II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1703

To establish America’s education goals.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 6, 1999

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

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

A BILL

To establish America’s education goals.

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

3 TITLE I—AMERICA’S EDUCATION

4 GOALS

5 SEC. 101. PURPOSE.

6 The purpose of this title is to establish America’s

7 Education Goals.

8 SEC. 102. AMERICA’S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS.

9 Congress declares that America’s Education Goals

10 are the following:

11 (1) SCHOOL READINESS.—(A) All children in

12 America will start school ready to learn.
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1 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

2 (i) all children will have access to high3 quality and developmentally appropriate pre4 school programs that help prepare children for

5 school;

6 (ii) every parent in the United States will

7 be a child’s first teacher and devote time each

8 day to helping such parent’s preschool child

9 learn, and parents will have access to the train10 ing and support parents need; and

11 (iii) children will receive the nutrition,

12 physical activity experiences, and health care

13 needed to arrive at school with healthy minds

14 and bodies, and to maintain the mental alert15 ness necessary to be prepared to learn, and the

16 number of low-birthweight babies will be signifi17 cantly reduced through enhanced prenatal

18 health systems.

19 (2) SCHOOL COMPLETION.—(A) The high

20 school graduation rate will increase to at least 90

21 percent.

22 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

23 (i) the Nation must dramatically reduce its

24 school dropout rate, and 75 percent of the stu-
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1 dents who do drop out will successfully com2 plete a high school degree or its equivalent; and

3 (ii) the gap in high school graduation rates

4 between American students from minority back5 grounds and their non-minority counterparts

6 will be eliminated.

7 (3) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZEN8 SHIP.—(A) All students will leave grades 4, 8, and

9 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging

10 subject matter including English, mathematics,

11 science, foreign languages, civics and government,

12 economics, arts, history, and geography, and every

13 school in America will ensure that all students learn

14 to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for

15 responsible citizenship, further learning, and produc16 tive employment in our Nation’s modern economy.

17 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

18 (i) the academic performance of all stu19 dents at the elementary and secondary level will

20 increase significantly in every quartile, and the

21 distribution of minority students in each quar22 tile will more closely reflect the student popu23 lation as a whole;

24 (ii) the percentage of all students who

25 demonstrate the ability to reason, solve prob-
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1 lems, apply knowledge, and write and commu2 nicate effectively will increase substantially;

3 (iii) all students will be involved in activi4 ties that promote and demonstrate good citizen5 ship, good health, community service, and per6 sonal responsibility;

7 (iv) all students will have access to phys8 ical education and health education to ensure

9 they are healthy and fit;

10 (v) the percentage of all students who are

11 competent in more than one language will sub12 stantially increase; and

13 (vi) all students will be knowledgeable

14 about the diverse cultural heritage of this Na15 tion and about the world community.

16 (4) TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL

17 DEVELOPMENT.—(A) The Nation’s teaching force

18 will have access to programs for the continued im19 provement of their professional skills and the oppor20 tunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to

21 instruct and prepare all American students for the

22 next century.

23 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

24 (i) all teachers will have access to

25 preservice teacher education and continuing
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1 professional development activities that will pro2 vide such teachers with the knowledge and skills

3 needed to teach to an increasingly diverse stu4 dent population with a variety of educational,

5 social, and health needs;

6 (ii) all teachers will have continuing oppor7 tunities to acquire additional knowledge and

8 skills needed to teach challenging subject mat9 ter and to use emerging new methods, forms of

10 assessment, and technologies;

11 (iii) States and school districts will create

12 integrated strategies to attract, recruit, pre13 pare, retrain, and support the continued profes14 sional development of teachers, administrators,

15 and other educators, so that there is a highly

16 talented work force of professional educators to

17 teach challenging subject matter; and

18 (iv) partnerships will be established, when19 ever possible, among local educational agencies,

20 institutions of higher education, parents, and

21 local labor, business, and professional associa22 tions to provide and support programs for the

23 professional development of educators.
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1 (5) MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.—(A) United

2 States students will be first in the world in mathe3 matics and science achievement.

4 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

5 (i) mathematics and science education, in6 cluding the metric system of measurement, will

7 be strengthened throughout the system, espe8 cially in the early grades;

9 (ii) the number of teachers with a sub10 stantive background in mathematics and

11 science, including the metric system of meas12 urement, will increase by 50 percent; and

13 (iii) the number of United States under14 graduate and graduate students, especially

15 women and minorities, who complete degrees in

16 mathematics, science, and engineering will in17 crease significantly.

