I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 236
To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportunities for students 
in State public school systems, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2003
Mr. FATTAH (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CONYERS, 
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. RUSH, 
Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. WATSON, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HOEFFEL, 
Mr. REYES, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. CUMMINGS, 
Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. EDDIE BER-
NICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. OLVER, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. FILNER, Mr. 
OWENS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA´, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. BRADY of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New 
York, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. 
HONDA, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. DAVIS of Ala-
bama, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. FORD, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. DAVIS of 
Illinois, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. RAN-
GEL, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. 
LEE, and Mr. WATT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide for adequate and equitable educational opportuni-
ties for students in State public school systems, and 
for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Student Bill of 
Rights’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Findings and purposes. 
TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY IN STATE PUBLIC 
SCHOOL SYSTEMS 
Subtitle A—Access to Educational Opportunity 
Sec. 111. Adequate and equitable State public school systems. 
Sec. 112. State educational adequacy and equity requirements. 
Sec. 113. State-established standards for access to educational opportunity. 
Subtitle B—State Accountability 
Sec. 121. Determination of educationally adequate and inequitable State public 
school systems. 
Sec. 122. State accountability for improvement of educational opportunity. 
Sec. 123. Consequences of nonremediation. 
Subtitle C—Public Reporting and Remedy 
Sec. 131. Annual report by Secretary on adequacy and equity in State public 
school systems. 
Sec. 132. Civil action for enforcement. 
TITLE II—EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL DISPARITIES ON 
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NATIONAL DEFENSE 
Sec. 201. Effects on economic growth and productivity. 
Sec. 202. Effects on national defense. 
TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 301. Definitions. 
Sec. 302. Notice and opportunity for hearing. 
Sec. 303. Rulemaking. 
Sec. 304. Rule of construction.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) A high-quality, highly competitive education 
for all students is imperative for the economic
growth and productivity of the United States, for its 
effective national defense, and for achievement of 
the historical aspiration to be one Nation of equal 
citizens. It is therefore necessary and proper to over-
come the nationwide phenomenon of educationally 
inadequate or inequitable State public school sys-
tems, in which high-quality public schools serve 
high-income communities and poor-quality schools 
serve low-income, urban, rural, and minority commu-
nities. 
(2) There exists in the States an ever-widening 
educational opportunity gap for low-income, urban, 
rural, and minority students characterized by the 
following: 
(A) Highly differential educational expend-
itures among public school districts within 
States. 
(B) Continuing disparities within the 
States in students’ access to the fundamentals 
of educational opportunity described in section 
112(a). 
(C) 
Radically 
differential 
educational 
achievement among public school districts with-
in the States, as measured by the following:
(i) Achievement in mathematics, read-
ing or language arts, and science on State 
academic achievement tests and measures, 
including the academic assessments de-
scribed in section 113(b)(1). 
(ii) Advanced placement courses of-
fered and taken. 
(iii) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) 
and ACT Assessment scores. 
(iv) Dropout rates and graduation 
rates. 
(v) College-going and college-comple-
tion rates. 
(vi) Job placement and retention rates 
and indices of job quality. 
(3) As a consequence of this educational oppor-
tunity gap, the quality of a child’s education depends 
largely upon where the child’s family lives, and the 
detriments of lower quality public education are im-
posed particularly on—
(A) children from low-income families; 
(B) children living in urban and rural 
areas; and 
(C) minority children.
(4) Since 1785, the Congress of the United 
States, exercising the power to admit new States 
under article IV, section 3 of the Constitution (and 
previously, the Congress of the Confederation of 
States under the Articles of Confederation), has im-
posed upon every State, as a fundamental condition 
of the State’s admission, the following requirements: 
(A) One, and sometimes two, square-mile 
lots in every township were to be ‘‘granted and 
. . . reserved for the maintenance and use of 
public schools’’. 
(B) ‘‘[S]chools and the means of education 
[are to] be forever encouraged’’. 
