I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1734
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve
the quality of education and raise student achievement by strengthening
accountability, raising standards for teachers, rewarding success, and
providing better information to parents.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 6, 1999
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 to improve the quality of education and raise
student achievement by strengthening accountability,
raising standards for teachers, rewarding success, and
providing better information to parents.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Quality Counts
Act’’.
TITLE I—STATE PLANS FOR IM-
PROVING BASIC PROGRAMS
OPERATED 
BY 
STATE 
AND
LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CIES.
SEC. 101. ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1111(b)(2) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(2)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause
(i);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iii) the State toward enabling all
children in schools receiving assistance
under this part to meet the State’s student
performance standards.’’;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking clauses (i)
and (ii) and inserting the following:
‘‘(i) that establishes a single high
standard of performance for all students;
‘‘(ii) that takes into account the
progress of all students of each local edu-
cational agency and school served under
section 1114 or 1115;
‘‘(iii) that compares the proportions of
students who are ‘not proficient’, ‘partially
proficient’, ‘proficient’, and ‘advanced’ at
the grade levels at which assessments are
conducted with the proportions of students
in each of the four categories at the same
grade level in the previous school year;
‘‘(iv) that considers separately, within
each State, local educational agency, and
school, the performance and progress of
students by gender, by each major ethnic
and racial group, by English proficiency
status, by migrant status, by students with
disabilities as compared to nondisabled
students, and by economically disadvan-
taged students as compared to students
who are not economically disadvantaged
(except that such disaggregation shall not
be required in a case where the number of
students in a category is insufficient to
yield statistically reliable information or
the results would reveal individually identi-
fiable information about an individual stu-
dent); and
‘‘(v) that includes annual numerical
goals for improving the performance of all
groups specified in clause (iv) and nar-
rowing gaps in performance between these
groups.’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall collect and review
the information from States on the adequate
yearly progress of schools and local educational
agencies required under subparagraphs (A) and
(B) for the purpose of determining State and
local compliance with section 1116.’’.
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate
regulations and amendments to regulations to carry out
the amendments made by subsection (a) not later than
6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and
shall review State plans submitted under section 1111 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 be-
fore such date to determine their compliance with the reg-
ulations. The Secretary shall require States to revise their
plans if necessary to satisfy the requirements of the regu-
lations. Such revised plans shall be submitted to the Sec-
retary for approval not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 102. SCHOOL REPORT CARDS.
Section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is amended—
(1) by amending the subsection heading to read
as follows: ‘‘(b) STANDARDS, ASSESSMENTS, AND
ACCOUNTABILITY.—’’
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through
(8) as paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively;
and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION
OF
RESULTS
TO
PAR-
ENTS.—Each State plan shall contain assurances
that, beginning in the 2001–2002 school year, and
annually thereafter, all schools served under this
part shall—
‘‘(A) report the results of all assessments
described in paragraph (3) used to measure the
performance of a student attending the school
to each parent or legal guardian of the student;
‘‘(B) report the results in a uniform and
understandable format;
‘‘(C) ensure that the reports are based on
the same assessments described in paragraph
(3);
‘‘(D) include in the reports a description of
whether the student has demonstrated ‘ad-
vanced’, ‘proficient’, ‘partially proficient’, or
‘not proficient’ levels of performance in each
subject area;
‘‘(E) include in the reports—
‘‘(i) a comparison of the proportions
of students enrolled in that school, in the
local educational agency, and in the State
who are ‘not proficient’, ‘partially pro-
ficient’, ‘proficient’, and ‘advanced’ in each
subject area, for each grade level at which
assessments are conducted, with propor-
tions in each of the same 4 categories at
the same grade levels in the previous
school year;
‘‘(ii) the percentage of students in the
school on which the results in clause (i)
are based; and
‘‘(iii) information, in the aggregate,
on the qualifications of classroom teachers
in the student’s school, including—
‘‘(I) the percentage of classroom
teachers in the school who meet all
State and local requirements to teach
at all grade levels and in all subject
areas in which they provide instruc-
tion;
‘‘(II) in middle and secondary
schools, the percentage of classes
taught by teachers who do not have a
college major, or who have not passed
a rigorous subject area test, in the
subject being taught; and
‘‘(III) the percentage of class-
room teachers in the school teaching
under ‘emergency’ or other provisional
credentials.
‘‘(5) DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS TO THE PUB-
LIC.—Each State plan shall contain assurances that,
beginning in the 2001–2002 school year, and annu-
ally thereafter, each State shall—
‘‘(A) ensure that overall student perform-
ance data on all assessments described in para-
graph (3) are compiled, published, and dissemi-
nated widely to the general public;
‘‘(B) ensure that the data includes a com-
parison of the proportions of students who are
‘not proficient’, ‘partially proficient’, ‘pro-
ficient’, and ‘advanced’ at the grade levels at
which assessments are conducted with propor-
tions in each of the same 4 categories at the
same grade levels in the previous school year;
‘‘(C) ensure that the data is disaggregated
within the State, local educational agency, and
school by gender, by each major racial and eth-
nic group, by English proficiency status, by mi-
grant status, by students with disabilities as
compared to nondisabled students, and by eco-
nomically disadvantaged students as compared
to students who are not economically disadvan-
taged (except that such disaggregation shall not
be required in a case where the number of stu-
dents in any category is insufficient to yield
statistically reliable information or the results
would reveal individually identifiable informa-
tion about an individual student);
‘‘(D) ensure that the reports are—
‘‘(i) distributed to local print and
broadcast media; and
‘‘(ii) posted on a web site on the
Internet.’’.
