[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1532 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1532

  To provide incentives for States and local educational agencies to 
  implement comprehensive reforms and innovative strategies that are 
    designed to lead to significant improvement in outcomes for all 
students and significant reductions in achievement gaps among subgroups 
                  of students, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 2011

 Mr. Polis (for himself, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, and Mrs. Davis of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide incentives for States and local educational agencies to 
  implement comprehensive reforms and innovative strategies that are 
    designed to lead to significant improvement in outcomes for all 
students and significant reductions in achievement gaps among subgroups 
                  of students, 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 ``Race to the Top Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. RACE TO THE TOP.

    (a) In General.--Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part C as part D;
            (2) by redesignating sections 6301 and 6302 as sections 
        6401 and 6402, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after part B, the following:

                       ``PART C--RACE TO THE TOP

``SEC. 6301. PURPOSES.

    ``The purposes of this part are to--
            ``(1) provide incentives for States and local educational 
        agencies to implement comprehensive reforms and innovative 
        strategies that are designed to lead to--
                    ``(A) significant improvements in outcomes for all 
                students, including improvements in student 
                achievement, high school graduation rates, college 
                enrollment rates and rates of college persistence; and
                    ``(B) significant reductions in achievement gaps 
                among subgroups of students; and
            ``(2) encourage the broad identification, adoption, use, 
        dissemination, replication, and expansion of effective State 
        and local policies and practices that lead to significant 
        improvement in outcomes for all students, and the elimination 
        of those policies and practices that are not effective in 
        improving student outcomes.

``SEC. 6302. RESERVATION OF FUNDS.

    ``From the amounts made available under section 6308 for a fiscal 
year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 10 percent to carry out 
activities related to technical assistance, monitoring, outreach, 
dissemination, and prize awards (which shall be awarded in accordance 
with section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
1980 (15 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.)).

``SEC. 6303. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) Program Authorization.--From the amounts made available under 
section 6308 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a 
competitive basis, to States, local educational agencies, or both for 
the purposes described in section 6301.
    ``(b) Grant and Subgrant Eligibility Limitations.--
            ``(1) ARRA.--A State that has received a grant under 
        section 14006 of division A of the American Recovery and 
        Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5; 123 Stat. 283) may 
        not receive a grant under this part during the period of its 
        grant under section 14006 (Public Law 111-5; 123 Stat. 283).
            ``(2) Number of grants.--A State or local educational 
        agency may not receive more than 1 grant under this part per 
        grant period.
            ``(3) Number of subgrants.--A local educational agency may 
        receive a grant and a subgrant for the same fiscal year.
    ``(c) Duration of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--A grant under this part shall be awarded 
        for a period of not more than 4 years.
            ``(2) Continuation of grants.--In order to receive a grant 
        for a full grant period, a State or local educational agency 
        under this part shall demonstrate to the Secretary, at such 
        time and in such manner as determined by the Secretary, that it 
        is--
                    ``(A) making progress in implementing its plan 
                under section 6304(a)(3) at a rate that the Secretary 
                determines will result in the State or agency fully 
                implementing its plan during the remainder of the grant 
                period; or
                    ``(B) making progress against the performance 
                measures set forth in section 6305 at a rate that the 
                Secretary determines will result in the State or agency 
                reaching its targets and achieving the objectives of 
                the grant during the remainder of the grant period.

