I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1711 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve 

certain accountability and assessment provisions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2007 

Ms. HOOLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to improve certain accountability and assessment 

provisions. 

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 ‘‘Flexibility in Assess5 ments for Individuals Reform Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 

7 EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. 

8 (a) LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT OF AYP.—Sub9 paragraph (C) of section 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary 


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

2 6311(b)(2)) is amended— 

3 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

4 (2) in clause (vii), by striking the period at the 

5 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(viii) at the State’s discretion, meas8 ures the progress of public elementary 

9 schools, secondary schools, and local edu10 cational agencies by tracking the progress 

11 of individual students or cohorts of stu12 dents on a longitudinal basis in lieu of, or 

13 in addition to, comparing the proficiency of 

14 a class of students with the proficiency of 

15 earlier classes of students; and’’. 

16 (b) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.— 

17 (1) OPT-OUT FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.—Sec18 tion 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is amend20 ed— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2)(C)(iv), by inserting 

22 ‘‘subject to subparagraph (L),’’ before ‘‘meas23 ures the progress’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2)(I)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, 

25 and the 95 percent requirement described in 


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1 this clause shall exclude any student who, pur2 suant to subparagraph (L), opts out of the as3 sessments)’’ after ‘‘about an individual stu4 dent’’; and 

5 (C) at the end of paragraph (2), by adding 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(L) OPT-OUT FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.— 

8 At the request of the parent of a student, a 

9 State may allow the student to opt out of the 

10 assessments described in paragraph (3) because 

11 the student is a child with a disability (as that 

12 term is defined in section 602 of the Individuals 

13 with Disabilities Education Act) or because of 

14 religious reasons.’’. 

15 (2) FLEXIBILITY IN SCHEDULING.—Paragraph 

16 (3) of section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(E) FLEXIBILITY IN SCHEDULING.—The 

20 Secretary shall give States the flexibility to re21 schedule the assessments described in this para22 graph in the case of a student who cannot at23 tend school at the time of the assessments be24 cause of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) unusual weather or a natural dis2 aster; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a cultural or religious event; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) a medical condition.’’. 

5 (c) GRADUATION RATES.—Clause (vi) of section 

6 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)) is amended 

8 by inserting ‘‘, except that, at the discretion of the State, 

9 such graduation rates may include any child with a dis10 ability (as that term is defined in section 602 of the Indi11 viduals with Disabilities Education Act) who satisfies such 

12 alternative challenging academic content and achievement 

13 standards as the State may establish, consistent with the 

14 child’s individualized education program (as that term is 

15 defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities 

16 Education Act), for the child to complete secondary school 

17 in a reasonable period of time’’ after ‘‘in the standard 

18 number of years’’. 

19 (d) STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO20 FICIENCY.—Section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Sec21 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) (as 

24 amended by subsection (a) of this Act), by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ix) continues to include students in 

2 the subgroup described in clause 

3 (v)(II)(dd) for three school years after 

4 such students attain English proficiency.’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) in paragraph (3)(C)(x), by striking ‘‘for 

7 three or more consecutive years’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

8 more than five consecutive years’’. 

Æ 


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