II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 581 

To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades 

are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports 

so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in 

secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and 

district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of 

students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle 

grades models for struggling students, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2015 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in 

the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous 

curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary 

school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State 

and district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, 

to develop and implement effective middle grades models 

for struggling students, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Success in the Middle 

3 Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) International comparisons indicate that stu7 dents in the United States do not start out behind 

8 students of other nations in mathematics and 

9 science, but that they fall behind by the end of the 

10 middle grades. 

11 (2) Approximately 64 percent of students in 

12 grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2013 

13 National Assessment of Educational Progress. A lit14 tle over one-third of students in grade 8 in the 

15 United States, and approximately 3 percent of such 

16 students who are English language learners, can 

17 read with proficiency, according to the 2013 Na18 tional Assessment on Educational Progress (referred 

19 to in this section as ‘‘NAEP’’). 

20 (3) In mathematics, 35 percent of students in 

21 grade 8 show skills at or above the NAEP proficient 

22 level in 2013. However, the percentage of students 

23 in grade 4 at the NAEP proficient and above level 

24 was 42 percent. In grade 8, the gaps between the 

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1 dents and between white and Hispanic students were 

2 approximately as wide in 2013 as in 2009. 

3 (4) Combining measures of academic achieve4 ment and motivation, social engagement, and self5 regulation—the behavioral domains essential for suc6 cess across the school and work continuum—pro7 vides a more holistic picture of students, including 

8 their likelihood of enrolling in college following high 

9 school graduation. This information, available in 

10 middle school, allows for early identification of and 

11 intervention with students who may be less likely to 

12 complete secondary school and attend an institution 

13 of higher education. 

14 (5) Higher education readiness should begin in 

15 middle school. A student in grade 8 has at least a 

16 75 percent chance of dropping out of secondary 

17 school if the student attended school less than 80 

18 percent of the time in grade 8 and failed English or 

19 mathematics in that grade. 

20 (6) Middle grades students are hopeful about 

21 their future, with 93 percent believing that they will 

22 complete secondary school and 90 percent believing 

23 they will find a good job after high school gradua24 tion. 


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1 (7) Students who do not attend school regu2 larly, who are subjected to frequent disciplinary ac3 tions, or who fail mathematics or English have less 

4 than a 15 percent chance of graduating secondary 

5 school on time and a 20 percent chance of grad6 uating 1 year late. Without effective interventions 

7 and proper supports, these students are at risk of 

8 subsequent failure in secondary school, or of drop9 ping out. 

10 (8) Student transitions from elementary school 

11 to the middle grades and to secondary school are 

12 often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in13 adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 

14 sharing of student performance and academic 

15 achievement data between grades. 

16 (9) Middle grades improvement strategies 

17 should be tailored based on a variety of performance 

18 indicators and data, so that educators can create 

19 and implement successful school improvement strate20 gies to address the needs of the middle grades, and 

21 so that teachers can provide effective instruction and 

22 adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk stu23 dents. 

24 (10) To stem a secondary school dropout rate 

25 nearly 3 times the average— 


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1 (A) students with disabilities in the critical 

2 middle grades must receive appropriate aca3 demic accommodations and access to assistive 

4 technology; 

5 (B) high-risk behaviors in such students, 

6 such as chronic absenteeism and course failure, 

7 must be monitored; and 

8 (C) problem-solving skills with broad appli9 cation must be taught to such students. 

10 (11) Local educational agencies and State edu11 cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 

12 provide support for school improvement strategies. 

13 Successful models do exist for turning around low14 performing middle grades, and Federal support 

15 should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 

16 promising practices based on evidence from success17 ful schools. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘edu21 cational service agency’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local 

22 educational agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘secondary 

23 school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

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1 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 7801). 

3 (2) CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM.—The term 

4 ‘‘chronic absenteeism’’ means the percentage of indi5 vidual students missing 10 percent, or more, of the 

6 days of school in a school year. 

7 (3) DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS.—The term 

8 ‘‘digital literacy skills’’ has the meaning given the 

9 term in section 202 of the Museum and Library 

10 Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 

11 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti12 ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 

13 (A) not less than 1 eligible local edu14 cational agency; and 

15 (B)(i) an institution of higher education; 

16 (ii) an educational service agency; or 

17 (iii) a nonprofit organization with dem18 onstrated expertise in high-quality middle 

19 grades intervention. 

20 (5) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

21 The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 

22 a local educational agency that serves not less than 

23 1 eligible school. 

24 (6) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

25 school’’ means an elementary or secondary school 


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1 that contains not less than 2 or more successive 

2 grades beginning with grade 5 and ending with 

3 grade 8 and for which— 

4 (A) a high proportion of the middle grades 

5 students attending such school will attend a 

6 secondary school with a graduation rate of less 

7 than 65 percent; 

8 (B) more than 25 percent of the students 

9 who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear10 liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 

11 or more of the key risk factors and early risk 

12 identification signs, including— 

13 (i) student attendance below 90 per14 cent; 

15 (ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 

16 or reading or language arts course; 

17 (iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 

18 and 

19 (iv) out-of-school suspension or other 

20 evidence of at-risk behavior; or 

21 (C) more than 50 percent of the middle 

22 grades students attending such school do not 

23 perform at a proficient level on State student 

24 academic assessments required under section 

25 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 


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

2 in mathematics or reading or language arts. 

