[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 56 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4530-S4534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Levin, Mr. Inouye, 
        Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 2044. A bill to assist urban and rural local education agencies in 
raising the academic achievement of all of their students; to the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


             the educational opportunity zones act of 1998

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is an honor to introduce President 
Clinton's Education Opportunity Zones bill to strengthen urban and 
rural public schools where the need is greatest. Congress needs to do 
more to improve teaching and learning for all students across the 
nation, and that means paying close attention to school districts and 
children with the greatest needs.

  Too many schools now struggle with low expectations for students, 
high dropout rates, watered-down curricula, unqualified teachers, and 
inadequate resources. This legislation will lead to the designation of 
approximately 50 high-poverty urban and rural school districts as 
``Education Opportunity Zones,'' and help them to implement the 
effective reforms needed to turn themselves around.
  These school districts will become models of system-wide, standards-
based reform for the nation. They must agree to specific benchmarks for 
improved student achievement, lower dropout rates, and other indicators 
of success. Schools in these districts will also be eligible for 
greater flexibility in the use of federal education funds.
  Our goal is to increase achievement, raise standards, upgrade teacher 
skills, and strengthen ties between schools, parents, and the community 
as a whole. Under this proposal, schools can use effective reform 
measures such as ending social promotion, increasing accountability, 
improving teacher recruitment and training, and providing students and 
parents with school report cards.
  We know that this approach can work. Last fall, I visited the Harriet 
Tubman Elementary School in New York City, where 95 percent of the 
pupils are from low-income families. Before 1996, it was one of the 
lowest achieving schools in the city. In September, 1996, the 
principal, the superintendent, teachers, and parents worked together to 
reorganize the school. They put extra resources into training teachers 
to teach reading. They upgraded the curriculum to reflect high 
standards. They created a parent resource center to increase family and 
community involvement. These and other reforms worked.
  Each day, many parents are at the school too, helping maintain 
discipline and at the same time expanding their own education.
  Each morning, teachers stop their regular classwork and teach reading 
to their students for 90 minutes. Since 1996, scores on statewide 
reading exams have risen by 20 percent.
  In Boston, under the leadership of Superintendent Tom Payzant, 
schools are making significant progress by creating new curriculum 
standards, setting higher achievement standards, and expanding 
technology through public and private sector partnerships. They are 
focusing on literacy, after-school programs, and school-to-career 
opportunities.
  These successes are not unusual. Public schools can improve even when 
facing the toughest odds. We need to do all we can to help such schools 
get the resources they need, so that they can implement the changes 
they know will work and help children learn more effectively.
  Under the Education Opportunity Zone approach, urban and rural school 
districts can apply for funds to implement a wide range of reforms. 
School districts will apply to the Secretary of Education for three-
year grants. The Secretary will ensure a fair distribution of grants 
among geographic regions, and among various sizes of urban and rural 
schools districts.
  In determining the amount of each grant, the Secretary will consider 
factors such as the scope of activities in the application, the number 
of students from poor families in the school district, the number of 
low-performing schools in the district, and the number of low-achieving 
children in the district.
  This legislation proposes funding of $200 million in fiscal year 1999 
and $1.5 billion over the next 5 years to support these grants.
  I commend President Clinton for developing this worthwhile 
initiative, and I look forward to its enactment. Investing in students, 
teachers, and schools is one of the best investments America can make. 
For schools across the nation, help can't come a minute too soon.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2044

       Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives of the United States of America in Congress 
     assembled,

                           *   *   *   *   *



                                Findings

       Sec. 2. The Congress finds as follows:

[[Page S4532]]

