II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2428 

To provide for educational opportunities for all students in State public 

school systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2004 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. REED, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. 

CLINTON, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. REID, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. JOHNSON, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for educational opportunities for all students in 

State public school systems, 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 ‘‘Student Bill of 

5 Rights’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Findings and purposes. 
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TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC 

SCHOOL SYSTEMS 

Subtitle A—Access to Educational Opportunity 

Sec. 101. State public school systems. 

Sec. 102. Fundamentals of educational opportunity. 

Subtitle B—State Accountability 

Sec. 111. State accountability plan. 

Sec. 112. Consequences of failure to meet requirements. 

Subtitle C—Report to Congress and the Public 

Sec. 121. Annual report on State public school systems. 

Subtitle D—Remedy 

Sec. 131. Civil action for enforcement. 

TITLE II—EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES ON 

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NATIONAL DEFENSE 

Sec. 201. Effects on economic growth and productivity. 

Sec. 202. Effects on national defense. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Rulemaking. 

Sec. 303. Construction. 

1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) A high-quality, highly competitive education 

4 for all students is imperative for the economic 

5 growth and productivity of the United States, for its 

6 effective national defense, and to achieve the histor7 ical aspiration to be one Nation of equal citizens. It 

8 is therefore necessary and proper to overcome the 

9 nationwide phenomenon of State public school sys10 tems that do not meet the requirements of section 

11 101(a), in which high-quality public schools typically 

12 serve high-income communities and poor-quality 
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1 schools typically serve low-income, urban, rural, and 

2 minority communities. 

3 (2) There exists in the States a significant edu4 cational opportunity gap for low-income, urban, 

5 rural, and minority students characterized by the 

6 following: 

7 (A) Continuing disparities within States in 

8 students’ access to the fundamentals of edu9 cational opportunity described in section 102. 

10 (B) Highly differential educational expend11 itures (adjusted for cost and need) among 

12 school districts within States. 

13 (C) Radically differential educational 

14 achievement among students in school districts 

15 within States as measured by the following: 

16 (i) Achievement in mathematics, read17 ing or language arts, and science on State 

18 academic assessments required under sec19 tion 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) and on the National 

22 Assessment of Educational Progress. 

23 (ii) Advanced placement courses 

24 taken. 

25 (iii) SAT and ACT test scores. 
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1 (iv) Dropout rates and graduation 

2 rates. 

3 (v) College-going and college-comple4 tion rates. 

5 (vi) Job placement and retention rates 

6 and indices of job quality. 

7 (3) As a consequence of this educational oppor8 tunity gap, the quality of a child’s education depends 

9 largely upon where the child’s family can afford to 

10 live, and the detriments of lower quality education 

11 are imposed particularly on— 

12 (A) children from low-income families; 

13 (B) children living in urban and rural 

14 areas; and 

15 (C) minority children. 

16 (4) Since 1785, Congress, exercising the power 

17 to admit new States under section 3 of article IV of 

18 the Constitution (and previously, the Congress of the 

19 Confederation of States under the Articles of Con20 federation), has imposed upon every State, as a fun21 damental condition of the State’s admission, that 

22 the State provide for the establishment and mainte23 nance of systems of public schools open to all chil24 dren in such State. 
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1 (5) Over the years since the landmark ruling in 

2 Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 493 

3 (1954), when a unanimous Supreme Court held that 

4 ‘‘the opportunity of an education . . . , where the 

5 State has undertaken to provide it, is a right which 

6 must be made available to all on equal terms’’, 

7 courts in 44 States have heard challenges to the es8 tablishment, maintenance, and operation of State 

9 public school systems that are separate and not edu10 cationally adequate. 

11 (6) In 1970, the Presidential Commission on 

12 School Finance found that significant disparities in 

13 the distribution of educational resources existed 

14 among school districts within States because the 

15 States relied too significantly on local district financ16 ing for educational revenues, and that reforms in 

17 systems of school financing would increase the Na18 tion’s ability to serve the educational needs of all 

19 children. 