3 (7) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 

4 ‘‘English language learner’’ means an individual who 

5 is limited English proficient, as defined in section 

6 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

8 (8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

12 (9) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 

13 grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 

14 (10) PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.— 

15 The term ‘‘principles of scientific research’’ has the 

16 meaning given the term in section 200 of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

18 (11) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

19 term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ has the meaning 

20 given the term in section 200 of the Higher Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

22 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

23 means the Secretary of Education. 


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

2 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

3 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

4 (14) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

5 ‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 

6 a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 

7 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

9 TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 

10 IMPROVEMENT 

11 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

12 The purposes of this title are to— 

13 (1) ensure that middle grade students develop 

14 deep content knowledge and the ability to use knowl15 edge to think critically, solve problems, communicate 

16 effectively, collaborate with others, and be self-di17 rected so that they can graduate from secondary 

18 school ready for higher education and careers; 

19 (2) ensure that curricula and student supports 

20 for middle grades education align with the curricula 

21 and student supports provided for elementary school 

22 and secondary school grades; 

23 (3) provide resources to State educational agen24 cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 

25 develop school improvement plans in order to deliver 


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1 support and technical assistance to schools serving 

2 students in the middle grades; and 

3 (4) increase the capacity of States and local 

4 educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 

5 and replicable school improvement programs and 

6 models and evidence-based or, when available, sci7 entifically valid student interventions for implemen8 tation by schools serving students in the middle 

9 grades. 

10 SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 

11 AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE12 MENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

14 under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 

15 this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 

16 for which the Secretary has approved an application under 

17 subsection (f) in an amount equal to the allotment deter18 mined for such agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal 

19 year. 

20 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 

21 available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec22 retary— 

23 (1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 

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1 reau of Indian Education) and the outlying areas for 

2 activities carried out in accordance with this section; 

3 (2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec4 tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 

5 title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 

6 widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 

7 outside evaluator; and 

8 (3) shall reserve 5 percent for technical assist9 ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 

10 grades education to States and local educational 

11 agencies. 

12 (c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), of the total amount made available to 

15 carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 

16 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 

17 amount among the States in proportion to the num18 ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 

19 State and are from families with incomes below the 

20 poverty level for the most recent fiscal year for 

21 which satisfactory data are available, compared to 

22 the number of such individuals who reside in all 

23 such States for that fiscal year, determined in ac24 cordance with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the ElemenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Mar 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S581.IS S581

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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

2 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)). 

3 (2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu4 cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 

subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1 5 ⁄2 of 

6 1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 

7 this title for such fiscal year. 

8 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year for which 

9 the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less than 

10 $500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 

11 to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath12 er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 

13 such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 

14 a competitive basis. 

15 (e) REALLOTMENT.— 

16 (1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP17 PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 

18 apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 

19 year, or if the application from the State educational 

20 agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 

21 the amount of the State’s allotment to the remaining 

22 States in accordance with this section. 

23 (2) UNUSED FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

24 reallot any amount of an allotment to a State if the 

25 Secretary determines that the State will be unable to 


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1 use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. 

2 Such reallotments shall be made on the same basis 

3 as allotments are made under subsection (c). 

4 (f) APPLICATION.—In order to receive an allotment 

5 under this title, a State educational agency shall submit 

6 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man7 ner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec8 retary may reasonably require, including a State middle 

9 grades improvement plan described in section 103(a)(4). 

10 (g) PEER REVIEW AND SELECTION.—The Sec11 retary— 

12 (1) shall establish a peer-review process to as13 sist in the review and approval of proposed State ap14 plications; 

15 (2) shall appoint individuals to participate in 

16 the peer-review process who are educators and ex17 perts in identifying, evaluating, and implementing 

18 effective education programs and practices (includ19 ing in the areas of teaching and learning, edu20 cational standards and assessments, school improve21 ment, school climate, rates of suspension and expul22 sion, and academic and behavioral supports for mid23 dle grades students, and in addressing the needs of 

24 students with disabilities and English language 

25 learners in the middle grades), which individuals 


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1 may include recognized exemplary middle grades 

2 teachers and middle grades principals who have been 

3 recognized at the State or national level for exem4 plary work or contributions to the field; 

5 (3) shall ensure that State educational agencies 

6 are given the opportunity to receive timely feedback, 

7 and to interact with peer-review panels, in person or 

8 via electronic communication, on issues that need 

9 clarification during the peer-review process; 

10 (4) shall approve an application submitted 

11 under this title not later than 120 days after the 

12 date of submission of the application unless the Sec13 retary determines that the application does not meet 

14 the requirements of this title; 

15 (5) may not decline to approve an application 

16 from a State educational agency before— 

17 (A) offering the State educational agency 

18 an opportunity to revise the application; 

19 (B) providing the State educational agency 

20 with technical assistance in order to submit a 

21 successful application; and 

22 (C) providing an opportunity for a hearing 

23 to the State educational agency; and 

24 (6) shall direct the Inspector General of the De25 partment of Education to— 


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1 (A) review final determinations reached by 

2 the Secretary to approve or deny State applica3 tions; 

4 (B) analyze the consistency of the process 

5 used by peer-review panels in reviewing and rec6 ommending to the Secretary approval or denial 

7 of such State applications; and 

8 (C) report the findings of this review and 

9 analysis to Congress. 

