I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3006 

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 

high 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 23, 2009 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. HARE, Mr. DAVIS

of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. LANGEVIN, and 

Mr. SESTAK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

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 high 

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. 


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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 ‘‘Success in the Middle 

5 Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) International comparisons indicate that stu9 dents in the United States do not start out behind 

10 students of other nations in mathematics and 

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

12 middle grades. 

(2) Only 1 13 ⁄3 of eighth grade students in the 

14 United States, and only 4 percent of such students 

15 who are English language learners, can read with 

16 proficiency, according to the 2007 National Assess17 ment on Educational Progress (NAEP). The per18 centage of eighth grade students proficient at read19 ing has not increased since 1998, and the NAEP av20 erage reading score for eighth grade students has re21 mained static. In contrast, NAEP reading scores 

22 and achievement levels for fourth grade students 

23 have increased significantly. 

(3) In mathematics, less than 1 24 ⁄3 of students in 

25 eighth grade show skills at the NAEP proficient 


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1 level, and nearly 30 percent score below the basic 

2 level. The percentage of eighth grade students scor3 ing above the basic level was 8 points higher in 2007 

4 than in 2000, but for fourth grade students, the per5 centage increased 17 points, more than double the 

6 increase for middle grades students. In eighth grade, 

7 the gaps between the average mathematics scores of 

8 White and Black students and between White and 

9 Hispanic students were as wide in 2007 as in 1990. 

10 (4) Fewer than 2 in 10 of the students who 

11 graduated from high school in 2005 or 2006 met, as 

12 eighth graders, all 4 of ACT’s EXPLORE College 

13 Readiness Benchmarks, the minimum level of 

14 achievement that ACT has shown is necessary if stu15 dents are to be college- and career-ready upon their 

16 high school graduation. 

17 (5) Lack of basic skills at the end of middle 

18 grades has serious implications for students. Stu19 dents who enter high school 2 or more years behind 

20 grade level in mathematics and literacy have only a 

21 50 percent chance of progressing on time to the 

22 tenth grade; those not progressing are at significant 

23 risk of dropping out of high school. 

24 (6) Middle grades students are hopeful about 

25 their future, with 93 percent believing that they will 


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1 complete high school and 92 percent anticipating 

2 that they will attend college. 

3 (7) Sixth grade students who do not attend 

4 school regularly, who are subjected to frequent dis5 ciplinary actions, or who fail mathematics or English 

6 have less than a 15 percent chance of graduating 

7 high school on time and a 20 percent chance of 

8 graduating 1 year late. Without effective interven9 tions and proper supports, these students are at risk 

10 of subsequent failure in high school, or of dropping 

11 out. 

12 (8) Student transitions from elementary school 

13 to the middle grades and to high school are often 

14 complicated by poor curriculum alignment, inad15 equate counseling services, and unsatisfactory shar16 ing of student performance and academic achieve17 ment data between grades. 

18 (9) According to ACT, the level of academic 

19 achievement that students attain by eighth grade 

20 has a larger impact on the students’ college and ca21 reer readiness upon graduation from high school 

22 than anything that happens academically in high 

23 school. 

24 (10) Middle schools are almost twice as likely 

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1 ment, corrective action, or restructuring (22 percent 

2 as compared to 13 percent) under section 1116 of 

3 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

4 1965 (20 U.S.C. 63116). 

5 (11) Middle grades improvement strategies 

6 should be tailored based on a variety of performance 

7 indicators and data, so that educators can create 

8 and implement successful school improvement strate9 gies to address the needs of the middle grades, and 

10 so that teachers can provide effective instruction and 

11 adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk stu12 dents. 

13 (12) To stem a dropout rate nearly twice that 

14 of students without disabilities, students with dis15 abilities in the critical middle grades must receive 

16 appropriate academic accommodations and access to 

17 assistive technology, high-risk behaviors such as ab18 senteeism and course failure must be monitored, and 

19 problem-solving skills with broad application must be 

20 taught. 

21 (13) Local educational agencies and State edu22 cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 

23 provide support for school improvement strategies. 

24 Successful models do exist for turning around low25 performing middle grades, and Federal support 


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1 should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 

2 promising practices based on evidence from success3 ful schools. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen7 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

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

9 meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Ele10 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti13 ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 

14 (A) not less than 1 eligible local edu15 cational agency; and 

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

17 (ii) an educational service agency (as de18 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

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

20 7801)); or 

21 (iii) a nonprofit organization with dem22 onstrated expertise in high quality middle 

23 grades intervention. 

