II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1704 

To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades 

are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports 

so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in 

secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and 

local educational agency policies and programs relating to the academic 

achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and implement 

effective middle grades models for struggling students, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 4, 2019 

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

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in 

the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous 

curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary 

school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State 

and local educational agency policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle 

grades models for struggling students, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Success in the Middle 

5 Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Research shows that Federal funding for 

9 students in middle school and high school, particu10 larly grades 6 through 12, is significantly lower than 

11 funding for elementary and postsecondary students. 

12 (2) International comparisons indicate that stu13 dents in the United States do not start out behind 

14 students of other nations in mathematics and 

15 science, but that they fall behind by the end of the 

16 middle grades. 

17 (3) Approximately 65 percent of students in 

18 grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2017 

19 National Assessment of Educational Progress. A lit20 tle over one-third of students in grade 8 in the 

21 United States, and approximately 5 percent of such 

22 students who are English learners, can read with 

23 proficiency, according to the 2017 National Assess24 ment of Educational Progress. 


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1 (4) In mathematics, 37 percent of students in 

2 grade 8 show skills at or above the proficient level 

3 on the 2017 National Assessment of Educational 

4 Progress. However, the percentage of students in 

5 grade 4 at or above the proficient level on such As6 sessment was 40 percent. In grade 8, the gaps be7 tween the average mathematics scores of White and 

8 Black students and between White and Hispanic 

9 students were approximately as wide in 2017 as in 

10 2015. 

11 (5) By grade 6, a student who attends school 

12 less than 80 percent of the time, receives unsatisfac13 tory marks for mild but sustained misbehavior, or 

14 who fails English or mathematics, has only a 10 to 

15 20 percent chance of graduating on time. Without 

16 effective interventions and proper supports, these 

17 students are at risk of subsequent failure in sec18 ondary school, or of dropping out. 

19 (6) Approximately 55 percent of students in 

20 grades 5 through 12 are engaged in the learning 

21 process, while 28 percent are unengaged or mentally 

22 checked out and 17 percent are actively disengaged 

23 and feel negatively about school, according to a 2013 

24 Gallup Student Poll. Additionally, 54 percent of stu25 dents are hopeful, while 32 percent feel stuck and 


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1 14 percent feel discouraged, about their future suc2 cess at school and beyond. 

3 (7) Student transitions from elementary school 

4 to the middle grades and to secondary school are 

5 often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in6 adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 

7 sharing of student performance and academic 

8 achievement data between grades. 

9 (8) Middle grades improvement strategies 

10 should be tailored based on a variety of performance 

11 indicators and data, so that— 

12 (A) educators can create and implement 

13 successful school improvement strategies to ad14 dress the needs of the middle grades; and 

15 (B) teachers can provide effective instruc16 tion and adequate assistance to meet the needs 

17 of at-risk students. 

18 (9) Middle grade teachers face unique chal19 lenges due to the increased individual subject matter 

20 focus of the curriculum combined with the physical, 

21 intellectual, and emotional changes faced by early 

22 adolescents transitioning from elementary school to 

23 high school. 

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1 regulation—the behavioral domains essential for suc2 cess across the school and work continuum—pro3 vides a more holistic picture of students, including 

4 their likelihood of enrolling in an institution of high5 er education following high school graduation. This 

6 information, available in middle school, allows for 

7 early identification of and intervention with students 

8 who may be less likely to complete secondary school 

9 and attend an institution of higher education. 

10 (11) Appropriate academic accommodations, 

11 age-appropriate discipline, access to assistive tech12 nology, and evidence-based interventions must be 

13 used with students with disabilities, particularly in 

14 the middle grades, as— 

15 (A) the dropout rate for learning disabled 

16 students is nearly 3 times the dropout rate of 

17 all students; 

18 (B) more than half of young adults with 

19 learning disabilities have been involved in the 

20 justice system; and 

21 (C) students with disabilities have a grad22 uation rate nearly 20 percentage points lower 

23 than the graduation rate for general education 

24 students. 


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1 (12) Local educational agencies and State edu2 cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 

3 provide support for school improvement strategies. 

4 Successful models do exist for turning around low5 performing middle grades, and Federal support 

6 should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 

7 promising practices based on evidence from success8 ful schools. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘edu12 cational service agency’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, 

13 ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘evidence-based’’, ‘‘local edu14 cational agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘high school’’, 

15 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ 

16 have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 

17 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

19 (2) CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM.—The term 

20 ‘‘chronic absenteeism’’ means the percentage of indi21 vidual students missing 10 percent, or more, of the 

22 days of school in a school year. 

23 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti24 ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 


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1 (A) not less than 1 eligible local edu2 cational agency; and 

3 (B)(i) an institution of higher education; 

4 (ii) an educational service agency; or 

5 (iii) a nonprofit organization with dem6 onstrated expertise in high-quality middle 

7 grades intervention. 

8 (4) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

9 The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 

10 a local educational agency that serves not less than 

11 1 eligible school. 

