I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5200 

To improve the accountability provisions of the part A of title I of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 

Mr. WU introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To improve the accountability provisions of the part A of 

title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965, 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 ‘‘No Child Left Behind 

5 Improvement and Flexibility Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ESEA. 

7 (a) ASSESSMENTS AND ADEQUATE YEARLY

8 PROGRESS.— 

9 (1) CONTINUOUS GROWTH MODEL.—Clause (iii) 

10 of section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec-
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1 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 6311(b)(2)(C)) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(iii) results in continuous and sub4 stantial academic improvement for all stu5 dents as demonstrated by measures of stu6 dents’ progress toward proficiency, includ7 ing longitudinal growth at the student level 

8 or student cohort level;’’. 

9 (2) DATA AVERAGING.—Clause (iii) of section 

10 1111(b)(2)(J) of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

12 amended by inserting ‘‘or other means that increase 

13 the stability of school-building results from year to 

14 year’’ after ‘‘school’’. 

15 (3) SAME SUBGROUP, SAME SUBJECT.—Section 

16 1116(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘that 

20 fails, for 2 consecutive years, to make adequate 

21 yearly progress’’ and inserting ‘‘in which the 

22 same group of students described in section 

23 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) fails in the same subject, for 

24 2 consecutive years, to make adequate yearly 

25 progress’’; 
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1 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘that 

2 fails to make adequate yearly progress’’ and in3 serting ‘‘that fails (with respect to the same 

4 group of students and the same subject de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)) to make adequate 

6 yearly progress’’; 

7 (C) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking ‘‘that 

8 fails to make adequate yearly progress’’ and in9 serting ‘‘that fails (with respect to the same 

10 group of students and the same subject de11 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)) to make adequate 

12 yearly progress’’; and 

13 (D) in paragraph (8)(A), by striking ‘‘to 

14 fail to make adequate yearly progress’’ and in15 serting ‘‘to fail (with respect to the same group 

16 of students and the same subject described in 

17 paragraph (1)(A)) to make adequate yearly 

18 progress’’. 

19 (4) MULTIPLE MEASURES.—Paragraph (2) of 

20 section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

25 clause (ii); 
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1 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

2 of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (iii) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(iv) include with respect to each 

6 group of students described in subpara7 graph (C)(v) multiple measures of aca8 demic achievement, such as the proportion 

9 of State report card indicators met, a per10 formance index score, student drop-out 

11 rate, and a measure based on individual 

12 student achievement gains over time.’’; 

13 (B) in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C), by 

14 striking ‘‘based primarily on the academic as15 sessments described in paragraph (3)’’ and in16 serting ‘‘based primarily (but not more than 60 

17 percent) on the academic assessments described 

18 in paragraph (3)’’; and 

19 (C) by amending subparagraph (D) to read 

20 as follows: 

21 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR OTHER INDICA22 TORS.—In carrying out subparagraphs (A), 

23 (B), and (C), the State shall ensure that— 

24 ‘‘(i) the indicators described in those 

25 provisions are valid and reliable, and are 
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1 consistent with relevant, nationally recog2 nized professional and technical standards, 

3 if any; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) schools identified for school im5 provement, corrective action, or restruc6 turing are identified using multiple meas7 ures of assessing school performance.’’. 

8 (5) NORM REFERENCED ASSESSMENTS.— 

9 Clause (ii) of section 1111(b)(3)(C) of the Elemen10 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)(C)) is amended— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘provide’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘, be aligned with cur15 riculum and instruction to adequately assess 

16 their effect on each content standard assessed, 

17 and include individual test items that, based on 

18 technical criteria, enable students to achieve the 

19 items if the students receive appropriate in20 struction’’ before the semicolon at the end. 

21 (6) EXCLUSION OF LEP STUDENTS FROM MATH

22 ASSESSMENTS.—Clause (ix) of section 1111(b)(3)(C) 

23 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(30(C)) is amended— 
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1 (A) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (B) in subclause (III)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘subject to subclause 

5 (IV),’’ before ‘‘the inclusion of limited 

6 English proficient students’’; and 

7 (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

8 (C) at the end of the clause, by adding the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(IV) at the discretion of the 

11 State, the exclusion of limited English 

12 proficient students who have attended 

13 school in the United States for not 

14 more than 1 school year from the aca15 demic assessments of mathematics 

16 and reading or language arts;’’. 

17 (b) TEACHER QUALITY.— 

18 (1) HIGHLY QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION

19 TEACHERS.—Paragraph (23) of section 9101 of the 

20 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

23 (i) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘(ex24 cept that a special education teacher may 

25 satisfy the requirements of this subclause 
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1 by passing such a rigorous State academic 

2 subject test in special education or in any 

3 1 subject that the teacher teaches if, with 

4 respect to each other academic subject in 

5 which the teacher teaches, the teacher 

6 works in collaboration with a teacher who 

7 is highly qualified in the subject)’’ before 

8 the semicolon; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

10 the subparagraph; 

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

12 subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(D) when used with respect to a special 

15 education elementary, middle, or secondary 

16 school teacher, means that the teacher holds at 

17 least a bachelor’s degree and— 

18 ‘‘(i) has met the applicable standard 

19 in subparagraph (B) or (C); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) has successfully completed an 

21 academic major, a graduate degree, 

22 coursework equivalent to an undergraduate 

23 academic major, or advanced certification 

24 or credentialing in special education.’’. 
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1 (2) HIGHLY QUALIFIED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

2 TEACHERS.—Section 9101(23)(B)(i) of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 7801(23)(B)(i)) is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘means that the teacher’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘means that the teacher holds at 

7 least a bachelor’s degree and’’; and 

8 (B) by amending subclause (I) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(I) has successfully completed a 

11 graduate degree, or advanced certifi12 cation or credentialing; and’’. 

