I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4013 

To create an equitable and excellent education system in the United States 

so that every child, regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, or State 

of residence, can receive a high-quality, academically rigorous education 

in a local public school. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2015 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. DELANEY, Ms. 

EDWARDS, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

HINOJOSA, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCNERNEY, and Mr. 

TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To create an equitable and excellent education system in 

the United States so that every child, regardless of race, 

ethnicity, social class, or State of residence, can receive 

a high-quality, academically rigorous education in a local 

public school. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equity and Excellence 

3 in American Education Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to create a public edu6 cation system in the United States that has the capacity 

7 to deliver an excellent education to every child, irrespective 

8 of race, ethnicity, English language proficiency, special 

9 needs, social class, or State of residence. Building that ca10 pacity on an equitable basis requires our Nation to make 

11 new, substantial financial investments in the education of 

12 our children, designed— 

13 (1) to overcome the widely varying fiscal and 

14 economic capacities to fund education that exist 

15 from State to State and community to community, 

16 which historically have resulted in far too many pub17 lic schools having insufficient resources to cover the 

18 costs of providing their students with a high-quality, 

19 academically rigorous education; 

20 (2) to support capacity building at the school 

21 level focused on implementing educational practices 

22 that have been demonstrated to enhance student 

23 achievement; 

24 (3) to move away from outdated concepts of 

25 school finance that are focused primarily on State 

26 and local considerations, such as ‘‘property valuation 


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1 per pupil’’ and ‘‘per pupil foundation levels’’ tied to 

2 State fiscal capacity, and to move to an education fi3 nance system focused on the actual cost of delivering 

4 a high-quality public education to each child based 

5 on that child’s needs; 

6 (4) to ensure all social, health and other nec7 essary ‘‘wrap-around’’ services are available in public 

8 schools that serve a significant population of chil9 dren who come from poverty; and 

10 (5) to target new Federal investments to those 

11 schools that serve— 

12 (A) a high percentage of children from 

13 poverty or otherwise economically disadvan14 taged families and communities; or 

15 (B) a high percentage of children who are 

16 part of a racial or ethnic minority group or are 

17 English language learners and who have histori18 cally demonstrated an achievement gap in aca19 demic performance compared to the perform20 ance of non-minority children. 

21 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 

22 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

23 (1) lack of financial capacity has been one of 

24 the consistent obstacles to providing the meaningful 

25 education opportunity each child in the United 


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1 States needs to attain high levels of achievement in 

2 rigorous academic programs and build the skills nec3 essary to attend college, compete in a global econ4 omy, and become a responsible, productive, and en5 gaged citizen; 

6 (2) this Act will address that financial short7 coming and help create an education funding system 

8 that is sufficient in amount, equitable in application 

9 based on student need, and predictable and sustain10 able over time. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX.—The term 

14 ‘‘Employment Cost Index’’ means the Employment 

15 Cost Index for total compensation (not seasonally 

16 adjusted) for civilian workers, by occupational group 

17 and industry, educational services, elementary and 

18 secondary schools, published by the Bureau of Labor 

19 Statistics (or any successor index thereto). 

20 (2) ENHANCED INVESTMENT.—The term ‘‘en21 hanced investment’’ means a year-to-year increase in 

22 the average per-pupil expenditure made by a State, 

23 after the effective date of this Act, in the education 

24 of children attending targeted schools who live in 


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1 that State, that satisfies both of the following re2 quirements: 

3 (A) The initial amount of such increase in 

4 elementary and secondary education funding is 

5 at least $250 per pupil more than the amount 

6 of total expenditures per pupil from all sources 

7 in such targeted schools for the immediately 

8 preceding school year (taking into account the 

9 percent increase, if any, in the Employment 

10 Cost Index in the most recently completed cal11 endar year). 

12 (B) The entire amount of such enhanced 

13 investment comes from State funds, and does 

14 not include local or Federal sources. 

