II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1185 

To provide grants to States to improve high schools and raise graduation 

rates while ensuring rigorous standards, to develop and implement effective school models for struggling students and dropouts, and to improve 

State policies to raise graduation rates, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2007 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. BURR, and Mr. KENNEDY) 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 improve high schools and 

raise graduation rates while ensuring rigorous standards, 

to develop and implement effective school models for 

struggling students and dropouts, and to improve State 

policies to raise graduation rates, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Graduation Promise 

5 Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘local educational 

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

3 agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec4 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 (2) GRADUATION RATE.—The term ‘‘graduation 

7 rate’’ (except when used as part of the term ‘‘aver8 aged freshmen graduation rate’’) has the meaning 

9 given the term in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the 

10 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)). 

12 (3) HIGH-PRIORITY.—The term ‘‘high-priority’’, 

13 when used with respect to a secondary school, means 

14 a school that— 

15 (A) has low student achievement; and 

16 (B)(i) has a low graduation rate; or 

17 (ii) feeds students into a high school that 

18 has a low graduation rate. 

19 (4) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 

20 means a secondary school in which the— 

21 (A) entering grade of the school is not 

22 lower than grade 6; and 

23 (B) highest grade of the school is— 

24 (i) grade 12; or 

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1 (ii) in the case of a secondary school 

2 approved by a State to issue a regular di3 ploma concurrently with a postsecondary 

4 degree or with not more than 2 years’ 

5 worth of postsecondary academic credit, 

6 grade 13. 

7 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

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

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

11 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Education. 

13 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

14 the several States of the United States, the District 

15 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

16 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

17 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

18 Islands, and the Republic of Palau. 

19 TITLE I—HIGH SCHOOL IM20 PROVEMENT AND DROPOUT 

21 REDUCTION FUND 

22 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

23 The Senate finds the following: 

24 (1) About a third of our Nation’s high school 

25 students fail to graduate in 4 years, and another 

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1 third graduate without the skills and knowledge 

2 needed to succeed in college or the workplace. The 

3 outcomes for minority students are even worse: only 

4 about 52 percent of Hispanic, 56 percent of African5 American, and 57 percent of Native-American stu6 dents graduate on time, compared to 78 percent of 

7 white students. 

8 (2) More than a decade after Congress declared 

9 a national goal that 90 percent of American high 

10 school students graduate from high school we are far 

11 from that target and graduation rates have stag12 nated. 

13 (3) Half of the Nation’s dropouts attend a 

14 ‘‘dropout factory’’—schools where 40 percent or 

15 more of the freshman class has disappeared by the 

16 time the students reach their senior year. These 

17 schools, which are located in nearly every State, pri18 marily serve minority and poor students, and have 

19 fewer resources and less qualified teachers than 

20 schools in more affluent neighborhoods with larger 

21 numbers of white students. In fact, almost half of 

22 African-American students and nearly 40 percent of 

23 Latino students—compared to only 11 percent of 

24 white students—attend high schools in which grad25 uation is not the norm. 

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1 (4) If the Nation’s high schools and colleges 

2 raise the graduation rates of Hispanic, African3 American, and Native-American students to the lev4 els of white students by 2020, the potential increase 

5 in personal income across the Nation would add, 

6 conservatively, more than $310,000,000,000 to the 

7 United States economy. 

8 (5) If the high school graduation rate for male 

9 students increased by just 5 percent, the Nation 

10 could save almost $5,000,000,000 a year in reduced 

11 spending on crime-related expenses such as prisons 

12 and medical costs for victims. An additional 

13 $2,700,000,000 could be generated in income if 

14 these high school graduates went on to college at the 

15 same rate as other male students. 

16 (6) A high school diploma is increasingly impor17 tant for success in the 21st century economy. In 

18 fact, an estimated 80 percent of current jobs and 

19 approximately 90 percent of the fastest-growing, 

20 highest-paying jobs require some sort of education 

21 beyond high school. 

22 (7) The Nation spends more than 

23 $1,400,000,000 a year to provide remedial courses 

24 to community college students who recently com25 pleted high school. And that figure does not include 

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1 the almost $2,300,000,000 that the economy loses 

2 because students who take remedial courses, particu3 larly in reading, are more likely to leave college with4 out getting a degree, and thereby reduce their earn5 ing potential. Across the Nation, 42 percent of com6 munity college freshmen and 20 percent of freshmen 

7 in 4-year institutions enroll in at least 1 remedial 

8 course. 

9 (8) Business and higher education consistently 

10 report that students are leaving high school unpre11 pared for the demands of college and the workplace. 

12 According to a survey of the National Association of 

13 Manufacturers, more than 80 percent of manufac14 turing companies are experiencing a shortage of 

15 qualified workers. More than two-thirds of manufac16 turing companies said that businesses train employ17 ees to raise basic skills, a sure sign that a high 

18 school education is deficient even for the few jobs 

19 that require nothing further. Forty percent of em20 ployers considered graduates deficient in their over21 all preparation for the workplace. 

22 (9) For decades, Federal funding has largely 

23 been spent on grades Pre-K to 6 and higher edu24 cation, with dramatically less given the middle and 

25 high school grades. While children in their early 

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1 years must build a strong foundation for learning, 

2 research also clearly demonstrates the need to con3 tinue the investment at each stage of the education 

4 process or risk losing much of the benefit of the 

5 early effort. 

6 (10) The United States has made some 

7 progress in education outcomes in the early years of 

8 education and in higher education, but has seen de9 cline in the middle and high school years. In terms 

10 of demonstrating return on investment, where Fed11 eral educational commitment has been made, posi12 tive outcomes have resulted. 

13 (11) Only 8 percent of title I of the Elementary 

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

15 6301 et seq.) participants are high school students, 

16 leaving millions of title I-eligible, high school stu17 dents in low-performing schools without the focused 

18 support, external assistance, and resources for im19 provement that title I was created to provide. Be20 cause title I funds serve as the trigger for school im21 provement requirements in the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965, this also means that 

23 most low-income, low-performing high schools are 

24 not required to (or supported to) implement school 

25 improvement activities. 

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1 (12) While the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) includes 

3 a strong focus on identifying low-performing schools, 

4 America still needs a comprehensive strategy to sup5 port and improve chronically low-performing schools 

6 and districts. School improvement strategies should 

7 be tailored based on a variety of indicators and data, 

8 so that educators can create and implement success9 ful school improvement strategies to address the 

10 needs of the individual schools. 

11 (13) Most districts and State educational agen12 cies do not necessarily have the capacity or infra13 structure to guide, support, and fund school im14 provement strategies where they are needed, but 

15 good models for turning around low-performing high 

16 schools do exist. Federal support should be used to 

17 build this capacity based on evidence from successful 

18 high schools. 

19 (14) If the Nation is to maintain and increase 

20 its competitiveness in the global economy, it must in21 vest in a systemic approach to improving its high 

22 schools so that every child graduates prepared for 

23 success. 

24 SEC. 102. PURPOSES. 

25 The purposes of this title are to— 

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1 (1) improve high school student academic 

2 achievement and graduation rates; 

3 (2) help States develop a high school improve4 ment system to deliver support and technical assist5 ance to high-priority high schools; 

6 (3) ensure students graduate from high school 

7 with the education and skills necessary to compete 

8 in a global economy; and 

9 (4) help build the capacity to develop and im10 plement research-based, sustainable, and replicable 

11 high school improvement models and interventions 

12 for high-priority high schools that engage the whole 

13 community. 

14 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 

16 (1) ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS.—The term 

17 ‘‘adequate yearly progress’’ has the meaning given 

18 the term in section 1111(b)(2)(B) of the Elementary 

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

20 6311(b)(2)(B)). 

21 (2) AVERAGED FRESHMEN GRADUATION

22 RATE.—The term ‘‘averaged freshmen graduation 

23 rate’’ means the estimate of the percentage of high 

24 school students who graduate on time by dividing 

25 the number of graduates with regular diplomas by 

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1 the estimated size of the incoming freshman class 4 

2 years earlier, expressed as a percentage, as cal3 culated and reported by the National Center for 

4 Education Statistics. 

5 (3) LOW-INCOME LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN6 CY.—The term ‘‘low-income local educational agen7 cy’’ means a local educational agency in which not 

8 less than 15 percent of the students served by such 

9 agency are from families with incomes below the 

10 poverty line. 

11 (4) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 

12 grades’’ means grades 6 through 8. 

13 (5) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 

14 means the poverty line described in section 673 of 

15 the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 9902), applicable to a family of the size involved. 

