[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 48 (Wednesday, April 4, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3445-S3447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. Byrd):
  S. 695. A bill to provide parents, taxpayers, and educators with 
useful, understandable school report cards; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Standardized 
School Report Card Act, along with Senators Bingaman and Byrd.
  Every six to nine weeks, schools all across the country send parents 
report cards evaluating how their child is doing. Rarely, however, do 
parents ever get any sense of how their child's school is performing. 
And let's face it: The two are inextricably linked. It is not as 
meaningful for a child to be among the best in his or her school if the 
school itself is among the worst.
  As a parent of two children in public school, I believe it is very 
important for parents, taxpayers, teachers, and the public to have some 
way of measuring how their school is performing, relative to other 
schools in the area, the state, the country, and even the world. The 
legislation I am introducing today along with Senators Bingaman and 
Byrd would give parents and taxpayers an important tool for evaluating 
how their school is doing.
  Our legislation would require that schools and states develop an 
annual, easily understandable report card and widely disseminate it to 
parents, taxpayers, teachers, and the public.

[[Page S3446]]

  I am pleased that the concept of school report cards has bipartisan 
support. President Bush called for school-by-school report cards on 
student achievement in his ``No Child Left Behind'' education plan. In 
addition, Senator Daschle and the others have provided for school 
report cards in S. 10, the Educational Excellence for All Learners Act. 
And the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act, which was 
reported by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions, includes some limited school report card language that I 
think can form the basis for helpful reports for parents and taxpayers.
  The Standardized School Report Card Act that I am introducing today 
would require schools and states to cover eight key, basis areas in 
their report cards, plus any other areas of indicators of quality they 
want to include. The eight subject areas schools would be ``graded'' on 
are: Student performance; attendance, graduation and dropout rates; 
professional qualifications of teachers; average class size; school 
safety; parental involvement; student access to technology; and whether 
they have been identified by the State for improvement. These eight 
areas were chosen largely because they were the ones parents themselves 
said they felt were most critical, in focus groups around the country 
conducted by the Center for Community Change.
  Some might say this legislation is unnecessary. After all, according 
to Education Week, 36 states already require schools to publish a 
school report card. In addition, the Congressional Research Services 
has looked at the kinds of data that states already require their 
schools to report and/or collect. According to the CRS, 47 states have 
``report cards'' in at least one of the eight areas specified by the 
Standardized School Report Card Act.
  However, the content of these report cards varies widely. In fact, 
according to a report by Education Week, no two state report cards 
cover exactly the same information, so they cannot be a useful tool for 
parents and educators to compare their school with other schools in the 
state or nation.
  For instance, in my state of North Dakota, the state Department of 
Public Instruction has designed a ``school district profile'' that is 
published for each school district in the state. These profiles include 
lots of interesting and helpful information, including a lot of data 
not required by my legislation. However, there is also some valuable 
data missing from this report that parents would want to know about, 
such as the number of teachers who have emergency certification or the 
incidents of school violence.

  By requiring all schools to report on at least these eight key areas, 
my school report card legislation will provide parents with the ability 
to measure how their school is doing relative to other schools.
  Schools will also have to be sure that they widely disseminate their 
report cards. According to Education Week, most people have never seen 
a report card for their local school, even though 90 percent think a 
school report card would be helpful.
  This legislation is not about the Federal government wresting control 
of education away from local school boards, where it belongs. Rather, 
it is about whether parents, no matter where they live, have an 
opportunity and the ability to measure how well their children are 
doing from community to community, school to school, state to state?
  As a nation, we spend more than $375 billion annually to provide an 
education to our elementary and secondary children. Parents and 
taxpayers deserve to know what we are getting for the money we are 
spending on K-12 education.
  Those in this country who are concerned about our education system 
know that we must make some improvements. How do we make improvements? 
You create a blueprint, a plan, for fixing what is wrong. But before 
you can do that, you must first assess what is right and what is wrong. 
And we do not have a basic approach by which parents can measure what 
is right or wrong with their local school.
  The lack of obtainable, understandable information is a major barrier 
to parents' more active involvement in the education of their children. 
In Georgia, the number of schools developing local school improvement 
plans increased by 300 percent following the first publication of 
report cards in 1996. I feel strongly that's because parents will hold 
their schools accountable if they have the information they need to 
determine whether improvements are needed.
  Times have changed. This is not 40 years ago when we as a country 
could tie one hand behind our back and beat anybody else in the world 
at almost anything, and do it easily. We now face shrewd, tough 
international competition in every direction we look. We now face 
competition in the job market, in our economies, and in our schools. 
Our children compete with countries that send their kids to school 240 
days a year, while we send our kids to school 180 days a year.
  In short, parents have a right to know whether their kids are 
receiving a quality education, no matter what State they live in, no 
matter what city or school district they live in. I encourage my 
colleagues to cosponsor this legislation. When the Senate begins debate 
on the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act, I intend to work 
with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strengthen the school 
report card provisions already in the Senate bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 695