SEC. 103. TEACHER QUALITY.
Section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (g)
as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(c) TEACHER QUALITY.—
‘‘(1) 
DISSEMINATION
TO
PARENTS.—Each
State plan shall contain assurances that all schools
served under this part make available to each par-
ent, in a uniform and understandable format, infor-
mation on the qualifications of their child’s class-
room teachers with regard to the subject areas and
grade levels in which the teacher provides instruc-
tion. Such information shall include—
‘‘(A) whether the teacher has met all State
qualification and licensing criteria for the grade
levels and subject areas in which the teacher
provides instruction;
‘‘(B) whether the teacher is teaching under
‘emergency’ or other provisional status;
‘‘(C) the college major of the teacher and
any other graduate certification or degree held
by the teacher, and the field or discipline of
each certification or degree.
‘‘(2) SPECIAL PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.—Each
State plan shall contain assurances that—
‘‘(A) the State shall ensure that all schools
served under this part notify in writing the par-
ents or guardians of any student who is receiv-
ing academic instruction from a teacher who
has not fully met all State requirements to pro-
vide instruction at the grade level at which, and
in the subject areas in which, the teacher is
providing instruction to the student;
‘‘(B) the notification required under sub-
paragraph (A) shall be made—
‘‘(i) to parents or guardians of any
student who is receiving instruction from a
teacher who has been exempted from State
qualification and licensing criteria or for
whom State qualification or licensing cri-
teria have been waived under ‘emergency’,
‘provisional’, or other similar procedures;
‘‘(ii) not more than 15 days after the
student has been assigned to a teacher de-
scribed in the subparagraph; and
‘‘(C) before being allowed to accept a
teaching assignment in the State, a teacher who
has not fully met all State requirements to pro-
vide instruction at a grade level or in a subject
area in which the teacher is to provide instruc-
tion is informed of the notification requirement
under this paragraph.
‘‘(3) PUBLIC
REPORTING.—Each State plan
shall contain assurances that the State shall compile,
aggregate, publish, distribute to major print and
broadcast media outlets throughout the State and
post on a web site on the Internet the information
described in paragraph (1) for each school, local
educational agency, and the State.
‘‘(4) QUALIFICATIONS
OF
CERTAIN
INSTRUC-
TIONAL STAFF.—
‘‘(A) Each State plan shall contain assur-
ances that, not later than 2 years after the date
of the enactment of the School Quality Counts
Act—
‘‘(i) all instructional staff who provide
services to students under section 1114 or
1115 have demonstrated the subject mat-
ter knowledge, teaching knowledge, and
teaching skill necessary to teach effectively
in the content area or areas in which they
provide instruction, according to the cri-
teria described in this paragraph;
‘‘(ii) except as provided in subpara-
graph (F), funds under this part may not
be used to support instructional staff who
provide services to students under section
1114 or 1115 for whom State qualification
or licensing requirements have been waived
or who are teaching under an ‘emergency’
or other provisional credential.
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A),
instructional staff who teach elementary school
students are required, at a minimum, to hold a
bachelors’s degree and demonstrate general
knowledge, teaching skill, and subject matter
knowledge required to teach effectively in read-
ing, 
writing, 
mathematics, 
social 
studies,
science, and other elements of a liberal arts
education.
‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A),
instructional staff who teach in middle schools
and secondary schools are required, at a min-
imum, to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and
demonstrate a high level of competence in all
subject areas in which they teach through—
‘‘(i) a high level of performance on
rigorous academic subject area tests; or
‘‘(ii) completion of an academic major
in each of the subject areas in which they
provide instruction and at least a B aver-
age.
‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph (A)
funds under this part may be used to employ
teacher aides or other paraprofessionals who do
not meet the requirements under subparagraphs
(B) 
and 
(C) 
only 
if 
such 
aides 
or
paraprofessionals—
‘‘(i) provide instruction only when
under the direct and immediate super-
vision, and in the immediate presence, of
instructional staff who meet the criteria of
this paragraph; and
‘‘(ii) possess particular skills nec-
essary to assist instructional staff in pro-
viding services to students served under
this Act.
‘‘(E) Each State plan shall contain assur-
ances that beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of the School Quality Counts Act, no
school served under this part may use funds re-
ceived under this Act to hire instructional staff
who do not fully meet all the criteria for in-
structional staff described in this paragraph.
‘‘(F) Each State plan shall contain assur-
ances that not later than 6 months after the
date of the enactment of the School Quality
Counts Act, and annually thereafter, the prin-
cipal of each school served under this part shall,
in writing, attest to the fact that all members
of their instructional staff meet the require-
ments of this paragraph. In a case in which
there are instructional staff who have yet to
meet all requirements to provide instruction in
each of the subject areas and at each of the
grade levels to which they are assigned to teach,
the principal shall submit, in writing, a plan for
ensuring that not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of the School Quality
Counts Act all instructional staff will either
meet all requirements under this paragraph or