To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to clarify Federal requirements under that Act.

Summary: Education Assessment Technical Corrections Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 to except teachers in hard to staff areas from the requirement that all teachers teaching in core academic subjects within a state be highly qualified not later than the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Requires teachers in hard to staff areas, instead, to satisfy at least 80% of the requirements to be highly qualified by the end of the 2007-2008 school year, and satisfy all of them by the end of the following school year. Requires states and local educational agencies (LEAs) whose teachers do not meet such requirements to use all of their funds under Title II of the Act to achieve compliance.

Revises requirements for assessments of student groups in measuring the adequate yearly progress (AYP) of the state, and of all public schools and LEAs in the state, toward enabling all public elementary school and secondary school students to meet the state's student academic achievement standards.

Provides that a student group which has failed to meet or exceed achievement standards may satisfy assessment requirements if it met such standards in the immediately preceding year.

Authorizes the testing of disabled students at their instructional level, rather than grade level, provided they show progress in accordance with individualized education programs.

Permits states to change the method of counting students who are in more than one group.

Revises the sanctions for schools which fail an assessment by reason of a group of no more than four students. Changes the sanction from designation as needing improvement to mandatory redirection of funds to the needs of such a group.

Requires the Secretary of Education to make recommendations to Congress for increasing the percentage of limited English proficient students and disabled students who meet or exceed state academic achievement standards.

Directs the Secretary, during the 2007-2008 school year, to continue to study growth models and allow more states and LEAs to use them to achieve AYP.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Education Assessment Technical 
Corrections Act''.

SEC. 2. HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS.

    (a) Extension of Deadline To Satisfy Requirements Relating to 
Highly Qualified Teachers.--Section 1119(a) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6319(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``As part'' and inserting ``Except as provided 
        in paragraph (4), as part'';
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``As part'' and inserting 
        ``Except as provided in paragraph (4), as part''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Exception for hard to staff areas.--In the case of a 
        teacher who is teaching in a geographic area that the State 
        educational agency or local educational agency, as appropriate, 
        has determined to be a hard to staff area, such State 
        educational agency or local educational agency--
                    ``(A) shall ensure that such teacher--
                            ``(i) not later than the end of the 2007-
                        2008 school year, has satisfied not less than 
                        80 percent of the requirements to be highly 
                        qualified; and
                            ``(ii) not later than the end of the 2008-
                        2009 school year, is highly qualified; and
                    ``(B) if the agency is not in compliance with 
                subparagraph (A) for a year, the agency may not use 
                funds received under title II of this Act for that year 
                except for the purpose of attaining compliance with 
                subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE).--
Section 9101(23)(C)(ii)(IV) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)(C)(ii)(IV)) is amended by inserting ``, 
except as provided in paragraph (4) of section 1119(a),'' after ``is''.

SEC. 3. ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS.

    (a) Measurement Over More Than One Year.--Section 1111(b)(2)(I)(i) 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6311(b)(2)(I)(i)) is amended by striking ``if the percentage of 
students in that group'' and all that follows through ``; and'' and 
inserting ``if--
                                    ``(I) the percentage of students in 
                                that group who did not meet or exceed 
                                the proficient level of academic 
                                achievement on the State assessments 
                                under paragraph (3) for that year 
                                decreased by 10 percent of that 
                                percentage from the preceding school 
                                year and that group made progress on 
                                one or more of the academic indicators 
                                described in subparagraph (C)(vi) or 
                                (vii); or
                                    ``(II) that group meets or exceeds 
                                the proficient level of academic 
                                achievement on the State assessments 
                                under paragraph (3) in the immediately 
                                preceding year; and''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect and apply beginning with the first academic year that 
begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Limited English Proficient Students and Children With 
Disabilities.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall submit to Congress a 
report containing recommendations for increasing the percentage of 
limited English proficient students (as defined in section 9101(25) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(25)) 
and children with disabilities (as defined in section 602(3) of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)) who 
meet or exceed the State's proficient level of academic achievement on 
the State assessments under paragraph (3) of section 1111(b) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)).
    (d) Individualized Education Program.--Section 1111(b)(2) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(L) Students with disabilities.--In the case of a 
                student with a disability, a student may be tested at 
                the student's instructional level (as determined by the 
                student's individualized education program), rather 
                than grade level, provided that the assessments from 
                year to year test the student's knowledge of an 
                increasing breadth and level of difficulty to the 
                State's content standards. Academic assessment shall be 
                determined in accordance with the student's 
                individualized education program, and, with parental 
                approval, that assessment shall be applied in 
                determining adequate yearly progress for the school and 
                the district concerned. A student's individualized 
                education program may not allow testing at the same 
                instructional level year after year.''.
    (e) Single Count of Students.--Section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(M) Single count of students.--In meeting the 
                definition of adequate yearly progress under 
                subparagraph (C), a State may allow students counted in 
                two or more groups described in subparagraph (C)(v)(II) 
                to be counted as an equal fraction of one for each such 
                group.''.
    (f) Nuanced Sanctions.--Section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(N) Nuanced sanctions.--When a school is not 
                making adequate yearly progress by reason of a very 
                small group of students (4 or fewer), the sanctions 
                under subparagraph (A)(iii) shall provide, as a first 
                step, not that the school is designated `needs 
                improvement' but that the school redirect a portion of 
                its funds under this Act to address the particular 
                needs of that group, and must ensure that the group is 
                taught by a highly qualified teacher.''.
    (g) Use of Growth Models.--
            (1) In general.--During the 2007-2008 school year, the 
        Secretary of Education shall continue to study growth models 
        and to allow more States, as well as local educational 
        agencies, to use growth models to achieve adequate yearly 
        progress.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the growth models referred to in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) should enable schools to provide evidence that 
                students have demonstrated acceptable achievement for 
                purposes of State proficiency requirements; and
                    (B) should encourage innovative ideas for high 
                schools to demonstrate students are achieving academic 
                proficiency and attaining graduation.