II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4061 

To create, adopt, and implement rigorous and voluntary American education 

content standards in mathematics and science covering kindergarten 

through grade 12, to provide for the assessment of student proficiency 

benchmarked against such standards, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2006 

Mr. DODD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To create, adopt, and implement rigorous and voluntary 

American education content standards in mathematics 

and science covering kindergarten through grade 12, to 

provide for the assessment of student proficiency 

benchmarked against such standards, 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 ‘‘Standards to Provide 

5 Educational Access for Kids Act’’ or the ‘‘SPEAK Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Throughout the years, educators and policy4 makers have consistently embraced standards as the 

5 mechanism to ensure that every student, no matter 

6 what school the student attends, masters the skills 

7 and develops the knowledge needed to participate in 

8 a global economy. 

9 (2) Recent international comparisons make 

10 clear that students in the United States have signifi11 cant shortcomings in mathematics and science, yet a 

12 high level of scientific and mathematics literacy is 

13 essential to societal innovations and advancements. 

14 (3) With more than 50 different sets of aca15 demic content standards, 50 State academic assess16 ments, and 50 definitions of proficiency under sec17 tion 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)), there is 

19 great variability in the measures, standards, and 

20 benchmarks for academic achievement in mathe21 matics and science. 

22 (4) Variation in State standards and the ac23 companying measures of proficiency make it difficult 

24 for parents and teachers to meaningfully gauge how 

25 well their children are learning mathematics and 


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1 science in comparison to their peers internationally 

2 or here at home. 

3 (5) The disparity in the rigor of standards 

4 across States results in test results that tell the pub5 lic little about how schools are performing and pro6 gressing, as States with low standards or low pro7 ficiency scores may appear to be doing much better 

8 than States with more rigorous standards or higher 

9 requirements for proficiency. 

10 (6) As a result, the United States highly mobile 

11 student-aged population moves through the Nation’s 

12 schools gaining widely varying levels of knowledge, 

13 skills, and preparedness. 

14 (7) In order for the United States to compete 

15 in a global economy, the country needs to strengthen 

16 its educational expectations for all children. 

17 (8) To compete, the people of the United States 

18 must compare themselves against international 

19 benchmarks. 

20 (9) Grounded in a real world analysis and inter21 national comparisons of what students need to suc22 ceed in work and college, rigorous and voluntary 

23 core American education content standards will keep 

24 the United States economically competitive and en25 sure that the children of the United States are given 


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1 the same opportunity to learn to a high standard no 

2 matter where they reside. 

3 (10) Rigorous and voluntary core American 

4 education content standards in mathematics and 

5 science will enable students to succeed in academic 

6 settings across States while ensuring an American 

7 edge in the global marketplace. 

8 SEC. 3. ASSESSING SCIENCE IN THE NATIONAL ASSESS9 MENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS. 

10 (a) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL

11 PROGRESS AUTHORIZATION ACT.—Section 303 of the Na12 tional Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization 

13 Act (20 U.S.C. 9622) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 ‘‘reading and mathematics’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘reading, mathematics, and science’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 ‘‘reading and mathematics’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘reading, mathematics, and science’’; 

22 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

23 ‘‘science,’’; 


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1 (iv) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

2 ‘‘reading and mathematics’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘reading, mathematics, and science’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

6 ‘‘reading and mathematics’’ each place the 

7 term occurs and inserting ‘‘reading, mathe8 matics, and science’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik10 ing ‘‘reading and mathematics’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘reading, mathematics, and science’’; 

12 and 

13 (C) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘, re14 quire, or influence’’ and inserting ‘‘or require’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ‘‘reading 

17 and mathematics’’ each place the term occurs and 

18 inserting ‘‘reading, mathematics, and science’’. 

19 (b) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

20 OF 1965.—Subpart 1 of part A of title I of the Elemen21 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 6311 et seq.) is amended— 

23 (1) in section 1111(c)(2) (20 U.S.C. 

24 6311(c)(2))— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(and, for science, begin2 ning with the 2007–2008 school year)’’ after 

3 ‘‘2002–2003’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘reading and mathe5 matics’’ and inserting ‘‘reading, mathematics, 

6 and science’’; and 

7 (2) in section 1112(b)(1)(F) (20 U.S.C. 

