I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2719
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reauthor-
ize and make improvements to titles I, VII, and X of such Act, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 5, 1999
Mr. HINOJOSA
(for himself, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. REYES, Mr.
RODRIGUEZ, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. SERRANO,
Mr. PASTOR, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. RO-
MERO-BARCELO´, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mrs.
NAPOLITANO, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of
Texas, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. FROST, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. SANDLIN,
Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. FORD, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. EVANS,
Mr. LAMPSON, Ms. WATERS, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Ms. EDDIE
BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. BENTSEN) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 reauthorize and make improvements to titles
I, VII, and X of such Act, 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; REFERENCES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Access to Excellence in Education for the 21st Century
Act’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal
is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of,
a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid-
ered to be made to a section or other provision of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6301 et seq.).
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; references.
Sec. 2. Findings.
TITLE I—HELPING DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN MEET HIGH
STANDARDS
Sec. 101. Findings.
Subtitle A—Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational
Agencies
Sec. 102. Declaration of policy and statement of purpose.
Sec. 103. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 104. Reservations for accountability and evaluation.
Sec. 105. State plans.
Sec. 106. Local educational agency plans.
Sec. 107. Eligible school attendance areas.
Sec. 108. Schoolwide programs.
Sec. 109. Targeted assistance schools.
Sec. 110. School choice.
Sec. 111. Assessment and local educational agency and school improvement.
Sec. 112. State assistance for school support and improvement.
Sec. 113. Parental involvement.
Sec. 114. Parent training and information centers.
Sec. 115. Teacher qualifications and professional development.
Sec. 116. Participation of children enrolled in private schools.
Sec. 117. Preschool services and coordination requirements.
Sec. 118. Basic grants to local educational agencies.
Sec. 119. Program indicators.
Subtitle B—Education of Migratory Children
Sec. 131. Findings.
Sec. 132. Consortium grants.
Sec. 133. Parental involvement.
Sec. 134. Consolidated plan.
Sec. 135. Schoolwide programs.
Sec. 136. Data collection.
Sec. 137. Parent advisory committee.
Sec. 138. Regulations.
Sec. 139. Technical assistance.
Subtitle C—Federal Evaluations
Sec. 141. Evaluations.
TITLE II—BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Sec. 201. Findings.
Sec. 202. Policy and purpose.
Sec. 203. Authorization of appropriations for part a.
Sec. 204. Accountability.
Sec. 205. Multilingual education.
Sec. 206. Program development and enhancement grants.
Sec. 207. Comprehensive school grants.
Sec. 208. Systemwide improvement grants.
Sec. 209. Applications for awards under subpart 1.
Sec. 210. Evaluations under subpart 1.
Sec. 211. Research.
Sec. 212. State grant program.
Sec. 213. National clearinghouse on education of children and youth with lim-
ited English proficiency.
Sec. 214. Instructional materials development.
Sec. 215. Purpose of subpart 3.
Sec. 216. Training for all teachers program.
Sec. 217. Bilingual education teachers and personnel grants.
Sec. 218. Bilingual education career ladder program.
Sec. 219. Graduate fellowships in bilingual education program.
Sec. 220. Applications for awards under subpart 3.
Sec. 221. Evaluations under subpart 3.
Sec. 222. Model programs for parent involvement.
Sec. 223. Transition.
Sec. 224. Findings of emergency immigrant education program.
Sec. 225. State administrative costs.
Sec. 226. Definitions.
Sec. 227. Regulations, parental notification, and use of paraprofessionals.
Sec. 228. Terminology.
Sec. 229. Repeals.
Sec. 230. Redesignations and conforming amendments.
TITLE III—HIGH SCHOOL REFORM
Sec. 301. Findings.
Sec. 302. High school reform.
TITLE IV—DROPOUT PREVENTION AND STATE
RESPONSIBILITIES
Sec. 401. Findings.
Sec. 402. Dropout prevention.
Sec. 403. Office of dropout prevention and program completion.
