I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1532 

To provide incentives for States and local educational agencies to implement 

comprehensive reforms and innovative strategies that are designed to 

lead to significant improvement in outcomes for all students and significant reductions in achievement gaps among subgroups of students, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2011 

Mr. POLIS (for himself, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, and Mrs. DAVIS of 

California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To provide incentives for States and local educational agencies to implement comprehensive reforms and innovative 

strategies that are designed to lead to significant improvement in outcomes for all students and significant 

reductions in achievement gaps among subgroups of students, 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 ‘‘Race to the Top Act 

5 of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RACE TO THE TOP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301 et 

4 seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating part C as part D; 

6 (2) by redesignating sections 6301 and 6302 as 

7 sections 6401 and 6402, respectively; and 

8 (3) by inserting after part B, the following: 

9 ‘‘PART C—RACE TO THE TOP 

10 ‘‘SEC. 6301. PURPOSES. 

11 ‘‘The purposes of this part are to— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide incentives for States and local edu13 cational agencies to implement comprehensive re14 forms and innovative strategies that are designed to 

15 lead to— 

16 ‘‘(A) significant improvements in outcomes 

17 for all students, including improvements in stu18 dent achievement, high school graduation rates, 

19 college enrollment rates and rates of college 

20 persistence; and 

21 ‘‘(B) significant reductions in achievement 

22 gaps among subgroups of students; and 

23 ‘‘(2) encourage the broad identification, adop24 tion, use, dissemination, replication, and expansion 

25 of effective State and local policies and practices 

26 that lead to significant improvement in outcomes for 


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1 all students, and the elimination of those policies 

2 and practices that are not effective in improving stu3 dent outcomes. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 6302. RESERVATION OF FUNDS. 

5 ‘‘From the amounts made available under section 

6 6308 for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more 

7 than 10 percent to carry out activities related to technical 

8 assistance, monitoring, outreach, dissemination, and prize 

9 awards (which shall be awarded in accordance with section 

10 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

11 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.)). 

12 ‘‘SEC. 6303. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

13 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.—From the 

14 amounts made available under section 6308 for a fiscal 

15 year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive 

16 basis, to States, local educational agencies, or both for the 

17 purposes described in section 6301. 

18 ‘‘(b) GRANT AND SUBGRANT ELIGIBILITY LIMITA19 TIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ARRA.—A State that has received a grant 

21 under section 14006 of division A of the American 

22 Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public 

23 Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 283) may not receive a grant 

24 under this part during the period of its grant under 

25 section 14006 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 283). 


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1 ‘‘(2) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—A State or local 

2 educational agency may not receive more than 1 

3 grant under this part per grant period. 

4 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF SUBGRANTS.—A local edu5 cational agency may receive a grant and a subgrant 

6 for the same fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this part 

9 shall be awarded for a period of not more than 4 

10 years. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONTINUATION OF GRANTS.—In order to 

12 receive a grant for a full grant period, a State or 

13 local educational agency under this part shall dem14 onstrate to the Secretary, at such time and in such 

15 manner as determined by the Secretary, that it is— 

16 ‘‘(A) making progress in implementing its 

17 plan under section 6304(a)(3) at a rate that the 

18 Secretary determines will result in the State or 

19 agency fully implementing its plan during the 

20 remainder of the grant period; or 

21 ‘‘(B) making progress against the perform22 ance measures set forth in section 6305 at a 

23 rate that the Secretary determines will result in 

24 the State or agency reaching its targets and 


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1 achieving the objectives of the grant during the 

2 remainder of the grant period. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 6304. APPLICATIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—Each State or local educational 

5 agency that desires to receive a grant under this part shall 

6 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

7 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec8 retary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each such 

9 application shall include— 

10 ‘‘(1) documentation of the applicant’s record, as 

11 applicable, in— 

12 ‘‘(A) increasing student achievement, in13 cluding for all subgroups described in section 

14 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); 

15 ‘‘(B) decreasing achievement gaps, includ16 ing for all subgroups described in section 

17 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); 

18 ‘‘(C) increasing high school graduation 

19 rates, including for all subgroups described in 

20 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); 

21 ‘‘(D) increasing college enrollment and per22 sistence rates, including for all subgroups de23 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); and 


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1 ‘‘(E) any other measure described in sec2 tion 6305 that is not listed in subparagraph (A) 

3 through (D); 