8 6312(b)(1)(F)), by striking ‘‘reading and mathe9 matics’’ and inserting ‘‘reading, mathematics, and 

10 science’’. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 304 of the National Assessment of Edu13 cational Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9623) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

16 striking ‘‘In this title:’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

17 otherwise provided, in this title:’’; 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para19 graph (3); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol21 lowing: 

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

23 the Secretary of Education.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. VOLUNTARY AMERICAN EDUCATION CONTENT 

2 STANDARDS; AMERICAN STANDARDS INCEN3 TIVE FUND. 

4 The National Assessment of Educational Progress 

5 Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating sections 304 (as amended 

7 by section 4) and 305 as sections 306 and 307, re8 spectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 304. CREATION AND ADOPTION OF VOLUNTARY 

11 AMERICAN EDUCATION CONTENT STAND12 ARDS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

14 date of enactment of the Standards to Provide Edu15 cational Access for Kids Act and from amounts appro16 priated under section 307(a)(3) for a fiscal year, the As17 sessment Board shall create and adopt voluntary Amer18 ican education content standards in mathematics and 

19 science covering kindergarten through grade 12. 

20 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Assessment Board shall imple21 ment subsection (a) by carrying out the following duties: 

22 ‘‘(1) Create and adopt voluntary American edu23 cation content standards for mathematics and 

24 science covering kindergarten through grade 12 that 

25 reflect a common core of what students in the 


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1 United States should know and be able to do to 

2 compete in a global economy. 

3 ‘‘(2) Anchor the voluntary American education 

4 content standards based on the mathematics and 

5 science frameworks and the achievement levels under 

6 section 303(e) of the National Assessment of Edu7 cational Progress for grades 4, 8, and 12. 

8 ‘‘(3) Ensure that the voluntary American edu9 cation content standards are internationally competi10 tive and comparable to the best standards in the 

11 world. 

12 ‘‘(4) Review State standards in mathematics 

13 and science as of the date of enactment of the 

14 Standards to Provide Educational Access for Kids 

15 Act and consult and work with entities that are de16 veloping, or have already developed, such State 

17 standards. 

18 ‘‘(5) Review the reports, views, and analyses of 

19 a broad spectrum of experts and the public as such 

20 reports, views, and analyses relate to mathematics 

21 and science education, including reviews of blue rib22 bon reports, exemplary practices in the field, and re23 cent reports by government agencies and profes24 sional organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Ensure that the voluntary American edu2 cation content standards reflect the best thinking 

3 about the knowledge, skills, and competencies need4 ed for a high degree of scientific and mathematical 

5 understanding. 

6 ‘‘(7) Ensure that varying developmental levels 

7 of students are taken into account in the develop8 ment of the voluntary American education content 

9 standards. 

10 ‘‘(8) Ensure that the voluntary American edu11 cation content standards reflect what students will 

12 be required to know and be able to do after sec13 ondary school graduation to be academically quali14 fied to enter an institution of higher education or 

15 training for the civilian or military workforce. 

16 ‘‘(9) Widely disseminate the voluntary Amer17 ican education content standards for public review 

18 and comment before final adoption. 

19 ‘‘(10) Provide for continuing review of the vol20 untary American education content standards not 

21 less often than once every 10 years, which review— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall solicit input from outside orga23 nizations and entities, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) 1 or more professional mathe25 matics or science organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the State educational agencies 

2 that have received American Standards In3 centive Fund grants under section 305 

4 during the period covered by the review; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) other organizations and entities, 

7 as determined appropriate by Assessment 

8 Board; and 

9 ‘‘(B) shall address issues including— 

10 ‘‘(i) whether the voluntary American 

11 education content standards continue to 

12 reflect international standards of excellence 

13 and the latest developments in the fields of 

14 mathematics and science; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) whether the voluntary American 

16 education content standards continue to 

17 reflect what students are required to know 

18 and be able to do in science and mathe19 matics after graduation from secondary 

20 school to be academically qualified to enter 

21 an institution of higher education or train22 ing for the civilian or military workforce, 

23 as of the date of the review. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 305. THE AMERICAN STANDARDS INCENTIVE FUND. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—From amounts 

3 appropriated under section 307(a)(4) for a fiscal year, the 

4 Secretary shall establish and fund the American Stand5 ards Incentive fund to carry out the grant program under 

6 subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(b) INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

9 after the Assessment Board adopts the voluntary 

10 American education content standards under section 

11 304, the Secretary shall use amounts available from 

12 the American Standards Incentive fund to award, on 

13 a competitive basis, grants to State educational 

14 agencies to enable each State educational agency to 

15 adopt the voluntary American education content 

16 standards in mathematics and science as the core of 

17 the State’s academic content standards in mathe18 matics and science by carrying out the activities de19 scribed in subsection (e). 

20 ‘‘(2) DURATION AND AMOUNT.—A grant under 

21 this subsection shall be awarded— 

22 ‘‘(A) for a period of not more than 4 years; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) in an amount that is not more than 

25 $4,000,000 over the period of the grant. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CORE STANDARDS.—A State educational agency 

2 receiving a grant under subsection (b) shall adopt and use 

3 the voluntary American education content standards in 

4 mathematics and science as the core of the State academic 

5 content standards in mathematics and science. The State 

6 educational agency may add additional standards to the 

7 voluntary American education content standards as part 

8 of the State academic content standards in mathematics 

9 and science. 

