II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1266

To allow a State to combine certain funds to improve the academic

achievement of all its students.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 22, 1999

Mr. GORTON (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. GREGG, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr.

BROWNBACK, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. HELMS, and Mr. VOINOVICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To allow a State to combine certain funds to improve the

academic achievement of all its students.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Academic Achievement

5 for All Act (Straight A’s Act)’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Act is to create options for States

8 and communities—
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1 (1) to improve the academic achievement of all

2 students, and to focus the resources of the Federal

3 Government upon such achievement;

4 (2) to give States and communities maximum

5 freedom in determining how to boost academic

6 achievement and implement education reforms;

7 (3) to hold States and communities accountable

8 for boosting the academic achievement of all stu9 dents, especially disadvantaged children; and

10 (4) to narrow achievement gaps between the

11 lowest and highest performing groups of students so

12 that no child is left behind.

13 SEC. 3. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.

14 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—A State may, at its op15 tion, execute a performance agreement with the Secretary

16 under which the provisions of law described in section 4(a)

17 shall not apply to such State except as otherwise provided

18 in this Act.

19 (b) APPROVAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.—A

20 performance agreement submitted to the Secretary under

21 this section shall be approved by the Secretary unless the

22 Secretary makes a written determination, within 60 days

23 after receiving the performance agreement, that the per24 formance agreement is in violation of the provisions of this

25 Act.
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1 (c) TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.—Each

2 performance agreement executed pursuant to this Act

3 shall include the following provisions:

4 (1) TERM.—A statement that the term of the

5 performance agreement shall be 5 years.

6 (2) APPLICATION OF PROGRAM REQUIRE7 MENTS.—A statement that no program requirements

8 of any program included by the State in the per9 formance agreement shall apply, except as otherwise

10 provided in this Act.

11 (3) LIST.—A list provided by the State of the

12 programs that it wishes to include in the perform13 ance agreement.

14 (4) USE OF FUNDS TO IMPROVE STUDENT

15 ACHIEVEMENT.—Include a 5-year plan describing

16 how the State intends to combine and use the funds

17 from programs included in the performance agree18 ment to advance the education priorities of the

19 State, improve student achievement, and narrow

20 achievement gaps between students.

21 (5) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM REQUIRE22 MENTS.—If a State includes part A of title I of the

23 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

24 in its performance agreement, the State shall include

25 a certification that the State has the following:
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1 (A)(i) developed and implemented the chal2 lenging State content standards, challenging

3 State student performance standards, and

4 aligned assessments described in section

5 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu6 cation Act of 1965, and for which local edu7 cational agencies in the State are producing the

8 individual school performance profiles required

9 by section 1116(a)(3) of such Act; or

10 (ii) developed and implemented a system to

11 measure the degree of change from 1 school

12 year to the next in student performance on such

13 assessments;

14 (B) established a system under which as15 sessment information is disaggregated by race,

16 ethnicity, sex, English proficiency status, and

17 socioeconomic status for the State, each local

18 educational agency, and each school, except

19 that such disaggregation shall not be required

20 in cases in which the number of students in any

21 such group is insufficient to yield statistically

22 reliable information or would reveal the identity

23 of an individual student;
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1 (C) established specific, measurable, nu2 merical performance objectives for student

3 achievement, including—

4 (i) a definition of performance consid5 ered to be satisfactory by the State on the

6 assessment instruments described under

7 subparagraphs (A) and (B) with perform8 ance objectives established for all students

9 and for specific student groups, including

10 groups for which data is disaggregated

11 under subparagraph (B); and

12 (ii) the objective of improving the per13 formance of all groups and narrowing gaps

14 in performance between those groups; and

15 (D) developed and implemented a state16 wide system for holding its local educational

17 agencies and schools accountable for student

18 performance that includes—

19 (i) a procedure for identifying local

20 educational agencies and schools in need of

21 improvement;

22 (ii) assisting and building capacity in

23 local educational agencies and schools iden24 tified as in need of improvement to im25 prove teaching and learning; and
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1 (iii) implementing corrective actions if

2 the assistance and capacity building under

3 clause (ii) is not effective.