20 (7) In 1999, the National Research Council of 

21 the National Academy of Sciences published a report 

22 entitled ‘‘Making Money Matter, Financing Amer23 ica’s Schools’’, which found that the concept of fund24 ing adequacy, which moves beyond the more tradi25 tional concepts of finance equity to focus attention 
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1 on the sufficiency of funding for desired educational 

2 outcomes, is an important step in developing a fair 

3 and productive educational system. 

4 (8) In 2001, the Executive Order establishing 

5 the President’s Commission on Educational Re6 source Equity declared, ‘‘A quality education is es7 sential to the success of every child in the 21st cen8 tury and to the continued strength and prosperity of 

9 our Nation. . . . [L]ong-standing gaps in access to 

10 educational resources exist, including disparities 

11 based on race and ethnicity.’’ (Exec. Order No. 

12 13190, 66 Fed. Reg. 5424 (2001)). 

13 (9) According to the Secretary of Education, as 

14 stated in a letter (with enclosures) from the Sec15 retary to States dated January 19, 2001— 

16 (A) racial and ethnic minorities continue to 

17 suffer from lack of access to educational re18 sources, including ‘‘experienced and qualified 

19 teachers, adequate facilities, and instructional 

20 programs and support, including technology, as 

21 wel l as . . .the funding necessary to secure these 

22 resources’’; and 

23 (B) these inadequacies are ‘‘particularly 

24 acute in high-poverty schools, including urban 

25 schools, where many students of color are iso-
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1 lated and where the effect of the resource gaps 

2 may be cumulative. In other words, students 

3 who need the most may often receive the least, 

4 and these students often are students of color.’’. 

5 (10) In the amendments made by the No Child 

6 Left Behind Act of 2001, Congress— 

7 (A)(i) required each State to establish 

8 standards and assessments in mathematics, 

9 reading or language arts, and science; and 

10 (ii) required schools to ensure that all stu11 dents are proficient in mathematics, reading or 

12 language arts, and science not later than 12 

13 years after the end of the 2001–2002 school 

14 year, and held schools accountable for the stu15 dents’ progress; and 

16 (B) required each State to describe how 

17 the State will help local educational agencies 

18 and schools to develop the capacity to improve 

19 student academic achievement. 

20 (11) The standards and accountability move21 ment will succeed only if, in addition to standards 

22 and accountability, all schools have access to the 

23 educational resources necessary to enable students to 

24 achieve. 
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1 (12) Raising standards without ensuring access 

2 to educational resources may in fact exacerbate 

3 achievement gaps and set children up for failure. 

4 (13) According to the World Economic Forum’s 

5 Global Competitiveness Report 2001–2002, the 

6 United States ranks last among developed countries 

7 in the difference in the quality of schools available 

8 to rich and poor children. 

9 (14) The persistence of pervasive inadequacies 

10 in the quality of education provided by State public 

11 school systems effectively deprives millions of chil12 dren throughout the United States of the oppor13 tunity for an education adequate to enable the chil14 dren to— 

15 (A) acquire the knowledge and skills nec16 essary for responsible citizenship in a diverse 

17 democracy, including the ability to participate 

18 fully in the political process through informed 

19 electoral choice; 

20 (B) meet challenging student academic 

21 achievement standards; and 

22 (C) be able to compete and succeed in a 

23 global economy. 

24 (15) Each State government has ultimate au25 thority to determine every important aspect and pri-
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1 ority of the public school system that provides ele2 mentary and secondary education to children in the 

3 State, including whether students throughout the 

4 State have access to the fundamentals of educational 

5 opportunity described in section 102. 