12 (5) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

13 school’’ means an elementary school or secondary 

14 school that contains not less than 2 successive 

15 grades of grades 5 through 8 and for which— 

16 (A) a high proportion of the middle grades 

17 students attending such school will attend a 

18 secondary school with a graduation rate of 67 

19 percent or less; 

20 (B) more than 25 percent of the students 

21 who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear22 liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 

23 or more of the key risk factors and early risk 

24 identification signs, including— 


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1 (i) student attendance below 90 per2 cent; 

3 (ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 

4 or reading or language arts course; 

5 (iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 

6 and 

7 (iv) out-of-school suspension or other 

8 evidence of at-risk behavior; or 

9 (C) more than 50 percent of the middle 

10 grades students attending such school do not 

11 perform at a proficient level on State student 

12 academic assessments required under section 

13 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) 

15 in mathematics or reading or language arts. 

16 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

20 (7) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 

21 grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 

22 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

3 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

4 (10) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

5 ‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 

6 a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 

7 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

9 TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 

10 IMPROVEMENT 

11 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

12 The purposes of this title are to— 

13 (1) develop middle grade students’ social, emo14 tional, and academic competencies and deep content 

15 knowledge to ensure they are equipped to think criti16 cally, solve problems, communicate effectively, col17 laborate with others, and be self-directed so that 

18 they can enter high school on-track and graduate 

19 from high school on time and ready for postsec20 ondary and career pathways; 

21 (2) provide student and teacher supports for 

22 middle grades education, including funding and cur23 ricula, that align with the student and teacher sup24 ports provided for elementary school and secondary 


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1 school grades within and across local educational 

2 agencies; 

3 (3) provide resources to State educational agen4 cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 

5 develop and implement middle grade improvement 

6 plans in order to deliver evidence-based support and 

7 technical assistance to schools serving middle grade 

8 students; 

9 (4) provide resources for schools serving middle 

10 grade students to develop positive learning commu11 nities where educators and students feel engaged, 

12 and share high expectations of student success, as 

13 exhibited by mutual respect, fair discipline ap14 proaches, and rigorous academic curriculum; and 

15 (5) increase the capacity of States and local 

16 educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 

17 and replicable school improvement programs and 

18 models and evidence-based or, when available, sci19 entifically valid student interventions for implemen20 tation by schools serving students in the middle 

21 grades. 


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1 SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 

2 AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE3 MENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

5 under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 

6 this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 

7 for which the Secretary has approved an application in 

8 an amount equal to the allotment determined for such 

9 agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal year. 

10 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 

11 available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec12 retary— 

13 (1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 

14 the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu15 reau of Indian Education) and the outlying areas for 

16 activities carried out in accordance with this section; 

17 (2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec18 tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 

19 title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 

20 widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 

21 outside evaluator; and 

22 (3) shall reserve 2 percent for technical assist23 ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 

24 grades education to States and local educational 

25 agencies. 

26 (c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), of the total amount made available to 

3 carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 

4 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 

5 amount among the States in proportion to the num6 ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 

7 State and are from families with incomes below the 

8 poverty level for the most recent fiscal year for 

9 which satisfactory data are available, compared to 

10 the number of such individuals who reside in all 

11 such States for that fiscal year, determined in ac12 cordance with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elemen13 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)). 

15 (2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu16 cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 

subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1 17 ⁄2 of 

18 1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 

19 this title for such fiscal year. 

20 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year for which 

21 the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less than 

22 $500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 

23 to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath24 er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 


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1 such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 

2 a competitive basis. 

3 (e) REALLOTMENT.— 

4 (1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP5 PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 

6 apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 

7 year, or if the application from the State educational 

8 agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 

9 the amount of the State’s allotment to the remaining 

10 States in accordance with this section. 

11 (2) UNUSED FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

12 reallot any amount of an allotment to a State if the 

13 Secretary determines that the State will be unable to 

14 use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. 

15 Such reallotments shall be made on the same basis 

16 as allotments are made under subsection (c). 

17 (f) APPLICATION.—In order to receive an allotment 

18 under this title, a State educational agency shall submit 

19 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man20 ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec21 retary may reasonably require, including a State middle 

22 grades improvement plan described in section 103(a)(4). 

23 (g) PEER REVIEW AND SELECTION.—The Sec24 retary— 


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1 (1) shall establish a peer-review process to as2 sist in the review and approval of proposed State ap3 plications; 

4 (2) shall appoint individuals to participate in 

5 the peer-review process who are educators and ex6 perts in identifying, evaluating, and implementing 

7 effective education programs and practices (includ8 ing in the areas of teaching and learning, edu9 cational standards and assessments, school improve10 ment, school climate, rates of suspension and expul11 sion, and academic and behavioral supports for mid12 dle grades students, and in addressing the needs of 

13 students with disabilities and English learners in the 

14 middle grades), which individuals may include recog15 nized exemplary middle grades teachers and middle 

16 grades principals who have been recognized at the 

17 State or national level for exemplary work or con18 tributions to the field; 

19 (3) shall ensure that State educational agencies 

20 are given the opportunity to receive timely feedback, 

21 and to interact with peer-review panels, in person or 

22 via electronic communication, on issues that need 

23 clarification during the peer-review process; 

24 (4) shall approve an application submitted 

25 under this title not later than 120 days after the 


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1 date of submission of the application unless the Sec2 retary determines that the application does not meet 

3 the requirements of this title; 

4 (5) may not decline to approve an application 

5 from a State educational agency before— 

6 (A) offering the State educational agency 

7 an opportunity to revise the application; 

8 (B) providing the State educational agency 

9 with technical assistance in order to submit a 

10 successful application; and 

11 (C) providing an opportunity for a hearing 

12 to the State educational agency; and 

13 (6) shall direct the Inspector General of the De14 partment of Education to— 

15 (A) review final determinations reached by 

16 the Secretary to approve or deny State applica17 tions; 

18 (B) analyze the consistency of the process 

19 used by peer-review panels in reviewing and rec20 ommending to the Secretary approval or denial 

21 of such State applications; and 

22 (C) report the findings of this review and 

23 analysis to Congress. 

