II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 827 

To allow a State to combine certain funds and enter into a performance 

agreement with the Secretary of Education to improve the academic 

achievement of students. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2011 

Mr. DEMINT (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COBURN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin, and Mr. VITTER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To allow a State to combine certain funds and enter into 

a performance agreement with the Secretary of Education to improve the academic achievement of students. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; PUR4 POSES; DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act’’ or the 

7 ‘‘A PLUS Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; purposes; definitions. 

Sec. 2. Performance agreements. 

Sec. 3. Programs eligible for consolidation and permissible use of funds. 

Sec. 4. Maintenance of academic performance standards; accountability system. 

Sec. 5. Maintenance of funding levels spent by States on education. 

Sec. 6. Administrative expenses. 

Sec. 7. Equitable participation of private schools. 

Sec. 8. Annual reports. 

Sec. 9. Performance review and early termination. 

3 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol4 lows: 

5 (1) To give States and local communities max6 imum flexibility to determine how to boost academic 

7 achievement and implement education reforms. 

8 (2) To reduce the administrative costs and com9 pliance burden of Federal education programs in 

10 order to focus Federal resources on improving aca11 demic achievement. 

12 (3) To ensure that States and communities are 

13 accountable to the public for advancing the academic 

14 achievement of all students, especially disadvantaged 

15 children. 

16 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro18 vided, the terms used in this Act have the meanings 

19 given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 

20 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 7801 et seq.). 


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1 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean2 ing given the term in section 1122(e) of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 6332(e)). 

5 SEC. 2. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this Act, the 

7 Secretary shall enter into performance agreements with 

8 States under which, except as otherwise provided in this 

9 Act, States may consolidate and use funds pursuant to 

10 section 3. 

11 (b) REQUIRED TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AGREE12 MENT.—Each performance agreement entered into by the 

13 Secretary under this Act shall include the following: 

14 (1) DURATION.—The performance agreement 

15 shall be for a period of 5 years. Such 5-year period 

16 shall be determined by the State. 

17 (2) APPLICATION OF PROGRAM REQUIRE18 MENTS.—The performance agreement shall provide 

19 that no requirements of any program described in 

20 section 3 and included by the State within the scope 

21 of the performance agreement shall apply to the 

22 State, except as otherwise provided in this Act. 

23 (3) LIST OF PROGRAMS.—The performance 

24 agreement shall list which of the programs described 


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1 in section 3 are included within the scope of the per2 formance agreement. 

3 (4) USE OF FUNDS TO IMPROVE STUDENT

4 ACHIEVEMENT.—The performance agreement shall 

5 contain a 5-year plan describing how the State in6 tends to combine and use the funds from programs 

7 included within the scope of the performance agree8 ment to advance the education priorities of the 

9 State, improve student academic achievement, and 

10 narrow achievement gaps. 

11 (5) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.—The perform12 ance agreement shall describe an accountability sys13 tem that meets the requirements of section 4. 

14 (6) ACHIEVEMENT GOALS.— 

15 (A) STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.— 

16 The performance agreement shall require the 

17 State to demonstrate the State’s academic 

18 achievement goals and measures to be achieved 

19 over the duration of the performance agree20 ment. 

21 (B) CONSISTENCY OF ACHIEVEMENT

22 MEASURES.—The performance agreement shall 

23 require that the State maintain, at a minimum, 

24 the same level of challenging State student aca25 demic achievement standards and academic asVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:50 Apr 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827

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1 sessments throughout the duration of the per2 formance agreement. 