4 (6) PERFORMANCE GOALS.—

5 (A) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA.—Each

6 State shall establish student performance goals

7 for the 5-year term of the performance agree8 ment that, at a minimum—

9 (i) establish a single high standard of

10 performance for all students;

11 (ii) take into account the progress of

12 students from every local educational agen13 cy and school in the State;

14 (iii) measure changes in the percent15 ages of students at selected grade levels

16 meeting specified proficiency levels of

17 achievement (established by the State) in

18 the final year of the performance agree19 ment, compared to such percentages in the

20 baseline year (as described in subpara21 graph (C));

22 (iv) set numerical goals to attain by

23 the end of the term of the performance

24 agreement to—
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1 (I) improve the performance of

2 the groups specified in paragraph

3 (5)(B); and

4 (II) reduce achievement gaps be5 tween the highest and lowest per6 forming groups of students by raising

7 the achievement levels of the lowest

8 performing students in mathematics

9 and reading, at a minimum; and

10 (v) require all students in the State to

11 make substantial gains in achievement.

12 (B) ADDITIONAL INDICATORS OF PER13 FORMANCE.—A State may identify in the per14 formance agreement any additional indicators

15 of performance such as graduation, dropout, or

16 attendance rates.

17 (C) BASELINE PERFORMANCE DATA.—To

18 determine student achievement levels for the

19 baseline year, the State shall use its most re20 cent achievement data when executing the per21 formance agreement.

22 (D) CONSISTENCY OF PERFORMANCE

23 MEASURES.—A State shall maintain, at a min24 imum, the same challenging State student per-
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1 formance standards and assessments through2 out the term of the performance agreement.

3 (7) FISCAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— An assurance

4 that the State will use fiscal control and fund ac5 counting procedures that will ensure proper dis6 bursement of, and accounting for, Federal funds

7 paid to the State under this Act.

8 (8) CIVIL RIGHTS.—An assurance that the

9 State will meet the requirements of applicable Fed10 eral civil rights laws.

11 (9) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION.—An as12 surance that the State will provide for the equitable

13 participation of students and professional staff in

14 private schools in accordance with section 14503 of

15 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8893).

17 (10) STATE FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION.—An

18 assurance that the State will not reduce the level of

19 spending of State funds for education during the

20 term of the performance agreement.

21 (11) ANNUAL REPORT.—An assurance that not

22 later than 1 year after the execution of the perform23 ance agreement, and annually thereafter, each State

24 shall disseminate widely to the general public, sub25 mit to the Secretary, distribute to print and broad-
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1 cast media, and post on the Internet, a report that

2 includes—

3 (A) student performance data,

4 disaggregated as provided in paragraph

5 (5)(A)(ii); and

6 (B) a detailed description of how the State

7 has used Federal funds to improve student per8 formance and reduce achievement gaps to meet

9 the terms of the performance agreement.

10 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—If a State does not include part

11 A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education

12 Act of 1965 in its performance agreement, the State

13 shall—

14 (1) certify that it has developed a system to

15 measure the academic performance of all students;

16 and

17 (2) establish performance goals in accordance

18 with subsection (c)(6) for such other programs.

19 (e) AMENDMENT TO PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.—

20 A State may submit an amendment to the performance

21 agreement to the Secretary under the following cir22 cumstances:

23 (1) REDUCE SCOPE OF PERFORMANCE AGREE24 MENT.—Not later than 1 year after the execution of

25 the performance agreement, a State may amend the
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1 performance agreement through a request to with2 draw a program from such agreement. If the Sec3 retary approves the amendment, the requirements of

4 existing law shall apply for any program withdrawn

5 from the performance agreement.

6 (2) EXPAND SCOPE OF PERFORMANCE AGREE7 MENT.—Not later than 1 year after the execution of

8 the performance agreement, a State may amend its

9 performance agreement to include additional pro10 grams and performance indicators for which it will

11 be held accountable.

12 SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.

13 (a) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.—The provisions of law re14 ferred to in section 3(a) except as otherwise provided in

15 subsection (b), are as follows:

16 (1) Part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965.

18 (2) Part B of title I of the Elementary and Sec19 ondary Education Act of 1965.

20 (3) Part C of title I of the Elementary and Sec21 ondary Education Act of 1965.

22 (4) Part D of title I of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965.