10 SEC. 103. STATE PLAN; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

11 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

13 that receives a grant under this title shall use the 

14 grant funds— 

15 (A) to prepare and implement the needs 

16 analysis and middle grades improvement plan, 

17 as described in paragraphs (3) and (4), of such 

18 agency; 

19 (B) to make subgrants to eligible local 

20 educational agencies or eligible entities under 

21 section 104; and 

22 (C) to assist eligible local educational agen23 cies and eligible entities, when determined nec24 essary by the State educational agency or at the 

25 request of an eligible local educational agency 


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1 or eligible entity, in designing a comprehensive 

2 schoolwide improvement plan and carrying out 

3 the activities under section 104. 

4 (2) FUNDS FOR SUBGRANTS.—A State edu5 cational agency that receives a grant under this title 

6 shall use not less than 80 percent of the grant funds 

7 to make subgrants to eligible local educational agen8 cies or eligible entities under section 104. 

9 (3) MIDDLE GRADES NEEDS ANALYSIS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

11 agency that receives a grant under this title 

12 shall enter into a contract, or similar formal 

13 agreement, to work with entities such as na14 tional and regional comprehensive centers (as 

15 described in section 203 of the Educational 

16 Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

17 9602)), institutions of higher education, or non18 profit organizations with demonstrated exper19 tise in high-quality middle grades reform, to 

20 prepare a plan that analyzes how to strengthen 

21 the programs, practices, and policies of the 

22 State in supporting students in the middle 

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1 fectiveness of such programs, practices, and 

2 policies. 

3 (B) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—In preparing 

4 the plan under subparagraph (A), the State 

5 educational agency shall examine policies and 

6 practices of the State, and of local educational 

7 agencies within the State, affecting— 

8 (i) middle grades curriculum instruc9 tion and assessment; 

10 (ii) education accountability and data 

11 systems; 

12 (iii) teacher preparation, quality, ex13 perience, and equitable distribution; 

14 (iv) interventions that support learn15 ing in school, including personal academic 

16 plans; 

17 (v) student engagement activities; 

18 (vi) in-school and out-of-school sus19 pensions; 

20 (vii) family and community engage21 ment in education; and 

22 (viii) student and academic support 

23 services, such as effective school library 

24 programs and school counseling on the 

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1 ning for entry into postsecondary edu2 cation and the workforce. 

3 (4) MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVEMENT PLAN.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

5 agency that receives a grant under this title 

6 shall develop a middle grades improvement plan 

7 that— 

8 (i) shall be a statewide plan to im9 prove student academic achievement in the 

10 middle grades, based on the needs analysis 

11 described in paragraph (3); and 

12 (ii) describes what students are re13 quired to know and do to successfully— 

14 (I) complete the middle grades; 

15 and 

16 (II) develop the competencies 

17 of— 

18 (aa) the ability to acquire 

19 and use deep content knowledge 

20 to solve problems; 

21 (bb) critical thinking; 

22 (cc) effective communica23 tion; 

24 (dd) self-direction; and 


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1 (ee) the ability to collabo2 rate; and 

3 (III) make a successful transition 

4 to academically rigorous secondary 

5 school coursework that prepares stu6 dents to graduate from secondary 

7 school ready for higher education and 

8 a career. 

9 (B) PLAN COMPONENTS.—A middle grades 

10 improvement plan described in subparagraph 

11 (A) shall also describe how the State edu12 cational agency will do each of the following: 

13 (i)(I) Ensure that the curricula and 

14 assessments for middle grades education 

15 are aligned with secondary school curricula 

16 and assessments and prepare students to 

17 take challenging secondary school courses 

18 and successfully engage in postsecondary 

19 education. 

20 (II) Ensure coordination, where appli21 cable, with the activities carried out 

22 through grants under section 6201(c)(1) of 

23 the America COMPETES Act (20 U.S.C. 

24 9871) for alignment of P-16 education, as 

25 defined in section 6201(b) of such Act. 


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1 (III) Ensure that the transition from 

2 elementary school to the middle grades is 

3 supported through programs that promote 

4 successful social, emotional, and cognitive 

5 development. 

6 (ii) Ensure that professional develop7 ment is provided to school leaders, teach8 ers, and other school personnel in— 

9 (I) addressing the needs of di10 verse learners, including students with 

11 disabilities and English language 

12 learners; 

13 (II) using challenging and rel14 evant research-based best practices 

15 and curricula; 

16 (III) using data to inform in17 struction; and 

18 (IV) increasing student engage19 ment and social and emotional learn20 ing competencies. 

