II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1311 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding 

21st century community learning centers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 30, 2011 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BENNET, and Mrs. HAGAN) 

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

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 regarding 21st century community learning centers. 

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 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Student 

5 Achievement and Engagement through Expanded Learn6 ing Time Act of 2011’’. 

7 SEC. 2. 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS. 

8 Part B of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary 

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171 et seq.) is amend10 ed to read as follows: 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘PART B—21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING 

2 CENTERS. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 4201. PURPOSE. 

4 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to assist local edu5 cational agencies, nonprofit organizations, and partner6 ships between local educational agencies and nonprofit or7 ganizations or local governmental entities, in developing 

8 and implementing 21st century community learning cen9 ters that increase the extent to which— 

10 ‘‘(1) students are provided additional time to 

11 engage in activities that improve their academic 

12 achievement and engagement; 

13 ‘‘(2) students are provided additional time to 

14 participate in enrichment activities and to take ad15 vantage of opportunities to experience a fuller, richer 

16 education; and 

17 ‘‘(3) local educational agencies, nonprofit orga18 nizations, and local governmental entities work in 

19 partnership to improve educational outcomes for stu20 dents. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 4202. DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘In this part: 

23 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER.—The 

24 term ‘community learning center’ means a program 

25 (such as an expanded learning time program, a be26 fore or after school program, a summer enrichment 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1311 IS

1 program or a summer school program) that provides 

2 additional time— 

3 ‘‘(A) for students, including students with 

4 the greatest academic needs and students who 

5 are already meeting State academic achieve6 ment standards adopted under section 

7 1111(b)(1), to participate in academic activities 

8 that are aligned with the instruction those stu9 dents receive during the regular school day and 

10 are targeted to their academic needs; 

11 ‘‘(B) for students to engage in enrichment 

12 and other activities that complement the aca13 demic program; and 

14 ‘‘(C) which may be used to provide teach15 ers with time to collaborate, plan, and engage 

16 in professional development within and across 

17 grades and subjects. 

18 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘eli19 gible local entity’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) a local educational agency that re21 ceives funds under part A of title I, acting by 

22 itself or in partnership with a nonprofit organi23 zation or local governmental entity; or 

24 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization, including a 

25 community-based organization. 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(3) EXPANDED LEARNING TIME PROGRAM.— 

2 The term ‘expanded learning time program’ means 

3 a program that is implemented for all students in a 

4 school and that— 

5 ‘‘(A) increases the total number of school 

6 hours for the school year at a school by not 

7 fewer than 300 hours through an expanded 

8 school day, expanded school week, or expanded 

9 school year schedule; 

10 ‘‘(B) comprehensively redesigns and imple11 ments an expanded school schedule in order to 

12 provide additional time for instruction in core 

13 academic subjects (as well as other subjects or 

14 enrichment activities) and additional time for 

15 teachers and staff to collaborate, plan, and en16 gage in professional development within and 

17 across grades and subjects; and 

18 ‘‘(C) may be implemented in partnership 

19 with nonprofit organizations, including commu20 nity-based organizations. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 4203. RESERVATION OF FUNDS. 

22 ‘‘From the funds appropriated under section 4204 for 

23 any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve— 

24 ‘‘(1) not more than 1 percent for national ac25 tivities, including research development, data collecVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:11 Jul 05, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1311.IS S1311

jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1311 IS

1 tion, technical assistance, outreach, dissemination, 

2 and other activities related to the purpose of this 

3 part; and 

4 ‘‘(2) not more than 1 percent for the outlying 

5 areas and the Bureau of Indian Education to carry 

6 out the purpose of this part. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 4204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this part $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and each 

10 of the subsequent 5 years. 

11 ‘‘Subpart 1—Grants for State Educational Agencies 

12 ‘‘SEC. 4211. STATE ALLOTMENTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION.—From the funds appro14 priated under section 4204 for any fiscal year and remain15 ing after the Secretary makes reservations under section 

16 4203, the Secretary shall allot for the fiscal year, to each 

17 State with an approved application under section 4212, 

18 an amount that bears the same relationship to the remain19 der as the amount the State received under subpart 2 of 

20 part A of title I for the preceding fiscal year bears to the 

21 amount all such States received under that subpart for 

22 the preceding fiscal year, except that no State shall receive 

23 less than an amount equal to one-half of 1 percent of the 

24 total amount made available to all such States under this 

25 subsection. 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(b) REALLOTMENT OF UNUSED FUNDS.—If a State 

2 does not receive an allotment under this subpart for a fis3 cal year, the Secretary shall reallot the amount of the 

4 State’s allotment to the remaining States in accordance 

5 with this section. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 4212. APPLICATION. 

