II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2159

To provide flexibility when merited and accountability when warranted in

the Nation’s elementary schools and secondary schools, to amend the

Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide achievement-based college scholarships to students in failing schools or failing school districts, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 2, 2000

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

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

A BILL

To provide flexibility when merited and accountability when

warranted in the Nation’s elementary schools and secondary schools, to amend the Higher Education Act of

1965 to provide achievement-based college scholarships

to students in failing schools or failing school districts,

and for other purposes.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Excellent Schools for All Our Children Act’’.
2

•S 2159 IS

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I— FUNDING FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

EDUCATION

Sec. 101. Findings; purposes.

Sec. 102. Definitions.

Sec. 103. Direct awards to local educational agencies.

Sec. 104. Requirements for failing local educational agencies.

Sec. 105. Audit.

Sec. 106. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 107. Repeals.

TITLE II—GOOD STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Sec. 201. Good student scholarships.

3 TITLE I— FUNDING FOR ELE4 MENTARY AND SECONDARY

5 EDUCATION

6 SEC. 101. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) education should be a national priority, but

9 must remain a local responsibility;

10 (2) elementary schools and secondary schools

11 perform best when controlled by parents, teachers,

12 local school boards, and communities;

13 (3) only through initiatives led by parents,

14 teachers, and local communities with the power to

15 act can the United States elevate the educational

16 performance of its students toward excellence;
3

•S 2159 IS

1 (4) parental involvement, high-quality teacher

2 performance, and teaching basic skills are funda3 mental to improving student achievement;

4 (5) educational resources are most effective

5 when deployed in the classroom and unencumbered

6 by burdensome regulations;

7 (6) schools and education professionals must be

8 accountable to the people and children they serve;

9 (7) flexibility when merited and accountability

10 when warranted should be the Federal Government’s

11 approach to the use of Federal education resources;

12 and

13 (8) the Federal Government should encourage

14 better, smarter uses of Federal funds where the need

15 is greatest, specifically, in failing school districts, so

16 that children in those districts will have a real op17 portunity to achieve academic excellence and create

18 a brighter future for themselves.

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—

20 (1) to promote excellence in elementary and sec21 ondary education programs in the Nation;

22 (2) to increase parental involvement in the edu23 cation of their children;

24 (3) to boost student achievement in academic

25 subjects to high levels;
4

•S 2159 IS

1 (4) to improve basic skills instruction, and to

2 increase teacher performance and accountability;

3 (5) to return the responsibility and control for

4 education to parents, teachers, schools, and local

5 communities;

6 (6) to improve the academic achievement of all

7 students, and to focus the resources of the Federal

8 Government upon such achievement, especially in

9 failing school districts; and

10 (7) to give States and communities maximum

11 freedom in determining how to boost academic

12 achievement and implement education reforms.

13 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

14 In this title:

15 (1) FAILING LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

16 The term ‘‘failing local educational agency’’ means

17 a local educational agency that has been classified as

18 unaccredited or failing (or would be so classified if

19 not for a court order or pending court settlement

20 agreement involving the local educational agency)

21 under its State’s performance-based accreditation or

22 categorization standards.

23 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

24 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given
5

•S 2159 IS

1 the term in section 14101 of the Elementary and

2 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

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

4 the Secretary of Education.

5 (4) 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 Commonwealth of the

9 Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin

10 Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the

11 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of

12 Palau.

13 SEC. 103. DIRECT AWARDS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN14 CIES.

15 (a) DIRECT AWARDS.—Except as provided in section

16 104, from amounts appropriated under section 106(a) and

17 not used to carry out section 106(b), the Secretary shall

18 make direct awards to local educational agencies in

19 amounts determined under subsection (b) to enable the

20 local educational agencies to support programs or activi21 ties, for kindergarten through grade 12 students, that the

22 local educational agencies deem appropriate.

