direct, limit, or control a State, local educational 
agency, or school’s specific instructional content, 
academic achievement standards and assessments, 
curriculum, or program of instruction. 
SEC. 106. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 
(a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 
the period of the grant, each State educational agency re-
ceiving a grant under this title shall— 
(1) conduct an evaluation of the State’s 
progress regarding the impact of the changes made 
to the policies and practices of the State in accord-
ance with this title, including— 
(A) a description of the specific changes 
made, or in the process of being made, to poli-
cies and practices as a result of the grant; 
(B) a discussion of any barriers hindering 
the identified changes in policies and practices, 
and implementation strategies to overcome such 
barriers; 
(C) evidence of the impact of changes to 
policies and practices on behavior and actions 
at the local educational agency and school level; 
and 
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(D) evidence of the impact of the changes 
to State and local policies and practices on im-
proving measurable learning gains by middle 
grades students; 
(2) use the results of the evaluation conducted 
under paragraph (1) to adjust the policies and prac-
tices of the State as necessary to achieve the pur-
poses of this title; and 
(3) submit the results of the evaluation to the 
Secretary. 
(b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the re-
sults of each State educational agency’s evaluation under 
subsection (a) available to other States and local edu-
cational agencies. 
(c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 
an annual basis, each eligible local educational agency and 
eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 104(a) 
shall report to the State educational agency and to the 
public on— 
(1) the performance on the school performance 
indicators (as described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi)) 
for each eligible school served by the eligible local 
educational agency or eligible entity, in the aggre-
gate and disaggregated by each of the subgroups of 
students, as defined in section 1111(c)(2) of the Ele-
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mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)); and 
(2) the use of funds by the eligible local edu-
cational agency or eligible entity and each such 
school. 
(d) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 
an annual basis, each State educational agency receiving 
grant funds under this title shall report to the Secretary 
and to the public on— 
(1) the performance of eligible schools in the 
State, based on the school performance indicators 
described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi), in the aggre-
gate and disaggregated by each of the subgroups of 
students, as defined in section 1111(c)(2) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)); and 
(2) the use of such funds by each eligible 
school, eligible entity, and eligible local educational 
agency in the State receiving such funds. 
(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Every 2 years, the Sec-
retary shall report to the public and to Congress— 
(1) a summary of the State educational agency 
reports under subsection (d); and 
(2) the use of funds by each State educational 
agency under this title. 
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SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this title— 
(1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 
(2) $525,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 
(3) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 
(4) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 
(5) $650,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 
TITLE II—RESEARCH 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this title is to facilitate the genera-
tion, dissemination, and application of research needed to 
identify and implement effective practices that lead to con-
tinual student learning and high academic achievement in 
the middle grades. 
SEC. 202. STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES. 
(a) STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall study and identify promising practices for the 
improvement of middle grades education. The Sec-
retary may contract with an independent third 
party, such as a nonprofit organization, nongovern-
mental organization, or institution of higher edu-
cation to satisfy this requirement. 
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(2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 
in paragraph (1) shall identify promising practices 
currently being implemented for the improvement of 
middle grades education. The study shall be con-
ducted in an open and transparent way that provides 
interim information to the public about criteria 
being used to identify— 
(A) such promising practices; 
(B) the practices that are being consid-
ered; and 
(C) the kind of evidence needed to docu-
ment effectiveness. 
(3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu-
ant to this subsection shall require that the inde-
pendent third party submit to the Secretary, the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen-
sions of the Senate, and the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor of the House of Representatives a 
final report regarding the study conducted under 
this section not later than 1 year after the date of 
the commencement of the contract. 
(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 
public and post on the website of the Department of 
Education the findings of the study conducted under 
this subsection. 
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(b) SYNTHESIS STUDY OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING 
AND LEARNING IN MIDDLE GRADES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall enter into a contract with the National Acad-
emies to review existing research on middle grades 
education, and on factors that might lead to in-
creased effectiveness and enhanced innovation in 
middle grades education. 
