II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2828 

To provide for educational opportunities for all students in State public 

school systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2006 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. REED, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. KERRY, Ms. LANDRIEU, and 

Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

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

A BILL 

To provide for educational opportunities for all students in 

State public school systems, 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 ‘‘Student Bill of 

5 Rights’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Findings and purposes. 

TITLE I—ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY 


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Sec. 101. State public school systems. 

Sec. 102. Fundamentals of educational opportunity. 

TITLE II—STATE ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 201. State accountability plan. 

Sec. 202. Consequences of failure to meet requirements. 

TITLE III—REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE PUBLIC 

Sec. 301. Annual report on State public school systems. 

TITLE IV—REMEDY 

Sec. 401. Civil action for enforcement. 

TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Definitions. 

Sec. 502. Rulemaking. 

Sec. 503. Construction. 

1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) A high-quality, highly competitive education 

4 for all students is imperative for the economic 

5 growth and productivity of the United States, for its 

6 effective national defense, and to achieve the histor7 ical aspiration to be one Nation of equal citizens. It 

8 is therefore necessary and proper to overcome the 

9 nationwide phenomenon of State public school sys10 tems that do not meet the requirements of section 

11 101(a), in which high-quality public schools typically 

12 serve high-income communities and poor-quality 

13 schools typically serve low-income, urban, rural, and 

14 minority communities. 

15 (2) In 2005, the National Academies found in 

16 their report ‘‘Rising Above the Gathering Storm: 


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1 Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter 

2 Economic Future’’ that the inadequate preparation 

3 of kindergarten through grade 12 students in science 

4 and mathematics, including the significant lack of 

5 teachers qualified to teach these subjects, threatens 

6 the economic prosperity of the United States. When 

7 students do not receive quality mathematics and 

8 science preparation in kindergarten through grade 

9 12, they are not prepared to take advanced courses 

10 in these subjects at the postsecondary level, leaving 

11 the United States with a critical shortage of sci12 entists and engineers—a shortfall being filled by 

13 professionals from other countries. 

14 (3) There exists in the States a significant edu15 cational opportunity gap for low-income, urban, 

16 rural, and minority students characterized by the 

17 following: 

18 (A) Continuing disparities within States in 

19 students’ access to the fundamentals of edu20 cational opportunity described in section 102. 

21 (B) Highly differential educational expend22 itures (adjusted for cost and need) among 

23 school districts within States. 


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1 (C) Radically differential educational 

2 achievement among students in school districts 

3 within States as measured by the following: 

4 (i) Achievement in mathematics, read5 ing or language arts, and science on State 

6 academic assessments required under sec7 tion 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) and on the National 

10 Assessment of Educational Progress. 

11 (ii) Advanced placement courses 

12 taken. 

13 (iii) SAT and ACT test scores. 

14 (iv) Dropout rates and graduation 

15 rates. 

16 (v) College-going and college-comple17 tion rates. 

18 (4) As a consequence of this educational oppor19 tunity gap, the quality of a child’s education depends 

20 largely upon where the child’s family can afford to 

21 live, and the detriments of lower quality education 

22 are imposed particularly on— 

23 (A) children from low-income families; 

24 (B) children living in urban and rural 

25 areas; and 


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1 (C) minority children. 

2 (5) Since 1785, Congress, exercising the power 

3 to admit new States under section 3 of article IV of 

4 the Constitution (and previously, the Congress of the 

5 Confederation of States under the Articles of Con6 federation), has imposed upon every State, as a fun7 damental condition of the State’s admission, that 

8 the State provide for the establishment and mainte9 nance of systems of public schools open to all chil10 dren in such State. 

11 (6) Over the years since the landmark ruling in 

12 Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 493 

13 (1954), when a unanimous Supreme Court held that 

14 ‘‘the opportunity of an education . . . , where the 

15 State has undertaken to provide it, is a right which 

16 must be made available to all on equal terms’’, 

17 courts in 44 States have heard challenges to the es18 tablishment, maintenance, and operation of State 

19 public school systems that are separate and not edu20 cationally adequate. 

21 (7) In 1970, the Presidential Commission on 

22 School Finance found that significant disparities in 

23 the distribution of educational resources existed 

24 among school districts within States because the 

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1 ing for educational revenues, and that reforms in 

2 systems of school financing would increase the Na3 tion’s ability to serve the educational needs of all 

4 children. 

