II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 103

To provide for advanced placement programs.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 22, 2001

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To provide for advanced placement programs.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAMS.

4 Title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8001 et seq.) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following:

7 ‘‘PART L—ADVANCED PLACEMENT

8 PROGRAMS

9 ‘‘SEC. 10995A. SHORT TITLE.

10 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Access to High

11 Standards Act’.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 10995B. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 ‘‘(1) far too many students are not being pro4 vided sufficient academic preparation in secondary

5 school, which results in limited employment opportu6 nities, college dropout rates of over 25 percent for

7 the first year of college, and remediation for almost

8 one-third of incoming college freshmen;

9 ‘‘(2) there is a growing consensus that raising

10 academic standards, establishing high academic ex11 pectations, and showing concrete results are at the

12 core of improving public education;

13 ‘‘(3) modeling academic standards on the well14 known program of advanced placement courses is an

15 approach that many education leaders and almost

16 half of all States have endorsed;

17 ‘‘(4) advanced placement programs already are

18 providing 30 different college-level courses, serving

19 almost 60 percent of all secondary schools, reaching

20 over 1,000,000 students (of whom 80 percent attend

21 public schools, 55 percent are females, and 30 per22 cent are minorities), and providing test scores that

23 are accepted for college credit at over 3,000 colleges

24 and universities, every university in Germany,

25 France, and Austria, and most institutions in Can26 ada and the United Kingdom;
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1 ‘‘(5) 24 States are now funding programs to in2 crease participation in advanced placement pro3 grams, including 19 States that provide funds for

4 advanced placement teacher professional develop5 ment, 3 States that require that all public secondary

6 schools offer advanced placement courses, 10 States

7 that pay the fees for advanced placement tests for

8 some or all students, and 4 States that require that

9 their public universities grant uniform academic

10 credit for scores of 3 or better on advanced place11 ment tests; and

12 ‘‘(6) the State programs described in paragraph

13 (5) have shown the responsiveness of schools and

14 students to such programs, raised the academic

15 standards for both students participating in such

16 programs and other children taught by teachers who

17 are involved in advanced placement courses, and

18 shown tremendous success in increasing enrollment,

19 achievement, and minority participation in advanced

20 placement programs.

21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are—

22 ‘‘(1) to encourage more of the 600,000 students

23 who take advanced placement courses but do not

24 take advanced placement exams each year to dem-
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1 onstrate their achievements through taking the

2 exams;

3 ‘‘(2) to build on the many benefits of advanced

4 placement programs for students, which benefits

5 may include the acquisition of skills that are impor6 tant to many employers, Scholastic Aptitude Tests

7 (SAT) scores that are 100 points above the national

8 averages, and the achievement of better grades in

9 secondary school and in college than the grades of

10 students who have not participated in the programs;

11 ‘‘(3) to support State and local efforts to raise

12 academic standards through advanced placement

13 programs, and thus further increase the number of

14 students who participate and succeed in advanced

15 placement programs;

16 ‘‘(4) to increase the availability and broaden the

17 range of schools that have advanced placement pro18 grams, which programs are still often distributed un19 evenly among regions, States, and even secondary

20 schools within the same school district, while also in21 creasing and diversifying student participation in the

22 programs;

23 ‘‘(5) to build on the State programs described

24 in subsection (a)(5) and demonstrate that larger and
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1 more diverse groups of students can participate and

2 succeed in advanced placement programs;

3 ‘‘(6) to provide greater access to advanced

4 placement courses for low-income and other dis5 advantaged students;

6 ‘‘(7) to provide access to advanced placement

7 courses for secondary school juniors at schools that

8 do not offer advanced placement programs, increase

9 the rate of secondary school juniors and seniors who

10 participate in advanced placement courses to 25 per11 cent of the secondary school student population, and

12 increase the numbers of students who receive ad13 vanced placement test scores for which college aca14 demic credit is awarded; and

15 ‘‘(8) to increase the participation of low-income

16 individuals in taking advanced placement tests

17 through the payment or partial payment of the costs

18 of the advanced placement test fees.

19 ‘‘SEC. 10995C. FUNDING DISTRIBUTION RULE.

20 ‘‘From amounts appropriated under section 10995H

21 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall give first priority to

22 funding activities under section 10995F, and shall dis23 tribute any remaining funds not so applied according to

24 the following ratio:
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1 ‘‘(1) Seventy percent of the remaining funds

2 shall be available to carry out section 10995D.

3 ‘‘(2) Thirty percent of the remaining funds

4 shall be available to carry out section 10995E.

