I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2958 
To amend the accountability provisions of part A of title I of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 18, 2009 
Mr. TERRY (for himself, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. PAUL, and Mr. SIMPSON) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the accountability provisions of part A of title 
I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965, 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 ‘‘State and Local Edu-
cation Flexibility Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ESEA. 
(a) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS.— 
Section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is amended— 
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cept that the 95 percent requirement described in 
this clause’’; 
(3) in paragraph (3)(C)— 
(A) in clause (xiv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in clause (xv), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(xvi) 
notwithstanding 
clause 
(ix)(III), at the State’s discretion on a 
case-by-case basis, not include any limited 
English proficient student if— 
‘‘(I) the student is enrolled in his 
or her first full school year in an ele-
mentary school or secondary school in 
the State; and 
‘‘(II) the parents of the student, 
and the school administrator or team 
of educators designated by the stu-
dent’s school for making limited 
English proficiency placement and as-
sessment decisions, agree that such an 
exclusion is educationally appropriate 
for the student.’’; and 
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(4) in paragraph (7), by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, 
a State plan may provide for the exclusion from 
such annual assessment of English proficiency of 
any limited English proficient student if (A) the stu-
dent is enrolled in his or her first full school year 
in an elementary or secondary school in the State; 
and (B) the parents of the student, and the school 
administrator or team of educators designated by 
the student’s school for making limited English pro-
ficiency placement and assessment decisions, agree 
that such an exclusion is educationally appropriate 
for the student.’’ 
(b) CONSIDERATION
OF GRADUATION RATES
IN 
AYP.—Clause (vi) of section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6311(b)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except that, at 
the discretion of the State, such graduation rates may in-
clude (I) any student who has exceptional circumstances 
and graduates from secondary school with a regular di-
ploma in not more than 5 years, (II) any qualified child 
with a disability (as that term is defined in paragraph 
(3)(C)(11)) who graduates from secondary school with a 
regular diploma before attaining an age established by 
State law, and (III) any qualified child with a disability 
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(as that term is defined in paragraph (3)(C)(11)) who sat-
isfies such alternative challenging academic content and 
achievement standards as the State may establish for the 
child to complete secondary school in a reasonable period 
of time’’ after ‘‘in the standard number of years’’. 
(c) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—Subsection (b) 
of section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘The academic standards’’ and inserting 
‘‘Subject to paragraph (11), the academic stand-
ards’’; 
(2) in clause (i) of paragraph (2)(C), by strik-
ing ‘‘applies the same high standards’’ and inserting 
‘‘subject to paragraph (11), applies the same high 
standards’’; 
(3) in clause (i) of paragraph (3)(C), by strik-
ing ‘‘be the same academic assessments’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘subject to paragraph (11), be the same aca-
demic assessments’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(11) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.— 
‘‘(A) RELATION TO IEP.—Subject to the 
requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C), 
with respect to a qualified child with a dis-
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ability, a State plan may provide for modifica-
tion of the challenging academic content stand-
ards and challenging student academic achieve-
ment standards required by paragraph (1)(A), 
the high standards of academic achievement de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(i), and the yearly 
student academic assessments described in 
paragraph (3), to align such standards and as-
sessments with the child’s individualized edu-
cation program. 
‘‘(B) PARENTAL CONSENT.—A State plan 
may not provide for modification pursuant to 
subparagraph (A) of any standard or assess-
ment unless the parents of the child involved 
agree that such modification is educationally 
appropriate for the child. 
‘‘(C) PROGRESSIVELY HIGHER LEVEL OF 
INSTRUCTION.—In the case of a qualified child 
with a disability who has a significant cognitive 
impairment, but not a severe cognitive impair-
ment, any modification pursuant to subpara-
graph (A) of any standard or assessment appli-
cable to the child shall continue to require a 
progressively higher level of instruction each 
year to achieve graduation with a regular di-
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ploma or an alternative State-established di-
ploma leading toward graduation with a regular 
diploma or an alternative State-established di-
ploma. 
‘‘(D) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—This 
paragraph shall not be construed to give rise to 
any new right under the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act, to expand the definition 
of a child with a disability under that Act, or 
to otherwise affect any provision of that Act. 
‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) The term ‘individualized edu-
cation program’ has the meaning given to 
such term in section 602 of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act. 
‘‘(ii) The term ‘qualified child with a 
disability’ means a child who receives serv-
ices under the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act and has been certified by a 
licensed health care professional or a mul-
tidisciplinary team (established in accord-
ance with State guidelines and including a 
licensed health care professional) as a child 
with severe or significant cognitive impair-
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ment that prevents learning consistent 
with the child’s age group.’’. 
(d) LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENTS.—Para-
graph (3) of section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT
OF
ASSESS-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
subparagraphs (A) and (C)(i), a State edu-
cational agency may authorize a local edu-
cational agency, or school, in the State to 
develop and implement the student aca-
demic assessments required by this para-
graph with respect to the students served 
by the local educational agency or school, 
respectively. 