18 (6) ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARN19 ING.—(A) Every adult American will be literate and

20 will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to

21 compete in a global economy and exercise the rights

22 and responsibilities of citizenship.

23 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—
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1 (i) every major American business will be

2 involved in strengthening the connection be3 tween education and work;

4 (ii) all workers will have the opportunity to

5 acquire the knowledge and skills, from basic to

6 highly technical, needed to adapt to emerging

7 new technologies, work methods, and markets

8 through public and private educational, voca9 tional, technical, workplace, or other programs;

10 (iii) the number of quality programs, in11 cluding those at libraries, that are designed to

12 serve more effectively the needs of the growing

13 number of part-time and midcareer students

14 will increase substantially;

15 (iv) the proportion of the qualified stu16 dents, especially minorities, who enter college,

17 who complete at least two years, and who com18 plete their degree programs will increase sub19 stantially;

20 (v) the proportion of college graduates who

21 demonstrate an advanced ability to think criti22 cally, communicate effectively, and solve prob23 lems will increase substantially; and

24 (vi) schools, in implementing comprehen25 sive parent involvement programs, will offer
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1 more adult literacy, parent training and life2 long learning opportunities to improve the ties

3 between home and school, and enhance parents’

4 work and home lives.

5 (7) SAFE, DISCIPLINED, AND ALCOHOL- AND

6 DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS.—(A) Every school in the

7 United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the

8 unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and

9 will offer a disciplined environment conducive to

10 learning.

11 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

12 (i) every school will implement a firm and

13 fair policy on use, possession, and distribution

14 of drugs and alcohol;

15 (ii) parents, businesses, governmental and

16 community organizations will work together to

17 ensure the rights of students to study in a safe

18 and secure environment that is free of drugs

19 and crime, and that schools provide a healthy

20 environment and are a safe haven for all chil21 dren;

22 (iii) every local educational agency will de23 velop and implement a policy to ensure that all

24 schools are free of violence and the unauthor25 ized presence of weapons;
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1 (iv) every local educational agency will de2 velop a sequential, comprehensive kindergarten

3 through twelfth grade drug and alcohol preven4 tion education program;

5 (v) drug and alcohol curriculum should be

6 taught as an integral part of sequential, com7 prehensive health education;

8 (vi) community-based teams should be or9 ganized to provide students and teachers with

10 needed support; and

11 (vii) every school should work to eliminate

12 sexual harassment.

13 (8) PARENTAL PARTICIPATION.—(A) Every

14 school will promote partnerships that will increase

15 parental involvement and participation in promoting

16 the social, emotional, and academic growth of chil17 dren.

18 (B) The objectives for this goal are that—

19 (i) every State will develop policies to as20 sist local schools and local educational agencies

21 to establish programs for increasing partner22 ships that respond to the varying needs of par23 ents and the home, including parents of chil24 dren who are disadvantaged or bilingual, or

25 parents of children with disabilities;
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1 (ii) every school will actively engage par2 ents and families in a partnership which sup3 ports the academic work of children at home

4 and shared educational decisionmaking at

5 school; and

6 (iii) parents and families will help to en7 sure that schools are adequately supported and

8 will hold schools and teachers to high standards

9 of accountability.

10 TITLE II—AMERICA’S

11 EDUCATION GOALS PANEL

12 SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

13 It is the purpose of this title to support a bipartisan

14 mechanism for—

15 (1) building a national consensus for education

16 improvement;

17 (2) reporting on progress toward achieving

18 America’s Education Goals; and

19 (3) encouraging the development and use of

20 challenging academic content and student perform21 ance standards.

22 SEC. 202. AMERICA’S EDUCATION GOALS PANEL.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex24 ecutive branch an ‘‘America’s Education Goals Panel’’

25 (hereafter in this title referred to as the ‘‘Goals Panel’’)
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1 to advise the President, the Secretary of Education (here2 after in this title referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), and Con3 gress.

