140
requirements, and the number of participants who
have taken positions in an instructional setting with
limited English proficient students;
‘‘(2) the effectiveness of the program in impart-
ing the professional skills necessary for participants
to achieve the objectives of the program; and
‘‘(3) the teaching effectiveness of graduates or
other persons who have completed the training pro-
gram.’’.
SEC. 222. MODEL PROGRAMS FOR PARENT INVOLVEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title VII is amended
by inserting after subpart 3 the following:
‘‘Subpart 4—Model Programs for Parent Involvement
‘‘SEC. 7161. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make
grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational
agencies to develop and implement model programs
to—
‘‘(A) assist parents of limited English pro-
ficient students in making informed educational
decisions for their children; and
‘‘(B) assist such parents in meeting their
own educational needs.
141
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Entities eligible to
apply for grants under this subpart include consortia
of—
‘‘(A) at least 1 community-based organiza-
tion;
‘‘(B) at least 1 local educational agency;
and
‘‘(C) other consortia members such as, but
not limited to, institutions of higher education,
local or state government entities, or other enti-
ties with expertise in working with limited
English proficient adults.
‘‘(3) DURATION.—Each grant under paragraph
(1) shall be awarded for a period of 3 years.
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) GRANTS FOR MODEL PROGRAMS TO PRO-
VIDE
INFORMATION
TO
PARENTS.—In awarding
grants under subparagraph (a)(1)(A), the Secretary
shall support programs that—
‘‘(A) provide parents with necessary infor-
mation that is easily understandable in the lan-
guage of the parent;
‘‘(B) provide necessary parent training to
assist parents in understanding the choices they
have for their children’s education; and
142
‘‘(C) at a minimum, provide parents with
the following information—
‘‘(i) curriculum and any options avail-
able to their children regarding their pro-
gram of study;
‘‘(ii) full disclosure of the purpose of
assessments, their results, and the appro-
priate uses of assessment scores, as de-
scribed by the publishers of the test; and
‘‘(iii) 
complete 
information 
about
school policies and disciplinary procedures.
‘‘(2) GRANTS TO ASSIST PARENTS OF LIMITED
ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS WITH THEIR EDU-
CATIONAL NEEDS.—In awarding grants under sub-
paragraph (a)(1)(B), the Secretary shall support
programs that—
‘‘(A) provide parents of limited English
proficient students educational services, such as
English as a second language classes, literacy
programs, introduction to the education system,
and civics education; and
‘‘(B) provide information on their chil-
dren’s educational programs and their rights to
participate in educational decisions involving
their children.
143
‘‘SEC. 7162. APPLICATIONS.
‘‘Any consortia wishing to apply for a grant under
this subpart shall submit an application to the Secretary
at such time, in such form, and containing such informa-
tion and assurances as the Secretary may require.
‘‘SEC. 7163. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There 
are 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may
be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years to
carry out this subpart, of which 50 percent shall be used
for grants under section 7161(a)(1)(A), and 50 percent
shall 
be 
available 
for 
grants 
under 
section
7161(a)(1)(B).’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subpart 4 of title
XII is redesignated as subpart 5.
SEC. 223. TRANSITION.
Subpart 5 of part A of title VII (as redesignated by
section 222(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Subpart 5—Transition
‘‘SEC. 7171. TRANSITION.
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a re-
cipient of a grant under subpart 1 of part A of this title
that is in its 3rd or 4th year of that grant on the day
preceding the date of the enactment of the Access to Ex-
cellence in Education for the 21st Century Act shall be
144
eligible to receive continuation funding under the terms
and conditions of the original grant.’’.
SEC. 224. FINDINGS OF EMERGENCY IMMIGRANT EDU-
CATION PROGRAM.
Section 7301(a) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (5); and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(4) an increasing number of immigrant chil-
dren are entering United States’ schools with inter-
rupted or little previous schooling; and’’.
SEC. 225. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.
Section 7302 is amended by inserting a comma and
‘‘or 2 percent if the State educational agency distributes
funds received under this part to local educational agen-
cies on a competitive basis,’’ after ‘‘1.5 percent of the
amount’’.