17 (6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER.—The 

18 term ‘‘technical assistance provider’’ means a non19 profit entity with a proven track record of signifi20 cantly improving student achievement and outcomes 

21 in high-priority high schools. 

22 SEC. 104. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

23 The Secretary is authorized to make grants to State 

24 educational agencies with applications approved under sec25 tion 109 to establish or expand a differentiated high school 

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1 improvement system that can improve student achieve2 ment and graduation rates, and effectively target re3 sources and technical assistance to high-priority high 

4 schools. 

5 SEC. 105. ALLOTMENT TO STATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

7 to State educational agencies with applications approved 

8 under section 109 to enable the States to carry out the 

9 activities specified in section 110. Each grant shall consist 

10 of the allotment determined for a State under subsection 

11 (b)(2). 

12 (b) DETERMINATION OF ALLOTMENTS.— 

13 (1) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the total 

14 amount appropriated for this Act, the Secretary 

15 shall reserve— 

16 (A) 4 percent to— 

17 (i) evaluate activities authorized under 

18 this title, including supporting large-scale 

19 randomized studies of planned variations 

20 in school time, such as length of school 

21 day, week, and year, teacher effectiveness, 

22 class size, teacher training, performance or 

23 placement incentives, and other major 

24 school improvement inputs, in order to de25 termine the most effective strategies for 

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1 improving student achievement and out2 comes for students attending high-priority 

3 high schools; and 

4 (ii) disseminate findings of such eval5 uations; 

6 (B) 2 percent to provide technical assist7 ance and ongoing regional training programs— 

8 (i) to build the capacity of State edu9 cational agencies and local educational 

10 agencies to provide technical assistance to 

11 improve high-priority high schools; 

12 (ii) to develop the capacity of State 

13 educational agencies to effectively manage 

14 a differentiated high school improvement 

15 system and analyze the capacity of local 

16 educational agencies and high schools to 

17 effectively implement proven high school 

18 reform strategies; and 

19 (iii) to develop, in middle schools 

20 served by a local educational agency whose 

21 students go on to attend high schools iden22 tified by the local educational agency as in 

23 need of whole school reforms or replace24 ment, middle grade early indicator warning 

25 systems consisting of factors used to idenmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tify students who are struggling academi2 cally and have poor attendance records or 

3 have been suspended in or before the mid4 dle grades or are likely to struggle in high 

5 school or to not graduate and provide sup6 ports to get such students back on track; 

7 and 

8 (C) 2 percent to enter into contracts with 

9 or provide grants to technical assistance pro10 viders to build their capacity to serve more high 

11 schools and to support the development or en12 hancement of research-based whole secondary 

13 school reform or new secondary school models. 

14 (2) STATE ALLOTMENT.—From the total 

15 amount appropriated under section 114 for a fiscal 

16 year and not reserved under paragraph (1), the Sec17 retary shall make allotments as follows: 

18 (A) LOW-INCOME LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

19 AGENCIES.—From such amount, the Secretary 

20 shall allot to each State an amount that bears 

21 the same ratio to 50 percent of the sums being 

22 allotted as the percentage of students enrolled 

23 in schools served by low-income local edu24 cational agencies in the State bears to the total 

25 of such percentages for all the States. 

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1 (B) LOWEST CALCULATION.—From such 

2 amount, the Secretary shall allot to each State 

3 within the lowest one-third averaged freshman 

4 graduation rate an amount that bears the same 

5 ratio to 25 percent of the sums being alloted as 

6 the number of students enrolled in high schools 

7 in the State bears to the total of such students 

8 in all of such States within the lowest one-third 

9 averaged freshman graduation rate. 

10 (C) MIDDLE CALCULATION.—From such 

11 amount, the Secretary shall allot to each State 

12 within the middle one-third averaged freshman 

13 graduation rate an amount that bears the same 

14 ratio to 15 percent of the sums being alloted as 

15 the number of students enrolled in high schools 

16 in the State bears to the total of such students 

17 in all of such States within the middle one-third 

18 averaged freshman graduation rate. 

19 (D) HIGHEST CALCULATION.—From such 

20 amount, the Secretary shall allot to each State 

21 within the highest one-third averaged freshman 

22 graduation rate an amount that bears the same 

23 ratio to 10 percent of the sums being alloted as 

24 the number of students enrolled in high schools 

25 in the State bears to the total of such students 

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1 in all of such States within the highest one2 third averaged freshman graduation rate. 

3 (3) REALLOTMENT.—If any State does not 

4 apply for an allotment under this subsection for any 

5 fiscal year, the Secretary shall reallot the amount of 

6 the allotment to the remaining States in accordance 

7 with this subsection. 

8 (4) MATCHING FUNDS.—A State educational 

9 agency that receives a grant under this title shall 

10 provide matching funds, from non-Federal sources, 

11 in an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of 

12 grant funds provided to the State under this title 

13 (which may be provided in cash or in-kind, but not 

14 more than 10 percent of the amount of grant funds 

15 may be provided in-kind) to carry out the activities 

16 supported by the grant. In-kind contributions shall 

17 be directed toward supporting State educational 

18 agency technical assistance efforts or the operation 

19 of the State’s differentiated high school improvement 

20 system. 

21 SEC. 106. SECRETARIAL PEER REVIEW AND APPROVAL. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

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

24 the review and approval of State plans; 

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1 (2) appoint individuals to the peer-review proc2 ess who are educators and experts in educational 

3 standards, assessments, accountability, high school 

4 improvement, dropout prevention, and other edu5 cational needs of high school students; 

6 (3) approve a State plan submitted under this 

7 title not later than 120 days after the date of the 

8 submission of the plan unless the Secretary deter9 mines that the plan does not meet the requirements 

10 of this title; 

11 (4) if the Secretary determines that the State 

12 plan does not meet the requirements of this title, im13 mediately notify the State of such determination and 

14 the reasons for such determination; 

15 (5) not decline to approve a State’s plan be16 fore— 

17 (A) offering the State an opportunity to 

18 revise the State’s plan; 

19 (B) providing the State with technical as20 sistance in order to submit a successful applica21 tion; and 

22 (C) providing a hearing to the State; and 

23 (6) have the authority to disapprove a State 

24 plan for not meeting the requirements of this title. 

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1 (b) STATE REVISIONS.—A State plan shall be revised 

2 by the State educational agency if required to do so by 

3 the Secretary to satisfy the requirements of this title. 

4 (c) ACCURACY.—In approving a State plan, the Sec5 retary shall ensure that— 

6 (1) the process the State educational agency 

7 proposes for differentiating school improvement ac8 tions under section 109(b)(4) will assign high 

9 schools to each category in such a way that accu10 rately identifies schools and leads to the implementa11 tion of the interventions necessary to meet student 

12 needs; and 

13 (2) the minimum expected growth targets pro14 posed by the State educational agency under section 

15 109(b)(2)(B) are meaningful, achievable, and dem16 onstrate continuous and substantial progress. 

17 SEC. 107. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

18 If the Secretary determines that a State does not 

19 have the capacity to carry out high school improvement 

20 activities, the Secretary shall offer technical assistance to 

21 carry out such activities to States directly or through con22 tracts with technical assistance providers. 

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1 SEC. 108. DIFFERENTIATED HIGH SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT 

2 SYSTEM. 

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

4 receives a grant under this title shall use such funds to 

5 establish or expand differentiated high school improve6 ment systems. 

7 (b) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—The systems de8 scribed in subsection (a) shall be designed to do the fol9 lowing: 

10 (1) IDENTIFY HIGH-PRIORITY HIGH SCHOOLS.— 

11 The system shall be designed to identify high-pri12 ority high schools within the State. 

13 (2) DIFFERENTIATE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

14 ACTIONS.—The system shall be designed to differen15 tiate school improvement actions based on the 

16 amount and type of supports necessary to improve 

17 student achievement and graduation rates in high 

18 schools within the State. 

19 (3) LOCALLY DRIVEN IMPROVEMENT PLANS.— 

20 The system shall be designed to provide resources to 

21 support evidence-based activities chosen by local 

22 school improvement teams and based on school per23 formance data. 

24 (4) TARGET FUNDS.—The system shall be de25 signed to target resources and support to those high26 priority high schools within the State. 

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1 (5) RECOGNIZE PROGRESS.—The system shall 

2 be designed to ensure that high schools making 

3 progress on school performance indicators continue 

4 to implement effective school improvement strategies 

5 identified in their current school improvement plan. 

6 (6) DEMONSTRATE COMMITMENT.—The system 

7 shall be designed to ensure that high-priority high 

8 schools making progress on school performance indi9 cators continue to have the resources and supports 

10 necessary to continue improving high school gradua11 tion rates and student achievement. 

