I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2373 

To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for students 

in State public school systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2007 

Mr. FATTAH (for himself, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ALLEN, Ms. KILPATRICK, 

Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. WATERS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. 

TIERNEY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. JONES of 

Ohio, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. WYNN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

HOLDEN, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. MORAN

of Virginia, Ms. CARSON, Mr. OLVER, Mr. MURTHA, Mrs. MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. HONDA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. 

DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. 

LEE, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. WATSON, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. 

CARDOZA, and Mr. WATT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Bill of 

3 Rights’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 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—EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC 

SCHOOL SYSTEMS 

Subtitle A—Access to Educational Opportunity 

Sec. 111. Adequate and equitable State public school systems. 

Sec. 112. State educational adequacy and equity requirements. 

Sec. 113. State-established standards for access to educational opportunity. 

Subtitle B—State Accountability 

Sec. 121. Determination of educationally adequate and inequitable State public 

school systems. 

Sec. 122. State accountability for improvement of educational opportunity. 

Sec. 123. Consequences of nonremediation. 

Subtitle C—Public Reporting and Remedy 

Sec. 131. Annual report by Secretary on adequacy and equity in State public 

school systems. 

Sec. 132. Civil action for enforcement. 

TITLE II—EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES ON 

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NATIONAL DEFENSE 

Sec. 201. Effects on economic growth and productivity. 

Sec. 202. Effects on national defense. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Notice and opportunity for hearing. 

Sec. 303. Rulemaking. 

Sec. 304. Rule of construction. 

6 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

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

9 for all students is imperative for the economic 


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1 growth and productivity of the United States, for its 

2 effective national defense, and for achievement of 

3 the historical aspiration to be one Nation of equal 

4 citizens. It is therefore necessary and proper to over5 come the nationwide phenomenon of educationally 

6 inadequate or inequitable State public school sys7 tems, in which high-quality public schools serve 

8 high-income communities and poor-quality schools 

9 serve low-income, urban, rural, and minority commu10 nities. 

11 (2) There exists in the States an ever-widening 

12 educational opportunity gap for low-income, urban, 

13 rural, and minority students characterized by the 

14 following: 

15 (A) Highly differential educational expend16 itures among public school districts within 

17 States. 

18 (B) Continuing disparities within the 

19 States in students’ access to the fundamentals 

20 of educational opportunity described in section 

21 112(a). 

22 (C) Radically differential educational 

23 achievement among public school districts with24 in the States, as measured by the following: 


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1 (i) Achievement in mathematics, read2 ing or language arts, and science on State 

3 academic achievement tests and measures, 

4 including the academic assessments de5 scribed in section 113(b)(1). 

6 (ii) Advanced placement courses of7 fered and taken. 

8 (iii) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) 

9 and ACT Assessment scores. 

10 (iv) Dropout rates and graduation 

11 rates. 

12 (v) College-going and college-comple13 tion rates. 

14 (vi) Job placement and retention rates 

15 and indices of job quality. 

16 (3) As a consequence of this educational oppor17 tunity gap, the quality of a child’s education depends 

18 largely upon where the child’s family lives, and the 

19 detriments of lower quality public education are im20 posed particularly on— 

21 (A) children from low-income families; 

22 (B) children living in urban and rural 

23 areas; and 

24 (C) minority children. 


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1 (4) Since 1785, the Congress of the United 

2 States, exercising the power to admit new States 

3 under article IV, section 3 of the Constitution (and 

4 previously, the Congress of the Confederation of 

5 States under the Articles of Confederation), has im6 posed upon every State, as a fundamental condition 

7 of the State’s admission, the following requirements: 

8 (A) One, and sometimes two, square-mile 

9 lots in every township were to be ‘‘granted and 

10 . . . reserved for the maintenance and use of 

11 public schools’’. 

12 (B) ‘‘[S]chools and the means of education 

13 [are to] be forever encouraged’’. 

