[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 308 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 308

 To reauthorize 21st century community learning centers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 29, 2015

 Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Manchin, and Mrs. Capito) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reauthorize 21st century community learning centers, 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 ``After School for America's Children 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE; DEFINITIONS.

    Section 4201 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7171) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``, such as 
                reading and mathematics'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by inserting ``service learning, 
                        nutrition and health education,'' before ``drug 
                        and''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``and recreation 
                        programs'' and all that follows through 
                        ``character education programs'' and inserting 
                        ``physical fitness and wellness programs, and 
                        technology education programs''; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(3) offer families of students served by community 
        learning centers opportunities for active and meaningful 
        engagement in their children's education, including 
        opportunities for literacy and related educational 
        development.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking subparagraph (A) and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) assists students in meeting State and local 
                academic achievement standards in core academic 
                subjects by providing the students with academic and 
                enrichment activities and a broad array of other 
                activities (such as programs and activities described 
                in subsection (a)(2)) during nonschool hours or periods 
                when school is not in session (such as before or after 
                school or during summer recess) that--
                            ``(i) reinforce and complement the regular 
                        academic programs of the schools attended by 
                        the students served; and
                            ``(ii) are targeted to the students' 
                        academic needs and aligned with the instruction 
                        students receive during the school day; and''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 
                        ``and opportunities for active and meaningful 
                        engagement in their children's education'' 
                        before the period at the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``Indian tribe 
                or tribal organization (as such terms are defined in 
                section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
                Education Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)),'' after ``community-
                based organization,'';
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph 
                (6); and
                    (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) External organization.--The term `external 
        organization' means--
                    ``(A) a nonprofit organization with a record of 
                success in running or working with after school 
                programs; or
                    ``(B) in the case of a community where there is no 
                such organization, a nonprofit organization in the 
                community that enters into a formal agreement or 
                partnership with an organization described in 
                subparagraph (A) to receive mentoring and guidance.
            ``(5) Rigorous peer review process.--The term `rigorous 
        peer review process' means a process by which--
                    ``(A) employees of a State educational agency who 
                are familiar with the 21st century community learning 
                center program under this part review all applications 
                that the State receives for awards under this part for 
                completeness and applicant eligibility;
                    ``(B) the State educational agency selects peer 
                reviewers for such applications, who shall--
                            ``(i) be selected for their expertise in 
                        providing effective academic, enrichment, youth 
                        development, and related services to children; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) not include any applicant, or 
                        representative of an applicant, that has 
                        submitted an application under such section for 
                        the current application period; and
                    ``(C) the peer reviewers described in subparagraph 
                (B) review and rate the applications to determine the 
                extent to which the applications meet the requirements 
                under sections 4204(b) and 4205.''.

SEC. 3. ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.

    Section 4202(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7172(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``95 percent'' and 
        inserting ``93 percent'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``rigorous'' 
                before ``peer review''; and
                    (B) by striking ``supervising the'' and inserting 
                the following:
                    ``(C) supervising the''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``3 percent'' and inserting ``5 percent''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) Ensuring that any eligible entity that 
                receives an award under this part from the State aligns 
                the activities provided by the after school program 
                with State academic standards.
                    ``(F) Ensuring that any such eligible entity 
                identifies and partners with external organizations, if 
                available, in the community.
                    ``(G) Working with teachers, principals, parents, 
                and other stakeholders to review and improve State 
                policies and practices to support the implementation of 
                effective programs.
                    ``(H) Coordinating funds received under this 
                program with other Federal and State funds to implement 
                high-quality programs.
                    ``(I) Providing a list of prescreened external 
                organizations, as described in section 4203(a)(11).''.

SEC. 4. STATE APPLICATION.

    Section 4203 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7173) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(3) contains an assurance that the State educational 
        agency--
                    ``(A) will make awards under this part to eligible 
                entities that serve students who primarily attend 
                schools that are eligible for schoolwide programs under 
                section 1114 and the families of such students; and
                    ``(B) will further give priority to eligible 
                entities that propose in the application to serve 
                students who are not proficient, as described in 
                section 4204(i)(1);'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``State and'' 
                after ``students meet'';
                    (C) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and 
                dissemination of promising practices'' and inserting 
                ``, dissemination of promising practices, and 
                coordination of professional development for staff in 
                specific content areas as well as youth development'';
                    (D) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through (14) 
                as paragraphs (12) through (15), respectively;
                    (E) by inserting after paragraph (10) the 
                following:
            ``(11) describes how the State will prescreen external 
        organizations that could provide assistance in carrying out the 
        activities under this part, and develop and make available to 
        eligible entities a list of external organizations that 
        successfully completed the prescreening process;'';
                    (F) in paragraph (12) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (D))--
                            (i) by striking ``provides an assurance'' 
                        and inserting ``provides--
                    ``(A) an assurance'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``statewide after school 
                        networks (where applicable),'' after ``or their 
                        designees,''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``and representatives of 
                        teachers'' and all that follows through 
                        ``organizations;'' and inserting the following: 
                        ``representatives of teachers, local 
                        educational agencies, and community-based 
                        organizations; and
                    ``(B) a description of any other representatives of 
                teachers, parents, students, or the business community 
                that the State has selected to assist in the 
                development of the application, if applicable;''; and
                    (G) in paragraph (14) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (D))--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                        subparagraph (C); and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting the following: ``with 
                        emphasis on alignment with the regular academic 
                        program of the school and the academic needs of 
                        participating students, including performance 
                        indicators and measures that--
                            ``(i) are able to track student success and 
                        improvement over time, and
                            ``(ii) include State assessment results and 
                        other indicators of student success and 
                        improvement, such as improved attendance during 
                        the school day, better classroom grades, 
                        regular (or consistent) program attendance, and 
                        on-time advancement to the next grade level;
                    ``(B) a description of how data collected for the 
                purposes of subparagraph (A) will be collected; and''; 
                and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Limitation.--The Secretary may not impose a priority or 
preference for eligibility for, or applications by, States or eligible 
entities that seek to use funds made available under this part to 
extend the regular school day.''.