5 (8) In 1999, the National Research Council of 

6 the National Academy of Sciences published a report 

7 entitled ‘‘Making Money Matter, Financing Amer8 ica’s Schools’’, which found that the concept of fund9 ing adequacy, which moves beyond the more tradi10 tional concepts of finance equity to focus attention 

11 on the sufficiency of funding for desired educational 

12 outcomes, is an important step in developing a fair 

13 and productive educational system. 

14 (9) In 2001, the Executive Order establishing 

15 the President’s Commission on Educational Re16 source Equity declared, ‘‘A quality education is es17 sential to the success of every child in the 21st cen18 tury and to the continued strength and prosperity of 

19 our Nation. . . . [L]ong-standing gaps in access to 

20 educational resources exist, including disparities 

21 based on race and ethnicity.’’ (Exec. Order No. 

22 13190, 66 Fed. Reg. 5424 (2001)). 

23 (10) According to the Secretary of Education, 

24 as stated in a letter (with enclosures) from the Sec25 retary to States dated January 19, 2001— 


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1 (A) racial and ethnic minorities continue to 

2 suffer from lack of access to educational re3 sources, including ‘‘experienced and qualified 

4 teachers, adequate facilities, and instructional 

5 programs and support, including technology, as 

6 well as . . . the funding necessary to secure 

7 these resources’’; and 

8 (B) these inadequacies are ‘‘particularly 

9 acute in high-poverty schools, including urban 

10 schools, where many students of color are iso11 lated and where the effect of the resource gaps 

12 may be cumulative. In other words, students 

13 who need the most may often receive the least, 

14 and these students often are students of color.’’. 

15 (11) In the amendments made by the No Child 

16 Left Behind Act of 2001, Congress— 

17 (A)(i) required each State to establish 

18 standards and assessments in mathematics, 

19 reading or language arts, and science; and 

20 (ii) required schools to ensure that all stu21 dents are proficient in mathematics, reading or 

22 language arts, and science not later than 12 

23 years after the end of the 2001–2002 school 

24 year, and held schools accountable for the stu25 dents’ progress; and 


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1 (B) required each State to describe how 

2 the State will help local educational agencies 

3 and schools to develop the capacity to improve 

4 student academic achievement. 

5 (12) The standards and accountability move6 ment will succeed only if, in addition to standards 

7 and accountability, all schools have access to the 

8 educational resources necessary to enable students to 

9 achieve. 

10 (13) Raising standards without ensuring access 

11 to educational resources may in fact exacerbate 

12 achievement gaps and set children up for failure. 

13 (14) According to the World Economic Forum’s 

14 Global Competitiveness Report 2001–2002, the 

15 United States ranks last among developed countries 

16 in the difference in the quality of schools available 

17 to rich and poor children. 

18 (15) The persistence of pervasive inadequacies 

19 in the quality of education provided by State public 

20 school systems effectively deprives millions of chil21 dren throughout the United States of the oppor22 tunity for an education adequate to enable the chil23 dren to— 

24 (A) acquire the knowledge and skills nec25 essary for responsible citizenship in a diverse 


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1 democracy, including the ability to participate 

2 fully in the political process through informed 

3 electoral choice; 

4 (B) meet challenging student academic 

5 achievement standards; and 

6 (C) be able to compete and succeed in a 

7 global economy. 

8 (16) Each State government has ultimate au9 thority to determine every important aspect and pri10 ority of the public school system that provides ele11 mentary and secondary education to children in the 

12 State, including whether students throughout the 

13 State have access to the fundamentals of educational 

14 opportunity described in section 102. 

15 (17) Because a well educated populace is crit16 ical to the Nation’s political and economic well-being 

17 and national security, the Federal Government has 

18 a substantial interest in ensuring that States provide 

19 a high-quality education by ensuring that all stu20 dents have access to the fundamentals of educational 

21 opportunity described in section 102 to enable the 

22 students to succeed academically and in life. 

23 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol24 lowing: 


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1 (1) To further the goals of the Elementary and 

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as amended by 

3 the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001), by holding 

4 States accountable for providing all students with 

5 access to the fundamentals of educational oppor6 tunity described in section 102. 