6 (16) Because a well educated populace is crit7 ical to the Nation’s political and economic well-being 

8 and national security, the Federal Government has 

9 a substantial interest in ensuring that States provide 

10 a high-quality education by ensuring that all stu11 dents have access to the fundamentals of educational 

12 opportunity described in section 102 to enable the 

13 students to succeed academically and in life. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol15 lowing: 

16 (1) To further the goals of the Elementary and 

17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as amended by 

18 the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001), by holding 

19 States accountable for providing all students with 

20 access to the fundamentals of educational oppor21 tunity described in section 102. 

22 (2) To ensure that all students in public ele23 mentary schools and secondary schools receive edu24 cational opportunities that enable such students to— 
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1 (A) acquire the knowledge and skills nec2 essary for responsible citizenship in a diverse 

3 democracy, including the ability to participate 

4 fully in the political process through informed 

5 electoral choice; 

6 (B) meet challenging student academic 

7 achievement standards; and 

8 (C) be able to compete and succeed in a 

9 global economy. 

10 (3) To end the pervasive pattern of States 

11 maintaining public school systems that do not meet 

12 the requirements of section 101(a). 

13 TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL OPPOR14 TUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC 

15 SCHOOL SYSTEMS 

16 Subtitle A—Access to Educational 

17 Opportunity 

18 SEC. 101. STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State receiving Federal 

20 financial assistance for elementary or secondary education 

21 shall ensure that the State’s public school system provides 

22 all students within the State with an education that en23 ables the students to acquire the knowledge and skills nec24 essary for responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy, 

25 including the ability to participate fully in the political 
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1 process through informed electoral choice, to meet chal2 lenging student academic achievement standards, and to 

3 be able to compete and succeed in a global economy, 

4 through— 

5 (1) the provision of fundamentals of educational 

6 opportunity described in section 102, at adequate or 

7 ideal levels as defined by the State under section 

8 111(a)(1)(A) to students at each public elementary 

9 school and secondary school in the State; 

10 (2) the provision of educational services in 

11 school districts that receive funds under part A of 

12 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) that are, taken 

14 as a whole, at least comparable to educational serv15 ices provided in school districts not receiving such 

16 funds; and 

17 (3) compliance with any final Federal or State 

18 court order in any matter concerning the adequacy 

19 or equitableness of the State’s public school system. 

20 (b) DETERMINATIONS CONCERNING STATE PUBLIC

21 SCHOOL SYSTEMS.—Not later than October 1 of each 

22 year, the Secretary shall determine whether each State 

23 maintains a public school system that meets the require24 ments of subsection (a). The Secretary may make a deter25 mination that a State public school system does not meet 
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1 such requirements only after providing notice and an op2 portunity for a hearing. 

3 (c) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish and 

4 make available to the general public (including by means 

5 of the Internet) the determinations made under subsection 

6 (b). 

7 SEC. 102. FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPOR8 TUNITY. 

9 The fundamentals of educational opportunity are the 

10 following: 

11 (1) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS, PRIN12 CIPALS, AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT PERSONNEL.— 

13 (A) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS.—In14 struction from highly qualified teachers in core 

15 academic subjects. 

16 (B) HIGHLY QUALIFIED PRINCIPALS.— 

17 Leadership, management, and guidance from 

18 principals who meet State certification stand19 ards. 

20 (C) HIGHLY QUALIFIED ACADEMIC SUP21 PORT PERSONNEL.—Necessary additional aca22 demic support in reading or language arts, 

23 mathematics, and other core academic subjects 

24 from personnel who meet applicable State 

25 standards. 
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1 (2) RIGOROUS ACADEMIC STANDARDS, CUR2 RICULA, AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.—Rigorous 

3 academic standards, curricula, and methods of in4 struction, as measured by the extent to which each 

5 school district succeeds in providing high-quality 

6 academic standards, curricula, and methods of in7 struction to students in each public elementary 

8 school and secondary school within the district. 

9 (3) SMALL CLASS SIZES.—Small class sizes, as 

10 measured by— 

11 (A) the average class size and the range of 

12 class sizes; and 

13 (B) the percentage of classes with 17 or 

14 fewer students. 