       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 ``Standardized School Report 
     Card Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) According to the report ``Quality Counts 99'', by 
     Education Week, 36 States require the publishing of annual 
     report cards on individual schools, but the content of the 
     report cards varies widely.
       (2) The content of most of the report cards described in 
     paragraph (1) does not provide parents with the information 
     the parents need to measure how their school or State is 
     doing compared with other schools and States.
       (3) Ninety percent of taxpayers believe that published 
     information about individual schools would motivate educators 
     to work harder to improve the schools' performance.
       (4) More than 60 percent of parents and 70 percent of 
     taxpayers have not seen an individual report card for their 
     area school.
       (5) Dissemination of understandable information about 
     schools can be an important tool for parents and taxpayers to 
     measure the quality of the schools and to hold the schools 
     accountable for improving performance.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this Act is to provide parents, taxpayers, 
     and educators with useful, understandable school report 
     cards.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       The terms used in this Act have the meanings given the 
     terms under section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965.

     SEC. 5. REPORT CARDS.

       (a) State Report Cards.--Each State educational agency 
     receiving assistance under the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 shall produce and widely disseminate an 
     annual report card for parents, the general public, teachers 
     and the Secretary of Education, in easily understandable 
     language, with respect to elementary schools and secondary 
     schools in the State. The report card shall contain 
     information regarding--
       (1) student performance on statewide assessments in 
     language arts, mathematics, and history, plus any other 
     subject areas in which the State requires assessments, 
     including--
       (A) comparisons with students from different school 
     districts within the State, and, to the extent possible, 
     comparisons with students throughout the Nation;
       (B) a statement on the 3-year trend in the percentage of 
     students performing at the basic, proficient, and advanced 
     levels; and
       (C) a statement of the percentage of students not tested 
     and a listing of categories of the reasons why such students 
     were not tested;
       (2) attendance and 4-year graduation rates, the number of 
     students completing advanced placement courses, and the 
     annual school dropout rate, as calculated by procedures 
     conforming with the National Center for Education Statistics 
     Common Core of Data;
       (3) professional qualifications of teachers in the State, 
     including the percentage of class sections taught by teachers 
     who are not certified to teach in that subject, and the 
     percentage of teachers with emergency or provisional 
     certification;
       (4) average class size in the State broken down by school 
     level;
       (5) school safety, including the safety of school 
     facilities, incidents of school violence

[[Page S3447]]