5 ‘‘SEC. 10995D. ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM GRANTS.

6 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro8 priated under section 10995H and made available

9 under section 10995C(1) for a fiscal year, the Sec10 retary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to

11 eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to carry

12 out the authorized activities described in subsection

13 (c).

14 ‘‘(2) DURATION AND PAYMENTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) DURATION.—The Secretary shall

16 award a grant under this section for a period

17 of 3 years.

18 ‘‘(B) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall

19 make grant payments under this section on an

20 annual basis.

21 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In

22 this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State

23 educational agency, or a local educational agency, in

24 the State.
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1 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec2 tion the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities

3 submitting applications under subsection (d) that

4 demonstrate—

5 ‘‘(1) a pervasive need for access to advanced

6 placement incentive programs;

7 ‘‘(2) the involvement of business and commu8 nity organizations in the activities to be assisted;

9 ‘‘(3) the availability of matching funds from

10 State or local sources to pay for the cost of activities

11 to be assisted;

12 ‘‘(4) a focus on developing or expanding ad13 vanced placement programs and participation in the

14 core academic areas of English, mathematics, and

15 science; and

16 ‘‘(5)(A) in the case of an eligible entity that is

17 a State educational agency, the State educational

18 agency carries out programs in the State that

19 target—

20 ‘‘(i) local educational agencies serving

21 schools with a high concentration of low-income

22 students; or

23 ‘‘(ii) schools with a high concentration of

24 low-income students; or
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity that is a

2 local educational agency, the local educational agen3 cy serves schools with a high concentration of low4 income students.

5 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity

6 may use grant funds under this section to expand access

7 for low-income individuals to advanced placement incen8 tive programs that involve—

9 ‘‘(1) teacher training;

10 ‘‘(2) preadvanced placement course develop11 ment;

12 ‘‘(3) curriculum coordination and articulation

13 between grade levels that prepare students for ad14 vanced placement courses;

15 ‘‘(4) curriculum development;

16 ‘‘(5) books and supplies; and

17 ‘‘(6) any other activity directly related to ex18 panding access to and participation in advanced

19 placement incentive programs particularly for low-in20 come individuals.

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desiring a

22 grant under this section shall submit an application to the

23 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied

24 by such information as the Secretary may require.

25 ‘‘(e) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DATA COLLECTION.—Each eligible entity

2 receiving a grant under this section shall annually

3 report to the Secretary—

4 ‘‘(A) the number of students taking ad5 vanced placement courses who are served by the

6 eligible entity;

7 ‘‘(B) the number of advanced placement

8 tests taken by students served by the eligible

9 entity;

10 ‘‘(C) the scores on the advanced placement

11 tests; and

12 ‘‘(D) demographic information regarding

13 individuals taking the advanced placement

14 courses and tests disaggregated by race, eth15 nicity, sex, English proficiency status, and so16 cioeconomic status.

17 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually

18 compile the information received from each eligible

19 entity under paragraph (1) and report to Congress

20 regarding the information.

21 ‘‘SEC. 10995E. ONLINE ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES.

22 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts appro23 priated under section 10995H and made available under

24 section 10995C(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall

25 award grants to State educational agencies to enable such
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1 agencies to award grants to local educational agencies to

2 provide students with online advanced placement courses.

3 ‘‘(b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICA4 TIONS.—

5 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Each State

6 educational agency desiring a grant under this sec7 tion shall submit an application to the Secretary at

8 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by

9 such information as the Secretary may require.

10 ‘‘(2) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award

11 grants under this section on a competitive basis.

12 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—

13 Each State educational agency receiving a grant award

14 under subsection (b) shall award grants to local edu15 cational agencies within the State to carry out activities

16 described in subsection (e). In awarding grants under this

17 subsection, the State educational agency shall give priority

18 to local educational agencies that—

19 ‘‘(1) serve high concentrations of low-income

20 students;

21 ‘‘(2) serve rural areas; and

22 ‘‘(3) the State educational agency determines

23 will not have access to online advanced placement

24 courses without assistance provided under this sec25 tion.
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1 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTS.—A local educational agency that

2 receives a grant under this section may enter into a con3 tract with a nonprofit or for-profit organization to provide

4 the online advanced placement courses, including con5 tracting for necessary support services.

6 ‘‘(e) USES.—Grant funds provided under this section

7 may be used to purchase the online curriculum, to train

8 teachers with respect to the use of online curriculum, or

9 to purchase course materials.

