I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5546 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 

States and high-need local educational agencies with flexibility in using 

Federal funds provided under such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2012 

Mr. BACA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to provide States and high-need local educational 

agencies with flexibility in using Federal funds provided 

under such Act, 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 The Act may be cited as the ‘‘Relief for Educators 

5 To Adjust if Necessary Act’’ or the ‘‘RETAIN Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITY TO USE FEDERAL FUNDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part A of title VI 

3 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

4 (20 U.S.C. 7305 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘Subpart 2—Funding Flexibility for States and High6 Need Local Educational Agencies 

7 ‘‘SEC. 6121. SHORT TITLE. 

8 ‘‘This subpart may be cited as the ‘State and Local 

9 Funding Flexibility Act’. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 6122. PURPOSE. 

11 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to allow States and 

12 high-need local educational agencies the flexibility to— 

13 ‘‘(1) design flexible programs that use Federal 

14 funds to support student achievement for all stu15 dents, including students most at risk of failing to 

16 meet the State’s academic achievement standards; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) extend and enhance the funding flexibility 

19 provided to rural local educational agencies under 

20 section 6211 to all State educational agencies and 

21 local educational agencies by providing such agencies 

22 flexibility in using Federal formula funds received to 

23 prevent the layoff or termination of teachers or 

24 other staff. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 6123. FLEXIBILITY TO USE FEDERAL FUNDS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ALTERNATIVE USES OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR

3 STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (c) 

5 and (d) and notwithstanding any other provision of 

6 law, a State educational agency may use the applica7 ble funding that the agency receives for a fiscal year 

8 to provide funds to high-need local educational agen9 cies under the jurisdiction of the State educational 

10 agency to prevent the layoff or termination of teach11 ers or other staff in such local educational agencies. 

12 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than June 1 of 

13 each year, a State educational agency shall notify 

14 the Secretary of the State educational agency’s in15 tention to use the applicable funding for the alter16 native uses under paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE FUNDING DEFINED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), in this subsection, the term 

20 ‘applicable funding’ means funds provided to 

21 carry out State activities under one or more of 

22 the following provisions: 

23 ‘‘(i) Section 1003(g)(2). 

24 ‘‘(ii) Section 1004. 

25 ‘‘(iii) Subpart I of Part B of title I. 

26 ‘‘(iv) Part C of title I. 


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1 ‘‘(v) Part D of title I. 

2 ‘‘(vi) Part A of title II. 

3 ‘‘(vii) Part B of title II. 

4 ‘‘(viii) Part A of title III. 

5 ‘‘(ix) Part B of title IV. 

6 ‘‘(x) Part A of title V. 

7 ‘‘(xi) Title I of Public Law 111–226. 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In this subsection, the 

9 term ‘applicable funding’ does not include funds 

10 provided under any of the provisions listed in 

11 subparagraph (A) that State educational agen12 cies are required by this Act— 

13 ‘‘(i) to reserve, allocate, or spend for 

14 required activities; 

15 ‘‘(ii) to allot or award to local edu16 cational agencies or other entities eligible 

17 to receive such funds; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) to use for technical assistance or 

19 monitoring. 

20 ‘‘(4) DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary shall dis21 burse the applicable funding to State educational 

22 agencies for alternative uses under paragraph (1) for 

23 a fiscal year at the same time as the Secretary dis24 burses the applicable funding to State educational 


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1 agencies that do not intend to use the applicable 

2 funding for such alternative uses for the fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE USES OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR

4 HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (c) 

6 and (d) and notwithstanding any other provision of 

7 law, a high-need local educational agency may use 

8 the applicable funding that the agency receives for 

9 a fiscal year to prevent the layoff or termination of 

10 teachers or other staff in the agency. 