15 (3) EVIDENCE-BASED COST ANALYSIS

16 MODEL.—The term ‘‘evidence-based cost analysis 

17 model’’ means a research-based evaluation of the ac18 tual cost of educating all children in a State to 

19 achieve high academic standards and otherwise cre20 ate a meaningful educational opportunity, that— 

21 (A) considers only educational practices, 

22 personnel levels and qualifications, strategies, 

23 programs and other educational resources that 

24 have been demonstrated through evidence-based 

25 research to enhance student achievement; 


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1 (B) adjusts for specific student demo2 graphics including poverty, English language 

3 proficiency, minority status, ethnic status, and 

4 special needs; and 

5 (C) adjusts for the specific expense of pro6 viding each of the resources described in sub7 paragraph (A) based on the regional costs in a 

8 State. 

9 (4) MEANINGFUL EDUCATIONAL OPPOR10 TUNITY.—The term ‘‘meaningful educational oppor11 tunity’’ means the provision of a combination of edu12 cational resources, including programs, practices, 

13 technology, physical facilities, wrap-around services, 

14 instructional materials, enrichment programs and 

15 qualified teaching, administrative and support per16 sonnel, necessary to ensure each child attending a 

17 targeted school receives a rigorous public education 

18 of sufficient quality to allow that child to achieve 

19 high academic standards and to graduate high 

20 school with the skills needed to be college and career 

21 ready. 

22 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 (6) TARGETED SCHOOL.—A ‘‘targeted school’’ 

2 is a public elementary school or secondary school 

3 that satisfies one of the following requirements: 

4 (A) Twenty percent or more of the stu5 dents at such school are eligible for free or re6 duced priced lunch under the Richard B. Rus7 sell National School Lunch Act. 

8 (B) Twenty percent or more of the stu9 dents at such school qualify as limited English 

10 proficient. 

11 (C) Twenty-five percent or more of the 

12 students at such school are racial or ethnic mi13 norities, Indian, or migratory. 

14 (7) WRAP-AROUND SERVICES.—The term 

15 ‘‘wrap-around services’’ means any social, coun16 seling, health, nutritional, and other support services 

17 needed by students attending targeted schools. 

18 (8) ESEA TERMS.—Any term that is defined in 

19 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) shall have the 

21 meaning given the term in such section. 


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1 TITLE I—EQUITY AND 

2 EXCELLENCE INITIATIVE 

3 SEC. 100. AUTHORIZATION OF THE EQUITY AND EXCEL4 LENCE INITIATIVE. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the availability of 

6 appropriations, the Secretary shall carry out a grant pro7 gram, known as the ‘‘Equity and Excellence Initiative’’, 

8 to provide— 

9 (1) an initial grant to each eligible State to 

10 match the enhanced investment made by such State 

11 for providing a meaningful educational opportunity 

12 for children who attend targeted schools in such 

13 State; and 

14 (2) subsequent grants to each State receiving a 

15 grant described in paragraph (1), for the fiscal year 

16 following the receipt of such grant and each subse17 quent fiscal year, provided such State satisfies the 

18 maintenance-of-effort requirement under section 

19 102. 

20 (b) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible 

21 to receive a grant under subsection (a), a State shall sub22 mit to the Secretary a certification, prepared by the State 

23 educational agency of such State and signed by the head 

24 of such agency, that— 


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1 (1) verifies that the State has made an en2 hanced investment, or has satisfied the maintenance3 of-effort requirement under section 102, for the ap4 propriate fiscal year; 

5 (2) identifies the amount of such enhanced in6 vestment or maintenance-of-effort requirement, and 

7 provides specific documentation of the calculation of 

8 such amount in sufficient detail to permit the 

9 verification of such amount by the Secretary; 

10 (3) provides a detailed list of the targeted 

11 schools that will receive such enhanced investment or 

12 maintenance-of-effort requirement amount, includ13 ing— 

14 (A) the basis on which each such school 

15 qualifies as a targeted school; 

16 (B) the number and demographic composi17 tion (including race, ethnicity, gender, English 

18 language proficiency, and low income status) of 

19 the students attending each such school; and 

20 (C) a metric for reviewing how each such 

21 school is performing academically, including 

22 performance by demographic categories within 

23 such school; 

24 (4) includes verification that the entire amount 

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1 quirement comes exclusively from State funds, and 

2 does not include any local or Federal funds; and 

3 (5) includes such other information as the Sec4 retary may require by regulation. 