‘‘(ii) SAME ASSESSMENT.—Subject to 
paragraph (11), any assessment developed 
and implemented by a local educational 
agency or school pursuant to this subpara-
graph shall be the same academic assess-
ment used to measure the achievement of 
all children served by the local educational 
agency or school, respectively. 
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‘‘(iii) STATE
RESPONSIBILITY.—If a 
State educational agency chooses to au-
thorize a local educational agency, or 
school, in the State to develop and imple-
ment assessments pursuant to this sub-
paragraph, the State educational agency 
shall be responsible for demonstrating in 
the State plan that each such assessment 
complies with the requirements of this 
paragraph.’’. 
(e) MULTIPLE ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 
1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) (as 
amended by subsection (d)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(F) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith-
standing subparagraph (A), this paragraph 
shall not be construed to prohibit the develop-
ment and implementation of the student aca-
demic assessments required by this section 
through the use of multiple assessments of high 
technical quality integrated into a school’s cur-
riculum and distributed throughout the course 
of the school year.’’. 
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(2) PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT.—Clause (ii) 
of section 1111(b)(2)(I) (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(I)) 
(as amended by subsection (a)(2)) is amended by in-
serting ‘‘, and shall be a 75 percent annual average 
requirement in a case in which the school imple-
ments academic assessments for purposes of para-
graph (3) through the use of multiple assessments 
integrated into a school’s curriculum and distributed 
throughout the course of the school year’’ before the 
close parenthesis at the end. 
(f) HIGHLY QUALIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION AND 
RURAL TEACHERS.—Section 9101(23)(B)(ii) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801(23)(B)(ii)) is amended as follows: 
(1) By striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause 
(I), redesignating subclause (II) as (III) and insert-
ing the following new subclause after subclause (I): 
‘‘(II) at the discretion of the 
State, in the case of a special edu-
cation teacher or a teacher in a rural 
school, by passing such a rigorous 
State academic subject test in any 1 
subject in which the teacher teaches 
if, with respect to each other academic 
subject in which the teacher teaches, 
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the teacher works in close consulta-
tion, either in-person or through high- 
quality distance education or consulta-
tion, with another teacher who is 
highly qualified in such other aca-
demic subject; or’’. 
(2) By inserting before the closing parentheses 
in clause (i) ‘‘or, at the option of the State, a rig-
orous academic subject matter teaching curriculum 
and institutional skill assessments (as determined by 
the State’s education commissioner) developed by a 
public or private university’’. 
(g) SOCIAL STUDIES TREATED AS CORE ACADEMIC 
SUBJECT.—Paragraph (11) of section 9101 of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801) is amended by striking ‘‘and geography’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘geography, and social studies’’. 
(h) COMPETENCE IN SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES 
TREATED AS COMPETENCE IN SUBDISCIPLINES.—Para-
graph (23) of section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (B), by 
striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
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‘‘(D) shall be determined under this para-
graph by treating demonstrated competence in 
general science or social studies as competence 
in the subdisciplines of general science and so-
cial studies, respectively’’. 
SEC. 3. STUDY ON THE ADEQUACY OF ESEA FUNDING. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Comptroller 
General’’) shall conduct a study to determine for each of 
school years 2001–2002, 2002–2003, 2003–2004, 2004– 
2005, 2005–2006, 2006–2007, and 2007–2008 the fol-
lowing: 
(1) The amount of costs incurred by local edu-
cational agencies and schools as a result of efforts 
to comply with the provisions of part A of title I of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 
(2) The amount of funds received by local edu-
cational agencies and schools under such part A. 
(b) REGULAR EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES.—In making 
a determination of costs under subsection (a)(1), the 
Comptroller General shall exclude educational costs that 
would be incurred by local educational agencies and 
schools irrespective of efforts to comply with the provisions 
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of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 
(c) SAMPLES.—The Comptroller General shall make 
sample determinations under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
subsection (a) for— 
(1) at least 1 local educational agency and 1 
school in a rural area in each State; and 
(2) at least 1 local educational agency and 1 
school in an urban area in each State. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit a report to the Congress on the results of the study 
conducted under this section. 
(e) SUBSEQUENT
STUDY
AND
REPORTS.—The 
Comptroller General shall conduct a study, for each school 
year after the 2005–2006 school year, to determine the 
costs and funds described in subsection (a) for such year. 
The report of each such study shall be submitted to the 
Congress not later than 1 year after the close of the school 
year to which the study relates. 
SEC. 4. MEASURING INDIVIDUAL STUDENT ACADEMIC 
ACHIEVEMENT. 
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 is amended by adding the following at the end of 
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subpart 4 of part A of title VI and by making the nec-
essary conforming changes in the table of contents: 
‘‘SEC. 6165. MEASURING INDIVIDUAL STUDENT ACADEMIC 
ACHIEVEMENT. 
‘‘A State may choose to demonstrate adequate yearly 
progress under this subpart by utilizing individual growth 
models to measure individual student progress from grade 
to grade if the State meets all of the following require-
ments: 
‘‘(1) The State system contains strong privacy 
protections and measures to prevent the labeling of 
students. 
‘‘(2) The State system includes measures to 
meet the academic progress benchmarks established 
under NCLB to reach the universal goal of 100 per-
cent student proficiency by 2014. 