14 (C) ‘‘State conventions [were to] provide, 

15 by ordinances irrevocable without the consent of 

16 the United States and the people of said States 

17 . . . that provision . . . be made for the estab18 lishment and maintenance of systems of public 

19 schools which shall be open to all children of 

20 said States’’. 

21 (See Ordinances of May 20, 1785, and July 13, 

22 1787; Act of March 3, 1845, 28th Cong. 2d Sess., 

23 5 Stat. 789, Chap. 76 (admitting Iowa and Florida); 

24 Act of February 22, 1889, 50th Cong., 2d Sess., 

25 Chap. 180 (admitting States created from the DaVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:43 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2373.IH H2373

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1 kota Territories); and the Acts of Congress per2 taining to the admission of each of the States.) 

3 (5) Over the years since the landmark ruling in 

4 Brown v. Board of Education, when a unanimous 

5 United States Supreme Court held that ‘‘the oppor6 tunity of an education . . . , where the state has un7 dertaken to provide it, is a right which must be 

8 made available to all on equal terms’’, courts in 44 

9 of the States have heard challenges to the establish10 ment, maintenance, and operation of educationally 

11 inadequate or inequitable State public school sys12 tems. (347 U.S. 483, 493 (1954)). 

13 (6) In 1970, the Presidential Commission on 

14 School Finance found that significant disparities in 

15 the distribution of educational resources existed 

16 among public school districts within States because 

17 the States relied too significantly on local district fi18 nancing for educational revenues, and that reforms 

19 in systems of school financing would increase the 

20 Nation’s ability to serve the educational needs of all 

21 children. 

22 (7) In 1999, the National Research Council of 

23 the National Academy of Sciences published a report 

24 entitled ‘‘Making Money Matter, Financing Amer25 ica’s Schools’’, which found that the concept of fundVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:43 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2373.IH H2373

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1 ing adequacy, which moves beyond the more tradi2 tional concepts of finance equity to focus attention 

3 on the sufficiency of funding for desired educational 

4 outcomes, is an important step in developing a fair 

5 and productive educational system. 

6 (8) In 2001, the Executive order establishing 

7 the President’s Commission on Educational Re8 source Equity declared, ‘‘A quality education is es9 sential to the success of every child in the 21st cen10 tury and to the continued strength and prosperity of 

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

12 educational resources exist, including disparities 

13 based on race and ethnicity.’’ (Executive Order 

14 13190, § 1 (January 15, 2001); 66 Fed. Reg. 

15 5424.) 

16 (9) According to the Secretary of Education, as 

17 stated in a letter (with enclosures) dated January 

18 19, 2002, from the Secretary to States— 

19 (A) racial and ethnic minorities continue to 

20 suffer from lack of access to educational re21 sources, including ‘‘experienced and qualified 

22 teachers, adequate facilities, and instructional 

23 programs and support, including technology, as 

24 well as . . . the funding necessary to secure 

25 these resources’’; and 


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1 (B) these inadequacies are ‘‘particularly 

2 acute in high-poverty schools, including urban 

3 schools, where many students of color are iso4 lated and where the effect of the resource gaps 

5 may be cumulative. In other words, students 

6 who need the most may often receive the least, 

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

8 (10) The Elementary and Secondary Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), as amended 

10 by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public 

11 Law 107–110), provides that— 

12 (A) States must establish standards and 

13 assessments in mathematics, reading or lan14 guage arts, and science; 

15 (B) elementary schools and secondary 

16 schools must ensure that all students are pro17 ficient in such subjects within 12 years after 

18 the end of the 2001–2002 school year; and 

19 (C) elementary schools and secondary 

20 schools will be held accountable for the stu21 dents’ progress. 

22 (11) The standards and accountability move23 ment will succeed only if, in addition to standards 

24 and accountability, all schools have access to the 


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1 educational resources necessary to enable students to 

2 achieve. 

