I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 718 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in order 

to support the community schools model. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, and 

Mr. LOWENTHAL) 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 in order to support the community schools model. 

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 ‘‘Supporting Commu5 nity Schools Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The community school model effectively 

9 leverages multiple education funding streams, which 

10 results in greater resources for a school. Community 


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1 schools increase and sustain capacity through diver2 sified financial support and leverage, on average, 3 

3 dollars from private and other sources for every 1 

4 dollar of State funding provided to the schools. Ac5 cording to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, for 

6 every dollar spent on community schools, the United 

7 States is getting back 5, 6, or 7 dollars from the 

8 business community, nonprofit organizations, social 

9 service agencies, and State and Federal govern10 ments. 

11 (2) According to Linda Darling-Hammond, the 

12 Charles DuCommon Professor of Education at Stan13 ford University, community schools, which make 

14 local schools the hub of education and health serv15 ices for children and families, have proven to be 

16 highly successful and are cost effective and 

17 replicable. Community schools are a force for devel18 opment and stability that strengthens families and 

19 communities, and such schools offer childcare and 

20 early learning, family literacy and job-training, tu21 toring and enrichment before and after school, and 

22 on-site health clinics. 

23 (3) The bulk of community school resources go 

24 directly to assist schools in meeting the schools’ core 

25 instructional missions, while also strengthening the 


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1 health and well-being of students, families, and 

2 neighborhoods. Community schools dedicate approxi3 mately 57 percent of expenditures to support learn4 ing through academic enrichment and after school 

5 activities, summer learning programs, early child6 hood education, service learning and civic engage7 ment, life skills, sports, and recreation. The second 

8 largest expenditure, 19 percent, is directed towards 

9 health and mental health services, which ensure that 

10 children are physically able to learn and that health11 related barriers are identified and addressed. On av12 erage, 12 percent of the resources are spent on sup13 porting families, adult education, and immigrant 

14 services. Twelve percent is spent on staff sites, in15 cluding the costs of a coordinator, tutors, interns, 

16 mentors, and volunteers, working on the alignment 

17 of activities for the community school. 

18 (4) The Tulsa Area Community Schools Initia19 tive (TACSI) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, operates 18 com20 munity schools that serve as centers of community 

21 life, offering comprehensive programs, services, and 

22 opportunities to students, families, and the neigh23 boring community. Researchers compared 18 TACSI 

24 schools to 18 non-TACSI schools and found that 

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1 ded the community school model scored significantly 

2 higher than comparable students in non-TACSI 

3 schools on mathematics achievement tests. Further, 

4 the 18 TACSI schools had higher ratings of instruc5 tional leadership and effective supervisory practices, 

6 a stronger culture of faculty trust, and higher levels 

7 of student trust of teachers, school identification 

8 among students, parent trust in school, and school 

9 outreach, than the comparison schools. 

10 (5) In Multnomah County, Oregon, Schools 

11 Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) transforms schools 

12 into community schools. SUN is a partnership of 

13 Multnomah County, the City of Portland, including 

14 Children’s Investment Fund, local school districts, 

15 the Oregon Department of Human Services, a Busi16 ness Leader’s Roundtable, and nonprofit organiza17 tions. Data shows that students who regularly par18 ticipated in SUN activities showed strong gains in 

19 academics, attendance, and behavioral areas. There 

20 was a 76 percent increase in State benchmark scores 

21 in reading and mathematics for such students, the 

22 average daily school attendance at such schools was 

23 95 percent, and 74 percent of the students had a 

24 more positive attitude toward schools. 


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1 (6) All Cincinnati, Ohio, public schools are 

2 using some level of the community school strategy. 

3 Cincinnati Public Schools have been the most im4 proved urban district in Ohio. Cincinnati, Ohio, is 

5 the first urban district in the State to receive an 

6 ‘‘effective’’ rating. The district had a rating of ‘‘aca7 demic emergency’’ when the districtwide community 

8 learning center program first began. Oyler Elemen9 tary School, where 92 percent of the students receive 

10 free or reduced lunch under the Richard B. Russell 

11 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 

12 seq.), was once threatened with closure. Oyler Ele13 mentary School has achieved more than its expected 

14 level of growth for more than 2 consecutive years. 