(C) ‘‘State conventions [were to] provide, 
by ordinances irrevocable without the consent of 
the United States and the people of said States 
. . . that provision . . . be made for the estab-
lishment and maintenance of systems of public 
schools which shall be open to all children of 
said States’’. 
(See Ordinances of May 20, 1785, and July 13, 
1787; Act of March 3, 1845, 28th Cong. 2d Sess., 
5 Stat. 789, Chap. 76 (admitting Iowa and Florida); 
Act of February 22, 1889, 50th Cong., 2d Sess., 
Chap. 180 (admitting States created from the Da-
kota Territories); and the Acts of Congress per-
taining to the admission of each of the States.) 
(5) Over the years since the landmark ruling in 
Brown v. Board of Education, when a unanimous
United States Supreme Court held that ‘‘the oppor-
tunity of an education . . . , where the state has 
undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be 
made available to all on equal terms’’, courts in 44 
of the States have heard challenges to the establish-
ment, maintenance, and operation of educationally 
inadequate or inequitable State public school sys-
tems. (347 U.S. 483, 493 (1954). 
(6) In 1970, the Presidential Commission on 
School Finance found that significant disparities in 
the distribution of educational resources existed 
among public school districts within States because 
the States relied too significantly on local district fi-
nancing for educational revenues, and that reforms 
in systems of school financing would increase the 
Nation’s ability to serve the educational needs of all 
children. 
(7) In 1999, the National Research Council of 
the National Academy of Sciences published a report 
entitled ‘‘Making Money Matter, Financing Amer-
ica’s Schools’’, which found that the concept of fund-
ing adequacy, which moves beyond the more tradi-
tional concepts of finance equity to focus attention 
on the sufficiency of funding for desired educational 
outcomes, is an important step in developing a fair 
and productive educational system. 
(8) In 2001, the Executive order establishing 
the President’s Commission on Educational Re-
source Equity declared, ‘‘A quality education is es-
sential to the success of every child in the 21st cen-
tury and to the continued strength and prosperity of 
our Nation. . . . [L]ong-standing gaps in access to 
educational resources exist, including disparities 
based on race and ethnicity.’’ (Executive Order 
13190, § 1 (January 15, 2001); 66 Fed. Reg. 5424.) 
(9) According to the Secretary of Education, as 
stated in a letter (with enclosures) dated January 
19, 2002, from the Secretary to States—
(A) racial and ethnic minorities continue to 
suffer from lack of access to educational re-
sources, including ‘‘experienced and qualified 
teachers, adequate facilities, and instructional 
programs and support, including technology, as 
well as . . . the funding necessary to secure 
these resources’’; and
(B) these inadequacies are ‘‘particularly 
acute in high-poverty schools, including urban 
schools, where many students of color are iso-
lated and where the effect of the resource gaps 
may be cumulative. In other words, students 
who need the most may often receive the least, 
and these students often are students of color’’. 
(10) The Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), as amended 
by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public 
Law 107–110), provides that—
(A) States must establish standards and 
assessments in mathematics, reading or lan-
guage arts, and science; 
(B) elementary schools and secondary 
schools must ensure that all students are pro-
ficient in such subjects within 12 years after 
the end of the 2001–2002 school year; and 
(C) elementary schools and secondary 
schools will be held accountable for the stu-
dents’ progress. 
(11) The standards and accountability move-
ment will succeed only if, in addition to standards 
and accountability, all schools have access to the
educational resources necessary to enable students to 
achieve. 
(12) Raising standards without ensuring ade-
quate and equitable access to educational resources 
may, in fact, exacerbate achievement gaps and set 
children up for failure. 
(13) According to the World Economic Forum’s 
Global Competitiveness Report 2001–2002, the 
United States ranks last among developed countries 
in the difference in the quality of schools available 
to rich and poor children. 
(14) Each State Government has ultimate au-
thority in determining every important aspect and 
priority of the public school system that provides ele-
mentary and secondary education to children in the 
State, including whether children throughout the 
State have high access to the fundamentals of edu-
cational opportunity described in section 112(a). 