4 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Goals Panel shall be com5 posed of 18 members (hereafter in this title referred to

6 as ‘‘members’’), including—

7 (1) 2 members appointed by the President;

8 (2) 8 members who are Governors, 3 of whom

9 shall be from the same political party as the Presi10 dent and 5 of whom shall be from the opposite polit11 ical party of the President, appointed by the Chair12 person and Vice Chairperson of the National Gov13 ernors’ Association, with the Chairperson and Vice

14 Chairperson each appointing representatives of such

15 Chairperson’s or Vice Chairperson’s respective polit16 ical party, in consultation with each other;

17 (3) 4 Members of Congress, of whom—

18 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the

19 Majority Leader of the Senate from among the

20 Members of the Senate;

21 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the

22 Minority Leader of the Senate from among the

23 Members of the Senate;

24 (C) 1 member shall be appointed by the

25 Majority Leader of the House of Representa-
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1 tives from among the Members of the House of

2 Representatives; and

3 (D) 1 member shall be appointed by the

4 Minority Leader of the House of Representa5 tives from among the Members of the House of

6 Representatives; and

7 (4) 4 members of State legislatures appointed

8 by the President of the National Conference of State

9 Legislatures, of whom 2 shall be of the same polit10 ical party as the President of the United States.

11 (c) SPECIAL APPOINTMENT RULES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members appointed pur13 suant to subsection (b)(2) shall be appointed as fol14 lows:

15 (A) If the Chairperson of the National

16 Governors’ Association is from the same polit17 ical party as the President, the Chairperson

18 shall appoint 3 individuals and the Vice Chair19 person of such association shall appoint 5 indi20 viduals.

21 (B) If the Chairperson of the National

22 Governors’ Association is from the opposite po23 litical party as the President, the Chairperson

24 shall appoint 5 individuals and the Vice Chair-
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1 person of such association shall appoint 3 indi2 viduals.

3 (2) REPRESENTATION.—To the extent feasible,

4 the membership of the Goals Panel shall be geo5 graphically representative and reflect the racial, eth6 nic, and gender diversity of the United States.

7 (d) TERMS.—The terms of service of members shall

8 be as follows:

9 (1) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Members ap10 pointed under subsection (b)(1) shall serve at the

11 pleasure of the President.

12 (2) GOVERNORS.—Members appointed under

13 subsection (b)(2) shall serve for 2-year terms.

14 (3) CONGRESSIONAL APPOINTEES AND STATE

15 LEGISLATORS.—Members appointed under para16 graphs (3) and (4) of subsection (b) shall serve for

17 2-year terms.

18 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Goals Panel shall

19 not affect the powers of the Goals Panel, but shall be filled

20 in the same manner as the original appointment.

21 (f) TRAVEL.—Each member may be allowed travel

22 expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as au23 thorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code,

24 for each day the member is engaged in the performance
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1 of duties for the Goals Panel away from the home or reg2 ular place of business of the member.

3 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members shall select a

5 Chairperson from among the members.

6 (2) TERM AND POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—The

7 Chairperson of the Goals Panel shall serve a 1-year

8 term and shall alternate between political parties.

9 (h) EX OFFICIO MEMBER.—If the President has not

10 appointed the Secretary as 1 of the 2 members the Presi11 dent appoints pursuant to subsection (b)(1), then the Sec12 retary shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member of the

13 Goals Panel.

14 SEC. 203. DUTIES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Goals Panel shall—

16 (1) report to the President, the Secretary, and

17 Congress regarding the progress the Nation and the

18 States are making toward achieving America’s Edu19 cation Goals established under title I of this Act, in20 cluding issuing an annual report;

21 (2) encourage the development and use of chal22 lenging academic content standards and student per23 formance standards;

24 (3) report on promising or effective actions

25 being taken at the national, State, and local levels,
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1 and in the public and private sectors, to achieve

2 America’s Education Goals; and

3 (4) help build a nationwide, bipartisan con4 sensus for the reforms necessary to achieve Amer5 ica’s Education Goals.

6 (b) REPORT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Goals Panel shall annu8 ally prepare and submit to the President, the Sec9 retary, the appropriate committees of Congress, and

10 the Governor of each State a report that shall—

11 (A) report on the progress of the United

12 States toward achieving America’s Education

13 Goals; and

14 (B) identify actions that should be taken

15 by Federal, State, and local governments to en16 hance progress toward achieving America’s

17 Education Goals and to provide all students

18 with a fair opportunity-to-learn.

19 (2) FORM; DATA.—Reports shall be presented

20 in a form, and include data, that are understandable

21 to parents and the general public.