15 The school’s performance index has improved by 6 

16 percent in the last 2 years alone. 

17 (7) In Providence, Rhode Island, results from 

18 Bailey Elementary School, the first full-service com19 munity school in the State, are positive. In 2009, 

20 Bailey Elementary School made adequate yearly 

21 progress in both mathematics and reading for the 

22 first time in 4 years. In reading, students in grade 

23 3 went from scoring 27 percent proficiency in 2007 

24 to 41 percent in 2009, scores for students in grade 

25 4 jumped from 28 percent proficiency to 59 percent 


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1 during the same period, and students in grade 5 

2 moved from 12 percent proficiency to 39 percent. 

3 (8) The Evansville Vanderburgh School Cor4 poration (EVSC) in Evansville, Indiana, is a district5 wide community school system that serves over 

6 22,000 students in 38 schools. Students are con7 nected to their schools and to helping institutions 

8 like churches and community organizations, libraries 

9 and health clinics, recreation centers and volunteer 

10 agencies, all of which allow students to explore and 

11 participate in the larger community. 

12 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

13 The purpose of this Act is to provide State edu14 cational agencies and local educational agencies with the 

15 funding, flexibility, and support necessary to implement 

16 a research and evidence based community school model, 

17 in order to— 

18 (1) enable local educational agencies and com19 munity partners, including public and private agen20 cies, community-based organizations, local govern21 ment, institutions of higher education, families, fam22 ily advocacy organizations, after school program pro23 viders, summer program providers, museums, librar24 ies, and other cultural institutions and civic organi25 zations, to leverage their resources to prepare stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:03 Feb 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H718.IH H718

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1 dents for institutions of higher education, careers, 

2 and citizenship, through the creation and establish3 ment of community schools; and 

4 (2) to provide funding for the creation, continu5 ation, or expansion of results-driven partnerships 

6 that align numerous funding streams, including pub7 lic and private funding, and leverage existing fund8 ing. 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (39), by striking ‘‘STATE.— 

13 The’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(40) STATE.—The’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

16 (36), paragraphs (37) through (39), and paragraphs 

17 (40) through (43) as paragraphs (8) through (37), 

18 paragraphs (39) through (41), and paragraphs (44) 

19 through (47), respectively; 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(7) COMMUNITY SCHOOL.—The term ‘commu23 nity school’ means a public elementary school or sec24 ondary school that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) provides a coordinated and responsive 

2 set of programs and integrated student sup3 ports that focus on academics, mental and 

4 physical health and social services, youth and 

5 community development, early care and edu6 cation programs and services, expanded learn7 ing time (including summer learning), and com8 munity engagement that leads to improved stu9 dent learning and development, stronger fami10 lies, and healthier communities; 

11 ‘‘(B) is supported by a set of partnerships 

12 between such school or local educational agency 

13 and other community resources, such as com14 munity-based organizations, nonprofit organiza15 tions, and other public or private entities with 

16 a demonstrated record of successfully meeting 

17 student and family needs, consistent with the 

18 purpose of a community school model, as de19 scribed in section 3 of the Supporting Commu20 nity Schools Act of 2015; 

21 ‘‘(C) in addition to serving as an elemen22 tary school or secondary school, also operates as 

23 a center of the community that is open to the 

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1 ices for the community, to the greatest extent 

2 practicable; 

3 ‘‘(D) allows for the coordination of the as4 sets of the school and communities to more effi5 ciently and effectively meet the needs of all stu6 dents; 

7 ‘‘(E) provides opportunities for collabora8 tion between the specialized instructional sup9 port personnel who are employed by a school or 

10 a local educational agency and are responsible 

11 for providing specialized instructional support 

12 services, school nurses, and other staff to offer 

13 a comprehensive range of services and opportu14 nities to children, families, and communities; 

15 ‘‘(F) identifies a site coordinator (who may 

16 be provided through a partnership with a non17 profit organization) to serve as a liaison with 

18 partner organizations in order to assist the 

19 community school in providing children and 

20 families with the integrated services and com21 prehensive supports that are needed to improve 

