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with a demonstrated capacity to provide technical assist-
ance and disseminate information in the area of school
dropout prevention, intervention, and reentry programs.
The clearinghouse shall—
‘‘(1) collect and disseminate to educators, par-
ents, and policymakers information on research, effec-
tive programs, best practices, and available Federal
resources with respect to school dropout prevention,
intervention, and reentry programs, including dis-
semination by an electronically accessible database, a
worldwide Web site, and a national journal; and
‘‘(2) provide technical assistance regarding se-
curing resources with respect to, and designing and
implementing, effective and comprehensive school
dropout prevention, intervention, and reentry pro-
grams.
‘‘SEC. 5314. NATIONAL RECOGNITION PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out a na-
tional recognition program that recognizes schools that have
made extraordinary progress in lowering school dropout
rates under which a public middle school or secondary
school from each State will be recognized. The Director shall
use uniform national guidelines that are developed by the
Director for the recognition program and shall recognize
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schools from nominations submitted by State educational
agencies.
‘‘(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. 5321. 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 highest
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;
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‘‘(C) learn by doing;
‘‘(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 postsecondary
institutions.
‘‘SEC. 5322. 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 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) for the preceding fiscal year bears
to the amount received by all States under such title
for the preceding fiscal year.
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‘‘(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 Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic 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 enable
the schools to pay only the startup and implementation
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
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‘‘(8) counseling for at-risk students.
‘‘(b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con-
gress that the activities started or implemented under sub-
section (a) shall be continued with funding provided under
part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).
‘‘(c) 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 third year, in an amount that
is not less than 50 percent of the amount the
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school received under this subpart in the first
such year; and
‘‘(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 cer-
tified by the State educational agency.
‘‘(d) 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 participat-
ing in the program assisted under this subpart compared
to students at similar schools who are not participating in
the program.
‘‘SEC. 5323. STRATEGIES AND ALLOWABLE MODELS.
‘‘(a) STRATEGIES.—Each school receiving a grant
under this subpart shall implement research-based, sustain-
able, and widely replicated, strategies for school dropout
prevention and reentry that address the needs of an entire
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school population rather than a subset of students. The
strategies may include—
‘‘(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 annu-
ally establish and publish in the Federal Register the prin-
ciples, criteria, models, and other parameters regarding 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 con-
tract with a non-Federal entity, shall conduct a ca-
pacity building and design initiative in order to in-
crease the types of proven strategies for dropout pre-
vention on a schoolwide level.
‘‘(2) NUMBER AND DURATION.—
‘‘(A) NUMBER.—The Director shall award
not more than 5 contracts under this subsection.
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‘‘(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 NETWORKS.—
‘‘(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 enactment of the National Dropout Pre-
vention Act of 1998—
‘‘(A) provided training, technical assistance,
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. 5324. 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 such man-
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ner, 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 agency;
‘‘(ii) the local educational agency is
committed to providing ongoing operational
support, for the school’s comprehensive re-
form 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 train-
ing;
‘‘(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;
‘‘(B) demonstrate that the faculty and ad-
ministration of the school have agreed to apply
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for assistance under this subpart, and provide
evidence of the school’s willingness and ability to
use the funds under this subpart, including pro-
viding 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 strategies;
‘‘(D) describe a budget and timeline for im-
plementing 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;
‘‘(H) describe how the activities to be as-
sisted conform with an allowable model described
in section 5323(b); and
‘‘(I) demonstrate that the school and local
educational agency have agreed to conduct a
schoolwide program under 1114.
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‘‘(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 prevention.
‘‘(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 edu-
cational agencies to use in determining the number of
grants to award and the type of schools to be awarded
grants.
‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A school is eligible to receive
a grant under this subpart if the school is—
‘‘(A) a public school—
‘‘(i) that is eligible to receive assistance
under part A of title I of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), including a com-
prehensive secondary school, a vocational or
technical secondary school, and a charter
school; and
‘‘(ii)(I) that serves students 50 percent
or more of whom are low-income individ-
uals; or
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‘‘(II) with respect to which the feeder
schools that provide the majority of the in-
coming students to the school serve students
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;
‘‘(2) the funds are used to provide school dropout
prevention and reentry activities related to schoolwide
efforts; and
‘‘(3) the community-based organization has dem-
onstrated the organization’s ability to provide effec-
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tive services as described in section 107(a) of the Job
Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1517(a)).
‘‘(f) COORDINATION.—Each school that receives a
grant under this subpart shall coordinate the activities as-
sisted under this subpart with other Federal programs, such
as programs assisted under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of part
A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070a–11 et seq.) and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act
of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.).
‘‘SEC. 5325. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES.
‘‘Each school that receives a grant under this subpart
shall provide information and technical assistance to other
schools within the school district, including presentations,
document-sharing, and joint staff development.