SEC. 226. DEFINITIONS.
Section 7501 is amended by striking paragraph (15)
and inserting a new paragraph to read as follows:
‘‘(15) RECLASSIFICATION RATE.—The term ‘re-
classification rate’ means the annual percentage of
145
limited English proficient students who have met the
State criteria for no longer being considered limited
English proficient.’’.
SEC. 227. REGULATIONS, PARENTAL NOTIFICATION, AND
USE OF PARAPROFESSIONALS.
Section 7502 is amended—
(1) by amending the section heading to read as
follows: ‘‘REGULATIONS, PARENTAL NO-
TIFICATION, 
AND 
USE 
OF 
PARA-
PROFESSIONALS’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) in the matter before subparagraph
(A), by striking ‘‘youth participating in’’
and inserting ‘‘youth who will participate
in’’; and
(ii) in subparagraph (C)—
(I) in the matter before clause
(i), by striking ‘‘goals of the bilingual
education or special alternative in-
structional program’’ and inserting
‘‘goals of the program related to the
education of children and youth with
limited English proficiency’’; and
146
(II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘re-
sults of the bilingual educational pro-
gram and of the instructional alter-
natives’’ and inserting ‘‘results of the
instructional programs related to the
education of children and youth with
limited English proficiency’’; and
(B) in paragraph (2)—
(i) by amending the paragraph head-
ing to read ‘‘OPTION TO WITHDRAW.—’’;
and
(ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to
read as follows:
‘‘(A) A recipient of funds under subpart 1
of part A shall also provide a written notice to
parents of children who will participate in the
programs under that subpart, in a form and
language understandable to the parents, that
informs them that they may withdraw their
child from the program at any time.’’; and
(3) by adding a new subsection (c) to read as
follows:
‘‘(c) USE OF PARAPROFESSIONALS.—The provisions
of section 1119(c) of this Act shall apply to all new staff
hired to provide academic instruction in programs sup-
147
ported under subpart 1 of part A of this title on or after
the date of the enactment of the Access to Excellence in
Education for the 21st Century Act, except that para-
professionals possessing a high school diploma may be
used for the purposes of non-instructional communication,
if there are no other qualified personnel, as described in
section 1119(c), who are able to provide such communica-
tion.’’.
SEC. 228. TERMINOLOGY.
(a) PART A.—Subparts 1 and 2 of part A of title
VII are amended by striking ‘‘bilingual education or spe-
cial alternative instruction programs’’ and ‘‘bilingual edu-
cation or special alternative instructional programs’’ each
place they appear and inserting ‘‘instructional programs’’.
(b) PART E.—Section 7501(6) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘a bilingual education and special alternative instruc-
tional program’’ and inserting ‘‘an instructional pro-
gram’’.
SEC. 229. REPEALS.
(a) REPEALS
IN PART A.—Sections 7112, 7117,
7120, and 7121 are repealed.
(b) REPEAL OF PART B.—Part B of title VII is re-
pealed.
148
SEC. 230. REDESIGNATIONS AND CONFORMING AMEND-
MENTS.
(a) PART REDESIGNATIONS.—Parts C, D, and E of
title VII are redesignated as parts B, C, and D, respec-
tively.
(b) SECTION
REDESIGNATIONS.—Sections 7113,
7114, 7115, 7116, 7118, 7122, 7123, 7124, 7131, 7132,
7133, 7134, 7135, 7136, 7141, 7142, 7143, 7144, 7145,
7146, 7148, 7149, 7150, 7161, 7301, 7302, 7303, 7304,
7305, 7306, 7307, 7308, 7309, 7401, 7402, 7403, 7404,
7405, 7501, and 7502 are redesignated as sections 7112,
7113, 7114, 7115, 7116, 7117, 7118, 7119, 7121, 7122,
7123, 7124, 7125, 7126, 7131, 7132, 7133, 7134, 7135,
7136, 7137, 7138, 7139, 7141, 7201, 7202, 7203, 7204,
7205, 7206, 7207, 7208, 7209, 7301, 7302, 7303, 7304,
7305, 7401, and 7402, respectively.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 7111 is amended by striking ‘‘7114,
and 7115’’ and inserting ‘‘and 7114’’.