23 (b) DETERMINATION OF AWARD AMOUNT.—

24 (1) PER CHILD AMOUNT.—The Secretary, using

25 the information provided under subsection (c), shall
6

•S 2159 IS

1 determine a per child amount for a year by dividing

2 the total amount appropriated under section 106(a)

3 for the year, by the average daily attendance of kin4 dergarten through grade 12 students in all States

5 for the preceding year.

6 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AWARD.—

7 The Secretary, using the information provided under

8 subsection (c), shall determine the amount to be pro9 vided to each local educational agency under this

10 section for a year by multiplying—

11 (A) the per child amount determined under

12 paragraph (1) for the year; by

13 (B) the average daily attendance of kinder14 garten through grade 12 students that are

15 served by the local educational agency for the

16 preceding year.

17 (c) CENSUS DETERMINATION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 1

19 of each year, each local educational agency shall con20 duct a census to determine the average daily attend21 ance of kindergarten through grade 12 students

22 served by the local educational agency.

23 (2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than March 1 of

24 each year, each local educational agency shall submit
7

•S 2159 IS

1 the number described in paragraph (1) to the Sec2 retary.

3 (3) PENALTY.—If the Secretary determines

4 that a local educational agency has knowingly sub5 mitted false information under paragraph (1) for the

6 purpose of gaining additional funds under this sec7 tion, then the local educational agency shall be fined

8 an amount equal to twice the difference between the

9 amount the local educational agency received under

10 this section, and the correct amount the local edu11 cational agency would have received under this sec12 tion if the agency had submitted accurate informa13 tion under paragraph (1).

14 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS FOR FAILING LOCAL EDU15 CATIONAL AGENCIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a failing local edu17 cational agency receiving an award under section 103(a)

18 for a fiscal year, such failing local educational agency shall

19 use such award only for purposes directly related to im20 proving elementary school and secondary school students’

21 academic performance consistent with subsection (d).

22 (b) TITLE I FUNDING.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

24 provision of law, funds provided to a failing local

25 educational agency under title I of the Elementary
8

•S 2159 IS

1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

2 6301 et seq.) shall be spent in accordance with this

3 section.

4 (2) APPLICABILITY PROVISION.—The provisions

5 of parts A, B, C, and D of title I of the Elementary

6 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall not

7 apply to a failing local educational agency other than

8 the allocation and allotment provisions under part A

9 of such title.

10 (c) FAILING LOCAL AGENCY PLAN.—

11 (1) PLAN REQUIRED.—Each failing local edu12 cational agency shall submit a plan to the Secretary

13 at such time and in such manner as the Secretary

14 may require. A plan submitted under this

15 subsection—

16 (A) shall describe the activities to be fund17 ed by the failing local educational agency under

18 subsections (a) and (b) consistent with sub19 section (d); and

20 (B) may request an exemption from the

21 uses of funds restrictions under subsection (d)

22 for elementary schools and secondary schools

23 served by the failing local educational agency

24 that met the State’s performance-based accredi-
9

•S 2159 IS

1 tation or categorization standards for the pre2 vious fiscal year.

3 (2) PLAN APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall ap4 prove a plan submitted under paragraph (1) if the

5 plan meets the requirements described in paragraph

6 (1).

7 (3) PLAN DISSEMINATION.—Each failing local

8 educational agency having a plan approved under

9 paragraph (2) shall widely disseminate such plan,

10 throughout the area served by such agency, and post

11 the plan on the Internet.

12 (d) USES OF FUNDS.—Each failing local educational

13 agency having a plan approved under subsection (c)(2) for

14 a fiscal year may use the award provided under section

15 103(a) and funds provided under title I of the Elementary

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301

17 et seq.) for such fiscal year only for the following activi18 ties:

19 (1) To recruit, retain, and reward high-quality

20 teachers.

21 (2) To focus on teaching basic educational

22 skills.

23 (3) To provide remedial instruction in core aca24 demic subjects that are assessed by standards set by
10

•S 2159 IS

1 the State educational agency or local educational

2 agency.