12 (7) BUILD CAPACITY.—The system shall be de13 signed to build the capacity of the State educational 

14 agencies and local educational agencies to assist in 

15 improving student achievement and graduation rates 

16 in high-priority high schools. 

17 SEC. 109. STATE APPLICATION TO DEVELOP DIFFEREN18 TIATED HIGH SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SYS19 TEMS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—For a State to be eligible to 

22 receive a grant under this title, the State educational 

23 agency shall submit an application to the Secretary 

24 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

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1 information as the Secretary may reasonably re2 quire. 

3 (2) REVISED APPLICATION.—The State edu4 cational agency shall submit a revised application 

5 every 5 years based on an evaluation of the activities 

6 conducted under this title. 

7 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

8 this section shall include the following: 

9 (1) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS.—The 

10 State educational agency shall describe how the 

11 State educational agency will use funds authorized 

12 under this title to establish or expand a high school 

13 improvement system described in sections 108 and 

14 110. 

15 (2) SCHOOL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

17 agency shall define a set of comprehensive 

18 school performance indicators that shall be 

19 used, in addition to the indicators used to de20 termine adequate yearly progress, to analyze 

21 school performance, determine the amount and 

22 type of support the school needs, and guide the 

23 school improvement process, such as— 

24 (i) student attendance rates; 

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1 (ii) earned on-time promotion rates 

2 from grade to grade; 

3 (iii) percent of students who have on4 time credit accumulation at the end of 

5 each grade; 

6 (iv) percent of students failing a core, 

7 credit-bearing mathematics, reading or lan8 guage arts, or science course, or failing 2 

9 or more of any course; 

10 (v) percent of students taking a col11 lege preparatory curriculum, which may in12 clude percent of students taking Advanced 

13 Placement, International Baccalaureate 

14 courses, or college courses taken for dual 

15 credit; 

16 (vi) teacher quality and attendance 

17 measures; 

18 (vii) student rates of college enroll19 ment, persistence, and attainment; and 

20 (viii) additional indicators proposed by 

21 the State educational agency and approved 

22 by the Secretary as part of the peer-review 

23 process described in section 110. 

24 (B) EXPECTED GROWTH.—The State edu25 cational agency shall define a minimum percent 

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1 of expected annual growth for each school per2 formance indicator that demonstrates contin3 uous and substantial progress. 

4 (3) CAPACITY EVALUATIONS.— 

5 (A) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AND

6 LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY CAPACITY.—The 

7 State educational agency shall describe how it 

8 will evaluate and ensure that the State edu9 cational agency and local educational agency 

10 have sufficient capacity to improve high-priority 

11 high schools. 

12 (B) HIGH SCHOOL CAPACITY AND NEEDS

13 ASSESSMENT.—The State educational agency 

14 shall describe how it will ensure that each high 

15 school that does not make adequate yearly 

16 progress for 2 consecutive years will undergo a 

17 capacity and needs assessment as described in 

18 section 111(e) and use such information to as19 sist in determining the amount of the subgrant 

20 awarded under section 110(f). 

21 (4) DIFFERENTIATED SCHOOL IMPROVE22 MENT.—The State educational agency shall describe 

23 how data from the school performance indicators de24 scribed in paragraph (2) and indicators used to de25 termine adequate yearly progress will be used by 

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1 local educational agencies as criteria for placing high 

2 schools that do not make adequate yearly progress 

3 for 2 consecutive years into 1 of the following school 

4 improvement categories: 

5 (A) SCHOOLS NEEDING TARGETED INTER6 VENTIONS.—High schools whose school per7 formance indicators demonstrate a need for tar8 geted interventions to improve student out9 comes and make adequate yearly progress. 

10 (B) SCHOOLS NEEDING WHOLE SCHOOL

11 REFORMS.—High schools whose school perform12 ance indicators demonstrate a need for com13 prehensive schoolwide reform to improve stu14 dent outcomes and make adequate yearly 

15 progress. 

16 (C) SCHOOLS NEEDING REPLACEMENT.— 

17 High schools whose school performance indica18 tors demonstrate a need for replacement, as de19 scribed in section 112(d). 

20 (D) SPECIAL RULE.—States may propose 

21 systems of differentiation aligned with their ex22 isting State accountability systems that include 

23 additional categories. 

24 (E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of law, for purmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 poses of this title, a high school shall be des2 ignated as a school in need of whole school re3 form or as a school in need of replacement in 

4 the case that such high school has— 

5 (i) a graduation rate of 60 percent or 

6 less; or 

7 (ii) achievement levels below the initial 

8 baseline for measuring the percentage of 

9 students meeting or exceeding the State’s 

10 proficient level of academic achievement in 

11 either mathematics or English or language 

12 arts in accordance with section 

13 1111(b)(2)(E) of the Elementary and Sec14 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 6311(b)(2)(E)). 

16 (5) STATE REVIEW OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

17 AGENCY PLANS.—The State educational agency shall 

18 describe the following: 

19 (A) REVIEW LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

20 PLANS.—The State educational agency shall de21 scribe how it will collect and review high school 

22 improvement plans of local educational agencies 

23 using the peer-review process described in sec24 tion 110(b) submitted by local educational 

25 agencies in accordance with section 111(e). 

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1 (B) ALLOCATION OF SUBGRANTS.—The 

2 State educational agency shall describe how it 

3 will award subgrants to local educational agen4 cies using the peer-review process described in 

5 section 110(b) in accordance with section 

6 110(f). 

7 (C) MONITORING OF SCHOOL IMPROVE8 MENT PLANS.—The State educational agency 

9 shall describe how it will review and monitor 

10 the implementation of high school improvement 

11 plans of high schools that do not meet the ex12 pected growth targets set in accordance with 

13 paragraph (2)(B) and defined in the school im14 provement plan described in section 111(d). 

15 (D) PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The State edu17 cational agency shall describe how it will 

18 provide technical assistance to local edu19 cational agencies and high schools that 

20 need support to implement high school im21 provement plans described in section 

22 111(d) and improve graduation rates and 

23 student achievement, including through the 

24 use of technical assistance providers, where 

25 appropriate. 

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1 (ii) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS.— 

2 The State educational agency shall de3 scribe how it will assist school improve4 ment teams described in section 111(b), 

5 when needed, including how it will— 

6 (I) support and provide resources 

7 and training to school improvement 

8 teams; 

9 (II) allocate staff to participate 

10 on school improvement teams; 

11 (III) provide technical assistance 

12 to the school improvement teams; and 

13 (IV) ensure that the school im14 provement teams have access to tech15 nical assistance providers when need16 ed. 

17 (6) DEMONSTRATION OF COMMITMENT.—The 

18 State educational agency shall demonstrate how it 

19 will provide ongoing support to high schools that 

20 need targeted interventions, whole school reforms 

21 and replacement, and are making progress on school 

22 performance indicators, to ensure continued im23 provement, including the availability of funds from 

24 non-Federal sources. 

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1 (7) MIDDLE GRADE EARLY INDICATOR WARN2 ING SYSTEM.—The State educational agency shall 

3 demonstrate how it will work with local educational 

4 agencies with low graduation rates to develop middle 

5 grade early indicator warning systems consisting of 

6 factors used to identify students who are struggling 

7 academically and have poor attendance records or 

8 have been suspended in or before the middle grades 

9 or are likely to struggle in high school or to not 

10 graduate and, where appropriate, provide supports 

11 to get such students back on track. 

12 (8) EVALUATION OF SUCCESS.—The State edu13 cational agency shall describe how, every 5 years, it 

14 will evaluate how the activities assisted under this 

15 title have been successful in improving student 

16 achievement and outcomes of the cohort of students 

17 that entered 9th grade 4 years earlier. 

18 SEC. 110. STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY USE OF FUNDS. 

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

20 receives a grant under section 105— 

21 (1) may reserve not more than 10 percent of 

22 the grant funds to carry out the activities under this 

23 title; and 

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1 (2) shall use not less than 90 percent of the 

2 grant funds to make subgrants to local educational 

3 agencies in accordance with subsection (b). 

4 (b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PEER REVIEW.— 

5 A State educational agency that receives a grant under 

6 this title shall review applications submitted under section 

7 111 and make awards in accordance with subsection (f) 

8 with the assistance and advice of a panel who are edu9 cators and experts in— 

10 (1) educational standards, assessments, and ac11 countability; 

12 (2) high school improvement; 

13 (3) dropout prevention; and 

14 (4) other educational needs of high school stu15 dents. 