7 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—A State edu8 cational agency that desires to receive a grant under this 

9 subpart shall submit an application at such time, in such 

10 form, and including such information as the Secretary 

11 may require. At a minimum, the application shall in12 clude— 

13 ‘‘(1) a description of how the State educational 

14 agency will— 

15 ‘‘(A) use the grant funds, including funds 

16 reserved for State-level activities; 

17 ‘‘(B) run a rigorous, high-quality competi18 tion for subgrants under subpart 2, including 

19 the criteria the State educational agency will 

20 use to select subgrant recipients; 

21 ‘‘(C) coordinate the activities carried out 

22 under the grant with activities supported by 

23 other programs under this Act and the Individ24 uals with Disabilities Education Act, as appro25 priate; 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(D) use the grant funds in a manner con2 sistent with the State plan submitted under sec3 tion 1111(a) to improve students’ readiness for 

4 success in postsecondary education and the 

5 workforce; 

6 ‘‘(E) assist local educational agencies in 

7 coordinating the activities the local educational 

8 agencies carry out with grant funds with activi9 ties under other Federal and State programs in 

10 order to support a coherent approach to meet11 ing the objectives of this part; 

12 ‘‘(F) assist local educational agencies in 

13 identifying and partnering with nonprofit orga14 nizations with demonstrated experience in im15 proving student achievement and engagement 

16 and demonstrated success in making progress 

17 in the applicable areas described in paragraphs 

18 (1) through (4) of section 4214; 

19 ‘‘(G)(i) prioritize awarding subgrants to el20 igible local entities that will target the use of 

21 these funds on high-need schools in the State in 

22 order to significantly improve student academic 

23 achievement at these schools; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) provide an equitable distribution of 

25 the grant funds among high-need elementary 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1311 IS

1 schools, middle schools, and high schools, based 

2 on the numbers of high-need students enrolled 

3 at such schools; 

4 ‘‘(H) monitor and evaluate, on a regular 

5 basis, activities carried out by eligible entities 

6 receiving subgrants; 

7 ‘‘(I) use benchmarks and performance 

8 goals to hold eligible local entities receiving sub9 grants accountable and to determine whether to 

10 provide the entities with an additional 2 years 

11 of expansion funds after the initial 3-year grant 

12 period; 

13 ‘‘(J) develop, implement, or enhance a sys14 tem of training and technical assistance that 

15 the State educational agency will provide to 

16 such eligible local entities that are not meeting 

17 the State educational agency’s performance 

18 goals; 

19 ‘‘(K) offer a range of activities that cap20 ture student interest and support student en21 gagement to promote higher class attendance, 

22 reduce grade retention, decrease dropout rates, 

23 and include activities that promote good health; 

24 and 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(L) consider and implement, to the extent 

2 practicable, consistent scheduling across schools 

3 to support students who are also the primary 

4 caregivers of a student enrolled in another 

5 school within the school district in order to sup6 port increased attendance; and 

7 ‘‘(2) an assurance that the State educational 

8 agency will— 

9 ‘‘(A) make subgrants of sufficient size and 

10 scope to meet the purpose of this part; 

11 ‘‘(B) collect program-level outcome data 

12 from eligible entities on the performance indica13 tors described in section 4214; and 

14 ‘‘(C) ensure that grant funds will supple15 ment, and not supplant, other Federal, State, 

16 and local education funds available to carry out 

17 these activities. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 4213. USE OF FUNDS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational agency 

20 that receives an implementation grant under this sub21 part— 

22 ‘‘(1) may reserve not more than 5 percent of its 

23 grant for State-level activities as described in sub24 sections (b) and (c); and 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(2) shall use not less than 95 percent of its 

2 grant for each fiscal year to make subgrants to eligi3 ble local entities under subpart 2. 