24 SEC. 103. STATE PLAN; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

25 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

2 that receives a grant under this title shall use the 

3 grant funds— 

4 (A) to prepare and implement the needs 

5 analysis and middle grades improvement plan, 

6 as described in paragraphs (3) and (4), of such 

7 agency; 

8 (B) to make subgrants to eligible local 

9 educational agencies or eligible entities under 

10 section 104; and 

11 (C) to assist eligible local educational agen12 cies and eligible entities, when determined nec13 essary by the State educational agency or at the 

14 request of an eligible local educational agency 

15 or eligible entity, in designing a comprehensive 

16 schoolwide improvement plan and carrying out 

17 the activities under section 104. 

18 (2) FUNDS FOR SUBGRANTS.—A State edu19 cational agency that receives a grant under this title 

20 shall use not less than 90 percent of the grant funds 

21 to make subgrants to eligible local educational agen22 cies or eligible entities under section 104. 

23 (3) MIDDLE GRADES NEED ASSESSMENT.— 

24 (A) COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

2 agency that receives a grant under this 

3 title shall conduct a comprehensive needs 

4 assessment that analyzes how to strength5 en the programs, practices, and policies of 

6 the State to target support for students in 

7 the middle grades to improve positive stu8 dent outcomes that prepare students for 

9 high school, postsecondary, and career suc10 cess. 

11 (ii) CONTRACTING ABILITY.—A State 

12 educational agency receiving a grant under 

13 this title may enter into a contract, or 

14 similar formal agreement, to work with en15 tities such as national and regional com16 prehensive centers (as described in section 

17 203 of the Educational Technical Assist18 ance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9602)), insti19 tutions of higher education, or nonprofit 

20 organizations with demonstrated expertise 

21 in high-quality middle grades reform to 

22 conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. 

23 (B) PREPARATION OF ASSESSMENT.—In 

24 preparing the assessment under subparagraph 

25 (A), the State educational agency shall examine 


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1 policies and practices of the State, and of local 

2 educational agencies within the State, affecting, 

3 with respect to middle grades— 

4 (i) curriculum alignment, assessment, 

5 and instruction; 

6 (ii) the State system of annual mean7 ingful differentiation, as described under 

8 section 1111(c)(4)(C) of the Elementary 

9 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 6311(c)(4)(C)); 

11 (iii) teacher and school leader prepa12 ration, quality, experience, and equitable 

13 distribution; 

14 (iv) interventions both in-school and 

15 out-of-school that support student learn16 ing; 

17 (v) student engagement activities; 

18 (vi) disproportionate use of exclu19 sionary disciplinary practices, including in20 school and out-of-school suspensions; 

21 (vii) family and community engage22 ment in education; 

23 (viii) equitable distribution of re24 sources; and 


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1 (ix) student and academic support 

2 services, such as effective school library 

3 programs and school counseling on the 

4 transition to secondary school and plan5 ning for entry into postsecondary edu6 cation and the workforce. 

7 (4) MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVEMENT PLAN.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

9 agency that receives a grant under this title 

10 shall develop a middle grades improvement plan 

11 that— 

12 (i) shall be a statewide plan to im13 prove student academic achievement in the 

14 middle grades, based on the needs assess15 ment described in paragraph (3); and 

16 (ii) describes what students are re17 quired to know and do to successfully— 

18 (I) complete the middle grades; 

19 (II) develop the competencies 

20 of— 

21 (aa) the ability to acquire 

22 and use deep content knowledge 

23 to solve problems; 

24 (bb) critical thinking; 


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1 (cc) effective communica2 tion; 

3 (dd) self-direction; and 

4 (ee) the ability to collabo5 rate; and 

6 (III) make a successful transition 

7 to academically rigorous secondary 

8 school coursework that prepares stu9 dents to graduate from secondary 

10 school ready for higher education and 

11 a career. 

12 (B) PLAN COMPONENTS.—A middle grades 

13 improvement plan described in subparagraph 

14 (A) shall also describe how the State edu15 cational agency will do each of the following: 

16 (i)(I) Align State standards and as17 sessments for middle grades education with 

18 State standards and assessments for sec19 ondary schools and prepare students to 

20 take challenging secondary school courses 

21 and successfully engage in postsecondary 

22 education. 

23 (II) Coordinate, where applicable, 

24 with the activities carried out through 

25 grants under section 6201(c)(1) of the 


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1 America COMPETES Act (20 U.S.C. 

2 9871(c)(1)) for alignment of P–16 edu3 cation, as defined in section 6201(b) of 

4 such Act. 

5 (III) Support the transition from ele6 mentary school to the middle grades 

7 through programs that promote successful 

8 social, emotional, and cognitive develop9 ment. 