       (1) Students in schools that have high concentrations of 
     poor children begin school academically behind their peers in 
     other schools and are often unable to close the gap as they 
     progress through school. In later years, these students are 
     less likely than other students to attend a college or 
     university and more likely to experience unemployment.
       (2) Many children who attend these high-poverty schools 
     lack access to the challenging curricula, well-prepared 
     teachers, and high expectations that make better achievement 
     possible. More specifically, they are often educated in over-
     crowded classrooms and by teachers who are assigned to teach 
     in subject areas outside their areas of certification.
       (3) Data from the National Assessment of Educational 
     Progress consistently show large gaps between the achievement 
     of students in high-poverty schools and those in other 
     schools. High-poverty schools will face special challenges in 
     preparing their students to reach high standards of 
     performance on national and State assessments, such as 
     voluntary national tests and the assessments States are 
     developing under the Goals 2000 and ESEA, Title I programs.
       (4) Recent reports have found that students in urban 
     districts are more likely to attend high-poverty schools; 
     more frequently taught by teachers possessing only an 
     emergency or temporary license; and less likely to score 
     above the basic level on achievement tests than are nonurban 
     students.
       (5) High-poverty rural schools, because of their isolation, 
     small size, and low levels of resources, also face particular 
     challenges. For example, teachers in rural districts are 
     nearly twice as likely as other teachers to provide 
     instruction in three or more subjects.
       (6) Notwithstanding these general trends, some high-poverty 
     school districts have shown that they can increase student 
     achievement, if they adopt challenging standards for all 
     children, focus on improving curriculum and instruction, 
     expand educational choice among public schools for parents 
     and students, adopt other components of systemic educational 
     reform, and hold schools, staff, and students accountable for 
     results.
       (7) Districts that have already established the policies 
     needed to attain widespread student achievement gains, and 
     have attained those gains in some of their schools, can serve 
     as models for other districts desiring to improve the 
     academic achievement of their students. The Federal 
     Government can spur more districts in this direction by 
     providing targeted resources for urban and rural districts 
     willing to carry out solid plans for improving the 
     educational achievement of all their children.


                                purpose

       Sec. 3. The purpose of this Act is to assist urban and 
     rural local educational agencies that: (1) have high 
     concentrations of children from low-income families; (2) have 
     a record of achieving high educational outcomes, in at least 
     some of their schools; (3) are implementing standards-based 
     systemic reform strategies; and (4) are keeping their schools 
     safe and drug-free, to pursue further reforms and raise the 
     academic achievement of all their students.


                              Definitions

       Sec. 4. As used in this Act, the following terms have the 
     following meanings:
       (1) the term ``central city'' has the meaning given that 
     term by the Office of Management and Budget.
       (2) the term ``high-poverty local educational agency'' 
     means a local educational agency in which the percentage of 
     children, ages 5 through 17, from families with incomes below 
     the poverty level is 20 percent or greater or the number of 
     such children exceeds 10,000.
       (3) The term ``local educational agency''--
       (A) has the meaning given that term in section 14101(18)(A) 
     and (B) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965; and
       (B) includes elementary and secondary schools operated or 
     supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
       (4) the term ``metropolitan statistical area'' has the 
     meaning given that term by the Office of Management and 
     Budget.
       (5) the term ``rural locality'' means a locality that is 
     not within a metropolitan statistical area and has a 
     population of less than 25,000.
       (6) The term ``urban locality'' means a locality that is--
       (A) a central city of a metropolitan statistical area; or
       (B) any other locality within a metropolitan statistical 
     area, if that area has a population of at least 400,000 or a 
     population density of at least 6,000 persons per square mile.


                              eligibility

       Sec. 5. (a) Eligible LEAS.--(1) A local educational agency 
     is eligible to receive a grant under this Act if it is--
       (A) a high-poverty local educational agency; and
       (B) located in, or serves, either an urban locality or a 
     rural locality.
       (2) Two or more local educational agencies described in 
     paragraph (1) may apply for, and receive a grant under this 
     Act as a consortium.
       (b) Determination of Eligibility.--The Secretary shall 
     determine which local educational agencies meet the 
     eligibility requirements of subsection (a) on the basis of 
     the most recent data that are satisfactory to the Secretary.


