II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2337 

To increase access to postsecondary education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2006 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. KERRY, Mr. 

AKAKA, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

A BILL 

To increase access to postsecondary education, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘College Pathway Act 

5 of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Postsecondary education is an important as9 piration for most students and the future strength 

10 of the United States economy and workforce will 
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1 largely depend on the postsecondary educational at2 tainments of all people of the United States, regard3 less of sex, race, or ethnic background. 

4 (2) Parents and students recognize the value of 

5 postsecondary education. Ninety-seven percent of 

6 secondary school students expect to attend college, 

7 and more than 75 percent of secondary school grad8 uates enroll in some postsecondary education within 

9 2 years of secondary school graduation. 

10 (3) Notwithstanding those expectations, only 32 

11 percent of students graduate from secondary school 

12 adequately prepared to enter a 4-year institution of 

13 higher education. Students living in poverty and stu14 dents of color are roughly half as likely to be college15 ready. 

16 (4) Despite the reality that most students will 

17 enter college after secondary school, secondary 

18 school graduation requirements are not aligned with 

19 the expectations of postsecondary education. 

20 (5) Rather than beginning college-level work 

21 upon entering postsecondary education, many stu22 dents (nearly 1 in 3) enroll in developmental 

23 coursework, and more than half will take at least 1 

24 class of developmental coursework before leaving 

25 postsecondary education. Students who need to take 
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1 a class of developmental coursework in college have 

2 less than a 40 percent chance of completing their 

3 course of study, and students who take 3 or more 

4 classes of developmental coursework face reducing 

5 their prospects of completing their course of study to 

6 less than 1 in 5. 

7 (6) The quality and intensity of the secondary 

8 school curriculum— 

9 (A) are the most significant predictors of 

10 college success; and 

11 (B) are more significant than race, socio12 economic status, secondary school grade point 

13 average, or ACT and SAT scores. 

14 (7) States around the Nation have developed 

15 secondary school academic standards, but there is 

16 often no relationship between those standards and 

17 institutional expectations for college-level study. Stu18 dents, families, and school personnel need informa19 tion to address the gap that exists between satis20 fying various kindergarten through grade 12 stand21 ards and meeting the standards that indicate success 

22 in higher education. The lack of clear information 

23 affects all students, but the effect is particularly 

24 grave for students living in poverty who are more re-
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1 liant on schools and public sources of information to 

2 gauge their preparedness for college-level work. 

3 (8) Numerous reports have cited the need to 

4 improve mathematics and science achievement in 

5 prekindergarten through grade 12. 

6 (9) Current data systems are not designed to 

7 measure the efficacy of State actions intended to 

8 prepare students to enter and succeed in postsec9 ondary education. State-level data systems usually 

10 contain only data related to kindergarten through 

11 grade 12, and often are not compatible with postsec12 ondary education data systems. 

13 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

14 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

15 (1) To broaden the focus of Federal, State, and 

16 local higher education programs to promote aca17 demic success in postsecondary education, particu18 larly with respect to mathematics, science, and engi19 neering. 

20 (2) To increase the percentage of low-income 

21 and minority students who are academically pre22 pared to enter and successfully complete postsec23 ondary-level general education coursework. 

24 (3) To decrease the percentage of students re25 quiring developmental coursework through grants 
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1 that enable States to coordinate the public pre2 kindergarten through grade 12 education system 

3 and the postsecondary education system— 

4 (A) to ensure that covered institutions ar5 ticulate and publicize the prerequisite skills and 

6 knowledge expected of incoming postsecondary 

7 students attending covered institutions, in order 

8 to provide students and other interested parties 

9 with accurate information pertaining to the stu10 dents’ necessary preparations for postsecondary 

11 education; 

12 (B) to establish and implement middle 

13 school and secondary school course enrollment 

14 guidelines— 

15 (i) to ensure that public secondary 

16 school students, in all major racial and 

17 ethnic groups, and income levels, complete 

18 academic courses linked with academic suc19 cess at the postsecondary level; and 

20 (ii) to increase the percentage of stu21 dents in each major racial group, ethnic 

22 group, and income level who graduate from 

23 secondary school and enter postsecondary 

24 education with the academic preparation 

25 necessary to successfully complete postsec-
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1 ondary-level general education coursework, 

2 particularly with respect to mathematics, 

3 science, and engineering; 

4 (C) to implement programs and policies 

5 that increase secondary school graduation rates; 

6 and 

7 (D) to collect and analyze disaggregated 

8 longitudinal student data throughout P–16 edu9 cation in order to— 

10 (i) understand and improve students’ 

11 progress throughout the P–16 education 

12 system; 

13 (ii) understand problems and needs 

14 throughout the P–16 education system; 

15 and 

16 (iii) align prekindergarten through 

17 grade 12 academic standards and higher 

18 education standards so that more students 

19 are prepared to successfully complete post20 secondary-level general education 

21 coursework. 