15 (4) TEXTBOOKS, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, 

16 AND SUPPLIES.—Textbooks, instructional materials, 

17 and supplies, as measured by— 

18 (A) the average age and quality of text19 books, instructional materials, and supplies 

20 used in core academic subjects; and 

21 (B) the percentage of students who begin 

22 the school year with school-issued textbooks, in23 structional materials, and supplies. 

24 (5) LIBRARY RESOURCES.—Library resources, 

25 as measured by— 
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1 (A) the size and qualifications of the li2 brary’s staff, including whether the library is 

3 staffed by a full-time librarian certified under 

4 applicable State standards; 

5 (B) the size (relative to the number of stu6 dents) and quality (including age) of the li7 brary’s collection of books and periodicals; and 

8 (C) the library’s hours of operation. 

9 (6) SCHOOL FACILITIES AND COMPUTER TECH10 NOLOGY.— 

11 (A) QUALITY SCHOOL FACILITIES.—Qual12 ity school facilities, as measured by— 

13 (i) the physical condition of school 

14 buildings and major school building fea15 tures; 

16 (ii) environmental conditions in school 

17 buildings; and 

18 (iii) the quality of instructional space. 

19 (B) COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY.—Computer 

20 technology, as measured by— 

21 (i) the ratio of computers to students; 

22 (ii) the quality of computers and soft23 ware available to students; 

24 (iii) Internet access; 
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1 (iv) the quality of system maintenance 

2 and technical assistance for the computers; 

3 and 

4 (v) the number of computer labora5 tory courses taught by qualified computer 

6 instructors. 

7 (7) QUALITY GUIDANCE COUNSELING.—Quali8 fied guidance counselors, as measured by the ratio 

9 of students to qualified guidance counselors who 

10 have been certified under an applicable State or na11 tional program. 

12 Subtitle B—State Accountability 

13 SEC. 111. STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN. 

14 (a) GENERAL PLAN.— 

15 (1) CONTENTS.—Each State receiving Federal 

16 financial assistance for elementary and secondary 

17 education shall annually submit to the Secretary a 

18 plan, developed by the State educational agency, in 

19 consultation with local educational agencies, teach20 ers, principals, pupil services personnel, administra21 tors, other staff, and parents, that contains the fol22 lowing: 

23 (A) A description of 2 levels of high access 

24 (adequate and ideal) to each of the fundamen25 tals of educational opportunity described in sec-
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1 tion 102 that measure how well the State, 

2 through school districts, public elementary 

3 schools, and public secondary schools, is achiev4 ing the purposes of this Act by providing chil5 dren with the resources they need to succeed 

6 academically and in life. 

7 (B) A description of a third level of access 

8 (basic) to each of the fundamentals of edu9 cational opportunity described in section 102 

10 that measures how well the State, through 

11 school districts, public elementary schools, and 

12 public secondary schools, is achieving the pur13 poses of this Act by providing children with the 

14 resources they need to succeed academically and 

15 in life. 

16 (C) A description of the level of access of 

17 each school district, public elementary school, 

18 and public secondary school in the State to each 

19 of the fundamentals of educational opportunity 

20 described in section 102, including identifica21 tion of any such schools that lack high access 

22 (as described in subparagraph (A)) to any of 

23 the fundamentals. 
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1 (D) An estimate of the additional cost, if 

2 any, of ensuring that the system meets the re3 quirements of section 101(a). 

4 (E) Information stating the percentage of 

5 students in each school district, public elemen6 tary school, and public secondary school in the 

7 State that are proficient in mathematics, read8 ing or language arts, and science, as measured 

9 through assessments administered as described 

10 in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the Elementary 

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)). 

13 (F) Information stating whether each 

14 school district, public elementary school, and 

15 public secondary school in the State is making 

16 adequate yearly progress, as defined under sec17 tion 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 6311(b)(2)). 