3 (12) Raising standards without ensuring ade4 quate and equitable access to educational resources 

5 may, in fact, exacerbate achievement gaps and set 

6 children up for failure. 

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

8 Global Competitiveness Report 2001–2002, the 

9 United States ranks last among developed countries 

10 in the difference in the quality of schools available 

11 to rich and poor children. 

12 (14) Each State Government has ultimate au13 thority in determining every important aspect and 

14 priority of the public school system that provides ele15 mentary and secondary education to children in the 

16 State, including whether children throughout the 

17 State have high access to the fundamentals of edu18 cational opportunity described in section 112(a). 

19 (15) Since 1965, the Congress, in exercising its 

20 spending authority, has provided substantial Federal 

21 financial assistance to the States for the improve22 ment of their public school systems. In their expend23 iture and oversight of this assistance, the States 

24 have failed systematically to achieve the purpose of 

25 the Congress in providing the assistance, namely the 


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1 effective education of all the children of the United 

2 States. 

3 (16) Because a well-educated populace is crit4 ical to the Nation’s political and economic well-being 

5 and national security, the Federal Government has 

6 a substantial interest in ensuring that States provide 

7 a high-quality education by ensuring that all chil8 dren have access to the fundamentals of educational 

9 opportunity described in section 112(a) to enable the 

10 children to succeed academically and in life. 

11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) To further the goals of the No Child Left 

14 Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110) and the 

15 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

16 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) by holding States account17 able for providing all students access to the fun18 damentals of educational opportunity described in 

19 section 112(a). 

20 (2) To ensure that all students in public ele21 mentary schools and secondary schools receive edu22 cational opportunities that enable the students— 

23 (A) to acquire the knowledge and skills 

24 necessary for responsible citizenship, including 


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1 the ability to participate fully in the political 

2 process through informed electoral choice; 

3 (B) to meet challenging State student aca4 demic achievement standards; and 

5 (C) to be able to compete and succeed in 

6 a global economy. 

7 (3) To end the pervasive pattern of education8 ally inadequate or inequitable State public school 

9 systems. 

10 TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL OPPOR11 TUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC 

12 SCHOOL SYSTEMS 

13 Subtitle A—Access to Educational 

14 Opportunity 

15 SEC. 111. ADEQUATE AND EQUITABLE STATE PUBLIC 

16 SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

17 Each State receiving Federal financial assistance for 

18 elementary or secondary education shall maintain a public 

19 school system that meets the requirements of section 112 

20 and provides all students in the State with— 

21 (1) the educational resources needed to succeed 

22 academically and in life; and 

23 (2) an education that enables the students— 

24 (A) to acquire the knowledge and skills 

25 necessary for responsible citizenship; 


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1 (B) to participate fully in the political 

2 process through informed electoral choice; and 

3 (C) to be able to compete and succeed in 

4 a global economy. 

5 SEC. 112. STATE EDUCATIONAL ADEQUACY AND EQUITY 

6 REQUIREMENTS. 

7 (a) FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPOR8 TUNITY.—A State shall provide for all public schools in 

9 the State access, at levels defined by the State under sec10 tion 113 as ideal or adequate, to each of the following fun11 damentals of educational opportunity: 

12 (1) HIGH-QUALITY CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND

13 SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS.—High-quality classroom 

14 instruction and school-level administrators, as meas15 ured by the following: 

16 (A) The proportion of teachers in core aca17 demic subjects who are highly qualified (as that 

18 term is defined in section 9101 of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 7801)). 

21 (B) Leadership, management, and guid22 ance from school principals (and other school23 level administrators) certified under an applica24 ble State or national program. 


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1 (2) RIGOROUS ACADEMIC STANDARDS, CUR2 RICULA, AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.—Rigorous 

3 academic standards, curricula, and methods of in4 struction, as measured by the extent to which each 

5 public school district succeeds in providing high6 quality academic standards, curricula, and methods 

7 of instruction to students in each public elementary 

8 school and secondary school within the district. 