(2) Section 7112(b)(1)(A), as redesignated by
subsection (b), is amended by striking ‘‘section
7116’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7115’’.
(3) Section 7113(b)(1)(A), as redesignated by
subsection (b), is amended by striking ‘‘section
7116’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7115’’.
149
(4) Section 7114(b)(1)(A), as redesignated by
subsection (b), is amended by striking ‘‘section
7116’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7115’’.
(5) Section 7115(g)(2), as redesignated by sub-
section (b), is amended by striking ‘‘section 7114 or
7115’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7113 or 7114’’.
(6) Section 7135(a)(3), as redesignated by sub-
section (b), is amended by striking ‘‘section 7149’’
and inserting ‘‘section 7138’’.
(7) Section 7202 as redesignated by subsection
(b), is amended by striking ‘‘section 7304’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 7204’’.
(8) Section 7204, as redesignated by subsection
(b), is amended—
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘section
7301(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7201(b)’’; and
(B) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 7307’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7207’’.
(9) Section 7205(a), as redesignated by sub-
section (b), is amended—
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sections
7301 and 7307’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 7201
and 7207’’;
(B) in paragraph (4), by—
150
(i) striking ‘‘section 7304(e)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘sections 7204(e)’’; and
(ii) striking ‘‘section 7304(b)(1)’’ and
inserting ‘‘section 7204(b)(1)’’; and
(C) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘section
7304’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7204’’.
(10) Section 7206, as redesignated by sub-
section (b), is amended—
(A) in subsection (a)—
(i) by striking ‘‘section 7305’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 7205’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘section 7305’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 7205’’; and
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section
7305(a)(7)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘section
7205(a)(7)’’.
(11) Section 7305(d)(2), as redesignated by
subsection (b), is amended by striking ‘‘section
7134’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7124’’.
TITLE III—HIGH SCHOOL
REFORM
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) recent studies have shown that the quality
and rigor of the secondary school program of study
151
is the most effective predictor of success in postsec-
ondary education;
(2) Hispanic Americans students are more like-
ly to be enrolled in general programs in secondary
schools and less likely to be enrolled in academic or
college preparatory programs;
(3) according to the Hispanic Dropout Project
effective schools—
(A) have high academic and behavioral
standards for their students;
(B) clearly communicate standards and
provide students with the necessary support and
opportunities to meet those standards;
(C) connect students to adults in meaning-
ful ways;
(D) connect students to possible futures in
college and the workforce; and
(E) provide families with useful informa-
tion about how their children are doing and
about their futures; and
(4) secondary schools should structure reforms
to reflect the characteristics of effective schools.
SEC. 302. HIGH SCHOOL REFORM.
Title X is amended by inserting after part G the fol-
lowing:
152
‘‘PART H—HIGH SCHOOL REFORM
‘‘SEC. 10801. PURPOSES.
‘‘(a) The purposes of this part are to—
‘‘(1) support the planning and implementation
of educational reforms in high schools, particularly
in urban and rural high schools that educate con-
centrations of students from low-income families, in
order to—
‘‘(A) meet the needs of students at risk of
failing to achieve to challenging standards, by
strengthening curriculum and instruction, offer-
ing extended learning opportunities, and pro-
viding professional development opportunities to
school staff; and
‘‘(B) improve title I schoolwide programs
in high schools;
‘‘(2) support the further development of edu-
cational reforms, designed specifically for high
schools, that—
‘‘(A) help students meet challenging State
standards; and
‘‘(B) increase connections between stu-
dents and adults and provide safe learning envi-
ronments;
‘‘(3) create positive incentives for serious
change in high schools, by offering rewards to par-
153
ticipating schools that achieve significant improve-
ments in student achievement;
‘‘(4) increase the national knowledge base on
effective high school reforms by identifying the most
effective approaches and disseminating information
on those approaches so that they can be adopted na-
tionally; and
‘‘(5) support the implementation of reforms in
at least 5,000 American high schools by the year
2007.