7 (2) To ensure that all students in public ele8 mentary schools and secondary schools receive edu9 cational opportunities that enable such students to— 

10 (A) acquire the knowledge and skills nec11 essary for responsible citizenship in a diverse 

12 democracy, including the ability to participate 

13 fully in the political process through informed 

14 electoral choice; 

15 (B) meet challenging student academic 

16 achievement standards; and 

17 (C) be able to compete and succeed in a 

18 global economy. 

19 (3) To end the pervasive pattern of States 

20 maintaining public school systems that do not meet 

21 the requirements of section 101(a). 


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1 TITLE I—ACCESS TO 

2 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY 

3 SEC. 101. STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State receiving Federal 

5 financial assistance for elementary or secondary education 

6 shall ensure that the State’s public school system provides 

7 all students within the State with an education that en8 ables the students to acquire the knowledge and skills nec9 essary for responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy, 

10 including the ability to participate fully in the political 

11 process through informed electoral choice, to meet chal12 lenging student academic achievement standards, and to 

13 be able to compete and succeed in a global economy, 

14 through— 

15 (1) the provision of fundamentals of educational 

16 opportunity described in section 102, at adequate or 

17 ideal levels as defined by the State under section 

18 201(a)(1)(A) to students at each public elementary 

19 school and secondary school in the State; 

20 (2) the provision of educational services in 

21 school districts that receive funds under part A of 

22 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) that are, taken 

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1 ices provided in school districts not receiving such 

2 funds; and 

3 (3) compliance with any final Federal or State 

4 court order in any matter concerning the adequacy 

5 or equitableness of the State’s public school system. 

6 (b) DETERMINATIONS CONCERNING STATE PUBLIC

7 SCHOOL SYSTEMS.—Not later than October 1 of each 

8 year, the Secretary shall determine whether each State 

9 maintains a public school system that meets the require10 ments of subsection (a). The Secretary may make a deter11 mination that a State public school system does not meet 

12 such requirements only after providing notice and an op13 portunity for a hearing. 

14 (c) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish and 

15 make available to the general public (including by means 

16 of the Internet) the determinations made under subsection 

17 (b). 

18 SEC. 102. FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPOR19 TUNITY. 

20 The fundamentals of educational opportunity are the 

21 following: 

22 (1) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS, PRIN23 CIPALS, AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT PERSONNEL.— 


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1 (A) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS.—In2 struction from highly qualified teachers in core 

3 academic subjects. 

4 (B) HIGHLY QUALIFIED PRINCIPALS.— 

5 Leadership, management, and guidance from 

6 principals who meet State certification stand7 ards. 

8 (C) HIGHLY QUALIFIED ACADEMIC SUP9 PORT PERSONNEL.—Necessary additional aca10 demic support in reading or language arts, 

11 mathematics, and other core academic subjects 

12 from personnel who meet applicable State 

13 standards. 

14 (2) RIGOROUS ACADEMIC STANDARDS, CUR15 RICULA, AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.—Rigorous 

16 academic standards, curricula, and methods of in17 struction, as measured by the extent to which each 

18 school district succeeds in providing high-quality 

19 academic standards, curricula, and methods of in20 struction to students in each public elementary 

21 school and secondary school within the district. 

22 (3) SMALL CLASS SIZES.—Small class sizes, as 

23 measured by— 

24 (A) the average class size and the range of 

25 class sizes; and 


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1 (B) the percentage of elementary school 

2 classes with 17 or fewer students. 

3 (4) TEXTBOOKS, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, 

4 AND SUPPLIES.—Textbooks, instructional materials, 

5 and supplies, as measured by— 

6 (A) the average age and quality of text7 books, instructional materials, and supplies 

8 used in core academic subjects; and 

9 (B) the percentage of students who begin 

10 the school year with school-issued textbooks, in11 structional materials, and supplies. 

12 (5) LIBRARY RESOURCES.—Library resources, 

13 as measured by— 

14 (A) the size and qualifications of the li15 brary’s staff, including whether the library is 

16 staffed by a full-time librarian certified under 

17 applicable State standards; 

18 (B) the size (relative to the number of stu19 dents) and quality (including age) of the li20 brary’s collection of books and periodicals; and 

21 (C) the library’s hours of operation. 