16 (c) ACCURACY.—The State educational agency, in 

17 consultation with the panel described in subsection (b), 

18 shall ensure the local educational agency has designated 

19 the school improvement category described in section 

20 109(b)(4) for each high school served by the local edu21 cational agency that did not make adequate yearly 

22 progress for 2 consecutive years in such a way that accu23 rately identifies schools and leads to the implementation 

24 of the interventions necessary to meet student needs. 

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1 (d) OPPORTUNITY TO REVISE.—If the State edu2 cational agency, in consultation with the panel described 

3 in subsection (b), determines that the local educational 

4 agency’s application does not meet the requirements of 

5 this title, the State educational agency shall immediately 

6 notify the local educational agency of such determination 

7 and the reasons for such determination, and offer— 

8 (1) the local educational agency an opportunity 

9 to revise the application; and 

10 (2) technical assistance to the local educational 

11 agency to revise the application. 

12 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The State educational 

13 agency shall provide technical assistance to a local edu14 cational agency requesting such assistance in preparing 

15 the application and needs assessment required under sec16 tion 111. 

17 (f) AWARD OF SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

18 AGENCIES.— 

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

20 that receives a grant under this title shall award 

21 subgrants to local educational agencies with applica22 tions approved on the basis of— 

23 (A) the quality of the plan to improve stu24 dent graduation rates and student achievement 

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1 in high schools that have not made adequate 

2 yearly progress for 2 consecutive years; and 

3 (B) the capacity of the local educational 

4 agency to implement the plan. 

5 (2) AMOUNT.—A subgrant under this section 

6 shall be awarded in an amount that is based on— 

7 (A) the number and size of high schools 

8 served by the local educational agency need9 ing— 

10 (i) targeted interventions; 

11 (ii) whole school reforms; and 

12 (iii) replacement; 

13 (B) the types of reforms or interventions 

14 proposed; 

15 (C) the resources available to the high 

16 schools to implement the reforms or interven17 tions proposed; and 

18 (D) the resources available to the local 

19 educational agency to implement the reforms or 

20 interventions proposed. 

21 (3) PRIORITY.—The State educational agency 

22 shall first award subgrants to local educational agen23 cies serving high schools needing whole school re24 forms and replacement. The State educational agen25 cy shall award remaining subgrant funds to local 

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1 educational agencies serving high schools needing 

2 targeted interventions. 

3 (g) AUTHORITY TO INTERVENE.—If the State edu4 cational agency determines that a local educational agency 

5 does not have the capacity to implement high school im6 provement activities described in the school improvement 

7 plan, the State educational agency may intervene to imple8 ment the high school improvement plans or enter into con9 tracts with technical assistance providers to assist local 

10 educational agencies with the implementation of high 

11 school improvement plans. 

12 (h) IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE EDUCATIONAL

13 AGENCY APPLICATION.—The State educational agency 

14 shall use funds under this title to carry out the activities 

15 included in the application described in section 109. 

16 (i) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—A State edu17 cational agency that receives a grant under this title shall 

18 use the grant funds to supplement, and not supplant, Fed19 eral and non-Federal funds available to high schools. 

20 SEC. 111. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION 

21 OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM. 

22 (a) DIFFERENTIATE HIGH SCHOOLS.—A local edu23 cational agency that applies for a subgrant under this title 

24 shall designate the category of high school improvement, 

25 as described in section 109(b)(4), using data from the 

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1 school performance indicators as criteria, as prescribed by 

2 the State educational agency, for each high school served 

3 by such agency that does not make adequate yearly 

4 progress for 2 consecutive years. 

5 (b) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

7 subgrant under this title, a local educational agency 

8 shall convene a school improvement team for each 

9 high school served by such agency that does not 

10 make adequate yearly progress for 2 consecutive 

11 years and is assigned to 1 of the school improvement 

12 categories defined in section 109(b)(4), which— 

13 (A) shall include— 

14 (i) the building principal; 

15 (ii) teachers representing different 

16 grade levels or disciplines; 

17 (iii) local educational agency staff; 

18 (iv) parents, including parents of stu19 dents who have low graduation rates; 

20 (v) community representatives, includ21 ing representatives of nonprofit organiza22 tions serving young people and the busi23 ness community; and 

24 (vi) pupil service representatives; and 

25 (B) may include— 

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1 (i) technical assistance providers, 

2 where appropriate; and 

3 (ii) State educational agency staff 

4 when requested by the local educational 

5 agency or assigned by the State edu6 cational agency. 

7 (2) COLLABORATION.—A local educational 

8 agency shall ensure collaboration— 

9 (A) of school improvement teams with per10 sonnel of middle schools served by the local 

11 educational agency whose students go on to at12 tend high schools that are designated as in need 

13 of targeted assistance, whole school reform, or 

14 replacement, where appropriate; and 

15 (B) between school improvement teams 

16 working at different high schools served by the 

17 local educational agency, to the extent appro18 priate. 

19 (c) DEVELOP STUDENT INDICATORS.—To be eligible 

20 to receive a subgrant under this title, a local educational 

21 agency shall develop a set of indicators to determine the 

22 number and percent of students who begin high school at 

23 high risk for not graduating high school with a regular 

24 diploma and describe how the school improvement team 

25 will use such indicators to determine the type and intenmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 sity of supports each student needs. Such indicators shall 

2 include the number and percent of 9th grade students 

3 who— 

4 (1) in the 8th grade— 

5 (A) failed a credit-bearing mathematics or 

6 reading or language arts course, or 2 or more 

7 of any course; 

8 (B) attended school less than 90 percent of 

9 the required time; and 

10 (C) received an out-of-school suspension; 

11 (2) repeat the 9th grade; 

12 (3) enter the 9th grade over the average age; or 

13 (4) have experienced interrupted formal edu14 cation. 

15 (d) DEVELOP HIGH SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

16 PLANS.—The school improvement team convened under 

17 subsection (b) shall use data from the school performance 

18 indicators, the student indicators, measures used to deter19 mine adequate yearly progress, the capacity and needs as20 sessment described in subsection (e), and other relevant 

21 data and knowledge of the school to develop a multiyear 

22 school improvement plan for each school. Such plan 

23 shall— 

24 (1) identify annual benchmarks for school per25 formance indicators that meet or exceed the minmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 imum percentage of expected growth defined by the 

2 State educational agency in section 109(b)(2)(B); 

3 (2) define the evidence-based academic and 

4 nonacademic interventions and resources necessary 

5 to meet annual benchmarks and make adequate 

6 yearly progress; 

7 (3) identify the roles of the State educational 

8 agency, the local educational agency, the school, and 

9 technical assistance providers and service providers, 

10 as appropriate, in providing identified interventions 

11 and resources necessary to meet annual benchmarks 

12 and make adequate yearly progress; 

13 (4) provide for the involvement of business and 

14 community organizations and other entities, includ15 ing parents and institutions of higher education, in 

16 the activities to be assisted under this title; and 

17 (5) describe and direct the use of— 

18 (A) any additional funding to be provided 

19 by the State educational agency, the local edu20 cational agency, or other sources; and 

21 (B) technical assistance providers, where 

22 appropriate. 

23 (e) HIGH SCHOOL CAPACITY AND NEEDS ASSESS24 MENT.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 subgrant under this title, a local educational agency 

3 shall submit, with the application described in sub4 section (f), to the State educational agency a capac5 ity and needs assessment for each high school served 

6 by such agency that does not make adequate yearly 

7 progress for 2 consecutive years. 

8 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The assessment under para9 graph (1) shall be conducted by a school improve10 ment team described in subsection (b) and the local 

11 educational agency and shall include— 

12 (A) a description and analysis of the 

13 school’s capacity to implement needed school 

14 improvement activities identified in the school 

15 improvement plan, including an analysis of— 

16 (i) the number, experience, training 

17 level, responsibilities, and stability of exist18 ing administrative, instructional, and non19 instructional staff for each high school to 

20 be assisted; 

21 (ii) a review of the budget, including 

22 how Federal, State, and local funds are 

23 currently being spent for instruction and 

24 operations at the school level for staff sala25 ries, instructional materials, professional 

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1 development, and student support services 

2 to establish the extent to which existing re3 sources need to and can be reallocated to 

4 support the needed school improvement ac5 tivities; and 

6 (iii) additional resources and staff 

7 necessary to implement the needed school 

8 improvement activities described in section 

9 112; and 

10 (B) an analysis of the local educational 

11 agency’s capacity to provide technical assist12 ance, additional staff, and resources to imple13 ment the school improvement plan to improve 

14 high school performance. 

