[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 844 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 844

  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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 14, 2011

  Mr. Lieberman (for himself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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, secondary school graduation rates, 
                postsecondary education enrollment rates, and rates of 
                postsecondary education 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.

    ``(a) Reservation.--From the amount made available to carry out 
this part for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 10 
percent of such amount to carry out activities related to--
            ``(1) technical assistance;
            ``(2) outreach and dissemination; and
            ``(3) prize awards made in accordance with section 24 of 
        the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 
        U.S.C. 3719).
    ``(b) Availability of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, funds for prize awards under subsection (a)(3) shall remain 
available until expended.

``SEC. 6303. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--From the amounts made available under section 
6308 for a fiscal year and not reserved under section 6302, the 
Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to States or 
local educational agencies, or both, in accordance with section 
6304(b), to enable the States or local educational agencies to carry 
out the purposes of this part.
    ``(b) Grant and Subgrant Eligibility Limitations.--
            ``(1) ARRA state incentive grants.--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 such section.
            ``(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 1 grant and 1 subgrant under this part 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.--A State or local educational 
        agency that is awarded a grant under this part shall not 
        receive grant funds under this part for the second or any 
        subsequent year of the grant unless the State or local 
        educational agency demonstrates to the Secretary, at such time 
        and in such manner as determined by the Secretary, that the 
        State or local educational agency, respectively, is--
                    ``(A) making progress in implementing the plan 
                under section 6304(a)(3) at a rate that the Secretary 
                determines will result in the State or agency fully 
                implementing such 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--
                    ``(A) in increasing student achievement, including 
                for all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II);
                    ``(B) in decreasing achievement gaps, including for 
                all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II);
                    ``(C) in increasing secondary school graduation 
                rates, including for all subgroups described in section 
                1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II);
                    ``(D) in increasing postsecondary education 
                enrollment and persistence rates, including for all 
                subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); 
                and
                    ``(E) with respect to any other performance measure 
                described in section 6305 that is not included in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (D);
            ``(2) evidence of conditions of innovation and reform that 
        the applicant has established and the applicant's 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 the applicant's plan for doing so in the 
                future;
                    ``(B) a description of how the applicant has 
                identified and promoted effective practices in the past 
                and the applicant's 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 the proposed plan under this 
                paragraph;
            ``(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, in order to 
                ensure that low-income and minority children are not 
                taught by ineffective teachers, and are not 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 
                elementary schools and secondary schools served by the 
                applicant;
                    ``(E) support or coordinate with early learning 
                programs for high-need children from birth through 
                grade 3 to improve school readiness and ensure that 
                students complete grade 3 on track for school success; 
                and
                    ``(F) create or maintain successful conditions for 
                high-performing charter schools and other innovative, 
                autonomous public schools;
            ``(4)(A) in the case of an applicant that is a State--
                    ``(i) evidence of collaboration between the State, 
                its local educational agencies, schools (as 
                appropriate), parents, teachers, and other 
                stakeholders, in developing the plan described in 
                paragraph (3), including evidence of the commitment and 
                capacity to implement the plan; and
                    ``(ii)(I) the names of the local educational 
                agencies the State has selected to participate in 
                carrying out the plan; or
                    ``(II) a description of how the State will select 
                local educational agencies to participate in carrying 
                out the plan; or
                    ``(B) in the case of an applicant that 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;
            ``(5) the applicant's annual performance measures and 
        targets, consistent with the requirements of section 6305; and
            ``(6) 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) Award basis.--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); and
                    ``(D) each applicant's evaluation plan as described 
                in subsection (a)(6).
            ``(2) Explanation.--The Secretary shall publish an 
        explanation of how the application review process under this 
        section 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.

``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 local educational 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 secondary school graduation rates;
                    ``(D) increasing postsecondary education enrollment 
                and persistence rates;
                    ``(E)(i) improving the effectiveness of teachers 
                and school leaders and increasing the retention of 
                effective teachers and school leaders; and
                    ``(ii) promoting equity in the distribution of 
                effective teachers and school leaders in order to 
                ensure that low-income and minority children are not 
                taught by ineffective teachers, and are not in schools 
                led by ineffective leaders, at higher rates than other 
                children; and
                    ``(F) making progress on any other measures 
                identified by the Secretary.

``SEC. 6306. USES OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Grants to States.--Each State that receives a grant under 
this part shall use--
            ``(1) not less than 50 percent of the grant funds to make 
        subgrants to the local educational agencies in the State that 
        participate in the State's plan under section 6304(a)(3), based 
        on such local educational agencies' relative shares of funds 
        under part A of title I for the most recent year for which 
        those data are available; and
            ``(2) not more than 50 percent of the grant 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 the grant funds 
for any purpose included in the local educational agency's plan under 
section 6304(a)(3).
    ``(c) Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies.--Each local 
educational agency that receives a subgrant under this part from a 
State shall use the subgrant funds for any purpose included in the 
State's plan under section 6304(a)(3).

``SEC. 6307. REPORTING.

    ``(a) Annual Reports.--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 local educational agency's 
        progress in achieving the targets for the performance measures 
        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)(6).
    ``(b) Local Reports.--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.--The table of contents for the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking the items relating to part C of title VI; 
        and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 6234 
        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.
                      ``Part D--General Provisions

``Sec. 6401. Prohibition against Federal mandates, direction, or 
                            control.
``Sec. 6402. Rule of construction on equalized spending.''.
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