24 (3) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

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


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1 a local educational agency that serves not less than 

2 1 eligible school. 

3 (4) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

4 school’’ means an elementary or secondary school 

5 that contains not less than 2 or more successive 

6 grades beginning with grade 5 and ending with 

7 grade 8 and for which— 

8 (A) a high proportion of the middle grades 

9 students attending such school go on to attend 

10 a high school with a graduation rate of less 

11 than 65 percent; 

12 (B) more than 25 percent of the students 

13 who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear14 liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 

15 or more of the key risk factors and early risk 

16 identification signs, including— 

17 (i) student attendance below 90 per18 cent; 

19 (ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 

20 or reading or language arts course; 

21 (iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 

22 and 

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

24 evidence of at-risk behavior; or 


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1 (C) more than 50 percent of the middle 

2 grades students attending such school do not 

3 perform at a proficient level on State student 

4 academic assessments required under section 

5 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

7 in mathematics or reading or language arts. 

8 (5) 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 (6) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 

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

14 (7) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID.—The term ‘‘sci15 entifically valid’’ means the rationale, design, and in16 terpretation are soundly developed in accordance 

17 with accepted principles of scientific research. 

18 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Education. 

20 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

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

22 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

23 (10) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

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

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


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1 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

2 (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

3 TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 

4 IMPROVEMENT 

5 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

6 The purposes of this title are to— 

7 (1) improve middle grades student academic 

8 achievement and prepare students for rigorous high 

9 school course work, postsecondary education, inde10 pendent living, and employment; 

11 (2) ensure that curricula and student supports 

12 for middle grades education align with the curricula 

13 and student supports provided for elementary and 

14 high school grades; 

15 (3) provide resources to State educational agen16 cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 

17 develop school improvement plans in order to deliver 

18 support and technical assistance to schools serving 

19 students in the middle grades; and 

20 (4) increase the capacity of States and local 

21 educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 

22 and replicable school improvement programs and 

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1 tation by schools serving students in the middle 

2 grades. 

3 SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 

4 AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE5 MENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

7 under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 

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

9 for which the Secretary has approved an application under 

10 subsection (f) in an amount equal to the allotment deter11 mined for such agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal 

12 year. 

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

14 available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec15 retary— 

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

17 the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu18 reau of Indian Affairs) and the outlying areas for 

19 activities carried out in accordance with this section; 

20 (2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec21 tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 

22 title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 

23 widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 

24 outside evaluator; and 


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1 (3) shall reserve 5 percent for technical assist2 ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 

3 grades education to States and local educational 

4 agencies. 

5 (c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), of the total amount made available to 

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

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

10 amount among the States in proportion to the num11 ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 

12 State and are from families with incomes below the 

13 poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for which 

14 satisfactory data are available, compared to the 

15 number of such individuals who reside in all such 

16 States for that fiscal year, determined in accordance 

17 with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and 

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

19 6333(c)(1)(A)). 

20 (2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu21 cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 

subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1 22 ⁄2 of 

23 1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 

24 this title for such fiscal year. 


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

2 the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less that 

3 $500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 

4 to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath5 er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 

6 such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 

7 a competitive basis. 

8 (e) REALLOTMENT.— 

9 (1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP10 PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 

11 apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 

12 year, or if the application from the State educational 

13 agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 

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

15 States in accordance with this section. 

16 (2) UNUSED FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

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

18 Secretary determines that the State will be unable to 

19 use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. 

20 Such reallotments shall be made on the same basis 

21 as allotments are made under subsection (c). 

22 (f) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a grant under 

23 this title, a State educational agency shall submit an appli24 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

25 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 


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1 reasonably require, including a State middle grades im2 provement plan described in section 103(a)(4). 