Sec. 404. State responsibilities.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(a) The Congress finds that—
(1) every child can learn and achieve to high
standards when expectations are high and there are
opportunities to learn challenging material;
(2) every child must realize his or her potential
if the United States is to prosper;
(3) all students are entitled to participate in a
broad and challenging curriculum and to have access
to resources sufficient to address their education
needs;
(4) the Bureau of the Census estimates that 1
in 5 Americans will be of Hispanic descent by the
year 2030 and that currently Hispanic Americans
are the largest minority group in American schools.
(5) the future cultural, political, and economic
strengths of this country are clearly dependent upon
our Nation’s ability to harness the talents and skills
of this large and growing segment of the American
population;
(6) in 1996, approximately 1 out of every 4 stu-
dents who lived in a central city and who attended
public schools was Hispanic, up from approximately
1 out of every 10 students in 1972;
(7) despite an increase of 218 percent in the
Hispanic population over the past 30 years, 3⁄4 of
Hispanic students attend predominantly minority
schools, a 10.5 percent increase from 1968–69;
(8) in 1997, first and later generation His-
panics were 2 to 3 times more likely than their non-
Hispanic peers to drop out of high schools;
(9) great disparities in educational opportunity
and achievement between Hispanic Americans and
other youth continue to this day as evidenced by the
recent National Council of la Raza Report, Latino
Education Status and Prospects, which found that
Hispanic American students are—
(A) more likely to enter school with signifi-
cant disadvantages, including high poverty
rates, low levels of parental education, and for
nearly 1⁄3 of them, limited English proficiency;
(B) less likely to receive early childhood
educational development through preschool pro-
grams;
(C) more likely to be retained in grade;
(D) more likely to be placed in general or
special education tracks, and less likely to be
placed in gifted and talented programs;
(E) less likely to complete high school;
(F) less likely to pursue postsecondary
education, particularly at the baccalaureate
level; and
(G) less likely to obtain a bachelor degree
or an advanced degree; and
(10) it is in the national interest for the Fed-
eral Government to act to eliminate these dispari-
ties.–
TITLE 
I—HELPING 
DISADVAN-
TAGED 
CHILDREN 
MEET
HIGH STANDARDS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) according to United States Census data, 40
percent of Hispanic American children live in pov-
erty;
(2) Hispanic American youth face many bar-
riers that put them at risk of not meeting chal-
lenging State content and performance standards,
including—
(A) segregation;
(B) attendance at high poverty schools;
(C) low expectations;
(D) low levels of parental education; and
(E) high levels of limited English pro-
ficiency;
(3) in 1994, the Improving America’s Schools
Act required that programs funded under title I of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 provide services to limited English proficient
youth and such programs be held accountable for
the academic achievement of such youth;
(4) according to United States Department of
Education data, nearly 1⁄3 of students served under
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 have limited proficiency with the
English language;
(5) the provisions of the Improving America’s
Schools Act notwithstanding, States and local edu-
cation agencies funded under title I of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 have not
been held accountable for the academic achievement
of limited English proficient students; and
(6) accountability measures must be enforced if
Hispanic and limited English proficient children are
to have equal educational opportunities in America’s
schools.
Subtitle A—Improving Basic Pro-
grams Operated by Local Edu-
cational Agencies
SEC. 102. DECLARATION OF POLICY AND STATEMENT OF
PURPOSE.
(a) STATEMENT
OF POLICY.—Section 1001(a) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—
(1) IN GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) STATEMENT OF
POLICY.’’; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2).
(b) RECOGNITION
OF NEED.—Section 1001(b) is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (5) by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end a new paragraph (6)
to read as follows:
‘‘(6) holding local educational agencies and
schools accountable for results, including processes
for identifying and turning around low-performing
schools, provides a focus for educators and promotes
better outcomes for students.’’.
