[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1649 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1649

 To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to reduce the 
  size of core curriculum classes in public elementary and secondary 
                    schools, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2009

 Mr. Meek of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to reduce the 
  size of core curriculum classes in public elementary and secondary 
                    schools, 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 ``High-Quality Education Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Tennessee's wide-ranging and research-intensive STAR 
        project began in the mid-1980's when the Tennessee legislature 
        funded an initial 4-year study seeking to compare achievements 
        for early grade students who would be assigned randomly to a 
        standard-sized class, a standard-sized class with a teacher 
        aide, or a class with reduced size. Several new analyses of the 
        Tennessee STAR program show that reducing class size has both 
        immediate and long-term benefits.
            (2) Research shows that the benefits of participating in 
        small classes increase from year to year, both in the early 
        grades when classes are small and in subsequent years when 
        students are placed in larger classes.
            (3) Further, follow-up studies of the same students show 
        that high-school students who were in small classes in first 
        through third grades beginning in 1985 were less likely to be 
        held back a year or suspended compared with their peers from 
        larger classes.
            (4) The students from small classes were found to be making 
        better grades in high school and taking more advanced courses.
            (5) The State of Wisconsin passed legislation in 1995 to 
        phase in reduction of classes to 15 students in low-wealth 
        schools. A January 2003 study of that program, called SAGE, 
        revealed that average test scores in smaller first grade 
        classes increased 12 to 14 percent more than scores of students 
        in regular classes.
            (6) Research further shows that at the end of fifth grade, 
        students who were in small classes in first through third 
        grades were about half a school year (5 months) ahead of 
        students from larger classes in all core subjects--reading, 
        language arts, math, and science.
            (7) In 1999, the Department of Education reported that 
        studies have consistently identified a positive relationship 
        between reduced class size and improved student performance. 
        The National Assessment on Educational Progress, the Economic 
        Policy Institute, RAND, the Educational Testing Service, the 
        American Institute of Research, and many other respected 
        organizations have reached similar conclusions.
            (8) In smaller classes, teachers spend more time on 
        instruction and less time on discipline problems, reporting 
        that they know their students better, know where each child is 
        in the learning process, and can provide more individualized 
        instruction.
            (9) Smaller classes lead to better identification of 
        students who need special help, increased student participation 
        and engagement, improved student behavior, and reduced 
        retention of students in the same grade.
            (10) Outcomes associated with small classes are the 
        foundation of safe schools: improved student behavior and human 
        relations skills, increased participation in schooling and 
        school-sanctioned events, increased sense of community in small 
        classes, and generally improved school climate where students, 
        teachers, and parents feel more comfortable.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to assist States to 
proactively attempt to lower class size in order to provide students 
and teachers with an educational environment more conducive to optimal 
student performance.

SEC. 3. CLASS SIZE REDUCTION MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grants.--The Secretary of Education may make grants to eligible 
entities to reduce the size of core curriculum classes in public 
elementary and secondary schools.
    (b) Eligible Entity Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
entity'' means any State, or any local educational agency in a State 
that is not a grantee under this section, that meets the following:
            (1) The State or local educational agency has in effect a 
        class size reduction program that--
                    (A) applies to all public elementary and secondary 
                schools served by the State or local educational 
                agency, respectively; and
                    (B) may be targeted to specific school populations 
                based on need, socioeconomic factors, or school-age 
                population.
            (2) The State or local educational agency has funding in 
        its annual budget specifically allocated for the program 
        described in paragraph (1).
            (3) The average core curriculum class size at schools 
        served by the State or local educational agency--
                    (A) in kindergarten through third grade, is greater 
                than 18 students;
                    (B) in fourth through eighth grade, is greater than 
                22 students; or
                    (C) in ninth through twelfth grade, is greater than 
                25 students.
    (c) Use of Funds.--The Secretary may not make a grant under this 
section unless the grantee agrees to use the grant for the following:
            (1) Constructing new classroom space.
            (2) Hiring additional teachers.
            (3) Purchasing portable structures to replace 
        administrative offices converted into classroom space.
    (d) Restrictions.--The Secretary may not make a grant under this 
section unless the grantee agrees that funds received under the grant 
will not be used for any of the following:
            (1) To pay any long-term financing obligations such as 
        bonding.
            (2) To pay any administrative costs or fees.
    (e) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
may give priority to eligible entities that serve schools in which--
            (1) more than 17 percent of the students older than 4 and 
        younger than 18 years of age are from families with incomes 
        below the poverty line; or
            (2) the average core curriculum class size is higher, 
        particularly in the primary grades, than the average core 
        curriculum class size at schools served by other grant 
        applicants for the fiscal year.
    (f) Matching Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may not make a grant under 
        this section unless the grantee agrees to make available 
        (directly or through donations from public or private entities) 
        non-Federal contributions toward the costs of the activities 
        under the grant in an amount that is not less than $2 for each 
        $1 provided by the Secretary in the grant.
            (2) Determination of amount contributed.--Non-Federal 
        contributions required in paragraph (1) may be in cash or in 
        kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or 
        services. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or 
        services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by 
        the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the 
        amount of such non-Federal contributions.
    (g) Application.--
            (1) Submission.--To seek a grant under this section, an 
        eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary in 
        such form, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require.
            (2) Contents.--An application for a grant under this 
        section shall include the following:
                    (A) Certification of the average core curriculum 
                class size at schools served by the eligible entity for 
                each of the grade ranges that--
                            (i) are described in subsection (b)(3); and
                            (ii) will be served by the entity's class 
                        size reduction program.
                    (B) Certification of the eligible entity's actual 
                and expected expenditures for the entity's class size 
                reduction program for the fiscal year involved.
                    (C) A description of the eligible entity's class 
                size reduction program and the program's goals.
                    (D) A description of how the eligible entity 
                intends to use funds received under the grant.
                    (E) In the case of an eligible entity that has 
                already received a grant under this section, the 
                entity's progress in achieving the goals of its class 
                size reduction program, particularly relative to high 
                poverty areas.
            (3) Deadline.--The Secretary shall establish a deadline for 
        the submission of applications for a grant under this section.
    (h) Other Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``average core curriculum class size'' means 
        the number that is--
                    (A) equal to the sum of the number of students in 
                each core curriculum class (including for each school 
                term and period of instruction) divided by the total 
                number of such classes; and
                    (B) is based on the ratio of physical class rooms 
                to students, irrespective of the ratio of teachers to 
                students.
            (2) The term ``core curriculum class'' means a class in any 
        of the following subjects:
                    (A) Mathematics.
                    (B) Science.
                    (C) Reading, language arts, or English, including 
                English for speakers of other languages.
                    (D) Social studies, including history, civics, 
                political science, government, geography, and 
                economics.
                    (E) Foreign language.
            (3) The terms ``local educational agency'' and ``poverty 
        line'' have the meanings given those terms in section 9101 of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
            (4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Education.
            (5) The term ``State'' includes the several States, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, 
        Guam, the Virgin Islands, any other territory or possession of 
        the United States, and any Indian tribe (as that term is 
        defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
    (i) Funding.--
            (1) Biannual payments.--The Secretary shall make payments 
        to each grantee under this section on a biannual basis.
            (2) Limitation.--For any fiscal year, the Secretary may not 
        make a payment to any grantee under this section in an amount 
        that exceeds the lesser of the following:
                    (A) An amount that is 20 percent of the total 
                amount appropriated to carry out this section for the 
                fiscal year.
                    (B) $200,000,000.
                                 <all>