22 (6) SCHOOL FACILITIES AND COMPUTER TECH23 NOLOGY.— 

24 (A) QUALITY SCHOOL FACILITIES.—Qual25 ity school facilities, as measured by— 


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1 (i) the physical condition of school 

2 buildings and major school building fea3 tures; 

4 (ii) environmental conditions in school 

5 buildings; and 

6 (iii) the quality of instructional space. 

7 (B) COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY.—Computer 

8 technology, as measured by— 

9 (i) the ratio of computers to students; 

10 (ii) the quality of computers and soft11 ware available to students; 

12 (iii) Internet access; 

13 (iv) the quality of system maintenance 

14 and technical assistance for the computers; 

15 and 

16 (v) the number of computer labora17 tory courses taught by qualified computer 

18 instructors. 

19 (7) QUALITY GUIDANCE COUNSELING.—Quali20 fied guidance counselors, as measured by the ratio 

21 of students to qualified guidance counselors who 

22 have been certified under an applicable State or na23 tional program. 


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1 TITLE II—STATE 

2 ACCOUNTABILITY 

3 SEC. 201. STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN. 

4 (a) GENERAL PLAN.— 

5 (1) CONTENTS.—Each State receiving Federal 

6 financial assistance for elementary and secondary 

7 education shall annually submit to the Secretary a 

8 plan, developed by the State educational agency, in 

9 consultation with local educational agencies, teach10 ers, principals, pupil services personnel, administra11 tors, other staff, and parents, that contains the fol12 lowing: 

13 (A) A description of 2 levels of high access 

14 (adequate and ideal) to each of the fundamen15 tals of educational opportunity described in sec16 tion 102 that measure how well the State, 

17 through school districts, public elementary 

18 schools, and public secondary schools, is achiev19 ing the purposes of this Act by providing chil20 dren with the resources they need to succeed 

21 academically and in life. 

22 (B) A description of a third level of access 

23 (basic) to each of the fundamentals of edu24 cational opportunity described in section 102 

25 that measures how well the State, through 


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1 school districts, public elementary schools, and 

2 public secondary schools, is achieving the pur3 poses of this Act by providing children with the 

4 resources they need to succeed academically and 

5 in life. 

6 (C) A description of the level of access of 

7 each school district, public elementary school, 

8 and public secondary school in the State to each 

9 of the fundamentals of educational opportunity 

10 described in section 102, including identifica11 tion of any such schools that lack high access 

12 (as described in subparagraph (A)) to any of 

13 the fundamentals. 

14 (D) An estimate of the additional cost, if 

15 any, of ensuring that the system meets the re16 quirements of section 101(a). 

17 (E) Information stating the percentage of 

18 students in each school district, public elemen19 tary school, and public secondary school in the 

20 State that are proficient in mathematics, read21 ing or language arts, and science, as measured 

22 through assessments administered as described 

23 in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the Elementary 

24 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

25 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)). 


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1 (F) Information stating whether each 

2 school district, public elementary school, and 

3 public secondary school in the State is making 

4 adequate yearly progress, as defined under sec5 tion 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 6311(b)(2)). 

8 (G)(i) For each school district, public ele9 mentary school, and public secondary school in 

10 the State, information stating— 

11 (I) the number and percentage of chil12 dren counted under section 1124(c) of the 

13 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

15 (II) the number and percentage of 

16 students described in section 

17 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and 

18 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 

20 (ii) For each such school district, informa21 tion stating whether the district is an urban, 

22 mixed, or rural district (as defined by the Na23 tional Center for Education Statistics). 

24 (2) LEVELS OF ACCESS.—For purposes of the 

25 plan submitted under paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) in defining basic, adequate, and ideal 

2 levels of access to each of the fundamentals of 

3 educational opportunity, each State shall con4 sider, in addition to the factors described in 

5 section 102, the access available to students in 

6 the highest-achieving decile of public elementary 

7 schools and secondary schools, the unique needs 

8 of low-income, urban and rural, and minority 

9 students, and other educationally appropriate 

10 factors; and 

11 (B) the levels of access described in sub12 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall 

13 be aligned with the challenging academic con14 tent standards, challenging student academic 

15 achievement standards, and high-quality aca16 demic assessments required under the Elemen17 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 

19 (3) INFORMATION.—The State shall annually 

20 disseminate to parents, in an understandable and 

21 uniform format, the descriptions, estimate, and in22 formation described in paragraph (1). 