SEC. 5. LOCAL COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.

    Section 4204 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7174) is amended--
            (1) in subsections (b), (c), (d), (g), (h), and (i), by 
        striking ``under this part'' each place the term appears and 
        inserting ``under this section''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting ``, if 
                applicable'' after ``home'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, as well 
                as overall student success'' before the semicolon;
                    (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(C) a demonstration of how the proposed program 
                will coordinate Federal, State, and local programs and 
                make the most effective use of public resources;'';
                    (D) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(D) an assurance that the proposed program was 
                developed, and will be carried out, in--
                            ``(i) active collaboration with the schools 
                        the students attend, including the sharing of 
                        relevant student data among the schools, all 
                        participants in the eligible entity, and any 
                        partnering entities described in subparagraph 
                        (H) while complying with applicable laws 
                        relating to privacy and confidentiality; and
                            ``(ii) in alignment with State and local 
                        content and student academic achievement 
                        standards;'';
                    (E) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``primarily 
                target students who'' and inserting ``target students 
                who primarily'';
                    (F) by striking subparagraph (J) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(J) a demonstration that the eligible entity will 
                use best practices, including research or evidence-
                based practices, to provide educational and related 
                activities that will complement and enhance the 
                academic performance, achievement, and positive youth 
                development of the students;''; and
                    (G) in subparagraph (M)--
                            (i) by striking ``senior volunteers'' and 
                        inserting ``volunteers''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``qualified seniors'' and 
                        inserting ``qualified persons'';
            (3) in subsection (e), by inserting ``rigorous'' before 
        ``peer review'';
            (4) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking subparagraph (A) and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) proposing to target services to--
                            ``(i) students who primarily attend schools 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) have been identified as in 
                                need of improvement under section 1116;
                                    ``(II) have been identified as in 
                                need of improvement or corrective 
                                action under paragraph (1) or (7) of 
                                section 1116(b); or
                                    ``(III) enroll students who scored 
                                below the proficient level on the State 
                                academic assessments under section 
                                1111(b)(3) in reading, language arts, 
                                or mathematics, on the most recent such 
                                assessments for which data are 
                                available; and
                            ``(ii) the families of students described 
                        in clause (i);'';
                            (ii) by striking clause (ii) of 
                        subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) other eligible entity; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) demonstrating that the activities proposed in 
                the application--
                            ``(i) are, as of the date of the submission 
                        of the application, not accessible to students 
                        who would be served; or
                            ``(ii) would expand accessibility to high-
                        quality services that may be available in the 
                        community.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Limitation.--A State educational agency may not 
        impose a priority or preference for eligibility for, or 
        applications by, eligible entities that seek to use funds made 
        available under this part to extend the regular school day.''; 
        and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Renewability of Awards.--A State educational agency may renew 
a grant provided under this section to an eligible entity, based on the 
eligible entity's performance during the original grant period.''.

SEC. 6. LOCAL ACTIVITIES.

    Section 4205 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7175) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``under this part'' and 
                        inserting ``under section 4204''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and support student 
                        success'' after ``academic achievement'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (12) as 
                paragraphs (7) through (13), respectively;
                    (C) by striking paragraphs (1) through (5) and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(1) academic enrichment learning programs, mentoring 
        programs, remedial education activities, and tutoring services, 
        that are aligned with--
                    ``(A) State and local content and student academic 
                achievement standards; and
                    ``(B) local curricula that are designed to improve 
                student academic achievement;
            ``(2) core academic subject education activities, including 
        such activities that enable students to be eligible for credit 
        recovery or attainment;
            ``(3) literacy education programs;
            ``(4) programs that support a healthy, active lifestyle, 
        including nutritional education and regular, structured 
        physical activity programs;
            ``(5) art and music education activities;
            ``(6) services for individuals with disabilities;'';
                    (D) by striking paragraph (8) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (B)) and inserting the following:
            ``(8) cultural programs;'';
                    (E) in paragraph (11) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (B)), by inserting ``parenting skills'' 
                before ``programs'';
                    (F) in paragraph (12) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (B)), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (G) in paragraph (13) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (B)), by striking ``, counseling programs, 
                and character education programs.'' and inserting ``and 
                counseling programs; and''; and
                    (H) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) programs that build skills in science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics (referred to in this paragraph as 
        `STEM') and that foster innovation in learning by supporting 
        non-traditional STEM education teaching methods.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                ``Principles of'' and inserting ``Measures of'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``and'' after the semicolon;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 
                        period and inserting a semicolon; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) ensure that measures of student success align 
                with the regular academic program of the school and the 
                academic needs of participating students and include 
                performance indicators and measures described in 
                section 4203(a)(14)(A); and
                    ``(E) collect the data necessary for the measures 
                of student success described in subparagraph (D).''; 
                and
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and 
                        overall student success'' before the period at 
                        the end; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in clause (i), by striking 
                                ``and'' after the semicolon;
                                    (II) in clause (ii), by striking 
                                the period at the end and inserting ``; 
                                and''; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(iii) used by the State to determine 
                        whether a grant is eligible to be renewed under 
                        section 4204(j).''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 4206 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7176) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 4206. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016 and each of the 5 
succeeding fiscal years.''.

SEC. 8. TRANSITION.

    The recipient of a multiyear grant award under part B of title IV 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171 
et seq.), as such Act was in effect on the day before the date of 
enactment of this Act, shall continue to receive funds in accordance 
with the terms and conditions of such award.
                                 <all>