‘‘SEC. 10802. GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may
make grants to local educational agencies, on a competi-
tive basis, for activities, consistent with this part, carried
out in their high schools.
‘‘(b) DURATION.—Each grant under this section shall
be for a period of up to 3 years.
‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not provide
assistance under this part to any high school under more
than 1 grant.
‘‘SEC. 10803. APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—A local educational
agency that desires to receive a grant under this part shall
submit an application at such time, in such manner, and
154
containing such information as the Secretary may deter-
mine.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each such application shall, for
each high school for which assistance is sought—
‘‘(1) identify the school and describe its need
for assistance under this part;
‘‘(2) include—
‘‘(A) a preliminary plan for grades above
8th grade in the school that describes the edu-
cational reforms that will take place, as well as
the specific activities to be carried out with
grant funds; and
‘‘(B) an assurance that the local edu-
cational agency will have a final plan for those
reforms and activities within 6 months of re-
ceiving a grant under this part; and
‘‘(3) demonstrate that a substantial percentage
of administrators, teachers, and students at the
school, as well as parents of students and other
members of the community, were (and will be) in-
volved in developing and carrying out that plan.
‘‘SEC. 10804. SELECTION OF GRANTEES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select grant-
ees, using a peer review process, on the basis of—
155
‘‘(1) the relative need of each high school for
which assistance is sought, considering such factors
as the percentage of students who are from low-in-
come families, student achievement data, dropout
rates, and attendance rates; and
‘‘(2) the quality of applications, including the
likelihood that the proposed reforms will succeed.
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS
FOR
MORE
THAN
1 HIGH
SCHOOL.—In the case of a meritorious application that
requests assistance for more than 1 high school, the Sec-
retary may approve the application for any number of
those schools.
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—In approving applications
under this section, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) to the extent possible, award a majority of
grants under this part to assist high schools that
participate in programs under part A of title I of
this Act or serve high-poverty school attendance
areas; and
‘‘(2) equitably distribute grants among the geo-
graphic regions of the Nation and among urban and
rural local educational agencies.
156
‘‘SEC. 10805. PRINCIPLES AND COMPONENTS OF EDU-
CATIONAL REFORMS.
‘‘(a) PRINCIPLES.—Each grantee under this part
shall ensure that the reforms it carries out under this part
are designed so that each assisted high school—
‘‘(1) is a place where students receive individual
attention and support, through such strategies as
creating smaller learning environments, such as
‘‘schools within schools’’ and career academies and
providing students with counselors and mentors;
‘‘(2) provides all students in the school with
challenging coursework, aligned with State content
and performance standards, through such strategies
as the use of technology to enhance academic in-
struction and the establishment or expansion of
international baccalaureate programs or advanced
placement programs;
‘‘(3) is a place where students are motivated to
learn, through such strategies as applied learning
and linking the arts, music, and cultural opportuni-
ties with the school, both during and after the nor-
mal school day;
‘‘(4) enables students to receive an education
that is continuous and integrated, through such
strategies as partnerships with middle schools and
institutions of higher education;
157
‘‘(5) helps students achieve their educational
and career goals, through such strategies as inte-
grated academic and vocational instruction that con-
nects students with career opportunities; and
‘‘(6) functions as a center for the community,
through such strategies as increasing the involve-
ment of parents, employers, and others in the com-
munity.