23 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REMEDIATION.— 

24 (1) ACCOUNTABILITY.—If the Secretary deter25 mines under section 101(b) that a State maintains 


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1 a public school system that fails to meet the require2 ments of section 101(a)(1), the plan submitted 

3 under subsection (a)(1) shall— 

4 (A) demonstrate that the State has devel5 oped and is implementing a single, statewide 

6 State accountability system that will be effective 

7 in ensuring that the State makes adequate 

8 yearly progress under this Act (as defined by 

9 the State in a manner that annually reduces the 

10 number of public elementary schools and sec11 ondary schools in the State without high access 

12 (as described in subsection (a)(1)(A)) to each of 

13 fundamentals of educational opportunity de14 scribed in section 102); 

15 (B) demonstrate, based on the levels of ac16 cess described in paragraph (1) what con17 stitutes adequate yearly progress of the State 

18 under this Act toward providing all students 

19 with high access to the fundamentals of edu20 cational opportunity described in section 102; 

21 and 

22 (C) ensure— 

23 (i) the establishment of a timeline for 

24 that adequate yearly progress that includes 

25 interim yearly goals for the reduction of 


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1 the number of public elementary schools 

2 and secondary schools in the State without 

3 high access to each of the fundamentals of 

4 educational opportunity described in sec5 tion 102; and 

6 (ii) that not later than 12 years after 

7 the end of the 2005–2006 school year, 

8 each public elementary school in the State 

9 shall have access to each of the fundamen10 tals of educational opportunity described in 

11 section 102. 

12 (2) REMEDIATION.—If the Secretary deter13 mines under section 101(b) that a State maintains 

14 a public school system that fails to meet the require15 ments of section 101(a)(2), not later than 1 year 

16 after the Secretary makes the determination, the 

17 State shall include in the plan submitted under sub18 section (a)(1) a strategy to remediate the conditions 

19 that caused the Secretary to make such determina20 tion, not later than the end of the second school year 

21 beginning after submission of the plan. 

22 (c) AMENDMENTS.—A State may amend the plan 

23 submitted under subsection (a)(1) to improve the plan or 

24 to take into account significantly changed circumstances. 


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1 (d) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary may disapprove 

2 the plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) (or an amend3 ment to such a plan) if the Secretary determines, after 

4 notice and opportunity for hearing, that the plan (or 

5 amendment) is inadequate to meet the requirements de6 scribed in subsections (a) and (b). 

7 (e) WAIVER.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may request, and 

9 the Secretary may grant, a waiver of the require10 ments of subsections (a) and (b) for 1 year for ex11 ceptional circumstances, such as a precipitous de12 crease in State revenues, or another circumstance 

13 that the Secretary determines to be exceptional, that 

14 prevents a State from complying with the require15 ments of subsections (a) and (b). 

16 (2) CONTENTS OF WAIVER REQUEST.—A State 

17 that requests a waiver under paragraph (1) shall in18 clude in the request— 

19 (A) a description of the exceptional cir20 cumstance that prevents the State from com21 plying with the requirements of subsections (a) 

22 and (b); and 

23 (B) a plan that details the manner in 

24 which the State will comply with such require25 ments by the end of the waiver period. 


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1 SEC. 202. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MEET REQUIRE2 MENTS. 

3 (a) INTERIM YEARLY GOALS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For a fiscal year and a 

5 State described in section 201(b)(1), the Secretary 

6 shall withhold from the State 2.75 percent of funds 

7 otherwise available to the State for the administra8 tion of Federal elementary and secondary education 

9 programs, for each covered goal that the Secretary 

10 determines the State is not meeting during that 

11 year. 

12 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

13 ‘‘covered goal’’, used with respect to a fiscal year, 

14 means an interim yearly goal described in section 

15 201(b)(1)(C)(i) that is applicable to that year or a 

16 prior fiscal year. 