‘‘SEC. 5326. PROGRESS INCENTIVES.
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each
local educational agency that receives funds under title I
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) shall use such funding to provide
assistance to schools served by the agency that have not
made progress toward lowering school dropout rates after
receiving assistance under this subpart for 2 fiscal years.
‘‘SEC. 5327. SCHOOL DROPOUT RATE CALCULATION.
‘‘For purposes of calculating a school dropout rate
under this subpart, a school shall use—
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‘‘(1) the annual event school dropout rate for stu-
dents leaving a school in a single year determined in
accordance with the National Center for Education
Statistics’ Common Core of Data, if available; or
‘‘(2) in other cases, a standard method for cal-
culating the school dropout rate as determined by the
State educational agency.
‘‘SEC. 5328. REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
‘‘(a) REPORTING.—In order to receive funding under
this subpart for a fiscal year after the first fiscal year a
school receives funding under this subpart, the school shall
provide, on an annual basis, to the Director a report re-
garding the status of the implementation of activities fund-
ed under this subpart, the disaggregated outcome data for
students at schools assisted under this subpart such as drop-
out rates, and certification of progress from the eligible en-
tity whose strategies the school is implementing.
‘‘(b) ACCOUNTABILITY.—On the basis of the reports
submitted under subsection (a), the Director shall evaluate
the effect of the activities assisted under this subpart on
school dropout prevention compared to a control group.
‘‘SEC. 5329. PROHIBITION ON TRACKING.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A school shall be ineligible to re-
ceive funding under this subpart for a fiscal year, if the
school—
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‘‘(1) has in place a general education track;
‘‘(2) provides courses with significantly different
material and requirements to students at the same
grade level; or
‘‘(3) fails to encourage all students to take a core
curriculum of courses.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate
regulations implementing subsection (a).
‘‘Subpart 3—Definitions; Authorization of
Appropriations
‘‘SEC. 5331. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this Act:
‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention and
Program Completion established under section 219 of
the General Education Provisions Act.
‘‘(2) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’,
used with respect to an individual, means an individ-
ual determined to be low-income in accordance with
measures described in section 1113(a)(5) of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)).
‘‘(3) SCHOOL DROPOUT.—The term ‘‘school drop-
out’’ has the meaning given the term in section 4(17)
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of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (20
U.S.C. 6103(17)).
‘‘SEC. 5332. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) SUBPART 1.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out subpart 1, $5,000,000 for fiscal year
1999 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the
4 succeeding fiscal years.
‘‘(b) SUBPART 2.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out subpart 2, $145,000,000 for fiscal year
1999 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the
4 succeeding fiscal years, of which—
‘‘(1) $125,000,000 shall be available to carry out
section 5322; and
‘‘(2) $20,000,000 shall be available to carry out
section 5323.’’.
SEC. 812. OFFICE OF DROPOUT PREVENTION AND PRO-
GRAM COMPLETION.
Title II of the Department of Education Organization
Act (20 U.S.C. 3411) is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 216 (as added by
Public Law 103–227) as section 218; and
(2) by adding after section 218 (as redesignated
by paragraph (1)) the following:
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‘‘OFFICE OF DROPOUT PREVENTION AND PROGRAM
COMPLETION
‘‘SEC. 219. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in
the Department of Education an Office of Dropout Preven-
tion and Program Completion (hereafter in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Office’), to be administered by the Director
of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Program Comple-
tion. The Director of the Office shall report directly to the
Secretary and shall perform such additional functions as
the Secretary may prescribe.
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office of Dropout
Prevention and Program Completion (hereafter in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘Director’), through the Office, shall—
‘‘(1) help coordinate Federal, State, and local ef-
forts to lower school dropout rates and increase pro-
gram completion by middle school, secondary school,
and college students;
‘‘(2) recommend Federal policies, objectives, and
priorities to lower school dropout rates and increase
program completion;
‘‘(3) oversee the implementation of subpart 2 of
part C of title V of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965;
‘‘(4) develop and implement the National School
Dropout Prevention Strategy under section 5312 of
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the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965;
‘‘(5) annually prepare and submit to Congress
and the Secretary a national report describing efforts
and recommended actions regarding school dropout
prevention and program completion;
‘‘(6) recommend action to the Secretary and the
President, as appropriate, regarding school dropout
prevention and program completion; and
‘‘(7) consult with and assist State and local gov-
ernments regarding school dropout prevention and
program completion.
‘‘(c) SCOPE OF DUTIES.—The scope of the Director’s
duties under subsection (b) shall include examination of all
Federal and non-Federal efforts related to—
‘‘(1) promoting program completion for children
attending middle school or secondary school;
‘‘(2) programs to obtain a secondary school di-
ploma or its recognized equivalent (including general
equivalency diploma (GED) programs), or college de-
gree programs; and
‘‘(3) reentry programs for individuals aged 12 to
24 who are out of school.