5 The Secretary may issue a standard form for use by 

6 States for certification of eligibility under this subsection, 

7 provided that any such form shall not be more than 10 

8 pages in length. 

9 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—In addition 

10 to the grants described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

11 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, provide 

12 the State educational agency of each State that is awarded 

13 an initial grant under subsection (a)(1) with a technical 

14 assistance grant of $250,000 to assist the State edu15 cational agency in meeting the reporting, certification, 

16 data collection, and filing requirements under this title. 

17 The Secretary shall renew such technical assistance grant 

18 for each fiscal year for which a State is awarded a subse19 quent grant under subsection (a)(2). 

20 SEC. 101. GRANT AMOUNTS AND DISTRIBUTION. 

21 (a) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

22 (1) INITIAL GRANT.—The amount of the initial 

23 grant to a State under section 100(a)(1) shall be 

24 equal to the enhanced investment made by such 

25 State during the previous fiscal year, multiplied by 


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1 the number of students at targeted schools that re2 ceived such enhanced investment amount in such 

3 State who will be in attendance at such schools dur4 ing the school year funded by such initial grant. 

5 (2) SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.—The amount of a 

6 subsequent grant to a State under section 100(a)(2) 

7 shall be— 

8 (A) for the fiscal year following the award 

9 of an initial grant described in paragraph (1) to 

10 the State, an amount equal to— 

11 (i) the enhanced investment made by 

12 such State during the fiscal year preceding 

13 the award of the initial grant, plus 

14 (ii) the amount of the maintenance-of15 effort requirement under section 102 for 

16 the State for the fiscal year following the 

17 award of the initial grant; and 

18 (B) for each subsequent fiscal year, an 

19 amount equal to— 

20 (i) the amount of the subsequent 

21 grant awarded to such State for the pre22 ceding year, plus 

23 (ii) the amount of the maintenance-of24 effort requirement under section 102 for 

25 the State for such year. 


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1 (3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para3 graphs (1) and (2), no grant under section 

4 100(a) shall exceed the amount necessary to 

5 provide a meaningful educational opportunity to 

6 every student who attends a targeted school in 

7 such State (as determined annually by the Sec8 retary using an evidence-based cost analysis 

9 model). 

10 (B) REDUCTION.—If, with respect to any 

11 State, it is determined that the amount of a 

12 grant under section 100(a) plus the amount of 

13 Federal and local funding for public education 

14 provided to the targeted schools in such State 

15 for such year exceeds the amount necessary to 

16 provide such meaningful educational oppor17 tunity, the amount of the grant under section 

18 100(a) shall be reduced until the combination of 

19 such other funding for public education and the 

20 amount of the grant under section 100(a) does 

21 not exceed the cost of providing such meaning22 ful educational opportunity. 

23 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall award a 

24 grant under section 100(a) to an eligible State not later 

25 than 120 days after the Secretary receives a certification 


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1 from such State in accordance with section 100(b). Not 

2 later than 30 days after receipt of grant funds under sec3 tion 100(a), a State shall, through the State educational 

4 agency, distribute to each targeted school located in such 

5 State a percentage of such grant funds that is equal to 

6 the number of students attending such targeted school di7 vided by the total number of students attending all tar8 geted schools in such State. 