21 (iii) Identify and disseminate informa22 tion on effective schools and instructional 

23 strategies for middle grades students based 

24 on high-quality research. 


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1 (iv) Include specific provisions for stu2 dents most at risk of not graduating from 

3 secondary school, including English lan4 guage learners, students with disabilities, 

5 and low-income students. 

6 (v) Provide technical assistance to eli7 gible entities to develop and implement 

8 their early warning indicator and interven9 tion systems, as described in section 

10 104(d)(2)(D). 

11 (vi) Define a set of comprehensive 

12 school performance indicators that shall be 

13 used, in addition to the indicators used to 

14 determine adequate yearly progress (as de15 fined in section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Ele16 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C))), to evalu18 ate school performance and guide the 

19 school improvement process, such as— 

20 (I) student attendance and 

21 chronic absenteeism; 

22 (II) earned on-time promotion 

23 rates from grade to grade; 

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1 guage arts, or science course, or fail2 ing 2 or more of any courses; 

3 (IV) teacher preparation, experi4 ence, effectiveness, and attendance 

5 measures; 

6 (V) in-school and out-of-school 

7 suspension or other measurable evi8 dence of at-risk behavior, including 

9 any disparities in rates among 

10 groups described in section 

11 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act 

13 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 

15 (VI) data collected by the Civil 

16 Rights Data Collection survey con17 ducted by the Office of Civil Rights of 

18 the Department of Education; and 

19 (VII) additional indicators pro20 posed by the State educational agen21 cy, and approved by the Secretary 

22 pursuant to the peer-review process 

23 described in section 102(g). 

24 (vii) Ensure that such plan is coordi25 nated with State activities to turn around 


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1 other schools in need of improvement, in2 cluding State activities to improve sec3 ondary schools and elementary schools. 

4 (viii) Ensure that such plan includes 

5 specific provisions to improve family and 

6 community engagement in education in the 

7 middle grades. 

8 (b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

9 agency that receives a grant under this title may use the 

10 grant funds to— 

11 (1) develop and encourage collaborations among 

12 researchers at institutions of higher education, State 

13 educational agencies, educational service agencies, 

14 local educational agencies, and nonprofit organiza15 tions with demonstrated expertise in high-quality 

16 middle grades interventions, to expand the use of ef17 fective practices in the middle grades and to improve 

18 middle grades education; 

19 (2) support local educational agencies in imple20 menting effective middle grades practices, models, 

21 and programs that— 

22 (A) are evidence-based or, when available, 

23 scientifically valid; and 

24 (B) lead to improved student academic 

25 achievement; 


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1 (3) support collaborative communities of middle 

2 grades teachers, administrators, school librarians, 

3 and researchers in creating and sustaining informa4 tional databases to disseminate results from rigorous 

5 research on effective practices and programs for 

6 middle grades education; and 

7 (4) increase middle grades student and aca8 demic support services, such as effective school li9 brary programs and school counseling on the transi10 tion to secondary school, such as summer bridge 

11 programs and student mentors, and planning for 

12 entry into postsecondary education and the work13 force. 

14 SEC. 104. COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS TO IMPROVE LOW15 PERFORMING MIDDLE GRADES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency that 

17 receives a grant under this title shall make competitive 

18 subgrants to eligible local educational agencies and eligible 

19 entities to enable the eligible local educational agencies 

20 and eligible entities to improve low-performing middle 

21 grades in schools served by the agencies or entities. 

22 (b) PRIORITIES.—In making subgrants under sub23 section (a), a State educational agency shall give priority 

24 to eligible local educational agencies or eligible entities 

25 based on— 


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1 (1) the respective populations of children de2 scribed in section 102(c)(1) served by the eligible 

3 local educational agencies that are participating in 

4 the subgrant application process; and 

5 (2) the respective populations of children served 

6 by the participating eligible local educational agen7 cies who attend eligible schools. 

8 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible local educational 

9 agency or eligible entity that desires to receive a subgrant 

10 under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the 

11 State educational agency at such time, in such manner, 

12 and accompanied by such information as the State edu13 cational agency may reasonably require, including— 

14 (1) a comprehensive schoolwide improvement 

15 plan described in subsection (d); 

16 (2) a description of how activities described in 

17 such plan will be coordinated with activities specified 

18 in plans for schoolwide programs under section 1114 

19 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) and school improvement 

21 plans required under section 1116(b)(3) of such Act 

22 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)); and 

23 (3) a description of how activities described in 

24 such plan will be complementary to, and coordinated 

25 with, school improvement activities for elementary 


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1 schools and secondary schools in need of improve2 ment that serve the same students within the par3 ticipating local educational agency. 