20 (G)(i) For each school district, public ele21 mentary school, and public secondary school in 

22 the State, information stating— 

23 (I) the number and percentage of chil24 dren counted under section 1124(c) of the 
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1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

3 (II) the number and percentage of 

4 students described in section 

5 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and 

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 

8 (ii) For each such school district, informa9 tion stating whether the district is an urban, 

10 mixed, or rural district (as defined by the Na11 tional Center for Education Statistics). 

12 (2) LEVELS OF ACCESS.—For purposes of the 

13 plan submitted under paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) in defining basic, adequate, and ideal 

15 levels of access to each of the fundamentals of 

16 educational opportunity, each State shall con17 sider, in addition to the factors described in 

18 section 102, the access available to students in 

19 the highest-achieving decile of public elementary 

20 schools and secondary schools, the unique needs 

21 of low-income, urban and rural, and minority 

22 students, and other educationally appropriate 

23 factors; and 

24 (B) the levels of access described in sub25 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall 
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1 be aligned with the challenging academic con2 tent standards, challenging student academic 

3 achievement standards, and high-quality aca4 demic assessments required under the Elemen5 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 

7 (3) INFORMATION.—The State shall annually 

8 disseminate to parents, in an understandable and 

9 uniform format, the descriptions, estimate, and in10 formation described in paragraph (1). 

11 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REMEDIATION.— 

12 (1) ACCOUNTABILITY.—If the Secretary deter13 mines under section 101(b) that a State maintains 

14 a public school system that fails to meet the require15 ments of section 101(a)(1), the plan submitted 

16 under subsection (a)(1) shall— 

17 (A) demonstrate that the State has devel18 oped and is implementing a single, statewide 

19 State accountability system that will be effective 

20 in ensuring that the State makes adequate 

21 yearly progress under this Act (as defined by 

22 the State in a manner that annually reduces the 

23 number of public elementary schools and sec24 ondary schools in the State without high access 

25 (as described in subsection (a)(1)(A)) to each of 
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1 fundamentals of educational opportunity de2 scribed in section 102); 

3 (B) demonstrate, based on the levels of ac4 cess described in paragraph (1) what con5 stitutes adequate yearly progress of the State 

6 under this Act toward providing all students 

7 with high access to the fundamentals of edu8 cational opportunity described in section 102; 

9 and 

10 (C) ensure— 

11 (i) the establishment of a timeline for 

12 that adequate yearly progress that includes 

13 interim yearly goals for the reduction of 

14 the number of public elementary schools 

15 and secondary schools in the State without 

16 high access to each of the fundamentals of 

17 educational opportunity described in sec18 tion 102; and 

19 (ii) that not later than 12 years after 

20 the end of the 2001–2002 school year, 

21 each public elementary or secondary school 

22 in the State shall have high access to each 

23 of the fundamentals of educational oppor24 tunity described in section 102. 
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1 (2) REMEDIATION.—If the Secretary deter2 mines under section 101(b) that a State maintains 

3 a public school system that fails to meet the require4 ments of section 101(a)(2), not later than 1 year 

5 after the Secretary makes the determination, the 

6 State shall include in the plan submitted under sub7 section (a)(1) a strategy to remediate the conditions 

8 that caused the Secretary to make such determina9 tion, not later than the end of the second school year 

10 beginning after submission of the plan. 

11 (c) AMENDMENTS.—A State may amend the plan 

12 submitted under subsection (a)(1) to improve the plan or 

13 to take into account significantly changed circumstances. 

14 (d) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary may disapprove 

15 the plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) (or an amend16 ment to such a plan) if the Secretary determines, after 

17 notice and opportunity for hearing, that the plan (or 

18 amendment) is inadequate to meet the requirements de19 scribed in subsections (a) and (b). 