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

10 measured by the following: 

11 (A) The average class size and the range 

12 of class sizes. 

13 (B) The proportion of classes with 17 or 

14 fewer students. 

15 (4) QUALITY FACILITIES, TEXTBOOKS, AND IN16 STRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES.—Quality 

17 school facilities, textbooks, and instructional mate18 rials and supplies, as measured by the following: 

19 (A)(i) The physical condition of school 

20 buildings and major school building features. 

21 (ii) Environmental conditions in school 

22 buildings. 

23 (iii) The quality of instructional space. 

24 (B) The proportion of students who begin 

25 the school year with school-issued textbooks. 


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1 (C) The average age of textbooks and in2 structional materials and supplies used in core 

3 academic subjects. 

4 (5) UP-TO-DATE LIBRARY RESOURCES.—High5 quality, up-to-date, and state-of-the-art library re6 sources, as measured by the following: 

7 (A) The size and qualifications of library 

8 staff, including whether the library is staffed by 

9 a full-time librarian certified under an applica10 ble State or national program. 

11 (B) The size (relative to the number of 

12 students) and quality of the library’s collection 

13 of books and periodicals. 

14 (C) Hours of library operation. 

15 (6) UP-TO-DATE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY.— 

16 Computer technology, as measured by the following: 

17 (A) The ratio of computers to students. 

18 (B) The quality of computers and software 

19 available to students at school, including the 

20 type, processing speed, age, or version of such 

21 computers or software. 

22 (C) The availability of Internet access. 

23 (D) The quality of system maintenance 

24 and technical assistance for the computers. 


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1 (E) The number of computer laboratory 

2 courses taught by qualified computer instruc3 tors. 

4 (7) PUPIL SERVICES PERSONNEL.—Access to 

5 the services of qualified pupil services personnel, as 

6 measured by the ratio of students to respective pupil 

7 services personnel who have obtained certification 

8 under a State or national program in providing di9 rect professional services to students. 

10 (b) COMPARABLE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.—A 

11 State shall provide educational services in public school 

12 districts that receive funds under part A of title I of the 

13 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) that are, taken as a whole, at least 

15 comparable to educational services provided in public 

16 school districts not receiving such funds. 

17 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS.—A State 

18 shall comply with any substantive Federal or State court 

19 order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equity of 

20 the State’s public school system, to the extent required 

21 in the order. 

22 SEC. 113. STATE-ESTABLISHED STANDARDS FOR ACCESS 

23 TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out section 

25 112(a), a State educational agency, in consultation with 


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1 local educational agencies, teachers, principals, pupil serv2 ices personnel, administrators, other staff, and parents, 

3 shall develop standards to describe and measure the extent 

4 to which the State provides to the students in each public 

5 school and school district in the State each of the fun6 damentals of educational opportunity described in section 

7 112(a) in terms of ideal, adequate, and basic levels of such 

8 access. 

9 (b) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In defining the 

10 levels of access required under subsection (a), the State 

11 shall consider, in addition to the factors described in sec12 tion 112(a)— 

13 (1) the access available to students in schools in 

14 the highest achieving decile of public elementary 

15 schools and secondary schools in the State, as deter16 mined on the basis of student performance on state17 wide student academic assessments, including— 

18 (A) student academic assessments in read19 ing or language arts, mathematics, and science 

20 under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary 

21 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)); 

23 (B) national student academic assessments 

24 of reading and mathematics under the National 

25 Assessment of Educational Progress carried out 


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1 under section 303(a) of the National Assess2 ment of Educational Progress Authorization 

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 9622(a)); and 

4 (C) State student academic assessments of 

5 reading and mathematics under the National 

6 Assessment of Educational Progress carried out 

7 under section 303(b)(3) of the National Assess8 ment of Educational Progress Authorization 

9 Act (20 U.S.C. 9622(b)(3)); 

10 (2) the unique needs of low-income, urban and 

11 rural, and minority students; and 

12 (3) other educationally appropriate factors. 