3 (C) REPORTING OF DISAGGREGATED

4 DATA.—The performance agreement shall re5 quire the State to report, in the annual report 

6 under section 8, data disaggregated in the same 

7 manner as data are disaggregated under section 

8 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

10 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 

11 (c) APPLICATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State desiring to enter 

13 into a performance agreement with the Secretary 

14 under this Act shall submit an application to the 

15 Secretary at such time, and accompanied by such in16 formation, as the Secretary may require. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—Each such application shall 

18 contain— 

19 (A) a proposed performance agreement; 

20 (B) a description of the State’s account21 ability system for the proposed performance 

22 agreement as described in section 4; 

23 (C) an assurance that the State will use 

24 fiscal control and fund accounting procedures; 


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1 (D) an assurance that the State will con2 tinue to pursue the goal of improving edu3 cational opportunities for the disadvantaged; 

4 and 

5 (E) an assurance that not less than 2 of 

6 the following approved the proposed perform7 ance agreement: 

8 (i) The Governor of the State. 

9 (ii) The State legislature. 

10 (iii) The State educational agency. 

11 (d) APPROVAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

13 the receipt of a proposed performance agreement 

14 submitted by a State, the Secretary shall approve 

15 the performance agreement or provide the State with 

16 a written determination that the performance agree17 ment fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act. 

18 (2) TREATMENT AS APPROVED.—Each perform19 ance agreement for which the Secretary fails to take 

20 the action required in paragraph (1) in the time pe21 riod described in such paragraph shall be considered 

22 to be approved. 

23 (3) REQUIREMENT TO EXECUTE APPROVED

24 AGREEMENTS.—In accordance with this Act, the 


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1 Secretary shall enter into each performance agree2 ment approved under this subsection. 

3 (4) DISAPPROVAL OF PERFORMANCE AGREE4 MENT.—If the State’s performance agreement is dis5 approved, then the State shall have 30 days to re6 submit a revised performance agreement. The Sec7 retary shall approve the revised performance agree8 ment within 30 days of receipt of the revised per9 formance agreement or provide the State with a 

10 written determination that the revised performance 

11 agreement fails to satisfy a requirement of this Act. 

12 (e) CIVIL RIGHTS.—The Secretary may not enter 

13 into a performance agreement with a State under this sec14 tion unless the performance agreement contains an assur15 ance that the State will meet the requirements of applica16 ble Federal civil rights laws in carrying out the perform17 ance agreement and in consolidating and using the funds 

18 under the performance agreement. 

19 (f) AMENDMENT TO PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each of the following cir21 cumstances, the Secretary, subject to approval under 

22 paragraph (2), shall agree to amend a performance 

23 agreement entered into with a State under this Act: 

24 (A) REDUCTION IN SCOPE OF PERFORM25 ANCE AGREEMENT.—A State seeks to amend 


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1 the performance agreement to remove from the 

2 scope of the performance agreement any pro3 gram described in section 3. 

4 (B) EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF PERFORM5 ANCE AGREEMENT.—A State seeks to amend 

6 the performance agreement to include within 

7 the scope of the performance agreement any ad8 ditional program described in section 3 or any 

9 additional measure of accountability for which 

10 the State will be held accountable. 

11 (2) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

13 after the receipt of a proposed performance 

14 agreement amendment submitted by a State, 

15 the Secretary shall approve the amendment or 

16 provide the State with a written determination 

17 that the amendment fails to satisfy a require18 ment of this Act. 

19 (B) TREATMENT AS APPROVED.—Each 

20 amendment for which the Secretary fails to 

21 take the action required in subparagraph (A) in 

22 the time period described in such subparagraph 

23 shall be considered to be approved. 

24 (3) TREATMENT OF PROGRAM FUNDS WITH25 DRAWN FROM AGREEMENT.—Beginning on the effecVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:50 Apr 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827

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1 tive date of an amendment executed under para2 graph (1)(A), each program requirement of each 

3 program removed from the scope of a performance 

4 agreement shall apply to the State’s use of funds 

5 made available under the program. 

6 SEC. 3. PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE FOR CONSOLIDATION AND 

7 PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS. 

8 (a) SCOPE.—A State may choose to include within 

9 the scope of its performance agreement any program for 

10 which Congress makes funds available to the State if the 

11 program is for a purpose described in section 1001 of the 

12 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 6301). 