10 (ii) Provide professional development 

11 to school leaders, teachers, and other 

12 school personnel in— 

13 (I) addressing the needs of di14 verse learners, including students with 

15 disabilities and English learners; 

16 (II) using challenging and rel17 evant research-based best practices 

18 and curricula; 

19 (III) using data to inform in20 struction; and 

21 (IV) increasing student engage22 ment and social and emotional learn23 ing competencies. 

24 (iii) Identify and disseminate informa25 tion on effective schools and instructional 


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1 strategies for middle grades students based 

2 on high-quality research. 

3 (iv) Identify and provide support for 

4 students most at risk of not graduating 

5 from secondary school, including English 

6 learners, students with disabilities, and 

7 low-income students. 

8 (v) Provide technical assistance to eli9 gible entities to develop and implement 

10 their early warning indicator and interven11 tion systems, as described in section 

12 104(d)(2)(D). 

13 (vi) Define a set of school perform14 ance indicators that shall be used, in addi15 tion to the indicators used to identify 

16 schools for comprehensive support and im17 provement under section 1111(c)(4)(D)(i) 

18 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

20 6311(c)(4)(D)(i)), to evaluate school per21 formance and guide the school improve22 ment process, such as— 

23 (I) student attendance and 

24 chronic absenteeism; 


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1 (II) earned on-time promotion 

2 rates from grade to grade; 

3 (III) percentage of students fail4 ing a mathematics, reading or lan5 guage arts, or science course, or fail6 ing 2 or more of any courses; 

7 (IV) teacher preparation, experi8 ence, effectiveness, and attendance 

9 measures; 

10 (V) in-school and out-of-school 

11 suspension or other measurable evi12 dence of at-risk behavior, including 

13 any disparities in rates among sub14 groups of students, as defined in sec15 tion 1111(c)(2)) of the Elementary 

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)); 

18 (VI) data collected by the Civil 

19 Rights Data Collection survey con20 ducted by the Office of Civil Rights of 

21 the Department of Education; and 

22 (VII) additional indicators pro23 posed by the State educational agency 

24 and approved by the Secretary, based 

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1 dicators conducted under section 

2 102(b)(2). 

3 (vii) Ensure that such plan is coordi4 nated with State activities to turn around 

5 schools identified for comprehensive sup6 port and improvement under section 

7 1111(c)(4)(D)(i) of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 6311(c)(4)(D)(i)), including State 

10 activities to improve secondary schools and 

11 elementary schools. 

12 (viii) Ensure that such plan includes 

13 specific provisions to improve family and 

14 community engagement in education in the 

15 middle grades. 

16 (b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

17 agency that receives a grant under this title may use the 

18 grant funds to— 

19 (1) develop and encourage collaborations among 

20 researchers at institutions of higher education, State 

21 educational agencies, educational service agencies, 

22 local educational agencies, and nonprofit organiza23 tions with demonstrated expertise in high-quality 

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1 fective practices in the middle grades and to improve 

2 middle grade education; 

3 (2) develop and facilitate collaboration among 

4 institutions of higher education, nonprofit organiza5 tions, and other stakeholders involved in teacher and 

6 school leader preparation to improve the quality and 

7 delivery of preservice and in-service middle grades 

8 teacher and school leader preparation to ensure new 

9 and existing middle grade educators are prepared for 

10 the specific and unique needs of middle grades stu11 dents; 

12 (3) support local educational agencies in imple13 menting effective middle grades practices, models, 

14 and programs that— 

15 (A) are evidence-based; and 

16 (B) lead to improved student academic 

17 achievement; 

18 (4) support collaborative communities of middle 

19 grades teachers, administrators, school librarians, 

20 and researchers in creating and sustaining informa21 tional databases to disseminate results from rigorous 

22 research on effective practices and programs for 

23 middle grades education; and 

24 (5) increase middle grades student and aca25 demic support services, such as— 


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1 (A) effective school library programs; and 

2 (B) school counseling on the transition to 

3 secondary school, such as summer bridge pro4 grams and student mentors, and planning for 

5 entry into postsecondary education and the 

6 workforce. 

7 SEC. 104. COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS TO IMPROVE LOW8 PERFORMING MIDDLE GRADES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency that 

10 receives a grant under this title shall make competitive 

11 subgrants to eligible local educational agencies and eligible 

12 entities to enable the eligible local educational agencies 

13 and eligible entities to improve low-performing middle 

14 grades in schools served by the agencies or entities. 

15 (b) PRIORITIES.—In making subgrants under sub16 section (a), a State educational agency shall give priority 

17 to eligible local educational agencies or eligible entities 

18 based on— 

19 (1) the respective populations of children de20 scribed in section 102(c)(1) served by the eligible 

21 local educational agencies that are participating in 

22 the subgrant application process; and 

23 (2) the respective populations of children served 

24 by the participating eligible local educational agen25 cies who attend eligible schools. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible local educational 

2 agency or eligible entity that desires to receive a subgrant 

3 under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the 

4 State educational agency at such time, in such manner, 

5 and accompanied by such information as the State edu6 cational agency may reasonably require, including— 

7 (1) a middle grade improvement plan described 

8 in subsection (d); and 

9 (2) a description of how activities described in 

10 such plan will be complementary to, and coordinated 

11 with, school improvement activities for elementary 

12 schools and secondary schools that serve the same 

13 students within the participating local educational 

14 agency. 

