A bill to amend section 9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 with regard to waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``State Innovation Pilot Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to support State, local, and tribal leadership and 
        innovation in preparing all students to meet State-developed 
        college and career ready academic content standards and student 
        academic achievement standards, by establishing a process to 
        permit State, local, and tribal educational leaders to 
        implement alternative and innovative strategies to improve 
        student academic achievement and otherwise meet the purposes of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        6301 et seq.); and
            (2) to direct the Secretary of Education to defer to State, 
        local, and tribal judgments regarding how best to accomplish 
        the purposes of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965.

SEC. 3. WAIVERS OF STATUTORY AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7861) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Request for waiver.--A State educational agency, 
        local educational agency, or Indian tribe that receives funds 
        under a program authorized under this Act may submit a request 
        to the Secretary to waive any statutory or regulatory 
        requirement of this Act.
            ``(2) Receipt of waiver.--Except as provided in subsection 
        (c), the Secretary shall waive any statutory or regulatory 
        requirement of this Act for a State educational agency, local 
        educational agency, Indian tribe, or school (through a local 
        educational agency), that submits a waiver request pursuant to 
        this subsection.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by inserting ``, which shall include a 
                        plan'' after ``waiver request to the 
                        Secretary'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and 
                        how the waiving of those requirements will'' 
                        and all that follows through the end, and 
                        inserting a semicolon;
                            (iii) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 
                        subparagraph (F); and
                            (iv) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D), 
                        and inserting the following:
                    ``(C) reasonably demonstrates that the waiver will 
                improve instruction for students, advance student 
                academic achievement, and contribute to student mastery 
                of knowledge and skills, consistent with the State's 
                college and career ready academic content standards and 
                student academic achievement standards;
                    ``(D) describes the methods the State educational 
                agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe will 
                use to--
                            ``(i) monitor the effectiveness of the 
                        implementation of the plan; and
                            ``(ii) assure regular evaluation and 
                        continuous improvement of the plan;
                    ``(E) as applicable to the waiver request--
                            ``(i) describes the State educational 
                        agency, local educational agency, or Indian 
                        tribe's process for making valid and meaningful 
                        accountability determinations, based on student 
                        academic achievement, to review the success of 
                        schools and local educational agencies or 
                        Indian tribes in implementing the State's 
                        college and career ready academic content 
                        standards and student academic achievement 
                        standards;
                            ``(ii) describes the State educational 
                        agency, local educational agency, or Indian 
                        tribe's process for accurately and meaningfully 
                        identifying, supporting, and intervening in 
                        underperforming schools, consistent with 
                        applicable State or local policy; and
                            ``(iii) includes information on how the 
                        State educational agency, local educational 
                        agency, or Indian tribe will maintain and 
                        improve transparency in reporting to parents 
                        and the public on student achievement and 
                        school performance, including the achievement 
                        of students according to the student subgroups 
                        described in subclauses (I) through (IV) of 
                        section 1111(b)(2)(B)(viii); and'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)(II), by striking ``(on 
                behalf of, and based on the requests of, local 
                educational agencies)'' and inserting ``(on their own 
                behalf, or on behalf of, and based on the requests of, 
                local educational agencies in the State)'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3)(A), in the matter preceding 
                clause (i), by inserting ``or on behalf of local 
                educational agencies in the State,'' after ``acting on 
                its own behalf,''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Peer review.--
                    ``(A) Peer review team.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish multi-disciplinary peer review teams 
                        and appoint members to such teams, including 
                        persons who have experience with a State 
                        educational agency (or local educational agency 
                        or Indian tribe, as appropriate) and broader 
                        education reform experience, to review waiver 
                        requests under this section if--
                                    ``(I) the Secretary requests such 
                                input in order to approve a waiver 
                                request; or
                                    ``(II) the Secretary intends to 
                                disapprove a request.
                            ``(ii) Team in place for all waiver 
                        requests.--The Secretary may, at the 
                        Secretary's discretion, have a peer review team 
                        review all waiver requests submitted under this 
                        section.
                    ``(B) Applicability.--The Secretary may approve a 
                waiver request under this section without conducting a 
                peer review of the request, but shall use the peer 
                review process under this paragraph before disapproving 
                such a request.
                    ``(C) Purpose of peer review.--The peer review 
                process shall be designed to--
                            ``(i) promote effective implementation of 
                        State-developed college and career ready 
                        academic content standards and student academic 
                        achievement standards, through State and local 
                        innovation; and
                            ``(ii) provide transparent feedback to 
                        State educational agencies, local educational 
                        agencies, or Indian tribes, designed to 
                        strengthen the applicant's plan described under 
                        paragraph (1)(C).
                    ``(D) Standard and nature of review.--Peer 
                reviewers shall conduct a good faith review of waiver 
                requests submitted to them under this section. Peer 
                reviewers shall review such waiver requests--
                            ``(i) in their totality;
                            ``(ii) in deference to State and local 
                        judgment; and
                            ``(iii) with the goal of promoting State- 
                        and local-led innovation.