9 SEC. 102. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the fiscal year fol11 lowing the first fiscal year for which the State receives 

12 a grant under section 100(a) for its targeted schools, the 

13 State shall use State funds to maintain an investment in 

14 an amount equal to such grant amount for its targeted 

15 schools, which amount shall be adjusted on an annual 

16 basis by the percentage change in the Employment Cost 

17 Index for the most recently completed calendar year. 

18 (b) REDUCTION OF OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—If, in 

19 any school year a State fails to satisfy the requirement 

20 described in subsection (a)— 

21 (1) the Secretary may assist the targeted 

22 schools in such State by awarding a local edu23 cational agency a grant under section 201 in an 

24 amount that the State should have provided under 

25 subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) in a case in which the Secretary of Edu2 cation awards such a grant to such State, the Sec3 retary of the Treasury shall reduce other Federal 

4 funding owed to such State under any Federal as5 sistance program (except for than the Medicaid pro6 gram under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.)), part A of title IV and section 

8 1108(b) of the Social Security Act (other than under 

9 subsections (a)(3) and (b) of section 403 of such 

10 Act), or the special supplemental nutrition program 

11 for women, infants, and children under section 17 of 

12 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, on a dollar-for-dol13 lar basis, and shall provide an accounting thereof to 

14 the such State. 

15 SEC. 103. USE OF GRANT FUNDS BY TARGETED SCHOOLS. 

16 (a) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A targeted school shall 

17 use any grant funds received under this title to create a 

18 meaningful educational opportunity for each student at19 tending such school, and shall include a combination of 

20 one or more of the activities described in subsection (b). 

21 (b) AUTHORIZED USES.—Grant funds received by a 

22 targeted school shall be used for building education capac23 ity by implementing systems-based reforms, programs or 

24 initiatives that have been demonstrated, in the United 

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1 ing or critical thinking skills over time. Such reforms, pro2 grams or initiatives may include the following: 

3 (1) ENHANCING PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS OF EX4 TANT TEACHING STAFF.—To support the crucial 

5 role teachers play in creating a meaningful edu6 cational opportunity— 

7 (A) induction, mentoring, training and 

8 other professional development programs for 

9 teachers that are based on best practices, 

10 aligned with college and career ready standards, 

11 embedded in daily practice, and that have evi12 dence-based support; and 

13 (B) collaborative teaching programs across 

14 schools and local educational agencies that en15 courage teachers to work in groups and share 

16 effective strategies. 

17 (2) ENHANCING INSTRUCTIONAL CAPACITY.— 

18 To provide robust educational resources and pro19 gramming— 

20 (A) implement extended learning time ini21 tiatives pursuant to which the school day or 

22 year is extended in conjunction with a plan that 

23 incorporates additional substantive learning, tu24 toring or enrichment programming dem25 onstrated to correlate to enhanced student 


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1 learning, achievement or development of either 

2 critical thinking or social/emotional learning; 

3 (B) implement high-quality after-school, 

4 summer, and vacation programs; 

5 (C) implement social/emotional learning 

6 curriculum including all teacher training or pro7 fessional development necessary for such imple8 mentation to be successful; 

9 (D) introduce, supplement or implement 

10 fully rigorous academic programming including 

11 but not limited to programming needed for ef12 fective implementation of the college and career 

13 ready standards, advanced placement, honors or 

14 gifted programs, and academic tutoring pro15 grams, including but not limited to acquisition 

16 of all associated textbooks, library materials, 

17 computers, smart-boards, electronic tablets or 

18 similar devices, lab materials, virtual resources 

19 and other technology, pedagogical material or 

20 instructional supplies, as well as all professional 

21 development necessary for effective implementa22 tion thereof; 

23 (E) implement effective response to inter24 vention programming using appropriately 

25 skilled professional staff to target instructional 


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1 interventions to children’s areas of specific need 

2 as soon as those needs become apparent; 

3 (F) implement appropriate programs and 

4 services for English language learners; 

5 (G) implement meaningful enrichment pro6 gramming that includes cultural, athletic, aca7 demic, civic, community service, and other en8 richment activities, except that a targeted 

9 school shall use no more than 5 percent of the 

10 funds received for enrichment programs out11 lined in this subparagraph, unless such targeted 