``SEC. 6304. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) Applications.--Each State or local educational agency that 
desires to receive a grant under this part shall submit an application 
to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each 
such application shall include--
            ``(1) documentation of the applicant's record, as 
        applicable, in--
                    ``(A) increasing student achievement, including for 
                all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II);
                    ``(B) decreasing achievement gaps, including for 
                all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II);
                    ``(C) increasing high school graduation rates, 
                including for all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II);
                    ``(D) increasing college enrollment and persistence 
                rates, including for all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); and
                    ``(E) any other measure described in section 6305 
                that is not listed in subparagraph (A) through (D);
            ``(2) evidence of conditions of innovation and reform that 
        the applicant has established and its proposed plan for 
        implementing additional conditions for innovation and reform, 
        including--
                    ``(A) a description of how the applicant has 
                identified and eliminated ineffective practices in the 
                past and its plan for doing so in the future;
                    ``(B) a description of how the applicant has 
                identified and promoted effective practices in the past 
                and its plan for doing so in the future; and
                    ``(C) steps the applicant has taken and will take 
                to eliminate statutory, regulatory, procedural, or 
                other barriers and to facilitate the full 
                implementation of its proposed plan;
            ``(3) a comprehensive and coherent plan for using funds 
        under this part, and other Federal, State, and local funds, to 
        improve the applicant's performance on the measures described 
        in section 6305, consistent with criteria set forth by the 
        Secretary, including how the applicant will, if applicable--
                    ``(A) improve the effectiveness of teachers and 
                school leaders, and promote equity in the distribution 
                of effective teachers and school leaders to ensure that 
                low-income and minority children are not--
                            ``(i) taught by ineffective teachers at 
                        higher rates than other children; and
                            ``(ii) enrolled in schools led by 
                        ineffective leaders at higher rates than other 
                        children;
                    ``(B) strengthen the use of high-quality and timely 
                data to improve instructional practices, policies, and 
                student outcomes, including teacher evaluations;
                    ``(C) implement internationally benchmarked, 
                college- and career-ready elementary and secondary 
                academic standards, including in the areas of 
                assessment, instructional materials, professional 
                development, and strategies that translate the 
                standards into classroom practice;
                    ``(D) turn around the persistently lowest-achieving 
                schools;
                    ``(E) support or coordinate with early learning 
                programs for high-need children from birth through 
                third grade to improve school readiness and ensure that 
                students complete third grade on track for school 
                success;
                    ``(F) assess students enrolled in kindergarten in 
                elementary schools in the State or local educational 
                agency, as applicable, in order to determine the 
                students' level of readiness for school success across 
                a broad range of domains of learning and development, 
                including physical well-being and motor development, 
                social and emotional development, approaches toward 
                learning, language development, and cognition and 
                general knowledge;
                    ``(G) report the to the Secretary the aggregate 
                results from the assessments described in subparagraph 
                (F) with respect to--
                            ``(i) all kindergarten students in each 
                        elementary school assessed; and
                            ``(ii) all such students in each subgroup 
                        described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); and
                    ``(H) create or maintain successful conditions for 
                high-performing charter schools and other innovative, 
                autonomous public schools;
            ``(4) if the applicant is a State--
                    ``(A) evidence of collaboration between the State, 
                its local educational agencies, schools (as 
                appropriate), parents, teachers, and other stakeholders 
                in developing and implementing the plan described in 
                paragraph (3), including evidence of the commitment and 
                capacity to implement that plan; and
                    ``(B) the names of those local educational agencies 
                the State has selected to participate in carrying out 
                the plan; or
                    ``(C) a description of how it will select local 
                educational agencies to participate in carrying out the 
                plan;
            ``(5) if the applicant is a local educational agency, 
        evidence of collaboration between the local educational agency, 
        schools, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders, in 
        developing the plan described in paragraph (3), including 
        evidence of the commitment and capacity to implement the plan;
            ``(6) the applicant's annual performance measures and 
        targets, consistent with the requirements of section 6305; and
            ``(7) a description of the applicant's plan to conduct a 
        rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of activities carried 
        out with funds under this part.
    ``(b) Criteria for Evaluating Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants under 
        this part on a competitive basis, based on the quality of the 
        applications submitted under subsection (a), including--
                    ``(A) each applicant's record in the areas 
                described in subsection (a)(1);
                    ``(B) each applicant's record of, and commitment 
                to, establishing conditions for innovation and reform, 
                as described in subsection (a)(2);
                    ``(C) the quality and likelihood of success of each 
                applicant's plan described in subsection (a)(3) in 
                showing improvement in the areas described in 
                subsection (a)(1), including each applicant's capacity 
                to implement the plan and evidence of collaboration as 
                described in subsection (a)(4) or (a)(5), as 
                applicable; and
                    ``(D) each applicant's evaluation plan as described 
                in subsection (a)(7).
            ``(2) Publication of explanation.--The Secretary shall 
        publish an explanation of how the application review process 
        will ensure an equitable and objective evaluation based on the 
        criteria described in paragraph (1).
    ``(c) Priority.--In awarding grants to local educational agencies 
under this part, the Secretary shall give priority to--
            ``(1) local educational agencies with the highest numbers 
        or percentages of children from families with incomes below the 
        poverty line; and
            ``(2) local educational agencies that serve schools 
        designated with a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as 
        determined by the Secretary.