            ``(5) Waiver determination, demonstration, and revision.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall approve a 
                waiver request not more than 90 days after the date on 
                which such request is submitted, unless the Secretary 
                determines and demonstrates that--
                            ``(i) the waiver request does not meet the 
                        requirements of this section;
                            ``(ii) the waiver is not permitted under 
                        subsection (c);
                            ``(iii) the plan that is required under 
                        paragraph (1)(C), and reviewed with deference 
                        to State and local judgment, provides no 
                        reasonable basis to determine that a waiver 
                        will enhance student academic achievement; or
                            ``(iv) the waiver request does not provide 
                        for adequate evaluation to ensure review and 
                        continuous improvement of the plan, consistent 
                        with paragraph (1)(D).
                    ``(B) Waiver determination and revision.--If the 
                Secretary determines and demonstrates that the waiver 
                request does not meet the requirements of this section, 
                the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) immediately--
                                    ``(I) notify the State educational 
                                agency, local educational agency, or 
                                Indian tribe of such determination; and
                                    ``(II) at the request of the State 
                                educational agency, local educational 
                                agency, or Indian tribe, provide 
                                detailed reasons for such determination 
                                in writing;
                            ``(ii) offer the State educational agency, 
                        local educational agency, or Indian tribe an 
                        opportunity to revise and resubmit the waiver 
                        request not more than 60 days after the date of 
                        such determination; and
                            ``(iii) if the Secretary determines that 
                        the resubmission does not meet the requirements 
                        of this section, at the request of the State 
                        educational agency, local educational agency, 
                        or Indian tribe, conduct a public hearing not 
                        more than 30 days after the date of such 
                        resubmission.
                    ``(C) Waiver disapproval.--The Secretary may 
                disapprove a waiver request if--
                            ``(i) the State educational agency, local 
                        educational agency, or Indian tribe has been 
                        notified and offered an opportunity to revise 
                        and resubmit the waiver request, as described 
                        under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) the State educational agency, local 
                        educational agency, or Indian tribe--
                                    ``(I) does not revise and resubmit 
                                the waiver request; or
                                    ``(II) revises and resubmits the 
                                waiver request, and the Secretary 
                                determines that such waiver request 
                                does not meet the requirements of this 
                                section after a hearing conducted under 
                                subparagraph (B)(iii).
                    ``(D) External conditions.--The Secretary shall not 
                disapprove a waiver request under this section based on 
                conditions outside the scope of the waiver request.'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the heading, by adding ``; Limitations'' 
                after ``Duration and Extension of Waiver''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Specific limitations.--The Secretary shall not 
        require a State educational agency, local educational agency, 
        or Indian tribe, as a condition of approval of a waiver 
        request, to--
                    ``(A) include in, or delete from, such request, 
                specific academic content standards or academic 
                achievement standards;
                    ``(B) use specific academic assessment instruments 
                or items; or
                    ``(C) include in, or delete from, such waiver 
                request any criterion that specifies, defines, or 
                prescribes the standards or measures that a State or 
                local educational agency uses to establish, implement, 
                or improve--
                            ``(i) State academic content standards or 
                        academic achievement standards;
                            ``(ii) assessments;
                            ``(iii) State accountability systems;
                            ``(iv) systems that measure student growth;
                            ``(v) measures of other academic 
                        indicators; or
                            ``(vi) teacher and principal evaluation 
                        systems.'';
            (4) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking the heading and inserting 
                        ``Waiver reports'';
                            (ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``local educational 
                                agency that receives'' and inserting 
                                ``State educational agency, local 
                                educational agency, or Indian tribe 
                                that receives''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``submit a report 
                                to the State educational agency that'' 
                                and inserting ``submit a report to the 
                                Secretary that'';
                    (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3);
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph 
                (2); and
                    (D) in paragraph (2), (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (C)), by striking ``Beginning in fiscal 
                year 2002 and for each subsequent year, the Secretary 
                shall submit to the Committee'' and inserting ``The 
                Secretary shall annually submit to the Committee''; and
            (5) in subsection (f), by inserting ``and the recipient of 
        the waiver has failed to make revisions needed to carry out the 
        purpose of the waiver,'' after ``has been inadequate to justify 
        a continuation of the waiver''.

Summary: State Innovation Pilot Act of 2011 - Amends part D (Waivers) of title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise the process by which states, LEAs, and Indian tribes obtain waivers of the Act's statutory and regulatory requirements. Requires waiver requests by states, LEAs, or Indian tribes to include a plan that describes how: (1) the waiver will improve instruction and student achievement in accordance with the state's college and career ready academic content and achievement standards, (2) the plan will be evaluated regularly and improved continuously. (3) they will review implementation of the college and career readiness standards, (4) they will identify, support, and intervene in underperforming schools. And (5) they will maintain and improve transparency in reporting to parents and the public on student achievement and school performance. Requires the Secretary of Education to approve requests that meet such requirements and do not involve certain specified statutory or regulatory requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a multidisciplinary peer review team to review a waiver request if the Secretary requests their input or intends to disapprove the request. Requires peer reviewers to review waiver requests in their totality, in deference to state and local judgment, and with the goal of promoting state and local innovation. Gives the Secretary a limited amount of time to decide on a waiver request. Gives requesters opportunities to revise their requests. Prohibits the Secretary from imposing conditions on a waiver that require the state, LEA, or Indian tribe to adopt or drop specific standards or assessment systems.