(15) Since 1965, the Congress, in exercising its 
spending authority, has provided substantial Federal 
financial assistance to the States for the improve-
ment of their public school systems. In their expend-
iture and oversight of this assistance, the States 
have failed systematically to achieve the purpose of 
the Congress in providing the assistance, namely the
effective education of all the children of the United 
States. 
(16) Because a well-educated populace is crit-
ical to the Nation’s political and economic well-being 
and national security, the Federal Government has 
a substantial interest in ensuring that States provide 
a high-quality education by ensuring that all chil-
dren have access to the fundamentals of educational 
opportunity described in section 112(a) to enable the 
children to succeed academically and in life. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol-
lowing: 
(1) To further the goals of the No Child Left 
Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110) and the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) by holding States account-
able for providing all students access to the fun-
damentals of educational opportunity described in 
section 112(a). 
(2) To ensure that all students in public ele-
mentary schools and secondary schools receive edu-
cational opportunities that enable the students—
(A) to acquire the knowledge and skills 
necessary for responsible citizenship, including
the ability to participate fully in the political 
process through informed electoral choice; 
(B) to meet challenging State student aca-
demic achievement standards; and
(C) to be able to compete and succeed in 
a global economy. 
(3) To end the pervasive pattern of education-
ally inadequate or inequitable State public school 
systems. 
TITLE I—EDUCATIONAL OPPOR-
TUNITY 
IN 
STATE 
PUBLIC 
SCHOOL SYSTEMS 
Subtitle A—Access to Educational 
Opportunity 
SEC. 111. ADEQUATE AND EQUITABLE STATE PUBLIC 
SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 
Each State receiving Federal financial assistance for 
elementary or secondary education shall maintain a public 
school system that meets the requirements of section 112 
and provides all students in the State with—
(1) the educational resources needed to succeed 
academically and in life; and 
(2) an education that enables the students—
(A) to acquire the knowledge and skills 
necessary for responsible citizenship;
(B) to participate fully in the political 
process through informed electoral choice; and 
(C) to be able to compete and succeed in 
a global economy. 
SEC. 112. STATE EDUCATIONAL ADEQUACY AND EQUITY 
REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) FUNDAMENTALS
OF
EDUCATIONAL
OPPOR-
TUNITY.—A State shall provide for all public schools in 
the State access, at levels defined by the State under sec-
tion 113 as ideal or adequate, to each of the following fun-
damentals of educational opportunity: 
(1) HIGH-QUALITY CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND 
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS.—High-quality classroom 
instruction and school-level administrators, as meas-
ured by the following: 
(A) The proportion of teachers in core aca-
demic subjects who are highly qualified (as that 
term is defined in section 9101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801)). 
(B) Leadership, management, and guid-
ance from school principals (and other school-
level administrators) certified under an applica-
ble State or national program.
(2) RIGOROUS
ACADEMIC
STANDARDS, CUR-
RICULA, AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.—Rigorous 
academic standards, curricula, and methods of in-
struction, as measured by the extent to which each 
public school district succeeds in providing high-
quality academic standards, curricula, and methods 
of instruction to students in each public elementary 
school and secondary school within the district. 
(3) SMALL CLASS SIZES.—Small class sizes, as 
measured by the following: 
(A) The average class size and the range 
of class sizes. 
(B) The proportion of classes with 17 or 
fewer students. 
(4) QUALITY FACILITIES, TEXTBOOKS, AND IN-
STRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES.—Quality 
school facilities, textbooks, and instructional mate-
rials and supplies, as measured by the following: 
(A)(i) The physical condition of school 
buildings and major school building features. 
(ii) Environmental conditions in school 
buildings. 
(iii) The quality of instructional space. 
(B) The proportion of students who begin 
the school year with school-issued textbooks.
(C) The average age of textbooks and in-
structional materials and supplies used in core 
academic subjects. 
