II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1704

To provide for college affordability and high standards.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 6, 1999

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mrs. HUTCHISON) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To provide for college affordability and high standards.

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 High Stand5 ards Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) far too many students are not being pro9 vided sufficient academic preparation in secondary

10 school, which results in limited employment opportu11 nities, college dropout rates of over 25 percent for
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1 the first year of college, and remediation for almost

2 one-third of incoming college freshmen;

3 (2) there is a growing consensus that raising

4 academic standards, establishing high academic ex5 pectations, and showing concrete results are at the

6 core of improving public education;

7 (3) modeling academic standards on the well8 known program of advanced placement courses is an

9 approach that many education leaders and almost

10 half of all States have endorsed;

11 (4) advanced placement programs already are

12 providing 30 different college-level courses, serving

13 almost 60 percent of all secondary schools, reaching

14 over 1,000,000 students (of whom 80 percent attend

15 public schools, 55 percent are females, and 30 per16 cent are minorities), and providing test scores that

17 are accepted for college credit at over 3,000 colleges

18 and universities, every university in Germany,

19 France, and Austria, and most institutions in Can20 ada and the United Kingdom;

21 (5) 24 States are now funding programs to in22 crease participation in advanced placement pro23 grams, including 19 States that provide funds for

24 advanced placement teacher professional develop25 ment, 3 States that require that all public secondary
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1 schools offer advanced placement courses, 10 States

2 that pay the fees for advanced placement tests for

3 some or all students, and 4 States that require that

4 their public universities grant uniform academic

5 credit for scores of 3 or better on advanced place6 ment tests; and

7 (6) the State programs described in paragraph

8 (5) have shown the responsiveness of schools and

9 students to such programs, raised the academic

10 standards for both students participating in such

11 programs and other children taught by teachers who

12 are involved in advanced placement courses, and

13 shown tremendous success in increasing enrollment,

14 achievement, and minority participation in advanced

15 placement programs.

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

17 (1) to encourage more of the 600,000 students

18 who take advanced placement courses but do not

19 take advanced placement exams each year to dem20 onstrate their achievements through taking the

21 exams;

22 (2) to build on the many benefits of advanced

23 placement programs for students, which benefits

24 may include the acquisition of skills that are impor25 tant to many employers, Scholastic Aptitude Tests
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1 (SAT) scores that are 100 points above the national

2 averages, and the achievement of better grades in

3 secondary school and in college than the grades of

4 students who have not participated in the programs;

5 (3) to support State and local efforts to raise

6 academic standards through advanced placement

7 programs, and thus further increase the number of

8 students who participate and succeed in advanced

9 placement programs;

10 (4) to increase the availability and broaden the

11 range of schools that have advanced placement pro12 grams, which programs are still often distributed un13 evenly among regions, States, and even secondary

14 schools within the same school district, while also in15 creasing and diversifying student participation in the

16 programs;

17 (5) to build on the State programs described in

18 subsection (a)(5) and demonstrate that larger and

19 more diverse groups of students can participate and

20 succeed in advanced placement programs;

21 (6) to provide greater access to advanced place22 ment courses for low-income and other disadvan23 taged students; and

24 (7) to provide access to advanced placement

25 courses for secondary school juniors at schools that
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1 do not offer advanced placement programs, increase

2 the rate of secondary school juniors and seniors who

3 participate in advanced placement courses to 25 per4 cent of the secondary school student population, and

5 increase the numbers of students who receive ad6 vanced placement test scores for which college aca7 demic credit is awarded.

8 SEC. 3. ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM GRANTS.

9 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated

11 under the authority of subsection (f) for a fiscal

12 year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a com13 petitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligi14 ble entities to carry out the authorized activities de15 scribed in subsection (c).

16 (2) DURATION AND PAYMENTS.—

17 (A) DURATION.—The Secretary shall

18 award a grant under this section for a period

19 of 3 years.

20 (B) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall

21 make grant payments under this section on an

22 annual basis.