24 (5) Section 1502, part E of title I of the Ele25 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
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1 (6) Part B of title II of the Elementary and

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965.

3 (7) Section 3132 of title III of the Elementary

4 and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

5 (8) Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary

6 Education Act of 1965.

7 (9) Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary

8 Education Act of 1965.

9 (10) Section 307 of the Department of Edu10 cation Appropriation Act of 1999.

11 (11) Comprehensive school reform programs as

12 authorized under section 1502 of the Elementary

13 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and described

14 on pages 96-99 of the Joint Explanatory Statement

15 of the Committee of Conference included in House

16 Report 105–390 (Conference Report on the Depart17 ments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and

18 Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations

19 Act, 1998)’’.

20 (12) Part C of title VII of the Elementary and

21 Secondary Education Act of 1965.

22 (13) Title III of the Goals 2000: Educate

23 America Act.
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1 (14) Sections 115 and 116, and parts B and C

2 of title I of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical

3 Education Act.

4 (15) Subtitle B of title VII of the Stewart B.

5 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.

6 (b) ALLOCATION AMOUNTS.—A State may choose to

7 combine funds from any or all of the programs described

8 in subsection (a) without regard to the program require9 ments of such provisions, except as otherwise provided in

10 this Act and except that allocation ratios provided under

11 the provisions referred to in subsection (a) shall remain

12 in effect unless otherwise provided.

13 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available under

14 this Act to a State shall be used for any educational pur15 pose permitted by State law of the participating State.

16 SEC. 5. WITHIN-STATE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The distribution of funds from

18 programs included in the performance agreement from a

19 State to a local educational agency within the State shall

20 be determined by the State legislature and the Governor

21 of the State. In a State in which the constitution or State

22 law designates another individual, entity, or agency to be

23 responsible for education, such other individual, entity, or

24 agency shall work in consultation with the Governor and
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1 State legislature to determine the local distribution of

2 funds.

3 (b) LOCAL HOLD HARMLESS OF PART A TITLE 1

4 FUNDS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State that

6 includes part A of title I in the performance agree7 ment, the agreement shall provide an assurance that

8 each local educational agency shall receive an

9 amount equal to or greater than the amount such

10 agency received under part A of title I of the Ele11 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in

12 the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the

13 performance agreement is executed.

14 (2) PROPORTIONATE REDUCTION.—If the

15 amount made available to the State from the Sec16 retary for a fiscal year is insufficient to pay to each

17 local educational agency the amount made available

18 to such agency for the preceding fiscal year, the

19 State shall reduce the amount each local educational

20 agency receives by a uniform percentage.

21 SEC. 6. LOCAL PARTICIPATION.

22 (a) NONPARTICIPATING STATE.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State chooses not to

24 submit a performance agreement under this Act, any

25 local educational agency in such State is eligible, at
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1 its option, to submit to the Secretary a performance

2 agreement in accordance with this section.

3 (2) AGREEMENT.—The terms of a performance

4 agreement between an eligible local educational agency

5 and the Secretary shall specify the programs to be in6 cluded in the performance agreement, as agreed upon by

7 the State and the agency, from the list under section 4(a).

8 (b) STATE APPROVAL.—When submitting a perform9 ance agreement to the Secretary, an eligible local edu10 cational agency described in subsection (a) shall provide

11 written documentation from the State in which such agen12 cy is located that it has no objection to the agency’s pro13 posal for a performance agreement.

14 (c) APPLICATION.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this

16 section, and to the extent applicable, the require17 ments of this Act shall apply to an eligible local edu18 cational agency that submits a performance agree19 ment in the same manner as the requirements apply

20 to a State.

21 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The following provisions

22 shall not apply to an eligible local educational agen23 cy:

24 (A) WITHIN STATE DISTRIBUTION FOR25 MULA NOT APPLICABLE.—The formula for the
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1 allocation of funds under section 5 shall not

2 apply.

3 (B) STATE SET ASIDE SHALL NOT

4 APPLY.—The State set aside for administrative

5 funds in section 7 shall not apply.

6 SEC. 7. SET-ASIDE FOR STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDI7 TURES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided

9 under subsection (b), a State that includes part A of title

10 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

11 in the performance agreement may use not more than 1

12 percent of such total amount of funds allocated to such

13 State under the programs included in the performance

14 agreement for administrative purposes.