(5) UP-TO-DATE LIBRARY RESOURCES.—High-
quality, up-to-date, and state-of-the-art library re-
sources, as measured by the following:
(A) The size and qualifications of library 
staff, including whether the library is staffed by 
a full-time librarian certified under an applica-
ble State or national program. 
(B) The size (relative to the number of 
students) and quality of the library’s collection 
of books and periodicals. 
(C) Hours of library operation. 
(6) UP-TO-DATE
COMPUTER
TECHNOLOGY.—
Computer technology, as measured by the following: 
(A) The ratio of computers to students. 
(B) The quality of computers and software 
available to students at school, including the 
type, processing speed, age, or version of such 
computers or software. 
(C) The availability of Internet access. 
(D) The quality of system maintenance 
and technical assistance for the computers.
(E) The number of computer laboratory 
courses taught by qualified computer instruc-
tors. 
(7) QUALITY GUIDANCE COUNSELING.—Access 
to the services of qualified school counselors, as 
measured by the ratio of students to school coun-
selors who have obtained certification under an ap-
plicable State or national program (which should be 
250 to 1 or more), and the percentage of time spent 
by school counselors in providing direct services to 
students. 
(b) 
COMPARABLE
EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES.—A 
State shall provide educational services in public school 
districts that receive funds under part A of title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) that are, taken as a whole, at least 
comparable to educational services provided in public 
school districts not receiving such funds. 
(c) COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS.—A State 
shall comply with any substantive Federal or State court 
order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equity of 
the State’s public school system, to the extent required 
in the order.
SEC. 113. STATE-ESTABLISHED STANDARDS FOR ACCESS 
TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out section 
112(a), a State educational agency, in consultation with 
local educational agencies, teachers, principals, pupil serv-
ices personnel, administrators, other staff, and parents, 
shall develop standards to describe and measure the extent 
to which the State provides to the students in each public 
school and school district in the State each of the fun-
damentals of educational opportunity described in section 
112(a) in terms of ideal, adequate, and basic levels of such 
access. 
(b) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In defining the 
levels of access required under subsection (a), the State 
shall consider, in addition to the factors described in sec-
tion 112(a)—
(1) the access available to students in schools in 
the highest achieving decile of public elementary 
schools and secondary schools in the State, as deter-
mined on the basis of student performance on state-
wide student academic assessments, including—
(A) student academic assessments in read-
ing or language arts, mathematics, and science 
under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311(b)(3));
(2) a description of the level of access of each 
public school district, elementary school, and sec-
ondary school in the State to each of the fundamen-
tals of educational opportunity described in section 
112(a), including identification of any such schools 
that do not provide ideal or adequate levels of access 
(as defined under subsection (a)); 
(3) an estimate of the additional cost, if any, of 
ensuring that the public school system meets the re-
quirements of section 112; and 
(4) the information required under subpara-
graphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1) and paragraph 
(2)(B) of section 131(b). 
(e) PUBLICATION
AND DISSEMINATION
TO PAR-
ENTS.—The State annually shall publish the information 
submitted under subsection (d) and shall disseminate the 
information to the public and the parents of children at-
tending (or who may attend) public schools in the State, 
in an understandable and uniform format and, to the ex-
tent practicable, in a language that the parents can under-
stand, through such means as the Internet, the media, and 
public agencies.
Subtitle B—State Accountability 
SEC. 121. DETERMINATION OF EDUCATIONALLY ADEQUATE 
AND INEQUITABLE STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL 
SYSTEMS. 
(a) ANNUAL DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—Be-
ginning not later than October 1 of the first full school 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall annually determine whether each State meets each 
of the requirements of section 112.
(b) PUBLICATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary 
shall publish and make available to the general public (in-
cluding by means of the Internet) the determinations 
under subsection (a). 
SEC. 122. STATE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IMPROVEMENT OF 
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. 