23 (3) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this

24 section, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State
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1 educational agency, or a local educational agency, in

2 the State.

3 (b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec4 tion the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities

5 submitting applications under subsection (d) that

6 demonstrate—

7 (1) a pervasive need for access to advanced

8 placement incentive programs;

9 (2) the involvement of business and community

10 organizations in the activities to be assisted;

11 (3) the availability of matching funds from

12 State or local sources to pay for the cost of activities

13 to be assisted;

14 (4) a focus on developing or expanding ad15 vanced placement programs and participation in the

16 core academic areas of English, mathematics, and

17 science; and

18 (5)(A) in the case of an eligible entity that is

19 a State educational agency, the State educational

20 agency carries out programs in the State that

21 target—

22 (i) local educational agencies serving

23 schools with a high concentration of low-income

24 students; or
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1 (ii) schools with a high concentration of

2 low-income students; or

3 (B) in the case of an eligible entity that is a

4 local educational agency, the local educational agen5 cy serves schools with a high concentration of low6 income students.

7 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity

8 may use grant funds under this section to expand access

9 for low-income individuals to advanced placement incen10 tive programs that involve—

11 (1) teacher training;

12 (2) preadvanced placement course development;

13 (3) curriculum coordination and articulation be14 tween grade levels that prepares students for ad15 vanced placement courses;

16 (4) curriculum development;

17 (5) books and supplies; and

18 (6) any other activity directly related to expand19 ing access to and participation in advanced place20 ment incentive programs particularly for low-income

21 individuals.

22 (d) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desiring a

23 grant under this section shall submit an application to the

24 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied

25 by such information as the Secretary may require.
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1 (e) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—

2 (1) DATA COLLECTION.—Each eligible entity

3 receiving a grant under this section shall annually

4 report to the Secretary—

5 (A) the number of students taking ad6 vanced placement courses who are served by the

7 eligible entity;

8 (B) the number of advanced placement

9 tests taken by students served by the eligible

10 entity;

11 (C) the scores on the advanced placement

12 tests; and

13 (D) demographic information regarding in14 dividuals taking the advanced placement

15 courses and tests disaggregated by race, eth16 nicity, sex, English proficiency status, and so17 cioeconomic status.

18 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually

19 compile the information received from each eligible

20 entity under paragraph (1) and report to Congress

21 regarding the information.

22 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

24 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and such sums as may

25 be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
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1 SEC. 4. ON-LINE ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES.

2 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts appro3 priated under subsection (f) the Secretary shall award

4 grants to local educational agencies to enable the local

5 educational agencies to provide students with on-line ad6 vanced placement courses.

7 (b) CONTRACTS.—A local educational agency that re8 ceives a grant under this section may enter into a contract

9 with a nonprofit or for-profit organization to provide the

10 on-line advanced placement courses, including contracting

11 for necessary support services.

12 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec13 tion the Secretary shall give priority to local educational

14 agencies that—

15 (1) serve high concentrations of low-income stu16 dents;

17 (2) serve rural areas; and

18 (3) the Secretary determines would not have ac19 cess to on-line advanced placement courses without

20 assistance provided under this section.

21 (d) USES.—Grant funds provided under this section

22 may be used to purchase the on-line curriculum, to train

23 teachers with respect to the use of on-line curriculum, or

24 to purchase course materials.

25 (e) APPLICATIONS.—Each local educational agency

26 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an appli-
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1 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner and

2 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may

3 require.

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

6 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may

7 be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

8 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES FOR ADVANCED PLACE9 MENT.

10 (a) DISSEMINATION OF ADVANCED PLACEMENT IN11 FORMATION.—Each institution of higher education receiv12 ing Federal funds for research or for programs assisted

13 under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001

14 et seq.)—

15 (1) shall distribute to secondary school coun16 selors or advanced placement coordinators in the

17 State information with respect to the amount and

18 type of academic credit provided to students at the

19 institution of higher education for advanced place20 ment test scores; and

21 (2) shall standardize, not later than 4 years

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the form

23 and manner in which the information described in

24 paragraph (1) is disseminated by the various depart-
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1 ments, offices, or other divisions of the institution of

2 higher education.