12 school receives a waiver of the preceding limit 

13 from the Secretary; 

14 (H) implement appropriate programs and 

15 services for students with disabilities that are 

16 not funded under other State or Federal pro17 grams; 

18 (I) implement compensation programs de19 signed to attract and retain highly skilled 

20 teachers, particularly those qualified in the 

21 areas of science, technology and math and in22 struction of English language learners; 

23 (J) hire additional, professional, qualified, 

24 teaching staff and classroom assistants needed 

25 to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through 


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1 third grade to no more than 15 students, and 

2 class sizes for all grades thereafter to no more 

3 than 25 students; 

4 (K) hire additional nurses, counselors, sup5 port staff, certified special education teachers 

6 or assistants as required to service the needs of 

7 the children attending such targeted school; 

8 (L) implement evidence-based, effective 

9 strategies for reducing and preventing children 

10 from dropping out of school; and 

11 (M) implement enhanced technology and 

12 vocational instruction. 

13 (3) WRAP-AROUND SERVICES.—To ensure chil14 dren are provided with the services necessary to re15 ceive a meaningful educational opportunity, the pro16 vision of necessary and appropriate wrap-around 

17 services each student attending such school may 

18 need through a program implemented by the school, 

19 to the extent feasible, to help coordinate the delivery 

20 of all such needed wrap-around services with high21 quality providers of such services, except that a tar22 geted school shall utilize no more than 5 percent of 

23 such grant funds to carry out this paragraph, unless 

24 such school receives a waiver from the Secretary. 


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1 (4) EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP.—To support the 

2 crucial role effective leadership plays in creating a 

3 meaningful educational opportunity and to attract, 

4 develop, and keep effective principals and other ad5 ministrators, providing access to appropriate profes6 sional development, mentoring and training pro7 grams and implementing a compensation structure 

8 necessary to attract highly qualified professionals, 

9 except that a school may use no more than 5 percent 

10 of such grant funds to carry out this paragraph, un11 less such school receives a waiver from the Sec12 retary. 

13 (5) PARENT ENGAGEMENT.—To encourage in14 volvement of parents and guardians in the education 

15 of their children, implement or enhance effective 

16 parent engagement strategies and programs, includ17 ing providing parenting education, after-hours adult 

18 education offerings in basic and advanced knowledge 

19 and skill areas, professional development that pro20 motes mutual engagement between schools and fami21 lies, adult English language learner classes targeted 

22 to parents of enrolled students, crisis counseling and 

23 support for families, and other family-based support 

24 services, provided that a school shall use no more 

25 than 10 percent of such grant funds to carry out 


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1 this paragraph, unless such school receives a waiver 

2 from the Secretary. 

3 (6) OTHER USES.—To account for the evolution 

4 of the concept of a meaningful educational oppor5 tunity, for purposes not included in paragraphs (1) 

6 through (5), if— 

7 (A) the State educational agency makes a 

8 written request to the Secretary for authoriza9 tion to use grant funds for such purpose; 

10 (B) such request involves— 

11 (i) implementation of an educational 

12 practice not enumerated in paragraphs (1) 

13 through (5) for which there is research14 based evidence that such practice enhances 

15 student achievement, learning or critical 

16 thinking; or 

17 (ii) creation or implementation of a 

18 pilot program such State educational agen19 cy believes will enhance student achieve20 ment, learning or critical thinking; and 

21 (C) the Secretary approves such request in 

22 writing. 

23 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—For the purpose of carrying 

25 out this title, there are authorized to be appropriated such 


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1 sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016 and each 

2 of the succeeding fiscal years. 

3 (b) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount appro4 priated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year is not suffi5 cient to award each participating State a grant under this 

6 title that is equal to the full amount such State is eligible 

7 to receive for such year the Secretary may ratably reduce 

8 the amount of each such grant or take other actions nec9 essary to ensure an equitable distribution of such amount. 

