II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1690 

To provide for flexibility and improvements in elementary and secondary 

education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for flexibility and improvements in elementary 

and secondary education, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘No Child Left Behind 

5 Flexibility and Improvements Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DISCRETION TO MODIFY ADEQUATE YEARLY 

7 PROGRESS TIMELINE. 

8 Section 1111(b)(2)(F) of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(F)) 

10 is amended— 
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(F) TIMELINE.—Each State’’ 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(F) TIMELINE.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(ii) DISCRETION OF SECRETARY TO

7 MODIFY THE TIMELINE.—Every 3 years, 

8 the Secretary— 

9 ‘‘(I) shall review the require10 ments of the timeline established in 

11 clause (i); and 

12 ‘‘(II) may issue guidance or regu13 lations modifying such requirements if 

14 the Secretary determines, at the Sec15 retary’s discretion and after a review 

16 of the progress of the States towards 

17 making adequate yearly progress for 

18 the 2013–2014 school year, that 

19 modifications to the timeline are in 

20 the interests of improving student 

21 achievement and are in keeping with 

22 the purposes of this title.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS. 

2 Section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) is further 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking subparagraph (I) and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(I) ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT FOR

8 SCHOOLS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each year for a 

10 school to make adequate yearly progress 

11 under this paragraph— 

12 ‘‘(I) each group of students de13 scribed in subparagraph (C)(v) must 

14 meet or exceed the objectives set by 

15 the State under subparagraph (G), ex16 cept that if any group described in 

17 subparagraph (C)(v) does not meet 

18 those objectives in any particular 

19 year, the school shall be considered to 

20 have made adequate yearly progress 

21 if— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the percentage of stu23 dents in that group who did not 

24 meet or exceed the proficient 

25 level of academic achievement on 

26 the State assessment under para-
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1 graph (3) decreased by 5 percent 

2 over the past year, or an aggre3 gate of 10 percent over 2 years, 

4 and that group has made 

5 progress on 1 or more of the aca6 demic indicators described in 

7 subparagraph (C)(vi) or (vii); or 

8 ‘‘(bb) the students in that 

9 group demonstrate that they are 

10 making progress towards pro11 ficiency through an additional 

12 model or system for measuring 

13 student progress described in 

14 subparagraph (J) and that group 

15 has made progress on one or 

16 more of the academic indicators 

17 described in subparagraph (C)(vi) 

18 or (vii); and 

19 ‘‘(II) not less than 95 percent of 

20 each group of students described in 

21 subparagraph (C)(v) who are enrolled 

22 in the school are required to take the 

23 assessments, consistent with para24 graph (3)(C)(xi) and with accom25 modations, guidelines, and alternative 
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1 assessment provided in the same man2 ner as those provided under section 

3 612(a)(17)(A) of the Individuals with 

4 Disabilities Education Act and para5 graph (3), on which adequate yearly 

6 progress is based (except that the 95 

7 percent requirement described in this 

8 clause shall not apply in a case in 

9 which the number of students in a 

10 category is insufficient to yield statis11 tically reliable information or the re12 sults would reveal personally identifi13 able information about an individual 

14 student). 

15 ‘‘(ii) CHILDREN WITH DISABIL16 ITIES.—In the case of a child with a dis17 ability (as defined in section 602(3) of the 

18 Individuals with Disabilities Education 

19 Act), a State may deem the child to have 

20 met the State’s proficient level of academic 

21 achievement on the State assessments for 

22 purposes of calculating adequate yearly 

23 progress under this section if— 

24 ‘‘(I) the student’s individualized 

25 education program plan team (as de-
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1 fined in section 614(d)(1)(B) of such 

2 Act) designates an alternate assess3 ment based on alternate or modified 

4 student academic achievement stand5 ards as a more appropriate measure 

6 of the student’s academic progress 

7 and achievement for purposes of the 

8 assessment requirements under this 

9 part; and 

10 ‘‘(II) the student achieves a pro11 ficient score on such alternate assess12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(iii) REPORT FROM SEA.—For any 

14 year that a State educational agency 

15 makes use of the flexibility provided by 

16 this section to allow alternate assessments 

17 for more than 3 percent of the total stu18 dent population Statewide, the State edu19 cational agency shall make available to the 

20 public a report that includes the percent21 age of all special education students in the 

22 State who were assessed according to 

23 clause (ii).’’. 

