I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2371 

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to States that enact 

State laws that will make school attendance compulsory through the 

age of 17. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2015 

Ms. EDWARDS (for herself, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. 

VARGAS, and Mr. DELANEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to 

States that enact State laws that will make school attendance compulsory through the age of 17. 

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 ‘‘Broadening Opportuni5 ties Through Education Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATES WITH COMPULSORY 

2 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE THROUGH THE AGE 

3 OF 17. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap5 propriated to carry out this Act and not later than 90 

6 days after such amounts are appropriated, the Secretary 

7 of Education shall award grants, on a competitive basis, 

8 to States with approved applications under subsection (b) 

9 to assist such States in improving secondary school pro10 grams. 

11 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

12 under this Act, a State shall submit to the Secretary an 

13 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

14 such information as the Secretary may require, which shall 

15 include— 

16 (1) a description of the State law that the State 

17 has enacted that makes school attendance in the 

18 State compulsory through the age of 17 (except in 

19 cases of individuals who complete the secondary 

20 school graduation requirements of the State prior to 

21 attaining such age or individuals that meet any 

22 other exemptions to such State law), including a de23 scription of any exemptions to such State law; and 

24 (2) a description of how the State will use the 

25 grant to carry out or improve secondary school pro26 grams in the State. 


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1 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 

2 under this Act shall use such grant to improve secondary 

3 school programs in the State, such as by— 

4 (1) establishing or expanding work-based pro5 grams that integrate academic and career-based 

6 skills through career and technical training, linked 

7 learning pathways, school-registered apprenticeships, 

8 and other career-training programs; 

9 (2) implementing an early warning indicator 

10 system to help high schools, and their feeder middle 

11 schools, to identify struggling students and create a 

12 system of evidence-based interventions; 

13 (3) providing evidence-based grade and school 

14 transition programs and supports, including through 

15 curricula alignment; 

16 (4) personalizing the school experience and in17 creasing student engagement by providing service18 learning, experiential, and work-based and other 

19 learning opportunities; 

20 (5) providing extended-learning opportunities, 

21 by the school day, week, or year to increase the total 

22 number of school hours to include additional time 

23 for instruction in academic subjects and enrichment; 

24 or 


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1 (6) increasing student supports through activi2 ties such as student advisories, school counseling op3 portunities, and one-to-one mentoring. 

4 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

5 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘secondary 

6 school’’ and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given the 

7 terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Education. 

Æ 


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