I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 453

To establish a national demonstration program providing increased flexibility

for schools in order to promote improved educational achievement for

all students.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 6, 1993

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KOPETSKI, and Ms. FURSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Education and Labor

A BILL

To establish a national demonstration program providing increased flexibility for schools in order to promote improved educational achievement for all 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.

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

5 ‘‘Educational Reform and Flexibility Act of 1993’’ or

6 ‘‘Ed-Flex’’.

7 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) historically, Federal education programs

2 have addressed the Nation’s most pressing edu3 cational problems by providing categorical assistance

4 with detailed requirements relating to the use of

5 funds;

6 (2) while the approach described in paragraph

7 (1) has proven generally successful, some program

8 requirements may inadvertently impede educational

9 achievement;

10 (3) the Nation’s schools and teachers are being

11 asked to deal effectively with increasingly diverse

12 educational needs that current program structures

13 may not be flexible enough to address;

14 (4) Federal mandates often limit teachers’ abil15 ity to respond to individual student needs; and

16 (5) in order for this Nation to effectively com17 pete in the global economy, it is crucial for the Fed18 eral Government to support programs that—

19 (A) result in improved educational achieve20 ment by all students;

21 (B) promote the coordination of education

22 and related services that benefit and support

23 children and their families;

24 (C) enable teachers and schools to respond

25 to the needs of a diverse student population;
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1 (D) provide flexibility to teachers and

2 schools by eliminating unnecessary regulation;

3 and

4 (E) place an emphasis on program results

5 rather than on tracking resources.

6 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to estab7 lish a national demonstration program which—

8 (1) promotes improved educational achievement

9 for all students, especially those in affected pro10 grams, through education reform;

11 (2) provides increased flexibility for schools and

12 other recipients in the use of Federal resources, in

13 exchange for greater accountability for achieving im14 proved educational performance;

15 (3) encourages collaboration among school and

16 program administrators, teachers, parents, local

17 agencies, community groups, and business leaders to

18 develop more effective educational programs that

19 meet the needs of all students, especially the dis20 advantaged, and those served by the affected pro21 grams.

22 SEC. 3. FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN EDUCATION

23 AND RELATED SERVICES.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 1 of Part C of the Gen25 eral Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.)
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1 is amended by adding after section 421A a new section

2 421B to read as follows:

3 ‘‘FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN EDUCATION AND

4 RELATED SERVICES

5 ‘‘SEC. 421B. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) The Secretary shall, in

7 accordance with this section, assist elementary and

8 secondary schools and other service providers to im9 prove the achievement of all students and other par10 ticipants, but particularly disadvantaged individuals,

11 by authorizing waivers to not more than six States,

12 which have implemented comprehensive regulatory

13 reform plans, and no more than fifty local edu14 cational agencies in each State.’’

15 ‘‘(B)(i) In support of these projects, the Sec16 retary is authorized to waive any statutory or regu17 latory requirement (except as provided in subsection

18 (e) applicable to a program described in clause (ii)

19 that the Secretary determines may impede the abil20 ity of a school or other service provider to meet the

21 special needs of such students and other individuals

22 in the most effective manner possible. The head of

23 any other Federal agency in accordance with the

24 programs described in clause (ii) is similarly author25 ized to waive such requirements applicable to an ele26 mentary, secondary, or youth vocational training
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1 program administered by such agency if the agency

2 head the Secretary agree that such a waiver would

3 promote the purpose of this section.

4 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall only waive a statutory

5 or regulatory requirement applicable to a program

6 under—

7 ‘‘(I) chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965;

9 ‘‘(II) chapter 2 of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965;

11 ‘‘(III) the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathe12 matics and Science Education Act;

13 ‘‘(IV) the Follow Through Act;

14 ‘‘(V) subtitle B of the title VII of the

15 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act;

16 and

17 ‘‘(VI) the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and

18 Applied Technology Education Act, except part

19 H of title III and funds allocated by States

20 under section 232 of such Act.

21 ‘‘(2) PROJECT DURATION.—Projects conducted

22 under this section, and any waivers associated with

23 such projects, shall last no longer than three years,

24 except that the Secretary may extend a project and

25 any associated waivers for an additional two years if
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1 the Secretary determines that the project is making

2 substantial progress in meeting its goals.

3 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall ter4 minate a project and its associated waivers if the

5 Secretary, at any time, determines it is not making

6 acceptable progress toward meeting its goals. The

7 head of any other Federal agency who has granted

8 waivers under this section shall determine whether

9 to extend or terminate those waivers, but the Sec10 retary shall have exclusive authority to extend or

11 terminate the project.