3 (4) To fund mentoring programs for elementary

4 school and secondary school students who need as5 sistance in reading, writing, or arithmetic.

6 (5) To use proven methods of instruction, such

7 as phonics, that are based upon reliable research.

8 (6) To provide for extended day learning.

9 (7) To ensure that parents of elementary school

10 and secondary school students realize that parents

11 play a significant role in their child’s educational

12 success, and to encourage parents to become active

13 in their child’s education.

14 (8) To provide any other activity that a local

15 educational agency proposes, and the Secretary ap16 proves, as an activity that relates directly to improv17 ing students’ academic performance.

18 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—

19 (1) REPORT.—A failing local educational agen20 cy shall annually submit a report to the Secretary

21 describing—

22 (A) the use of funds under this section;

23 and

24 (B) the annual performance of all children

25 served by the failing local educational agency as
11

•S 2159 IS

1 measured by its State’s performance-based ac2 creditation or categorization standards.

3 (2) PRIVACY.—The report required under this

4 section shall not contain any information, such as

5 names, addresses, or grades, that might be used to

6 identify the children whose performance is described

7 in the report.

8 (3) DISSEMINATION.—A failing local edu9 cational agency shall widely disseminate the report

10 submitted under paragraph (1) throughout the area

11 served by such agency, and post the report on the

12 Internet, so that parents and others in the commu13 nity can account for Federal education funding

14 under this title.

15 (f) MEETING STANDARDS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, for 2 consecutive fiscal

17 years after a failing local educational agency is re18 quired to use funds in accordance with subsection

19 (d), such local educational agency succeeds in meet20 ing its State’s performance-based accreditation or

21 categorization standards, then the provisions of this

22 section shall cease to apply to such local educational

23 agency.

24 (2) BONUS AWARDS.—
12

•S 2159 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A local educational

2 agency described in paragraph (1) may receive

3 a bonus award from amounts appropriated

4 under subparagraph (C), to use for purposes

5 such as rewarding elementary school and sec6 ondary school teachers and principals who im7 proved student performance, and for profes8 sional development opportunities for such teach9 ers and principals.

10 (B) DISTRIBUTION.—A local educational

11 agency receiving a bonus award under this

12 paragraph shall determine how to distribute the

13 award to individual elementary schools and sec14 ondary schools. An elementary school or a sec15 ondary school receiving such an award shall de16 termine how such award shall be spent.

17 (C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA18 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated to carry out this paragraph

20 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003

21 through 2007.

22 (g) PENALTY.—If a failing local educational agency

23 spends funds subject to the use of funds restrictions de24 scribed in subsection (d) in a manner inconsistent with

25 subsection (d) for a fiscal year, then the Secretary shall
13

•S 2159 IS

1 reduce the funds such agency receives under section

2 103(a) for the succeeding fiscal year by an amount equal

3 to the amount spent improperly by such agency.

4 SEC. 105. AUDIT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct audits

6 of the expenditures of local educational agencies to ensure

7 that the funds made available under this title are used

8 in accordance with this title.

9 (b) SANCTIONS AND PENALTIES.—If the Secretary

10 determines that the funds made available under this title

11 were not used in accordance with the title, the Secretary

12 may use the enforcement provisions available to the Sec13 retary under part D of the General Education Provisions

14 Act (20 U.S.C. 1234 et seq.).

15 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title

18 $3,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as

19 may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

20 (b) MULTIYEAR AWARDS.—The Secretary shall use

21 funds appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal

22 year to continue to make payments to eligible recipients

23 pursuant to any multiyear award made prior to the date

24 of enactment of this Act under the provisions of law re-
14

•S 2159 IS

1 pealed under section 103(b). The payments shall be made

2 for the duration of the multiyear award.

3 (c) DISBURSAL.—The Secretary shall disburse the

4 amount awarded to a local educational agency under this

5 title for a fiscal year not later than July 1 of each year.

6 SEC. 107. REPEALS.

7 The following provisions of law are repealed:

8 (1) Section 1502 of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6492).