17 (b) CONSEQUENCES OF NONREMEDIATION.—Not18 withstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary 

19 determines that a State required to include a strategy 

20 under section 201(b)(2) continues to maintain a public 

21 school system that does not meet the requirements of sec22 tion 101(a)(2) at the end of the second school year de23 scribed in section 201(b)(2), the Secretary shall withhold 

from the State not more than 331 24 ⁄3 percent of funds other25 wise available to the State for the administration of pro26 grams authorized under the Elementary and Secondary 


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1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) until the 

2 Secretary determines that the State maintains a public 

3 school system that meets the requirements of section 

4 101(a)(2). 

5 (c) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCOMPLIANCE WITH

6 COURT ORDERS.—If the Secretary determines under sec7 tion 101(b) that a State maintains a public school system 

8 that fails to meet the requirements of section 101(a)(3), 

9 the Secretary shall withhold from the State not more than 

331 10 ⁄3 percent of funds otherwise available to the State for 

11 the administration of programs authorized under the Ele12 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 6301 et seq.). 

14 (d) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS WITHHELD.— 

15 (1) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the Secretary withholds funds from a State 

17 under this section, the Secretary shall determine 

18 whether the State has corrected the condition that 

19 led to the withholding. 

20 (2) DISPOSITION.— 

21 (A) CORRECTION.—If the Secretary deter22 mines under paragraph (1), that the State has 

23 corrected the condition that led to the with24 holding, the Secretary shall make the withheld 

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1 nal purpose of the funds during 1 or more fiscal 

2 years specified by the Secretary. 

3 (B) NONCORRECTION.—If the Secretary 

4 determines under paragraph (1), that the State 

5 has not corrected the condition that led to the 

6 withholding, the Secretary shall allocate the 

7 withheld funds to public school districts, public 

8 elementary schools, or public secondary schools 

9 in the State that are most adversely affected by 

10 the condition that led to the withholding, to en11 able the districts or schools to correct the condi12 tion during 1 or more fiscal years specified by 

13 the Secretary. 

14 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available or 

15 allocated under subparagraph (A) or (B) of para16 graph (2) shall remain available during the fiscal 

17 years specified by the Secretary under that subpara18 graph. 

19 TITLE III—REPORT TO 

20 CONGRESS AND THE PUBLIC 

21 SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYS22 TEMS. 

23 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

24 October 1 of each year, beginning the year after comple25 tion of the first full school year after the date of enactment 


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1 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re2 port that includes a full and complete analysis of the pub3 lic school system of each State. 

4 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The analysis conducted 

5 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

6 (1) PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM INFORMATION.— 

7 The following information related to the public 

8 school system of each State: 

9 (A) The number of school districts, public 

10 elementary schools, public secondary schools, 

11 and students in the system. 

12 (B)(i) For each such school district and 

13 school— 

14 (I) information stating the number 

15 and percentage of children counted under 

16 section 1124(c) of the Elementary and 

17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

19 (II) the number and percentage of 

20 students, disaggregated by groups de21 scribed in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of 

22 the Elementary and Secondary Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 


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1 (ii) For each such district, information 

2 stating whether the district is an urban, mixed, 

3 or rural district (as defined by the National 

4 Center for Education Statistics). 

5 (C) The average per-pupil expenditure 

6 (both in actual dollars and adjusted for cost 

7 and need) for the State and for each school dis8 trict in the State. 

9 (D) Each school district’s decile ranking as 

10 measured by achievement in mathematics, read11 ing or language arts, and science on State aca12 demic assessments required under section 

13 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) 

15 and on the National Assessment of Educational 

16 Progress. 

17 (E) For each school district, public elemen18 tary school, and public secondary school— 

19 (i) the level of access (as described in 

20 section 201(a)(1)) to each of the fun21 damentals of educational opportunity de22 scribed in section 102; 

23 (ii) the percentage of students that 

24 are proficient in mathematics, reading or 

25 language arts, and science, as measured 


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1 through assessments administered as de2 scribed in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the 

3 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

4 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)); and 

5 (iii) whether the school district or 

6 school is making adequate yearly 

7 progress— 

8 (I) as defined under section 

9 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and 

10 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)); and 

12 (II) as defined by the State 

13 under section 201(b)(1)(A). 