(2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 
in paragraph (1) shall review research on education 
programs, practices, and policies and research on 
the cognitive, social, and emotional development of 
children in the middle grades age range, in order to 
provide an enriched understanding of the factors 
that might lead to the development of innovative and 
effective middle grades programs, practices, and 
policies. The study shall focus on— 
(A) the areas of curriculum, instruction, 
and assessment (including additional supports 
for students who are below grade level in read-
ing, writing, mathematics, and science, and the 
identification of students with disabilities) to 
better prepare all students for subsequent suc-
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cess in secondary school, postsecondary edu-
cation, and cognitively challenging employment; 
(B) the quality of (including experience, 
certification, and demonstrated effectiveness), 
and supports for, the teacher workforce; 
(C) aspects of student behavioral and so-
cial development, and of social interactions 
within schools that affect the learning of aca-
demic content; 
(D) the ways in which schools and local 
educational agencies are organized and operated 
that may be linked to student outcomes; 
(E) how development and use of early 
warning indicator and intervention systems can 
reduce risk factors for dropping out of school 
and low academic achievement; and 
(F) identification of areas where further 
research and evaluation may be needed on these 
topics to further the development of effective 
middle grades practices. 
(3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu-
ant to this subsection shall require that the National 
Academies submit to the Secretary, the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor 
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of the House of Representatives a final report re-
garding the study conducted under this subsection 
not later than 2 years after the date of commence-
ment of the contract. 
(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 
public and post on the website of the Department of 
Education the findings of the study conducted under 
this subsection. 
(c) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall carry 
out each of the following: 
(1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordi-
nation with entities such as the What Works Clear-
inghouse of the Institute of Education Sciences, for 
research in best practices in the middle grades and 
in the approaches that successfully take those best 
practices to scale in schools and local educational 
agencies. 
(2) Create a national middle grades database 
accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, 
and policymakers that identifies factors at the 
school, classroom, and system level that facilitate or 
impede student academic achievement in the middle 
grades. 
(3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences 
to develop a strand of field-initiated and scientif-
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ically valid research designed to enhance perform-
ance of schools serving middle grades students, and 
of middle grades students who are most at risk of 
educational failure, which may be coordinated with 
the regional educational laboratories established 
under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform 
Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564), institutions of higher 
education, agencies recognized for their research 
work that has been published in peer-reviewed jour-
nals, and organizations that have such regional edu-
cational laboratories. Such research shall target spe-
cific issues such as— 
(A) effective practices for instruction and 
assessment in mathematics, science, technology, 
and literacy; 
(B) effective practices for developing in 
students the competencies of— 
(i) the ability to acquire and use deep 
content knowledge to solve problems; 
(ii) critical thinking; 
(iii) effective communication; 
(iv) self-direction; and 
(v) the ability to collaborate; 
(C) academic interventions for adolescent 
English learners; 
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(D) school improvement programs and 
strategies for closing the academic achievement 
gap between the different groups described in 
section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)), and for decreasing 
rates of suspension and expulsion; 
(E) evidence-based or, when available, sci-
entifically valid professional development plan-
ning targeted to improve pedagogy and student 
academic achievement and student engagement; 
and 
(F) the effects of decreased class size or 
increased instructional and support staff. 
(4) Strengthen the work of the existing national 
research and development centers under section 
133(c) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 
2002 (20 U.S.C. 9533(c)), as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act, by adding an educational research 
and development center dedicated to addressing— 
(A) curricular, instructional, and assess-
ment issues pertinent to the middle grades 
(such as mathematics, science, technological flu-
ency, and the needs of English learners and 
students with disabilities); 
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(B) comprehensive reforms for low-per-
forming middle grades; and 
(C) other topics pertinent to improving the 
academic achievement of middle grades stu-
dents. 
(5) Provide grants to nonprofit organizations, 
for-profit organizations, institutions of higher edu-
cation, and others to partner with State educational 
agencies and local educational agencies to develop, 
adapt, or replicate effective models for turning 
around low-performing schools serving middle grades 
students. 
SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA-
TIONS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 
$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, which amount shall re-
main available for obligation through fiscal year 2026. 
(b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 
available to carry out this title, the Secretary shall re-
serve— 
(1) 2.5 percent for the studies described in sub-
sections (a) and (b) of section 202; 
(2) 5 percent for the clearinghouse described in 
section 202(c)(1); 
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(3) 5 percent for the database described in sec-
tion 202(c)(2); 
(4) 42.5 percent for the activities described in 
section 202(c)(3); 
(5) 15 percent for the activities described in 
section 202(c)(4); and 
(6) 30 percent for the activities described in 
section 202(c)(5). 
Æ 
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