3 (g) PEER REVIEW AND SELECTION.—The Sec4 retary— 

5 (1) shall establish a peer-review process to as6 sist in the review and approval of proposed State ap7 plications; 

8 (2) shall appoint individuals to participate in 

9 the peer-review process who are educators and ex10 perts in identifying, evaluating, and implementing 

11 effective education programs and practices (includ12 ing the areas of teaching and learning, educational 

13 standards and assessments, school improvement, and 

14 academic and behavioral supports for middle grades 

15 students), which individuals may include recognized 

16 exemplary middle grades teachers and middle grades 

17 principals who have been recognized at the State or 

18 national level for exemplary work or contributions to 

19 the field; 

20 (3) shall ensure that States are given the op21 portunity to receive timely feedback, and to interact 

22 with peer-review panels, in person or via electronic 

23 communication, on issues that need clarification dur24 ing the peer-review process; 


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1 (4) shall approve a State application submitted 

2 under this title not later than 120 days after the 

3 date of submission of the application unless the Sec4 retary determines that the application does not meet 

5 the requirements of this title; 

6 (5) may not decline to approve a State’s appli7 cation before— 

8 (A) offering the State an opportunity to 

9 revise the State’s application; 

10 (B) providing the State with technical as11 sistance in order to submit a successful applica12 tion; and 

13 (C) providing a hearing to the State; and 

14 (6) shall direct the Inspector General of the De15 partment of Education to— 

16 (A) review final determinations reached by 

17 the Secretary to approve or deny State applica18 tions; 

19 (B) analyze the consistency of the process 

20 used by peer-review panels in reviewing and rec21 ommending to the Secretary approval or denial 

22 of such State applications; and 

23 (C) report the findings of this review and 

24 analysis to Congress. 


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1 SEC. 103. STATE PLAN; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

2 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.— 

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

4 that receives a grant under this title shall use the 

5 grant funds— 

6 (A) to prepare and implement the needs 

7 analysis and middle grades improvement plan, 

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

9 agency; 

10 (B) to make subgrants to eligible local 

11 educational agencies or eligible entities under 

12 section 104; and 

13 (C) to assist eligible local educational agen14 cies and eligible entities, when determined nec15 essary by the State educational agency or at the 

16 request of an eligible local educational agency 

17 or eligible entity, in designing a comprehensive 

18 schoolwide improvement plan and carrying out 

19 the activities under section 104. 

20 (2) FUNDS FOR SUBGRANTS.—A State edu21 cational agency that receives a grant under this title 

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

23 to make subgrants to eligible local educational agen24 cies or eligible entities under section 104. 

25 (3) MIDDLE GRADES NEEDS ANALYSIS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

2 agency that receives a grant under this title 

3 shall enter into a contract, or similar formal 

4 agreement, to work with entities such as na5 tional and regional comprehensive centers (as 

6 described in section 203 of the Educational 

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

8 9602)), institutions of higher education, or non9 profit organizations with demonstrated exper10 tise in high-quality middle grades reform, to 

11 prepare a plan that analyzes how to strengthen 

12 the programs, practices, and policies of the 

13 State in supporting students in the middle 

14 grades, including the factors, such as local im15 plementation, that influence variation in the ef16 fectiveness of such programs, practices, and 

17 policies. 

18 (B) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—In preparing 

19 the plan under subparagraph (A), the State 

20 educational agency shall examine policies and 

21 practices of the State, and of local educational 

22 agencies within the State, affecting— 

23 (i) middle grades curriculum instruc24 tion and assessment; 


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1 (ii) education accountability and data 

2 systems; 

3 (iii) teacher quality and equitable dis4 tribution; and 

5 (iv) interventions that support learn6 ing in school. 

7 (4) MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVEMENT PLAN.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

9 agency that receives a grant under this title 

10 shall develop a middle grades improvement plan 

11 that— 

12 (i) shall be a statewide plan to im13 prove student academic achievement in the 

14 middle grades, based on the needs analysis 

15 described in paragraph (3); and 

16 (ii) describes what students are re17 quired to know and do to successfully— 

18 (I) complete the middle grades; 

19 and 

20 (II) make the transition to suc21 ceed in academically rigorous high 

22 school coursework that prepares stu23 dents for college, independent living, 

24 and employment. 


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1 (B) PLAN COMPONENTS.—A middle grades 

2 improvement plan described in subparagraph 

3 (A) shall also describe how the State edu4 cational agency will do each of the following: 

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

6 assessments for middle grades education 

7 are aligned with high school curricula and 

8 assessments and prepare students to take 

9 challenging high school courses and suc10 cessfully engage in postsecondary edu11 cation. 

