I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 597 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 

grants for core curriculum development. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2009 

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Mr. LOEBSACK, and Mr. SARBANES) introduced 

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

Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to provide grants for core curriculum development. 

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 ‘‘Access to Complete 

5 Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NEW PART I (CORE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT). 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by redesig9 nating part I as J and inserting after part H the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART I—CORE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 

2 ‘‘SEC. 1851. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

4 support systemic, comprehensive education reform by 

5 strengthening the instruction of music and arts, foreign 

6 languages, civics and government, economics, history, ge7 ography, and physical education and health as an integral 

8 part of the elementary and secondary school curriculum. 

9 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized to 

10 award grants to local educational agencies to promote and 

11 strengthen one or more of the subjects specified in sub12 section (a) as an integral part of the elementary school 

13 and secondary school curriculum. 

14 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec15 tion, a local educational agency shall submit an application 

16 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con17 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 

18 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants to local edu19 cational agencies under this section, the Secretary shall 

20 give priority to local educational agencies with greater— 

21 ‘‘(1) numbers of children who are counted 

22 under section 1124(c); and 

23 ‘‘(2) percentages of children from families below 

24 the poverty line. 

25 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds may be used to expand 

26 access to the subjects specified in subsection (a) by— 


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1 ‘‘(1) expanding the amount of instructional 

2 time on these subjects; 

3 ‘‘(2) providing for curriculum development that 

4 is aligned with State standards where relevant; 

5 ‘‘(3) providing essential materials and text 

6 books that are aligned with State standards where 

7 relevant; 

8 ‘‘(4) partnering with Federal, State, and com9 munity-based organizations and institutions to in10 crease student learning in these subjects; 

11 ‘‘(5) providing professional development to en12 sure curricula are implemented effectively; and 

13 ‘‘(6) creating and using formative assessments 

14 where appropriate to advance student achievement 

15 and improve instruction. 

16 ‘‘(f) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving assist17 ance made available under this section, the Secretary shall 

18 require each local educational agency receiving such assist19 ance— 

20 ‘‘(1) to coordinate, to the extent practicable, 

21 each project or program carried out with such assist22 ance with appropriate activities of public or private 

23 cultural agencies, institutions, and organizations, in24 cluding museums, education associations, libraries, 

25 and theaters; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to use such assistance only to supplement, 

2 and not to supplant, any other assistance or funds 

3 made available from non-Federal sources for the ac4 tivities assisted under this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) EVALUATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational 

7 agency that receives funds under this section shall 

8 provide the Secretary, at the conclusion of every fis9 cal year during which the funds are received, with 

10 an evaluation, in a form prescribed by the Secretary. 

11 This evaluation shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) a description of the programs and ac13 tivities conducted by the local educational agen14 cy with funds received; 

15 ‘‘(B) data on curriculum and partnerships 

16 developed; 

17 ‘‘(C) data on the amount of time spent on 

18 subjects allowed for under the grant; and 

19 ‘‘(D) other information as determined by 

20 the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(2) USE OF EVALUATION.—An evaluation pro22 vided by a local educational agency shall be used by 

23 the local educational agency and the State edu24 cational agency for improvement of programs and 

25 activities. 


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1 ‘‘(h) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

2 the Secretary shall consult with relevant Federal and 

3 State agencies or institutions, educators (including profes4 sional education associations), organizations representing 

5 subjects funded under this part. 

6 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this 

8 section the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

10 ‘‘(2) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

11 ‘‘(3) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

12 ‘‘(4) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

13 ‘‘(5) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

14 ‘‘(6) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The following pro16 visions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

17 of 1965 are each amended by striking ‘‘part I’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘part J’’: 

19 (1) Section 1304(c)(2) (20 U.S.C. 6394(c)(2)). 

20 (2) Section 1415(a)(2)(C) (20 U.S.C. 

21 6435(a)(2)(C)). 

Æ 


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