I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1821 

To provide States that meet certain requirements with waivers of the adequate 

yearly progress provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2005 

Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself, Mr. GOODE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. JO

ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. BOUCHER, and Mrs. DRAKE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To provide States that meet certain requirements with waivers of the adequate yearly progress provisions of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

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 ‘‘Flexibility for Cham5 pion Schools Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. STATE WAIVERS. 

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

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

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(L) WAIVERS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

7 shall grant each State that meets the re8 quirements of clause (ii) a waiver of all 

9 provisions of this Act related to adequate 

10 yearly progress. 

11 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The require12 ments referred to in clause (i) are as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(I) The State establishes aca15 demic content standards in reading, 

16 writing, and mathematics, and tests in 

17 such subjects— 

18 ‘‘(aa) in reading and mathe19 matics, in grades 3 through 8 

20 and at least once in secondary 

21 school; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) in writing, at least 

23 once in elementary school, middle 

24 school, and secondary school. 

25 ‘‘(II) The State establishes aca26 demic content standards in the cat-
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1 egories of science, and United States 

2 history and civics, and tests at least 

3 once in each such category in elemen4 tary school, middle school, and sec5 ondary school. 

6 ‘‘(III) The State makes available 

7 to the public the results of all such 

8 testing, in the aggregate and 

9 disaggregated by groups of students, 

10 as determined under section 

11 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

13 1965 (except in a case in which the 

14 number of students in a group is in15 sufficient to yield statistically reliable 

16 information or the results would re17 veal personally identifiable informa18 tion about an individual student), 

19 for— 

20 ‘‘(aa) each local educational 

21 agency located within the State; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(bb) each elementary 

24 school, middle school, and sec-
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1 ondary school served by such 

2 local educational agency. 

3 ‘‘(IV) The State sets pass-rate 

4 goals on such tests that each school 

5 and local educational agency shall 

6 meet. These goals shall be determined 

7 by the State educational agency and 

8 shall not be subject to change or 

9 modification by the Department as 

10 part of the process of granting a waiv11 er under this subparagraph. 

12 ‘‘(V) The State shall determine 

13 the conditions under which students 

14 with disabilities and students who are 

15 limited English proficient take State 

16 tests or alternative assessments. Such 

17 determinations by the State shall com18 ply with the Individuals with Disabil19 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 

20 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(VI) The State holds schools 

22 and local educational agencies ac23 countable for meeting its pass-rate 

24 goals. The State shall take actions to 

25 address achievement gaps on State 
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1 tests affecting groups of students, as 

2 determined under section 

3 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elemen4 tary and Secondary Education Act of 

5 1965. The State shall determine the 

6 consequences for schools and local 

7 educational agencies that fail to meet 

8 the pass-rate goals set by the State, 

9 and the State’s determination of con10 sequences shall not be subject to 

11 change or modification by the Depart12 ment as part of the process of grant13 ing a waiver under this subparagraph. 

14 ‘‘(VII) The State shall determine 

15 goals for secondary school graduation 

16 rates and a State’s determination of 

17 the State’s goals and the types of di18 plomas the State issues shall not be 

19 reviewable by the Department.’’. 

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