‘‘(b) REQUIRED COMPONENTS.—In order to institu-
tionalize the principles described in subsection (a), each
grantee under this part shall use funds that are provided
on behalf of a high school to implement (and, if necessary,
to use not more than 6 months to complete the planning
and development of) research-based educational reform
strategies throughout the entire school that—
‘‘(1) in the case of a school with a schoolwide
program under part A of title I, build on and im-
prove the schoolwide reform program;
‘‘(2) address the needs of students who are at
risk of failing to be promoted to the next grade or
to graduate, including—
‘‘(A) covering material that students need
to master in order to pass State mandated exit
exams; and
158
‘‘(B) strengthening curriculum, instruc-
tion, and assessments and by offering extended
learning opportunities such as after school,
weekend, and summer programs;
‘‘(3) are implemented at the school level, but in-
clude strong support and assistance from the local
educational agency, as documented in its application;
‘‘(4) make full and effective use of the re-
sources that the school receives under other Federal
programs;
‘‘(5) make use of outside experts in high school
reform, unless the local educational agency dem-
onstrates in its application, to the Secretary’s satis-
faction, that the school’s reform strategy can be im-
plemented effectively without outside assistance;
‘‘(6) include professional development of school
staff, including development of the skills needed to
use student achievement and other outcome data to
refine and improve the educational reform strategy;
and
‘‘(7) provide for collecting data on, and evalu-
ating, the reforms and for reporting to the Secretary
on the results of those evaluations.
159
‘‘SEC. 10806. PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
‘‘(a) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Each grantee
under section 10804 shall, in accordance with sections
11803 through 11806, provide for the equitable participa-
tion of private school personnel in the professional devel-
opment activities it carries out with grant funds.
‘‘(b) INFORMATION.—If a grantee uses grant funds
to develop curricular materials, it shall make information
about those materials available to private schools at their
request.
‘‘SEC. 10807. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.
‘‘From the amount available to carry out this part
for any fiscal year under section 10809, the Secretary
shall reserve the amount he finds appropriate to carry out
1 or more of the following:
‘‘(1) INCENTIVE AWARDS.—
‘‘(A)(i) The Secretary shall select a ran-
dom sample of schools from each of the first 2
years cohorts of grantees, along with a similarly
selected control group of comparable schools, to
participate in an incentive-based experiment,
under which the Secretary makes incentive pay-
ments to teachers and administrators in the
grantee schools if, after 3 years of program
participation, their students demonstrate sig-
nificant gains in student educational outcomes
160
compared to the gains made in the schools in
the control group.
‘‘(ii) If those significant gains continue,
the Secretary may make further incentive pay-
ments to those teachers and administrators for
up to 2 additional years.
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall base determina-
tions of student educational outcomes on mul-
tiple measures, including scores on State as-
sessments.
‘‘(C) The maximum amount of an incentive
award under this paragraph is $3,000 per
teacher and administrator per year, which may
be used by those individuals for any purpose.
‘‘(2) 
RECOGNITION, 
DISSEMINATION, 
NET-
WORKS, AND PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary may—
‘‘(A) recognize high schools and high
school reforms that show outstanding results;
‘‘(B) disseminate information on those
schools and reforms;
‘‘(C) carry out other activities to encourage
the spread and adoption of successful high
school reform strategies;
‘‘(D) facilitate the creation of networks
among participating schools and local edu-
161
cational agencies, which may include schools
and local educational agencies interested in
meeting the purpose of this part; and
‘‘(E) pay the costs of the peer review of
applications under this part.
‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—The Secretary may reserve
funds, consistent with section 14701, to evaluate ac-
tivities carried out under this part.
‘‘SEC. 10808. DEFINITION.
‘‘For the purpose of this part, the term ‘high school’
means any school that serves students in 12th grade.
‘‘SEC. 10809. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary for fiscal year 2001 and each of the 4 succeeding
fiscal years.’’.
TITLE 
IV—DROPOUT 
PREVEN-
TION AND STATE RESPON-
SIBILITIES
SEC. 401. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) Hispanic American students drop out of
school at 3.5 times the rate of their white counter-
parts;
162
(2) there are severe adverse personal and eco-
nomic consequences for youth that do not complete
secondary school including high unemployment rates
and low wages; and
(3) dropout prevention should be a national pri-
ority.
SEC. 402. DROPOUT PREVENTION.