10 (2) Section 3132 of the Elementary and Sec11 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. et seq.).

12 (3) Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301).

14 (4) Part C of title VII of the Elementary and

15 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7541).

16 (5) Part A of title X of the Elementary and

17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8001

18 et seq.).

19 (6) Title III of The Goals 2000: Educate Amer20 ica Act (20 U.S.C. 5881 et seq.).

21 (7) Title IV of The Goals 2000: Educate Amer22 ica Act (20 U.S.C. 5911 et seq.).

23 (8) The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of

24 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.).
15

•S 2159 IS

1 (9) Subtitle B of title VII of the Stewart B.

2 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

3 11431 et seq.).

4 (10) Section 307 of the Department of Edu5 cation Appropriations Act of 1999.

6 TITLE II—GOOD STUDENT

7 SCHOLARSHIPS

8 SEC. 201. GOOD STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS.

9 Part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of

10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following:

12 ‘‘Subpart 9—Good Student Scholarships

13 ‘‘SEC. 420N. GOOD STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS.

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

15 provide achievement-based scholarships for undergraduate

16 education to eligible students graduating from schools or

17 school districts that are failing or unaccredited.

18 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—In this

19 section, the term ‘eligible student’ means a secondary

20 school student—

21 ‘‘(1) who graduates from a public secondary

22 school or a public or private secondary school in a

23 school district that is failing or unaccredited, as de24 termined by the State educational agency serving the
16

•S 2159 IS

1 State in which the secondary school or school dis2 trict is located;

3 ‘‘(2) who has been in attendance at the school

4 referred to in paragraph (1) for not less than 2

5 years;

6 ‘‘(3) who ranks in the top 10 percent academi7 cally in such student’s class;

8 ‘‘(4) who has an average ACT or SAT score

9 that is equal to or greater than the national average

10 such score; and

11 ‘‘(5) whose family income is not more than

12 $100,000.

13 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION.—Scholarships made under this

14 section shall be referred to as ‘Good Student Scholar15 ships’.

16 ‘‘(d) SCHOLARSHIPS AUTHORIZED.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro18 priated under subsection (f) for a fiscal year, the

19 Secretary shall award scholarships to each eligible

20 student submitting an application consistent with

21 paragraph (2) to enable the eligible student to pay

22 the cost of attendance at an institution of higher

23 education during the eligible student’s first 4 aca24 demic years of undergraduate education.
17

•S 2159 IS

1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Each eligible

2 student desiring a scholarship under this section for

3 year shall submit for each such year an application

4 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and

5 containing such information as the Secretary may

6 reasonably require.

7 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF AWARD.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

9 subparagraph (B), the amount of a scholarship

10 awarded under this section for an academic

11 year shall be equal to the maximum appro12 priated Federal Pell Grant for such year.

13 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT FOR INSUFFICIENT AP14 PROPRIATIONS.—If, after the Secretary deter15 mines the total number of eligible applicants for

16 an academic year, funds available to carry out

17 this section are insufficient to fully fund all

18 scholarship awards under subparagraph (A) for

19 such academic year, the amount of the scholar20 ship paid to each eligible student shall be re21 duced proportionately.

22 ‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE NOT TO EXCEED COST

23 OF ATTENDANCE.—The amount of a scholar24 ship awarded under this paragraph to an eligi25 ble student, in combination with Federal Pell
18

•S 2159 IS

1 Grant assistance and any other student finan2 cial assistance the eligible student receives, may

3 not exceed the eligible student’s cost of attend4 ance.

5 ‘‘(e) LISTS FROM STATE EDUCATIONAL AGEN6 CIES.—Each State educational agency shall annually pro7 vide a list to the Secretary identifying each public sec8 ondary school and each public school district within the

9 State that the State educational agency determines is fail10 ing or unaccredited.

11 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this

13 section—

14 ‘‘(1) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

15 ‘‘(2) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

16 ‘‘(3) $225,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

17 ‘‘(4) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

Æ