11 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—A high-local educational 

12 agency shall notify the State educational agency of 

13 the local educational agency’s intention to use the 

14 applicable funding for the alternative uses under 

15 paragraph (1) by a date that is established by the 

16 State educational agency for the notification. 

17 ‘‘(3) APPLICABLE FUNDING DEFINED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), in this subsection, the term 

20 ‘applicable funding’ means funds provided to 

21 carry out local activities under one or more of 

22 the following provisions: 

23 ‘‘(i) Part A of title I. 

24 ‘‘(ii) Part C of title I. 

25 ‘‘(iii) Part D of title I. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Part A of title II. 

2 ‘‘(v) Part A of title III. 

3 ‘‘(vi) Part A of title V. 

4 ‘‘(vii) Part A of title VII. 

5 ‘‘(viii) Title I of Public Law 111–226. 

6 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In this subsection, the 

7 term ‘applicable funding’ does not include funds 

8 provided under any of the provisions listed in 

9 subparagraph (A) that high-need local edu10 cational agencies are required by this Act— 

11 ‘‘(i) to reserve, allocate, or spend for 

12 required activities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) to allot or award to entities eligi14 ble to receive such funds; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) to use for technical assistance or 

16 monitoring. 

17 ‘‘(4) DISBURSEMENT.—Each State educational 

18 agency that receives applicable funding for a fiscal 

19 year shall disburse the applicable funding to local 

20 educational agencies for alternative uses under para21 graph (1) for the fiscal year at the same time as the 

22 State educational agency disburses the applicable 

23 funding to high-need local educational agencies that 

24 do not intend to use the applicable funding for such 

25 alternative uses for the fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(c) RULE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State 

2 educational agency or a high-need local educational agency 

3 may only use applicable funding (as defined in subsection 

4 (a)(3) or (b)(3), respectively) for administrative costs in5 curred in carrying out a provision listed in subsection 

6 (a)(1) or (b)(1), respectively, to the extent that the agen7 cy, in the absence of this section, could have used funds 

8 for administrative costs with respect to a program listed 

9 in subsection (a)(3) or (b)(3), respectively. 

10 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec11 tion shall be construed to relieve a State educational agen12 cy or local educational agency of any requirements relating 

13 to— 

14 ‘‘(1) maintenance of effort; 

15 ‘‘(2) use of Federal funds to supplement, not 

16 supplant, non-Federal funds; 

17 ‘‘(3) comparability of services; 

18 ‘‘(4) equitable participation of private school 

19 students and teachers; 

20 ‘‘(5) applicable civil rights requirements; 

21 ‘‘(6) the selection of school attendance areas or 

22 schools under subsections (a) and (b), and alloca23 tions to such areas or schools under subsection (c), 

24 of section 1113; 

25 ‘‘(7) section 1111; 


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1 ‘‘(8) section 1116; or 

2 ‘‘(9) section 3122. 

3 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this subpart: 

4 ‘‘(1) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN5 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

6 means a local educational agency— 

7 ‘‘(A)(i) that serves not fewer than 10,000 

8 children from families with incomes below the 

9 poverty line; 

10 ‘‘(ii) for which not less than 20 percent of 

11 the children served by the agency are from fam12 ilies with incomes below the poverty line; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) which has a teacher-to-student ratio 

14 of 1:25; and 

15 ‘‘(B)(i) for which there is a high percent16 age of teachers not teaching in the academic 

17 subjects or grade levels that the teachers were 

18 trained to teach; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) for which there is a high percentage 

20 of teachers with emergency, provisional, or tem21 porary certification or licensing. 

22 ‘‘(2) OTHER STAFF.—The term ‘other staff’ 

23 does not include administrators or administrative 

24 personnel.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by striking the 

4 items relating to subpart 2 of part A of title VI and insert5 ing the following: 

‘‘Subpart 2—Funding Flexibility for State and Local Educational Agencies 

‘‘Sec. 6121. Short title. 

‘‘Sec. 6122. Purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 6123. Flexibility to use Federal funds.’’. 

Æ 


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