                              applications

       Sec. 6. (a) Applications Required.--In order to receive a 
     grant under this Act, an eligible local educational agency 
     shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
     such form, and containing such information as the Secretary 
     may require.
       (b) Contents.--Each application shall include evidence that 
     the local educational agency meets each of the following 
     conditions:
       (1) It has begun to raise student achievement, as measured 
     by State assessments under title III of the Goals 2000: 
     Educate America Act, title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965, or comparably rigorous State or local 
     assessments; or it has shown significant progress on other 
     measures of educational performance, including school 
     attendance, high school competition, and school safety. 
     Student achievement evidence shall include data disaggregated 
     to show the achievement of students separately by race and by 
     gender, as well as for students with disabilities, students 
     with limited English proficiency, and students who are 
     economically disadvantaged (compared to students who are not 
     economically disadvantaged), throughout the district or, at a 
     minimum, in schools that have implemented a comprehensive 
     school improvement strategy.
       (2) It expects all students to achieve to challenging State 
     or local content standards, it has adopted or is developing 
     or adopting assessments aligned with those standards, and it 
     has implemented or is implementing comprehensive reform 
     policies designed to assist all children to achieve to the 
     standards.
       (3) It has entered into a partnership that includes the 
     active involvement of representatives of local organizations 
     and agencies and other members of the community, including 
     parents, and is designed to guide the implementation of the 
     local educational agency's comprehensive reform strategy.
       (4) It has put (or is putting) into place effective 
     educational reform policies, including policies that--
       (A) hold schools accountable for helping all students, 
     including students with limited English proficiency and 
     students with disabilities, reach high academic standards. 
     The application shall describe how the agency will reward 
     schools that succeed and intervene in schools that fail to 
     make progress;
       (B) require all students, including students with 
     disabilities and students with limited English proficiency, 
     to meet academic standards before being promoted to the next 
     grade level at key transition points in their careers or 
     graduating from high school. The application shall describe 
     the local educational agency's strategy for providing 
     students with a rich curriculum tied to high standards, and 
     with well-prepared teachers and class sizes conducive to high 
     student achievement;
       (C) identify, during the early stages of their academic 
     careers, students who have difficulty in achieving to high 
     standards, and provide them with more effective educational 
     interventions or additional learning opportunities such as 
     after school programs, so that the students are able to meet 
     the standards at key transition points in their academic 
     careers;
       (D) hold teachers, principals, and superintendents 
     accountable for quality, including a description of the local 
     educational agency's strategies for ensuring quality through, 
     among other things--
       (i) development of clearly articulated standards for 
     teachers and school administrators, and development, in 
     cooperation with teachers organizations, of procedures for 
     identifying, working with, and, if necessary, quickly but 
     fairly removing teachers and administrators who fail to 
     perform at adequate levels, consistent with State law and 
     locally negotiated agreements;
       (ii) implementation of a comprehensive professional 
     development plan for teachers and instructional leaders, such 
     as a plan developed under title II of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965; and
       (iii) encouraging excellent teaching, such as by providing 
     incentives for teachers to obtain certification by the 
     National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and
       (E) provide students and parents with expanded choice 
     within public education.
       (5) It is working effectively to keep its schools safe, 
     disciplined, and drug-free.
       (c) Description of Proposed Program.--The application shall 
     also include a description of how the local educational 
     agency will use the grant made available under this Act, 
     including descriptions of--
       (1) how the district will use all available resources 
     (Federal, State, local, and private) to carry out its reform 
     strategy;
       (2) the specific measures that the applicant proposes to 
     use to provide evidence of future progress in improving 
     student achievement, including the subject areas and grade 
     levels in which it will measure that progress, and an 
     assurance that the applicant will collect such student data 
     in a manner that demonstrates the achievement of students 
     separately by race and by gender, as well as for students 
     with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, 
     and students who are economically disadvantaged (compared to 
     students who are not economically disadvantaged); and
       (3) how the applicant will continue the activities carried 
     out under the grant after the grant has expired.

[[Page S4533]]

                       selection of applications

       Sec. 7. (a) Criteria.--The Secretary shall, using a peer-
     review process, select applicants to receive funding based 
     on--
       (1) evidence that--
       (A) the applicant has made progress in improving student 
     achievement or the other measures of educational performance 
     described in section 6(b)(1), in at least some of its schools 
     that enroll concentrations of children from low-income 
     families;
       (B) the applicant has put (or is putting) into place 
     effective reform policies as described in section 6(b)(4); 
     and
       (C) the applicant is working effectively to keep its 
     schools safe, disciplined, and drug-free; and
       (2) the quality of the applicant's plan for carrying out 
     activities under the grant, as set forth in the application.
       (b) Equitable Distribution.--In approving applications, the 
     Secretary shall seek to ensure that there is an equitable 
     distribution of grants among geographic regions of the 
     country, to varying sizes of urban local educational 
     agencies, and to rural local educational agencies, including 
     rural local educational agencies serving concentrations of 
     Indian children.


