[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 686 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 686

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 
         public charter schooling by addressing quality issues.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2011

   Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Carper, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
 Durbin, Mrs. Hagan, and Mr. Lieberman) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 
         public charter schooling by addressing quality issues.

    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 ``Charter School Quality Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    Section 5201 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7221) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) promoting high-quality professional authorizing 
        standards and practices.''.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    Section 5202 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7221a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(2)(C), by striking ``section 
        5204(f)(6)(B)'' and inserting ``section 5205''; and
            (2) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subparagraph 
                (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (3)'' and inserting 
                ``subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), 
                or (I) of paragraph (3)'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``ensures that 
                each authorized public chartering agency holds every 
                charter school that the agency oversees to student 
                performance standards set forth in the charter school's 
                performance contract, holds each public chartering 
                agency accountable under the evaluation system 
                developed under paragraph (3)(G), and'' after ``that 
                the State''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(D) The State has--
                            ``(i) a statewide authorized public 
                        chartering agency with authority to--
                                    ``(I) offer a statewide authorizing 
                                option for charter applicants;
                                    ``(II) assume authorizing 
                                responsibilities from another 
                                authorizer that has been determined 
                                through a State's authorizer oversight 
                                process, as described in subparagraph 
                                (G), to be underperforming; or
                                    ``(III) become the authorizer, upon 
                                appeal, for a school for which another 
                                authorizer has refused to approve a 
                                charter application that the statewide 
                                authorized public chartering agency 
                                determines deserves to be authorized 
                                under the statewide authorized public 
                                chartering agency's own application 
                                process; and
                            ``(ii) a funding mechanism in place to 
                        adequately support the operations of its 
                        statewide authorized public chartering agency.
                    ``(E) The State works cooperatively with its 
                authorized public chartering agency to streamline data 
                collection and reporting and avoid duplicative 
                reporting requirements.
                    ``(F) The State ensures that authorized public 
                chartering agencies follow high-quality standards that 
                reflect research-based best practices.
                    ``(G) The State has developed a transparent process 
                for accrediting, training, or evaluating the 
                effectiveness of the State's authorized public 
                chartering agencies, or each authorized public 
                chartering agency in the State has implemented such a 
                process, including--
                            ``(i) a process for annually reviewing and 
                        periodically evaluating the performance of the 
                        authorized public chartering agencies in the 
                        State in authorizing or approving public 
                        charter schools, including a process that 
                        enables the authorized public chartering 
                        agencies to respond to any State concerns or 
                        deficiencies regarding such authorizing or 
                        approving; and
                            ``(ii) any other necessary policies to 
                        ensure effective charter school authorizing in 
                        the State that are developed in conjunction 
                        with the State's charter school community in 
                        accordance with the principles of quality 
                        charter school authorizing, as determined by 
                        the State in consultation with the charter 
                        school community and stakeholders.
                    ``(H) The State's authorizer evaluation process 
                described in subparagraph (G) is accessible to the 
                public via online methods that school leaders, 
                policymakers, parents, and other stakeholders can 
                easily understand. The evaluation system tracks each 
                authorizer's performance over time and in determining 
                each authorizer's annual rating, examines such factors 
                as the following:
                            ``(i) The academic and financial (including 
                        annual audits) performance of all operating 
                        public charter schools overseen by the 
                        authorizer, according to the performance 
                        expectations for public charter schools set 
                        forth in each charter as well as determined by 
                        the State standardized assessments administered 
                        to all public schools and any additional 
                        testing mutually agreed upon between each 
                        school and authorizer clearly delineated in 
                        each school's charter.
                            ``(ii) The status of each authorizer's 
                        public charter school portfolio, identifying 
                        all public charter schools in each of the 
                        following categories:
                                    ``(I) Approved (but not yet open).
                                    ``(II) Operating.
                                    ``(III) Renewed.
                                    ``(IV) Transferred.
                                    ``(V) Revoked.
                                    ``(VI) Not renewed.
                                    ``(VII) Voluntarily closed.
                                    ``(VIII) Never opened.
                            ``(iii) Any additional factors necessary to 
                        ensure authorizers continually work towards 
                        building charter school quality.
                    ``(I) The State has laws, policies, or procedures 
                in place requiring that student academic achievement 
                for all groups of students described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v) be a primary factor in authorizer 
                decisions around charter school approval, renewal, and 
                revocation, and the State has a record of, or 
                demonstrated commitment to, effective authorizer 
                oversight and revoking or not renewing the charters of 
                low-performing charter schools.''.

SEC. 4. IMPROVING SUBGRANT PROCEDURES AND AUTHORIZER TRANSPARENCY.

    Section 5203 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7221b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (4);
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) describe the criteria that the State educational 
        agency will use to award subgrants to eligible applicants to 
        ensure high-quality charter schools, including through 
        competitive subgrant competitions; and''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (B)), by striking subparagraph (D) and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(D) a description of the administrative 
                relationship between the charter school and the 
                authorized public chartering agency, including--
                            ``(i) how the school and authorizer will 
                        report publically the authorizing functions 
                        (such as approval, monitoring, and oversight) 
                        provided by the authorized public chartering 
                        agency to the public charter schools authorized 
                        or approved by such agency, including the 
                        authorizer's operating costs and expenses 
                        detailed in annual audited financial statements 
                        that conform with generally accepted accounting 
                        principles; and
                            ``(ii) how the services purchased (such as 
                        accounting, transportation, or data management 
                        and analysis) from the public chartering agency 
                        by the public charter schools authorized or 
                        approved by such agency will be reported 
                        publically, including an itemized accounting of 
                        the actual costs of these services;''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``subsection (b)(3)'' 
        and inserting ``subsection (b)(4)''.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 5204 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7221c) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (7)--
                            (i) by striking ``subsection (f)(6)(B),'' 
                        and inserting ``section 5205''; and
                            (ii) by striking the period and inserting 
                        ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) the rigor of the State's subgrant competition to 
        ensure that subgrants are awarded only to high-quality 
        applicants that are likely to create high-performing charter 
        schools.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(7), by striking ``subsection 
        (f)(6)(B),'' and inserting ``section 5205''; and
            (3) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (6)'' 
                and inserting ``section 5205''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (6).