12 (II) Ensure coordination, where appli13 cable, with the activities carried out 

14 through grants for P–16 education align15 ment under section 6401(c)(1) of the 

16 America COMPETES Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 9871(c)(1)). 

18 (ii) Ensure professional development 

19 is provided to school leaders, teachers, and 

20 other school personnel in— 

21 (I) addressing the needs of di22 verse learners, including students with 

23 disabilities and English language 

24 learners; 


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1 (II) using challenging and rel2 evant research-based best practices 

3 and curricula; and 

4 (III) using data to inform in5 struction. 

6 (iii) Identify and disseminate informa7 tion on effective schools and instructional 

8 strategies for middle grades students based 

9 on high-quality research. 

10 (iv) Include specific provisions for stu11 dents most at risk of not graduating from 

12 secondary school, including English lan13 guage learners and students with disabil14 ities. 

15 (v) Provide technical assistance to eli16 gible entities to develop and implement 

17 their early warning indicator and interven18 tion systems, as described in section 

19 104(d)(2)(D). 

20 (vi) Define a set of comprehensive 

21 school performance indicators that shall be 

22 used, in addition to the indicators used to 

23 determine adequate yearly progress, as de24 fined in section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Ele25 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 


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1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)), to evalu2 ate school performance, and guide the 

3 school improvement process, such as— 

4 (I) student attendance and ab5 senteeism; 

6 (II) earned on-time promotion 

7 rates from grade to grade; 

8 (III) percentage of students fail9 ing a mathematics, reading or lan10 guage arts, or science course, or fail11 ing 2 or more of any courses; 

12 (IV) teacher quality and attend13 ance measures; 

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

15 suspension or other measurable evi16 dence of at-risk behavior; and 

17 (VI) additional indicators pro18 posed by the State educational agen19 cy, and approved by the Secretary 

20 pursuant to the peer-review process 

21 described in section 102(g). 

22 (vii) Ensure that such plan is coordi23 nated with State activities to turn around 

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1 cluding State activities to improve high 

2 schools and elementary schools. 

3 (b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

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

5 grant funds to— 

6 (1) develop and encourage collaborations among 

7 researchers at institutions of higher education, State 

8 educational agencies, educational service agencies 

9 (as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

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

11 7801)), local educational agencies, and nonprofit or12 ganizations with demonstrated expertise in high 

13 quality middle grades interventions, to expand the 

14 use of effective practices in the middle grades and 

15 to improve middle grades education; 

16 (2) support local educational agencies in imple17 menting effective middle grades practices, models, 

18 and programs that— 

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

20 scientifically valid; and 

21 (B) lead to improved student academic 

22 achievement; 

23 (3) support collaborative communities of middle 

24 grades teachers, administrators, and researchers in 

25 creating and sustaining informational databases to 


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1 disseminate results from rigorous research on effec2 tive practices and programs for middle grades edu3 cation; and 

4 (4) increase middle grades student support 

5 services, such as school counseling on the transition 

6 to high school. 

7 SEC. 104. COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS TO IMPROVE LOW8 PERFORMING MIDDLE GRADES. 

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

10 receives a grant under this title shall make competitive 

11 subgrants to eligible local educational agencies and eligible 

12 entities to enable the eligible local educational agencies 

13 and eligible entities to improve low-performing middle 

14 grades in schools served by the agencies or entities. 

15 (b) PRIORITIES.—In making subgrants under sub16 section (a), a State educational agency shall give priority 

17 to eligible local educational agencies or eligible entities 

18 based on— 

19 (1) the respective populations of children de20 scribed in section 102(c)(1) served by the eligible 

21 local educational agencies participating in the 

22 subgrant application process; and 

23 (2) the respective populations of children served 

24 by the participating eligible local educational agen25 cies who attend eligible schools. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible local educational 

2 agency or eligible entity that desires to receive a subgrant 

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

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

5 and accompanied by such information as the State edu6 cational agency may reasonably require, including— 

7 (1) a comprehensive schoolwide improvement 

8 plan described in subsection (d); 

9 (2) a description of how activities described in 

10 such plan will be coordinated with activities specified 

11 in plans for schoolwide programs under section 1114 

12 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) and school improvement 

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

15 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)); and 

16 (3) a description of how activities described in 

17 such plan will be complementary to, and coordinated 

18 with, school improvement activities for elementary 

19 schools and high schools in need of improvement 

20 that serve the same students within the participating 

21 local educational agency. 

