II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 893 

To allow a State to combine certain funds and enter into a performance 

agreement with the Secretary of Education to improve the academic 

achievement of students. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2007 

Mr. DEMINT (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KYL, Mr. MARTINEZ, and Mr. 

BROWNBACK) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To allow a State to combine certain funds and enter into 

a performance agreement with the Secretary of Education to improve the academic achievement of students. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; PURPOSE; 

4 DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act’’ or the 

7 ‘‘A PLUS Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; purpose; definitions. 

Sec. 2. Performance agreements. 

Sec. 3. Programs eligible for consolidation and permissible use of funds. 

Sec. 4. Maintenance of academic performance standards; accountability system. 

Sec. 5. Maintenance of funding levels spent by States on education. 

Sec. 6. Administrative expenses. 

Sec. 7. Equitable participation of private schools. 

Sec. 8. Annual reports. 

Sec. 9. Performance review and early termination. 

1 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is as follows: 

2 (1) To give States and local communities max3 imum flexibility to determine how to boost academic 

4 achievement and implement education reforms. 

5 (2) To reduce the administrative costs and com6 pliance burden of Federal education programs in 

7 order to focus Federal resources on improving aca8 demic achievement. 

9 (3) To ensure that States and communities are 

10 accountable to the public for advancing the academic 

11 achievement of all students, especially disadvantaged 

12 children. 

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro15 vided, the terms used in this Act have the meanings 

16 given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 

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

18 7801 et seq.). 

19 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 1122(e) of the ElemenVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Mar 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 6332(e)). 

3 SEC. 2. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this Act, the 

5 Secretary shall enter into performance agreements with 

6 States under which, except as otherwise provided in this 

7 Act, States may consolidate and use funds pursuant to 

8 section 3. 

9 (b) REQUIRED TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AGREE10 MENT.—Each performance agreement entered into by the 

11 Secretary under this Act shall include the following: 

12 (1) DURATION.—The performance agreement 

13 shall be for a period of 5 years. Such 5 year period 

14 shall be determined by the State. 

15 (2) APPLICATION OF PROGRAM REQUIRE16 MENTS.—The performance agreement shall provide 

17 that no requirements of any program described in 

18 section 3 and included by the State within the scope 

19 of the performance agreement shall apply to the 

20 State, except as otherwise provided in this Act. 

21 (3) LIST OF PROGRAMS.—The performance 

22 agreement shall list which of the programs described 

23 in section 3 are included within the scope of the per24 formance agreement. 


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1 (4) USE OF FUNDS TO IMPROVE STUDENT

2 ACHIEVEMENT.—The performance agreement shall 

3 contain a 5-year plan describing how the State in4 tends to combine and use the funds from programs 

5 included within the scope of the performance agree6 ment to advance the education priorities of the 

7 State, improve student academic achievement, and 

8 narrow achievement gaps. 

9 (5) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.—The perform10 ance agreement shall describe an accountability sys11 tem that meets the requirements of section 4. 

12 (6) ACHIEVEMENT GOALS.— 

13 (A) STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.— 

14 The performance agreement shall require the 

15 State to demonstrate the State’s academic 

16 achievement goals and measures to be achieved 

17 over the duration of the performance agree18 ment. 

19 (B) CONSISTENCY OF ACHIEVEMENT

20 MEASURES.—The performance agreement shall 

21 require that the State maintain, at a minimum, 

22 the same level of challenging State student aca23 demic achievement standards and academic as24 sessments throughout the duration of the per25 formance agreement. 