15 (b) EXCEPTION.—A State that does not include part

16 A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education

17 of 1965 its performance agreement may use not more than

18 3 percent of the total amount of funds allocated to such

19 State under the programs included in the performance

20 agreement for administrative purposes.

21 SEC. 8. PERFORMANCE REVIEW.

22 (a) FAILURE TO MEET TERMS.—If at the end of the

23 5-year term of the performance agreement a State has

24 failed to meet at least 80 percent of the performance goals

25 submitted in the performance agreement, the Secretary
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1 shall terminate the performance agreement and the State

2 shall be required to comply with the program requirement,

3 in effect at the time of termination, of each program in4 cluded in the performance agreement.

5 (b) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO IMPROVE STUDENT

6 PERFORMANCE.—If a State has made little or no progress

7 toward achieving its performance goals by the end of the

8 term of the agreement, the Secretary shall reduce funds

9 for State administrative costs for each program included

10 in the performance agreement by 50 percent for the 2-

11 year period following the end of the term of the perform12 ance agreement.

13 SEC. 9. RENEWAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.

14 (a) NOTIFICATION.—A State that wishes to renew its

15 performance agreement shall notify the Secretary of its

16 renewal request not less than 6 months prior to the end

17 of the term of the performance agreement.

18 (b) RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS.—A State that has

19 met at least 80 percent of its performance goals submitted

20 in the performance agreement at the end of the 5-year

21 term may reapply to the Secretary to renew its perform22 ance agreement for an additional 5-year period. Upon the

23 completion of the 5-year term of the performance agree24 ment or as soon thereafter as the State submits data re25 quired under the agreement, the Secretary shall renew, for
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1 an additional 5-year term, the performance agreement of

2 any State that has met at least 80 percent of its perform3 ance goals.

4 SEC. 10. ACHIEVEMENT GAP REDUCTION REWARDS.

5 (a) CLOSING THE GAP REWARD FUND.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—To reward States that make

7 significant progress in eliminating achievement gaps

8 by raising the achievement levels of the lowest per9 forming students, the Secretary shall annually set

10 aside sufficient funds from the Fund for the Im11 provement of Education under part A of title X of

12 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

13 1965 to grant a reward to States that meet the con14 ditions set forth in subsection (b) by the end of their

15 5-year performance agreement.

16 (2) REWARD AMOUNT.—The amount of the re17 ward referred to in paragraph (1) shall be not less

18 than 5 percent of funds allocated to the State during

19 the first year of the performance agreement for pro20 grams included in the agreement.

21 (b) CONDITIONS OF PERFORMANCE REWARD.—A

22 State is eligible to receive a reward under this section if

23 the State reduces by not less than 25 percent, over the

24 5-year term of the performance agreement, the difference

25 between the percentage of highest and lowest performing
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1 groups of students that meet the State’s definition of

2 ‘‘proficient’’ as referenced in section 1111(b)(1)(D)(i)(II)

3 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,

4 for the following:

5 (A) CONTENT AREAS.—The reduction in

6 the achievement gap shall include not less than

7 2 content areas, one of which shall be mathe8 matics or reading.

9 (B) GRADES TESTED.—The reduction shall

10 occur in at least 1 grade level.

11 SEC. 11. STRAIGHT A’S PERFORMANCE REPORT.

12 The Secretary shall make the annual State reports

13 described in section 3 available to the House Committee

14 on Education and the Workforce and the Senate Com15 mittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions not

16 later than 60 days after the Secretary receives the report.

17 SEC. 12. CONSTRUCTION.

18 To the extent that provisions of title XIV of the Ele19 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 are incon20 sistent with this Act, this Act shall be construed as super21 seding such provisions.

22 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.

23 For the purpose of this Act:

24 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

25 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the same meaning
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1 given such term in section 14101 of the Elementary

2 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

3 8801).

4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

5 the Secretary of Education.

6 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

7 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com8 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States

9 Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern

10 Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

11 SEC. 14. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

12 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede

13 or modify any provision of a State constitution or State

14 law that prohibits the expenditure of public funds in or

15 by sectarian institutions.

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