22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘local educational 

25 agency’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State’’ 
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1 have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 

2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

4 (2) ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS.—The term ‘‘aca5 demic assessments’’ means the academic assess6 ments implemented by a State educational agency 

7 pursuant to section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary 

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

9 6311(b)(3)). 

10 (3) ACADEMIC STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘aca11 demic standards’’ means the challenging academic 

12 content standards and challenging student academic 

13 achievement standards adopted by a State pursuant 

14 to section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Sec15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 6311(b)(1)). 

17 (4) COVERED INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘cov18 ered institution’’ means an institution of higher edu19 cation that participates in a program under title IV 

20 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 1070 et seq.). 

22 (5) DEVELOPMENTAL COURSEWORK.—The 

23 term ‘‘developmental coursework’’ means coursework 

24 that a student is required to complete in order to at25 tain prerequisite knowledge or skills necessary for 
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1 entrance into a postsecondary degree or certification 

2 program. 

3 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

7 (7) P–16 EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘P–16 edu8 cation’’ means the educational system from pre9 kindergarten through the conferring of a bacca10 laureate degree. 

11 (8) P–16 EDUCATOR.—The term ‘‘P–16 educa12 tor’’ means an individual teaching in P–16 edu13 cation. 

14 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Education. 

16 (10) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means 

17 any student enrolled in a public school. 

18 SEC. 5. P–16 EDUCATION STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM GRANTS. 

19 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts appro20 priated under section 10 for a fiscal year, and subject to 

21 subsection (b), the Secretary shall award grants, on a 

22 competitive basis, to States to enable the States— 

23 (1) to establish— 

24 (A) P–16 education stewardship commis25 sions in accordance with section 7; or 
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1 (B) P–16 education stewardship systems 

2 consisting of— 

3 (i) a P–16 education stewardship 

4 commission in accordance with section 7; 

5 and 

6 (ii) a P–16 education data system in 

7 accordance with section 8; and 

8 (2) to carry out the activities and programs de9 scribed in the State application and plan submitted 

10 under section 6. 

11 (b) AWARD BASIS.—In determining the approval and 

12 amount of a grant under subsection (a), the Secretary 

13 shall give priority to an application from a State that de14 sires the grant to establish a P–16 education stewardship 

15 system described in subsection (a)(1)(B). 

16 (c) PERIOD OF GRANTS.— 

17 (1) STATES ESTABLISHING P–16 EDUCATION

18 STEWARDSHIP SYSTEMS.—Each grant made under 

19 this section to a State to establish a P–16 education 

20 stewardship system described in subsection (a)(1)(B) 

21 shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 

22 (2) STATES ESTABLISHING P–16 EDUCATION

23 STEWARDSHIP COMMISSIONS.—Each grant made 

24 under this section to a State to establish a P–16 

25 education stewardship commission described in sub-
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1 section (a)(1)(A) shall be awarded for a period of 3 

2 years. 

3 SEC. 6. STATE APPLICATION AND PLAN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring a grant under 

5 section 5 shall submit an application to the Secretary at 

6 such time, in such manner, and containing such informa7 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

9 this section shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

10 (1) A demonstration that the State, not later 

11 than 5 months after receiving grant funds under this 

12 Act, will establish a P–16 education stewardship 

13 commission described in section 7. 

14 (2) For a state applying for a grant under sec15 tion 5(a)(1)(B), a demonstration that the State, not 

16 later than 2 years after receiving grant funds under 

17 this Act, will implement, expand, or improve a P–16 

18 education data system described in section 8. 

19 (3) A demonstration that the State will work 

20 with the State P–16 education stewardship commis21 sion and others as necessary to examine the relation22 ship among the content of postsecondary education 

23 admission and placement exams, the prerequisite 

24 skills and knowledge required to successfully take 

25 postsecondary-level general education coursework, 
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1 the prekindergarten through grade 12 courses and 

2 academic factors associated with academic success at 

3 the postsecondary level, particularly with respect to 

4 mathematics, science, and engineering, and existing 

5 academic standards and academic assessments. 

6 (4) A description of how the State will, using 

7 the information from the State P–16 education 

8 stewardship commission, increase the percentage of 

9 students taking courses that have the highest cor10 relation of academic success at the postsecondary 

11 level, for each of the following groups of students: 

12 (A) Economically disadvantaged students. 

13 (B) Students from each major racial and 

14 ethnic group. 

15 (C) Students with disabilities. 

16 (D) Students with limited English pro17 ficiency. 