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each project that involves

14 elementary of secondary schools shall include the

15 participation of a local educational agency and at

16 least two schools.

17 ‘‘(2) GRADE AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.—

18 To the extent possible, each grade and academic

19 program in a participating school shall participate in

20 the project.

21 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—A local educational agency,

22 wishing to conduct a project under this section, shall sub23 mit an application to the State educational agency for ap24 proval. The State educational agency shall then transmit

25 approved applications to the Secretary. Each application
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1 shall be submitted within two years of enactment and in2 clude a plan that—

3 ‘‘(1) describes the purposes and overall expected

4 outcomes of the project;

5 ‘‘(2) identifies, for each school or site partici6 pating in the project, those impediments to improved

7 educational outcomes that would be removed by the

8 proposed waivers;

9 ‘‘(3) identifies the Federal programs to be in10 cluded in the project, the Federal statutory or regu11 latory requirements to be waived, and the purpose

12 and duration of the requested waivers;

13 ‘‘(4) describes the State and local requirements

14 that will be waived, the purpose of such waivers,

15 and, if such requirements will not have been waived

16 before the project begins, when those waivers will be

17 obtained and take effect;

18 ‘‘(5) demonstrates the State has been made an

19 effort to waive substantial requirements pertaining

20 to the local educational agency;

21 ‘‘(6) describes specific, measurable, educational

22 improvement goals for each school or other site in

23 the project and for each school year of the project,

24 including—
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1 ‘‘(A) goals for improving the achievement

2 of all participants, including disadvantaged in3 dividuals, with respect to achievement in basic

4 and advanced skills;

5 ‘‘(B) goals that reflect the broad purposes

6 of each program for which a waiver is sought;

7 and

8 ‘‘(C) an explanation of how the applicant

9 will measure progress in meeting the goals set

10 for each school or site in the project for dis11 advantaged individuals participating in the

12 project;

13 ‘‘(7) incorporates the comments of the Gov14 ernor; and

15 ‘‘(8) for projects involving elementary or sec16 ondary schools—

17 ‘‘(A) identifies the schools to be included in

18 the project and describes the student population

19 at each school, including—

20 ‘‘(i) current data regarding the

21 achievement of the disadvantaged students

22 as well as other students; and

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of students who—

24 ‘‘(I) are of limited English pro25 ficiency as defined in section
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1 7003(a)(1) of the Bilingual Education

2 Act;

3 ‘‘(II) are children with disabil4 ities, as defined in section 602(a)(1)

5 of the Individuals with Disabilities

6 Education Act;

7 ‘‘(III) are currently or formerly

8 migratory;

9 ‘‘(IV) are educationally deprived,

10 for the purposes of chapter 1 of title

11 I of the Elementary and Secondary

12 Education Act of 1965; and

13 ‘‘(V) are eligible for a free or re14 duced price school lunch;

15 ‘‘(B) describes specific goals for enhancing

16 coordination between the regular education pro17 gram available to all students and the programs

18 serving disadvantaged students;

19 ‘‘(C) if fewer than all the schools in a local

20 educational agency will participate in a project,

21 describes the expected educational outcomes for

22 disadvantaged students in schools that do not

23 participate, and how those outcome will be as24 sessed;
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1 ‘‘(D) describes how school administrators,

2 teachers, staff, and parents (including parents

3 of educationally disadvantaged children) have

4 been or will be, involved in the planning, devel5 opment, and implementation of the goals and

6 program for each participating school; and

7 ‘‘(E) contains goals for students targeted

8 by the programs described in clause (ii) of sec9 tion 421B(a) (1)(B) which are comparable to or

10 exceed existing goals under such programs.

11 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF PROJECTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap13 prove applications from no more than six States

14 which have implemented comprehensive regulatory

15 reform, and no more than fifty local educational

16 agencies in each State, after considering—

17 ‘‘(A) the comprehensiveness of the project,

18 including the types of students, schools, pro19 grams, and activities to be included;

20 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the provisions for

21 which waivers are sought impede educational

22 improvement;

23 ‘‘(C) the State and local requirements that

24 will be waived for the project;
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1 ‘‘(D) the significance and feasibility of the

2 proposed project’s goals for each participating

3 school or site;

4 ‘‘(E) the quality of the plan for ensuring

5 accountability for the proposed plan’s activities

6 and goals; and

7 ‘‘(F) the comments of the Governors.