4 (d) COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLWIDE IMPROVEMENT

5 PLAN.—An eligible local educational agency or eligible en6 tity that desires to receive a subgrant under subsection 

7 (a) shall develop a comprehensive schoolwide improvement 

8 plan for the middle grades that shall— 

9 (1) include the information described in sub10 section (c)(2); 

11 (2) describe how the eligible local educational 

12 agency or eligible entity will— 

13 (A) identify eligible schools; 

14 (B) ensure that funds go to the highest 

15 priority eligible schools first, based on the eligi16 ble schools’ populations of children described in 

17 section 102(c)(1); 

18 (C) use funds to close achievement gaps 

19 and improve the academic achievement of all 

20 students, including English language learners 

21 and students with disabilities, in eligible 

22 schools; 

23 (D) implement an early warning indicator 

24 and intervention system to alert schools when 

25 students begin to exhibit outcomes or behaviors 


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1 that indicate the student is at increased risk for 

2 low academic achievement or is unlikely to 

3 progress to secondary school graduation, and to 

4 create a system of evidence-based interventions 

5 to be used by schools to effectively intervene, 

6 by— 

7 (i) identifying and analyzing, such as 

8 through the use of longitudinal data of 

9 past cohorts of students, the academic and 

10 behavioral indicators in the middle grades 

11 that most reliably predict dropping out of 

12 secondary school, such as attendance, 

13 chronic absenteeism, behavior measures 

14 (including suspensions, officer referrals, or 

15 conduct marks), academic performance in 

16 core courses, and earned on-time pro17 motion from grade-to-grade; 

18 (ii) analyzing student progress and 

19 performance on the indicators identified 

20 under clause (i) to guide decisionmaking; 

21 (iii) analyzing academic indicators to 

22 determine whether students are on track to 

23 graduate on time, and developing appro24 priate evidence-based intervention; and 


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1 (iv) identifying or developing a mecha2 nism for regularly collecting and report3 ing— 

4 (I) student-level data on the indi5 cators identified under clause (i); 

6 (II) student-level progress and 

7 performance, as described in clause 

8 (ii); 

9 (III) student-level data on the in10 dicators described in clause (iii); and 

11 (IV) information about the im12 pact of interventions on student out13 comes and progress; 

14 (E) increase academic rigor and foster stu15 dent engagement to ensure students are enter16 ing secondary school prepared for success in a 

17 rigorous college- and career-ready curriculum, 

18 including a description of how such readiness 

19 will be measured; 

20 (F) implement a systemic transition plan 

21 for all students and encourage collaboration 

22 among elementary grades, middle grades, and 

23 secondary school grades to support the success24 ful transition between grades; 


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1 (G) increase community and family en2 gagement in education in the middle grades to 

3 support student success; and 

4 (H) provide evidence that the strategies, 

5 programs, supports, and instructional practices 

6 proposed under the schoolwide improvement 

7 plan are new and have not been implemented 

8 before by the eligible local educational agency 

9 or eligible entity; and 

10 (3) provide evidence of an ongoing commitment 

11 to sustain the plan for a period of not less than 4 

12 years. 

13 (e) REVIEW AND SELECTION OF SUBGRANTS.—In 

14 making subgrants under subsection (a), the State edu15 cational agency shall— 

16 (1) establish a peer-review process to assist in 

17 the review and approval of applications under sub18 section (c); and 

19 (2) appoint individuals to participate in the 

20 peer-review process who are educators and experts in 

21 identifying, evaluating, and implementing effective 

22 education programs and practices, including— 

23 (A) experts— 


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1 (i) in areas of teaching and learning, 

2 educational standards and assessments, 

3 and school improvement; 

4 (ii) in addressing the needs of stu5 dents with disabilities and English lan6 guage learners in the middle grades; and 

7 (iii) in the academic and behavioral 

8 supports for middle grades students; and 

9 (B) recognized exemplary middle grades 

10 teachers and principals who have been recog11 nized at the State or national level for exem12 plary work or contributions to the field. 

13 (f) REVISION OF SUBGRANTS.—If a State edu14 cational agency, using the peer-review process described 

15 in subsection (e), determines that an application for a 

16 grant under subsection (a) does not meet the requirements 

17 of this title, the State educational agency shall notify the 

18 eligible local educational agency or eligible entity of such 

19 determination and the reasons for such determination, and 

20 offer— 

21 (1) the eligible local educational agency or eligi22 ble entity an opportunity to revise and resubmit the 

23 application; and 

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1 cational agency or a nonprofit organization with 

2 demonstrated expertise in high-quality middle grades 

3 interventions, to revise the application. 

4 (g) MANDATORY USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

5 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

6 subgrant under subsection (a) shall carry out the fol7 lowing: 

8 (1) Align the curricula for grades kindergarten 

9 through 12 for schools within the local educational 

10 agency to improve transitions from elementary 

11 grades to middle grades to secondary school grades. 

12 (2) In each eligible school served by the eligible 

13 local educational agency receiving or participating in 

14 the subgrant: 

15 (A) Align the curricula for all grade levels 

16 within eligible schools to improve grade to grade 

17 transitions. 

18 (B) Implement evidence-based or, when 

19 available, scientifically valid instructional strate20 gies, programs, and learning environments that 

21 meet the needs of all students and ensure that 

22 school leaders and teachers receive professional 

23 development on the use of these strategies. 

24 (C) Ensure that school leaders, teachers, 

25 pupil service personnel, school librarians, and 


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1 other school staff understand the developmental 

2 stages of adolescents in the middle grades and 

3 how to deal with those stages appropriately in 

4 an educational setting. 

