[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 804 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 804

To amend subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 to establish incentives for States to extend the 
  minimum length of the school year to 200 full days by 2014, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 2, 2009

 Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 to establish incentives for States to extend the 
  minimum length of the school year to 200 full days by 2014, 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 ``School Day Factor Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the National Center for Education 
        Statistics the length of the average school year steadily 
        increased from 144 to 178 days between 1869 and 1949. In 2008, 
        the average number of school days per year remains at 178.5.
            (2) In 1983, a recommendation in the Nation at Risk report 
        was to increase students' instructional time by lengthening the 
        school day or the school year, as a means to strengthen our 
        Nation's grip on global competitiveness. Since then, no 
        systematic school day or school year increase has occurred.
            (3) In 2008, 42 States mandate a school year of 180 or 
        fewer days per year, or the equivalent thereof. Across States, 
        the number of school days per year ranges from 173 to 182.
            (4) Researchers have demonstrated that--
                    (A) when class material is covered in a 
                streamlined, shortened unit, students' conceptual 
                mastery of the content suffers; and
                    (B) significant learning requires investment of 
                time.
            (5) Research has demonstrated that all students are at risk 
        for losing educational gains during extended summer breaks in 
        the typical school calendar, particularly children from low 
        income households. The continued lack of out-of-school learning 
        opportunities contributes to a growing achievement gap. Even 
        more so than achievement gaps present at kindergarten, 
        differences in out-of-school learning opportunities experienced 
        by economically advantaged versus disadvantaged youth 
        contribute to the cumulative achievement difference registered 
        by 9th grade, which affects high school placements, high school 
        exit, and postsecondary school attendance.
            (6) Since 1991, over 300 expanded learning initiatives have 
        occurred, across 30 States, aimed primarily at schools with 
        high-poverty and high-minority student populations. Outcomes of 
        these initiatives include enhanced student achievement, lower 
        student and teacher absenteeism, and satisfaction of parents, 
        teachers, and students.
            (7) Research demonstrates that the increased school time is 
        beneficial not only for students, but also for teachers. 
        Teachers gain planning time, more opportunities for cooperative 
        planning, professional development opportunities, and 
        additional time to individualize instruction. Teacher 
        employment increases from part-year to up to full year, 
        depending on the calendar conversion adopted.
            (8) Regarding the costs of expanded learning initiatives, 
        the cost per hour of instruction decreases with the addition of 
        more learning time.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to ensure that all children have 
sufficient time to achieve in school, that all children have access to 
a high quality and well-rounded education, and that teachers have 
sufficient time to deliver quality instruction. Such purposes can be 
achieved by--
            (1) encouraging States to expand the minimum number of days 
        in their school year, to 200 full days, by 2014, without 
        reducing the length of the school day;
            (2) modifying the allocations under subpart 2 of part A of 
        title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
        (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.) regarding basic, concentration, 
        targeted, and education finance incentive grants, so that each 
        of the formulas used to determine allocations includes a factor 
        that reflects all of the following:
                    (A) the minimum number of school days in the State-
                mandated school year length;
                    (B) the most recent increase in the number of 
                school days in the State-mandated academic year; and
                    (C) whether the number of school days in an 
                academic year meets, exceeds, or falls short of the 
                base level school year length described in the 
                amendment made by this Act; and
            (3) encouraging States to increase the length of the school 
        day.

SEC. 4. SCHOOL DAY FACTOR.