10 ‘‘SEC. 10995F. ADVANCED PLACEMENT INCENTIVE PRO11 GRAM.

12 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts appro13 priated under section 10995H and made available under

14 section 10995C for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award

15 grants to State educational agencies having applications

16 approved under subsection (c) to enable the State edu17 cational agencies to reimburse low-income individuals to

18 cover part or all of the costs of advanced placement test

19 fees, if the low-income individuals—

20 ‘‘(1) are enrolled in an advanced placement

21 class; and

22 ‘‘(2) plan to take an advanced placement test.

23 ‘‘(b) AWARD BASIS.—In determining the amount of

24 the grant awarded to each State educational agency under

25 this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall consider
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1 the number of children eligible to be counted under section

2 1124(c) in the State in relation to the number of such

3 children so counted in all the States.

4 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—A State edu5 cational agency shall disseminate information regarding

6 the availability of advanced placement test fee payments

7 under this section to eligible individuals through secondary

8 school teachers and guidance counselors.

9 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—Each State educational agency

10 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an appli11 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and

12 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may

13 require. At a minimum, each State educational agency ap14 plication shall—

15 ‘‘(1) describe the advanced placement test fees

16 the State educational agency will pay on behalf of

17 low-income individuals in the State from grant funds

18 made available under this section;

19 ‘‘(2) provide an assurance that any grant funds

20 received under this section, other than funds used in

21 accordance with subsection (e), shall be used only to

22 pay for advanced placement test fees; and

23 ‘‘(3) contain such information as the Secretary

24 may require to demonstrate that the State will en25 sure that a student is eligible for payments under
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1 this section, including documentation required under

2 chapter 1 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the

3 Higher Education Act of 1965.

4 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL USES OF FUNDS.—If each eligible

5 low-income individual in a State pays not more than a

6 nominal fee to take an advanced placement test in a core

7 subject, then a State educational agency may use grant

8 funds made available under this section that remain after

9 advanced placement test fees have been paid on behalf of

10 all eligible low-income individuals in the State, for activi11 ties directly related to increasing—

12 ‘‘(1) the enrollment of low-income individuals in

13 advanced placement courses;

14 ‘‘(2) the participation of low-income individuals

15 in advanced placement courses; and

16 ‘‘(3) the availability of advanced placement

17 courses in schools serving high-poverty areas.

18 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds

19 provided under this section shall supplement, and not sup20 plant, other non-federal funds that are available to assist

21 low-income individuals in paying for the cost of advanced

22 placement test fees.

23 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe

24 such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.
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1 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Each State educational agency annu2 ally shall report to the Secretary information regarding—

3 ‘‘(1) the number of low-income individuals in

4 the State who received assistance under this section;

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) any activities carried out pursuant to sub7 section (e).

8 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST.—The term

10 ‘advanced placement test’ includes only an advanced

11 placement test approved by the Secretary for the

12 purposes of this section.

13 ‘‘(2) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term

14 ‘low-income individual’ has the meaning given the

15 term in section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher Education

16 Act of 1965.

17 ‘‘SEC. 10995G. DEFINITIONS.

18 ‘‘In this part:

19 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED PLACEMENT INCENTIVE PRO20 GRAM.—The term ‘advanced placement incentive

21 program’ means a program that provides advanced

22 placement activities and services to low-income indi23 viduals.

24 ‘‘(2) ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST.—The term

25 ‘advanced placement test’ means an advanced place-
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1 ment test administered by the College Board or ap2 proved by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(3) HIGH CONCENTRATION OF LOW-INCOME

4 STUDENTS.—The term ‘high concentration of low-in5 come students’, used with respect to a State edu6 cational agency, local educational agency or school,

7 means an agency or school, as the case may be, that

8 serves a student population 40 percent or more of

9 whom are from families with incomes below the pov10 erty level, as determined in the same manner as the

11 determination is made under section 1124(c)(2).

12 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term

13 ‘low-income individual’ means, other than for pur14 poses of section 10995F, a low-income individual (as

15 defined in section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 who is academically prepared to

17 take successfully an advanced placement test as de18 termined by a school teacher or advanced placement

19 coordinator taking into consideration factors such as

20 enrollment and performance in an advanced place21 ment course or superior academic ability.

22 ‘‘(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—

23 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the

24 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the

25 Higher Education Act of 1965.
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1 ‘‘(6) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

2 the several States of the United States, the District

3 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

4 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin

5 Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the

6 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of

7 Palau.

8 ‘‘SEC. 10995H. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are

10 authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year

11 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the

12 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

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