15 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—The information provided 

16 in the capacity and needs assessment in coordination 

17 with the school improvement plan shall be used to 

18 determine the level and direct the use of— 

19 (A) funds requested by the local edu20 cational agency for each high school to be as21 sisted under this title; 

22 (B) any additional funding to be provided 

23 by the State educational agency, the local edu24 cational agency, or other sources; and 

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1 (C) technical assistance providers, where 

2 appropriate. 

3 (f) APPLICATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

5 subgrant under this title, a local educational agen6 cy— 

7 (A) shall submit an application to the 

8 State educational agency at such time, in such 

9 manner, and containing such information as the 

10 State educational agency may reasonably re11 quire; and 

12 (B) may request technical assistance from 

13 the State educational agency in preparing the 

14 application and the capacity and needs assess15 ment required under this section. 

16 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

17 under this section shall use data from the capacity 

18 and needs assessment required in subsection (e) and 

19 shall include the following: 

20 (A) A description of how the local edu21 cational agency used data from the school per22 formance indicators as criteria to designate the 

23 school improvement category described in sec24 tion 109(b)(4) for each high school served by 

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1 such agency that did not make adequate yearly 

2 progress for 2 consecutive years. 

3 (B) An identification of each high school 

4 served by the local educational agency that did 

5 not make adequate yearly progress for 2 con6 secutive years and the designation of the school 

7 improvement category for each such school, as 

8 described in section 109(b)(4). 

9 (C) A description of the activities to be 

10 carried out by the local educational agency 

11 under this title and a description of how the ac12 tivities will be research-based and an expla13 nation of why the activities are expected to im14 prove student achievement and increase gradua15 tion rates. 

16 (D) An assurance that the local edu17 cational agency will use funds authorized under 

18 this title and received from the State edu19 cational agency first to meet the needs of high 

20 schools served by the local educational agency 

21 that need whole school reforms or high schools 

22 served by the local educational agency that need 

23 replacement. 

24 (E) A description of how the local edu25 cational agency will provide for the involvement 

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1 of parents, business and community organiza2 tions, including institutions of higher education, 

3 in the activities to be assisted under this title, 

4 and the resources such entities will make avail5 able to assist in such activities. 

6 (F) An assurance that the local edu7 cational agency shall provide ongoing support 

8 and resources to high schools that need whole 

9 school reforms and that need replacement, and 

10 are making progress on school performance in11 dicators, to ensure continued improvement. 

12 (G) A description of how the local edu13 cational agency will increase its capacity to im14 prove high schools with low student achieve15 ment and graduation rates. 

16 (H) A description of the options that will 

17 be provided to high school students served by 

18 the local educational agency, such as— 

19 (i) programs for credit recovery for 

20 overage or under-credited students; and 

21 (ii) secondary-postsecondary learning 

22 opportunities, including dual enrollment 

23 programs and early college high schools. 

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1 (g) IMPLEMENT HIGH SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

2 PLANS.—The local educational agency shall use funds to 

3 ensure the implementation of school improvement plans. 

4 (h) ENSURE CONTINUOUS HIGH SCHOOL IMPROVE5 MENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The local educational agency 

7 shall ensure the continuous improvement of high 

8 schools by evaluating the progress of high schools in 

9 making the continuous and substantial progress as 

10 defined in the school improvement plan in accord11 ance with the minimum expected growth set by the 

12 State educational agency in section 109(b)(2)(B) 

13 and determining whether the high school is on track 

14 or not on track as provided in paragraphs (2) and 

15 (3). 

16 (2) ON TRACK.—Each high school that is meet17 ing the annual benchmarks as defined in the school 

18 improvement plan shall continue to implement school 

19 improvement activities in accordance with the school 

20 improvement plan. 

21 (3) NOT ON TRACK.—For each high school that 

22 is not meeting the annual benchmarks as defined in 

23 the school improvement plan, the local educational 

24 agency shall— 

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1 (A) after 1 year, review the school im2 provement plan, and develop and implement a 

3 new plan, as appropriate; 

4 (B) after 2 years, redesignate the school 

5 into a different school improvement category, as 

6 described in section 109(b)(4), either— 

7 (i) as a school in need of whole school 

8 reform; or 

9 (ii) as a school in need of replace10 ment; and 

11 (C) develop and submit to the State edu12 cational agency for review a new school im13 provement plan, as appropriate. 

14 (i) TARGETED INTERVENTIONS FOR FEEDER MID15 DLE SCHOOLS.—A local educational agency that receives 

16 a subgrant under this title, consistent with subsection 

17 (f)(2)(D), may use funds to— 

18 (1) implement research- and evidence-based 

19 interventions to improve middle schools served by 

20 such agency whose students go on to attend high 

21 schools served by the local educational agency that 

22 need whole school reforms or high schools served by 

23 the local educational agency that need replacement; 

24 and 

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1 (2) establish an early indicator warning system 

2 consisting of factors used to identify students who 

3 are struggling academically and have poor attend4 ance records or have been suspended in or before the 

5 middle grades or are likely to struggle in high school 

6 or to not graduate and provide supports to get such 

7 students back on track. 

8 (j) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—A local edu9 cational agency that receives a subgrant under this title 

10 shall use the subgrant funds to supplement, and not sup11 plant, Federal and non-Federal funds available for high 

12 schools. 

13 (k) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 

15 receiving a grant under this title shall provide 

16 matching funds, from non-Federal sources, in an 

17 amount equal to not less than 15 percent of the 

18 total subgrant award for the local educational agen19 cy, which may be provided in cash or in-kind, to pro20 vide technical assistance to high schools served by 

21 the local educational agency in developing their high 

22 school improvement plans, conducting the capacity 

23 and needs assessment, and in implementing and 

24 monitoring the implementation of the high school 

25 improvement plans. 

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1 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive all or 

2 part of the matching requirement described in para3 graph (1) for any fiscal year for a local educational 

4 agency if the Secretary determines that applying the 

5 matching requirement to such local educational 

6 agency would result in serious hardship or an inabil7 ity to carry out the authorized activities described in 

8 section 110. 

9 SEC. 112. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each school improvement team 

11 convened as described in section 111 shall ensure that the 

12 school improvement activities developed under the school 

13 improvement plan are implemented. 

14 (b) TARGETED INTERVENTIONS.—A high school or 

15 local educational agency, as determined by the school im16 provement team, shall implement research-based targeted 

17 interventions, using data from the school performance and 

18 student indicators and capacity evaluations for schools 

19 identified for such interventions pursuant to section 111. 

20 The targeted interventions shall be designed, at a min21 imum, to address the specific problems identified by the 

22 indicators. 

23 (c) WHOLE SCHOOL REFORMS.—The local edu24 cational agency or State educational agency, with tech25 nical assistance from technical assistance providers, as demstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 termined by the school improvement team, shall imple2 ment research-based whole school reforms, using data 

3 from the school performance indicators (as described in 

4 section 109(b)(2)) and capacity evaluations (as described 

5 in section 109(b)(3)), to schools designated as needing 

6 whole school reform pursuant to section 111. Such re7 forms— 

8 (1) shall address the comprehensive aspects of 

9 high school reform, such as— 

10 (A) attendance; 

11 (B) student engagement, behavior, and ef12 fort; 

13 (C) academic success; and 

14 (D) teacher and administrator skill and 

15 collaboration; 

16 (2) shall address resource allocation, includ17 ing— 

18 (A) student supports; 

19 (B) teacher and staff support; 

20 (C) materials and equipment; 

21 (D) time for collaboration; and 

22 (E) the use of data; 

23 (3) shall be designed to address— 

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1 (A) the multiple layers of school improve2 ment demonstrated by research and best prac3 tice; 

4 (B) schoolwide needs; 

5 (C) students who need targeted assistance; 

6 and 

7 (D) students who need intensive interven8 tions; 

9 (4) shall include activities that serve to— 

10 (A) personalize the school experience, in11 crease student engagement, attendance, and ef12 fort, and enable schools to provide the level and 

13 intensity of student support needed, by creating 

14 constructs, such as— 

15 (i) smaller schools or smaller units 

16 within schools with their own leadership, 

17 such as 9th grade transition programs or 

18 academies, and upper grade programs or 

19 academies, including career academies; 

20 (ii) thematic small-learning commu21 nities; 

22 (iii) teams of teachers who work ex23 clusively with small groups of students; or 

24 (iv) using extended periods, such as 

25 block scheduling, to reduce the number of 

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1 students for whom teachers are responsible 

2 and the number of courses students are 

3 taking at any one time; 

4 (B) improve curriculum and instruction, 

5 such as— 

6 (i) implementing a college- and work7 ready curriculum for all students; 