22 (d) COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLWIDE IMPROVEMENT

23 PLAN.—An eligible local educational agency or eligible en24 tity that desires to receive a subgrant under subsection 


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1 (a) shall develop a comprehensive schoolwide improvement 

2 plan for the middle grades that shall— 

3 (1) include the information described in sub4 section (c)(2); 

5 (2) describe how the eligible local educational 

6 agency or eligible entity will— 

7 (A) identify eligible schools; 

8 (B) ensure that funds go to the highest 

9 priority eligible schools first, based on the eligi10 ble schools’ populations of children described in 

11 section 102(c)(1); 

12 (C) use funds to improve the academic 

13 achievement of all students, including English 

14 language learners and students with disabilities, 

15 in eligible schools; 

16 (D) implement an early warning indicator 

17 and intervention system to alert schools when 

18 students begin to exhibit outcomes or behaviors 

19 that indicate the student is at increased risk for 

20 low academic achievement or is unlikely to 

21 progress to secondary school graduation, and to 

22 create a system of evidence-based interventions 

23 to be used by schools to effectively intervene, 

24 by— 


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1 (i) identifying and analyzing, such as 

2 through the use of longitudinal data of 

3 past cohorts of students, the academic and 

4 behavioral indicators in the middle grades 

5 that most reliably predict dropping out of 

6 high school, such as attendance, behavior 

7 measures (including suspensions, officer 

8 referrals, or conduct marks), academic per9 formance in core courses, and earned on10 time promotion from grade-to-grade; 

11 (ii) analyzing student progress and 

12 performance on the indicators identified 

13 under clause (i) to guide decisionmaking; 

14 (iii) analyzing academic indicators to 

15 determine whether students are on track to 

16 graduate on time, and developing appro17 priate evidence-based intervention; and 

18 (iv) identifying or developing a mecha19 nism for regularly collecting and report20 ing— 

21 (I) student-level data on the indi22 cators identified under clause (i); 

23 (II) student-level progress and 

24 performance, as described in clause 

25 (ii); 


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1 (III) student-level data on the in2 dicators described in clause (iii); and 

3 (IV) information about the im4 pact of interventions on student out5 comes and progress; 

6 (E) increase academic rigor and foster stu7 dent engagement to ensure students are enter8 ing high school prepared for success in a rig9 orous college-ready curriculum, including a de10 scription of how such readiness will be meas11 ured; 

12 (F) implement a systemic transition plan 

13 for all students and encourage collaboration 

14 among elementary grades, middle grades, and 

15 high school grades; and 

16 (G) provide evidence that the strategies, 

17 programs, supports, and instructional practices 

18 proposed under the schoolwide improvement 

19 plan are new and have not been implemented 

20 before by the eligible local educational agency 

21 or eligible entity; and 

22 (3) provide evidence of an ongoing commitment 

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

24 years. 


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

2 making subgrants under subsection (a), the State edu3 cational agency shall— 

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

5 the review and approval of applications under sub6 section (c); and 

7 (2) appoint individuals to participate in the 

8 peer-review process who are educators and experts in 

9 identifying, evaluating, and implementing effective 

10 education programs and practices, including areas of 

11 teaching and learning, educational standards and as12 sessments, school improvement, and academic and 

13 behavioral supports for middle grades students, in14 cluding recognized exemplary middle grades teachers 

15 and principals who have been recognized at the 

16 State or national level for exemplary work or con17 tributions to the field. 

18 (f) REVISION OF SUBGRANTS.—If a State edu19 cational agency, using the peer-review process described 

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

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

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

23 eligible local educational agency or eligible entity of such 

24 determination and the reasons for such determination, and 

25 offer— 


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1 (1) the eligible local educational agency or eligi2 ble entity an opportunity to revise and resubmit the 

3 application; and 

4 (2) technical assistance to the eligible local edu5 cational agency or eligible entity, by the State edu6 cational agency or a nonprofit organization with 

7 demonstrated expertise in high quality middle grades 

8 interventions, to revise the application. 

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

10 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

11 subgrant under subsection (a) shall carry out the fol12 lowing: 

13 (1) Align the curricula for grades kindergarten 

14 through 12 for schools within the local educational 

15 agency to improve transitions from elementary 

16 grades to middle grades to high school grades. 

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

18 local educational agency receiving or participating in 

19 the subgrant: 

20 (A) Align the curricula for all grade levels 

21 within eligible schools to improve grade to grade 

22 transitions. 

23 (B) Implement evidence-based or, when 

24 available, scientifically valid instructional strate25 gies, programs, and learning environments that 


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1 meet the needs of all students and ensure that 

2 school leaders and teachers receive professional 

3 development on the use of these strategies. 

