(C) more than 50 percent of the middle 
grades students attending such school do not 
perform at a proficient level on State student 
academic assessments required under section 
1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) 
in mathematics or reading or language arts. 
(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(6) MIDDLE
GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 
grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 
(7) SCIENTIFICALLY
VALID.—The term ‘‘sci-
entifically valid’’ means the rationale, design, and in-
terpretation are soundly developed in accordance 
with accepted principles of scientific research. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(10) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 
‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 
a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 
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of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1401). 
TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 
IMPROVEMENT 
SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this title are to— 
(1) improve middle grades student academic 
achievement and prepare students for rigorous high 
school course work, postsecondary education, inde-
pendent living, and employment; 
(2) ensure that curricula and student supports 
for middle grades education align with the curricula 
and student supports provided for elementary and 
high school grades; 
(3) provide resources to State educational agen-
cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 
develop school improvement plans in order to deliver 
support and technical assistance to schools serving 
students in the middle grades; and 
(4) increase the capacity of States and local 
educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 
and replicable school improvement programs and 
models and evidence-based or, when available, sci-
entifically valid student interventions for implemen-
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tation by schools serving students in the middle 
grades. 
SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE-
MENT. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 
under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 
this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 
for which the Secretary has approved an application under 
subsection (f) in an amount equal to the allotment deter-
mined for such agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal 
year. 
(b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 
available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec-
retary— 
(1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 
the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs) and the outlying areas for 
activities carried out in accordance with this section; 
(2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec-
tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 
title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 
widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 
outside evaluator; and 
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(3) shall reserve 5 percent for technical assist-
ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 
grades education to States and local educational 
agencies. 
(c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), of the total amount made available to 
carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 
amount among the States in proportion to the num-
ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 
State and are from families with incomes below the 
poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for which 
satisfactory data are available, compared to the 
number of such individuals who reside in all such 
States for that fiscal year, determined in accordance 
with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6333(c)(1)(A)). 
(2) MINIMUM
ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu-
cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 
subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1⁄2 of 
1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 
this title for such fiscal year. 
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(d) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year for which 
the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less that 
$500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 
to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath-
er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 
such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 
a competitive basis. 
(e) REALLOTMENT.— 
(1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP-
PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 
apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 
year, or if the application from the State educational 
agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 
the amount of the State’s allotment to the remaining 
States in accordance with this section. 
(2) UNUSED
FUNDS.—The Secretary may 
reallot any amount of an allotment to a State if the 
Secretary determines that the State will be unable to 
use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. 
Such reallotments shall be made on the same basis 
as allotments are made under subsection (c). 
(f) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a grant under 
this title, a State educational agency shall submit an appli-
cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
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