A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to invest in innovation for education.

Summary: Investing in Innovation for Education Act of 2010 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations to support the school reform efforts of public schools and LEAs.

Requires each grant applicant to demonstrate that it has partnered with at least one private organization that will provide matching funds.

Requires each grant to be used to address at least one of the following areas of school reform: (1) improving the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders and promoting their equitable distribution; (2) strengthening the use of data to improve education; (3) providing high-quality instruction that is based on rigorous standards and measuring students' proficiency using high-quality assessments that are aligned to those standards; (4) turning around the lowest-performing schools; and (5) any other area of school reform the Secretary chooses.

Directs the Secretary to establish performance measures for tracking each grantee's progress in improving the academic performance of public elementary and secondary school students, and specified subgroups of those students. Requires grantees to use grant funds to develop or expand strategies to improve high-need students' showing on those performance measures.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Investing in Innovation for 
Education Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. INVESTING IN INNOVATION.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

                   ``PART D--INVESTING IN INNOVATION

``SEC. 4401. PURPOSES.

    ``The purposes of this part are to--
            ``(1) fund the identification, development, evaluation, and 
        expansion of innovative, evidence-based practices, programs, 
        and strategies in order to significantly--
                    ``(A) increase student academic achievement and 
                decrease achievement gaps;
                    ``(B) increase high school graduation rates;
                    ``(C) increase college enrollment rates and rates 
                of college persistence; and
                    ``(D) improve teacher and school leader 
                effectiveness; and
            ``(2) support the rapid development, expansion, and 
        adoption of tools and resources that improve the efficiency, 
        effectiveness, or pace of adoption of such educational 
        practices, programs, and strategies.

``SEC. 4402. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

    ``The Secretary may reserve not more than 15 percent of the funds 
appropriated under section 4408 for each fiscal year to carry out 
activities of national significance, which activities may include 
capacity building, technical assistance, dissemination, and prize 
awards.

``SEC. 4403. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED; LENGTH OF GRANTS; PRIORITIES.

    ``(a) Program Authorization.--The Secretary shall use funds made 
available to carry out this part for a fiscal year to award grants, on 
a competitive basis, to local educational agencies and nonprofit 
organizations that propose to provide support to 1 or more public 
schools or local educational agencies, or both, consistent with section 
4404(b).
    ``(b) Duration of Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants under 
this part for a period of not more than 3 years, and may extend such 
grants for an additional 2-year period if the grantee demonstrates to 
the Secretary that it is making significant progress on the program 
performance measures identified in section 4406.
    ``(c) Priorities.--In awarding grants under this part, the 
Secretary may give priority to an eligible entity that includes, in its 
application under section 4404, a plan to--
            ``(1) improve early learning outcomes;
            ``(2) support college access and success;
            ``(3) support family and community engagement;
            ``(4) address the unique learning needs of students with 
        disabilities or English language learners;
            ``(5) serve schools in rural local educational agencies;
            ``(6) support the effective use of education technology to 
        improve teaching and learning; or
            ``(7) improve the teaching and learning of science, 
        technology, engineering, or mathematics.
    ``(d) Standards of Evidence.--The Secretary shall set standards for 
the quality of evidence that an applicant shall provide in order to 
demonstrate that the activities the applicant proposes to carry out 
with funds under this part are likely to succeed in improving student 
outcomes or outcomes on other performance measures. These standards may 
include any of the following:
            ``(1) Strong evidence that the activities proposed by the 
        applicant will have a statistically significant effect on 
        student academic achievement, student growth, or outcomes on 
        other performance measures.
            ``(2) Moderate evidence that the activities proposed by the 
        applicant will improve student academic achievement, student 
        growth, or outcomes on other performance measures.
            ``(3) A rationale based on research findings or a 
        reasonable hypothesis that the activities proposed by the 
        applicant will improve student academic achievement, student 
        growth, or outcomes on other performance measures.