‘‘(d) DETAILING.—In carrying out the Director’s du-
ties under this section, the Director may request the head
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of any Federal department or agency to detail personnel
who are engaged in school dropout prevention activities to
another Federal department or agency in order to imple-
ment the National School Dropout Prevention Strategy.’’.
Subtitle B—State Responsibilities
SEC. 821. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.
Title XIV of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘PART I—DROPOUT PREVENTION
‘‘SEC. 14851. DROPOUT PREVENTION.
‘‘In order to receive any assistance under this Act, a
State educational agency shall comply with the following
provisions regarding school dropouts:
‘‘(1) UNIFORM
DATA
COLLECTION.—Within 1
year after the date of enactment of the National Drop-
out Prevention Act of 1998, a State educational agen-
cy shall report to the Secretary and statewide, all
school district and school data regarding school drop-
out rates in the State, and demographic breakdowns,
according to procedures that conform with the Na-
tional Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core
of Data.
‘‘(2) 
ATTENDANCE-NEUTRAL
FUNDING
POLI-
CIES.—Within 2 years after the date of enactment of
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the National Dropout Prevention Act of 1998, a State
educational agency shall develop and implement edu-
cation funding formula policies for public schools that
provide appropriate incentives to retain students in
school throughout the school year, such as—
‘‘(A) a student count methodology that does
not determine annual budgets based on attend-
ance on a single day early in the academic year;
and
‘‘(B) specific incentives for retaining en-
rolled students throughout each year.
‘‘(3) SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION POLICIES.—
Within 2 years after the date of enactment of the Na-
tional Dropout Prevention Act of 1998, a State edu-
cational agency shall develop uniform, long-term sus-
pension and expulsion policies for serious infractions
resulting in more than 10 days of exclusion from
school per academic year so that similar violations
result in similar penalties.’’.
TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 901. MULTILINGUALISM STUDY.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that even though all
residents of the United States should be proficient in
English, without regard to their country of birth, it is also
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of vital importance to the competitiveness of the United
States that those residents be encouraged to learn other lan-
guages.
(b) RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DEFINED.—
In this section, the term ‘‘resident of the United States’’
means an individual who resides in the United States, other
than an alien who is not lawfully present in the United
States.
(c) STUDY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller
General of the United States (referred to in this sec-
tion as the ‘‘Comptroller General’’) shall conduct a
study of multilingualism in the United States in ac-
cordance with this section.
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The study conducted
under this section shall ascertain—
(i) the percentage of residents in the
United States who are proficient in English
and at least 1 other language;
(ii) the predominant language other
than English in which residents referred to
in clause (i) are proficient;
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(iii) the percentage of the residents de-
scribed in clause (i) who were born in a for-
eign country;
(iv) the percentage of the residents de-
scribed in clause (i) who were born in the
United States;
(v) the percentage of the residents de-
scribed in clause (iv) who are second-gen-
eration residents of the United States; and
(vi) the percentage of the residents de-
scribed in clause (iv) who are third-genera-
tion residents of the United States.
(B) AGE-SPECIFIC CATEGORIES.—The study
under this section shall, with respect to the resi-
dents described in subparagraph (A)(i), deter-
mine the number of those residents in each of the
following categories:
(i) Residents who have not attained the
age of 12.
(ii) Residents have attained the age of
12, but have not attained the age of 18.
(iii) Residents who have attained the
age of 18, but have not attained the age of
50.
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(iv) Residents who have attained the
age of 50.
(C) FEDERAL
PROGRAMS.—In conducting
the study under this section, the Comptroller
General shall establish a list of each Federal pro-
gram that encourages multilingualism with re-
spect to any category of residents described in
subparagraph (B).
(D) 
COMPARISONS.—In 
conducting 
the
study under this section, the Comptroller General
shall compare the multilingual population de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) with the multi-
lingual populations of foreign countries—
(i) in the Western hemisphere; and
(ii) in Asia.
(d) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study under
this section, the Comptroller General shall prepare, and sub-
mit to Congress, a report that contains the results of the
study conducted under this section, and such findings and
recommendations as the Comptroller General determines to
be appropriate.
SEC. 902. SAFER SCHOOLS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the
‘‘Safer Schools Act of 1998’’.
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(b) AMENDMENT.—Section 14601 of the Gun-Free
Schools Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 8921) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(g) For the purposes of this section, a weapon that
has been determined to have been brought to a school by
a student shall be admissible as evidence in any internal
school disciplinary proceeding (related to an expulsion
under this section).’’.
Attest:
Secretary.