13 (c) CHALLENGING STANDARDS.—The levels of access 

14 required under subsection (a) shall be aligned with the 

15 challenging State academic content and achievement 

16 standards, and the high-quality academic assessments, re17 quired under the Elementary and Secondary Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 

19 (d) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—A State edu20 cational agency shall submit to the Secretary— 

21 (1) a description of each of the levels of access 

22 required under subsection (a); 

23 (2) a description of the level of access of each 

24 public school district, elementary school, and sec25 ondary school in the State to each of the fundamenVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:43 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2373.IH H2373

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1 tals of educational opportunity described in section 

2 112(a), including identification of any such schools 

3 that do not provide ideal or adequate levels of access 

4 (as defined under subsection (a)); 

5 (3) an estimate of the additional cost, if any, of 

6 ensuring that the public school system meets the re7 quirements of section 112; and 

8 (4) the information required under subpara9 graphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1) and paragraph 

10 (2)(B) of section 131(b). 

11 (e) PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION TO PAR12 ENTS.—The State annually shall publish the information 

13 submitted under subsection (d) and shall disseminate the 

14 information to the public and the parents of children at15 tending (or who may attend) public schools in the State, 

16 in an understandable and uniform format and, to the ex17 tent practicable, in a language that the parents can under18 stand, through such means as the Internet, the media, and 

19 public agencies. 

20 Subtitle B—State Accountability 

21 SEC. 121. DETERMINATION OF EDUCATIONALLY ADEQUATE 

22 AND INEQUITABLE STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL 

23 SYSTEMS. 

24 (a) ANNUAL DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—Be25 ginning not later than October 1 of the first full school 


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1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

2 shall annually determine whether each State meets each 

3 of the requirements of section 112. 

4 (b) PUBLICATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

5 shall publish and make available to the general public (in6 cluding by means of the Internet) the determinations 

7 under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 122. STATE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IMPROVEMENT OF 

9 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. 

10 (a) STATE REMEDIATION PLAN.—A State deter11 mined under section 121 not to meet the requirements of 

12 section 112 shall develop and submit to the Secretary, by 

13 not later than 1 year after the determination, a remedi14 ation plan (which the State may amend to improve the 

15 plan or to take into account significantly changed cir16 cumstances), as follows: 

17 (1) LONG-TERM REMEDIATION FOR ACCESS TO

18 FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.— 

19 If the State is determined not to meet the require20 ments under section 112(a) (relating to access to the 

21 fundamentals of educational opportunity), the plan 

22 shall provide for the following: 

23 (A) A description of the actions the State 

24 will take to meet the requirements of section 

25 112(a), by not later than 12 years after the end 


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1 of the 2003–2004 school year, to provide ideal 

2 or adequate access (as defined by the State 

3 under section 113) to the fundamentals of edu4 cational opportunity for each public school in 

5 the State. 

6 (B) A timeline for improvement that in7 cludes annual interim goals for increasing the 

8 number of public schools and school districts in 

9 the State that have ideal or adequate levels of 

10 access (as defined by the State under section 

11 113) to each of the fundamentals of educational 

12 opportunity, in order to achieve the required 

13 levels of access within the time described in 

14 subparagraph (A). 

15 (C) Implementation of a single, statewide 

16 accountability system to ensure that the State 

17 achieves the interim goals described in subpara18 graph (B). 

19 (2) TWO-YEAR REMEDIATION FOR COMPARABLE

20 EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.—If the State is deter21 mined not to meet the requirements of section 

22 112(b) (relating to comparable educational services), 

23 the plan shall describe the actions the State will take 

24 to meet the requirements of such section by not later 

25 than 2 school years after submission of the plan. 