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1 (C) REPORTING OF DISAGGREGATED

2 DATA.—The performance agreement shall re3 quire the State to report, in the annual report 

4 under section 8, data disaggregated in the same 

5 manner as data are disaggregated under section 

6 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and Sec7 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

8 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 

9 (c) APPLICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State desiring to enter 

11 into a performance agreement with the Secretary 

12 under this Act shall submit an application to the 

13 Secretary at such time, and accompanied by such in14 formation, as the Secretary may require. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—Each such application shall 

16 contain— 

17 (A) a proposed performance agreement; 

18 (B) a description of the State’s account19 ability system for the proposed performance 

20 agreement as described in section 4; 

21 (C) an assurance that the State will use 

22 fiscal control and fund accounting procedures; 

23 (D) an assurance that the State will con24 tinue to pursue the goal of improving eduVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Mar 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 cational opportunities for the disadvantaged; 

2 and 

3 (E) an assurance that not less than 2 of 

4 the following approved the proposed perform5 ance agreement: 

6 (i) The Governor of the State. 

7 (ii) The State legislature. 

8 (iii) The State educational agency. 

9 (d) APPROVAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

11 the receipt of a proposed performance agreement 

12 submitted by a State, the Secretary shall approve 

13 the performance agreement or provide the State with 

14 a written determination that the performance agree15 ment fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act. 

16 (2) TREATMENT AS APPROVED.—Each perform17 ance agreement for which the Secretary fails to take 

18 the action required in paragraph (1) in the time pe19 riod described in such paragraph shall be considered 

20 to be approved. 

21 (3) REQUIREMENT TO EXECUTE APPROVED

22 AGREEMENTS.—In accordance with this Act, the 

23 Secretary shall enter into each performance agree24 ment approved under this subsection. 


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1 (4) DISAPPROVAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREE2 MENT.—If the State’s performance agreement is dis3 approved, then the State shall have 30 days to re4 submit a revised performance agreement. The Sec5 retary shall approve the revised performance agree6 ment within 30 days of receipt of the revised per7 formance agreement or provide the State with a 

8 written determination that the revised performance 

9 agreement fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act. 

10 (e) CIVIL RIGHTS.—The Secretary may not enter 

11 into a performance agreement with a State under this sec12 tion unless the performance agreement contains an assur13 ance that the State will meet the requirements of applica14 ble Federal civil rights laws in carrying out the perform15 ance agreement and in consolidating and using the funds 

16 under the performance agreement. 

17 (f) AMENDMENT TO PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each of the following cir19 cumstances, the Secretary, subject to approval under 

20 paragraph (2), shall agree to amend a performance 

21 agreement entered into with a State under this Act: 

22 (A) REDUCTION IN SCOPE OF PERFORM23 ANCE AGREEMENT.—A State seeks to amend 

24 the performance agreement to remove from the 


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1 scope of the performance agreement any pro2 gram described in section 3. 

3 (B) EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF PERFORM4 ANCE AGREEMENT.—A State seeks to amend 

5 the performance agreement to include within 

6 the scope of the performance agreement any ad7 ditional program described in section 3 or any 

8 additional measure of accountability for which 

9 the State will be held accountable. 

10 (2) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

12 after the receipt of a proposed performance 

13 agreement amendment submitted by a State, 

14 the Secretary shall approve the amendment or 

15 provide the State with a written determination 

16 that the amendment fails to satisfy a require17 ment of this Act. 

18 (B) TREATMENT AS APPROVED.—Each 

19 amendment for which the Secretary fails to 

20 take the action required in subparagraph (A) in 

21 the time period described in such subparagraph 

22 shall be considered to be approved. 

23 (3) TREATMENT OF PROGRAM FUNDS WITH24 DRAWN FROM AGREEMENT.—Beginning on the effec25 tive date of an amendment executed under paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Mar 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 graph (1)(A), each program requirement of each 

2 program removed from the scope of a performance 

3 agreement shall apply to the State’s use of funds 

4 made available under the program. 

5 SEC. 3. PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE FOR CONSOLIDATION AND 

6 PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS. 

7 (a) SCOPE.—A State may choose to include within 

8 the scope of its performance agreement any program for 

9 which Congress makes funds available to the State if the 

10 program is for a purpose described in section 1001 of the 

11 Elementary and Education Secondary Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 6301). 

13 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to a 

14 State pursuant to a performance agreement under this Act 

15 shall be used for any educational purpose permitted by 

16 State law of the State participating in the performance 

17 agreement. 