8 (ii) adopting well-designed curriculum 

9 and instructional materials aligned to high 

10 academic standards for all students, in11 cluding students with diverse learning 

12 needs; 

13 (iii) offering extended learning oppor14 tunities, both in school and through after15 school and summer programs; 

16 (iv) emphasizing intensive core aca17 demic preparation and college and work18 ready skills development; 

19 (v) increasing rigor through advanced 

20 placement courses, international bacca21 laureate courses, dual enrollment, and 

22 early college high schools opportunities; 

23 (vi) creating contextual learning op24 portunities aligned with college and work 

25 readiness, such as through a high-quality 

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1 career and technical education (as defined 

2 in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

3 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

4 U.S.C. 2302)) option for upper grades; 

5 (vii) collecting and using comprehen6 sive data, including formative assessments; 

7 (viii) offering mentoring and tutoring; 

8 and 

9 (ix) implementing pedagogies that ac10 tively engage students in the learning proc11 ess; 

12 (C) increase teacher and principal effec13 tiveness through activities such as— 

14 (i) providing teacher and adminis15 trator supports and research-based, ongo16 ing professional development tied to needs 

17 identified in the school improvement plan; 

18 (ii) providing regular opportunities for 

19 teachers of core academic subjects to— 

20 (I) meet together in both subject 

21 area and interdisciplinary groups; 

22 (II) review student achievement 

23 data; and 

24 (III) plan instruction; 

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1 (iii) implementing a schoolwide lit2 eracy or mathematics plan that may in3 clude hiring literacy or mathematics coach4 es; and 

5 (iv) developing administrator learning 

6 networks and supports; 

7 (D) increase student supports, such as— 

8 (i) student advisories; 

9 (ii) 9th grade transition programs; 

10 (iii) credit completion recovery pro11 grams; 

12 (iv) additional counselors, social work13 ers, and mental and behavioral health serv14 ice providers; 

15 (v) student advocates; 

16 (vi) strengthening involvement of par17 ents in the academic life of students; 

18 (vii) school-family-community partner19 ships; 

20 (viii) wraparound social services; 

21 (ix) before and after school programs; 

22 or 

23 (x) additional supports for students 

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1 dents with disabilities and English lan2 guage learners; 

3 (E) improve middle schools within a local 

4 educational agency whose students go on to at5 tend such high schools and establish an early 

6 indicator warning system consisting of factors 

7 used to identify students who are struggling 

8 academically and have poor attendance records 

9 or have been suspended in or before the middle 

10 grades or are likely to struggle in high school 

11 or not to graduate and provide supports to get 

12 them back on track; and 

13 (F) provide the local educational agency or 

14 high school with flexible budget and hiring au15 thority where needed to implement improve16 ments; and 

17 (5) may include other activities designed to ad18 dress whole school needs, such as implementing a 

19 comprehensive reform model. 

20 (d) REPLACEMENT.—The local educational agency or 

21 the State educational agency, with assistance from tech22 nical assistance providers, shall replace high schools, using 

23 data from the school performance indicators and high 

24 school capacity and needs assessment (described in para25 graphs (2) and (3) of section 109(b), respectively) desmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ignated as needing replacement pursuant to section 111. 

2 Replacement shall be implemented— 

3 (1) by replacing such schools with 1 or more 

4 new small schools using effective school models with 

5 evidence of success with students with similar aca6 demic challenges and outcomes to those attending 

7 the school being replaced; 

8 (2) by reopening such schools after combining 

9 the assignment of a new administrative team that 

10 has the authority to select a new teaching staff with 

11 the use of research-based strategies through— 

12 (A) the implementation of a whole school 

13 reform model with evidence of success with stu14 dents with similar academic outcomes to those 

15 attending the school being replaced; and 

16 (B) increasing learning time; 

17 (3) by closing such schools and reassigning the 

18 students to high schools that have made adequate 

19 yearly progress for the past 2 years; or 

20 (4) by otherwise replacing such schools. 

21 SEC. 113. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

22 (a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

23 an annual basis, each local educational agency receiving 

24 funds under this title shall report to the State educational 

25 agency and to the public on— 

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1 (1) the designated category of school improve2 ment for each high school served by the local edu3 cational agency under this title; 

4 (2) the school performance indicators (as de5 scribed in section 109(b)(2)) for each school served 

6 under this title, in the aggregate and disaggregated 

7 by the subgroups described in section 

8 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

10 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

11 (3) progress in meeting the benchmarks for 

12 each high school served pursuant to this title; and 

13 (4) the use of funds by the local educational 

14 agency and each such school. 

15 (b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

16 an annual basis, each State educational agency receiving 

17 funds under this title shall report to the Secretary and 

18 to the public on— 

19 (1) the school performance indicators (as de20 scribed in section 109(b)(2)), in the aggregate and 

21 disaggregated by the subgroups described in section 

22 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

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1 (2) progress in meeting the benchmarks for 

2 each high school served pursuant to this title; 

3 (3) the high schools that have changed school 

4 improvement categories in accordance with section 

5 111(h); and 

6 (4) the use of funds by each local educational 

7 agency and each school served with such funds. 

8 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Every 2 years, the Sec9 retary shall report to Congress and to the public— 

10 (1) a summary of the State reports; and 

11 (2) on the use of funds by each State under 

12 this title. 

13 SEC. 114. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 the activities authorized under this title, $2,400,000,000 

16 for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

17 years. 

18 TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF 

19 EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MODELS 

20 SEC. 201. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following: 

22 (1) With close to a third of our Nation’s high 

23 school students failing to graduate in 4 years, and 

24 another third graduating without the skills and 

25 knowledge needed to succeed in college or the workmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 place, new models of high school are clearly needed, 

2 especially for struggling students who are not on 

3 track to a high school diploma. 

4 (2) Researchers have identified leading indica5 tors that, taken together, are as much as 85 percent 

6 predictive of which 9th graders will not graduate 

7 from high school 4 years later. 

8 (3) In the 2000 high schools nationwide with 

9 estimated 4-year graduation rates of 60 percent or 

10 lower, 80 percent of the 9th graders are significantly 

11 behind in skills or credits. By a conservative esti12 mate, this adds up to not fewer than 500,000 stu13 dents who are not on track to graduation. 

14 (4) Poor outcomes for struggling students are 

15 endemic in cities, towns, and rural areas across the 

16 country. Graduation rates for students who are not 

17 on-track to an on-time graduation in ninth grade are 

18 as low as 20 percent. 

19 (5) Schools designed to accelerate students’ 

20 learning and get them on track to a college-ready di21 ploma make a difference. The Early College High 

22 School Initiative has started 130 schools serving ap23 proximately 16,000 students in 23 States. Early re24 sults indicate that in the first programs to graduate 

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1 ploma, over 57 percent earned an associate’s degree, 

2 and over 80 percent were accepted at a 4-year col3 lege 

4 (6) Most States and districts have limited ca5 pacity to expand and spread proven practices and 

6 models for improving graduation rates within a high 

7 standards environment. 

8 (7) The Nation’s young people understand the 

9 value of education and will persist, often against 

10 considerable odds, to further their education. From 

11 1980 to 2002, a period of time with no discernible 

12 increase in the country’s graduation rates, the per13 centage of 10th graders aspiring to a bachelor’s de14 gree or higher increased from 40 percent to 80 per15 cent, with the largest increase among low-income 

16 youth. 

17 (8) Young people who fall behind and drop out 

18 of high school often report that they regret leaving 

19 and wish they had been encouraged and supported 

20 to work harder while they were in school. Many per21 severe despite a lack of school options or pathways 

22 designed to help them succeed. Close to 60 percent 

23 of dropouts eventually earn a high school creden24 tial—in most cases a GED certificate. Almost half 

25 of these students—44 percent—later enroll in 2-year 

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1 or 4-year colleges, but despite their efforts fewer 

2 than 10 percent earn a postsecondary degree. 

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

4 (1) to facilitate the development and implemen5 tation of effective secondary school models for strug6 gling students and dropouts; and 

7 (2) to build the capacity of State educational 

8 agencies, local educational agencies, nonprofit orga9 nizations, and institutions of higher education to im10 plement effective secondary school models for strug11 gling students and dropouts. 

12 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this title: 

14 (1) DROPOUT.—The term ‘‘dropout’’ means an 

15 individual who— 

16 (A) is not older than 21; 

17 (B)(i) is not attending any school; or 

18 (ii) prior to attending a school based on an 

19 effective school model, was not attending any 

20 school; and 

21 (C) has not received a secondary school 

22 regular diploma or its recognized equivalent. 