10 ‘‘(d) STATE APPLICATION.—A State educational 

11 agency desiring to receive a grant under subsection (b) 

12 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

13 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

14 Secretary may require. The application shall include— 

15 ‘‘(1) timelines for carrying out each of the ac16 tivities described in subsection (e)(1); and 

17 ‘‘(2) a description of the activities that the 

18 State educational agency will undertake to imple19 ment the voluntary American education content 

20 standards in mathematics and science adopted under 

21 section 304, and the achievement levels in mathe22 matics and science developed under section 303(e) 

23 for the national and State assessments of the Na24 tional Assessment of Educational Progress, at both 

25 the State educational agency and local educational 


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1 agency levels, including any additional activities de2 scribed in subsection (e)(2). 

3 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.—A State edu5 cational agency receiving a grant under subsection 

6 (b) shall use grant funds to carry out all of the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(A) Adopt the voluntary American edu9 cation content standards in mathematics and 

10 science as the core of the State’s academic con11 tent standards in mathematics and science not 

12 later than 2 years after the receipt of a grant 

13 under this section. 

14 ‘‘(B) Align the teacher certification or li15 censure, pre-service, and professional develop16 ment requirements of the State to the voluntary 

17 American education content standards in math18 ematics and science not later than 3 years after 

19 the receipt of the grant. 

20 ‘‘(C) Align the State academic assessments 

21 in mathematics and science (or develop new 

22 such State academic assessments that are 

23 aligned) with the voluntary American education 

24 content standards in mathematics and science 


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1 not later than 4 years after the receipt of the 

2 grant. 

3 ‘‘(D) Align the State levels of achievement 

4 in mathematics and science with the student 

5 achievement levels in mathematics and science 

6 developed under section 303(e) for the national 

7 and State assessments of the National Assess8 ment of Educational Progress. 

9 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIVE ACTIVITIES.—A State edu10 cational agency receiving a grant under subsection 

11 (b) may use the grant funds to carry out, at the 

12 local educational agency or State educational agency 

13 level, any of the following activities: 

14 ‘‘(A) Train teachers and administrators on 

15 how to incorporate the voluntary American edu16 cation content standards in mathematics and 

17 science into classroom instruction. 

18 ‘‘(B) Develop curricula and instructional 

19 materials in mathematics or science that are 

20 aligned with the voluntary American education 

21 content standards in mathematics and science. 

22 ‘‘(C) Develop performance standards in 

23 mathematics or science to accompany the vol24 untary American education content standards 

25 in mathematics and science. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Conduct other activities needed for 

2 the implementation of the voluntary American 

3 education content standards in mathematics 

4 and science. 

5 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

6 section the Secretary shall give priority to a State 

7 educational agency that will use the grant funds to 

8 carry out all of the activities described in subpara9 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2). 

10 ‘‘(f) AWARD BASIS.—In determining the amount of 

11 a grant under subsection (b), the Secretary shall take into 

12 consideration— 

13 ‘‘(1) the extent to which a State’s academic 

14 content standards, State academic assessments, lev15 els of achievement in mathematics and science, and 

16 teacher certification or licensure, pre-service, and 

17 professional development requirements, must be re18 vised to align such State standards, assessments, 

19 levels, and teacher requirements with the voluntary 

20 American education content standards adopted 

21 under section 304 and the achievement levels in 

22 mathematics and science developed under section 

23 303(e); and 

24 ‘‘(2) the planned activities described in the ap25 plication submitted under subsection (d). 


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1 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RE2 PORTS.—A State educational agency receiving a grant 

3 under subsection (b) shall submit an annual report to the 

4 Secretary demonstrating the State educational agency’s 

5 progress in meeting the timelines described in the applica6 tion under subsection (d)(1). 

7 ‘‘(h) GRANTS FOR DOD AND BIA SCHOOLS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SCHOOLS.— 

9 From amounts available from the American Stand10 ards Incentive fund, the Secretary, upon application 

11 by the Secretary of Defense, may award grants 

12 under subsection (b) to the Secretary of Defense on 

13 behalf of elementary schools and secondary schools 

14 operated by the Department of Defense to enable 

15 the elementary schools and secondary schools to 

16 carry out the activities described in subsection (e). 