``SEC. 4404. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) Applications.--Each local educational agency or nonprofit 
organization 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 application shall--
            ``(1) describe the project for which the applicant is 
        seeking a grant and how the evidence supporting that project 
        meets the standards of evidence established by the Secretary 
        under section 4403(d);
            ``(2) describe how the applicant will address at least 1 of 
        the areas described in section 4405(a)(1);
            ``(3) provide an estimate of the number of students that 
        the applicant plans to serve under the proposed project, 
        including the percentage of those students who are from low-
        income families, and the number of students to be served 
        through additional expansion after the grant ends;
            ``(4) demonstrate that the applicant has established 1 or 
        more partnerships with private organizations and that the 
        partner or partners will provide matching funds;
            ``(5) describe the applicant's plan for continuing the 
        proposed project after funding under this part ends;
            ``(6) if the applicant is a local educational agency--
                    ``(A) document the local educational agency's 
                record during the previous 3 years in--
                            ``(i) increasing student achievement, 
                        including achievement for each subgroup 
                        described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); and
                            ``(ii) decreasing achievement gaps; and
                    ``(B) demonstrate how the local educational agency 
                has made significant improvements in other outcomes, as 
                applicable, on the performance measures described in 
                section 4406;
            ``(7) if the applicant is a nonprofit organization--
                    ``(A) provide evidence that the nonprofit 
                organization has helped at least 1 school or local 
                educational agency, during the previous 3 years, 
                significantly--
                            ``(i) increase student achievement, 
                        including achievement for each subgroup 
                        described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); and
                            ``(ii) reduce achievement gaps; and
                    ``(B) describe how the nonprofit organization has 
                helped at least 1 school or local educational agency 
                make a significant improvement, as applicable, in other 
                outcomes on the performance measures described in 
                section 4406;
            ``(8) provide a description of the applicant's plan for 
        independently evaluating the effectiveness of activities 
        carried out with funds under this part;
            ``(9) provide an assurance that the applicant will--
                    ``(A) cooperate with cross-cutting evaluations;
                    ``(B) make evaluation data available to third 
                parties for validation and further study; and
                    ``(C) participate in communities of practice; and
            ``(10) if the applicant is a nonprofit organization that 
        intends to make subgrants, consistent with section 4405(b), 
        provide an assurance that the applicant will apply paragraphs 
        (1) through (9), as appropriate, in the applicant's selection 
        of subgrantees and in its oversight of those subgrants.
    ``(b) Criteria for Evaluating Applications.--The Secretary shall 
award grants under this part on a competitive basis, based on the 
quality of the applications submitted and, consistent with the 
standards established under section 4403(d), each applicant's 
likelihood of achieving success in improving student outcomes or 
outcomes on other performance measures.

``SEC. 4405. USES OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) Uses of Funds.--Each local educational agency or nonprofit 
organization that receives a grant under this part--
            ``(1) shall use the grant funds to address, at a minimum, 1 
        of the following areas of school reform:
                    ``(A) Improving the effectiveness of teachers and 
                school leaders and promoting equity in the distribution 
                of effective teachers and school leaders.
                    ``(B) Strengthening the use of data to improve 
                teaching and learning.
                    ``(C) Providing high-quality instruction based on 
                rigorous standards that build toward college and career 
                readiness and measuring students' mastery using high-
                quality assessments aligned to those standards.
                    ``(D) Turning around the lowest-performing schools.
                    ``(E) Any other area of school reform, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
            ``(2) shall use those funds to develop or expand strategies 
        to improve the performance of high-need students on the 
        performance measures described in section 4406; and
            ``(3) may use the grant funds for an independent 
        evaluation, as required by section 4404(a)(8), of the 
        innovative practices carried out with the grant.
    ``(b) Authority To Subgrant.--A nonprofit organization that 
receives a grant under this part may use the grant funds to make 
subgrants to other entities to provide support to 1 or more schools or 
local educational agencies. Any such entity shall comply with the 
requirements of this part relating to grantees, as appropriate.

``SEC. 4406. PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

    ``The Secretary shall establish performance measures for the 
programs and activities carried out under this part. These measures, at 
a minimum, shall track the grantee's progress in improving outcomes for 
each subgroup described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) that is served by 
the grantee on measures, including, as applicable, by--
            ``(1) increasing student achievement and decreasing 
        achievement gaps;
            ``(2) increasing high school graduation rates;
            ``(3) increasing college enrollment rates and rates of 
        college persistence;
            ``(4) improving teacher and school leader effectiveness;
            ``(5) improving school readiness; and
            ``(6) any other indicator as the Secretary or grantee may 
        determine.

``SEC. 4407. REPORTING; ANNUAL REPORT.

    ``A local educational agency or nonprofit organization 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 
that includes, among other things, information on the applicant's 
progress on the performance measures established under section 4406, 
and the data supporting that progress.

``SEC. 4408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
$500,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and such sums as may be necessary for 
each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 4304 the following:

                   ``PART D--Investing in Innovation

``Sec. 4401. Purposes.
``Sec. 4402. National activities.
``Sec. 4403. Program authorized; length of grants; priorities.
``Sec. 4404. Applications.
``Sec. 4405. Uses of funds.
``Sec. 4406. Performance measures.
``Sec. 4407. Reporting; Annual report.
``Sec. 4408. Authorization of appropriations.''.