18 SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 

19 STANDARDS; ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM. 

20 Each State consolidating and using funds under this 

21 Act shall demonstrate an accountability system for the 

22 State’s performance agreement. The accountability system 

23 shall— 

24 (1) utilize the State’s adequate yearly progress 

25 determination under section 1111(b) of the ElemenVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Mar 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 6311(b)); or 

3 (2) utilize another measure of annual student 

4 progress relative to the State’s determination of stu5 dent proficiency, if such measure— 

6 (A) is used for the entire 5-year duration 

7 of the performance agreement; and 

8 (B) provides student achievement data— 

9 (i) in terms of individual student 

10 progress over time; or 

11 (ii) in a comparison assessment. 

12 SEC. 5. MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING LEVELS SPENT BY 

13 STATES ON EDUCATION. 

14 For each State consolidating and using funds pursu15 ant to a performance agreement under this Act, for each 

16 school year of the performance agreement, the aggregate 

17 amount of funds spent by the State on elementary and 

18 secondary education shall be not less than 90 percent of 

19 the aggregate amount of funds spent by the State on ele20 mentary and secondary education for the school year that 

21 coincides with the date of enactment of this Act. If a State 

22 demonstrates that exceptional or uncontrollable cir23 cumstances, such as a natural disaster or a precipitous 

24 and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of the 

25 State, prevent the State from complying with the preVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Mar 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 ceding sentence, the Secretary shall waive the applicability 

2 of the preceding sentence to the State. 

3 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

4 (a) STATES CONSOLIDATING FUNDS UNDER PART A 

5 OF TITLE I.—Each State that includes part A of title 1 

6 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) within the scope of a perform8 ance agreement under this Act may use, for administrative 

9 expenses, not more than 1 percent of the total amount 

10 of funds made available to the State under the programs 

11 included within the scope of the performance agreement. 

12 (b) STATES NOT CONSOLIDATING FUNDS UNDER

13 PART A OF TITLE I.—Each State that does not include 

14 part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu15 cation Act of 1965 within the scope of a performance 

16 agreement under this Act may use, for administrative ex17 penses, not more than 3 percent of the total amount of 

18 funds made available to the State under the programs in19 cluded within the scope of the performance agreement. 

20 SEC. 7. PARTICIPATION BY PRIVATE SCHOOL CHILDREN 

21 AND TEACHERS. 

22 Each State consolidating and using funds pursuant 

23 to a performance agreement under this Act shall provide 

24 for the participation of private school children and teach25 ers in the activities assisted under the performance agreeVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Mar 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 ment in the same manner as participation is provided to 

2 private school children and teachers under section 9501 

3 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 7881). 

5 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 execution of the performance agreement, and annually 

8 thereafter, each State shall disseminate widely to the par9 ents, the general public, and the Secretary, a report that 

10 includes— 

11 (1) student performance data disaggregated in 

12 the same manner as data are disaggregated under 

13 section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and 

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

15 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)); and 

16 (2) a description of how the State has used 

17 Federal funds to improve academic achievement, 

18 narrow the achievement gap, and improve edu19 cational opportunities for the disadvantaged. 

20 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 

21 days after the Secretary receives a report under subsection 

22 (a), the Secretary shall submit that report to Congress, 

23 together with any other information the Secretary con24 siders appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 9. PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND EARLY TERMINATION. 

2 (a) REVIEW.—For each State having in effect a per3 formance agreement under this Act, the Secretary shall 

4 carry out a review of the performance agreement, at the 

5 midpoint of the duration of the performance agreement, 

6 in order to determine whether the State has met the terms 

7 of the performance agreement described in section 2. 

8 (b) EARLY TERMINATION.—The Secretary may ter9 minate a performance agreement, before the duration of 

10 that performance agreement expires, if the State does not, 

11 for 3 consecutive school years, meet the terms of the per12 formance agreement described in section 2. 

Æ 


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