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1 (b) DISAPPROVAL OF PLAN.—The Secretary may dis2 approve a plan (or amendment) submitted under sub3 section (a) that the Secretary determines does not meet 

4 the requirements of such subsection. 

5 SEC. 123. CONSEQUENCES OF NONREMEDIATION. 

6 (a) FAILURE TO MEET ANNUAL INTERIM ACCESS

7 GOALS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law and 

8 in addition to any other consequence under this section, 

9 the Secretary shall withhold 2.75 percent of any funds 

10 otherwise available to a State (or a State educational 

11 agency) for administration of Federal elementary and sec12 ondary education programs for each annual interim goal 

13 established under section 122(a)(1)(B) for a fiscal year, 

14 or a prior fiscal year, that the Secretary determines the 

15 State fails to meet. 

16 (b) CONTINUING FAILURE TO PROVIDE COM17 PARABLE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 

18 any other provision of law and in addition to any other 

19 consequence under this section, the Secretary shall with20 hold from a State determined by the Secretary to continue 

21 to fail to meet the requirements of section 112(b) (relating 

22 to comparable educational services) at the end of the sec23 ond school year after a plan is required to be submitted 

under section 122, up to 331 24 ⁄3 percent of funds otherwise 


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1 available to the State for administration of Federal ele2 mentary and secondary education programs. 

3 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law and in addition 

5 to any other consequence under this section, the Secretary 

6 shall withhold from a State determined by the Secretary 

7 to fail to meet the requirements of section 112(c) (relating 

to compliance with court orders) up to 331 8 ⁄3 percent of 

9 funds otherwise available to the State for the administra10 tion of Federal elementary and secondary education pro11 grams. 

12 (d) DISPOSITION OF WITHHELD FUNDS.—For each 

13 State from which funds are withheld under this section, 

14 the Secretary shall make a determination whether the 

15 State, by not later than 1 year after a determination under 

16 subsection (a), (b), or (c), has corrected the condition lead17 ing to a withholding of funds and shall distribute withheld 

18 funds as follows: 

19 (1) If the State corrects a condition leading to 

20 a withholding of funds, the Secretary shall make the 

21 applicable withheld funds available to the State (or 

22 State educational agency). 

23 (2) If the State fails to correct a condition lead24 ing to a withholding of funds, the Secretary shall al25 locate the applicable withheld funds to public schools 


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1 or school districts affected by the State’s failure to 

2 make adequate remediation, for the purpose of ena3 bling the school or school district to correct such 

4 condition. 

5 (e) TEMPORARY WAIVER.—The Secretary may grant 

6 a request by a State for a waiver of the withholding provi7 sions of subsections (a) through (c) for a total period of 

8 not more than 1 year if— 

9 (1) the Secretary is satisfied that exceptional 

10 circumstances (such as a precipitous decrease in 

11 State revenues) prevent a State from complying with 

12 the requirements of section 112; and 

13 (2) the State’s request describes the manner in 

14 which the State will comply with the requirements of 

15 section 112 by the end of the waiver period. 

16 Subtitle C—Public Reporting and 

17 Remedy 

18 SEC. 131. ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY ON ADEQUACY 

19 AND EQUITY IN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYS20 TEMS. 

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

22 October 1 of the first full school year after the date of 

23 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

24 Congress a report that provides a detailed analysis of the 

25 public school system of each State. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The analysis under 

2 subsection (a) shall include the following information with 

3 respect to each State’s public school system: 

4 (1) BASIC PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM INFORMA5 TION.— 

6 (A) The number of students, elementary 

7 schools, secondary schools, and school districts 

8 in the public school system. 

9 (B) For each such school and school dis10 trict, the number and percentage of— 

11 (i) children counted under section 

12 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

14 6333(c)); and 

15 (ii) students, disaggregated by groups 

16 described in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of 

17 the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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

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

20 (C) For each such school, a statement 

21 whether the school is an urban, rural, or mixed 

22 school (as defined by the Commissioner for 

23 Education Statistics). 

24 (D) The average per-pupil expenditure (in 

25 actual dollars and adjusted for cost and need) 


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1 for the State and for each school and school 

2 district. 