     and drug and alcohol abuse, and the number of instances in 
     which a student was determined to have brought a firearm to 
     school under the State law described in the Gun-Free Schools 
     Act of 1994 and the incidence of student suspensions and 
     expulsions;
       (6) to the extent practicable, parental involvement, as 
     measured by the extent of parental participation in school 
     parental involvement policies described in section 1118(b) of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       (7) student access to technology, including the number of 
     computers for educational purposes, the number of computers 
     per classroom, and the number of computers connected to the 
     Internet;
       (8) information regarding the schools identified by the 
     State for school improvement; and
       (9) other indicators of school performance and quality.
       (b) School Report Cards.--Each school receiving assistance 
     under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or 
     the local educational agency serving that school, shall 
     produce and widely disseminate an annual report card for 
     parents, the general public, teachers and the State 
     educational agency, in easily understandable language, with 
     respect to elementary or secondary education, as appropriate, 
     in the school. The report card shall contain information 
     regarding--
       (1) student performance in the school on statewide 
     assessments in language arts, mathematics, and history, plus 
     any other subject areas in which the State requires 
     assessments, including--
       (A) comparisons with other students within the school 
     district, in the State, and, to the extent possible, in the 
     Nation;
       (B) a statement on the 3-year trend in the percentage of 
     students performing at the basic, proficient, and advanced 
     levels; and
       (C) a statement of the percentage of students not tested 
     and a listing of categories of the reasons why such students 
     were not tested;
       (2) attendance and 4-year graduation rates, the number of 
     students completing advanced placement courses, and the 
     annual school dropout rate, as calculated by procedures 
     conforming with the National Center for Education Statistics 
     Common Core of Data;
       (3) professional qualifications of the school's teachers, 
     including the percentage of class sections taught by teachers 
     not certified to teach in that subject, and the percentage of 
     teachers with emergency or provisional certification;
       (4) average class size in the school broken down by school 
     level, and the enrollment of students compared to the rated 
     capacity of the school;
       (5) school safety, including the safety of the school 
     facility, incidents of school violence and drug and alcohol 
     abuse, the number of instances in which a student was 
     determined to have brought a firearm to school under the 
     State law described in the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, and 
     the incidence of student suspensions and expulsions;
       (6) parental involvement, as measured by the extent of 
     parental participation in school parental involvement 
     policies described in section 1118(b) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965;
       (7) student access to technology, including the number of 
     computers for educational purposes, the number of computers 
     per classroom, and the number of computers connected to the 
     Internet;
       (8) information regarding whether the school has been 
     identified for school improvement; and
       (9) other indicators of school performance and quality.
       (c) Model School Report Cards.--The Secretary of Education 
     shall use funds made available to the Office of Educational 
     Research and Improvement to develop a model school report 
     card for dissemination, upon request, to a school, local 
     educational agency, or State educational agency.
       (d) Disaggregation of Data.--Each State educational agency 
     or school producing an annual report card under this section 
     shall disaggregate the student data reported under subsection 
     (a) or (b), as appropriate, in the same manner as results are 
     disaggregated under section 1111(b)(3)(I) of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
       (e) Dissemination and Accessibility of Report Cards.--
       (1) State report cards.--State annual report cards under 
     subsection (a) shall be disseminated to all elementary 
     schools, secondary schools, and local educational agencies in 
     the State, and made broadly available to the public through 
     means such as posting such reports on the Internet and 
     distribution to the media, and through public agencies.
       (2) Local and school report cards.--Local educational 
     agency report cards and elementary school and secondary 
     school report cards under subsection (b) shall be 
     disseminated to all elementary schools and secondary schools 
     served by the local educational agency and to all parents of 
     students attending such schools, and shall be made broadly 
     available to the public through means such as posting such 
     report on the Internet and distribution to the media, and 
     through public agencies.
       (f) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of Education shall 
     award a grant to each State having a State report card that 
     meets the requirements of subsection (a) to enable the State 
     to annually publish report cards for each elementary and 
     secondary school that receives funding under the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and is served by the 
     State. The amount of a State grant under this section shall 
     be equal to the State's allotment under subsection (g)(2).
       (g) Reservations and Allotments.--
       (1) Reservations.--From the amount appropriated under 
     subsection (j) to carry out this Act for each fiscal year the 
     Secretary of Education shall reserve--
       (A) \1/2\ of 1 percent of such amount for payments to the 
     Secretary of the Interior for activities approved by the 
     Secretary of Education consistent with this Act, in schools 
     operated or supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the 
     basis of their respective needs for assistance under this 
     Act; and
       (B) \1/2\ of 1 percent of such amount for payments to 
     outlying areas, to be allotted in accordance with their 
     respective needs for assistance under this Act, as determined 
     by the Secretary of Education, for activities approved by the 
     Secretary of Education that are consistent with this Act.
       (2) State allotments.--From the amount appropriated under 
     subsection (j) for a fiscal year and remaining after amounts 
     are reserved under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Education 
     shall allot to each State having a State report card meeting 
     the requirements of subsection (a) an amount that bears the 
     same relationship to such remainder as the number of public 
     school students enrolled in elementary schools and secondary 
     schools in the State bears to the total number of such 
     students so enrolled in all States.
       (h) Within-State Allocations.--Each State educational 
     agency receiving a grant under subsection (f) shall allocate 
     the grant funds that remain after carrying out the activities 
     required under subsection (e)(1) to local educational 
     agencies in the State.
       (i) State Reservation of Funds.--Each State educational 
     agency receiving a grant under subsection (f) may reserve --
       (1) not more than 10 percent of the grant funds to carry 
     out activities described in subsections (a) and (b), and 
     subsection (e)(1), for fiscal year 2002; and
       (2) not more than 5 percent of the grant funds to carry out 
     activities described in sections (a) and (b), and subsection 
     (e)(1), for fiscal year 2003 and each of the 3 succeeding 
     fiscal years.
       (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this Act, $5,000,0000 for 
     fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may be necessary for each 
     of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
                                 ______