15 (d) MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—An eli16 gible local educational agency or eligible entity that desires 

17 to receive a subgrant under subsection (a) shall develop 

18 a comprehensive middle grades improvement plan for the 

19 middle grades that shall— 

20 (1) describe how activities described in such 

21 plan will be coordinated with activities specified in 

22 schoolwide program plans under section 1114 of the 

23 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 6314); 


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1 (2) describe how the eligible local educational 

2 agency or eligible entity will— 

3 (A) identify eligible schools; 

4 (B) ensure that funds go to eligible schools 

5 with the highest percent of low-income students 

6 first, based on the eligible schools’ populations 

7 of children described in section 102(c)(1); 

8 (C) use funds to close achievement gaps 

9 and improve the academic achievement of all 

10 students, including English learners and stu11 dents with disabilities, in eligible schools; 

12 (D) implement an early warning indicator 

13 and intervention system to alert schools when 

14 students begin to exhibit outcomes or behaviors 

15 that indicate the student is at increased risk for 

16 low academic achievement or is unlikely to 

17 progress to secondary school graduation, and to 

18 create a system of evidence-based interventions 

19 to be used by schools to effectively intervene, 

20 by— 

21 (i) identifying and analyzing, such as 

22 through the use of longitudinal data of 

23 past cohorts of students, the academic and 

24 behavioral indicators in the middle grades 

25 that most reliably predict dropping out of 


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1 secondary school, such as attendance, 

2 chronic absenteeism, behavior measures 

3 (including suspensions, officer referrals, or 

4 conduct marks), academic performance in 

5 core courses, and earned on-time pro6 motion from grade-to-grade, and other rel7 evant indicator of student academic per8 formance as included in schoolwide pro9 gram plans under section 1114 of the Ele10 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314); 

12 (ii) analyzing student progress and 

13 performance on the indicators identified 

14 under clause (i) to guide decision making; 

15 (iii) analyzing academic indicators to 

16 determine whether students are on track to 

17 graduate on time, and developing appro18 priate evidence-based intervention; and 

19 (iv) identifying or developing a mecha20 nism for regularly collecting and report21 ing— 

22 (I) student-level data on the indi23 cators identified under clause (i); 


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1 (II) student-level progress and 

2 performance, as described in clause 

3 (ii); 

4 (III) student-level data on the in5 dicators described in clause (iii); and 

6 (IV) information about the im7 pact of interventions on student out8 comes and progress; 

9 (E) increase academic rigor and foster stu10 dent engagement to ensure students are enter11 ing secondary school prepared for success in a 

12 rigorous college- and career-ready curriculum, 

13 including a description of how such readiness 

14 will be measured; 

15 (F) implement a systemic transition plan 

16 for all students and encourage collaboration 

17 among elementary grades, middle grades, and 

18 secondary school grades to support the success19 ful transition between grades; 

20 (G) increase community and family en21 gagement in education in the middle grades to 

22 support student success; and 

23 (H) provide evidence that the strategies, 

24 programs, supports, and instructional practices 

25 proposed under the middle grades improvement 


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1 plan are new and have not been implemented 

2 before by the eligible local educational agency 

3 or eligible entity; and 

4 (3) provide evidence of an ongoing commitment 

5 to sustain the plan for a period of not less than 4 

6 years. 

7 (e) REVIEW AND SELECTION OF SUBGRANTS.—In 

8 making subgrants under subsection (a), the State edu9 cational agency shall— 

10 (1) establish a peer-review process to assist in 

11 the review and approval of applications under sub12 section (c); and 

13 (2) appoint individuals to participate in the 

14 peer-review process who are educators and experts in 

15 identifying, evaluating, and implementing effective 

16 education programs and practices, including— 

17 (A) experts— 

18 (i) in areas of teaching and learning, 

19 educational standards and assessments, 

20 and school improvement; 

21 (ii) in addressing the needs of stu22 dents with disabilities and English learners 

23 in the middle grades; and 

24 (iii) in the academic and behavioral 

25 supports for middle grades students; and 


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1 (B) recognized exemplary middle grades 

2 teachers and principals who have been recog3 nized at the State or national level for exem4 plary work or contributions to the field. 

5 (f) REVISION OF SUBGRANTS.—If a State edu6 cational agency, using the peer-review process described 

7 in subsection (e), determines that an application for a 

8 grant under subsection (a) does not meet the requirements 

9 of this title, the State educational agency shall notify the 

10 eligible local educational agency or eligible entity of such 

11 determination and the reasons for such determination, and 

12 offer— 

13 (1) the eligible local educational agency or eligi14 ble entity an opportunity to revise and resubmit the 

15 application; and 

16 (2) technical assistance to the eligible local edu17 cational agency or eligible entity, by the State edu18 cational agency or a nonprofit organization with 

19 demonstrated expertise in high-quality middle grades 

20 interventions, to revise the application. 

21 (g) MANDATORY USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

22 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

23 subgrant under subsection (a) shall carry out the fol24 lowing: 


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1 (1) Align the curricula for grades kindergarten 

2 through 12 for schools within the local educational 

3 agency to improve transitions from elementary 

4 grades to middle grades to secondary school grades. 

5 (2) In each eligible school served by the eligible 

6 local educational agency receiving or participating in 

7 the subgrant: 

8 (A) Align the curricula for all grade levels 

9 within eligible schools to improve grade to grade 

10 transitions. 