(c) WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED.—Section 1001(c) is
amended—
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking
‘‘SINCE 1988’’ and inserting ‘‘IN RECENT YEARS’’;
(2) in the matter before paragraph (1), by
striking ‘‘learned’’;
(3) in paragraph (7), by adding the following
sentence at the end: ‘‘Family literacy programs can
help parents make this contribution.’’;
(4) in paragraph (8)—
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘De-
centralized’’ and inserting ‘‘Data-driven’’; and
(B) in the second sentence, by inserting
‘‘information,’’ before ‘‘resources’’;
(5) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), (6), and
(10);
(6) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (7),
(8), (9), (11), and (12) as paragraphs (8) through
(14), respectively; and
(7) by inserting new paragraphs (2) through
(7) to read as follows:
‘‘(2) Schools that enroll high concentrations of
children living in poverty face the greatest chal-
lenges, but recent research demonstrates that, by
implementing effective, research-based educational
strategies, they can succeed in educating children to
high standards.
‘‘(3) New survey data demonstrate that the de-
velopment and implementation of standards and as-
sessments under this title are driving educational re-
form in high-poverty schools and local educational
agencies, and in elementary and secondary education
generally.
‘‘(4) Standards-based reform, as encouraged,
accelerated, and supported by both the Improving
America’s Schools Act of 1994 and the Goals 2000:
Educate America Act, has resulted in overall im-
proved student achievement and indications are that
it is helping to close the achievement gap between
minority and non-minority students. A recent study
of North Carolina and Texas, the States that reg-
istered the largest achievement gains on the Na-
tional Assessment of Educational Progress, found
that the most plausible cause for those gains was an
aligned system of standards, curriculum, and assess-
ments tied to accountability for improvement by all
students.
‘‘(5) Other recent research also confirms the va-
lidity of amendments to this title made by the Im-
proving America’s Schools Act of 1994. For exam-
ple, the National Research Council (NRC) report,
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children,
stresses the importance of language development and
literacy in the preschool years, upgrading the cur-
riculum and instruction provided to all children in a
school, intensive professional development to prepare
teachers and other instructional staff to teach to
high standards, and providing extended learning op-
portunities outside the regular school day.
‘‘(6) The NRC report also recommended the
early identification of reading difficulties in children
in the first grade, to ensure that interventions can
be offered early to those who need them most,
through the use of multiple approaches, including
developmentally appropriate assessments, the careful
observation of children’s reading by skilled observ-
ers, and the targeting of interventions to groups in
schools with large numbers of at-risk children.
‘‘(7) The educational progress of children par-
ticipating in programs under this title depends on
their being taught by credentialed and highly quali-
fied staff, particularly in schools with the highest
concentrations of poverty, where paraprofessionals,
uncertified teachers, and teachers teaching out of
field frequently provide instructional services.’’.
(d) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—Section 1001(d) is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘promoting
schoolwide reform and’’;
(2) in paragraph (6), by inserting a comma and
‘‘such as family literacy programs,’’ after ‘‘opportu-
nities’’;
(3) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘schools and’’
and inserting ‘‘local educational agencies, schools,
and’’;
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through
(9) as paragraphs (3) through (10), respectively;
and
(5) by inserting after paragraph (1) a new
paragraph (2) to read as follows:
‘‘(2) promoting comprehensive schoolwide re-
forms that are based on reliable research and effec-
tive practices;’’.
SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 1002 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 1002. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY GRANTS.—For
the purpose of carrying out part A, there are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis-
cal year 2001 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
‘‘(b) EDUCATION OF MIGRATORY CHILDREN.—For
the purpose of carrying out part C, there are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis-
cal year 2001 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
‘‘(c) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—For the purpose of car-
rying out section 1602, there are authorized to be appro-
priated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year
2001 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.
SEC. 104. RESERVATIONS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVAL-
UATION.
Section 1003 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 1003. RESERVATIONS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND
EVALUATION.
‘‘(a) STATE RESERVATIONS.—
‘‘(1) Each State educational agency shall re-
serve 2.5 percent of the amount it receives under
part A of this title for fiscal years 2001 and 2002,
and 3.5 percent of that amount for fiscal years 2003
through 2005, to carry out paragraph (2) and to
carry out its responsibilities under sections 1116 and
Secretary may reserve not more than 0.30 percent to con-
duct evaluations and studies, collect data, and carry out
other activities under section 1603.’’.