3 (E) The decile ranking of each school dis4 trict, as measured by achievement in mathe5 matics, reading or language arts, and science 

6 on the academic assessments described in sub7 paragraphs (A) and (C) of section 113(b)(1). 

8 (2) SUCCESS IN PROVIDING FUNDAMENTALS OF

9 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.— 

10 (A) A description of the ideal, adequate, 

11 and basic levels of access established by the 

12 State under section 113 to each of the fun13 damentals of educational opportunity described 

14 under section 112(a). 

15 (B) For each school and school district, 

16 the following information: 

17 (i) The level of access (as established 

18 under section 113) of the school or school 

19 district to each of the fundamentals of 

20 educational opportunity described in sec21 tion 112(a). 

22 (ii) The percentage of students pro23 ficient in mathematics, reading or lan24 guage arts, and science, as measured 

25 through assessments under section 


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1 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the Elementary and 

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

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

4 (iii) Whether the school or school dis5 trict is making adequate yearly progress 

6 under section 1111(b)(2) of the Elemen7 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)). 

9 (C) The number and names of each school 

10 in the State that does not provide each of the 

11 fundamentals of educational opportunity de12 scribed in section 112(a) at an ideal or ade13 quate level (as established under section 113). 

14 (3) STATE REMEDIATION ACTIONS.—If the 

15 State is determined under section 121 not to meet 

16 the requirements of section 112— 

17 (A) a detailed description and evaluation 

18 of— 

19 (i) the State’s success in carrying out 

20 any remediation plan required to be sub21 mitted by the State under section 122; and 

22 (ii) any other actions taken, or meas23 ures proposed to be taken, by the State to 

24 meet the requirements of section 112; and 


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1 (B) a copy of any remediation plan re2 quired to be submitted by the State under sec3 tion 122 (including any amendments). 

4 (4) EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.— 

5 An analysis of the effects of the average per-pupil 

6 expenditure, and the level of access (as provided by 

7 the State under section 113) to each of the fun8 damentals of educational opportunity described in 

9 section 112(a) provided to students in each school 

10 and school district on the outcomes of the academic 

11 assessments identified in section 113(b)(1). 

12 (5) OTHER INFORMATION.— 

13 (A) The most recent information submitted 

14 by the State under section 113(d). 

15 (B) For the year covered by the report, a 

16 summary of any changes in the data required 

17 in paragraphs (1) and (2) for each of the pre18 ceding 3 years (which may be based on such 

19 data as are available for the first 3 reports 

20 under subsection (a)). 

21 (C) Such other information as the Sec22 retary considers useful and appropriate to in23 clude. 

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

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


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1 calendar year in which the report is required to be sub2 mitted. 

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

4 State receiving Federal financial assistance for elementary 

5 and secondary education shall submit to the Secretary, at 

6 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea7 sonably require, such data as the Secretary deems nec8 essary to make a determination under section 121 and to 

9 submit the report under this section. Such data shall in10 clude the information used to measure the State’s success 

11 in providing the fundamentals of educational opportunity 

12 described in section 112(a). 

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

14 submit the data required to make a determination under 

15 section 121— 

16 (1) the State shall be deemed to have been de17 termined under such section not to meet the applica18 ble requirements of section 112, until the State sub19 mits the data and the Secretary is able to make a 

20 determination under such section based on such 

21 data; and 

22 (2) the Secretary shall— 

23 (A) provide, to the extent practicable, the 

24 analysis required in subsection (a) for the State 


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1 based on the best data available to the Sec2 retary; and 

3 (B) update the analysis, as necessary, after 

4 submission of the data by the State. 