(a) STATE REMEDIATION PLAN.—A State deter-
mined under section 121 not to meet the requirements of 
section 112 shall develop and submit to the Secretary, by 
not later than 1 year after the determination, a remedi-
ation plan (which the State may amend to improve the 
plan or to take into account significantly changed cir-
cumstances), as follows: 
(1) LONG-TERM REMEDIATION FOR ACCESS TO 
FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.—
If the State is determined not to meet the require-
ments under section 112(a) (relating to access to the 
fundamentals of educational opportunity), the plan 
shall provide for the following: 
(A) A description of the actions the State 
will take to meet the requirements of section 
112(a), by not later than 12 years after the end 
of the 2003–2004 school year, to provide ideal 
or adequate access (as defined by the State 
under section 113) to the fundamentals of edu-
cational opportunity for each public school in 
the State. 
(B) A timeline for improvement that in-
cludes annual interim goals for increasing the 
number of public schools and school districts in 
the State that have ideal or adequate levels of 
access (as defined by the State under section 
113) to each of the fundamentals of educational 
opportunity, in order to achieve the required 
levels of access within the time described in 
subparagraph (A). 
(C) Implementation of a single, statewide 
accountability system to ensure that the State 
achieves the interim goals described in subpara-
graph (B).
(2) 2-YEAR
REMEDIATION
FOR
COMPARABLE 
EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES.—If the State is deter-
mined not to meet the requirements of section 
112(b) (relating to comparable educational services), 
the plan shall describe the actions the State will take 
to meet the requirements of such section by not later 
than 2 school years after submission of the plan. 
(b) DISAPPROVAL OF PLAN.—The Secretary may dis-
approve a plan (or amendment) submitted under sub-
section (a) that the Secretary determines does not meet 
the requirements of such subsection. 
SEC. 123. CONSEQUENCES OF NONREMEDIATION. 
(a) FAILURE TO MEET ANNUAL INTERIM ACCESS 
GOALS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law and 
in addition to any other consequence under this section, 
the Secretary shall withhold 2.75 percent of any funds 
otherwise available to a State (or a State educational 
agency) for administration of Federal elementary and sec-
ondary education programs for each annual interim goal 
established under section 122(a)(1)(B) for a fiscal year, 
or a prior fiscal year, that the Secretary determines the 
State fails to meet. 
(b) CONTINUING
FAILURE
TO
PROVIDE
COM-
PARABLE
EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law and in addition to any other
consequence under this section, the Secretary shall with-
hold from a State determined by the Secretary to continue 
to fail to meet the requirements of section 112(b) (relating 
to comparable educational services) at the end of the sec-
ond school year after a plan is required to be submitted 
under section 122, up to 331⁄3 percent of funds otherwise 
available to the State for administration of Federal ele-
mentary and secondary education programs.
(c) NONCOMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law and in addition 
to any other consequence under this section, the Secretary 
shall withhold from a State determined by the Secretary 
to fail to meet the requirements of section 112(c) (relating 
to compliance with court orders) up to 331⁄3 percent of 
funds otherwise available to the State for the administra-
tion of Federal elementary and secondary education pro-
grams. 
(d) DISPOSITION OF WITHHELD FUNDS.—For each 
State from which funds are withheld under this section, 
the Secretary shall make a determination whether the 
State, by not later than 1 year after a determination under 
subsection (a), (b), or (c), has corrected the condition lead-
ing to a withholding of funds and shall distribute withheld 
funds as follows:
(1) If the State corrects a condition leading to 
a withholding of funds, the Secretary shall make the 
applicable withheld funds available to the State (or 
State educational agency). 
(2) If the State fails to correct a condition lead-
ing to a withholding of funds, the Secretary shall al-
locate the applicable withheld funds to public schools 
or school districts affected by the State’s failure to 
make adequate remediation, for the purpose of ena-
bling the school or school district to correct such 
condition. 
(e) TEMPORARY WAIVER.—The Secretary may grant 
a request by a State for a waiver of the withholding provi-
sions of subsections (a) through (c) for a total period of 
not more than 1 year if—
(1) the Secretary is satisfied that exceptional 
circumstances (such as a precipitous decrease in 
State revenues) prevent a State from complying with 
the requirements of section 112; and 
(2) the State’s request describes the manner in 
which the State will comply with the requirements of 
section 112 by the end of the waiver period.