5 (D) Implement organizational practices 

6 and school schedules that allow for effective 

7 leadership, collaborative staff participation, pro8 fessional development, effective teacher instruc9 tional teaming, and parent and community in10 volvement. 

11 (E) Create a more personalized and engag12 ing learning environment for middle grades stu13 dents by developing a personal academic plan 

14 for each student and assigning not less than 1 

15 adult who has received the appropriate training 

16 to monitor, evaluate, and support the progress 

17 of each individual student attending the eligible 

18 school. 

19 (F) Provide all students, and the students’ 

20 families, with information about, and assistance 

21 with, the requirements for secondary school 

22 graduation, admission to an institution of high23 er education, and career success. 

24 (G) Utilize data from an early warning in25 dicator and intervention system described in 


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1 subsection (d)(2)(D) to identify struggling stu2 dents and assist the students as the students 

3 transition from elementary school to middle 

4 grades to secondary school. 

5 (H) Implement academic supports, such as 

6 effective school library programs, and effective 

7 and coordinated additional assistance programs 

8 to ensure that students have a strong founda9 tion in reading, writing, mathematics, and 

10 science skills. 

11 (I) Implement evidence-based or, when 

12 available, scientifically valid schoolwide pro13 grams and targeted supports to promote posi14 tive academic outcomes, such as increased at15 tendance rates, decreased chronic absenteeism, 

16 and the promotion of physical, personal, and so17 cial development. 

18 (J) Develop and use effective formative as19 sessments to inform instruction. 

20 (K) Provide integrated student support 

21 services, such as access to health and mental 

22 health care, to address the comprehensive needs 

23 of students attending eligible schools. 

24 (h) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

25 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 


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1 subgrant under subsection (a) may use the subgrant funds 

2 to carry out the following: 

3 (1) Implement extended learning opportunities 

4 in core academic areas, including more instructional 

5 time in literacy, mathematics, science, history, and 

6 civics in addition to opportunities for language in7 struction and understanding other cultures and the 

8 arts. 

9 (2) Provide evidence-based professional develop10 ment activities with specific benchmarks to enable 

11 teachers and other school staff to appropriately 

12 monitor academic and behavioral progress of, and 

13 modify curricula and implement accommodations 

14 and assistive technology services for, students with 

15 disabilities, consistent with the students’ individual16 ized education programs under section 614(d) of the 

17 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

18 U.S.C. 1414(d)). 

19 (3) Employ and use instructional coaches, in20 cluding literacy, mathematics, and English language 

21 learner coaches. 

22 (4) Provide professional development for con23 tent-area teachers and school librarians on working 

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1 opment for English as a second language educators, 

2 bilingual educators, and special education personnel. 

3 (5) Provide professional development in areas 

4 that support improving school climate and increasing 

5 student engagement such as culturally responsive 

6 pedagogy, restorative justice programs, social and 

7 emotional learning, Response to Intervention, and 

8 positive behavior intervention support. 

9 (6) Encourage and facilitate the sharing of data 

10 among elementary grades, middle grades, secondary 

11 school grades, institutions of higher education, and 

12 other postsecondary educational institutions. 

13 (7) Create collaborative study groups composed 

14 of principals or middle grades teachers, or both, 

15 among eligible schools within the eligible local edu16 cational agency receiving or participating in the 

17 subgrant, or between such eligible local educational 

18 agency and another local educational agency, with a 

19 focus on developing and sharing methods to increase 

20 student learning and academic achievement. 

21 (8) Ensure students are prepared to enter sec22 ondary school by linking secondary school attend23 ance, retention, and achievement to the account24 ability system of each middle school that feeds into 

25 the secondary school. 


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1 (i) PLANNING SUBGRANTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the subgrants 

3 described in subsection (a), a State educational 

4 agency may (without regard to the preceding provi5 sions of this section) make planning subgrants, and 

6 provide technical assistance, to eligible local edu7 cational agencies and eligible entities that have not 

8 received a subgrant under subsection (a) to assist 

9 the local educational agencies and eligible entities in 

10 meeting the requirements of subsections (c) and (d). 

11 (2) AMOUNT AND DURATION.—Each subgrant 

12 under this subsection shall be in an amount of not 

13 more than $100,000 and shall be for a period of not 

14 more than 1 year in duration. 

15 SEC. 105. DURATION OF GRANTS; SUPPLEMENT NOT SUP16 PLANT. 

17 (a) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), grants under this title and subgrants 

20 under section 104(a) may not exceed 3 years in du21 ration. 

22 (2) RENEWALS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this title 

24 and subgrants under section 104(a) may be re25 newed in 2-year increments. 


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1 (B) CONDITIONS.—In order to be eligible 

2 to have a grant or subgrant renewed under this 

3 paragraph, the grant or subgrant recipient shall 

4 demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the granting 

5 entity, that— 

6 (i) the recipient has complied with the 

7 terms of the grant or subgrant, including 

8 by undertaking all required activities; and 

9 (ii) during the period of the grant or 

10 subgrant, there has been significant 

11 progress in— 

12 (I) student academic achieve13 ment, as measured by the annual 

14 measurable objectives established pur15 suant to section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of 

16 the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

18 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)); and 

19 (II) other key risk factors such 

20 as attendance, chronic absenteeism, 

21 and on-time promotion. 