4 ‘‘(2) evidence of conditions of innovation and 

5 reform that the applicant has established and its 

6 proposed plan for implementing additional conditions 

7 for innovation and reform, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) a description of how the applicant has 

9 identified and eliminated ineffective practices in 

10 the past and its plan for doing so in the future; 

11 ‘‘(B) a description of how the applicant 

12 has identified and promoted effective practices 

13 in the past and its plan for doing so in the fu14 ture; and 

15 ‘‘(C) steps the applicant has taken and will 

16 take to eliminate statutory, regulatory, proce17 dural, or other barriers and to facilitate the full 

18 implementation of its proposed plan; 

19 ‘‘(3) a comprehensive and coherent plan for 

20 using funds under this part, and other Federal, 

21 State, and local funds, to improve the applicant’s 

22 performance on the measures described in section 

23 6305, consistent with criteria set forth by the Sec24 retary, including how the applicant will, if applica25 ble— 


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1 ‘‘(A) improve the effectiveness of teachers 

2 and school leaders, and promote equity in the 

3 distribution of effective teachers and school 

4 leaders to ensure that low-income and minority 

5 children are not— 

6 ‘‘(i) taught by ineffective teachers at 

7 higher rates than other children; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) enrolled in schools led by ineffec9 tive leaders at higher rates than other chil10 dren; 

11 ‘‘(B) strengthen the use of high-quality 

12 and timely data to improve instructional prac13 tices, policies, and student outcomes, including 

14 teacher evaluations; 

15 ‘‘(C) implement internationally bench16 marked, college- and career-ready elementary 

17 and secondary academic standards, including in 

18 the areas of assessment, instructional materials, 

19 professional development, and strategies that 

20 translate the standards into classroom practice; 

21 ‘‘(D) turn around the persistently lowest22 achieving schools; 

23 ‘‘(E) support or coordinate with early 

24 learning programs for high-need children from 

25 birth through third grade to improve school 


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1 readiness and ensure that students complete 

2 third grade on track for school success; 

3 ‘‘(F) assess students enrolled in kinder4 garten in elementary schools in the State or 

5 local educational agency, as applicable, in order 

6 to determine the students’ level of readiness for 

7 school success across a broad range of domains 

8 of learning and development, including physical 

9 well-being and motor development, social and 

10 emotional development, approaches toward 

11 learning, language development, and cognition 

12 and general knowledge; 

13 ‘‘(G) report the to the Secretary the aggre14 gate results from the assessments described in 

15 subparagraph (F) with respect to— 

16 ‘‘(i) all kindergarten students in each 

17 elementary school assessed; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) all such students in each sub19 group described in section 

20 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); and 

21 ‘‘(H) create or maintain successful condi22 tions for high-performing charter schools and 

23 other innovative, autonomous public schools; 

24 ‘‘(4) if the applicant is a State— 


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1 ‘‘(A) evidence of collaboration between the 

2 State, its local educational agencies, schools (as 

3 appropriate), parents, teachers, and other 

4 stakeholders in developing and implementing 

5 the plan described in paragraph (3), including 

6 evidence of the commitment and capacity to im7 plement that plan; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the names of those local educational 

9 agencies the State has selected to participate in 

10 carrying out the plan; or 

11 ‘‘(C) a description of how it will select local 

12 educational agencies to participate in carrying 

13 out the plan; 

14 ‘‘(5) if the applicant is a local educational agen15 cy, evidence of collaboration between the local edu16 cational agency, schools, parents, teachers, and other 

17 stakeholders, in developing the plan described in 

18 paragraph (3), including evidence of the commitment 

19 and capacity to implement the plan; 

20 ‘‘(6) the applicant’s annual performance meas21 ures and targets, consistent with the requirements of 

22 section 6305; and 

23 ‘‘(7) a description of the applicant’s plan to 

24 conduct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of 

25 activities carried out with funds under this part. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

3 grants under this part on a competitive basis, based 

4 on the quality of the applications submitted under 

5 subsection (a), including— 

6 ‘‘(A) each applicant’s record in the areas 

7 described in subsection (a)(1); 

8 ‘‘(B) each applicant’s record of, and com9 mitment to, establishing conditions for innova10 tion and reform, as described in subsection 

11 (a)(2); 

12 ‘‘(C) the quality and likelihood of success 

13 of each applicant’s plan described in subsection 

14 (a)(3) in showing improvement in the areas de15 scribed in subsection (a)(1), including each ap16 plicant’s capacity to implement the plan and 

17 evidence of collaboration as described in sub18 section (a)(4) or (a)(5), as applicable; and 

19 ‘‘(D) each applicant’s evaluation plan as 

20 described in subsection (a)(7). 

