II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1920 

To award competitive grants to eligible partnerships to enable the partnerships to implement innovative strategies at the secondary school level 

to improve student achievement and prepare at-risk students for postsecondary education and the workforce. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2007 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. PRYOR, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To award competitive grants to eligible partnerships to enable the partnerships to implement innovative strategies 

at the secondary school level to improve student achievement and prepare at-risk students for postsecondary education and the workforce. 

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 ‘‘Getting Retention and 

5 Diplomas Up Among Today’s Enrolled Students Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘GRADUATES Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since almost 90 percent of the fastest grow4 ing and best paying jobs now require some postsec5 ondary education, a secondary school diploma and 

6 the skills to succeed in higher education and the 

7 modern workplace are essential. 

(2) Only 1 8 ⁄3 of all high school students in the 

9 United States graduate in 4 years prepared for a 4- 

year institution of higher education. Another 1 10 ⁄3

11 graduate, but without the skills and qualifications 

12 necessary for success in higher education or the 

13 workplace, and the rest will not graduate from high 

14 school in 4 years, if at all. 

15 (3) Dropouts from the class of 2006 will cost 

16 the United States more that $309,000,000,000 in 

17 reduced earnings. 

18 (4) The Nation’s failure to meet the increasing 

19 demand for skilled workers means that American 

20 companies cannot fill a large number of jobs. 81 per21 cent of American manufacturing companies report 

22 experiencing a moderate to severe shortage of quali23 fied workers. 

24 (5) International competition has made edu25 cation a national security issue. For example, the 

26 United States currently runs a $30,000,000,000 adVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:52 Aug 06, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920

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1 vanced technology trade deficit with China. Many 

2 other countries are developing the technology, infra3 structure, and knowledge base to export quality 

4 products with inexpensive labor. The education sys5 tem of the United States should support critical 

6 thinking, creativity, and innovative approaches to 

7 new opportunities, which are commodities that can8 not be outsourced. 

9 (6) As the bar for success continues to be 

10 raised, the responsibility to engender these attributes 

11 with progressive programs and original models lies 

12 squarely with the education system. It is imperative 

13 that the United States develop and implement new, 

14 innovative approaches to fully prepare every student 

15 for the 21st century. 

16 (7) Realigning the education system to meet 

17 new, demanding requirements and face intensifying 

18 competition requires effective, systemic reform. Iden19 tifying effective, replicable models that achieve this 

20 goal is a critical step towards enhancing the pros21 pects of all students entering the modern workforce. 

22 SEC. 3. SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATION FUND. 

23 (a) SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATION FUND.—Title 

24 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

25 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating part I as part J; and 

2 (2) by inserting after section 1830 the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘PART I—SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATION 

5 FUND 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1851. PURPOSES. 

7 ‘‘The purposes of this part are— 

8 ‘‘(1) to improve the achievement of at-risk sec9 ondary school students and prepare such students 

10 for higher education and the workforce; 

11 ‘‘(2) to create evidence-based, replicable models 

12 of innovation in secondary schools at the State and 

13 local level; and 

14 ‘‘(3) to support partnerships to create and in15 form innovation at the State and local level to im16 prove learning outcomes and transitions for sec17 ondary school students. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1852. DEFINITIONS. 

19 ‘‘In this part: 

20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi21 ble partnership’ means a partnership that includes— 

22 ‘‘(A) not less than 1— 

23 ‘‘(i) State educational agency; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) local educational agency that is 

25 eligible for assistance under part A; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) not less than 1— 

2 ‘‘(i) institution of higher education; 

3 ‘‘(ii) nonprofit organization; 

4 ‘‘(iii) community-based organization; 

5 ‘‘(iv) business; or 

6 ‘‘(v) school development organization 

7 or intermediary. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘eligible 

9 school’ means a public secondary school served by a 

10 local educational agency that is eligible for assist11 ance under part A. 

12 ‘‘(3) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘high school’ 

13 means a public school, including a public charter 

14 high school, that provides education in any grade be15 ginning with grade 9 and ending with grade 12, as 

16 determined under State law. 

17 ‘‘(4) MIDDLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘middle 

18 school’ means a public school, including a public 

19 charter middle school, that provides middle edu20 cation in any grade beginning with grade 5 and end21 ing with grade 8, as determined under State law. 

22 ‘‘(5) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec23 ondary school’ has the meaning given the term in 

24 section 9101. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1853. SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATION FUND. 

2 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

3 ‘‘(1) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

4 The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a 

5 competitive basis, to eligible partnerships to enable 

6 the eligible partnerships to pay the Federal share of 

7 the costs of implementing innovative strategies de8 scribed in subsection (f) to improve the achievement 

9 of at-risk students in secondary schools. 

