I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1872

To provide flexibility in education.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 27, 1993

Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To provide flexibility in education.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FLEXIBILITY FOR SCHOOLS.

4 The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating sections 8001 through

7 8005 as 10001 through 10005; and

8 (2) by inserting after title VII the following:
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1 ‘‘TITLE VIII—FLEXIBILITY TO IM2 PROVE EDUCATIONAL

3 ACHIEVEMENT

4 ‘‘SEC. 8001. PURPOSE.

5 ‘‘It is the purpose of this title to allow States, local

6 educational agencies, and schools the flexibility to use and

7 combine Federal, State, and local funds as part of sys8 temic educational reform plans to improve the educational

9 achievement of elementary and secondary school students

10 by waiving certain statutory and regulatory requirements.

11 ‘‘SEC. 8002. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

12 ‘‘(a) EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of

13 Education is authorized to waive certain statutory and

14 regulatory requirements (except as provided in section

15 8004) for States that can demonstrate that such waivers

16 are part of a systemwide education reform plan and where

17 such States and local educational agencies have imple18 mented similar waiver plans.

19 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS.—Waivers may also be

20 requested for requirements regarding the following pro21 grams:

22 ‘‘(1) The Head Start Act.

23 ‘‘(2) The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.

24 ‘‘(3) The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Pre25 vention Act.
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1 ‘‘(4) The National School Lunch Act.

2 ‘‘(5) The School Breakfast Program.

3 ‘‘(6) The Child and Adult Care Food Program.

4 ‘‘(7) The Special School Milk Program.

5 ‘‘(8) The Summer Food Service Program.

6 ‘‘(9) The Community Services Block Grant Pro7 gram.

8 ‘‘If such waivers are requested, the Secretary shall consult

9 with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, if

10 any, in determining whether to approve a project. The

11 Secretary shall obtain the approval of such agency head

12 as part of final approval of such project.

13 ‘‘SEC. 8003. APPLICATIONS.

14 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A school, local edu15 cational agency, or State that desires to receive a waiver

16 under this title shall—

17 ‘‘(1) indicate which requirements are to be

18 waived and how waiving such requirements is an in19 tegral part of the systemic reform plan and will im20 prove educational achievement among students;

21 ‘‘(2) identify the Federal programs to be in22 cluded in the project;

23 ‘‘(3) indicate which State and local require24 ments shall be waived;
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1 ‘‘(4) describe specific, measurable educational

2 improvement goals and expected outcomes;

3 ‘‘(5) describe methods to be used to measure

4 progress toward meeting such goals;

5 ‘‘(6) describe the student population at pro6 posed schools, including—

7 ‘‘(A) current data regarding the achieve8 ment levels of students, particularly disadvan9 taged students;

10 ‘‘(B) the number of students who—

11 ‘‘(i) are of limited English proficiency,

12 as defined in section 7003(a)(1) of the Bi13 lingual Education Act;

14 ‘‘(ii) are children with disabilities, as

15 defined in section 602(a)(1) of the Individ16 uals with Disabilities Act;

17 ‘‘(iii) are currently or within the past

18 5 years were migratory;

19 ‘‘(iv) are educationally deprived for

20 the purposes of chapter 1 of title I of this

21 Act; and

22 ‘‘(v) are eligible for a free or reduced23 price lunch.
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1 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary

2 of Education may include additional requirements as may

3 reasonably be required.

4 ‘‘(c) INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL APPLICATIONS.—A local

5 school that desires to receive a waiver under this title shall

6 submit an application to the local education agency, which

7 shall submit such application to the State education agen8 cy.

9 ‘‘(d) LOCAL APPLICATIONS.—(1) A local educational

10 agency that desires to receive a waiver under this title

11 shall submit an application to the State educational

12 agency.

13 ‘‘(2) A State educational agency that approves an ap14 plication submitted by a local education agency shall for15 ward such application to the Secretary of Education for

16 consideration, unless such application requires waivers for

17 programs other than education programs.

18 ‘‘(3) An application that requests a waiver for a pro19 gram other than an education program shall be submitted

20 to the chief executive of the State and such executive shall

21 forward such application to the Secretary.

22 ‘‘(e) STATE APPLICATIONS.—(1) A State educational

23 agency that desires to receive a waiver under this title

24 shall submit an application to the Secretary for consider-
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1 ation, unless such application requires waivers for other

2 than education programs.

3 ‘‘(2) Such application shall be submitted to the chief

4 executive of the State for review before forwarding such

5 application to the Secretary.

6 ‘‘SEC. 8004. WAIVER RESTRICTIONS.

7 ‘‘Requirements which shall not be waived include—

8 ‘‘(1) requirements governing fund allocations;

9 ‘‘(2) requirements governing privacy of pupil

10 records;

11 ‘‘(3) requirements under title VI of the Civil

12 Rights Act of 1964;

13 ‘‘(4) provisions of section 504 of the Rehabilita14 tion Act of 1973;

15 ‘‘(5) provisions of title II of the Americans with

16 Disabilities Education Act;

17 ‘‘(6) requirements of title IX of the Education

18 Amendments of 1972;

19 ‘‘(7) requirements governing pupil rights under

20 the Individuals with Disabilities Act; and

21 ‘‘(8) requirements governing—

22 ‘‘(A) maintenance of effort;

23 ‘‘(B) comparability; or

24 ‘‘(C) the equitable participation of students

25 attending private schools.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 8005. EVALUATIONS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

2 ‘‘(a) LOCAL EVALUATION.—Three years after a waiv3 er is given to a local educational agency, the Secretary

4 of Education shall evaluate the effectiveness of such waiv5 er in achieving education reform and raising student

6 achievement.

7 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—If the Secretary de8 termines that progress in achieving educational reform is

9 not satisfactory, the Secretary may provide technical as10 sistance to a local educational agency.

11 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION.—If the Secretary determines

12 that the technical assistance does not improve educational

13 reform efforts, the Secretary may terminate any waivers

14 previously granted.

15 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL EVALUATION.—Five years after the

16 flexibility program is implemented and at the end of every

17 succeeding five-year period, the Secretary shall evaluate

18 the effectiveness of the flexibility program nationwide. The

19 findings of such evaluation shall be submitted to the Con20 gress not later than 120 days after such evaluation is

21 completed.

22 ‘‘SEC. 8006. REPORTS.

23 ‘‘(a) LOCAL REPORTS.—A local educational agency

24 or school that participates in a flexibility project under

25 this title shall submit an annual report to the State edu26 cational agency that—
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1 ‘‘(1) describes project activities;

2 ‘‘(2) evaluates the progress in achieving the

3 goals stated in the application; and

4 ‘‘(3) evaluates the effectiveness of coordinating

5 services for students and their families.

6 ‘‘(b) STATE REPORTS.—A State that participates in

7 a flexibility project under this title shall submit an annual

8 report to the Secretary of Education which evaluates the

9 progress in achieving goals stated in the application.

10 ‘‘(c) SECRETARY REPORTS.—The Secretary of Edu11 cation shall submit to the Congress a biennial report re12 garding the national progress of flexibility programs and

13 the effect of such programs on educational reform.’’.

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