4 (C) Ensure that school leaders, teachers, 

5 pupil service personnel, and other school staff 

6 understand the developmental stages of adoles7 cents in the middle grades and how to deal with 

8 those stages appropriately in an educational 

9 setting. 

10 (D) Implement organizational practices 

11 and school schedules that allow for effective 

12 leadership, collaborative staff participation, ef13 fective teacher teaming, and parent and com14 munity involvement. 

15 (E) Create a more personalized and engag16 ing learning environment for middle grades stu17 dents by developing a personal academic plan 

18 for each student and assigning not less than 1 

19 adult to help monitor student progress. 

20 (F) Provide all students with information 

21 and assistance about the requirements for high 

22 school graduation, college admission, and career 

23 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 high school. 

5 (H) Implement academic supports and ef6 fective and coordinated additional assistance 

7 programs to ensure that students have a strong 

8 foundation in reading, writing, mathematics, 

9 and science skills. 

10 (I) Implement evidence-based or, when 

11 available, scientifically valid schoolwide pro12 grams and targeted supports to promote posi13 tive academic outcomes, such as increased at14 tendance rates and the promotion of physical, 

15 personal, and social development. 

16 (J) Develop and use an effective formative 

17 assessment to inform instruction. 

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

19 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

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

21 to carry out the following: 

22 (1) Implement extended learning opportunities 

23 in core academic areas including more instructional 

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

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1 struction and understanding other cultures and the 

2 arts. 

3 (2) Provide evidence-based professional develop4 ment activities with specific benchmarks to enable 

5 teachers and other school staff to appropriately 

6 monitor academic and behavioral progress of, and 

7 modify curricula and implement accommodations 

8 and assistive technology services for, students with 

9 disabilities, consistent with the students’ individual10 ized education programs under section 614(d) of the 

11 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

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

13 (3) Employ and use instructional coaches, in14 cluding literacy, mathematics, and English language 

15 learner coaches. 

16 (4) Provide professional development for con17 tent-area teachers on working effectively with 

18 English language learners and students with disabil19 ities, as well as professional development for English 

20 as a second language educators, bilingual educators, 

21 and special education personnel. 

22 (5) Encourage and facilitate the sharing of data 

23 among elementary grades, middle grades, high 

24 school grades, and postsecondary educational institu25 tions. 


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1 (6) Create collaborative study groups composed 

2 of principals or middle grades teachers, or both, 

3 among eligible schools within the eligible local edu4 cational agency receiving or participating in the 

5 subgrant, or between such eligible local educational 

6 agency and another local educational agency, with a 

7 focus on developing and sharing methods to increase 

8 student learning and academic achievement. 

9 (i) PLANNING SUBGRANTS.— 

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

11 described in subsection (a), a State educational 

12 agency may (without regard to the preceding provi13 sions of this section) make planning subgrants, and 

14 provide technical assistance, to eligible local edu15 cational agencies and eligible entities that have not 

16 received a subgrant under subsection (a) to assist 

17 the local educational agencies and eligible entities in 

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

19 (2) AMOUNT AND DURATION.—Each subgrant 

20 under this subsection shall be in an amount of not 

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

22 more than 1 year in duration. 

23 SEC. 105. DURATION OF GRANTS; SUPPLEMENT NOT SUP24 PLANT. 

25 (a) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), grants under this title and subgrants 

3 under section 104(a) may not exceed 3 years in du4 ration. 

5 (2) RENEWALS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants and subgrants 

7 under this title may be renewed in 2-year incre8 ments. 

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

10 to have a grant or subgrant renewed under this 

11 paragraph, the grant or subgrant recipient shall 

12 demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the granting 

13 entity, that— 

14 (i) the recipient has complied with the 

15 terms of the grant or subgrant, including 

16 by undertaking all required activities; and 

17 (ii) during the period of the grant or 

18 subgrant, there has been significant 

19 progress in— 

20 (I) student academic achieve21 ment, as measured by the annual 

22 measurable objectives established pur23 suant to section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of 

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1 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 

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

3 (II) other key risk factors such 

4 as attendance and on-time promotion. 

5 (b) FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUP6 PLANT, NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

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

8 eligible local educational agency, or eligible entity 

9 shall use Federal funds received under this title only 

10 to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 

11 of such Federal funds, be made available from non12 Federal sources for the education of pupils partici13 pating in programs assisted under this title, and not 

14 to supplant such funds. 