23 (2) EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MODEL.—The term 

24 ‘‘effective school model’’ means— 

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1 (A) an existing secondary school model 

2 with demonstrated effectiveness in improving 

3 student academic achievement and outcomes for 

4 struggling students or dropouts; or 

5 (B) a proposed new secondary school 

6 model design that is based on research-based 

7 organizational and instructional practices for 

8 improving student academic achievement and 

9 outcomes for struggling students or dropouts. 

10 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti11 ty’’ means— 

12 (A) a local educational agency, nonprofit 

13 organization, or institution of higher edu14 cation— 

15 (i) that proposes to enhance or ex16 pand an existing effective school model for 

17 struggling students or dropouts; or 

18 (ii) that has a track record of serving 

19 struggling students or dropouts and pro20 poses to develop a new effective school 

21 model for struggling students or dropouts; 

22 or 

23 (B) a partnership involving 2 or more enti24 ties described in subparagraph (A). 

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1 (4) STRUGGLING STUDENT.—The term ‘‘strug2 gling student’’— 

3 (A) means a high school-aged student who 

4 is not making sufficient progress toward grad5 uating from secondary school with a regular di6 ploma in the standard number of years; and 

7 (B) includes a student who— 

8 (i) has been retained in grade level; 

9 (ii) is under-credited, defined as a 

10 high school student who lacks either the 

11 necessary credits or courses, as determined 

12 by the relevant local educational agency 

13 and State educational agency, to graduate 

14 from secondary school with a regular di15 ploma in the standard number of years; or 

16 (iii) is a late entrant English language 

17 learner, defined as a high school student 

18 who— 

19 (I) enters a school served by a 

20 local educational agency at grade 9 or 

21 higher; and 

22 (II) is identified by the local edu23 cational agency as being limited 

24 English proficient and as having expe25 rienced interrupted formal education. 

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1 SEC. 203. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

3 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 

4 to enable the eligible entities to develop and implement, 

5 or replicate, effective school models for struggling students 

6 and dropouts. 

7 (b) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A grant awarded under this 

8 section shall be for a period of 3 years. 

9 SEC. 204. APPLICATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring a 

11 grant under this title shall submit an application to the 

12 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

13 such information as the Secretary may require. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

15 this section shall include a description of— 

16 (1) how the eligible entity will carry out the 

17 mandatory activities under section 206(a); 

18 (2) the research or evidence concerning the ef19 fective school model that the eligible entity proposes 

20 to develop and implement or replicate, including— 

21 (A) for an existing effective school model 

22 described in section 203(2)(A), the evidence 

23 that the model has improved academic out24 comes for struggling students or dropouts; or 

25 (B) for a proposed effective school model 

26 described in section 203(2)(B), the research 

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1 that supports the key organizational and in2 structional practices of the proposed effective 

3 school model; 

4 (3) the eligible entity’s school design elements 

5 and principles that will be used in the effective 

6 school model, including— 

7 (A) the academic program; 

8 (B) the instructional practices; 

9 (C) the methods of assessment; and 

10 (D) student supports and services, such as 

11 those provided by the school or offered by other 

12 organizations and agencies in the community, 

13 to support positive student academic achieve14 ment and outcomes; 

15 (4) how the eligible entity will use student data 

16 from the local educational agency or State edu17 cational agency— 

18 (A) to demonstrate the need for and pro19 jected benefits of the effective school model; and 

20 (B) in the implementation of the model, in 

21 order to improve academic outcomes for strug22 gling students or dropouts; 

23 (5) for each school in which the eligible entity 

24 implements or replicates an effective school model 

25 under this title, how the eligibility entity will sustain 

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1 the implementation or replication of the effective 

2 school model, including the financing mechanism to 

3 be used; 

4 (6) how the eligible entity will collect data and 

5 information to assess the performance of the effec6 tive school model and will make necessary adjust7 ments to ensure continuous and substantial improve8 ment in student academic achievement and out9 comes; and 

10 (7) how the eligible entity will make the per11 formance data available to State educational agen12 cies, local educational agencies, and schools serving 

13 struggling students or dropouts. 

14 SEC. 205. SECRETARIAL PEER REVIEW AND APPROVAL. 

15 The Secretary shall— 

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

17 the review and approval of applications submitted by 

18 eligible entities under section 204; and 

19 (2) appoint individuals to the peer-review proc20 ess who are experts in high school reform, dropout 

21 prevention and recovery, new school development for 

22 struggling students and dropouts, and adolescent 

23 and academic development. 

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1 SEC. 206. USE OF FUNDS. 

2 (a) MANDATORY USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity 

3 receiving a grant under this title shall use grant funds 

4 to— 

5 (1) enhance and expand, or replicate, an exist6 ing effective school model described in section 

7 202(2)(A), or develop a proposed effective school 

8 model described in section 202(2)(B), for struggling 

9 students and dropouts; 

10 (2) assess the progress of the implementation 

11 or replication of the effective school model and make 

12 necessary adjustments to ensure continuous im13 provement; 

14 (3) provide opportunities for professional devel15 opment associated with the continuous improvement 

16 and implementation or replication of the effective 

17 school model; 

18 (4) collect data and information on the school 

19 model’s effectiveness in improving student academic 

20 achievement and outcomes for struggling students 

21 and dropouts and disseminate such data and infor22 mation to State educational agencies, local edu23 cational agencies, and schools; and 

24 (5) build the capacity of the eligible entity to— 

25 (A) sustain the implementation or replica26 tion of the effective school model assisted under 

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1 paragraph (1) after the grant period has ended; 

2 and 

3 (B) replicate the effective school model. 

4 (b) OPTIONAL USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity re5 ceiving a grant under this title may use grant funds to— 

6 (1) identify and create partnerships needed to 

7 improve the academic achievement and outcomes of 

8 the students attending a school assisted under this 

9 title; 

10 (2) support family and community engagement 

11 in the effective school model; and 

12 (3) carry out any additional activities that the 

13 Secretary determines are within the purposes de14 scribed in section 201. 

15 SEC. 207. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

16 (a) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each eligible entity re17 ceiving a grant under this title shall annually report to 

18 the Secretary on— 

19 (1) the data and information being gathered to 

20 assess the effective school model’s effectiveness in 

21 improving student academic achievement and out22 comes for struggling students and dropouts; 

23 (2) the implementation status of the models, 

24 any barriers to implementation, and actions taken to 

25 overcome the barriers; 

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1 (3) any professional development activities to 

2 build the capacity of— 

3 (A) the eligible entity to sustain or rep4 licate the effective school model; or 

5 (B) the staff of a school assisted under 

6 this title to implement or improve the effective 

7 school model; 

8 (4) the progress made in improving student 

9 academic achievement and outcomes in the effective 

10 school models for struggling students and dropouts; 

11 and 

12 (5) the use of grant funds by the eligible entity. 

13 (b) INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary 

14 shall reserve not more than $5,000,000 to carry out an 

15 independent evaluation of the grant program under this 

16 title and the progress of the eligible entities receiving 

17 grants under this title. 

18 SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this title $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each of 

21 the 4 succeeding fiscal years. 

22 TITLE III—STRENGTHENING 

23 STATE POLICIES 

24 SEC. 301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following: 

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1 (1) Frontrunner States have begun to move 

2 more aggressively on the dual challenge of raising 

3 high school graduation rates while also raising the 

4 standards to the level of a college and work-ready di5 ploma. 

6 (2) Seven States are publically reporting 4-year 

7 cohort graduation rates and 20 States plan to pub8 lically report by 2008. 

9 (3) Thirteen States now require students to 

10 take a college-and work-ready course of study to 

11 earn a diploma, up from just 3 in 2006. Another 16 

12 States report that they plan to raise requirements 

13 during 2007. 

14 (4) States that act aggressively to raise gradua15 tion rates without conceding ground on academic 

16 proficiency are gaining traction in such cutting- edge 

17 policy areas as: dual enrollment to support early col18 lege high schools that lead to high school diplomas 

19 and 2 years of postsecondary credit; expanding high 

20 school accountability to include indicators to reward 

21 schools for keeping struggling students in school and 

22 on track to proficiency; the development of new sec23 ondary educational options, including both small 

24 school models and recovery or alternative models for 

25 struggling students and dropouts. 

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1 (5) Even frontrunner States have not yet 

2 adopted a comprehensive set of policies to support 

3 high standards and high graduation rates. They lack 

4 the supports and resources to track implementation 

5 of the policies they have put in place or to partner 

6 with districts to build further capacity to carry out 

7 evidence-based practices and programming. 