    (a) Amendment.--Subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1128. SCHOOL DAY FACTOR.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Academic year.--The term `academic year' means the 
        period of time beginning with the first day of a school year 
        and ending on the last day of a school year, which typically 
        begins in the late summer and ends in the early summer.
            ``(2) Base level school year length.--The term `base level 
        school year length' means--
                    ``(A) 180 school days for the 2009-2010 academic 
                year;
                    ``(B) 185 school days for the 2010-2011 academic 
                year;
                    ``(C) 190 school days for the 2011-2012 academic 
                year;
                    ``(D) 195 school days for the 2012-2013 academic 
                year; and
                    ``(E) 200 school days for the 2013-2014 academic 
                year and for each succeeding academic year.
            ``(3) Instructional hours.--The term `instructional hours' 
        means the number of hours within the school day that are 
        directly devoted to student learning in core academic subjects.
            ``(4) School day.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `school day' means a 
                day for which attendance is mandatory for all students 
                attending an elementary school or secondary school in a 
                State, and in which a minimum of 5\1/2\ instructional 
                hours are delivered to students.
                    ``(B) Partial days.--Two days for which attendance 
                is mandatory for all students attending an elementary 
                school or secondary school in a State and in which less 
                than 5\1/2\ instructional hours per day are delivered 
                to students may be deemed to be 1 school day for 
                purposes of this section, if the total instructional 
                time for the 2 partial days meets or exceeds 5\1/2\ 
                instructional hours.
            ``(5) State-mandated school year length.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C), the term `State-mandated 
                school year length' means the minimum number of school 
                days an elementary school or secondary school student 
                is required by the State to attend school in an 
                academic year. In calculating the State-mandated school 
                year length, days that the State permits to be waived 
                due to teacher professional development, weather, or 
                other reasons shall not be counted.
                    ``(B) States that mandate minimum number of 
                instructional hours.--In the case of a State that does 
                not mandate a minimum number of school days for an 
                academic year and does mandate a minimum number of 
                instructional hours per academic year, the State-
                mandated school year length for such State shall be the 
                quotient of--
                            ``(i) the minimum number of mandated 
                        instructional hours per academic year, 
                        excluding hours that may be waived due to 
                        teacher professional development, weather, or 
                        other reasons; divided by
                            ``(ii) the greater of--
                                    ``(I) the average number of 
                                instructional hours per school day in 
                                the State's public elementary schools 
                                and secondary schools; or
                                    ``(II) 6\1/2\ hours.
                    ``(C) States that do not mandate minimum number of 
                days or hours.--In the case of a State that does not 
                mandate a minimum number of school days or a minimum 
                number of instructional hours per academic year, the 
                State-mandated school year length for such State shall 
                be the average number of school days that elementary 
                school or secondary school students in the State 
                attended school during--
                            ``(i) the preceding school year; or
                            ``(ii) in the case where the preceding 
                        school year was significantly shorter due to a 
                        natural disaster during such school year, the 
                        school year that is preceding the preceding 
                        school year.
    ``(b) School Day Factor.--
            ``(1) Adjustments authorized.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of this part, the amount of a grant that a 
                State or local educational agency is eligible to 
                receive under section 1124(a), 1124A(a), 1125(b), or 
                1125A(b) shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount 
                by the school day factor described in paragraph (2) 
                that is applicable to such State or local educational 
                agency, respectively, for such academic year.
                    ``(B) Timing of adjustment.--The Secretary shall 
                make the adjustment described in subparagraph (A) to 
                the amount of a grant that a State or local educational 
                agency is eligible to receive under section 1124, 
                1124A, 1125, or 1125A before applying any hold-harmless 
                requirement, minimum grant amount requirement, or 
                ratable reduction requirement under this part.
            ``(2) School day factor.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The school day factor referred 
                to in paragraph (1) that is applicable to each State 
                and local educational agency in the State for an 
                academic year is a percentage calculated as the sum of 
                the following:
                            ``(i) \2/3\ of such percentage shall be 
                        equal to--
                                    ``(I) the result of--
                                            ``(aa) the State-mandated 
                                        school year length for the 
                                        academic year preceding the 
                                        academic year for which the 
                                        calculation is made; divided by
                                            ``(bb) the base level 
                                        school year length for the 
                                        academic year preceding the 
                                        academic year for which the 
                                        calculation is made; multiplied 
                                        by
                                    ``(II) 100.
                            ``(ii) \1/3\ of such percentage shall be 
                        equal to--
                                    ``(I) the result of--
                                            ``(aa) the State mandated 
                                        minimum instructional hours per 
                                        school day for the academic 
                                        year preceding the academic 
                                        year for which the calculation 
                                        is made; divided by
                                            ``(bb) 5.5; multiplied by
                                    ``(II) 100.
                    ``(B) Special calculation rule.--In making the 
                calculation described in subparagraph (A) for a State, 
                the value of subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be zero if the 
                State mandated minimum instructional hours per school 
                day for the academic year preceding the academic year 
                for which the calculation is made is less than the 
                number of such State mandated minimum instructional 
                hours for the academic year that precedes by two years 
                the academic year for which the calculation is made.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1127 the following:

``Sec. 1128. School day factor.''.
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