24 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (J) and (K) 

25 as subparagraphs (L) and (M), respectively; and 
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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) (as 

2 amended by paragraph (1)) the following: 

3 ‘‘(J) ADDITIONAL MODELS AND SYSTEMS

4 FOR MEASURING STUDENT PROGRESS.—In de5 veloping a single, statewide State accountability 

6 system pursuant to subparagraph (A), a State 

7 may establish models and systems for meas8 uring student progress for purposes of deter9 mining whether an agency or school has made 

10 adequate yearly progress that are in addition to 

11 the models and systems otherwise described in 

12 this paragraph if the models and systems are in 

13 keeping with the purposes of this title. Addi14 tional models and systems that measure student 

15 progress under this paragraph may include— 

16 ‘‘(i) cohort growth models that— 

17 ‘‘(I) demonstrate progress based 

18 on longitudinal student assessment re19 sults indicating improvement in the 

20 academic performance of the same co21 hort of students over time; and 

22 ‘‘(II) may in some instances 

23 specify different starting points, dif24 ferent intermediate goals, and dif-
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1 ferent annual measurable objectives 

2 for different cohorts; 

3 ‘‘(ii) indexing systems that dem4 onstrate progress based on improvement in 

5 assessment scores for students below the 

6 proficient level, such as improvements from 

7 the below basic to basic level, or from basic 

8 to another intermediate level below the 

9 proficient level, if the system does not in10 clude improvement in students scores for 

11 students who scored at the proficient level 

12 and higher; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) a system that demonstrates 

14 progress based on improvements in closing 

15 the achievement gap or making progress 

16 towards another State-established high17 achievement target, such as a system that 

18 demonstrates progress towards having all 

19 subgroups meet or exceed the current per20 centage of proficient students at the 

21 State’s top-performing schools (such as the 

22 top 20 percent of schools), if the system 

23 requires continued improvement towards 

24 subsequently higher targets until all stu25 dents have reached the proficient level. 
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1 ‘‘(K) REQUIREMENT FOR GUIDANCE FROM

2 THE SECRETARY ON ADDITIONAL MODELS AND

3 SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING STUDENT

4 PROGRESS.—Not later than 120 days after the 

5 date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind 

6 Flexibility and Improvements Act, the Secretary 

7 shall establish specific models of additional 

8 models and systems for measuring student 

9 progress that meet the requirements of sub10 paragraph (J), including models of cohort11 growth systems, indexing systems, or high12 achievement target systems described in sub13 paragraph (J). To the extent possible, the mod14 els shall demonstrate the maximum amount of 

15 flexibility available under this part in the design 

16 of additional models and systems for measuring 

17 student progress. In addition, the Secretary 

18 shall create a task force to provide guidance 

19 and other technical assistance to those States 

20 interested in incorporating additional models 

21 and systems for measuring student progress 

22 into their State accountability plan.’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. STATE OPTION REGARDING STUDENTS WITH LIM2 ITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. 

3 Section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) (as amend5 ed by section 3) is further amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(N) STATE OPTION REGARDING STU8 DENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO9 FICIENCY.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In determining 

11 whether a school, local educational agency, 

12 or State has made adequate yearly 

13 progress under this subsection, a State 

14 shall have the option to include in the stu15 dents with limited English proficiency sub16 group a student who was formerly included 

17 in the subgroup and subsequently acquired 

18 proficiency in English. 

19 ‘‘(ii) DURATION OF INCLUSION IN

20 THE SUBGROUP.—A State may include a 

21 student described in clause (i) in the stu22 dents with limited English proficiency sub23 group until the student completes sec24 ondary school. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

2 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con3 strued— 

4 ‘‘(I) to count a student described 

5 in clause (i) as a student with limited 

6 English proficiency for purposes of— 

7 ‘‘(aa) determining a State8 defined minimum subgroup size; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(bb) allocating funds under 

11 title III; 

12 ‘‘(II) to require a student de13 scribed in clause (i)— 

14 ‘‘(aa) to continue to take a 

15 limited English proficiency as16 sessment under paragraph (7); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(bb) to receive language 

19 services provided to students with 

20 limited English proficiency.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. LOCAL ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS. 

22 Section 1111(b)(3)(A) of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(A)) 

24 is amended— 
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State 

2 plan’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSESS4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State plan; 

6 and’’. 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RE9 GARDING USE OF LOCAL ASSESSMENTS.— 

10 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 

11 prohibit a State from using a local assess12 ment system or a mixed system of State 

13 and local assessments in carrying out 

14 clause (i), if the assessment system— 

15 ‘‘(I) is aligned with the State’s 

16 content and achievement standards 

17 and provides coherent information 

18 about student attainment of those 

19 standards; 

20 ‘‘(II) is valid and reliable, and 

21 consistent with relevant professional 

22 and technical standards; 

23 ‘‘(III) provides individual student 

24 reports and itemized score analysis; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(IV) allows the State to aggre2 gate, with confidence, data from dis3 parate local assessments. 

4 ‘‘(iii) REQUIRED TECHNICAL ASSIST5 ANCE.—Not later than 120 days after the 

6 date of enactment of the No Child Left 

7 Behind Flexibility and Improvements Act, 

8 the Secretary shall provide models of local 

9 assessment systems or mixed system of 

10 State and local assessments meeting the 

11 requirements described in clause (ii), and 

12 shall provide guidance and technical assist13 ance to States on ways that these systems 

14 may be used to satisfy the assessment re15 quirements of this part.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. DEFERRAL OF ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS. 

17 Section 1111(b)(3)(D) of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(D)) 

19 is amended by striking clauses (i) through (iv) and insert20 ing the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) $640,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2006; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) $670,000,000 for fiscal year 

24 2007.’’. 
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1 SEC. 7. ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS BY GROUP AND SUB2 JECT. 