3 (b) STATE AND LOCAL INITIATIVES.—

4 (1) JAVITS GIFTED AND TALENTED STU5 DENTS.—Section 10205(a) of the Elementary and

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

7 8035(a)) is amended—

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’

9 after the semicolon;

10 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe11 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

12 (C) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(3) to programs and projects for gifted and

14 talented students that build on or otherwise incor15 porate advanced placement courses and tests.’’.

16 (2) UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM.—Section 402C

17 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

18 1070a–13) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority in

21 awarding grants under this section to upward bound

22 projects that focus on increasing secondary school student

23 participation and success in advanced placement

24 courses.’’.
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1 (3) EISENHOWER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP2 MENT.—

3 (A) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 2101

4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6621) is amended by

6 adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority in

8 awarding grants and entering into contracts and coopera9 tive agreements under this part to activities that involve

10 training in advanced placement instruction.’’.

11 (B) STATE AND LOCAL ACTIVITIES.—Sec12 tion 2207 of the Elementary and Secondary

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6647) is

14 amended—

15 (i) in paragraph (12), by striking

16 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

17 (ii) in paragraph (13), by striking the

18 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(14) providing professional development activi22 ties involving training in advanced placement in23 struction.’’.

24 (4) TECHNOLOGY.—
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1 (A) STAR SCHOOLS.—Section 3204 of the

2 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6894) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(i) ADVANCED PLACEMENT INSTRUCTION.—Each

6 eligible entity receiving funds under this part is encour7 aged to deliver advanced placement instruction to under8 served communities.’’.

9 (B) EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.—

10 Subpart 2 of part A of title III of the Elemen11 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

12 U.S.C. 6841 et seq.) is amended—

13 (i) in section 3134 (20 U.S.C.

14 6844)—

15 (I) in paragraph (5), by striking

16 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

17 (II) in paragraph (6), by striking

18 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (III) by adding at the end the

20 following:

21 ‘‘(7) providing education technology for ad22 vanced placement instruction.’’; and

23 (ii) in section 3136(c) (20 U.S.C.

24 6846(c))—
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1 (I) in paragraph (4), by striking

2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

3 (II) in paragraph (5), by striking

4 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (III) by adding at the end the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(6) the project will use education technology

8 for advanced placement instruction.’’.

9 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

10 In this Act:

11 (1) ADVANCED PLACEMENT INCENTIVE PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘‘advanced placement incentive

13 program’’ means a program that provides advanced

14 placement activities and services to low-income indi15 viduals.

16 (2) ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST.—The term

17 ‘‘advanced placement test’’ means an advanced

18 placement test administered by the College Board or

19 approved by the Secretary.

20 (3) HIGH CONCENTRATION OF LOW-INCOME

21 STUDENTS.—The term ‘‘high concentration of low22 income students’’, used with respect to a State edu23 cational agency, local educational agency or school,

24 means an agency or school, as the case may be, that

25 serves a student population 40 percent or more of
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1 whom are from families with incomes below the pov2 erty level, as determined in the same manner as the

3 determination is made under section 1124(c)(2) of

4 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(2)).

6 (4) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low7 income individual’’ means a low-income individual

8 (as defined in section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11(g)(2))

10 who is academically prepared to successfully take an

11 advanced placement test as determined by a school

12 teacher or advanced placement coordinator taking

13 into consideration factors such as enrollment and

14 performance in an advanced placement course or su15 perior academic ability.

16 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

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

18 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the

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

20 (6) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; SECONDARY

21 SCHOOL; AND STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The

22 terms ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary

23 school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the

24 meanings given the terms in section 14101 of the
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1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

2 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

3 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

4 the Secretary of Education.

5 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

6 the several States of the United States, the District

7 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

8 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin

9 Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the

10 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of

11 Palau.

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