10 TITLE II—EDUCATING EVERY 

11 CHILD 

12 SEC. 200. EDUCATING EVERY CHILD INITIATIVE. 

13 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to ensure 

14 that every child in the United States— 

15 (1) receives the meaningful educational oppor16 tunity necessary for that child to achieve high aca17 demic standards, regardless of the investment made 

18 in that child’s education by the State or local com19 munity in which the child lives; and 

20 (2) develop the numeracy and literacy skills 

21 needed to be competitive in a modern economy and 

22 to be a contributing, engaged citizen in a vibrant de23 mocracy 

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to 

25 carry out a program, known as the ‘‘Educating Every 


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1 Child Initiative’’, to make annual grants directly to local 

2 educational agencies that include targeted schools if the 

3 Secretary determines that the State in which that child 

4 lives has failed to invest sufficient resources in that State’s 

5 public education system to create a meaningful edu6 cational opportunity for all children who attend targeted 

7 schools in that State. Grants the Secretary makes under 

8 this title shall be referred to as ‘‘Educating Every Child 

9 Grants.’’ 

10 SEC. 201. GRANT TERMS. 

11 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

12 under this title, a local educational agency shall submit 

13 to the Secretary— 

14 (1) a plan for utilization of the grant proceeds, 

15 that shall include only permitted uses described in 

16 section 103(b); and 

17 (2) a certification that all targeted schools re18 ceiving Educating Every Child Grants under this 

19 title shall utilize such grant funds only for such per20 mitted uses. 

21 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency re22 ceiving such grant under this title shall distribute such 

23 funds in the amounts, and directly to, the targeted schools 

24 designated by the Secretary. 


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1 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The maximum amount of a 

2 grant under this title shall be that amount that, when ag3 gregated with all other Federal, State, and local funds re4 ceived by the targeted schools in such local education 

5 agency that will receive the funds from such grant, is suf6 ficient to provide a meaningful educational opportunity to 

7 every child who attends such targeted schools (as deter8 mined by the Secretary using an evidence-based cost anal9 ysis model). 

10 (d) MINIMUM INVESTMENT REQUIRED.—The State 

11 in which the targeted schools receiving grants under this 

12 title are located shall maintain the minimum investment 

13 (as defined in section 202) in each year such targeted 

14 schools receive such grants. 

15 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

16 provide each local educational agency that includes tar17 geted schools receiving grants under this title annual tech18 nical assistance grants of $100,000 to support such local 

19 educational agency’s compliance with the reporting and 

20 planning obligations of this title, in each year the Sec21 retary makes such grants to targeted schools located in 

22 such agency. 

23 SEC. 202. MINIMUM INVESTMENT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, the 

25 ‘‘minimum investment’’ of a State shall mean the total 


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1 amount of education funding received by targeted schools 

2 in that State from State and local resources in the com3 plete school year immediately preceding the first year such 

4 targeted schools receive a grant under section 100(a), in5 creased annually thereafter by the Employment Cost 

6 Index for the then most recently complete calendar year, 

7 for each year in which targeted schools in that State re8 ceive such grant. 

9 (b) REDUCTION OF FUNDING.—If a State fails to 

10 satisfy its minimum investment obligation under this title, 

11 then the Department of the Treasury shall reduce other 

12 Federal funding owed to that State under any Federal 

13 program other than the Medicaid program under title XIX 

14 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), part 

15 A of title IV and section 1108(b) of the Social Security 

16 Act (other than under subsections (a)(3) and (b) of section 

17 403 of such Act), or the special supplemental nutrition 

18 program for women, infants, and children under section 

19 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, on a dollar-for20 dollar basis, and shall provide an accounting thereof to 

21 the applicable State. 

22 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 For purposes of carrying out this title, there are au24 thorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Nov 17, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4013.IH H4013

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1 essary for fiscal year 2016 and each of the 5 succeeding 

2 fiscal years. 