14 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to a 

15 State pursuant to a performance agreement under this Act 

16 shall be used for any educational purpose permitted by 

17 State law of the State participating in the performance 

18 agreement. 

19 SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 

20 STANDARDS; ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM. 

21 Each State consolidating and using funds under this 

22 Act shall demonstrate an accountability system for the 

23 State’s performance agreement. The accountability system 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) utilize the State’s adequate yearly progress 

2 determination under section 1111(b) of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 6311(b)); or 

5 (2) utilize another measure of annual student 

6 progress relative to the State’s determination of stu7 dent proficiency, if such measure— 

8 (A) is used for the entire 5-year duration 

9 of the performance agreement; and 

10 (B) provides student achievement data— 

11 (i) in terms of individual student 

12 progress over time; or 

13 (ii) in a comparison assessment. 

14 SEC. 5. MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING LEVELS SPENT BY 

15 STATES ON EDUCATION. 

16 For each State consolidating and using funds pursu17 ant to a performance agreement under this Act, for each 

18 school year of the performance agreement, the aggregate 

19 amount of funds spent by the State on elementary and 

20 secondary education shall be not less than 90 percent of 

21 the aggregate amount of funds spent by the State on ele22 mentary and secondary education for the school year that 

23 coincides with the date of enactment of this Act. If a State 

24 demonstrates that exceptional or uncontrollable cir25 cumstances, such as a natural disaster or a precipitous 


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1 and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of the 

2 State, prevent the State from complying with the pre3 ceding sentence, the Secretary shall waive the applicability 

4 of the preceding sentence to the State. 

5 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

6 (a) STATES CONSOLIDATING FUNDS UNDER PART A 

7 OF TITLE I.—Each State that includes part A of title I 

8 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) within the scope of a perform10 ance agreement under this Act may use, for administrative 

11 expenses, not more than 1 percent of the total amount 

12 of funds made available to the State under the programs 

13 included within the scope of the performance agreement. 

14 (b) STATES NOT CONSOLIDATING FUNDS UNDER

15 PART A OF TITLE I.—Each State that does not include 

16 part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) within the 

18 scope of a performance agreement under this Act may use, 

19 for administrative expenses, not more than 3 percent of 

20 the total amount of funds made available to the State 

21 under the programs included within the scope of the per22 formance agreement. 


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1 SEC. 7. PARTICIPATION BY PRIVATE SCHOOL CHILDREN 

2 AND TEACHERS. 

3 Each State consolidating and using funds pursuant 

4 to a performance agreement under this Act shall provide 

5 for the participation of private school children and teach6 ers in the activities assisted under the performance agree7 ment in the same manner as participation is provided to 

8 private school children and teachers under section 9501 

9 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 7881). 

11 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 execution of the performance agreement, and annually 

14 thereafter, each State shall disseminate widely to the par15 ents, the general public, and the Secretary, a report that 

16 includes— 

17 (1) student performance data disaggregated in 

18 the same manner as data are disaggregated under 

19 section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)); and 

22 (2) a description of how the State has used 

23 Federal funds to improve academic achievement, 

24 narrow the achievement gap, and improve edu25 cational opportunities for the disadvantaged. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 

2 days after the Secretary receives a report under subsection 

3 (a), the Secretary shall submit such report to Congress, 

4 together with any other information the Secretary con5 siders appropriate. 

6 SEC. 9. PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND EARLY TERMINATION. 

7 (a) REVIEW.—For each State having in effect a per8 formance agreement under this Act, the Secretary shall 

9 carry out a review of the performance agreement, at the 

10 midpoint of the duration of the performance agreement, 

11 in order to determine whether the State has met the terms 

12 of the performance agreement described in section 2. 

13 (b) EARLY TERMINATION.—The Secretary may ter14 minate a performance agreement, before the duration of 

15 that performance agreement expires, if the State does not, 

16 for 3 consecutive school years, meet the terms of the per17 formance agreement described in section 2. 

Æ 


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