Part C of title V is amended to read as follows:
‘‘PART C—ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS SCHOOL
DROPOUT PROBLEMS
‘‘Subpart 1—Coordinated National Strategy
‘‘SEC. 5301. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
‘‘(a) NATIONAL PRIORITY.—It shall be a national pri-
ority, for the 5-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of the Access to Excellence in Education for
the 21st Century Act, to lower the school dropout rate,
and increase school completion, for middle school and sec-
ondary school students in accordance with Federal law.
As part of this priority, all Federal agencies that carry
out activities that serve students at risk of dropping out
of school or that are intended to help address the school
dropout problem shall make school dropout prevention a
top priority in the agencies’ funding priorities during the
5-year period.
163
‘‘(b) ENHANCED DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary
shall collect systematic data on the participation of dif-
ferent racial and ethnic groups (including migrant and
limited English proficient students) in all Federal pro-
grams.
‘‘SEC. 5302. NATIONAL SCHOOL DROPOUT PREVENTION
STRATEGY.
‘‘(a) PLAN.—The Director shall develop, implement,
and monitor an interagency plan (in this section referred
to as the ‘plan’) to assess the coordination, use of re-
sources, and availability of funding under Federal law that
can be used to address school dropout prevention, or mid-
dle school or secondary school reentry. The plan shall be
completed and transmitted to the Secretary and Congress
not later than 180 days after the first Director is ap-
pointed.
‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—The plan shall address inter-
and intra-agency program coordination issues at the Fed-
eral level with respect to school dropout prevention and
middle school and secondary school reentry, assess the tar-
geting of existing Federal services to students who are
most at risk of dropping out of school, and the cost effec-
tiveness of various programs and approaches used to ad-
dress school dropout prevention.
164
‘‘(c) AVAILABLE RESOURCES.—The plan shall also
describe the ways in which State and local agencies can
implement effective school dropout prevention programs
using funds from a variety of Federal programs, including
the programs under title I and the School-to-Work Oppor-
tunities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.).
‘‘(d) SCOPE.—The plan will address all Federal pro-
grams with school dropout prevention or school reentry
elements or objectives, programs under chapter 1 of sub-
part 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.), title I of this Act,
the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C.
6101 et seq.), part B of title IV of the Job Training Part-
nership Act (29 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.), subtitle C of title
I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C
2881 et seq.), and other programs.
‘‘SEC. 5303. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE.
‘‘Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact-
ment of the Access to Excellence in Education for the 21st
Century Act, the Director shall establish a national clear-
inghouse on effective school dropout prevention, interven-
tion and reentry programs. The clearinghouse shall be es-
tablished through a competitive grant or contract awarded
to an organization with a demonstrated capacity to pro-
vide technical assistance and disseminate information in
166
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS.—The Director may recog-
nize any public middle school or secondary school (includ-
ing a charter school) that has implemented comprehensive
reforms regarding the lowering of school dropout rates for
all students at that school.
‘‘(c) SUPPORT.—The Director may make monetary
awards to schools recognized under this section, in
amounts determined by the Director. Amounts received
under this section shall be used for dissemination activities
within the school district or nationally.
‘‘Subpart 2—National School Dropout Prevention
Initiative
‘‘SEC. 5311. FINDINGS.
‘‘Congress finds that, in order to lower dropout rates
and raise academic achievement levels, improved and rede-
signed schools must—
‘‘(1) challenge all children to attain their high-
est academic potential; and
‘‘(2) ensure that all students have substantial
and ongoing opportunities to—
‘‘(A) achieve high levels of academic and
technical skills;
‘‘(B) prepare for college and careers;
‘‘(C) learn by doing;
167
‘‘(D) work with teachers in small schools
within schools;
‘‘(E) receive ongoing support from adult
mentors;
‘‘(F) access a wide variety of information
about careers and postsecondary education and
training;
‘‘(G) use technology to enhance and moti-
vate learning; and
‘‘(H) benefit from strong links among mid-
dle schools, secondary schools, and postsec-
ondary institutions.