20 (e) WAIVER.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may request, and 

22 the Secretary may grant, a waiver of the require23 ments of subsections (a) and (b) for 1 year for ex24 ceptional circumstances, such as a precipitous de25 crease in State revenues, or another circumstance 
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1 that the Secretary determines to be exceptional, that 

2 prevents a State from complying with the require3 ments of subsections (a) and (b). 

4 (2) CONTENTS OF WAIVER REQUEST.—A State 

5 that requests a waiver under paragraph (1) shall in6 clude in the request— 

7 (A) a description of the exceptional cir8 cumstance that prevents the State from com9 plying with the requirements of subsections (a) 

10 and (b); and 

11 (B) a plan that details the manner in 

12 which the State will comply with such require13 ments by the end of the waiver period. 

14 SEC. 112. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MEET REQUIRE15 MENTS. 

16 (a) INTERIM YEARLY GOALS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—For a fiscal year and a 

18 State described in section 111(b)(1), the Secretary 

19 shall withhold from the State 2.75 percent of funds 

20 otherwise available to the State for the administra21 tion of Federal elementary and secondary education 

22 programs, for each covered goal that the Secretary 

23 determines the State is not meeting during that 

24 year. 
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1 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

2 ‘‘covered goal’’, used with respect to a fiscal year, 

3 means an interim yearly goal described in section 

4 111(b)(1)(C)(i) that is applicable to that year or a 

5 prior fiscal year. 

6 (b) CONSEQUENCES OF NONREMEDIATION.—Not7 withstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary 

8 determines that a State required to include a strategy 

9 under section 111(b)(2) continues to maintain a public 

10 school system that does not meet the requirements of sec11 tion 101(a)(2) at the end of the second school year de12 scribed in section 111(b)(2), the Secretary shall withhold 

from the State not more than 331 13 ⁄3 percent of funds other14 wise available to the State for the administration of Fed15 eral elementary and secondary education programs until 

16 the Secretary determines that the State maintains a public 

17 school system that meets the requirements of section 

18 101(a)(2). 

19 (c) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCOMPLIANCE WITH

20 COURT ORDERS.—If the Secretary determines under sec21 tion 101(b) that a State maintains a public school system 

22 that fails to meet the requirements of section 101(a)(3), 

23 the Secretary shall withhold from the State not more than 

331 24 ⁄3 percent of funds otherwise available to the State for 
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1 the administration of Federal elementary and secondary 

2 education programs. 

3 (d) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS WITHHELD.— 

4 (1) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the Secretary withholds funds from a State 

6 under this section, the Secretary shall determine 

7 whether the State has corrected the condition that 

8 led to the withholding. 

9 (2) DISPOSITION.— 

10 (A) CORRECTION.—If the Secretary deter11 mines under paragraph (1), that the State has 

12 corrected the condition that led to the with13 holding, the Secretary shall make the withheld 

14 funds available to the State to use for the origi15 nal purpose of the funds during 1 or more fiscal 

16 years specified by the Secretary. 

17 (B) NONCORRECTION.—If the Secretary 

18 determines under paragraph (1), that the State 

19 has not corrected the condition that led to the 

20 withholding, the Secretary shall allocate the 

21 withheld funds to public school districts, public 

22 elementary schools, or public secondary schools 

23 in the State that are most adversely affected by 

24 the condition that led to the withholding, to en25 able the districts or schools to correct the condi-
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1 tion during 1 or more fiscal years specified by 

2 the Secretary. 

3 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available or 

4 allocated under subparagraph (A) or (B) of para5 graph (2) shall remain available during the fiscal 

6 years specified by the Secretary under that subpara7 graph. 

8 Subtitle C—Report to Congress and 

9 the Public 

10 SEC. 121. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYS11 TEMS. 

12 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

13 October 1 of each year, beginning the year after comple14 tion of the first full school year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re16 port that includes a full and complete analysis of the pub17 lic school system of each State. 