8 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con9 sult with the heads of other appropriate Federal

10 agencies, if any, in determining whether to approve

11 a project. Each such agency head shall notify the

12 Secretary of any waivers granted by such agency

13 head as part of such project.

14 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECTS.—The Sec15 retary shall ensure that, to the extent feasible,

16 projects assisted under this section are geographi17 cally distributed, and equitably distributed among

18 urban, suburban, and rural areas, as well as large

19 and small schools.

20 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS; RESTRIC21 TION ON WAIVERS.—

22 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Fed23 eral funds under any program that are used to sup24 port a project under this section shall be allocated

25 to local educational agencies and other recipients
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1 within the local educational agency in accordance

2 with the statutory and regulatory requirements that

3 govern the operation of that program, except that,

4 for the purpose of such a project, the Secretary (or

5 the head of any other Federal agency) may extend

6 the duration of, and provide continuation funding to,

7 a project chosen on a competitive basis that a par8 ticipating agency is conducting.

9 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION ON WAIVERS.—Neither the

10 Secretary nor the head of any other Federal agency

11 shall waive under this section any statutory or regu12 latory requirement in awarding a grant after the

13 date of enactment to a service provider within the

14 local educational agency or other applicant partici15 pating in a project under this section.

16 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—Neither the Secretary

17 nor, where applicable, the head of any other Federal

18 agency shall waive under this section any statutory

19 or regulatory requirement—

20 ‘‘(A) under section 438 and 439 of the

21 General Education Provisions Act;

22 ‘‘(B) under title VI of the Civil Rights Act

23 of 1964, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

24 of 1973, title IX of the Education Amendments
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1 of 1972, or title II of the Americans with Dis2 abilities Act;

3 ‘‘(C) under the Individuals with Disabil4 ities Education Act; or

5 ‘‘(D) relating to—

6 ‘‘(i) supplement not supplant existing

7 funds;

8 ‘‘(ii) maintenance of effort;

9 ‘‘(iii) comparability; or

10 ‘‘(iv) the equitable participation of

11 students attending private schools.

12 ‘‘(f) REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) PROJECT REPORTS.—Each project shall

14 submit, not later than ninety days after the end of

15 each year of the project, an annual report to the

16 Secretary that—

17 ‘‘(A) summarizes the principal activities of

18 the project;

19 ‘‘(B) contains school-by-school and other

20 data, as described in the project plan, that show

21 the extent to which the project is meeting its

22 overall goals, including its goals for improving

23 the achievement of all participants, particularly

24 disadvantaged individuals, with respect to
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1 achievement in basic and advanced skills, and is

2 meeting the goals for each school or other site;

3 ‘‘(C) describes the impact of the project on

4 disadvantaged children in schools, if any, that

5 are not participating in the demonstration;

6 ‘‘(D) describes the effectiveness of efforts

7 to coordinate programs and services for chil8 dren and their families as appropriate; and

9 ‘‘(E) provides information on or com10 parable data regarding the programs described

11 in clause (ii) of section 428B(a)(1)(B) of

12 achievement levels of students served pursuant

13 to such programs previously demonstrated over

14 the preceding three years compared with chil15 dren or students served under this title.

16 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY’S REPORT.—The Secretary

17 shall submit a report to the Congress every two

18 years that summarizes and analyzes the project re19 ports required by paragraph (1).

20 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION REPORTS.—At the end of the

21 six year period described in this section, and at such

22 interim points as the Secretary deems appropriate,

23 the Secretary shall provide to Congress an independ24 ent evaluation of the projects assisted under this

25 title, as well as an evaluation of the program as-
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1 sisted under this section by the Department of Edu2 cation and other affected Federal agencies. Such re3 ports may include recommendations for amendments

4 to program statutes that are based on the experience

5 of projects that successfully raise educational

6 achievement by eliminating or modifying statutory

7 or regulatory provisions that impede educational im8 provement.

9 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this section,

10 the term disadvantaged students’ includes students of lim11 ited english proficiency, children with disabilities, students

12 who are currently or formerly migratory, and students

13 who are educationally deprived.

14 ‘‘(h) BUDGET NEUTRALITY.—The authority provided

15 by this section shall not be exercised in a manner that,

16 for any fiscal year, increases total obligations or outlays

17 of discretionary appropriations for programs subject to

18 such authority, or that increases total obligations or out19 lays of funding for all direct-spending programs subject

20 to such authority over those that would have occurred ab21 sent such authority.’’.

22 (b) SUNSET PROVISION.—The amendment made by

23 subsection (a) shall be effective during the six year period

24 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.

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