21 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION OF EXPLANATION.—The 

22 Secretary shall publish an explanation of how the 

23 application review process will ensure an equitable 

24 and objective evaluation based on the criteria de25 scribed in paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants to local edu2 cational agencies under this part, the Secretary shall give 

3 priority to— 

4 ‘‘(1) local educational agencies with the highest 

5 numbers or percentages of children from families 

6 with incomes below the poverty line; and 

7 ‘‘(2) local educational agencies that serve 

8 schools designated with a school locale code of 41, 

9 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 6305. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 

11 ‘‘Each State and each local educational agency receiv12 ing a grant under this part shall establish performance 

13 measures and targets, approved by the Secretary, for the 

14 programs and activities carried out under this part. These 

15 measures shall, at a minimum, track the State’s or agen16 cy’s progress in— 

17 ‘‘(1) implementing its plan described in section 

18 6304(a)(3); and 

19 ‘‘(2) improving outcomes for all subgroups de20 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) including, as 

21 applicable, by— 

22 ‘‘(A) increasing student achievement; 

23 ‘‘(B) decreasing achievement gaps; 

24 ‘‘(C) increasing high school graduation; 


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1 ‘‘(D) increasing college enrollment and per2 sistence rates; 

3 ‘‘(E) improving the effectiveness of teach4 ers and school leaders, increasing the retention 

5 of effective teachers and school leaders, and 

6 promoting equity in the distribution of effective 

7 teachers and school leaders to ensure that low8 income and minority children are not— 

9 ‘‘(i) taught by ineffective teachers at 

10 higher rates than other children; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) enrolled in schools led by ineffec12 tive leaders at higher rates than other chil13 dren; and 

14 ‘‘(F) increasing kindergarten readiness; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(G) making progress on any other meas17 ures identified by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 6306. USES OF FUNDS. 

19 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS.—Each State that receives a 

21 grant under this part shall use at least 50 percent 

22 of its grant to make subgrants to those local edu23 cational agencies in the State that participate in the 

24 State’s plan under section 6304(a)(3), based on 

25 those local educational agencies’ relative shares of 


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1 funds under part A of title I for the most recent 

2 year for which those data are available. 

3 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES UNDER PLAN.—Each State or 

4 local educational agency that receives a grant or 

5 subgrant, respectively, under this part shall use 

6 those funds for any purpose included in the State’s 

7 plan under section 6304(a)(3). 

8 ‘‘(b) GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

9 Each local educational agency that receives a grant under 

10 this part shall use those funds for any purpose included 

11 in the local educational agency’s plan under section 

12 6304(a)(3). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 6307. REPORTING. 

14 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—A State or local educational 

15 agency that receives a grant under this part shall submit 

16 to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the 

17 Secretary may require, an annual report including— 

18 ‘‘(1) data on the State’s or agency’s progress in 

19 achieving the performance targets established under 

20 section 6305; 

21 ‘‘(2) a description of the challenges the State or 

22 agency has faced in implementing its program and 

23 how it has addressed or plans to address those chal24 lenges; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) findings from the evaluation plan as de2 scribed in section 6304(a)(7). 

3 ‘‘(b) LOCAL REPORT.—Each local educational agency 

4 that receives a subgrant from a State under this part shall 

5 submit to the State such information as the State may 

6 require to complete the annual report required under sub7 section (a). 

8 ‘‘SEC. 6308. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

10 this part $1,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such 

11 sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding 

12 fiscal years.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—The table of con15 tents of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by 

17 striking the items relating to part C of title VI and 

18 inserting the following: 

‘‘PART D—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 6401. Prohibition against Federal mandates, direction, or control. 

‘‘Sec. 6402. Rule of construction on equalized spending.’’. 

19 (2) RACE TO THE TOP.—The table of contents 

20 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by insert22 ing after the items relating to part B of title VI, the 

23 following: 

‘‘PART C—RACE TO THE TOP


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‘‘Sec. 6301. Purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 6302. Reservation of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 6303. Program authorized. 

‘‘Sec. 6304. Applications. 

‘‘Sec. 6305. Performance measures. 

‘‘Sec. 6306. Uses of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 6307. Reporting. 

‘‘Sec. 6308. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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