‘‘(3) The State system includes both annual or 
multiple yearly assessments of high technical quality 
and academic merit as primary measurements of 
student academic progress. 
‘‘(4) The State data system meets minimum 
standards, which will be established by the Secretary 
to ensure high data quality, including the ability to 
match test records of individual students from year 
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to year and the ability to measure growth at the 
classroom and school level. 
‘‘(5) In the case of a student who is one or 
more full grade levels behind his or her classmates, 
as determined by the State in accordance with the 
State’s grade-level academic standards, the State 
has a plan in place to bring the student up to age- 
appropriate grade level learning within three years 
through targeted interventions chosen by the State, 
and the plan has been approved at the start of each 
of the three applicable school years by one or both 
of the student’s parents. 
‘‘(6) The State system recognizes individual 
student GPA as a factor in reporting student 
progress. 
States utilizing individual growth models may, in the case 
of a student who is determined by the State to be one 
or more full grade levels behind his or her classmates, 
count the student as meeting adequate yearly progress re-
quirements for up to three years as long as the student 
is meeting the annual State-established goals for indi-
vidual student progress that are designed to bring the stu-
dent up to age-appropriate grade level learning within 
three years through appropriate targeted interventions. 
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‘‘SEC. 6166. ACCURATE IDENTIFICATION OF SCHOOLS 
NEEDING IMPROVEMENT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of determining 
adequate yearly progress under this subpart, schools shall 
be graded on the following grading scale: 
‘‘(1) Grade A+: Schools achieving 100 percent 
of the factors that make up adequate yearly 
progress. 
‘‘(2) Grade A: Schools achieving 90–99 percent 
of such factors. 
‘‘(3) Grade B: Schools achieving 80–89 percent 
of such factors. 
‘‘(4) Grade C: Schools achieving 70–79 percent 
of such factors. 
‘‘(5) Grade D: Schools achieving only 60–69 
percent of such factors. 
‘‘(6) Grade F: Schools achieving 59 percent or 
less of such factors. 
‘‘(b) AWARDS AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT MEAS-
URES.—The following awards and school improvement 
measures shall apply to schools based on the grade each 
school receives on the above school improvement grading 
scale: 
‘‘(1) A+ schools shall receive greater flexibility 
in the use of title I funds provided to their school 
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with the transferability percentage increased from 
50 percent to 75 percent flexibility. 
‘‘(2) A schools shall have flexibility to utilize 
Federal funds to help boost achievement for specific 
sub-groups not making adequate yearly progress in-
cluding for additional teacher development and any 
other interventions the school deems appropriate. 
‘‘(3) B SCHOOLS.—After two years of not mak-
ing AYP, the district shall choose the interventions 
from those allowed under section 1116 of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6316) that are appropriate to help the school 
improve its performance as quickly and effectively as 
possible. 
‘‘(4) C SCHOOLS.—After two years of not mak-
ing AYP, the district in consultation with the State 
shall choose the appropriate interventions from those 
allowed section 1116 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316) to 
help the school improve its performance as quickly 
and effectively as possible. 
‘‘(5) D SCHOOLS.—After two years of not mak-
ing AYP, the district and State shall choose the ap-
propriate interventions from those allowed under 
section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
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cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316) to help the 
school improve its performance as quickly and effec-
tively as possible. 
‘‘(6) F SCHOOLS.—After two years of not mak-
ing AYP, the State shall choose the appropriate 
interventions from those allowed under section 1116 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316) to help the school improve 
its performance as quickly and effectively as pos-
sible. 
‘‘(c) SCHOOLS MAKING AYP.—In the case of schools 
graded B, C, D, or F, States and school districts, coordi-
nating as appropriately required for each grade level in 
this section, may choose to implement any, all, or none 
of the school improvement measures currently available 
under section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316) for schools not 
making AYP for 3–5 years without the school being identi-
fied ‘‘in need of improvement’’ or as needing corrective 
action. 
‘‘(d) SCHOOLS NOT MAKING AYP.—In the case of 
schools graded B, C, D, or F which fail to progress beyond 
their initial grade level for three consecutive years, such 
schools shall be subject to the current school improvement 
measures that apply to schools that have not made AYP 
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for three years as defined in the State’s plan under section 
1111(b)(2).’’. 
SEC. 5. COMPARISON OF STATEWIDE REPORT CARDS. 
Section 1111(h)(6) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(6)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (D); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—In ad-
dition to the information that parents may re-
quest under subparagraph (A), a school that re-
ceives funds under this part shall provide, to 
each individual parent, student progress report 
cards referred to in this subsection in addition 
to report cards showing the schoolwide and 
statewide progress of students as required by 
this subsection. States shall include on the stu-
dent progress report cards the grade of the 
school the individual student attends, as identi-
fied from the school improvement grading scale 
in section 6166. States shall also include on 
schoolwide and statewide progress report cards 
the State’s performance on the National Assess-
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ment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the 
academic subject areas required to be reported. 
An explicit side-by-side comparison is not re-
quired and each State may choose the format in 
which information is presented if the NAEP 
scores are included.’’. 
Æ 
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