SEC. 105. STATE PLANS.
Section 1111 is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by inserting a comma and ‘‘in
order to help all children achieve to high
State standards and to improve teaching
and learning in the State,’’ after ‘‘shall’’;
and
(ii) by striking ‘‘the Goals 2000’’ and
all that follows through ‘‘section 14306’’
and inserting ‘‘the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act, the Carl D. Per-
kins Vocational and Technical Education
Act of 1998, and other Acts, as appro-
priate’’; and
(B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as
follows:
‘‘(2) CONSOLIDATED PLAN.—A State may sub-
mit its plan under paragraph (1) as part of a con-
solidated plan under section 14302.’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by amending the subsection heading to
read as follows: ‘‘STANDARDS, ASSESSMENTS,
AND ACCOUNTABILITY.’’;
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by amending subparagraph (B) to
read as follows:
‘‘(B) The standards required by subpara-
graph (A) shall be the same standards that the
State applies to all schools and children in the
State.’’; and
(ii) by amending subparagraph (C) to
read as follows:
‘‘(C) If a State has not adopted State con-
tent and student performance standards for all
students, the State shall have such standards
for elementary and secondary school children
served under this part in subjects determined
by the State, but including at least mathematics
and reading or language arts, which shall in-
clude the same knowledge, skills, and levels of
performance expected of all children.’’;
(C) by striking paragraph (2) and redesig-
nating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2);
(D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated—
(i) by inserting a comma and ‘‘start-
ing no later than the 2000–2001 school
year,’’ after ‘‘that will be used’’;
(ii) in subparagraph (F)—
(I) in clause (ii), by striking
‘‘and’’ at the end;
(II) by amending clause (iii) to
read as follows—
‘‘(iii) inclusion of limited English pro-
ficient students who shall be assessed, to
the extent practicable, in the language and
form most likely to yield accurate and reli-
able information on what students know
and can do in content areas other than
English. For the purposes of this para-
graph, tests written in Spanish shall be
deemed to be practicable when adminis-
tered to Spanish-speaking students with
limited English proficiency if such tests are
more likely than tests written in English to
yield accurate and reliable information on
what such students know and can do;
and’’; and
(III) by inserting new clauses (iv)
and (v) to read as follows:
‘‘(iv) notwithstanding clause (iii), the
assessment of reading and language arts of
any student who has been in United
States’ schools (not including Puerto Rico)
for 5 consecutive years or more shall use
tests written in English; except that a
State or local educational agency, utilizing
the results of an assessment required in
section 1112(c)(7), may determine that a
student is sufficiently proficient to be test-
ed in reading and language arts using tests
written in English prior to the completion
of 5 years in United States schools.’’;
‘‘(v) no student shall be removed from
a program of bilingual education or
English as a second language based upon
his or her performance on the test admin-
istered under clause (iv).’’; and
(iii) in subparagraph (G)—
(I) by striking ‘‘have attended
schools in a local educational agency
for a full academic year but’’; and
(II) by striking ‘‘year, however
the’’ and inserting ‘‘year; however,
the’’;
(E) by inserting after paragraph (2) a new
paragraph (3) to read as follows:
‘‘(3) ACCOUNTABILITY.—
‘‘(A) Each State receiving assistance under
this part shall develop and implement (and de-
scribe in its State plan) a statewide system for
holding local educational agencies and schools
accountable for student performance that meets
the following criteria:
‘‘(i) It is based on the State content
and student performance standards de-
scribed in paragraph (1) and on the as-
sessments described in paragraph (2), and
includes multiple indicators, such as at-
tendance and dropout rates.
‘‘(ii) It includes all students in the
grades assessed under paragraph (2), in
accordance with that paragraph.
‘‘(iii) It holds local educational agen-
cies and schools accountable for making
continuous and substantial gains, as de-
fined in paragraph (B), in overall student
performance and in the performance of the
lowest performing students in at least
reading and mathematics.