``SEC. 6305. PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

    ``Each State and each local educational agency receiving a grant 
under this part shall establish performance measures and targets, 
approved by the Secretary, for the programs and activities carried out 
under this part. These measures shall, at a minimum, track the State's 
or agency's progress in--
            ``(1) implementing its plan described in section 
        6304(a)(3); and
            ``(2) improving outcomes for all subgroups described in 
        section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) including, as applicable, by--
                    ``(A) increasing student achievement;
                    ``(B) decreasing achievement gaps;
                    ``(C) increasing high school graduation;
                    ``(D) increasing college enrollment and persistence 
                rates;
                    ``(E) improving the effectiveness of teachers and 
                school leaders, increasing the retention of effective 
                teachers and school leaders, and promoting equity in 
                the distribution of effective teachers and school 
                leaders to ensure that low-income and minority children 
                are not--
                            ``(i) taught by ineffective teachers at 
                        higher rates than other children; and
                            ``(ii) enrolled in schools led by 
                        ineffective leaders at higher rates than other 
                        children; and
                    ``(F) increasing kindergarten readiness; and
                    ``(G) making progress on any other measures 
                identified by the Secretary.

``SEC. 6306. USES OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Grants to States.--
            ``(1) Subgrants.--Each State that receives a grant under 
        this part shall use at least 50 percent of its grant to make 
        subgrants to those local educational agencies in the State that 
        participate in the State's plan under section 6304(a)(3), based 
        on those local educational agencies' relative shares of funds 
        under part A of title I for the most recent year for which 
        those data are available.
            ``(2) Activities under plan.--Each State or local 
        educational agency that receives a grant or subgrant, 
        respectively, under this part shall use those funds for any 
        purpose included in the State's plan under section 6304(a)(3).
    ``(b) Grants to Local Educational Agencies.--Each local educational 
agency that receives a grant under this part shall use those funds for 
any purpose included in the local educational agency's plan under 
section 6304(a)(3).

``SEC. 6307. REPORTING.

    ``(a) Annual Report.--A State or local educational agency that 
receives a grant under this part shall submit to the Secretary, at such 
time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, an annual report 
including--
            ``(1) data on the State's or agency's progress in achieving 
        the performance targets established under section 6305;
            ``(2) a description of the challenges the State or agency 
        has faced in implementing its program and how it has addressed 
        or plans to address those challenges; and
            ``(3) findings from the evaluation plan as described in 
        section 6304(a)(7).
    ``(b) Local Report.--Each local educational agency that receives a 
subgrant from a State under this part shall submit to the State such 
information as the State may require to complete the annual report 
required under subsection (a).

``SEC. 6308. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
$1,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such sums as may be necessary 
for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) General provisions.--The table of contents of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
        et seq.) is amended by striking the items relating to part C of 
        title VI and inserting the following:

                      ``Part D--General Provisions

``Sec. 6401. Prohibition against Federal mandates, direction, or 
                            control.
``Sec. 6402. Rule of construction on equalized spending.''.
            (2) Race to the top.--The table of contents of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
        et seq.) is amended by inserting after the items relating to 
        part B of title VI, the following:

                       ``Part C--Race to the Top

``Sec. 6301. Purposes.
``Sec. 6302. Reservation of funds.
``Sec. 6303. Program authorized.
``Sec. 6304. Applications.
``Sec. 6305. Performance measures.
``Sec. 6306. Uses of funds.
``Sec. 6307. Reporting.
``Sec. 6308. Authorization of appropriations.''.
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