SEC. 6. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

    Section 5205 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7221d) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``The Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal 
        year the greater of 5 percent or $5,000,000 of the amount 
        appropriated to carry out this subpart, except that in no 
        fiscal year shall the total amount so reserved exceed 
        $10,000,000, to carry out the following activities:'' and 
        inserting ``The Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year 
        the necessary sums from amounts appropriated to carry out this 
        subpart, except that in no fiscal year shall the total amount 
        so reserved exceed 15 percent of such amount appropriated, to 
        carry out the following activities:''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) National Dissemination.--
            ``(1) In general.--From amounts appropriated to carry out 
        this subpart for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not 
        more than $10,000,000 to award grants to entities to carry out 
        activities under this subsection.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--In order to be eligible to receive a 
        grant under this subsection, an entity shall--
                    ``(A) be--
                            ``(i) a charter school that has been in 
                        operation for not less than 3 consecutive years 
                        and has demonstrated overall success, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) substantial progress in 
                                improving student academic achievement;
                                    ``(II) high levels of parent 
                                satisfaction; and
                                    ``(III) the management and 
                                leadership necessary to overcome 
                                initial start-up problems and establish 
                                a thriving, financially viable charter 
                                school;
                            ``(ii) a high-quality public chartering 
                        agency;
                            ``(iii) a nonprofit entity with a track 
                        record of success in meeting the objective of 
                        this subsection; or
                            ``(iv) a consortium of entities described 
                        in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii); and
                    ``(B) submit an application to the Secretary at 
                such time, in such manner, and containing such 
                information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(3) Criteria for awarding grants.--The Secretary shall 
        award grants under this subsection on the basis of--
                    ``(A) the quality of the applicant and application;
                    ``(B) the capacity of the applicant to execute the 
                application; and
                    ``(C) the scale of the expected impact of the 
                application.
            ``(4) Activities.--An entity that receives a grant under 
        this subsection shall use funds received under the grant to 
        assist other schools, authorized public chartering agencies, 
        charter support organizations, and eligible entities in the 
        grant recipient's State and in other States in adopting 
        successful innovations, or to disseminate information about 
        innovations, through activities such as--
                    ``(A) assisting other entities with the planning, 
                start-up, and improvement of 1 or more new public 
                schools, including charter schools, or new authorized 
                public chartering agencies;
                    ``(B) developing partnerships designed to improve 
                student academic achievement, including implementation 
                and improvement plans for partnerships funded with 
                dissemination grants;
                    ``(C) developing systems or materials that promote 
                increased student achievement and are based on 
                successful practices at charter schools, authorized 
                public chartering agencies, charter support 
                organizations, or eligible entities;
                    ``(D) conducting evaluations and developing 
                materials that document successful practices at charter 
                schools, authorized public chartering agencies, charter 
                support organizations, or eligible entities and that 
                are designed to improve student performance in other 
                schools; and
                    ``(E) training, regarding the innovative practices 
                developed at the original site, for personnel that are 
                adopting innovations or successful practices.''.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 5210 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7221i) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking subparagraph (I) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(I) agrees to conduct an annual, independent, and 
                timely financial audit that is filed with the charter 
                school's authorized public chartering agency and 
                carried out in accordance with applicable Federal and 
                State requirements;'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (K), by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon;
                    (C) by striking subparagraph (L) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(L) has a written, legally-binding performance 
                contract or charter with an authorized public 
                chartering agency in the State that--
                            ``(i) includes a description of how student 
                        performance and growth will be measured in the 
                        charter school pursuant to State assessments 
                        that are required of other schools and pursuant 
                        to any other assessments mutually agreeable to 
                        the authorized public chartering agency and the 
                        charter school;
                            ``(ii) describes the obligations and 
                        responsibilities of the school and of the 
                        authorized public chartering agency;
                            ``(iii) identifies the material aspects of 
                        the charter school's operations;
                            ``(iv) describes the school's educational 
                        objectives and outcomes and how such objectives 
                        and outcomes will be measured;
                            ``(v) articulates the autonomies the 
                        charter school will have; and
                            ``(vi) is negotiated and executed by 2 
                        separate legal entities, the charter school and 
                        the authorized public chartering agency, 
                        capable of entering into and enforcing the 
                        contract or charter; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(M) is governed by a governing board that is 
                independent from the authorized public chartering 
                agency and has autonomy over decisions, including 
                matters concerning finance, personnel, scheduling, 
                curriculum, and instruction.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) in the heading, by inserting ``or authorizer'' 
                after ``chartering agency'';
                    (B) by inserting ``or authorizer'' after 
                ``chartering agency''; and
                    (C) by adding after ``charter school'' the 
                following: ``and that uses student performance and 
                growth, at the whole school level and for each subgroup 
                described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) served by the 
                school as a primary factor when assessing the 
                performance of charter schools and when determining 
                whether to renew or revoke a school's charter, in 
                addition to other criteria''.
                                 <all>