18 (5) A description of how the State will dis19 tribute the information in the P–16 education stew20 ardship commission’s report under section 7(c)(4) to 

21 the public in the State, including public secondary 

22 schools, local educational agencies, school counselors, 

23 P–16 educators, institutions of higher education, 

24 students, and parents. 
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1 (6) An assurance that the State will continue to 

2 pursue effective P–16 education alignment strategies 

3 after the end of the grant period. 

4 SEC. 7. P–16 EDUCATION STEWARDSHIP COMMISSION. 

5 (a) P–16 EDUCATION STEWARDSHIP COMMISSION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving a grant 

7 under section 5 shall establish a P–16 education 

8 stewardship commission that has the policymaking 

9 ability to meet the requirements of this section. 

10 (2) EXISTING COMMISSION.—The State may 

11 designate an existing coordinating body or commis12 sion as the State P–16 education stewardship com13 mission for purposes of this Act, if the body or com14 mission meets, or is amended to meet, the basic re15 quirements of this section. 

16 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (1) COMPOSITION.—Each P–16 education stew18 ardship commission shall be composed of the Gov19 ernor of the State, or the designee of the Governor, 

20 and the stakeholders of the statewide education com21 munity, as determined by the Governor or the des22 ignee of the Governor, such as— 

23 (A) the chief State official responsible for 

24 administering prekindergarten through grade 

25 12 education in the State; 
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1 (B) the chief State official of the entity 

2 primarily responsible for the supervision of in3 stitutions of higher education in the State; 

4 (C) bipartisan representation from the 

5 State legislative committee with jurisdiction 

6 over prekindergarten through grade 12 edu7 cation and higher education; 

8 (D) representatives of 2- and 4-year insti9 tutions of higher education in the State; 

10 (E) representatives of the business commu11 nity; and 

12 (F) at the discretion of the Governor, or 

13 the designee of the Governor, representatives 

14 from prekindergarten through grade 12 and 

15 higher education governing boards and other 

16 organizations. 

17 (2) CHAIRPERSON; MEETINGS.—The Governor 

18 of the State, or the designee of the Governor, shall 

19 serve as chairperson of the P–16 education steward20 ship commission and shall convene regular meetings 

21 of the commission. 

22 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.— 

23 (1) MEETINGS OF COVERED INSTITUTIONS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State P–16 edu25 cation stewardship commission shall convene 
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1 regular meetings of the covered institutions in 

2 the State for the purpose of assessing and 

3 reaching consensus regarding— 

4 (i) the prerequisite skills and knowl5 edge expected of incoming freshmen to suc6 cessfully engage in and complete postsec7 ondary-level general education coursework 

8 without the prior need to enroll in develop9 mental coursework, particularly with re10 spect to mathematics, science, and engi11 neering; and 

12 (ii) patterns of coursework and other 

13 academic factors that demonstrate the 

14 highest correlation with success in com15 pleting postsecondary-level general edu16 cation coursework and degree or certifi17 cation programs. 

18 (B) FINDINGS OF COVERED INSTITU19 TIONS.—The covered institutions shall commu20 nicate to the P–16 education stewardship com21 mission the findings of the covered institutions, 

22 which— 

23 (i) shall include the consensus on the 

24 prerequisite skills and knowledge, patterns 
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1 of coursework, and other academic factors 

2 described in subparagraph (A); 

3 (ii) shall address, at minimum, the 

4 subjects of reading, mathematics, science, 

5 grammar, and writing, and may cover ad6 ditional academic content areas; 

7 (iii) shall be descriptive of content and 

8 purpose, and shall not be limited to a sim9 ple listing of secondary course names; and 

10 (iv) may be different for 2- and 4-year 

11 institutions of higher education. 

12 (2) COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

13 later than 18 months after a State receives a grant 

14 under section 5, and annually thereafter for each 

15 year in the grant period, the State P–16 education 

16 stewardship commission shall— 

17 (A) develop recommendations regarding 

18 the prerequisite skills and knowledge, patterns 

19 of coursework, and other academic factors de20 scribed in paragraph (1)(A); and 

21 (B) develop recommendations and enact 

22 policies to increase the success rate of students 

23 in the students’ transition from secondary 

24 school to postsecondary education. 
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1 (3) COMMISSION FINDINGS.—Not later than 3 

2 years after a State receives a grant under section 

3 5(a)(1)(B), the State P–16 education stewardship 

4 commission shall— 

5 (A) compile and interpret the findings 

6 from the P–16 education data system; and 

7 (B) include the compilation and interpreta8 tion of the findings in the report described in 

9 paragraph (4)(A). 

10 (4) REPORTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

12 months after a State receives a grant under 

13 section 5, and annually thereafter for each year 

14 in the grant period, the State P–16 education 

15 stewardship commission shall prepare and sub16 mit to the Secretary a clear and concise report 

17 that shall include the recommendations de18 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para19 graph (2). 

