agreement is
disapproved, then the State shall have 30 days to resubmit a revised
performance agreement. The Secretary shall approve the revised performance
agreement within 30 days of receipt of the revised performance agreement or
provide the State with a written determination that the revised performance
agreement fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act.
(e)The Secretary may not enter into a performance agreement
with a State under this section unless the performance agreement contains an
assurance that the State will meet the requirements of applicable Federal civil
rights laws in carrying out the performance agreement and in consolidating and
using the funds under the performance agreement.
(f)Amendment to
performance agreement
(1)In each of the following circumstances, the Secretary,
subject to approval under paragraph (2), shall agree to amend a performance
agreement entered into with a State under this Act:
(A)Reduction in
scope of performance agreementA State seeks to amend the
performance agreement to remove from the scope of the performance agreement any
program described in section 3.
(B)Expansion of
scope of performance agreementA State seeks to amend the
performance agreement to include within the scope of the performance agreement
any additional program described in section 3 or any additional measure of
accountability for which the State will be held accountable.
(2)
(A)Not later than 60 days after the receipt of a proposed
performance agreement amendment submitted by a State, the Secretary shall
approve the amendment or provide the State with a written determination that
the amendment fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act.
(B)Each amendment for which the Secretary fails to take the
action required in subparagraph (A) in the time period described in such
subparagraph shall be considered to be approved.
(3)Treatment of
program funds withdrawn from agreementBeginning on the effective
date of an amendment executed under paragraph (1)(A), each program requirement
of each program removed from the scope of a performance agreement shall apply
to the State's use of funds made available under the program.
3.Programs eligible
for consolidation and permissible use of funds
(a)A State may choose to include within the
scope of its performance agreement any program for which Congress makes funds
available to the State if the program is for a purpose described in section
1001 of the Elementary and Education Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6301).
(b)Funds made available to
a State pursuant to a performance agreement under this Act shall be used for
any educational purpose permitted by State law of the State participating in
the performance agreement.
4.Maintenance of
academic performance standards; accountability systemEach State consolidating and using funds
under this Act shall demonstrate an accountability system for the State's
performance agreement. The accountability system shall—
(1)utilize the State's adequate yearly
progress determination under section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)); or
(2)utilize another
measure of annual student progress relative to the State's determination of
student proficiency, if such measure—
(A)is used for the
entire 5-year duration of the performance agreement; and
(B)provides student
achievement data—
(i)in
terms of individual student progress over time; or
(ii)in
a comparison assessment.
5.Maintenance of
funding levels spent by States on educationFor each State consolidating and using funds
pursuant to a performance agreement under this Act, for each school year of the
performance agreement, the aggregate amount of funds spent by the State on
elementary and secondary education shall be not less than 90 percent of the
aggregate amount of funds spent by the State on elementary and secondary
education for the school year that coincides with the date of enactment of this
Act. If a State demonstrates that exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances,
such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the
financial resources of the State, prevent the State from complying with the
preceding sentence, the Secretary shall waive the applicability of the
preceding sentence to the State.
6.
(a)States
consolidating funds under part A of title IEach State that
includes part A of title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) within the scope of a performance agreement under
this Act may use, for administrative expenses, not more than 1 percent of the
total amount of funds made available to the State under the programs included
within the scope of the performance agreement.
(b)States not
consolidating funds under part A of title IEach State that does
not include part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 within the scope of a performance agreement under this Act may use, for
administrative expenses, not more than 3 percent of the total amount of funds
made available to the State under the programs included within the scope of the
performance agreement.
7.Participation by
private school children and teachersEach State consolidating and using funds
pursuant to a performance agreement under this Act shall provide for the
participation of private school children and teachers in the activities
assisted under the performance agreement in the same manner as participation is
provided to private school children and teachers under section 9501 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881).
8.
(a)Not later than 1 year after the execution of the
performance agreement, and annually thereafter, each State shall disseminate
widely to the parents, the general public, and the Secretary, a report that
includes—
(1)student
performance data disaggregated in the same manner as data are disaggregated
under section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)); and
(2)a description of
how the State has used Federal funds to improve academic achievement, narrow
the achievement gap, and improve educational opportunities for the
disadvantaged.
(b)Not later than 60 days after the Secretary receives a
report under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit that report to
Congress, together with any other information the Secretary considers
appropriate.
9.Performance
review and early termination
(a)For each State having in effect a
performance agreement under this Act, the Secretary shall carry out a review of
the performance agreement, at the midpoint of the duration of the performance
agreement, in order to determine whether the State has met the terms of the
performance agreement described in section 2.
(b)The Secretary may terminate a performance agreement,
before the duration of that performance agreement expires, if the State does
not, for 3 consecutive school years, meet the terms of the performance
agreement described in section 2.