‘‘SEC. 5312. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘(a) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sum made avail-
able under section 5332(b) for a fiscal year the Sec-
retary shall make an allotment to each State in an
amount that bears the same relation to the sum as
the amount the State received under title I for the
preceding fiscal year bears to the amount received
by all States under such title for the preceding fiscal
year.
‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this subpart,
the term ‘State’’ means each of the several States of
the United States, the District of Columbia, the
168
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Re-
public of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States
of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—From amounts made available to a
State under subsection (a), the State educational agency
may award grants to public middle schools or secondary
schools, that have school dropout rates which are in the
highest 1/3 of all school dropout rates in the State, to en-
able the schools to pay only the startup and implementa-
tion costs of effective, sustainable, coordinated, and whole
school dropout prevention programs that involve activities
such as—
‘‘(1) professional development;
‘‘(2) obtaining curricular materials;
‘‘(3) release time for professional staff;
‘‘(4) planning and research;
‘‘(5) remedial education;
‘‘(6) reduction in pupil-to-teacher ratios;
‘‘(7) efforts to meet State student achievement
standards; and
‘‘(8) counseling for at-risk students.
‘‘(c) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con-
gress that the activities started or implemented under sub-
169
section (a) shall be continued with funding provided under
part A of title I.
‘‘(d) AMOUNT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (d)
and except as provided in paragraph (2), a grant
under this subpart shall be awarded—
‘‘(A) in the first year that a school receives
a grant payment under this subpart, in an
amount that is not less than $50,000 and not
more than $100,000, based on factors such
as—
‘‘(i) school size;
‘‘(ii) costs of the model being imple-
mented; and
‘‘(iii) local cost factors such as poverty
rates;
‘‘(B) in the second such year, in an
amount that is not less than 75 percent of the
amount the school received under this subpart
in the first such year;
‘‘(C) in the 3d year, in an amount that is
not less than 50 percent of the amount the
school received under this subpart in the first
such year; and
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‘‘(D) in each succeeding year in an amount
that is not less than 30 percent of the amount
the school received under this subpart in the
first such year.
‘‘(2) INCREASES.—The Director shall increase
the amount awarded to a school under this subpart
by 10 percent if the school creates smaller learning
communities within the school and the creation is
certified by the State educational agency.
‘‘(e) DURATION.—A grant under this subpart shall
be awarded for a period of 3 years, and may be continued
for a period of 2 additional years if the State educational
agency determines, based on the annual reports described
in section 5328(a), that significant progress has been
made in lowering the school dropout rate for students par-
ticipating in the program assisted under this subpart com-
pared to students at similar schools who are not partici-
pating in the program.
‘‘SEC. 5313. STRATEGIES AND ALLOWABLE MODELS.
‘‘(a) STRATEGIES.—Each school receiving a grant
under this subpart shall implement research based, sus-
tainable, and widely replicated, strategies for school drop-
out prevention and reentry that address the needs of an
entire school population rather than a subset of students.
The strategies may include—
171
‘‘(1) specific strategies for targeted purposes;
and
‘‘(2) approaches such as breaking larger schools
down into smaller learning communities and other
comprehensive reform approaches, developing clear
linkages to career skills and employment, and ad-
dressing specific gatekeeper hurdles that often limit
student retention and academic success.
‘‘(b) ALLOWABLE MODELS.—The Director shall an-
nually establish and publish in the Federal Register the
principles, criteria, models, and other parameters regard-
ing the types of effective, proven program models that are
allowed to be used under this subpart, based on existing
research.
‘‘(c) CAPACITY BUILDING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director, through a
contract with a non-Federal entity, shall conduct a
capacity building and design initiative in order to in-
crease the types of proven strategies for dropout
prevention on a schoolwide level.
‘‘(2) NUMBER AND DURATION.—
‘‘(A) NUMBER.—The Director shall award
not more than 5 contracts under this sub-
section.
172
‘‘(B) 
DURATION.—The 
Director 
shall
award a contract under this section for a period
of not more than 5 years.
