517 
‘‘(A) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary 
shall establish a multi-disciplinary peer review 
team, which shall meet the requirements of sec-
tion 6543, to review waiver requests under this 
section. 
‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—The Secretary may 
approve a waiver request under this section 
without conducting a peer review of the request, 
but shall use the peer review process under this 
paragraph before disapproving such a request. 
‘‘(C) STANDARD
AND
NATURE
OF
RE-
VIEW.—Peer reviewers shall conduct a good 
faith review of waiver requests submitted to 
them under this section. Peer reviewers shall re-
view such waiver requests— 
‘‘(i) in their totality; 
‘‘(ii) in deference to State and local 
judgment; and 
‘‘(iii) with the goal of promoting 
State- and local-led innovation. 
‘‘(5) WAIVER
DETERMINATION, DEMONSTRA-
TION, AND REVISION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
approve a waiver request not more than 60 
days after the date on which such request is 
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submitted, unless the Secretary determines and 
demonstrates that— 
‘‘(i) the waiver request does not meet 
the requirements of this section; 
‘‘(ii) the waiver is not permitted under 
subsection (c); 
‘‘(iii) the plan that is required under 
paragraph (1)(C), and reviewed with def-
erence to State and local judgment, pro-
vides no reasonable evidence to determine 
that a waiver will enhance student aca-
demic achievement; or 
‘‘(iv) the waiver request does not pro-
vide for adequate evaluation to ensure re-
view and continuous improvement of the 
plan. 
‘‘(B) WAIVER DETERMINATION AND REVI-
SION.—If the Secretary determines and dem-
onstrates that the waiver request does not meet 
the requirements of this section, the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) immediately— 
‘‘(I) notify the State educational 
agency, local educational agency, or 
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Indian tribe of such determination; 
and 
‘‘(II) at the request of the State 
educational agency, local educational 
agency, or Indian tribe, provide de-
tailed reasons for such determination 
in writing; 
‘‘(ii) offer the State educational agen-
cy, local educational agency, or Indian 
tribe an opportunity to revise and resubmit 
the waiver request not more than 60 days 
after the date of such determination; and 
‘‘(iii) if the Secretary determines that 
the resubmission does not meet the re-
quirements of this section, at the request 
of the State educational agency, local edu-
cational agency, or Indian tribe, conduct a 
public hearing not more than 30 days after 
the date of such resubmission. 
‘‘(C) WAIVER
DISAPPROVAL.—The Sec-
retary may disapprove a waiver request if— 
‘‘(i) the State educational agency, 
local educational agency, or Indian tribe 
has been notified and offered an oppor-
tunity to revise and resubmit the waiver 
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request, as described under clauses (i) and 
(ii) of subparagraph (B); and 
‘‘(ii) the State educational agency, 
local educational agency, or Indian tribe— 
‘‘(I) does not revise and resubmit 
the waiver request; or 
‘‘(II) revises and resubmits the 
waiver request, and the Secretary de-
termines that such waiver request 
does not meet the requirements of this 
section after a hearing conducted 
under subparagraph (B)(iii), if re-
quested. 
‘‘(D) EXTERNAL CONDITIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall not, directly or indirectly, require or 
impose new or additional requirements in ex-
change for receipt of a waiver if such require-
ments are not specified in this Act. 
‘‘(c) RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary shall not waive 
under this section any statutory or regulatory require-
ments relating to— 
‘‘(1) the allocation or distribution of funds to 
States, local educational agencies, Indian tribes, or 
other recipients of funds under this Act; 
‘‘(2) comparability of services; 
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‘‘(3) use of Federal funds to supplement, not 
supplant, non-Federal funds; 
‘‘(4) equitable participation of private school 
students and teachers; 
‘‘(5) parental participation and involvement; 
‘‘(6) applicable civil rights requirements; 
‘‘(7) the prohibitions— 
‘‘(A) in subpart 2 of part E; 
‘‘(B) regarding use of funds for religious 
worship or instruction in section 6505; and 
‘‘(C) regarding activities in section 6524; 
or 
‘‘(8) the selection of a school attendance area or 
school under subsections (a) and (b) of section 1113, 
except that the Secretary may grant a waiver to 
allow a school attendance area or school to partici-
pate in activities under subpart 1 of part A of title 
I if the percentage of children from low-income fami-
lies in the school attendance area or who attend the 
school is not more than 10 percentage points below 
the lowest percentage of those children for any 
school attendance area or school of the local edu-
cational agency that meets the requirements of sub-
sections (a) and (b) of section 1113. 
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‘‘(d) DURATION AND EXTENSION OF WAIVER; LIMI-
TATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), a waiver approved by the Secretary under 
this section may be for a period not to exceed 3 
years. 
‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend 
the period described in paragraph (1) if the State 
demonstrates that— 
‘‘(A) the waiver has been effective in ena-
bling the State or affected recipient to carry out 
the activities for which the waiver was re-
quested and the waiver has contributed to im-
proved student achievement; and 
‘‘(B) the extension is in the public interest. 
‘‘(3) SPECIFIC
LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary 
shall not require a State educational agency, local 
educational agency, or Indian tribe, as a condition of 
approval of a waiver request, to— 
‘‘(A) include in, or delete from, such re-
quest, specific academic standards, such as the 
Common Core State Standards developed under 
the Common Core State Standards Initiative or 
any other standards common to a significant 
number of States; 
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‘‘(B) use specific academic assessment in-
struments or items, including assessments 
aligned to the standards described in subpara-
graph (A); or 
‘‘(C) include in, or delete from, such waiv-
er request any criterion that specifies, defines, 
describes, or prescribes the standards or meas-
ures that a State or local educational agency or 
Indian tribe uses to establish, implement, or im-
prove— 
‘‘(i) State academic standards; 
‘‘(ii) academic assessments; 
‘‘(iii) State accountability systems; or 
‘‘(iv) teacher and school leader evalua-
tion systems. 
‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) WAIVER REPORTS.—A State educational 
agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe 
that receives a waiver under this section shall, at the 
end of the second year for which a waiver is received 
under this section and each subsequent year, submit 
a report to the Secretary that— 
‘‘(A) describes the uses of the waiver by 
the agency or by schools; 
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‘‘(B) describes how schools continued to 
provide assistance to the same populations 
served by the programs for which waivers were 
granted; and 
‘‘(C) evaluates the progress of the agency 
and schools, or Indian tribe, in improving the 
quality of instruction or the academic achieve-
ment of students. 
‘‘(2) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall annually submit to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a re-
port— 
‘‘(A) summarizing the uses of waivers by 
State educational agencies, local educational 
agencies, Indian tribes, and schools; and 
‘‘(B) describing the status of the waivers 
in improving academic achievement. 
‘‘(f) TERMINATION
OF WAIVERS.—The Secretary 
shall terminate a waiver under this section if the Secretary 
determines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, 
that the performance of the State or other recipient af-
fected by the waiver has been inadequate to justify a con-
tinuation of the waiver and the recipient of the waiver has 
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failed to make revisions needed to carry out the purpose 
of the waiver, or if the waiver is no longer necessary to 
achieve its original purpose. 
‘‘(g) PUBLICATION.—A notice of the Secretary’s deci-
sion to grant each waiver under subsection (a) shall be 
published in the Federal Register and the Secretary shall 
provide for the dissemination of the notice to State edu-
cational agencies, interested parties, including educators, 
parents, students, advocacy and civil rights organizations, 
and the public. 
‘‘PART E—UNIFORM PROVISIONS 
‘‘Subpart 1—Private Schools 
‘‘SEC. 6501. PARTICIPATION BY PRIVATE SCHOOL CHIL-
DREN AND TEACHERS. 
‘‘(a) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this Act, to the extent consistent with the 
number of eligible children in areas served by a 
State educational agency, local educational agency, 
educational service agency, consortium of those 
agencies, or another entity receiving financial assist-
ance under a program specified in subsection (b), 
who are enrolled in private elementary schools and 
secondary schools in areas served by such agency, 
consortium, or entity, the agency, consortium, or en-
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tity shall, after timely and meaningful consultation 
with appropriate private school officials or their rep-
resentatives, provide to those children and their 
teachers or other educational personnel, on an equi-
table basis, special educational services or other ben-
efits that address their needs under the program. 
‘‘(2) SECULAR, NEUTRAL, AND
NONIDEOLOG-
ICAL SERVICES OR BENEFITS.—Educational services 
or other benefits, including materials and equipment, 
provided under this section, shall be secular, neutral, 
and nonideological. 
‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—Educational services and 
other benefits provided under this section for private 
school children, teachers, and other educational per-
sonnel shall be equitable in comparison to services 
and other benefits for public school children, teach-
ers, and other educational personnel participating in 
the program and shall be provided in a timely man-
ner. 
‘‘(4) EXPENDITURES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Expenditures for edu-
cational services and other benefits to eligible 
private school children, teachers, and other 
service personnel shall be equal to the expendi-
tures for participating public school children, 
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taking into account the number and educational 
needs, of the children to be served. 
‘‘(B) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS.—Funds allo-
cated to a local educational agency for edu-
cational services and other benefits to eligible 
private school children shall— 
‘‘(i) be obligated in the fiscal year for 
which the funds are received by the agen-
cy; and 
‘‘(ii) with respect to any such funds 
that cannot be so obligated, be used to 
serve such children in the following fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(C) 
NOTICE
OF
ALLOCATION.—Each 
State educational agency shall— 
‘‘(i) determine, in a timely manner, 
the proportion of funds to be allocated to 
each local educational agency in the State 
for educational services and other benefits 
under this subpart to eligible private school 
children; and 
‘‘(ii) provide notice, simultaneously, to 
each such local educational agency and the 
appropriate private school officials or their 
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representatives in the State of such alloca-
tion of funds. 
‘‘(5) PROVISION
OF
SERVICES.—An agency, 
consortium, or entity described in subsection (a)(1) 
of this section may provide those services directly or 
through contracts with public and private agencies, 
organizations, and institutions. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section applies to pro-
grams under— 
‘‘(A) subpart 2 of part A of title I; 
‘‘(B) subpart 4 of part A of title I; 
‘‘(C) part A of title II; 
‘‘(D) part B of title II; and 
‘‘(E) part B of title III. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible children’ means children eligi-
ble for services under a program described in para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—To ensure timely and 
meaningful consultation, a State educational agency, 
local educational agency, educational service agency, 
consortium of those agencies, or entity shall consult, 
in order to reach an agreement, with appropriate 
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private school officials or their representatives dur-
ing the design and development of the programs 
under this Act, on issues such as— 
‘‘(A) how the children’s needs will be iden-
tified; 
‘‘(B) what services will be offered; 
‘‘(C) how, where, and by whom the services 
will be provided; 
‘‘(D) how the services will be assessed and 
how the results of the assessment will be used 
to improve those services; 
‘‘(E) the size and scope of the equitable 
services to be provided to the eligible private 
school children, teachers, and other educational 
personnel and the amount of funds available for 
those services; 
‘‘(F) how and when the agency, consor-
tium, or entity will make decisions about the 
delivery of services, including a thorough con-
sideration and analysis of the views of the pri-
vate school officials or their representatives on 
the provision of services through potential 
third-party providers or contractors; and 
‘‘(G) how, if the agency disagrees with the 
views of the private school officials or their rep-
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