13 (3) PORTABILITY OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED STA14 TUS.—Subsection (a) of section 1119 of the Elemen15 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 6319) is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(4) TRANSFERRING TEACHERS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara20 graph (B), if a teacher transfers to a school 

21 after demonstrating at another school that he 

22 or she was highly qualified, the teacher is 

23 deemed to continue to satisfy the requirements 

24 of subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of section 

25 9101(23), as applicable. 
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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a teacher described 

2 in subparagraph (A) transfers to a school in a 

3 different State, the State may reject the teach4 er’s status as highly qualified to the extent that 

5 such status was based on passing a rigorous 

6 State test pursuant to section 9101(23)(B) or 

7 meeting a high objective uniform State stand8 ard of evaluation pursuant to section 

9 9101(23)(C). 

10 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

11 paragraph, the term ‘different State’ means a 

12 State other than the State in which the teacher 

13 demonstrated that he or she was highly quali14 fied.’’. 

15 (4) CERTIFICATION WAIVERS.—Clause (ii) of 

16 section 9101(23)(A) of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)(A)) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(ii) the teacher does not currently 

20 have certification or licensure requirements 

21 waived on an emergency, temporary, or 

22 provisional basis;’’. 

23 (c) SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.— 

24 (1) GRADUATION RATE.—Clause (vi) of section 

25 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary 
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1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)) is 

2 amended by inserting ‘‘, except that the State may 

3 exclude from the calculation of such percentage stu4 dents with disabilities who are allowed by State law 

5 to remain in secondary school beyond the standard 

6 number of years’’ after ‘‘who graduate from sec7 ondary school with a regular diploma in the stand8 ard number of years’’. 

9 (2) ASSESSING STUDENTS WITH DISABIL10 ITIES.—Subparagraph (C) of section 1111(b)(3) of 

11 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) is amended— 

13 (A) in clause (xiv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (B) in clause (xv), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(xvi) notwithstanding clause (i), at 

19 the discretion of the State, provide for out20 of-level testing of children with disabil21 ities.’’. 

22 (d) RURAL SCHOOLS.— 

23 (1) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS IN RURAL

24 SCHOOLS.—Subsection (a) of section 1119 of the El25 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
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1 U.S.C. 6319), as amended by subsection (b)(3), is 

2 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(5) RURAL SCHOOLS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

5 the requirements of this subsection with respect 

6 to the teachers teaching at any rural school if 

7 the school demonstrates to the Secretary’s sat8 isfaction that such requirements impose an 

9 undue hardship on the school because of popu10 lation and geographic restraints. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—To seek a waiver 

12 under this paragraph, a school shall submit to 

13 the Secretary an application at such time, in 

14 such manner, and containing such information 

15 as the Secretary may require. Any such applica16 tion shall include— 

17 ‘‘(i) an explanation of why the re18 quirements of this paragraph impose an 

19 undue hardship on the school because of 

20 population and geographic constraints; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) a description of the actions the 

22 school intends to take to meet such re23 quirements. 
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1 ‘‘(C) RENEWAL.—A waiver under this 

2 paragraph may be for a period of not more 

3 than 5 years and may be renewed.’’. 

4 (2) SCHOOL CHOICE, SUPPLEMENTAL SERV5 ICES.—Subparagraph (E) of section 1116(b)(1) of 

6 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(1)) is amended— 

8 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘In the case 

9 of’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to clause (iii), in the 

10 case of’’; 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(iii) RURAL SCHOOLS.— 

13 ‘‘(I) FIRST YEAR.—During the 

14 first school year following identifica15 tion for school improvement under 

16 this paragraph, a rural school may 

17 make supplemental educational serv18 ices available consistent with sub19 section (e) in lieu of providing stu20 dents an opportunity to transfer 

21 under this subparagraph. 

22 ‘‘(II) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—If a 

23 rural school fails to make adequate 

24 yearly progress (as set out in the 

25 State’s plan under section 1111(b)(2)) 
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1 by the end of the first school year fol2 lowing identification for school im3 provement under this paragraph, and 

4 the rural school demonstrates to the 

5 Secretary’s satisfaction that the re6 quirements of this subparagraph im7 pose an undue hardship on the school 

8 because of geographic restraints, the 

9 Secretary may waive the requirements 

10 of this subparagraph with respect to 

11 the school. 

12 ‘‘(III) APPLICATION.—To seek a 

13 waiver under this paragraph, a school 

14 shall submit to the Secretary an appli15 cation at such time, in such manner, 

16 and containing such information as 

17 the Secretary may require. Any such 

18 application shall include an expla19 nation of why the requirements of this 

20 subparagraph impose an undue hard21 ship on the school because of geo22 graphic restraints, and a description 

23 of the actions the school intends to 

24 take to meet such requirements. 
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1 ‘‘(IV) SUPPLEMENTAL EDU2 CATIONAL SERVICES.—This clause 

3 shall not be construed to diminish a 

4 rural school’s obligation to make sup5 plemental educational services avail6 able under paragraph (5), (7), or (8) 

7 or subsection (e).’’. 

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