[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 37 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 37

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
    for State accountability in the provision of access to the core 
            resources for learning, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 6, 2015

  Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Brown) 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 provide 
    for State accountability in the provision of access to the core 
            resources for learning, 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 ``Core Opportunity Resources for 
Equity and Excellence Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. STATE AND SCHOOL DISTRICT ACCOUNTABILITY.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 1111--
                    (A) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                inserting ``that lead to college and 
                                career readiness by high school 
                                graduation and'' after ``challenging 
                                student academic achievement 
                                standards''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (D)(i)--
                                            (aa) in subclause (II), by 
                                        striking ``and'' after the 
                                        semicolon; and
                                            (bb) by adding at the end 
                                        the following:
                                    ``(IV) lead to college and career 
                                readiness by high school graduation; 
                                and''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 
                        the following:
                    ``(L) State accountability in the provision of 
                access to the core resources for learning.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Each State plan shall 
                        demonstrate that the State has developed an 
                        accountability system that ensures that the 
                        State's public school system provides all 
                        students within the State an education that 
                        enables the students to succeed from the 
                        earliest grades, and graduate from high school 
                        ready for college, career, and citizenship, 
                        through--
                                    ``(I) the provision of fair and 
                                equitable access to the core resources 
                                for learning;
                                    ``(II) the provision of educational 
                                services in local educational agencies 
                                that receive funds under this part; and
                                    ``(III) compliance with any final 
                                Federal or State court order in any 
                                matter concerning the adequacy or 
                                equitableness of the State's public 
                                school system.
                            ``(ii) Core resources for learning.--For 
                        purposes of this Act, the core resources for 
                        learning are the resources and student supports 
                        necessary to provide all students the 
                        opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills 
                        that lead to college and career readiness by 
                        high school graduation. Such resources shall 
                        include the following:
                                    ``(I) High-quality instructional 
                                teams, including licensed, 
                                credentialed, and profession-ready 
                                teachers, principals, school 
                                librarians, counselors, and education 
                                support personnel.
                                    ``(II) Rigorous academic standards 
                                and curricula that lead to college and 
                                career readiness by high school 
                                graduation, including the extent to 
                                which each local educational agency 
                                provides access to such standards and 
                                curricula in a manner that is 
                                accessible to all students, including 
                                students with disabilities and English 
                                learners.
                                    ``(III) Equitable and 
                                instructionally appropriate class 
                                sizes.
                                    ``(IV) Up-to-date instructional 
                                materials, technology, and supplies, 
                                including textbooks, computers, mobile 
                                devices, and access to broadband.
                                    ``(V) Effective school library 
                                programs.
                                    ``(VI) School facilities and 
                                technology, including physically and 
                                environmentally sound school buildings 
                                and well-equipped instructional spaces, 
                                including laboratories and libraries.
                                    ``(VII) Specialized instruction 
                                support teams, including school 
                                counselors, school social workers, 
                                school psychologists, school nurses, 
                                and other qualified professionals 
                                involved in providing assessment, 
                                diagnosis, counseling, educational, 
                                therapeutic, and other necessary 
                                services (including related services as 
                                that term is defined in section 602 of 
                                the Individuals with Disabilities 
                                Education Act) as part of a 
                                comprehensive program to meet student 
                                needs.
                                    ``(VIII) Effective programs for 
                                family and community engagement in 
                                education.
                            ``(iii) Reporting.--Each State desiring to 
                        receive a grant under this part shall annually 
                        report to the Secretary how the State is 
                        meeting the requirements for providing 
                        equitable access to the core resources for 
                        learning as required in clause (i) and any 
                        areas of inequitable access, plans to address 
                        such inequities, and progress toward 
                        eliminating such inequities.
                            ``(iv) Accountability and remediation.--A 
                        State that fails to make progress toward 
                        eliminating inequities in access to the core 
                        resources for learning as required in clause 
                        (i) identified for 2 or more consecutive years 
                        shall not be eligible to receive funds under 
                        any competitive grant program authorized under 
                        this Act.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (h)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)(C)(vii), by striking 
                        ``information on the performance of local 
                        educational agencies in the State regarding 
                        making adequate yearly progress, including the 
                        number and names of each school identified for 
                        school improvement under section 1116'' and 
                        inserting ``information on the performance of 
                        local educational agencies in the State in 
                        providing fair and equitable access to the core 
                        resources for learning and the number and names 
                        of each school and each agency identified for 
                        improvement under section 1116 or under the 
                        terms of any waiver granted under section 
                        9401'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)(B)--
                                    (I) in clause (i)--
                                            (aa) in subclause (I), by 
                                        striking ``and'' after the 
                                        semicolon; and
                                            (bb) by adding at the end 
                                        the following:
                                    ``(III) information that shows how 
                                students served by the local 
                                educational agency are provided access 
                                to the core resources for learning 
                                compared to students in the State as a 
                                whole; and'';
                                    (II) in clause (ii)--
                                            (aa) in subclause (I), by 
                                        striking ``and'' after the 
                                        semicolon;
                                            (bb) in subclause (II), by 
                                        striking the period at the end 
                                        and inserting ``; and''; and
                                            (cc) by adding at the end 
                                        the following:
                                    ``(III) information that shows how 
                                the school's students are provided 
                                access to the core resources for 
                                learning compared to students in the 
                                local educational agency and the State 
                                as a whole.'';
                            (iii) in paragraph (4)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (F), by 
                                striking ``and'' after the semicolon;
                                    (II) in subparagraph (G), by 
                                striking the period at the end and 
                                inserting ``; and''; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                    ``(H) the number and names of each local 
                educational agency identified for improvement under 
                section 1116 or under the terms of any waiver granted 
                under section 9401, the reason each such agency was so 
                identified, and the measures taken to address the 
                achievement problems of each such agency.'';
            (2) in section 1116(c), by striking paragraph (3) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(3) Identification of local educational agency for 
        improvement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State shall identify for 
                improvement--
                            ``(i) any local educational agency that, 
                        for 2 consecutive years, including the period 
                        immediately prior to the date of enactment of 
                        the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, failed to 
                        make adequate yearly progress as defined in the 
                        State's plan under section 1111(b)(2); or
                            ``(ii) any local educational identified 
                        under the terms of a waiver granted under 
                        section 9401.
                    ``(B) Intervention in local educational agencies 
                identified for improvement.--With respect to each local 
                educational agency identified for improvement by a 
                State under this section or under the terms of any 
                waiver granted under section 9401, the State--
                            ``(i) shall identify any inequities in 
                        access to the core resources for learning in 
                        the schools served by the agency; and
                            ``(ii) in partnership with such agency, 
                        shall develop and implement a plan to address 
                        identified inequities in access to the core 
                        resources for learning.''.
    (b) Restrictions on Waivers.--Section 9401(c) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7861(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (9)(C), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) accountability for the provision of the core 
        resources for learning.''.
                                 <all>