             presidential designation; technical assistance

       Sec. 8. (a) Designation as Education Opportunity Zone.--The 
     President shall designate each local educational agency 
     selected by the Secretary to receive a grant under this Act 
     as an ``Education Opportunity Zone''.
       (b) Technical Assistance.--The President may instruct 
     Federal agencies to provide grant recipients with such 
     technical and other assistance as those agencies can make 
     available to enable the grantees to carry out their 
     activities under the program.


           amount and duration of grants; continuation awards

       Sec. 9. (a) Grant Amounts.--In determining the amount of a 
     grant, the Secretary shall consider such factors as--
       (1) the scope of the activities proposed in the 
     application;
       (2) the number of students in the local educational agency 
     who are from low-income families;
       (3) the number of low-performing schools in the local 
     educational agency; and
       (4) the number of children in the local educational agency 
     who are not reaching State or local standards.
       (b) Duration of Grants.--(1) Each grant shall be for three 
     years, but may be continued for up to two additional years if 
     the Secretary determines that the grantee is achieving 
     agreed-upon measures of progress by the third year of the 
     grant.
       (2) The Secretary may increase the amount of a grant in the 
     second year, in order to permit full implementation of grant 
     activities, except that--
       (A) the amount of a second-year award shall be no more than 
     140 percent of the award for the first year;
       (B) the amount of a third-year award shall be no more than 
     80 percent of the second-year award;
       (C) the amount of a fourth-year award shall be no more than 
     70 percent of the second-year award; and
       (D) the amount of a fifth-year award shall be no more than 
     50 percent of the second-year award.
       (c) Expected Achievement Levels and Continuation Awards.--
     (1) Before receiving its award, each grantee shall develop 
     and adopt, with the approval of the Secretary, specific, 
     ambitious levels of achievement that exceed typical 
     achievement levels for comparable local educational agencies 
     and that the local educational agency commits to attaining 
     during the period of the grant.
       (2) The agreed-upon levels shall--
       (A) reflect progress in the areas of--
       (i) student academic achievement;
       (ii) dropout rates;
       (iii) attendance; and
       (iv) such other areas as may be proposed by the local 
     educational agency or the Secretary; and
       (B) provide for the disaggregation of data separately by 
     race and by gender, as well as for students with 
     disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and 
     students who are economically disadvantaged students 
     (compared to students who are not economically 
     disadvantaged).


                             USES OF FUNDS

       Sec. 10. (a) In General.--Each grantee shall use its award 
     only for activities that support the comprehensive reform 
     efforts described in its application or that are otherwise 
     consistent with the purpose of this Act.
       (b) Authorized Activities.--Activities that may be carried 
     out with funds under this Act include--
       (1) implementing school-performance-information systems to 
     measure the performance of schools in educating their 
     students to high standards, maintaining a safe school 
     environment, and achieving the anticipated school-attendance 
     and graduation rates;
       (2) implementing district accountability systems that 
     reward schools that raise student achievement and provide 
     assistance to, and ultimately result in intervention in, 
     schools that fail to do so, including such intervention 
     strategies as technical assistance on school management and 
     leadership, intensive professional development for school 
     staff, institution of new instructional programs that are 
     based on reliable research, and the reconstitution of the 
     school;
       (3) providing students with expanded choice and increased 
     curriculum options within public education, through such 
     means as open-enrollment policies, schools within schools, 
     magnet schools, charter schools, distance-learning programs, 
     and opportunities for secondary school students to take 
     postsecondary courses;
       (4) implementing financial incentives for schools to make 
     progress against the goals and benchmarks the district has 
     established for the program;
       (5) providing additional learning opportunities, such as 
     after-school, weekend, and summer programs, to students who 
     are failing, or are at risk of failing, to achieve to high 
     standards;
       (6) providing ongoing professional development 
     opportunities to teachers, principals, and other school staff 
     that are tailored to the needs of individual schools, and 
     aligned with the State or local academic standards and with 
     the objectives of the program carried out under the grant;
       (7) implementing programs, designed in cooperation with 
     teacher organizations, to provide recognition and rewards to 
     teachers who demonstrate outstanding capability at educating 
     students to high standards, including monetary rewards for 
     teachers who earn certification from the National Board for 
     Professional Teaching Standards;
       (8) implementing procedures, developed in cooperation with 
     teacher organizations, for identifying ineffective teachers 
     and administrators, providing them with assistance to improve 
     their skills and, if there is inadequate improvement, quickly 
     but fairly removing them from the classroom or school, 
     consistent with State law and locally negotiated agreements;
       (9) establishing programs to improve the recruitment and 
     retention of well-prepared teachers, including the use of 
     incentives to encourage will-prepared individuals to teach in 
     areas of the district with high needs;
       (10) designing and implementing procedures for selecting 
     and retaining principals who have the ability to provide the 
     school leadership needed to raise student achievement;
       (11) strengthening the management of the local educational 
     agency so that all components of management are focused on 
     improving student achievement;
       (12) carrying out activities to build stronger partnerships 
     between schools and parents, businesses, and communities; and
       (13) assessing activities carried out under the grant, 
     including the extent to which the grant is achieving its 
     objectives.