10 ‘‘(2) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS.—An 

11 eligible partnership that receives a grant under this 

12 part may use the grant funds to award a subgrant 

13 to an eligible school to enable the eligible school to 

14 implement innovative strategies described in sub15 section (f) to improve the achievement of at-risk stu16 dents at the eligible school. 

17 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

18 reserve 5 percent of the amounts appropriated under this 

19 part for a fiscal year for the evaluation described in sub20 section (h). 

21 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partnership de23 siring a grant under this part shall submit an appli24 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such man25 ner, and containing such information as the Sec26 retary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The application described in 

2 paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of the eligible partner4 ship, the partners forming the eligible partner5 ship, and the roles and responsibilities of each 

6 partner, and a demonstration of each partner’s 

7 capacity to support the outlined roles and re8 sponsibilities; 

9 ‘‘(B) a description of how funds will be 

10 used to improve the achievement of at-risk stu11 dents in secondary schools; 

12 ‘‘(C) a description of how the activities 

13 funded by the grant will be innovative, sys14 temic, evidence-based, and replicable; 

15 ‘‘(D) a description of each subgrant the el16 igible partnership will award to an eligible 

17 school, including a description of the eligible 

18 school; and 

19 ‘‘(E) a description of how the eligible part20 nership will measure and report improvement 

21 using the data collected under subsection (g) 

22 and additional indicators of improvement pro23 posed by the partnership, such as student at24 tendance or participation, credit accumulation 

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1 ment and persistence rates, or number or per2 centage of students taking Advanced Placement 

3 (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or 

4 other postsecondary education courses, rigorous 

5 postsecondary education preparatory courses, or 

6 workforce apprenticeship and training pro7 grams. 

8 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION REVIEW AND AWARD BASIS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) GRANT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The 

10 Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) establish a peer review process to as12 sist in the review of the grant applications and 

13 approval of the grants under this section; and 

14 ‘‘(B) appoint to the peer review process— 

15 ‘‘(i) individuals who are educators and 

16 experts in— 

17 ‘‘(I) secondary school reform; 

18 ‘‘(II) accountability; 

19 ‘‘(III) secondary school improve20 ment; 

21 ‘‘(IV) innovative education mod22 els; and 

23 ‘‘(V) other educational needs of 

24 secondary school students; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not less than 1 parent or com2 munity representative; and 

3 ‘‘(C) ensure that each grant award is of 

4 sufficient size and scope to carry out the activi5 ties proposed in the grant application, including 

6 the evaluation required under subsection (g)(3). 

7 ‘‘(2) AWARD BASIS.—In awarding grants under 

8 this part, the Secretary shall ensure, to the extent 

9 practicable— 

10 ‘‘(A) diversity in the type of activities 

11 funded under the grants; 

12 ‘‘(B) an equitable geographic distribution 

13 of the grants, including urban and rural areas; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) that the grants support activities— 

16 ‘‘(i) that target different grade levels 

17 of students at the secondary school level; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) in a variety of types of secondary 

20 schools, including middle schools and high 

21 schools. 

22 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE, NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a 

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1 cent of the costs of the activities assisted under the 

2 grant. 

3 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

4 share shall be not less than 25 percent of the costs 

5 of the activities assisted under the grant, of which 

6 not more than 10 percent of the costs of the activi7 ties assisted under the grant may be provided in8 kind, fairly evaluated. 

9 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership receiv10 ing a grant under this part, or an eligible school receiving 

11 a subgrant under this part, shall use grant or subgrant 

12 funds, respectively, to carry out 1 or more of the following 

13 activities: 

14 ‘‘(1) Creating multiple pathways, including the 

15 creation of new public schools, that offer students a 

16 range of educational options designed to meet the 

17 students’ needs and interests and to lead to a sec18 ondary school diploma consistent with readiness for 

19 postsecondary education and the workforce, which 

20 pathways may include— 

21 ‘‘(A) alternative public schools that— 

22 ‘‘(i) use innovative strategies such as 

23 flexible hours; 

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1 ment to improve educational outcomes for 

2 various populations of overaged and under3 credited students or dropouts, such as— 

4 ‘‘(I) students not making suffi5 cient progress to graduate with a reg6 ular secondary school diploma in the 

7 standard number of years; 

8 ‘‘(II) students who need to work 

9 to support themselves or their fami10 lies; 

11 ‘‘(III) pregnant and parenting 

12 teens; and 

13 ‘‘(IV) students returning from 

14 the juvenile justice system; 