22 SEC. 204. POWERS OF THE GOALS PANEL.

23 (a) HEARINGS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Goals Panel shall, for

25 the purpose of carrying out this title, conduct such
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1 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take

2 such testimony, and receive such evidence, as the

3 Goals Panel considers appropriate.

4 (2) REPRESENTATION.—In carrying out this

5 title, the Goals Panel shall conduct hearings to re6 ceive reports, views, and analyses of a broad spec7 trum of experts and the public on the establishment

8 and use of challenging academic content standards,

9 student performance standards, and State assess10 ments.

11 (b) INFORMATION.—The Goals Panel may secure di12 rectly from any department or agency of the United States

13 information necessary to enable the Goals Panel to carry

14 out this title. Upon request of the Chairperson of the

15 Goals Panel, the head of a department or agency shall

16 furnish such information to the Goals Panel to the extent

17 permitted by law.

18 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Goals Panel may use

19 the United States mail in the same manner and under the

20 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

21 United States.

22 (d) USE OF FACILITIES.—The Goals Panel may, with

23 consent of any agency or instrumentality of the United

24 States, or of any State or political subdivision thereof, use

25 the research, equipment, services, and facilities of such
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1 agency, instrumentality, State, or subdivision, respec2 tively.

3 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND SUP4 PORT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide

6 to the Goals Panel, on a reimbursable basis, such

7 administrative support services as the Goals Panel

8 may request.

9 (2) CONTRACTS AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS.—

10 The Secretary, to the extent appropriate, and on a

11 reimbursable basis, shall make contracts and other

12 arrangements that are requested by the Goals Panel

13 to help the Goals Panel compile and analyze data or

14 carry out other functions necessary to the perform15 ance of such responsibilities.

16 (f) GIFTS.—The Goals Panel may accept, administer,

17 and utilize gifts or donations of services, money, or prop18 erty, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible.

19 SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

20 (a) MEETINGS.—The Goals Panel shall meet on a

21 regular basis, as necessary, at the call of the Chairperson

22 of the Goals Panel or a majority of its members.

23 (b) QUORUM.—A majority of the members shall con24 stitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

25 (c) VOTING AND FINAL DECISION.—
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1 (1) VOTING.—No individual may vote, or exer2 cise any of the powers of a member, by proxy.

3 (2) FINAL DECISIONS.—(A) In making final de4 cisions of the Goals Panel with respect to the exer5 cise of its duties and powers the Goals Panel shall

6 operate on the principle of consensus among the

7 members of the Goals Panel.

8 (B) Except as otherwise provided in this title,

9 if a vote of the membership of the Goals Panel is re10 quired to reach a final decision with respect to the

11 exercise of its duties and powers, then such final de12 cision shall be made by a three-fourths vote of the

13 members of the Goals Panel who are present and

14 voting.

15 (d) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Goals Panel shall ensure

16 public access to its proceedings (other than proceedings,

17 or portions of proceedings, relating to internal personnel

18 and management matters) and make available to the pub19 lic, at reasonable cost, transcripts of such proceedings.

20 SEC. 206. DIRECTOR AND STAFF; EXPERTS AND CONSULT21 ANTS.

22 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Chairperson of the Goals Panel,

23 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

24 Code, relating to the appointment and compensation of of25 ficers or employees of the United States, shall appoint a
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1 Director of the Goals Panel to be paid at a rate not to

2 exceed the rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Ex3 ecutive Schedule.

4 (b) APPOINTMENT AND PAY OF EMPLOYEES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) The Director may ap6 point not more than 4 additional employees to serve

7 as staff to the Goals Panel without regard to the

8 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing

9 appointments in the competitive service.

10 (B) The employees appointed under subpara11 graph (A) may be paid without regard to the provi12 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

13 of that title relating to classification and General

14 Schedule pay rates, but shall not be paid a rate that

15 exceeds the maximum rate of basic pay payable for

16 GS–15 of the General Schedule.

17 (2) ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES.—The Director

18 may appoint additional employees to serve as staff

19 to the Goals Panel in accordance with title 5, United

20 States Code.

21 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Goals Panel

22 may procure temporary and intermittent services of ex23 perts and consultants under section 3109(b) of title 5,

24 United States Code.
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1 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon the re2 quest of the Goals Panel, the head of any department or

3 agency of the United States may detail any of the per4 sonnel of such agency to the Goals Panel to assist the

5 Goals Panel in its duties under this title.

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