22 (b) FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUP23 PLANT, NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency, 

25 eligible local educational agency, or eligible entity 


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1 shall use Federal funds received under this title only 

2 to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 

3 of such Federal funds, be made available from non4 Federal sources for the education of students par5 ticipating in programs assisted under this title, and 

6 not to supplant such funds. 

7 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—Nothing in this title shall 

8 be construed to authorize an officer, employee, or 

9 contractor of the Federal Government to mandate, 

10 direct, limit, or control a State, local educational 

11 agency, or school’s specific instructional content, 

12 academic achievement standards and assessments, 

13 curriculum, or program of instruction. 

14 SEC. 106. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

15 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

17 the period of the grant, each State educational agency re18 ceiving a grant under this title shall— 

19 (1) conduct an evaluation of the State’s 

20 progress regarding the impact of the changes made 

21 to the policies and practices of the State in accord22 ance with this title, including— 

23 (A) a description of the specific changes 

24 made, or in the process of being made, to poli25 cies and practices as a result of the grant; 


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1 (B) a discussion of any barriers hindering 

2 the identified changes in policies and practices, 

3 and implementation strategies to overcome such 

4 barriers; 

5 (C) evidence of the impact of changes to 

6 policies and practices on behavior and actions 

7 at the local educational agency and school level; 

8 and 

9 (D) evidence of the impact of the changes 

10 to State and local policies and practices on im11 proving measurable learning gains by middle 

12 grades students; 

13 (2) use the results of the evaluation conducted 

14 under paragraph (1) to adjust the policies and prac15 tices of the State as necessary to achieve the pur16 poses of this title; and 

17 (3) submit the results of the evaluation to the 

18 Secretary. 

19 (b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the re20 sults of each State educational agency’s evaluation under 

21 subsection (a) available to other States and local edu22 cational agencies. 

23 (c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

24 an annual basis, each eligible local educational agency and 

25 eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 104(a) 


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1 shall report to the State educational agency and to the 

2 public on— 

3 (1) the performance on the school performance 

4 indicators (as described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi)) 

5 for each eligible school served by the eligible local 

6 educational agency or eligible entity, in the aggre7 gate and disaggregated by the groups described in 

8 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and 

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

10 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 

11 (2) the use of funds by the eligible local edu12 cational agency or eligible entity and each such 

13 school. 

14 (d) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

15 an annual basis, each State educational agency receiving 

16 grant funds under this title shall report to the Secretary 

17 and to the public on— 

18 (1) the performance of eligible schools in the 

19 State, based on the school performance indicators 

20 described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi), in the aggre21 gate and disaggregated by the groups described in 

22 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and 

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

24 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 


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1 (2) the use of such funds by each eligible 

2 school, eligible entity, and eligible local educational 

3 agency in the State receiving such funds. 

4 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Every 2 years, the Sec5 retary shall report to the public and to Congress— 

6 (1) a summary of the State educational agency 

7 reports under subsection (d); and 

8 (2) the use of funds by each State educational 

9 agency under this title. 

10 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this title— 

13 (1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

14 (2) $525,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

15 (3) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

16 (4) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 

17 (5) $650,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

18 TITLE II—RESEARCH 

19 RECOMMENDATIONS 

20 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

21 The purpose of this title is to facilitate the genera22 tion, dissemination, and application of research needed to 

23 identify and implement effective practices that lead to con24 tinual student learning and high academic achievement in 

25 the middle grades. 


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1 SEC. 202. RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS. 

2 (a) STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall enter into a contract with the National Acad6 emies to study and identify promising practices for 

7 the improvement of middle grades education. 

8 (2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 

9 in paragraph (1) shall identify promising practices 

10 currently being implemented for the improvement of 

11 middle grades education. The study shall be con12 ducted in an open and transparent way that provides 

13 interim information to the public about criteria 

14 being used to identify— 

15 (A) such promising practices; 

16 (B) the practices that are being consid17 ered; and 

18 (C) the kind of evidence needed to docu19 ment effectiveness. 

20 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu21 ant to this subsection shall require that the National 

22 Academies submit to the Secretary, the Committee 

23 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

24 Senate, and the Committee on Education and the 

25 Workforce of the House of Representatives a final 

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1 section not later than 1 year after the date of the 

2 commencement of the contract. 

3 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

4 public and post on the website of the Department of 

5 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

6 this subsection. 

7 (b) SYNTHESIS STUDY OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

8 AND LEARNING IN MIDDLE GRADES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

11 shall enter into a contract with the National Acad12 emies to review existing research on middle grades 

13 education, and on factors that might lead to in14 creased effectiveness and enhanced innovation in 

15 middle grades education. 