3 Section 1116(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), by 

6 inserting ‘‘with respect to the performance of a par7 ticular group of students described in section 

8 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) in the same academic subject,’’ 

9 after ‘‘that fails, for 2 consecutive years,’’; 

10 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

11 of paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘with respect to the 

12 performance of a particular group of students de13 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) in the same aca14 demic subject,’’ after ‘‘that fails to make adequate 

15 yearly progress,’’; 

16 (3) in the matter preceding clause (i) of para17 graph (7)(C), by inserting ‘‘with respect to the per18 formance of a particular group of students described 

19 in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) in the same academic 

20 subject,’’ after ‘‘that fails to make adequate yearly 

21 progress,’’; and 

22 (4) in the matter preceding clause (i) of para23 graph (8)(A), by inserting ‘‘with respect to the per24 formance of a particular group of students described 

25 in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) in the same academic 
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1 subject,’’ after ‘‘continues to fail to make adequate 

2 yearly progress,’’. 

3 SEC. 8. MODIFICATION OF THE DEFINITION OF HIGHLY 

4 QUALIFIED TEACHER. 

5 Subpart 1 of part A of title I of the Elementary and 

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 

7 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1120C. MODIFICATION OF THE DEFINITION OF HIGH9 LY QUALIFIED TEACHER. 

10 ‘‘(a) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS OF MULTIPLE

11 ACADEMIC SUBJECTS.—Notwithstanding section 

12 9101(23) or any other provision of law, a middle or sec13 ondary school teacher employed to teach multiple aca14 demic subjects shall be deemed to be highly qualified for 

15 purposes of this part, if— 

16 ‘‘(1) the teacher meets the requirements of sec17 tion 9101(23)(A); 

18 ‘‘(2) the teacher has a bachelor’s degree; 

19 ‘‘(3) the teacher has demonstrated a high level 

20 of competency in at least one subject taught by the 

21 teacher by passing a test described in subclause (I), 

22 or a successful completion described in subclause 

23 (II), of section 9101(23)(B)(ii), applicable to such 

24 subject; 
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1 ‘‘(4)(A) the State educational agency makes a 

2 determination, for a period of not more than 3 years 

3 at a time, that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the teacher should be considered high5 ly qualified for purposes of this part based on 

6 a showing that the teacher is making progress 

7 toward becoming highly qualified as defined in 

8 section 9101(23); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) at the time the State educational 

10 agency makes such determination, the teacher 

11 teaches in a local educational agency of the 

12 State that has provided the State educational 

13 agency with evidence (that may include the fact 

14 that the local educational agency serves a small 

15 and rural school facing unique staffing or hir16 ing challenges that require teachers to teach 

17 multiple academic subjects) that the local edu18 cational agency has made a reasonable effort to 

19 provide teachers who are highly qualified under 

20 section 9101(23) to every student served by the 

21 local educational agency; or 

22 ‘‘(B) the teacher has an academic minor con23 sisting of not less than 15 credit hours, or the equiv24 alent of an academic minor as defined by the State 

25 educational agency in its State plan pursuant to sec-
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1 tion 1119(a)(2), in each academic subject that is 

2 taught by the teacher (other than a subject for 

3 which the teacher has demonstrated a high level of 

4 competency under paragraph (3)), and each such 

5 subject is related to a subject for which the teacher 

6 has demonstrated a high level of competency under 

7 paragraph (3). 

8 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—For each year that a teacher in a 

9 State is deemed to be highly qualified under subsection 

10 (a), the State educational agency in the State shall make 

11 available to the public a report that includes— 

12 ‘‘(1) the number of teachers in the State that 

13 are deemed highly qualified under subsection (a); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) the total amount of subgrant funds made 

16 available under subpart 2 of part A of title II that 

17 the State awards to local educational agencies under 

18 such subpart that are available to assist the teachers 

19 described in paragraph (1) with the process of be20 coming highly qualified as defined in section 

21 9101(23).’’. 

22 SEC. 9. READING ACTIVITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS. 

23 Section 1202(c)(7) of the Elementary and Secondary 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6362(c)(7)) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(C) READING ACTIVITIES FOR INDI2 VIDUAL STUDENTS.—Notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of this subpart, an eligible local 

4 educational agency may use the funds provided 

5 under the subgrant for any activity described in 

6 subparagraph (A) that is provided to a student 

7 in a manner other than on a classwide instruc8 tion basis, including small group instruction 

9 and one-to-one instruction.’’. 

10 SEC. 10. DEFINITION OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED. 

11 Section 9101(23)(B)(ii)(II) (20 U.S.C. 

12 7801(23)(B)(ii)(II)) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘credentialing; and’’ and inserting ‘‘credentialing, 

14 except that the Secretary shall promulgate 

15 regulations permitting a teacher to dem16 onstrate subject area competence in his17 tory, geography, economics, government, 

18 civics, or related subjects at middle or sec19 ondary schools in the State through a 

20 State social studies certificate that quali21 fies the teacher to teach such subjects; 

22 and’’. 

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