Subtitle C—Public Reporting and 
Remedy 
SEC. 131. ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY ON ADEQUACY 
AND EQUITY IN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYS-
TEMS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
October 1 of the first full school year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the 
Congress a report that provides a detailed analysis of the 
public school system of each State.
(b) CONTENTS
OF REPORT.—The analysis under 
subsection (a) shall include the following information with 
respect to each State’s public school system: 
(1) BASIC PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM INFORMA-
TION.—
(A) The number of students, elementary 
schools, secondary schools, and school districts 
in the public school system. 
(B) For each such school and school dis-
trict, the number and percentage of—
(i) children counted under section 
1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
6333(c)); and
(ii) students, disaggregated by groups 
described in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)). 
(C) For each such school, a statement 
whether the school is an urban, rural, or mixed 
school (as defined by the Commissioner for 
Education Statistics). 
(D) The average per-pupil expenditure (in 
actual dollars and adjusted for cost and need) 
for the State and for each school and school 
district. 
(E) The decile ranking of each school dis-
trict, as measured by achievement in mathe-
matics, reading or language arts, and science 
on the academic assessments described in sub-
paragraphs (A) and (C) of section 113(b)(1). 
(2) SUCCESS IN PROVIDING FUNDAMENTALS OF 
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.—
(A) A description of the ideal, adequate, 
and basic levels of access established by the 
State under section 113 to each of the fun-
damentals of educational opportunity described 
under section 112(a).
(B) For each school and school district, 
the following information: 
(i) The level of access (as established 
under section 113) of the school or school 
district to each of the fundamentals of 
educational opportunity described in sec-
tion 112(a). 
(ii) The percentage of students pro-
ficient in mathematics, reading or lan-
guage arts, and science, as measured 
through 
assessments 
under 
section 
1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)). 
(iii) Whether the school or school dis-
trict is making adequate yearly progress 
under section 1111(b)(2) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)). 
(C) The number and names of each school 
in the State that does not provide each of the 
fundamentals of educational opportunity de-
scribed in section 112(a) at an ideal or ade-
quate level (as established under section 113).
(3) STATE
REMEDIATION
ACTIONS.—If the 
State is determined under section 121 not to meet 
the requirements of section 112—
(A) a detailed description and evaluation 
of—
(i) the State’s success in carrying out 
any remediation plan required to be sub-
mitted by the State under section 122; and 
(ii) any other actions taken, or meas-
ures proposed to be taken, by the State to 
meet the requirements of section 112; and
(B) a copy of any remediation plan re-
quired to be submitted by the State under sec-
tion 122 (including any amendments). 
(4) EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.—
An analysis of the effects of the average per-pupil 
expenditure, and the level of access (as provided by 
the State under section 113) to each of the fun-
damentals of educational opportunity described in 
section 112(a) provided to students in each school 
and school district on the outcomes of the academic 
assessments identified in section 113(b)(1). 
(5) OTHER INFORMATION.—
(A) The most recent information submitted 
by the State under section 113(d).
(B) For the year covered by the report, a 
summary of any changes in the data required 
in paragraphs (1) and (2) for each of the pre-
ceding 3 years (which may be based on such 
data as are available for the first 3 reports 
under subsection (a)). 
(C) Such other information as the Sec-
retary considers useful and appropriate to in-
clude. 
(c) SCOPE OF REPORT.—The report required under 
subsection (a) shall cover the school year ending in the 
calendar year in which the report is required to be sub-
mitted. 
(d) SUBMISSION OF DATA TO SECRETARY.—Each 
State receiving Federal financial assistance for elementary 
and secondary education shall submit to the Secretary, at 
such time and in such manner as the Secretary may rea-
sonably require, such data as the Secretary deems nec-
essary to make a determination under section 121 and to 
submit the report under this section. Such data shall in-
clude the information used to measure the State’s success 
in providing the fundamentals of educational opportunity 
described in section 112(a).