4 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—A State 

5 educational agency that receives an implementation grant 

6 shall use funds reserved under subsection (a)(1) to— 

7 ‘‘(1) monitor and evaluate the eligible local enti8 ties receiving subgrants under subpart 2 to ensure 

9 that the entities are meeting program requirements; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) collect and analyze information on pro12 gram outcomes. 

13 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—In 

14 addition to carrying out the activities described in sub15 section (b), a State educational agency that receives a 

16 grant under this section may use funds reserved under 

17 subsection (a)(1) to— 

18 ‘‘(1) provide training and technical assistance 

19 to eligible local entities and the schools they are 

20 serving under the grant in such areas as— 

21 ‘‘(A) identifying outside partners to work 

22 with when implementing community learning 

23 centers; 

24 ‘‘(B) working with teachers, principals, 

25 other relevant school staff, parents, and other 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1311 IS

1 stakeholders to review and improve local policies 

2 and practices in order to support the implemen3 tation of effective programs; 

4 ‘‘(C) coordinating activities carried out 

5 under this program with other Federal, State, 

6 and local programs so as to implement high7 quality programs; and 

8 ‘‘(D) aligning activities carried out under 

9 this program with State academic content 

10 standards under section 1111(b)(1); and 

11 ‘‘(2) administer the grant, including holding 

12 high-quality subgrant competitions and collecting 

13 and reporting data on performance indicators to the 

14 Secretary. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 4214. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. 

16 ‘‘Each State educational agency that receives a grant 

17 under this section shall collect information and, on an an18 nual basis, report to the Secretary on the following per19 formance indicators with respect to each program carried 

20 out under this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The average time added by the program to 

22 each of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The school day. 

24 ‘‘(B) The school week. 

25 ‘‘(C) The school year. 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(2) The additional learning time provided to 

2 students through program funding under this part 

3 by activity type. 

4 ‘‘(3) For the students participating in the pro5 gram, in the aggregate and disaggregated by the 

6 categories described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II): 

7 ‘‘(A) Student participation and attendance 

8 rates in programs funded under this part. 

9 ‘‘(B) Regular school day attendance. 

10 ‘‘(C) Student achievement in core academic 

11 subjects. 

12 ‘‘(D) Secondary school graduation rates. 

13 ‘‘(E) Of the students who complete grade 

14 8, the number who enroll and take courses in 

15 grade 9 in the following year. 

16 ‘‘(4) Other performance indicators, as deter17 mined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘Subpart 2—Subgrants for Eligible Local Entities 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4221. SUBGRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

20 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—A State receiving a 

21 grant under section 4211 shall award, on a competitive 

22 basis— 

23 ‘‘(1) one-year planning subgrants to eligible 

24 local entities to enable the eligible local entities to 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1311 IS

1 develop and implement expanded learning time pro2 grams as part of a community learning center; and 

3 ‘‘(2) multi-year implementation subgrants to el4 igible local entities to establish and operate commu5 nity learning centers. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PLANNING GRANTS.—The State shall 

8 award planning subgrants under subsection (a)(1) 

9 only for eligible local entities planning to implement 

10 expanded learning time programs and not for any 

11 other program offered by a community learning cen12 ter. 

13 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) DURATION.—An implementation 

15 subgrant under subsection (a)(2) shall be for an 

16 initial period of not more than 3 years. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—A State receiving a 

18 grant under section 4211 shall extend a 

19 subgrant under subsection (a)(2) for not more 

20 than 2 additional years if a grantee— 

21 ‘‘(i) is achieving the intended out22 comes of the grant; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) shows improvement against some 

24 or all of the baseline measures on the per25 formance indicators described in paraVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:11 Jul 05, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1311.IS S1311

jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1311 IS

1 graphs (1) through (4) of section 4214, as 

2 applicable. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 4222. APPLICATIONS; AWARD BASIS. 

4 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to re5 ceive a subgrant under section 4221 from a State edu6 cational agency, an eligible local entity shall submit an ap7 plication at such time, in such form, and including such 

8 information as the State educational agency may require. 