15 ‘‘(B) career and technical education pro16 grams; 

17 ‘‘(C) career academies; 

18 ‘‘(D) early college and dual enrollment 

19 learning opportunities; and 

20 ‘‘(E) creating more personalized and en21 gaging learning environments for secondary 

22 school students, such as— 

23 ‘‘(i) establishing smaller learning com24 munities; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) creating student advisories and 

2 developing peer engagement strategies in 

3 which students lead guidance activities, 

4 mentoring, or tutoring efforts; 

5 ‘‘(iii) involving students and parents 

6 in the development of individualized stu7 dent plans for secondary school success 

8 and graduation and postsecondary transi9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(iv) creating mechanisms for in11 creased student participation in school im12 provement efforts and in decisions affect13 ing the students’ own learning; and 

14 ‘‘(v) creating new opportunities to bet15 ter utilize the grade 11 and grade 12 years 

16 and creating better connectivity to postsec17 ondary education. 

18 ‘‘(2) Creating expanded learning time opportu19 nities, which may include— 

20 ‘‘(A) establishing a mandatory expanded 

21 day, for all students transitioning into the first 

22 year of high school, for academic catch-up and 

23 enrichment; 


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1 ‘‘(B) providing arts or service learning op2 portunities with community-based cultural and 

3 civic organizations; and 

4 ‘‘(C) providing higher education and work5 based exposure, experience, and credit-bearing 

6 learning opportunities in partnership with post7 secondary institutions and the workforce. 

8 ‘‘(3) Improving student transitions from middle 

9 school to high school and ensuring successful entry 

10 into high school, which may include— 

11 ‘‘(A) establishing summer transition pro12 grams for secondary school students 

13 transitioning from middle school to high school 

14 to ensure the students’ connection to the stu15 dents’ new high school and to orient the stu16 dents to the study skills and social skills nec17 essary for success in the high school; 

18 ‘‘(B) providing for the sharing of data be19 tween high schools and feeder middle schools; 

20 ‘‘(C) establishing quick response and recov21 ery programs in high school for secondary 

22 school students transitioning into the students’ 

23 first year of high school so that such students 

24 do not become truant or fall too far behind in 

25 academics; 


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1 ‘‘(D) increasing the level of student sup2 ports, including academic and social-emotional 

3 supports, especially for struggling students; and 

4 ‘‘(E) aligning academic standards, cur5 ricula, and assessments between middle and 

6 high schools. 

7 ‘‘(4) Improving student transitions from sec8 ondary school to postsecondary education and the 

9 workforce, which may include— 

10 ‘‘(A) providing for the sharing of data be11 tween secondary schools and institutions of 

12 higher education; 

13 ‘‘(B) enabling dual enrollment and credit14 bearing learning opportunities; 

15 ‘‘(C) establishing one or more early college 

16 secondary schools that offer students a sec17 ondary school diploma and not more than 2 

18 years of college credit within a 4- or 5-year pro19 gram; 

20 ‘‘(D) providing enhanced higher education 

21 and financial aid counseling; and 

22 ‘‘(E) aligning the academic standards of 

23 secondary school with the academic standards 

24 of postsecondary education and the require25 ments and expectations of the workforce. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Increasing the autonomy and flexibility of 

2 secondary schools, which may include— 

3 ‘‘(A) establishing a process whereby exist4 ing schools can apply for flexibility in such 

5 areas as scheduling, curricula, budgeting, and 

6 governance; and 

7 ‘‘(B) starting new small public secondary 

8 schools that are guaranteed such autonomies. 

9 ‘‘(6) Improving learning opportunities for sec10 ondary school students in rural schools, including 

11 through the use of distance-learning opportunities 

12 and other technology-based tools. 

13 ‘‘(7) Redesigning a middle school— 

14 ‘‘(A) to prevent student disengagement 

15 and improve achievement; and 

16 ‘‘(B) to better respond to early warning 

17 signs that students are at risk of dropping out 

18 of school, such as poor attendance, poor behav19 ior, or course failure. 

20 ‘‘(8) Improving teaching and increasing aca21 demic rigor at the secondary school level, which may 

22 include— 

23 ‘‘(A) improving the alignment of academic 

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1 tions of postsecondary education and the work2 force; 

3 ‘‘(B) improving the teaching and assess4 ment of 21st century skills, including through 

5 the development of formative assessment mod6 els; 

7 ‘‘(C) increasing community involvement, 

8 including leveraging community-based services 

9 and opportunities to provide every student with 

10 the academic and nonacademic supports nec11 essary for academic success; 

12 ‘‘(D) increasing parental involvement, in13 cluding providing parents with the tools to navi14 gate, support, and influence their child’s aca15 demic career and choices through secondary 

16 school graduation and into postsecondary edu17 cation and the workforce; and 

18 ‘‘(E) addressing the learning needs of var19 ious student populations, including students 

20 who are limited English proficient, late entrant 

21 English language learners, and students with 

22 disabilities. 