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

16 be construed to authorize an officer, employee, or 

17 contractor of the Federal Government to mandate, 

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

19 agency, or school’s specific instructional content, 

20 academic achievement standards and assessments, 

21 curriculum, or program of instruction. 

22 SEC. 106. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

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

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


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1 the period of the grant, each State receiving a grant under 

2 this title shall— 

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

4 progress regarding the impact of the changes made 

5 to the policies and practices of the State in accord6 ance with this title, including— 

7 (A) a description of the specific changes 

8 made, or in the process of being made, to poli9 cies and practices as a result of the grant; 

10 (B) a discussion of any barriers hindering 

11 the identified changes in policies and practices, 

12 and implementations strategies to overcome 

13 such barriers; 

14 (C) evidence of the impact of changes to 

15 policies and practices on behavior and actions 

16 at the local educational agency and school level; 

17 and 

18 (D) evidence of the impact of the changes 

19 to State and local policies and practices on im20 proving measurable learning gains by middle 

21 grades students; 

22 (2) use the results of the evaluation conducted 

23 under paragraph (1) to adjust the policies and prac24 tices of the State as necessary to achieve the pur25 poses of this title; and 


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

2 Secretary. 

3 (b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the re4 sults of each State’s evaluation under subsection (a) avail5 able to other States and local educational agencies. 

6 (c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

7 an annual basis, each eligible local educational agency and 

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

9 shall report to the State educational agency and to the 

10 public on— 

11 (1) the performance on the school performance 

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

13 for each eligible school served by the eligible local 

14 educational agency or eligible entity, in the aggre15 gate and disaggregated by the subgroups described 

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

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

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

19 (2) the use of funds by the eligible local edu20 cational agency or eligible entity and each such 

21 school. 

22 (d) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

23 an annual basis, each State educational agency receiving 

24 grant funds under this title shall report to the Secretary 

25 and to the public on— 


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1 (1) the performance of eligible schools in the 

2 State, based on the school performance indicators 

3 described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi), in the aggre4 gate and disaggregated by the subgroups described 

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

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

7 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 

8 (2) the use of the funds by each eligible local 

9 educational agency in the State and by each eligible 

10 school. 

11 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Every 2 years, the Sec12 retary shall report to the public and to Congress— 

13 (1) a summary of the State reports under sub14 section (d); and 

15 (2) the use of funds by each State under this 

16 title. 

17 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

19 this title $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such 

20 sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding 

21 fiscal years. 


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1 TITLE II—RESEARCH 

2 RECOMMENDATIONS 

3 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this title is to facilitate the genera5 tion, dissemination, and application of research needed to 

6 identify and implement effective practices that lead to con7 tinual student learning and high academic achievement in 

8 the middle grades. 

9 SEC. 202. RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS. 

10 (a) STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES.— 

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

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 shall enter into a contract with the Center for Edu14 cation of the National Academies to study and iden15 tify promising practices for the improvement of mid16 dle grades education. 

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

18 in paragraph (1) shall identify promising practices 

19 currently being implemented for the improvement of 

20 middle grades education. The study shall be con21 ducted in an open and transparent way that provides 

22 interim information to the public about criteria 

23 being used to identify— 

24 (A) promising practices; 


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1 (B) the practices that are being consid2 ered; and 

3 (C) the kind of evidence needed to docu4 ment effectiveness. 

5 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu6 ant to this subsection shall require that the Center 

7 for Education of the National Academies submit to 

8 the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, 

9 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Com10 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 

11 Representatives a final report regarding the study 

12 conducted under this subsection not later than 1 

13 year after the date of the commencement of the con14 tract. 

15 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

16 public and post on the website of the Department of 

17 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

18 this subsection. 

19 (b) SYNTHESIS STUDY OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

20 AND LEARNING IN MIDDLE GRADES.— 

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

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall enter into a contract with the Center for Edu24 cation of the National Academies to review existing 

25 research on middle grades education, and on factors 


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1 that might lead to increased effectiveness and en2 hanced innovation in middle grades education. 

