II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1263

To establish requirements regarding national tests in reading and

mathematics.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 7, 1997

Mr. BINGAMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To establish requirements regarding national tests in reading

and mathematics.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. NATIONAL TESTS.

4 (a) OERI ANNUAL SPENDING PLAN.—Notwithstand5 ing any other provision of law, the Assistant Secretary for

6 Educational Research and Improvement shall submit to

7 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a spending

8 plan for activities funded through the Office of Edu9 cational Research and Improvement for each fiscal year,

10 prior to the obligation of any funds for the fiscal year.
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1 (b) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any

2 other provision of law, the National Assessment Governing

3 Board established under section 412 of the National Edu4 cation Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9011) (hereafter

5 in this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) shall hereafter

6 have exclusive authority over all policies, direction, and

7 guidelines for establishing and implementing voluntary na8 tional tests for 4th grade English reading and 8th grade

9 mathematics.

10 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The tests described in subsection

11 (b) shall be made available to a State, local educational

12 agency, or private or parochial school, upon the request

13 of the State, agency, or school, and the use of the tests

14 shall not be a condition for receiving any Federal funds.

15 (d) CONTRACT.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after the

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall review

18 the national test development contract in effect on

19 the date of enactment of this Act, and modify the

20 contract as the Board determines necessary. If the

21 contract cannot be modified to the extent determined

22 necessary by the Board, the contract shall be termi23 nated and the Board shall negotiate a new contract,

24 under the Board’s exclusive control, for the tests.
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1 (2) BOARD DUTIES.—In exercising the Board’s

2 responsibilities under paragraph (1) regarding the

3 national tests, and notwithstanding any action un4 dertaken by the Department of Education or a per5 son contracting with or providing services for the

6 Department regarding the planning, or the develop7 ment of specifications, for the tests, the Board

8 shall—

9 (A) ensure that the content and standards

10 for the tests are the same as the content and

11 standards for the National Assessment;

12 (B) exercise exclusive authority over any

13 expert panel or advisory committee that will be

14 or is established with respect to the tests;

15 (C) ensure that the tests are linked to the

16 National Assessment to the maximum degree

17 possible ;

18 (D) develop test objectives, test specifica19 tions, and test methodology;

20 (E) develop policies for test administration,

21 including guidelines for inclusion of, and accom22 modations for, students with disabilities and

23 students with limited English proficiency;
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1 (F) develop policies for reporting test re2 sults, including the use of standards or per3 formance levels, and for test use;

4 (G) have final authority over the appro5 priateness of all test items;

6 (H) ensure that all items selected for use

7 on the tests are free from racial, cultural, or

8 gender bias; and

9 (I) take such actions and make such poli10 cies as the Board determines necessary.

11 (e) CONSENT REQUIRED.—No State or local edu12 cational agency may require any private or parochial

13 school student, or home-schooled individual, to take any

14 test developed under this Act without the written consent

15 of the student or individual.

16 (f) NAGB AMENDMENTS.—Section 412 of the Na17 tional Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9011)

18 is amended—

19 (1) in subsection (b)(1)—

20 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read

21 as follows:

22 ‘‘(A) three Governors, or former Gov23 ernors, of whom not more than 1 shall be a

24 member of the same political party as the

25 President;’’;
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1 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read

2 as follows:

3 ‘‘(B) two State legislators, of whom not

4 more than 1 shall be a member of the same po5 litical party as the President;’’;

6 (C) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘one

7 representative’’ and inserting ‘‘three representa8 tives’’;

9 (D) by amending subparagraph (I) to read

10 as follows:

11 ‘‘(I) two mayors, of whom not more than

12 1 shall be a member of the same political party

13 as the President;’’;

14 (E) by striking subparagraph (J); and

15 (F) by redesignating subparagraphs (K),

16 (L), and (M) as subparagraphs (J), (K), and

17 (L), respectively;

18 (2) in subsection (c)—

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and

20 may not exceed a period of 3’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘and shall be for periods of 4’’; and

22 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘con23 secutive’’ after ‘‘two’’;

24 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(d) VACANCIES.—As vacancies on the Board occur,

2 new members of the Board shall be appointed by the Sec3 retary from among individuals who are nominated by the

4 Board after consultation with representatives of the indi5 viduals described in subsection (b)(1). For each vacancy,

6 the Board shall nominate at least 3 individuals who are

7 qualified by experience or training to fill the particular

8 Board vacancy.’’; and

9 (4) in subsection (e) by adding at the end the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(7) INDEPENDENCE.—In the exercise of its

12 functions, powers, and duties, the Board shall be

13 independent of the Secretary and the other offices

14 and officers of the Department. The Secretary shall,

15 by written delegation of authority, authorize the

16 Board to award grants and contracts, and otherwise

17 operate, to the maximum extent practicable, inde18 pendent of the Department.’’.

19 (g) APPOINTMENTS.—Not later than 30 days after

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Edu21 cation, in consultation with the Speaker and Minority

22 Leader of the House of Representatives, and the Majority

23 Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate, shall appoint

24 individuals to fill vacancies on the National Assessment

25 Governing Board caused by the expiration of the terms
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1 of members of the Board, or the creation of new member2 ship positions on the Board pursuant to amendments

3 made by this Act.

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