23 ‘‘(g) DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION OF DATA.—Each eligible 

25 partnership receiving a grant under this part shall 


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1 collect and report annually to the Secretary such in2 formation on the results of the activities assisted 

3 under the grant as the Secretary may reasonably re4 quire, including information on— 

5 ‘‘(A) the number and percentage of stu6 dents who— 

7 ‘‘(i) are served by the eligible partner8 ship; 

9 ‘‘(ii) are assisted under this part; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) graduate from secondary school 

11 with a regular secondary school diploma in 

12 the standard number of years; 

13 ‘‘(B) the number and percentage of stu14 dents, at each grade level, who are— 

15 ‘‘(i) served by the eligible partnership; 

16 ‘‘(ii) assisted under this part; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) on track to graduate from sec18 ondary school with a regular secondary 

19 school diploma in the standard number of 

20 years; 

21 ‘‘(C) the number and percentage of stu22 dents, at each grade level, who— 

23 ‘‘(i) are served by the eligible partner24 ship; 

25 ‘‘(ii) are assisted under this part; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) meet or exceed State challenging 

2 student academic achievement standards in 

3 mathematics, reading or language arts, or 

4 science, as measured by the State aca5 demic assessments under section 

6 1111(b)(3); 

7 ‘‘(D) information consistent with the addi8 tional indicators of improvement proposed by 

9 the eligible partnership in the grant application; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(E) other information the Secretary may 

12 require as necessary for the evaluation de13 scribed in subsection (h). 

14 ‘‘(2) REPORTING OF DATA.—Each eligible part15 nership receiving a grant under this part shall 

16 disaggregate the information required under para17 graph (1) in the same manner as information is 

18 disaggregated under section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i). 

19 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible partner21 ship receiving a grant under this part shall 

22 enter into a contract with an outside evaluator 

23 to enable the evaluator to conduct— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an evaluation of the effectiveness 

2 of the grant after the third year of imple3 mentation of the grant; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the effectiveness 

5 of the grant after the final year of the 

6 grant period. 

7 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—Upon completion of 

8 an evaluation described in subparagraph (A), 

9 the eligible partnership shall submit a copy of 

10 the evaluation to the Secretary in a timely man11 ner. 

12 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION; BEST PRACTICES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved 

14 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) enter into a contract with an outside 

16 evaluator to enable the evaluator to conduct— 

17 ‘‘(i) a comprehensive evaluation after 

18 the third year of implementation on the ef19 fectiveness of all grants awarded under 

20 this part; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) a final evaluation following the 

22 final year of the grant period with a focus 

23 on improvement in student achievement as 

24 a result of innovative strategies; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) disseminate best practices in improv2 ing the achievement of secondary school stu3 dents. 

4 ‘‘(2) PEER REVIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An evaluator receiving 

6 a contract under this subsection shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) establish a peer-review process to 

8 assist in the review and approval of the 

9 evaluations conducted under this sub10 section; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) appoint individuals to the peer12 review process who are educators and ex13 perts in— 

14 ‘‘(I) research and evaluation; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the areas of expertise de16 scribed in subclauses (I) through (V) 

17 of subsection (d)(1)(B)(i). 

18 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTIONS ON USE.—The Sec19 retary shall not distribute or use the results of 

20 any evaluation described in paragraph (1)(A) 

21 until the results are peer-reviewed in accord22 ance with subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(i) CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.—An eligible part24 nership that receives a grant under this part shall only 

25 be eligible to receive a grant payment for a fourth or fifth 


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1 year of the grant if the Secretary determines, on the basis 

2 of the evaluation of the grant under subsection 

3 (h)(1)(A)(i), that the performance of the eligible partner4 ship under the grant has been satisfactory. 

5 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING DISCRIMI6 NATION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

7 permit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, 

8 sex, national origin, or disability in any program or activ9 ity funded under this part. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 1854. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this part $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and for each 

13 of the succeeding 5 years.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con15 tents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 note) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking the item relating to Part I and 

18 inserting the following: 

‘‘PART J—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; 

19 and 

20 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec21 tion 1830 the following: 

‘‘PART I—SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATION FUND

‘‘Sec. 1851. Purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 1852. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 1853. Secondary school innovation fund. 

‘‘Sec. 1854. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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