22 the learning of children and the ability of chil23 dren to plan for postsecondary educational op24 portunities, such as services and supports re25 lated to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) health; 

2 ‘‘(ii) employment; 

3 ‘‘(iii) mentoring or tutoring services, 

4 and other human services; 

5 ‘‘(iv) enrichment and accelerated 

6 learning opportunities; 

7 ‘‘(v) before school and after school 

8 programs; 

9 ‘‘(vi) recreation programs; and 

10 ‘‘(vii) summer programs; and 

11 ‘‘(G) implements the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) The strengthening of the instruc13 tional program of the school for core aca14 demic subjects, by— 

15 ‘‘(I) providing challenging cur16 ricula, raising standards and expecta17 tions, and developing highly effective 

18 teachers who are skilled in content 

19 area knowledge, pedagogy, and socio20 emotional development; 

21 ‘‘(II) strengthening parent, fam22 ily, and community engagement; and 

23 ‘‘(III) establishing practices that 

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1 nitive, social, emotional, physical, and 

2 civic development. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The provision of effective profes4 sional development to assist teachers and 

5 administrators, specialized instructional 

6 support personnel, other staff, and families 

7 in identifying and meeting the comprehen8 sive needs of students. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Strategies to increase student 

10 motivation and engagement in learning in 

11 school and community settings, before, 

12 during, and after school, and during the 

13 summer (in order to prevent summer 

14 learning loss). 

15 ‘‘(iv) The establishment of partner16 ships with organizations that volunteer to 

17 support enrichment and development ac18 tivities, including organizations such as 

19 youth sports leagues, and activities such as 

20 family counseling, housing fairs, or finan21 cial fairs, designed to meet student, family, 

22 and community needs. 

23 ‘‘(v) The creation of a school climate 

24 that is safe and supportive. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Improvement of the coordina2 tion, availability, delivery, and effectiveness 

3 of integrated services and comprehensive 

4 supports for children and families. 

5 ‘‘(vii) The integration of academic en6 richment and social services to support the 

7 development of the whole child, including 

8 the child’s intellectual, social, emotional, 

9 and physical development. 

10 ‘‘(viii) The promotion of mutual re11 spect and collaboration. 

12 ‘‘(ix) The enhancement of parent, 

13 family, caregiver, and community engage14 ment by— 

15 ‘‘(I) using consistent, diverse, 

16 and culturally competent outreach 

17 strategies; and 

18 ‘‘(II) supporting family engage19 ment, including adult education and 

20 family literacy activities, family volun21 teering, and family input in school 

22 policies, in order to support children’s 

23 learning. 


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1 ‘‘(x) Increased access to, and im2 proved quality of, early care and education 

3 programs, when applicable. 

4 ‘‘(xi) The creation of a cultural envi5 ronment that is supportive of postsec6 ondary education and career readiness. 

7 ‘‘(xii) The employment of technology 

8 to increase student engagement and stu9 dent achievement.’’; 

10 (4) by inserting after paragraph (37) (as redes11 ignated by paragraph (2)) the following: 

12 ‘‘(38) RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE BASED.—The 

13 term ‘research and evidence based’ means a model 

14 that is based on theoretical considerations, reported 

15 practice, and prior research, and has demonstrated 

16 success in— 

17 ‘‘(A) improving student achievement or 

18 student growth; 

19 ‘‘(B) closing achievement gaps; 

20 ‘‘(C) increasing attendance; and 

21 ‘‘(D) in the case of a secondary school, in22 creasing secondary school graduation rates.’’; 

23 and 

24 (5) by inserting after paragraph (41) (as redes25 ignated by paragraph (2)) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(42) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

2 PERSONNEL.—The term ‘specialized instructional 

3 support personnel’ means school counselors, school 

4 social workers, school psychologists, and other quali5 fied professional personnel involved in providing as6 sessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, thera7 peutic, and other necessary corrective or supportive 

8 services (including related services, as such term is 

9 defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Dis10 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)) as part of 

11 a comprehensive program to meet student needs. 