17 ‘‘(2) BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS SCHOOLS.— 

18 From amounts available from the American Stand19 ards Incentive fund, the Secretary, in consultation 

20 with the Secretary of Interior, may award grants 

21 under subsection (b) to the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

22 on behalf of elementary schools and secondary 

23 schools operated or funded by the Department of the 

24 Interior to enable the elementary schools and secVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:46 Nov 20, 2006 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4061.IS S4061

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1 ondary schools to carry out the activities described 

2 in subsection (e). 

3 ‘‘(i) STUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the com4 pletion of the first 4-year grant cycle for grants under this 

5 section, the Commissioner for Education Statistics shall 

6 carry out a study comparing the gap between the reported 

7 proficiency on State academic assessments and assess8 ments under section 303 for State educational agencies 

9 receiving grants under subsection (b), before and after the 

10 State adopts the voluntary American education content 

11 standards in mathematics and science as the core of the 

12 State education content standards in mathematics and 

13 science. 

14 ‘‘(j) DATA GRANT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts 

16 appropriated under section 305(a)(4), the Secretary 

17 shall award, to each State educational agency that 

18 meets the requirements of paragraph (3), a grant to 

19 be used to enhance State data systems as such sys20 tems relate to the requirements under part A of title 

21 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

22 of 1965. 

23 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant awarded to 

24 a State educational agency under this subsection 

25 shall be in an amount equal to 5 percent of the 


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1 amount allocated to the State under section 1122 of 

2 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6332). If the amounts available 

4 from the American Standards Incentive fund are in5 sufficient to pay the full amounts of grants under 

6 paragraph (1) to all State educational agencies, the 

7 Secretary shall ratably reduce the amount of all 

8 grants under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive a 

10 grant under this subsection, a State educational 

11 agency shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) have received a grant under sub13 section (b); and 

14 ‘‘(B) successfully demonstrate to the Sec15 retary that the State has aligned— 

16 ‘‘(i) the State’s academic content 

17 standards and State academic assessments 

18 in mathematics and science, and the 

19 State’s teacher certification or licensure, 

20 pre-service, and professional development 

21 requirements, with the voluntary American 

22 education content standards in mathe23 matics and science; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the State levels of achievement in 

25 mathematics and science for grades 4, 8, 


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1 and 12, with the achievement levels in 

2 mathematics and science developed under 

3 section 303(e) for such grades. 

4 ‘‘(4) NATURE OF GRANT.—A grant under this 

5 subsection to a State educational agency shall be in 

6 addition to any grant awarded to the State edu7 cational agency under subsection (b). 

8 ‘‘(5) LIMIT ON NUMBER OF GRANTS.—In no 

9 case shall a State educational agency receive more 

10 than 1 grant under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(k) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 

12 years after the date of enactment of the Standards to Pro13 vide Educational Access for Kids Act, and every 2 years 

14 thereafter, the Secretary shall report to Congress regard15 ing the status of all grants awarded under this section. 

16 ‘‘(l) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion shall be construed to establish a preferred national 

18 curriculum or preferred teaching methodology for elemen19 tary school or secondary school instruction. 

20 ‘‘(m) TIMELINE EXTENSION.—The Secretary may 

21 extend the 12-year requirement under section 

22 1111(b)(2)(F) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(F)) by not more 

24 than 4 years for a State served by a State educational 

25 agency that receives a grant under subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘elementary 

3 school’, ‘local educational agency’, ‘professional de4 velopment’, ‘secondary school’, ‘State’, and ‘State 

5 educational agency’ have the meanings given the 

6 terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec7 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

8 ‘‘(2) ACADEMIC CONTENT STANDARDS.—The 

9 term ‘academic content standards’ means the chal10 lenging academic content standards described in sec11 tion 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)). 

13 ‘‘(3) LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT.—The term 

14 ‘levels of achievement’ means the State levels of 

15 achievement under subclauses (II) and (III) of sec16 tion 1111(b)(1)(D)(ii) of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

18 6311(b)(1)(D)(ii)(II), (III)). 

19 ‘‘(4) STATE ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS.—The 

20 term ‘State academic assessments’ means the aca21 demic assessments for a State described in section 

22 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 307(a) of the National Assessment of Edu3 cational Progress Authorization Act (as redesignated by 

4 section 5(1)) (20 U.S.C. 9624(a)) is amended to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap7 propriated— 

8 ‘‘(1) to carry out section 302, $6,000,000 for 

9 fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary 

10 for each succeeding fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(2) to carry out section 303, $200,000,000 for 

12 fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary 

13 for each succeeding fiscal year; 

14 ‘‘(3) to carry out section 304, $3,000,000 for 

15 fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary 

16 for each succeeding fiscal year; and 

17 ‘‘(4) to carry out section 305, $400,000,000 for 

18 fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary 

19 for each succeeding fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


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