18 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The analysis conducted 

19 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

20 (1) PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM INFORMATION.— 

21 The following information related to the public 

22 school system of each State: 

23 (A) The number of school districts, public 

24 elementary schools, public secondary schools, 

25 and students in the system. 
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1 (B)(i) For each such school district and 

2 school— 

3 (I) information stating the number 

4 and percentage of children counted under 

5 section 1124(c) of the Elementary and 

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

8 (II) the number and percentage of 

9 students, disaggregated by groups de10 scribed in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of 

11 the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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

13 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 

14 (ii) For each such district, information 

15 stating whether the district is an urban, mixed, 

16 or rural district (as defined by the National 

17 Center for Education Statistics). 

18 (C) The average per-pupil expenditure 

19 (both in actual dollars and adjusted for cost 

20 and need) for the State and for each school dis21 trict in the State. 

22 (D) Each school district’s decile ranking as 

23 measured by achievement in mathematics, read24 ing or language arts, and science on State aca25 demic assessments required under section 
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1 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) 

3 and on the National Assessment of Educational 

4 Progress. 

5 (E) For each school district, public elemen6 tary school, and public secondary school— 

7 (i) the level of access (as described in 

8 section 111(a)(1)) to each of the fun9 damentals of educational opportunity de10 scribed in section 102; 

11 (ii) the percentage of students that 

12 are proficient in mathematics, reading or 

13 language arts, and science, as measured 

14 through assessments administered as de15 scribed in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the 

16 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

17 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)); and 

18 (iii) whether the school district or 

19 school is making adequate yearly 

20 progress— 

21 (I) as defined under section 

22 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and 

23 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)); and 
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1 (II) as defined by the State 

2 under section 111(b)(1)(A). 

3 (F) For each State, the number of public 

4 elementary schools and secondary schools that 

5 lack, and names of each such school that lacks, 

6 high access (as described in section 

7 111(a)(1)(A)) to any of the fundamentals of 

8 educational opportunity described in section 

9 102. 

10 (G) For the year covered by the report, a 

11 summary of any changes in the data required 

12 in subparagraphs (A) through (F) for each of 

13 the preceding 3 years (which may be based on 

14 such data as are available, for the first 3 re15 ports submitted under subsection (a)). 

16 (H) Such other information as the Sec17 retary considers useful and appropriate. 

18 (2) STATE ACTIONS.—For each State that the 

19 Secretary determines under section 101(b) maintains 

20 a public school system that fails to meet the require21 ments of section 101(a), a detailed description and 

22 evaluation of the success of any actions taken by the 

23 State, and measures proposed to be taken by the 

24 State, to meet the requirements. 
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1 (3) STATE PLANS.—A copy of each State’s 

2 most recent plan submitted under section 111(a)(1). 

3 (4) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPLIANCE AND

4 ACHIEVEMENT.—An analysis of the relationship be5 tween meeting the requirements of section 101(a) 

6 and improving student academic achievement, as 

7 measured on State academic assessments required 

8 under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and 

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

10 6311(b)(3)). 

11 (c) SCOPE OF REPORT.—The report required under 

12 subsection (a) shall cover the school year ending in the 

13 calendar year in which the report is required to be sub14 mitted. 

15 (d) SUBMISSION OF DATA TO SECRETARY.—Each 

16 State receiving Federal financial assistance for elementary 

17 and secondary education shall submit to the Secretary, at 

18 such time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea19 sonably require, such data as the Secretary determines to 

20 be necessary to make a determination under section 

21 101(b) and to submit the report under this section. Such 

22 data shall include the information used to measure the 

23 State’s success in providing the fundamentals of edu24 cational opportunity described in section 102. 
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1 (e) FAILURE TO SUBMIT DATA.—If a State fails to 

2 submit the data that the Secretary determines to be nec3 essary to make a determination under section 101(b) re4 garding whether the State maintains a public school sys5 tem that meets the requirements of section 101(a)— 

6 (1) such State’s public school system shall be 

7 deemed not to have met the applicable requirements 

8 until the State submits such data and the Secretary 

9 is able to make such determination under section 

10 101(b); and 

11 (2) the Secretary shall provide, to the extent 

12 practicable, the analysis required in subsection (a) 

13 for the State based on the best data available to the 

14 Secretary. 

15 (f) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish and 

16 make available to the general public (including by means 

17 of the Internet) the report required under subsection (a). 