11 (B) Implement evidence-based instructional 

12 strategies, programs, and learning environments 

13 that meet the needs of all students and ensure 

14 that school leaders and teachers receive profes15 sional development on the use of these strate16 gies. 

17 (C) Provide professional development for 

18 school leaders, teachers, specialized instruc19 tional support personnel, school librarians, and 

20 other school staff on the developmental stages 

21 of adolescents in the middle grades and how to 

22 deal with those stages appropriately in an edu23 cational setting. 

24 (D) Implement organizational practices 

25 and school schedules that allow for effective 


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1 leadership, collaborative staff participation, pro2 fessional development, effective teacher instruc3 tional teaming, and parent and community in4 volvement. 

5 (E) Create a more personalized and engag6 ing learning environment for middle grades stu7 dents by developing a personal academic plan 

8 for each student and assigning not less than 1 

9 adult who has received the appropriate training 

10 to monitor, evaluate, and support the progress 

11 of each individual student attending the eligible 

12 school. 

13 (F) Provide all students, and the students’ 

14 families, with information about, and assistance 

15 with, the requirements for secondary school 

16 graduation, admission to an institution of high17 er education, and career success. 

18 (G) Utilize data from an early warning in19 dicator and intervention system described in 

20 subsection (d)(2)(D) to identify struggling stu21 dents and assist the students as the students 

22 transition from elementary school to middle 

23 grades to secondary school. 

24 (H) Implement academic supports, such as 

25 effective school library programs, and effective 


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1 and coordinated additional assistance programs 

2 to ensure that students have a strong founda3 tion in reading, writing, mathematics, and 

4 science skills. 

5 (I) Develop and use effective, age- and 

6 level-appropriate, formative assessments to in7 form instruction. 

8 (J) Provide integrated student support 

9 services, such as access to student health serv10 ices, mental health and trauma-informed care, 

11 and individualized school counseling, to address 

12 the comprehensive needs of students attending 

13 eligible schools. 

14 (h) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

15 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

16 subgrant under subsection (a) may use the subgrant funds 

17 to carry out the following: 

18 (1) Implement extended learning opportunities 

19 in core academic areas, including more instructional 

20 time in literacy, mathematics, science, history, and 

21 civics in addition to opportunities for language in22 struction and understanding other cultures and the 

23 arts. 

24 (2) Provide evidence-based professional develop25 ment activities with specific benchmarks to enable 


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1 teachers and other school staff to appropriately 

2 monitor academic and behavioral progress of, and 

3 modify curricula and implement accommodations 

4 and assistive technology services for, students with 

5 disabilities, consistent with the students’ individual6 ized education programs under section 614(d) of the 

7 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

8 U.S.C. 1414(d)). 

9 (3) Employ and use instructional coaches, in10 cluding literacy, mathematics, and English learner 

11 coaches. 

12 (4) Provide professional development for con13 tent-area teachers and school librarians on working 

14 effectively with English learners and students with 

15 disabilities, as well as professional development for 

16 English as a second language educators, bilingual 

17 educators, and special education personnel. 

18 (5) Provide professional development in areas 

19 that support improving school climate and increasing 

20 student engagement such as culturally responsive 

21 pedagogy, restorative justice programs, social and 

22 emotional learning, response to intervention, and 

23 positive behavior intervention support. 

24 (6) Encourage and facilitate the sharing of data 

25 among elementary grades, middle grades, secondary 


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1 school grades, institutions of higher education, and 

2 other postsecondary educational institutions. 

3 (7) Create collaborative study groups composed 

4 of principals or middle grades teachers, or both, 

5 among eligible schools within the eligible local edu6 cational agency receiving or participating in the 

7 subgrant, or between such eligible local educational 

8 agency and another local educational agency, with a 

9 focus on developing and sharing methods to increase 

10 student learning and academic achievement. 

11 (8) Incorporate as school quality and student 

12 success indicators into the State system of annual 

13 meaningful differentiation, as described under sec14 tion 1111(c)(4)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary 

15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)(4)(C)), 

16 for middle grades schools that feed into secondary 

17 schools, rates of first-year secondary school attend18 ance, retention, and achievement to the account19 ability system of each middle grades school that 

20 feeds into the secondary school. 

21 (i) NON-RECIPIENT PLANNING SUBGRANTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the subgrants 

23 described in subsection (a), a State educational 

24 agency may (without regard to the preceding provi25 sions of this section) make planning subgrants, and 


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1 provide technical assistance, to eligible local edu2 cational agencies and eligible entities that have not 

3 received a subgrant under subsection (a) to assist 

4 the local educational agencies and eligible entities in 

5 meeting the requirements of subsections (c) and (d). 

6 (2) AMOUNT AND DURATION.—Each subgrant 

7 under this subsection shall be in an amount of not 

8 more than $100,000 and shall be for a period of not 

9 more than 1 year in duration. 

10 SEC. 105. DURATION OF GRANTS; SUPPLEMENT NOT SUP11 PLANT. 

12 (a) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), grants under this title and subgrants 

15 under section 104(a) may not exceed 3 years in du16 ration. 

17 (2) RENEWALS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this title 

19 and subgrants under section 104(a) may be re20 newed in 2-year increments. 