‘‘(d) SUPPORT
FOR
EXISTING
REFORM
NET-
WORKS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide
appropriate support to eligible entities to enable the
eligible entities to provide training, materials, devel-
opment, and staff assistance to schools assisted
under this subpart.
‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The
term ‘eligible entity’ means an entity that, prior to
the date of the enactment of the Access to Excel-
lence in Education for the 21st Century Act—
‘‘(A) provided training, technical assist-
ance, and materials to 100 or more elementary
schools or secondary schools; and
‘‘(B) developed and published a specific
educational program or design for use by the
schools.
‘‘SEC. 5314. SELECTION OF SCHOOLS.
‘‘(a) SCHOOL APPLICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each school desiring a
grant under this subpart shall submit an application
to the State educational agency at such time, in
173
such manner, and accompanied by such information
as the State educational agency may require.
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted
under paragraph (1) shall—
‘‘(A) contain a certification from the local
educational agency serving the school that—
‘‘(i) the school has the highest number
or rates of school dropouts in the age
group served by the local educational agen-
cy;
‘‘(ii) the local educational agency is
committed to providing ongoing oper-
ational support, for the school’s com-
prehensive reform plan to address the
problem of school dropouts, for a period of
5 years; and
‘‘(iii) the local educational agency will
support the plan, including—
‘‘(I) release time for teacher
training;
‘‘(II) efforts to coordinate activi-
ties for feeder schools; and
‘‘(III) encouraging other schools
served by the local educational agency
to participate in the plan;
174
‘‘(B) demonstrate that the faculty and ad-
ministration of the school have agreed to apply
for assistance under this subpart, and provide
evidence of the school’s willingness and ability
to use the funds under this subpart, including
providing an assurance of the support of 80
percent or more of the professional staff at the
school;
‘‘(C) describe the instructional strategies
to be implemented, how the strategies will serve
all students, and the effectiveness of the strate-
gies;
‘‘(D) describe a budget and timeline for
implementing the strategies;
‘‘(E) contain evidence of interaction with
an 
eligible 
entity 
described 
in 
section
5323(d)(2);
‘‘(F) contain evidence of coordination with
existing resources;
‘‘(G) provide an assurance that funds pro-
vided under this subpart will supplement and
not supplant other Federal, State, and local
funds;
175
‘‘(H) describe how the activities to be as-
sisted conform with an allowable model de-
scribed in section 5323(b); and
‘‘(I) demonstrate that the school and local
educational agency have agreed to conduct a
schoolwide program under 1114.
‘‘(b) STATE AGENCY REVIEW
AND AWARD.—The
State educational agency shall review applications and
award grants to schools under subsection (a) according to
a review by a panel of experts on school dropout preven-
tion.
‘‘(c) CRITERIA.—The Director shall establish clear
and specific selection criteria for awarding grants to
schools under this subpart. Such criteria shall be based
on school dropout rates and other relevant factors for
State educational agencies to use in determining the num-
ber of grants to award and the type of schools to be award-
ed grants.
‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A school is eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this subpart if the school is—
‘‘(A) a public school—
‘‘(i) that is eligible to receive assist-
ance under part A of title I, including a
comprehensive secondary school, a voca-
176
tional or technical secondary school, and a
charter school; and
‘‘(ii)(I) that serves students 50 per-
cent or more of whom are low-income indi-
viduals; or
‘‘(II) with respect to which the feeder
schools that provide the majority of the in-
coming students to the school serve stu-
dents 50 percent or more of whom are low-
income individuals; or
‘‘(B) is participating in a schoolwide pro-
gram under section 1114 during the grant pe-
riod.
‘‘(2) OTHER SCHOOLS.—A private or parochial
school, an alternative school, or a school within a
school, is not eligible to receive a grant under this
subpart, but an alternative school or school within a
school may be served under this subpart as part of
a whole school reform effort within an entire school
building.
‘‘(e) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.—A school
that receives a grant under this subpart may use the grant
funds to secure necessary services from a community-
based organization, including private sector entities, if—
‘‘(1) the school approves the use;