9 At a minimum, the application for a subgrant shall include 

10 a description of— 

11 ‘‘(1) how the eligible local entity will use funds 

12 received under this subpart, including— 

13 ‘‘(A) how the eligible local entity will select 

14 schools and nonprofit organizations to partici15 pate; 

16 ‘‘(B) the time period and quality of the 

17 program that those schools and nonprofit orga18 nizations will operate; 

19 ‘‘(C) how the activities will be aligned with 

20 the regular instruction those students receive 

21 during the regular school day and are targeted 

22 to their academic needs; and 

23 ‘‘(D) how the program will be designed to 

24 make progress in the areas described in para25 graphs (1) through (4) of section 4214; 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(2) evidence demonstrating that the proposed 

2 program is likely to succeed in improving student 

3 performance, student academic achievement, student 

4 academic growth, and student engagement; 

5 ‘‘(3) how the eligible local entity will coordinate 

6 activities carried out using subgrant funds with 

7 other Federal, State, and local programs in a man8 ner consistent with the State’s plan submitted under 

9 section 1111(a) in order to improve students’ readi10 ness for postsecondary education and careers; 

11 ‘‘(4) the role of nonprofit organizations that 

12 have been or will be working with the eligible local 

13 entity, including such organizations’ experience im14 proving student achievement and demonstrated suc15 cess in making progress in the areas described in 

16 paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 4214; 

17 ‘‘(5) how the eligible entity will promote regular 

18 participation throughout the time period of the pro19 gram by all students, and particularly those with the 

20 greatest academic need, served by the project; 

21 ‘‘(6) how the eligible entity will serve students 

22 with the greatest academic needs; and 

23 ‘‘(7) how the applicant will continue to fund 

24 and implement the proposed project after the Fed25 eral funding ends. 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIES.—In awarding subgrants, the State 

2 shall give priority to eligible local entities that— 

3 ‘‘(1) agree to provide, toward the costs of the 

4 program carried out under the subgrant, a signifi5 cant amount of local matching funds, which may be 

6 provided in-cash or -kind, including services or mate7 rials; 

8 ‘‘(2) propose to develop and implement an ex9 panded learning time program; 

10 ‘‘(3) will focus the use of subgrant funds on 

11 schools served by the eligible local entity that are 

12 among the schools identified under section 

13 1116(b)(1)(A) in the State, in order to significantly 

14 improve student academic achievement and engage15 ment at these schools; and 

16 ‘‘(4) are partnerships that include— 

17 ‘‘(A) one or more local educational agen18 cies that are eligible under part A of title I; and 

19 ‘‘(B) one or more nonprofit organizations 

20 or local governmental entities. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 4223. USE OF FUNDS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible local entity that re23 ceives a subgrant under section 4221(b)(2) shall use the 

24 subgrant funds to carry out one or more of the following 

25 programs as part of its community learning center: 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(1) Expanded learning time programs. 

2 ‘‘(2) Before or after school programs, summer 

3 enrichment programs, or summer school programs, 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide students with additional time 

6 for instruction in core academic subjects, other 

7 subjects and enrichment activities; and 

8 ‘‘(B) may provide additional time for 

9 teachers and staff to collaborate, plan, and en10 gage in professional development within and 

11 across grades and subjects. 

12 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL CONTENT.—A program described 

13 in subsection (a) may include activities designed to— 

14 ‘‘(1) engage students in learning outside of the 

15 traditional school setting by providing enrichment 

16 and experiential learning activities, such as service 

17 learning or work-based learning; 

18 ‘‘(2) improve nutrition and education; 

19 ‘‘(3) improve safety and mental and physical 

20 health activities designed to— 

21 ‘‘(A) prevent and reduce substance use (in22 cluding the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal 

23 drugs, and the unauthorized use of pharma24 ceuticals); 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1311 IS

1 ‘‘(B) prevent and reduce violence (includ2 ing teen dating violence), harassment, and bul3 lying; and 

4 ‘‘(C) provide positive behavioral interven5 tions and supports; 

6 ‘‘(4) provide comprehensive supports, including 

7 providing support for pregnant and parenting stu8 dents; 

9 ‘‘(5) implement innovative family and commu10 nity engagement activities; 

11 ‘‘(6) support the development of positive stu12 dent-adult relationships, including one-on-one and 

13 group mentoring programs; 

14 ‘‘(7) develop post secondary education and ca15 reer awareness and readiness programs, and 

16 ‘‘(8) prevent students from dropping out of 

17 school. 

18 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—Each eligible 

19 local entity receiving a subgrant under this subpart shall 

20 annually report to the State educational agency awarding 

21 the subgrant on student performance on the performance 

22 indicators described in section 4214.’’. 

Æ 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS