Presidential Documents

26475

Federal Register

Vol. 65, No. 88

Friday, May 5, 2000

Title 3—

The President

Executive Order 13153 of May 3, 2000

Actions To Improve Low-Performing Schools

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the

laws of the United States of America, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2000 (as contained in Public Law 106–113), and in order

to take actions to improve low-performing schools, it is hereby ordered

as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Since 1993, this Administration has sought to raise standards for students and to increase accountability in public education while

investing more resources in elementary and secondary schools. While much

has been accomplished—there has been progress in math and reading

achievement, particularly for low-achieving students and students in our

highest poverty schools—much more can be done, especially for low-performing schools.

Sec. 2. Technical Assistance and Capacity Building. (a) The Secretary of

Education (‘‘Secretary’’) shall work with State and local educational agencies

(‘‘LEAs’’) to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for providing

technical assistance and other assistance to States and LEAs to strengthen

their capacity to improve the performance of schools identified as low

performing. This comprehensive strategy shall include a number of steps,

such as:

(1) providing States, school districts, and schools receiving funds from

the school improvement fund established by Public Law 106–113, as well

as other districts and schools identified for school improvement or corrective action under Title I of the ESEA, with access to the latest research

and information on best practices, including research on instruction and

educator professional development, and with the opportunity to learn

from exemplary schools and exemplary State and local intervention strategies and from each other, in order to improve achievement for all students

in the low-performing schools;

(2) determining effective ways of providing low-performing schools with

access to resources from other Department of Education programs, such

as funds from the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program,

the Reading Excellence Act, the Eisenhower Professional Development

Program, the Class Size Reduction Program, and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, and to make effective use of these funds

and Title I funds;

(3) providing States and LEAs with information on effective strategies

to improve the quality of the teaching force, including strategies for recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in high-poverty schools, and

implementing research-based professional development programs aligned

with challenging standards;

(4) helping States and school districts build partnerships with technical

assistance providers, including, but not limited to, federally funded laboratories and centers, foundations, businesses, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, reform model providers, and other

organizations that can help local schools improve;

26476 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 88 / Friday, May 5, 2000 / Presidential Documents

(5) identifying previously low-performing schools that have made significant achievement gains, and States and school districts that have been

effective in improving the achievement of all students in low-performing

schools, which can serve as models and resources;

(6) providing assistance and information on how to effectively involve

parents in the school-improvement process, including effectively involving

and informing parents at the beginning of the school year about improvement goals for their school as well as the goals for their own children,

and reporting on progress made in achieving these goals;

(7) providing States and LEAs with information on effective approaches

to school accountability, including the effectiveness of such strategies

as school reconstitution, peer review teams, and financial rewards and

incentives;

(8) providing LEAs with information and assistance on the design and

implementation of approaches to choice among public schools that create

incentives for improvement throughout the local educational agency, especially in the lowest-performing schools, and that maximize the opportunity

of students in low-performing schools to attend a higher-performing public

school;

(9) exploring the use of well-trained tutors to raise student achievement

through initiatives such as ‘‘America Reads,’’ ‘‘America Counts,’’ and other

work-study opportunities to help low-performing schools;

(10) using a full range of strategies for disseminating information about

effective practices, including interactive electronic communications;

(11) working with the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs

(BIA), to provide technical assistance to BIA-funded low-performing

schools; and

(12) taking other steps that can help improve the quality of teaching

and instruction in low-performing schools.

(b) The Secretary shall, to the extent permitted by law, take whatever

steps the Secretary finds necessary and appropriate to redirect the resources

and technical assistance capability of the Department of Education (‘‘Department’’) to assist States and localities in improving low-performing schools,

and to ensure that the dissemination of research to help turn around lowperforming schools is a priority of the Department.

Sec. 3. School Improvement Report. To monitor the progress of LEAs and

schools in turning around failing schools, including those receiving grants

from the School Improvement Fund, the Secretary shall prepare an annual

School Improvement Report, to be published in September of each year,

beginning in 2000. The report shall:

(a) describe trends in the numbers of LEAs and schools identified as

needing improvement and subsequent changes in the academic performance

of their students;

(b) identify best practices and significant research findings that can be

used to help turn around low-performing LEAs and schools; and

(c) document ongoing efforts as a result of this order and other Federal

efforts to assist States and local school districts in intervening in lowperforming schools, including improving teacher quality. This report shall

be publicly accessible.

Sec. 4. Compliance Monitoring System. Consistent with the implementation

of the School Improvement Fund, the Secretary shall strengthen the Department’s monitoring of ESEA requirements for identifying and turning around

low-performing schools, as well as any new requirements established for

the School Improvement Fund by Public Law 106–113. The Secretary shall

give priority to provisions that have the greatest bearing on identifying

and turning around low-performing schools, including sections 1116 and

1117 of the ESEA, and to developing an ongoing, focused, and systematic

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 88 / Friday, May 5, 2000 / Presidential Documents 26477

process for monitoring these provisions. This improved compliance monitoring shall be designed to:

(a) ensure that States and LEAs comply with ESEA requirements;

(b) assist States and LEAs in implementing effective procedures and strategies that reflect the best research available, as well as the experience of

successful schools, school districts, and States as they address similar objectives and challenges; and

(c) assist States, LEAs, and schools in making the most effective use

of available Federal resources.

Sec. 5. Consultation. The Secretary shall, where appropriate, consult with

executive agencies, State and local education officials, educators, communitybased groups, and others in carrying out this Executive order.

Sec. 6. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to improve the internal

management of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does

not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at

law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies or instrumenTHE WHITE HOUSE,

May 3, 2000.

talities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

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[FR Doc. 00–11531

Filed 5–4–00; 11:45 am]

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