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

4 in paragraph (1) shall review research on education 

5 programs, practices, and policies, as well as research 

6 on the cognitive, social, and emotional development 

7 of children in the middle grades age range, in order 

8 to provide an enriched understanding of the factors 

9 that might lead to the development of innovative and 

10 effective middle grades programs, practices, and 

11 policies. The study shall focus on— 

12 (A) the areas of curriculum, instruction, 

13 and assessment (including additional supports 

14 for students who are below grade level in read15 ing, writing, mathematics, and science, and the 

16 identification of students with disabilities) to 

17 better prepare all students for subsequent suc18 cess in high school, college, and cognitively chal19 lenging employment; 

20 (B) the quality of, and supports for, the 

21 teacher workforce; 

22 (C) aspects of student behavioral and so23 cial development, and of social interactions 

24 within schools that affect the learning of aca25 demic content; 


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1 (D) the ways in which schools and local 

2 educational agencies are organized and operated 

3 that may be linked to student outcomes; 

4 (E) how development and use of early 

5 warning indicator and intervention systems can 

6 reduce risk factors for dropping out of school 

7 and low academic achievement; and 

8 (F) identification of areas where further 

9 research and evaluation may be needed on these 

10 topics to further the development of effective 

11 middle grades practices. 

12 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu13 ant to this subsection shall require that the Center 

14 for Education of the National Academies submit to 

15 the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, 

16 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Com17 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 

18 Representatives a final report regarding the study 

19 conducted under this subsection not later than 2 

20 years after the date of commencement of the con21 tract. 

22 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

23 public and post on the website of the Department of 

24 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

25 this subsection. 


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

2 out each of the following: 

3 (1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordi4 nation with entities such as What Works and the 

5 Doing What Works Clearinghouses, for research in 

6 best practices in the middle grades and in the ap7 proaches that successfully take those best practices 

8 to scale in schools and local educational agencies. 

9 (2) Create a national middle grades database 

10 accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, 

11 and policymakers that identifies school, classroom, 

12 and system-level factors that facilitate or impede 

13 student academic achievement in the middle grades. 

14 (3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences 

15 to develop a strand of field-initiated and scientif16 ically valid research designed to enhance perform17 ance of schools serving middle grades students, and 

18 of middle grades students who are most at risk of 

19 educational failure, which may be coordinated with 

20 the regional educational laboratories established 

21 under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform 

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

23 education, agencies recognized for their research 

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1 cational laboratories. Such research shall target spe2 cific issues such as— 

3 (A) effective practices for instruction and 

4 assessment in mathematics, science, technology, 

5 and literacy; 

6 (B) academic interventions for adolescent 

7 English language learners; 

8 (C) school improvement programs and 

9 strategies for closing the academic achievement 

10 gap; 

11 (D) evidence-based or, when available, sci12 entifically valid professional development plan13 ning targeted to improve pedagogy and student 

14 academic achievement; 

15 (E) the effects of increased learning or ex16 tended school time in the middle grades; and 

17 (F) the effects of decreased class size or 

18 increased instructional and support staff. 

19 (4) Strengthen the work of the existing national 

20 research and development centers under section 

21 133(c) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

22 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9533(c)), as of the date of enact23 ment of this Act, by adding an educational research 

24 and development center dedicated to addressing— 


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1 (A) curricular, instructional, and assess2 ment issues pertinent to the middle grades 

3 (such as mathematics, science, technological flu4 ency, the needs of English language learners, 

5 and students with disabilities); 

6 (B) comprehensive reforms for low-per7 forming middle grades; and 

8 (C) other topics pertinent to improving the 

9 academic achievement of middle grades stu10 dents. 

11 (5) Provide grants to nonprofit organizations, 

12 for-profit organizations, institutions of higher edu13 cation, and others to partner with State educational 

14 agencies and local educational agencies to develop, 

15 adapt, or replicate effective models for turning 

16 around low-performing middle grades. 

17 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA18 TIONS. 

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap20 propriated to carry out this title $100,000,000 for fiscal 

21 year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each 

22 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

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

24 available to carry out this title, the Secretary shall re25 serve— 


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1 (1) 2.5 percent for the studies described in sub2 sections (a) and (b) of section 202; 

3 (2) 5 percent for the clearinghouse described in 

4 section 202(c)(1); 

5 (3) 5 percent for the database described in sec6 tion 202(c)(2); 

7 (4) 42.5 percent for the activities described in 

8 section 202(c)(3); 

9 (5) 15 percent for the activities described in 

10 section 202(c)(4); and 

11 (6) 30 percent for the activities described in 

12 section 202(c)(5). 

Æ 


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