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

6 make available to the general public (including by means 

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

8 SEC. 132. CIVIL ACTION FOR ENFORCEMENT. 

9 A student or parent of a student aggrieved by a viola10 tion of this Act may bring a civil action against an appro11 priate official in an appropriate United States district 

12 court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to enforce 

13 the requirements of this Act, together with reasonable at14 torney fees and the costs of the action, without regard to 

15 the citizenship of the parties or the amount in controversy. 

16 TITLE II—EFFECTS OF EDU17 CATIONAL DISPARITIES ON 

18 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NA19 TIONAL DEFENSE 

20 SEC. 201. EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PRODUC21 TIVITY. 

22 (a) STUDY.—The Commissioner for Education Sta23 tistics, in consultation with the Secretaries of Commerce, 

24 Labor, and the Treasury, shall conduct a comprehensive 

25 study concerning the effects on economic growth and proVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:43 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2373.IH H2373

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1 ductivity of eliminating disparities in public school systems 

2 that do not meet the requirements of section 112. Such 

3 study shall include the following: 

4 (1) The economic costs to the Nation resulting 

5 from the maintenance by States of public school sys6 tems that do not meet the requirements of section 

7 112. 

8 (2) The economic gains to be expected from the 

9 elimination of disparities in public school systems 

10 that do not meet the requirements of section 112. 

11 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner 

13 for Education Statistics shall submit to the Congress a 

14 final report detailing the results of the study required 

15 under subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 202. EFFECTS ON NATIONAL DEFENSE. 

17 (a) STUDY.—The Commissioner for Education Sta18 tistics, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 

19 conduct a comprehensive study concerning the effects on 

20 national defense of eliminating disparities in public school 

21 systems that do not meet the requirements of section 112. 

22 Such study shall include the following: 

23 (1) The detriments to national defense resulting 

24 from the maintenance by States of public school sys25 tems that do not meet the requirements of section 


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1 112, including the effects of education deficits aris2 ing from low-quality schools on— 

3 (A) knowledge and skills necessary for the 

4 effective functioning of the Armed Forces; 

5 (B) the costs to the Armed Forces of 

6 training; and 

7 (C) efficiency resulting from the use of so8 phisticated equipment and information tech9 nology. 

10 (2) The gains to national defense to be expected 

11 from the elimination of disparities in public school 

12 systems that do not meet the requirements of section 

13 112. 

14 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner 

16 for Education Statistics shall submit to the Congress a 

17 final report detailing the results of the study required 

18 under subsection (a). 

19 TITLE III—GENERAL 

20 PROVISIONS 

21 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) The terms ‘‘average per-pupil expenditure’’, 

24 ‘‘core academic subjects’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, 

25 ‘‘highly qualified’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘parVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:43 May 19, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2373.IH H2373

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1 ent’’, ‘‘pupil services’’, ‘‘pupil services personnel’’, 

2 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ 

3 each have the meanings given those terms in section 

4 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 (2) The term ‘‘public school system’’ means a 

7 State’s system of public elementary and secondary 

8 education. 

9 (3) The term ‘‘Federal elementary and sec10 ondary education programs’’ means programs pro11 viding Federal financial assistance for elementary or 

12 secondary education, other than programs under the 

13 following provisions of law: 

14 (A) The Individuals with Disabilities Edu15 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

16 (B) Title III of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 

18 et seq.). 

19 (C) The Richard B. Russell National 

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

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

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

23 (4) The term ‘‘State’’ includes the several 

24 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

25 of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern 


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1 Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Vir2 gin Islands, and any other territory or possession of 

3 the United States. 

4 SEC. 302. NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING. 

5 The Secretary may make an adverse determination 

6 under this Act only after notice and opportunity for hear7 ing. 

8 SEC. 303. RULEMAKING. 

9 The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out 

10 this Act. 

11 SEC. 304. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

12 Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a 

13 jurisdiction to increase property tax or other tax rates or 

14 to redistribute revenues from such taxes. 

Æ 


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