12 ‘‘(43) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

13 SERVICES.—The term ‘specialized instructional sup14 port services’ means the services provided by special15 ized instructional support personnel, and any other 

16 corrective or supportive services, to meet student 

17 needs.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. USE OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS MODEL BY 

19 SCHOOLS IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT. 

20 (a) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.—Section 

21 1003(g)(9) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6303(g)(9)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘LOCAL AWARDS.—Each’’ and 

24 inserting the following: ‘‘LOCAL AWARDS.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY SCHOOLS MODEL.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A local edu4 cational agency may use funds under this 

5 subsection to transform a school identified 

6 for improvement, corrective action, or re7 structuring under section 1116 into a re8 search and evidence based community 

9 school, in order to— 

10 ‘‘(I) improve student achievement 

11 in the school; and 

12 ‘‘(II) create incentives to grow 

13 and sustain community partnerships 

14 so that the school and the community 

15 work together to improve student aca16 demic achievement and social and 

17 emotional well-being. 

18 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—A local edu19 cational agency that uses funds under this 

20 subsection to transform a school identified 

21 for improvement, corrective action, or re22 structuring under section 1116 into a re23 search and evidence based community 

24 school shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) use rigorous, transparent, 

2 and equitable evaluation systems to 

3 assess the effectiveness of the imple4 mentation of the community school 

5 model; 

6 ‘‘(II) provide ongoing, high-qual7 ity professional development to staff 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(aa) is aligned with the 

10 school’s instructional program; 

11 ‘‘(bb) facilitates effective 

12 teaching and learning; and 

13 ‘‘(cc) supports the imple14 mentation of school reform strat15 egies; and 

16 ‘‘(III) give the school sufficient 

17 operational flexibility in programming, 

18 staffing, budgeting, and scheduling so 

19 that such school can fully implement a 

20 comprehensive strategy that is de21 signed to substantially improve stu22 dent achievement, and, if applicable, 

23 increase the graduation rate at such 

24 school. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) CONTINUATION OF ACTIVI2 TIES.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of this subparagraph, in carrying out 

4 a community school model, a local edu5 cational agency may continue to build on, 

6 or complete, actions that the local edu7 cational agency has taken in the 3 years 

8 before the school year in which the local 

9 educational agency begins to fully imple10 ment the community school model.’’. 

11 (b) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS.—Section 

12 1116(b)(3)(A)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)(A)(i)) is amend14 ed by inserting ‘‘, or the implementation of a research and 

15 evidence based community school model’’ after ‘‘part F’’. 

16 (c) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—Section 1116(b)(7)(C)(iv) 

17 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(7)(C)(iv)) is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(VII) Transform the school into 

21 a research and evidence based commu22 nity school.’’. 

23 (d) ALTERNATE GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS.— 

24 Section 1116(b)(8)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary 


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1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(8)(B)) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); 

4 and 

5 (2) by inserting after clause (iv) the following: 

6 ‘‘(v) Transforming the school into a 

7 research and evidence based community 

8 school.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY-SCHOOL COORDINA10 TION IN PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION 

11 PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO 

12 ARE NEGLECTED, DELINQUENT, OR AT-RISK. 

13 Section 1424(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6454(3)) is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘education’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘edu16 cation, which may include funding for a community school 

17 coordinator who will support community schools operating 

18 within the local educational agency by— 

19 ‘‘(A) coordinating results-focused partner20 ships that support the goals of community 

21 schools; 

22 ‘‘(B) integrating school and community re23 sources based on individual student needs; 

24 ‘‘(C) engaging families and community 

25 partners; 


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1 ‘‘(D) mobilizing partners, coordinating re2 sources, and managing site-level programming 

3 at a community school, including working with 

4 a lead agency (such as a community-based or5 ganization, institution of higher education, or 

6 public agency) to provide additional site coordi7 nation; 

8 ‘‘(E) helping align and leverage resources 

9 and integrate funding streams; and 

10 ‘‘(F) demonstrating, through the use of 

11 performance indicators, how the community 

12 school supports the academic, social, emotional, 

13 physical, and civic development of students and 

14 the community.’’. 

Æ 


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