18 Subtitle D—Remedy 

19 SEC. 131. CIVIL ACTION FOR ENFORCEMENT. 

20 A student or parent of a student aggrieved by a viola21 tion of this Act may bring a civil action against the appro22 priate official in an appropriate Federal district court 

23 seeking declaratory or injunctive relief to enforce the re24 quirements of this Act, together with reasonable attorney’s 

25 fees and the costs of the action. 
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1 TITLE II—EFFECTS OF EDU2 CATIONAL DISPARITIES ON 

3 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NA4 TIONAL DEFENSE 

5 SEC. 201. EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PRODUC6 TIVITY. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Commissioner for Education Sta8 tistics, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, 

9 Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and the 

10 National Research Council of the National Academy of 

11 Sciences, shall conduct a comprehensive study concerning 

12 the effects on economic growth and productivity of ensur13 ing that each State public school system meets the require14 ments of section 101(a). Such study shall include assess15 ments of— 

16 (1) the economic costs to the Nation resulting 

17 from the maintenance by States of public school sys18 tems that do not meet the requirements of section 

19 101(a); 

20 (2) the economic gains to be expected from 

21 States’ compliance with the requirements of section 

22 101(a); and 

23 (3) the costs, if any, of ensuring that each 

24 State maintains a public school system that meets 

25 the requirements of section 101(a). 
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1 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner 

3 for Education Statistics shall submit to Congress a final 

4 report detailing the results of the study required under 

5 subsection (a). 

6 SEC. 202. EFFECTS ON NATIONAL DEFENSE. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Commissioner for Education Sta8 tistics, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 

9 conduct a comprehensive study concerning the effects on 

10 national defense of ensuring that each State public school 

11 system meets the requirements of section 101(a). Such 

12 study shall include assessments of— 

13 (1) the detriments to national defense resulting 

14 from the maintenance by States of public school sys15 tems that do not meet the requirements of section 

16 101(a), including the effects on— 

17 (A) knowledge and skills necessary for the 

18 effective functioning of the Armed Forces; 

19 (B) the costs to the Armed Forces of 

20 training; and 

21 (C) efficiency resulting from the use of so22 phisticated equipment and information tech23 nology; and 
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1 (2) the gains to national defense to be expected 

2 from ensuring that each State public school system 

3 meets the requirements of section 101(a). 

4 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner 

6 for Education Statistics shall submit to Congress a final 

7 report detailing the results of the study required under 

8 subsection (a). 

9 TITLE III—GENERAL 

10 PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) REFERENCED TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elemen14 tary school’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘local educational 

15 agency’’, ‘‘highly qualified’’, ‘‘core academic sub16 jects’’, ‘‘parent’’, and ‘‘average per-pupil expendi17 ture’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec18 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

20 (2) FEDERAL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

21 EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘Federal ele22 mentary and secondary education programs’’ means 

23 programs providing Federal financial assistance for 

24 elementary or secondary education, other than pro25 grams under the following provisions of law: 
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1 (A) The Individuals with Disabilities Edu2 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

3 (B) Title III of the Elementary and Sec4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 

5 et seq.). 

6 (C) The Richard B. Russell National 

7 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

8 (D) The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

9 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.). 

10 (3) PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘pub11 lic school system’’ means a State’s system of public 

12 elementary and secondary education. 

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

14 the several States, the District of Columbia, and the 

15 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

16 SEC. 302. RULEMAKING. 

17 The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out 

18 this Act. 

19 SEC. 303. CONSTRUCTION. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a 

21 jurisdiction to increase its property tax or other tax rates 

22 or to redistribute revenues from such taxes. 

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