16 (2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 

17 in paragraph (1) shall review research on education 

18 programs, practices, and policies and research on 

19 the cognitive, social, and emotional development of 

20 children in the middle grades age range, in order to 

21 provide an enriched understanding of the factors 

22 that might lead to the development of innovative and 

23 effective middle grades programs, practices, and 

24 policies. The study shall focus on— 


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1 (A) the areas of curriculum, instruction, 

2 and assessment (including additional supports 

3 for students who are below grade level in read4 ing, writing, mathematics, and science, and the 

5 identification of students with disabilities) to 

6 better prepare all students for subsequent suc7 cess in secondary school, postsecondary edu8 cation, and cognitively challenging employment; 

9 (B) the quality of (including experience, 

10 certification, and demonstrated effectiveness), 

11 and supports for, the teacher workforce; 

12 (C) aspects of student behavioral and so13 cial development, and of social interactions 

14 within schools that affect the learning of aca15 demic content; 

16 (D) the ways in which schools and local 

17 educational agencies are organized and operated 

18 that may be linked to student outcomes; 

19 (E) how development and use of early 

20 warning indicator and intervention systems can 

21 reduce risk factors for dropping out of school 

22 and low academic achievement; and 

23 (F) identification of areas where further 

24 research and evaluation may be needed on these 


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1 topics to further the development of effective 

2 middle grades practices. 

3 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu4 ant to this subsection shall require that the National 

5 Academies submit to the Secretary, the Committee 

6 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

7 Senate, and the Committee on Education and the 

8 Workforce of the House of Representatives a final 

9 report regarding the study conducted under this sub10 section not later than 2 years after the date of com11 mencement of the contract. 

12 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

13 public and post on the website of the Department of 

14 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

15 this subsection. 

16 (c) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall carry 

17 out each of the following: 

18 (1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordi19 nation with entities such as the What Works Clear20 inghouse of the Institute of Education Sciences, for 

21 research in best practices in the middle grades and 

22 in the approaches that successfully take those best 

23 practices to scale in schools and local educational 

24 agencies. 


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1 (2) Create a national middle grades database 

2 accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, 

3 and policymakers that identifies factors at the 

4 school, classroom, and system level that facilitate or 

5 impede student academic achievement in the middle 

6 grades. 

7 (3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences 

8 to develop a strand of field-initiated and scientif9 ically valid research designed to enhance perform10 ance of schools serving middle grades students, and 

11 of middle grades students who are most at risk of 

12 educational failure, which may be coordinated with 

13 the regional educational laboratories established 

14 under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform 

15 Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564), institutions of higher 

16 education, agencies recognized for their research 

17 work that has been published in peer-reviewed jour18 nals, and organizations that have such regional edu19 cational laboratories. Such research shall target spe20 cific issues such as— 

21 (A) effective practices for instruction and 

22 assessment in mathematics, science, technology, 

23 and literacy; 

24 (B) effective practices for developing in 

25 students the competencies of— 


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1 (i) the ability to acquire and use deep 

2 content knowledge to solve problems; 

3 (ii) critical thinking; 

4 (iii) effective communication; 

5 (iv) self-direction; and 

6 (v) the ability to collaborate; 

7 (C) academic interventions for adolescent 

8 English language learners; 

9 (D) school improvement programs and 

10 strategies for closing the academic achievement 

11 gap between the different groups described in 

12 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

13 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)), and for decreas15 ing rates of suspension and expulsion; 

16 (E) evidence-based or, when available, sci17 entifically valid professional development plan18 ning targeted to improve pedagogy and student 

19 academic achievement and student engagement; 

20 (F) the effects of increased learning or ex21 tended school time in the middle grades; and 

22 (G) the effects of decreased class size or 

23 increased instructional and support staff. 

24 (4) Strengthen the work of the existing national 

25 research and development centers under section 


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1 133(c) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

2 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9533(c)), as of the date of enact3 ment of this Act, by adding an educational research 

4 and development center dedicated to addressing— 

5 (A) curricular, instructional, and assess6 ment issues pertinent to the middle grades 

7 (such as mathematics, science, technological flu8 ency, and the needs of English language learn9 ers and students with disabilities); 

10 (B) comprehensive reforms for low-per11 forming middle grades; and 

12 (C) other topics pertinent to improving the 

13 academic achievement of middle grades stu14 dents. 

15 (5) Provide grants to nonprofit organizations, 

16 for-profit organizations, institutions of higher edu17 cation, and others to partner with State educational 

18 agencies and local educational agencies to develop, 

19 adapt, or replicate effective models for turning 

20 around low-performing schools serving middle grades 

21 students. 

22 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA23 TIONS. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap25 propriated to carry out this title $100,000,000 for fiscal 


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1 year 2016 and such sums as may be necessary for each 

2 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

3 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 

4 available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec5 retary shall reserve— 

6 (1) 2.5 percent for the studies described in sub7 sections (a) and (b) of section 202; 

8 (2) 5 percent for the clearinghouse described in 

9 section 202(c)(1); 

10 (3) 5 percent for the database described in sec11 tion 202(c)(2); 

12 (4) 42.5 percent for the activities described in 

13 section 202(c)(3); 

14 (5) 15 percent for the activities described in 

15 section 202(c)(4); and 

16 (6) 30 percent for the activities described in 

17 section 202(c)(5). 

Æ 


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