                              flexibility

       Sec. 11. (a) Eligibility for Schoolwide Programs Under 
     ESEA, Title I.--Each school operated by a local educational 
     agency receiving funding under this authority that is 
     selected by the agency to receive funds under section 1113(c) 
     of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall 
     be considered as meeting the criteria for eligibility to 
     implement a schoolwide program as described in section 1114 
     of that Act.
       (b) Carrying Out Schoolwide Programs.--All schools in the 
     local educational agency that qualify for eligibility for a 
     schoolwide program based solely on the agency's receiving 
     funding under this Act and that wish to carry out a 
     schoolwide program shall--
       (1) develop a plan that satisfies the requirements of 
     section 1114(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Act of 1965; and
       (2) develop a program that includes the components of a 
     schoolwide program described in section 1114(b)(1) of that 
     Act.


         participation of private school students and teachers

       Sec. 12. (a) Requirements.--(1)(A) If a local educational 
     agency uses funds under this Act to provide for training of 
     teachers or administrators, it shall provide for the 
     participation of teachers or administrators from private 
     nonprofit elementary or secondary schools, in proportion to 
     the number of children enrolled in those schools who reside 
     in attendance areas served by the local educational agency's 
     program under this Act.
       (B) A local educational agency may choose to comply with 
     subparagraph (A) by providing services to teachers or 
     administrators from private schools at the same time and 
     location it provides those services to teachers and 
     administrators from public schools.
       (C) The local educational agency shall carry out 
     subparagraph (A) after timely and meaningful consultation 
     with appropriate private school officials.
       (2) If the local educational agency uses funds under this 
     Act to develop curricular materials, it shall make 
     information about those materials available to private 
     schools.
       (b) Waiver.--If, by reason of any provision of law, a local 
     educational agency is prohibited from providing the training 
     for private school teachers or administrators required by 
     subsection (a)(1)(A), or if the Secretary determines that the 
     agency is unable to do so, the Secretary shall waive the 
     requirement of that subsection and shall use a portion of the 
     agency's grant to arrange for the provision of the training.


                               evaluation

       Sec. 13. The Secretary shall carry out an evaluation of the 
     program supported under this Act, which shall address such 
     issues as the extent to which--
       (1) student achievement in local educational agencies 
     receiving support increases;

[[Page S4534]]

       (2) local educational agencies receiving support expand the 
     choices for students and parents within public education; and
       (3) local educational agencies receiving support develop 
     and implement systems to hold schools, teachers, and 
     principals accountable for student achievement.


                          national activities

       Sec. 14. The Secretary may reserve up to five percent of 
     the amount appropriated under section 15 for any fiscal year 
     for--
       (1) peer review activities;
       (2) evaluation of the program under section 13 and 
     measurement of its effectiveness in accordance with the 
     Government Performance and Results Act of 1993;
       (3) dissemination of research findings, evaluation data, 
     and the experiences of districts implementing comprehensive 
     school reform; and
       (4) technical assistance to grantees.


                    authorization of appropriations

       Sec. 15. For the purpose of carrying out this Act, there 
     are authorized to be appropriated $200 million for fiscal 
     year 1999, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
     four succeeding fiscal years.
                                 ______