3 TITLE III—EQUITABLE AND SUS4 TAINABLE FISCAL POLICY 

5 PROGRAM 

6 SEC. 300. EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE FISCAL POLICY. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—Recognizing that every State has a 

8 unique fiscal system, economy and demographic composi9 tion, the purpose of this title is to— 

10 (1) provide assistance to particular States to re11 form fiscal policies to create adequate State capacity 

12 to invest sufficiently in ensuring all of the children 

13 in the State receive a meaningful educational oppor14 tunity; and 

15 (2) to assist States in reforming their tax poli16 cies to comport with the principles of fair, responsive 

17 and stable taxation, thereby generating the capacity 

18 to fund education sufficiently so that all children, in19 cluding those attending targeted schools receive a 

20 meaningful educational opportunity. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to 

22 establish the ‘‘Equitable and Sustainable Fiscal Policy’’ 

23 Program (ESFP), to support efforts by States to reform 

24 State fiscal policies to create State capacity to invest suffi25 ciently in ensuring all their children receive a meaningful 


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1 educational opportunity, by comporting with the principles 

2 of fairness, responsiveness, and stability required for equi3 table and sustainable taxation in a modern economy. 

4 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

5 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Sec6 retary shall provide technical assistance grants of 

7 $1,000,000 to each State that submits a complete and ac8 curate application for a grant under this title. The Gov9 ernor of a State that desires to receive such a grant shall 

10 submit a written application to the Secretary, that— 

11 (1) outlines the fiscal policy reforms that State 

12 intends to consider; 

13 (2) summarizes that State’s current education 

14 funding system; 

15 (3) identifies how it intends to enhance State 

16 funding of targeted schools to provide a meaningful 

17 educational opportunity to children attending such 

18 schools; and 

19 (4) delineates how the proceeds of the grant re20 ceived under this section will be used both to study 

21 that State’s fiscal policy and generate popular sup22 port for implementing the necessary tax policy re23 forms. 


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1 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 For purposes of carrying out this title, there are au3 thorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec4 essary for fiscal year 2016 and each of the 5 succeeding 

5 fiscal years. 

6 TITLE IV—REPORTING AND 

7 ACCOUNTABILITY 

8 SEC. 400. ANNUAL REPORTS REQUIRED. 

9 Each State receiving a grant under title I or local 

10 educational agency receiving a grant under title II, shall 

11 file annual reports with the Secretary within 60 days of 

12 the close of the school year in which the grant is received, 

13 regarding the utilization of the proceeds of those grants 

14 which, at a minimum shall specify— 

15 (1) in detail each targeted school receiving any 

16 such grant proceeds and the total grant proceeds 

17 distributed to each such targeted school; 

18 (2) in detail the specific permitted uses de19 scribed in section 102(b) for which all grant pro20 ceeds were utilized by each targeted school receiving 

21 the same; 

22 (3) how funding such permitted uses with grant 

23 proceeds received under this Act contributes to or 

24 constitutes part of a comprehensive, strategic plan 

25 to enhance the capacity of that State’s entire edu26 cational system to enable it to provide a meaningful 


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1 educational opportunity to all students—but particu2 larly those students attending targeted schools; 

3 (4) the demographic breakdown of each tar4 geted school and the academic performance of the 

5 children attending those targeted schools vis-a-vis 

6 each other, the State’s student body overall, and the 

7 students attending the 5 percent of schools with the 

8 highest per pupil funding levels in that State; 

9 (5) the academic performance of racial and eth10 nic minority students, Indians, and English lan11 guage learners in that State overall and as compared 

12 to the performance of non-minority students in that 

13 State; 

14 (6) specific programming, if any, designed to 

15 address any achievement gap that appears in the 

16 comparisons required under paragraph (5); 

17 (7) per-pupil funding levels in that State broken 

18 down by decile covering— 

19 (A) income levels per district, 

20 (B) property values per district, and 

21 (C) targeted schools versus all other 

22 schools; 

23 (8) professional staffing levels, teacher quali24 fications and class sizes by grade level in targeted 

25 schools vis-a-vis all other schools in that State; 


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1 (9) attendance rates, graduation rates and 

2 drop-out rates (using definitions thereof agreed upon 

3 in writing by the Secretary), percentage of students 

4 enrolled in and passing advanced placement courses 

5 and tests, and ACT scores in targeted schools versus 

6 all other State schools; 

7 (10) availability of wrap-around services in the 

8 targeted schools to meet the need therefor; and 

9 (11) such other data as the Secretary may from 

10 time to time require via regulation or request in 

11 writing. 