8 (6) Past Federal educational initiatives have 

9 been effective in supporting and accelerating bolder, 

10 more strategic action with positive results, for exam11 ple the National Science Foundation State Systemic 

12 Initiative. 

13 (7) Supporting frontrunner States to become 

14 laboratories of innovation and models for other 

15 States will accelerate the number of young people 

16 graduating from high schools across the Nation who 

17 are college and career ready. 

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

19 (1) provide incentives for States to strengthen 

20 and develop new State policies in order to substan21 tially raise the graduation rate in the State while en22 suring rigorous secondary education content stand23 ards and assessments; and 

24 (2) evaluate the effectiveness of such changes to 

25 the State policies. 

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1 SEC. 302. SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE HIGH SCHOOL 

2 GRADUATION RATE. 

3 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

4 is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

5 States that meet the requirements of section 303 to enable 

6 such States to design and align State policies in order to 

7 act as laboratories of innovation by reducing barriers and 

8 creating incentives to improve outcomes for high school 

9 students. 

10 (b) NUMBER OF GRANTS; DURATION.— 

11 (1) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—For each of the first 

12 3 consecutive years of the grant program under this 

13 title, the Secretary shall award 4 or more grants 

14 under this title, except that the Secretary shall 

15 award a total of not more than 20 grants under this 

16 title for all 3 such years. 

17 (2) DURATION OF GRANT.—Each grant award18 ed under this title shall be for a period of 5 years. 

19 SEC. 303. ELIGIBLE STATE. 

20 To be eligible to receive a grant under this title, a 

21 State shall comply with each of the following: 

22 (1) The State shall receive a grant under title 

23 I and carry out the activities required under such 

24 title. 

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1 (2) The State shall have implemented, or be in 

2 the process of developing, a statewide longitudinal 

3 data system with individual student identifiers. 

4 (3) The Governor of the State and any indi5 vidual, entity, or agency designated under section 

6 304(a) by the Governor shall regularly consult with 

7 each other and with the State board of education, 

8 the State educational agency, the head of the State 

9 higher education entity, the head of career and tech10 nical education in the State, and other agencies as 

11 appropriate, regarding carrying out the activities re12 quired under this title. 

13 (4) The State shall meet any additional criteria 

14 determined by the Secretary to be necessary to carry 

15 out the purposes of this title. 

16 SEC. 304. APPLICATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a State desires a grant under 

18 this title, the Governor of the State, or an individual, enti19 ty, or agency designated by the Governor, shall submit an 

20 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

21 and containing such information as the Secretary may re22 quire. 

23 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under 

24 this section shall include the following: 

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1 (1) A description of the State’s plan to conduct 

2 the policy gap and impact analysis described in sec3 tion 305(1). 

4 (2) A description of the State’s plan for using 

5 the findings of the policy gap and impact analysis to 

6 strengthen the policies of the State in effect as of 

7 the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (3) A description of how the State will ensure 

9 that the State elementary and secondary education 

10 content standards and academic assessments de11 scribed in section 1111(b) of the Elementary and 

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

13 6311(b)) are aligned to college and work readiness. 

14 (4) A description of how the State will ensure 

15 that all students have access to a college preparatory 

16 curriculum. 

17 (5) A plan to ensure the statewide longitudinal 

18 student data system, other statewide data systems, 

19 and data protocols are designed and implemented in 

20 such a way that allows for data interoperability and 

21 portability across local educational agencies and 

22 among pre-kindergarten through grade 12 systems, 

23 institutions of higher education, and systems that 

24 identify whether students enter the Armed Forces. 

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1 (6) A plan to grant additional flexibility and 

2 autonomy to schools and local educational agencies 

3 working to increase the graduation rates and college 

4 readiness of secondary school students. 

5 (7) A plan to stimulate the development of mul6 tiple pathways and expanded educational options to 

7 help secondary students, including struggling stu8 dents and dropouts, attain a secondary school di9 ploma that prepares the student with the necessary 

10 skills to succeed in higher education and work. 

11 (8) An assurance that the following stake12 holders are committed to achieving the goals and ob13 jectives set forth in the grant application: 

14 (A) The Governor of the State. 

15 (B) The chief executive officer of the State 

16 higher education coordinating board. 

17 (C) The chief State school officer. 

18 (D) The head of the State Board of Edu19 cation. 

20 (E) The head of career and technical edu21 cation in the State. 

22 (F) Other agency heads, as determined ap23 propriate by the Governor and the individuals, 

24 entities, and agencies involved in the consulta25 tion under section 303(3). 

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1 SEC. 305. USE OF FUNDS. 

2 A State receiving a grant under this title shall carry 

3 out the following: 

4 (1) Conduct, or enter into a contract with a 

5 third party to conduct, a policy gap and impact 

6 analysis to determine how to strengthen the policies 

7 of the State in order to substantially raise the grad8 uation rate in the State while ensuring rigorous sec9 ondary education content standards and assess10 ments. Such analysis shall— 

11 (A) examine the policies of the State, and 

12 of the local educational agencies within the 

13 State, affecting— 

14 (i) school funding; 

15 (ii) data capacity; 

16 (iii) accountability systems; 

17 (iv) interventions in high-priority sec18 ondary schools; 

19 (v) new school development; and 

20 (vi) the dissemination and implemen21 tation of effective local school improvement 

22 activities throughout the State; and 

23 (B) provide recommendations regarding 

24 how the State can strengthen the policies of the 

25 State to substantially raise the graduation rate 

26 in the State while ensuring rigorous postsecmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ondary and work-ready academic standards, in2 cluding recommendations on— 

3 (i) innovative finance models, such as 

4 weighted student funding; 

5 (ii) data capacity that enables longitu6 dinal and cross-sectoral analysis of State 

7 education and other systems, such as juve8 nile justice, social services, and early child9 hood; 

10 (iii) improving a differentiated system 

11 of supports, sanctions, and interventions 

12 for high-priority high schools; 

13 (iv) the development of additional sec14 ondary educational options, including both 

15 the development of small school models 

16 and recovery or alternative models for 

17 struggling students and dropouts; 

18 (v) additional accountability measures 

19 in the State accountability system; 

20 (vi) dual student enrollment in sec21 ondary schools and institutions of higher 

22 education; and 

23 (vii) the development of school-family24 community partnerships to improve stu25 dent achievement. 

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1 (2) Implement or enact— 

2 (A) the changes to the policies of the State 

3 recommended by the policy gap and impact 

4 analysis under paragraph (1)(B); and 

5 (B) any additional changes to the policies 

6 of the State necessary to enable the State to 

7 carry out all of the plans described in the appli8 cation under subsection (b). 

9 (3) Develop a system to— 

10 (A) measure how the changes to the poli11 cies of the State carried out under this title im12 prove student outcomes at the State and local 

13 levels; and 

14 (B) adjust the policies of the State accord15 ingly in order to achieve the desired policy tar16 gets and student outcomes at the State and 

17 local levels. 

18 (4) Devote resources to ensure the sustain19 ability of the activities carried out under this title 

20 and the long-term success of the secondary schools 

21 within the State. 

22 SEC. 306. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

23 (a) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 180 

24 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

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1 thereafter for the period of the grant, each State receiving 

2 a grant under this title shall— 

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

4 progress regarding the impact of the changes made 

5 to the policies of the State in accordance with this 

6 title, on substantially raising the graduation rate in 

7 the State while ensuring rigorous postsecondary and 

8 work-ready academic standards, including— 

9 (A) a description of the specific changes 

10 made, or in the process of being made, to poli11 cies as a result of the grant; 

12 (B) a discussion of any barriers hindering 

13 the identified changes in policies, and strategies 

14 to overcome such barriers; 

15 (C) evidence of the impact of changes to 

16 policies on desired behavior and actions at the 

17 local educational agency and school level; 

18 (D) after the first year of the grant period, 

19 a description of how the results of the previous 

20 year’s evaluation were used to adjust policies of 

21 the State as necessary to achieve the purposes 

22 of this title; and 

23 (E) evidence of the impact of the changes 

24 to policies in accordance with this title on im25 proving graduation rates or other measures, 

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1 such as percent of students who are making 

2 sufficient progress toward graduating secondary 

3 school in the standard number of years; 

4 (2) use the results of the evaluation conducted 

5 under paragraph (1) to adjust the policies of the 

6 State as necessary to achieve the purposes of this 

7 title; and 

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

9 Secretary. 

10 (b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the re11 sults of each State’s evaluation under subsection (a) avail12 able to other States and local educational agencies. 

13 SEC. 307. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this title $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and the 4 suc16 ceeding fiscal years. 

Æ 

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