21 (B) CONDITIONS.—In order to be eligible 

22 to have a grant or subgrant renewed under this 

23 paragraph, the grant or subgrant recipient shall 

24 demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the granting 

25 entity, that— 


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1 (i) the recipient has complied with the 

2 terms of the grant or subgrant, including 

3 by undertaking all required activities; and 

4 (ii) during the period of the grant or 

5 subgrant, there has been significant 

6 progress in— 

7 (I) student academic achieve8 ment; and 

9 (II) positively impacting other 

10 key risk factors such as attendance, 

11 chronic absenteeism, and on-time pro12 motion. 

13 (b) FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUP14 PLANT, NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency, 

16 eligible local educational agency, or eligible entity 

17 shall use Federal funds received under this title only 

18 to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 

19 of such Federal funds, be made available from non20 Federal sources for the education of students par21 ticipating in programs assisted under this title, and 

22 not to supplant such funds. 

23 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—Nothing in this title shall 

24 be construed to authorize an officer, employee, or 

25 contractor of the Federal Government to mandate, 


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1 direct, limit, or control a State, local educational 

2 agency, or school’s specific instructional content, 

3 academic achievement standards and assessments, 

4 curriculum, or program of instruction. 

5 SEC. 106. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

6 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

8 the period of the grant, each State educational agency re9 ceiving a grant under this title shall— 

10 (1) conduct an evaluation of the State’s 

11 progress regarding the impact of the changes made 

12 to the policies and practices of the State in accord13 ance with this title, including— 

14 (A) a description of the specific changes 

15 made, or in the process of being made, to poli16 cies and practices as a result of the grant; 

17 (B) a discussion of any barriers hindering 

18 the identified changes in policies and practices, 

19 and implementation strategies to overcome such 

20 barriers; 

21 (C) evidence of the impact of changes to 

22 policies and practices on behavior and actions 

23 at the local educational agency and school level; 

24 and 


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1 (D) evidence of the impact of the changes 

2 to State and local policies and practices on im3 proving measurable learning gains by middle 

4 grades students; 

5 (2) use the results of the evaluation conducted 

6 under paragraph (1) to adjust the policies and prac7 tices of the State as necessary to achieve the pur8 poses of this title; and 

9 (3) submit the results of the evaluation to the 

10 Secretary. 

11 (b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the re12 sults of each State educational agency’s evaluation under 

13 subsection (a) available to other States and local edu14 cational agencies. 

15 (c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

16 an annual basis, each eligible local educational agency and 

17 eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 104(a) 

18 shall report to the State educational agency and to the 

19 public on— 

20 (1) the performance on the school performance 

21 indicators (as described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi)) 

22 for each eligible school served by the eligible local 

23 educational agency or eligible entity, in the aggre24 gate and disaggregated by each of the subgroups of 

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1 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)); and 

3 (2) the use of funds by the eligible local edu4 cational agency or eligible entity and each such 

5 school. 

6 (d) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

7 an annual basis, each State educational agency receiving 

8 grant funds under this title shall report to the Secretary 

9 and to the public on— 

10 (1) the performance of eligible schools in the 

11 State, based on the school performance indicators 

12 described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi), in the aggre13 gate and disaggregated by each of the subgroups of 

14 students, as defined in section 1111(c)(2) of the Ele15 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)); and 

17 (2) the use of such funds by each eligible 

18 school, eligible entity, and eligible local educational 

19 agency in the State receiving such funds. 

20 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Every 2 years, the Sec21 retary shall report to the public and to Congress— 

22 (1) a summary of the State educational agency 

23 reports under subsection (d); and 

24 (2) the use of funds by each State educational 

25 agency under this title. 


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1 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this title— 

4 (1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

5 (2) $525,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

6 (3) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

7 (4) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

8 (5) $650,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

9 TITLE II—RESEARCH 

10 RECOMMENDATIONS 

11 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

12 The purpose of this title is to facilitate the genera13 tion, dissemination, and application of research needed to 

14 identify and implement effective practices that lead to con15 tinual student learning and high academic achievement in 

16 the middle grades. 

17 SEC. 202. STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES. 

18 (a) STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES.— 

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

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

21 shall study and identify promising practices for the 

22 improvement of middle grades education. The Sec23 retary may contract with an independent third 

24 party, such as a nonprofit organization, nongovern25 mental organization, or institution of higher edu26 cation to satisfy this requirement. 


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1 (2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 

2 in paragraph (1) shall identify promising practices 

3 currently being implemented for the improvement of 

4 middle grades education. The study shall be con5 ducted in an open and transparent way that provides 

6 interim information to the public about criteria 

7 being used to identify— 

8 (A) such promising practices; 

9 (B) the practices that are being consid10 ered; and 

11 (C) the kind of evidence needed to docu12 ment effectiveness. 

13 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu14 ant to this subsection shall require that the inde15 pendent third party submit to the Secretary, the 

16 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen17 sions of the Senate, and the Committee on Edu18 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives a 

19 final report regarding the study conducted under 

20 this section not later than 1 year after the date of 

21 the commencement of the contract. 

22 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

23 public and post on the website of the Department of 

24 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

25 this subsection. 