14 (F) For each State, the number of public 

15 elementary schools and secondary schools that 

16 lack, and names of each such school that lacks, 

17 high access (as described in section 

18 201(a)(1)(A)) to any of the fundamentals of 

19 educational opportunity described in section 

20 102. 

21 (G) For the year covered by the report, a 

22 summary of any changes in the data required 

23 in subparagraphs (A) through (F) for each of 

24 the preceding 3 years (which may be based on 


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1 such data as are available, for the first 3 re2 ports submitted under subsection (a)). 

3 (H) Such other information as the Sec4 retary considers useful and appropriate. 

5 (2) STATE ACTIONS.—For each State that the 

6 Secretary determines under section 101(b) maintains 

7 a public school system that fails to meet the require8 ments of section 101(a), a detailed description and 

9 evaluation of the success of any actions taken by the 

10 State, and measures proposed to be taken by the 

11 State, to meet the requirements. 

12 (3) STATE PLANS.—A copy of each State’s 

13 most recent plan submitted under section 201(a)(1). 

14 (4) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPLIANCE AND

15 ACHIEVEMENT.—An analysis of the relationship be16 tween meeting the requirements of section 101(a) 

17 and improving student academic achievement, as 

18 measured on State academic assessments required 

19 under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and 

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

21 6311(b)(3)). 

22 (c) SCOPE OF REPORT.—The report required under 

23 subsection (a) shall cover the school year ending in the 

24 calendar year in which the report is required to be sub25 mitted. 


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1 (d) SUBMISSION OF DATA TO SECRETARY.—Each 

2 State receiving Federal financial assistance for elementary 

3 and secondary education shall submit to the Secretary, at 

4 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea5 sonably require, such data as the Secretary determines to 

6 be necessary to make a determination under section 

7 101(b) and to submit the report under this section. Such 

8 data shall include the information used to measure the 

9 State’s success in providing the fundamentals of edu10 cational opportunity described in section 102. 

11 (e) FAILURE TO SUBMIT DATA.—If a State fails to 

12 submit the data that the Secretary determines to be nec13 essary to make a determination under section 101(b) re14 garding whether the State maintains a public school sys15 tem that meets the requirements of section 101(a)— 

16 (1) such State’s public school system shall be 

17 deemed not to have met the applicable requirements 

18 until the State submits such data and the Secretary 

19 is able to make such determination under section 

20 101(b); and 

21 (2) the Secretary shall provide, to the extent 

22 practicable, the analysis required in subsection (a) 

23 for the State based on the best data available to the 

24 Secretary. 


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1 (f) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish and 

2 make available to the general public (including by means 

3 of the Internet) the report required under subsection (a). 

4 TITLE IV—REMEDY 

5 SEC. 401. CIVIL ACTION FOR ENFORCEMENT. 

6 A student or parent of a student aggrieved by a viola7 tion of this Act may bring a civil action against the appro8 priate official in an appropriate Federal district court 

9 seeking declaratory or injunctive relief to enforce the re10 quirements of this Act, together with reasonable attorney’s 

11 fees and the costs of the action. 

12 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) REFERENCED TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elemen16 tary school’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘local educational 

17 agency’’, ‘‘highly qualified’’, ‘‘core academic sub18 jects’’, ‘‘parent’’, and ‘‘average per-pupil expendi19 ture’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec20 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 (2) FEDERAL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

23 EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘Federal ele24 mentary and secondary education programs’’ means 

25 programs providing Federal financial assistance for 


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1 elementary or secondary education, other than pro2 grams under the following provisions of law: 

3 (A) The Individuals with Disabilities Edu4 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

5 (B) Title III of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 

7 et seq.). 

8 (C) The Richard B. Russell National 

9 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

10 (D) The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

11 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.). 

12 (3) PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘pub13 lic school system’’ means a State’s system of public 

14 elementary and secondary education. 

15 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the several States, the District of Columbia, and the 

17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

18 SEC. 502. RULEMAKING. 

19 The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out 

20 this Act. 

21 SEC. 503. CONSTRUCTION. 

22 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a 

23 jurisdiction to increase its property tax or other tax rates 

24 or to redistribute revenues from such taxes. 

Æ 


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