12 SEC. 401. DEVELOPMENT OF ACCOUNTABILITY METRICS. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall work 

14 with the State educational agencies and local educational 

15 agencies receiving grants under this Act to develop the fol16 lowing: 

17 (1) A series of accountability metrics that will 

18 allow the Federal Government to monitor the per19 formance of the equity and excellence investments it 

20 makes under this Act to ensure those investments 

21 are creating a meaningful educational opportunity 

22 and ultimately leading to enhanced student achieve23 ment. These metrics will be informative in nature, 

24 provide adequate data (as determined by the Sec25 retary), and provide information that will allow the 


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1 Department of Education, working in collaboration 

2 with State educational agencies, local educational 

3 agencies receiving grants under this Act and other 

4 stakeholders (such as but not limited to educators 

5 and as appropriate community members and par6 ents) to develop changes in practice designed to en7 hance performance and effectively create the desired 

8 meaningful educational opportunity. 

9 (2) A series of mechanisms designed to reme10 diate practices that are not attaining those goals. 

11 All enforcement mechanisms implemented by the Sec12 retary pursuant to regulations it issues to accomplish the 

13 goals identified in this section will be designed in a manner 

14 that changes practice at the State, local educational agen15 cy, or targeted school level in a manner that creates a 

16 meaningful educational opportunity for all children and 

17 shall not take resources away from low income, minority, 

18 English language learners, or other children who attend 

19 targeted schools and need resources the most. 

20 (b) ENHANCED METRICS.—Evaluations of academic 

21 performance shall include multiple measures that— 

22 (1) may include standardized test scores but 

23 shall not be based solely on test scores; 

24 (2) to the extent test scores are considered, uti25 lize a growth model of evaluation that tracks the 


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1 academic performance of each child over time rather 

2 than simply comparing test scores by grade level of 

3 different annual cohorts of students; 

4 (3) shall include an evaluation of drop-out rates 

5 utilizing a methodology of which has been approved 

6 in writing and in advance by the Secretary; 

7 (4) may include course passage rates and may 

8 include— 

9 (A) where available, district developed as10 sessments that incorporate sound methodology 

11 and best practice as determined by the Sec12 retary; 

13 (B) where available, AP course taking; 

14 (C) when appropriate, portfolio based 

15 work; and 

16 (D) when appropriate, school environment 

17 metrics such as, but not limited to, reduced in18 cidents of significant student discipline, devel19 opment of collaborative educational practices, 

20 and implementation of effective, well-designed 

21 teacher and administrator professional develop22 ment and induction and mentoring; 

23 (5) shall include an evaluation of growth in crit24 ical thinking. To the extent standardized tests are 

25 utilized to evaluate student achievement, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Nov 17, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4013.IH H4013

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1 retary will work with State educational agencies re2 ceiving grants under this Act to ensure such testing 

3 provides an accurate measure of student learning 

4 and is free of racial, ethnic, gender, income class or 

5 other biases; and 

6 (6) shall include an analysis of resources (fiscal, 

7 facility, and personnel) to determine whether the ap8 plicable State and/or local educational agency has 

9 the capacity to provide a meaningful educational op10 portunity to each child it serves. 

11 SEC. 402. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

14 transmit to the Committee on Education and the Work15 force of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

17 a report that provides National and State-level data on 

18 the information collected under this Act and on the 

19 progress toward enhancing student achievement in tar20 geted schools and creating an equitable and excellent pub21 lic education system in the United States. 

Æ 


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