(e) FAILURE TO SUBMIT DATA.—If a State fails to 
submit the data required to make a determination under 
section 121—
(1) the State shall be deemed to have been de-
termined under such section not to meet the applica-
ble requirements of section 112, until the State sub-
mits the data and the Secretary is able to make a 
determination under such section based on such 
data; and 
(2) the Secretary shall—
(A) provide, to the extent practicable, the 
analysis required in subsection (a) for the State
based on the best data available to the Sec-
retary; and 
(B) update the analysis, as necessary, after 
submission of the data by the State. 
(f) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish and 
make available to the general public (including by means 
of the Internet) the report required under subsection (a). 
SEC. 132. CIVIL ACTION FOR ENFORCEMENT. 
A student or parent of a student aggrieved by a viola-
tion of this Act may bring a civil action against an appro-
priate official in an appropriate United States district 
court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to enforce 
the requirements of this Act, together with reasonable at-
torney fees and the costs of the action, without regard to 
the citizenship of the parties or the amount in controversy. 
TITLE 
II—EFFECTS 
OF 
EDU-
CATIONAL 
DISPARITIES 
ON 
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND NA-
TIONAL DEFENSE 
SEC. 201. EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PRODUC-
TIVITY. 
(a) STUDY.—The Commissioner for Education Sta-
tistics, in consultation with the Secretaries of Commerce, 
Labor, and the Treasury, shall conduct a comprehensive 
study concerning the effects on economic growth and pro-
ductivity of eliminating disparities in public school systems 
that do not meet the requirements of section 112. Such 
study shall include the following: 
(1) The economic costs to the Nation resulting 
from the maintenance by States of public school sys-
tems that do not meet the requirements of section 
112. 
(2) The economic gains to be expected from the 
elimination of disparities in public school systems 
that do not meet the requirements of section 112. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner 
for Education Statistics shall submit to the Congress a
final report detailing the results of the study required 
under subsection (a). 
SEC. 202. EFFECTS ON NATIONAL DEFENSE. 
(a) STUDY.—The Commissioner for Education Sta-
tistics, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 
conduct a comprehensive study concerning the effects on 
national defense of eliminating disparities in public school 
systems that do not meet the requirements of section 112. 
Such study shall include the following: 
(1) The detriments to national defense resulting 
from the maintenance by States of public school sys-
tems that do not meet the requirements of section 
112, including the effects of education deficits aris-
ing from low-quality schools on—
(A) knowledge and skills necessary for the 
effective functioning of the Armed Forces; 
(B) the costs to the Armed Forces of 
training; and 
(C) efficiency resulting from the use of so-
phisticated equipment and information tech-
nology. 
(2) The gains to national defense to be expected 
from the elimination of disparities in public school 
systems that do not meet the requirements of section 
112.
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner 
for Education Statistics shall submit to the Congress a 
final report detailing the results of the study required 
under subsection (a). 
TITLE III—GENERAL 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘secondary 
school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘State edu-
cational agency’’, ‘‘core academic subjects’’, ‘‘highly 
qualified’’, ‘‘parent’’, and ‘‘average per-pupil expend-
iture’’ each have the meanings given those terms in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) The term ‘‘public school system’’ means a 
State’s system of public elementary and secondary 
education. 
(3) The term ‘‘Federal elementary and sec-
ondary education programs’’ means programs pro-
viding Federal financial assistance for elementary or 
secondary education, other than programs under the 
following provisions of law:
(A) The Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 
(B) Title III of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 
et seq.). 
(C) The Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 
(D) The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1771 et seq.). 
(4) The term ‘‘State’’ means the several States, 
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico. 
SEC. 302. NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING. 
The Secretary may make an adverse determination 
under this Act only after notice and opportunity for hear-
ing. 
SEC. 303. RULEMAKING. 
The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out 
this Act. 
SEC. 304. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a 
jurisdiction to increase property tax or other tax rates or 
to redistribute revenues from such taxes.
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