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1 (b) SYNTHESIS STUDY OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

2 AND LEARNING IN MIDDLE GRADES.— 

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

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall enter into a contract with the National Acad6 emies to review existing research on middle grades 

7 education, and on factors that might lead to in8 creased effectiveness and enhanced innovation in 

9 middle grades education. 

10 (2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 

11 in paragraph (1) shall review research on education 

12 programs, practices, and policies and research on 

13 the cognitive, social, and emotional development of 

14 children in the middle grades age range, in order to 

15 provide an enriched understanding of the factors 

16 that might lead to the development of innovative and 

17 effective middle grades programs, practices, and 

18 policies. The study shall focus on— 

19 (A) the areas of curriculum, instruction, 

20 and assessment (including additional supports 

21 for students who are below grade level in read22 ing, writing, mathematics, and science, and the 

23 identification of students with disabilities) to 

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1 cess in secondary school, postsecondary edu2 cation, and cognitively challenging employment; 

3 (B) the quality of (including experience, 

4 certification, and demonstrated effectiveness), 

5 and supports for, the teacher workforce; 

6 (C) aspects of student behavioral and so7 cial development, and of social interactions 

8 within schools that affect the learning of aca9 demic content; 

10 (D) the ways in which schools and local 

11 educational agencies are organized and operated 

12 that may be linked to student outcomes; 

13 (E) how development and use of early 

14 warning indicator and intervention systems can 

15 reduce risk factors for dropping out of school 

16 and low academic achievement; and 

17 (F) identification of areas where further 

18 research and evaluation may be needed on these 

19 topics to further the development of effective 

20 middle grades practices. 

21 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu22 ant to this subsection shall require that the National 

23 Academies submit to the Secretary, the Committee 

24 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

25 Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor 


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1 of the House of Representatives a final report re2 garding the study conducted under this subsection 

3 not later than 2 years after the date of commence4 ment of the contract. 

5 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

6 public and post on the website of the Department of 

7 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

8 this subsection. 

9 (c) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall carry 

10 out each of the following: 

11 (1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordi12 nation with entities such as the What Works Clear13 inghouse of the Institute of Education Sciences, for 

14 research in best practices in the middle grades and 

15 in the approaches that successfully take those best 

16 practices to scale in schools and local educational 

17 agencies. 

18 (2) Create a national middle grades database 

19 accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, 

20 and policymakers that identifies factors at the 

21 school, classroom, and system level that facilitate or 

22 impede student academic achievement in the middle 

23 grades. 

24 (3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences 

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1 ically valid research designed to enhance perform2 ance of schools serving middle grades students, and 

3 of middle grades students who are most at risk of 

4 educational failure, which may be coordinated with 

5 the regional educational laboratories established 

6 under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform 

7 Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564), institutions of higher 

8 education, agencies recognized for their research 

9 work that has been published in peer-reviewed jour10 nals, and organizations that have such regional edu11 cational laboratories. Such research shall target spe12 cific issues such as— 

13 (A) effective practices for instruction and 

14 assessment in mathematics, science, technology, 

15 and literacy; 

16 (B) effective practices for developing in 

17 students the competencies of— 

18 (i) the ability to acquire and use deep 

19 content knowledge to solve problems; 

20 (ii) critical thinking; 

21 (iii) effective communication; 

22 (iv) self-direction; and 

23 (v) the ability to collaborate; 

24 (C) academic interventions for adolescent 

25 English learners; 


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1 (D) school improvement programs and 

2 strategies for closing the academic achievement 

3 gap between the different groups described in 

4 section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary 

5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)), and for decreasing 

7 rates of suspension and expulsion; 

8 (E) evidence-based or, when available, sci9 entifically valid professional development plan10 ning targeted to improve pedagogy and student 

11 academic achievement and student engagement; 

12 and 

13 (F) the effects of decreased class size or 

14 increased instructional and support staff. 

15 (4) Strengthen the work of the existing national 

16 research and development centers under section 

17 133(c) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

18 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9533(c)), as of the date of enact19 ment of this Act, by adding an educational research 

20 and development center dedicated to addressing— 

21 (A) curricular, instructional, and assess22 ment issues pertinent to the middle grades 

23 (such as mathematics, science, technological flu24 ency, and the needs of English learners and 

25 students with disabilities); 


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1 (B) comprehensive reforms for low-per2 forming middle grades; and 

3 (C) other topics pertinent to improving the 

4 academic achievement of middle grades stu5 dents. 

6 (5) Provide grants to nonprofit organizations, 

7 for-profit organizations, institutions of higher edu8 cation, and others to partner with State educational 

9 agencies and local educational agencies to develop, 

10 adapt, or replicate effective models for turning 

11 around low-performing schools serving middle grades 

12 students. 

13 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA14 TIONS. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

17 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, which amount shall re18 main available for obligation through fiscal year 2024. 

19 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 

20 available to carry out this title, the Secretary shall re21 serve— 

22 (1) 2.5 percent for the studies described in sub23 sections (a) and (b) of section 202; 

24 (2) 5 percent for the clearinghouse described in 

25 section 202(c)(1); 


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1 (3) 5 percent for the database described in sec2 tion 202(c)(2); 

3 (4) 42.5 percent for the activities described in 

4 section 202(c)(3); 

5 (5) 15 percent for the activities described in 

6 section 202(c)(4); and 

7 (6) 30 percent for the activities described in 

8 section 202(c)(5). 

Æ 


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