20 (B) DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC.—Not 

21 later than 60 days after the submission of a re22 port under subparagraph (A), each State P–16 

23 education stewardship commission shall publish 

24 and widely distribute the information in the re25 port to the public in the State, including— 
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1 (i) all public secondary schools and 

2 local educational agencies; 

3 (ii) school counselors; 

4 (iii) P–16 educators; 

5 (iv) institutions of higher education; 

6 and 

7 (v) students and parents, especially 

8 students entering grade 9 in the next aca9 demic year and the parents of such stu10 dents, to assist the students and the par11 ents in making informed and strategic 

12 course enrollment decisions. 

13 SEC. 8. P–16 EDUCATION DATA SYSTEM. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 

15 a State receives a grant under section 5(a)(1)(B), the 

16 State shall establish a State-level longitudinal data system 

17 that provides each student, upon enrollment in a public 

18 school or in a covered institution in the State, with a 

19 unique identifier that is retained throughout the student’s 

20 enrollment in P–16 education in the State. 

21 (b) FUNCTIONS OF DATA SYSTEM.—The State shall, 

22 through the implementation of the data system described 

23 in subsection (a), carry out the following: 

24 (1) Identify factors that correlate to students’ 

25 ability to successfully engage in and complete post-
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1 secondary-level general education coursework with2 out the need for prior developmental coursework. 

3 (2) Implement procedures to track develop4 mental coursework enrollment rates. 

5 (3) Implement procedures to assist with identi6 fying correlations between course-taking patterns in 

7 public secondary education and increased academic 

8 performance in higher education. 

9 (4) Implement procedures to assist with identi10 fying the points at which students exit the P–16 

11 education system, including the assimilation of valid 

12 and reliable secondary school dropout data. 

13 (5) Incorporate data to track postsecondary de14 gree and certification completion rates and student 

15 persistence patterns. 

16 (6) Ensure that the data system is compliant 

17 with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 

18 of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g). 

19 (7) Disaggregate the data described in para20 graphs (1) through (5) by race, ethnicity, income 

21 level, sex, secondary school attended, and type of in22 stitution of higher education attended. 

23 (c) EXISTING DATA SYSTEMS.—A State may employ, 

24 coordinate, or revise an existing data system for purposes 

25 of this section if such data system produces valid and reli-
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1 able information that satisfies the requirements of sub2 section (b). 

3 SEC. 9. REPORTS; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) STATE REPORTS.— 

5 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each State that re6 ceives a grant under section 5 shall submit an an7 nual report to the Secretary for each year of the 

8 grant period that shall include a description of the 

9 activities undertaken under the grant to improve 

10 academic readiness for postsecondary-level general 

11 education coursework and course completion. 

12 (2) DISSEMINATION.—Each State shall prepare, 

13 publish, and widely disseminate the report described 

14 in paragraph (1) to the public in the State, includ15 ing secondary schools, local educational agencies, 

16 school counselors, P–16 educators, institutions of 

17 higher education, students, and parents. 

18 (b) SECRETARY REPORTS.— 

19 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

20 submit an annual report to Congress that includes— 

21 (A) findings from the State reports sub22 mitted under subsection (a)(1); 

23 (B) a description of the actions taken by 

24 the Department of Education to assist States 
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1 with creating P–16 education stewardship com2 missions and P–16 education data systems; 

3 (C) a description of the actions and incen4 tives planned by the States’ P–16 education 

5 stewardship commissions— 

6 (i) to help States align academic 

7 standards, courses, and academic assess8 ments with postsecondary academic expec9 tations, courses, and assessments; 

10 (ii) to help States increase the per11 centage of minority and low-income stu12 dents prepared to enter and succeed at the 

13 postsecondary level; and 

14 (iii) to reduce postsecondary develop15 mental coursework enrollment rates of mi16 nority and low-income students; 

17 (D) a description of the actions and incen18 tives planned to help States reduce postsec19 ondary developmental coursework enrollment 

20 rates; 

21 (E) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

22 P-16 education stewardship commissions in im23 proving college readiness and eliminating the 

24 need for developmental coursework; and 
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1 (F) recommendations regarding how to 

2 make the P–16 education stewardship commis3 sions more effective, and whether the establish4 ment of such commissions should be encouraged 

5 throughout the United States. 

6 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 

7 the annual report described in paragraph (1) avail8 able to the public and to each State and institution 

9 of higher education. 

10 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

11 provide, upon request, technical assistance to States and 

12 institutions of higher education seeking technical assist13 ance under this Act. 

14 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this Act $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and such sums 

17 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

18 2011. 

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