(iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 
and 
(iv) out-of-school suspension or other 
evidence of at-risk behavior; or 
(C) more than 50 percent of the middle 
grades students attending such school do not 
perform at a proficient level on State student 
academic assessments required under section 
1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) 
in mathematics or reading or language arts. 
(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(7) MIDDLE
GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 
grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(10) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 
‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 
a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 
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of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1401). 
TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 
IMPROVEMENT 
SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this title are to— 
(1) develop middle grade students’ social, emo-
tional, and academic competencies and deep content 
knowledge to ensure they are equipped to think criti-
cally, solve problems, communicate effectively, col-
laborate with others, and be self-directed so that 
they can enter high school on-track and graduate 
from high school on time and ready for postsec-
ondary and career pathways; 
(2) provide student and teacher supports for 
middle grades education, including funding and cur-
ricula, that align with the student and teacher sup-
ports provided for elementary school and secondary 
school grades within and across local educational 
agencies; 
(3) provide resources to State educational agen-
cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 
develop and implement middle grade improvement 
plans in order to deliver evidence-based support and 
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technical assistance to schools serving middle grade 
students; 
(4) provide resources for schools serving middle 
grade students to develop positive learning commu-
nities where educators and students feel engaged, 
and share high expectations of student success, as 
exhibited by mutual respect, fair discipline ap-
proaches, and rigorous academic curriculum; and 
(5) increase the capacity of States and local 
educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 
and replicable school improvement programs and 
models and evidence-based or, when available, sci-
entifically valid student interventions for implemen-
tation by schools serving students in the middle 
grades. 
SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE-
MENT. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 
under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 
this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 
for which the Secretary has approved an application in 
an amount equal to the allotment determined for such 
agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal year. 
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(b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 
available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec-
retary— 
(1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 
the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu-
reau of Indian Education) and the outlying areas for 
activities carried out in accordance with this section; 
(2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec-
tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 
title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 
widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 
outside evaluator; and 
(3) shall reserve 2 percent for technical assist-
ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 
grades education to States and local educational 
agencies. 
(c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), of the total amount made available to 
carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 
amount among the States in proportion to the num-
ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 
State and are from families with incomes below the 
poverty level for the most recent fiscal year for 
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which satisfactory data are available, compared to 
the number of such individuals who reside in all 
such States for that fiscal year, determined in ac-
cordance with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)). 
(2) MINIMUM
ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu-
cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 
subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1⁄2 of 
1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 
this title for such fiscal year. 
(d) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year for which 
the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less than 
$500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 
to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath-
er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 
such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 
a competitive basis. 
(e) REALLOTMENT.— 
(1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP-
PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 
apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 
year, or if the application from the State educational 
agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 
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