I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 800
To provide for education flexibility partnerships.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 23, 1999
Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. DEAL of Georgia,
Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. DOOLEY of Califor-
nia, Mr. DREIER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr.
GREENWOOD, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Ms.
HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. MALONEY of New
York, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. PETRI, Mr. SESSIONS,
Mr. SHOWS, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOUDER, Mrs. TAUSCHER,
Mr. UPTON, and Mr. WEYGAND) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To provide for education flexibility partnerships.
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 ‘‘Education Flexibility
Partnership Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) States differ substantially in demographics,
in school governance, and in school finance and
funding. The administrative and funding mecha-
nisms that help schools in 1 State improve may not
prove successful in other States.
(2) Although the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 and other Federal education
statutes afford flexibility to State and local edu-
cational agencies in implementing Federal programs,
certain requirements of Federal education statutes
or regulations may impede local efforts to reform
and improve education.
(3) By granting waivers of certain statutory
and regulatory requirements, the Federal Govern-
ment can remove impediments for local educational
agencies in implementing educational reforms and
raising the achievement levels of all children.
(4) State educational agencies are closer to
local school systems, implement statewide edu-
cational reforms with both Federal and State funds,
and are responsible for maintaining accountability
for local activities consistent with State standards
and assessment systems. Therefore, State edu-
cational agencies are often in the best position to
align waivers of Federal and State requirements
with State and local initiatives.
(5) The Education Flexibility Partnership Dem-
onstration Act allows State educational agencies the
flexibility to waive certain Federal requirements,
along with related State requirements, but allows
only 12 States to qualify for such waivers.
(6) Expansion of waiver authority will allow for
the waiver of statutory and regulatory requirements
that impede implementation of State and local edu-
cational improvement plans, or that unnecessarily
burden program administration, while maintaining
the intent and purposes of affected programs, and
maintaining such fundamental requirements as those
relating to civil rights, educational equity, and ac-
countability.
(7) To achieve the State goals for the education
of children in the State, the focus must be on results
in raising the achievement of all students, not proc-
ess.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ATTENDANCE
AREA.—The term ‘‘attend-
ance area’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘school
attendance area’’ in section 1113(a)(2)(A) of the El-
ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
(2) ED-FLEX PARTNERSHIP STATE.—The term
‘‘Ed-Flex Partnership State’’ means an eligible State
designated 
by 
the 
Secretary 
under 
section
4(a)(1)(B).
(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational
agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the
meaning given such terms in section 14101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Education.
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying
areas.
SEC. 4. EDUCATION FLEXIBILITY PARTNERSHIP.
(a) EDUCATION FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM.—
(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may
carry out an education flexibility program under
which the Secretary authorizes a State edu-
cational agency that serves an eligible State to
waive statutory or regulatory requirements ap-
plicable to 1 or more programs or Acts de-
scribed in subsection (b), other than require-
ments described in subsection (c), for the State
educational agency or any local educational
agency or school within the State.
(B) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall
designate each eligible State participating in the
program described in subparagraph (A) to be
an Ed-Flex Partnership State.
(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—For the purpose of this
subsection the term ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State
that—
(A)(i) has—
(I) developed and implemented the
challenging State content standards, chal-
lenging State student performance stand-
ards, and aligned assessments described in
section 1111(b) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, and for
which local educational agencies in the
State are producing the individual school
performance profiles required by section
1116(a) of such Act; or
(II) made substantial progress, as de-
termined by the Secretary, toward develop-
ing and implementing the standards and
assessments, and toward having local edu-
cational agencies in the State produce the
profiles, described in subclause (I); and
(ii) holds local educational agencies and
schools accountable for meeting the educational
goals described in the local applications submit-
ted under paragraph (4); and
(B) waives State statutory or regulatory
requirements relating to education while holding
local educational agencies or schools within the
State that are affected by such waivers account-
able for the performance of the students who
are affected by such waivers.
(3) STATE APPLICATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational
agency desiring to participate in the education
flexibility program under this section shall sub-
mit an application to the Secretary at such
time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may reasonably re-
quire. Each such application shall demonstrate
that the eligible State has adopted an education
flexibility plan for the State that includes—
(i) a description of the process the
State educational agency will use to evalu-
ate applications from local educational
agencies or schools requesting waivers of—
(I) Federal statutory or regu-
latory requirements as described in
paragraph (1)(A); and
(II) State statutory or regulatory
requirements relating to education;
and
(ii) a detailed description of the State
statutory and regulatory requirements re-
lating to education that the State edu-
cational agency will waive;
(iii) a description of specific edu-
cational objectives the State intends to
meet under such a plan; and
(iv) a description of the process by
which the State will measure the progress
of local educational agencies in meeting
specific goals described in subsection
(a)(4)(A)(iii).
(B) APPROVAL
AND
CONSIDERATIONS.—
The Secretary may approve an application de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) only if the Sec-
retary determines that such application dem-
onstrates substantial promise of assisting the
State educational agency and affected local edu-
cational agencies and schools within such State
in carrying out comprehensive educational re-
form, after considering—
(i) the comprehensiveness and quality
of the education flexibility plan described
in subparagraph (A);
(ii) the ability of such plan to ensure
accountability for the activities and goals
described in such plan;
(iii) the degree to which the State’s
objectives 
described 
in 
subparagraph
(A)(iii)—
(I) are specific and measurable;
and
(II) measure the performance of
schools or local educational agencies
and specific groups of students af-
fected by waivers;
(iv) the significance of the State stat-
utory or regulatory requirements relating
to education that will be waived; and
(v) the quality of the State edu-
cational agency’s process for approving ap-
plications for waivers of Federal statutory
or regulatory requirements as described in
paragraph (1)(A) and for monitoring and
evaluating the results of such waivers.
(4) LOCAL APPLICATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational
agency or school requesting a waiver of a Fed-
eral statutory or regulatory requirement as de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A) and any relevant
State statutory or regulatory requirement from
a State educational agency shall submit an ap-
plication to the State educational agency at
such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the State educational agency
may reasonably require. Each such application
shall—
(i) indicate each Federal program af-
fected and the statutory or regulatory re-
quirement that will be waived;
(ii) describe the purposes and overall
expected results of waiving each such re-
quirement;
(iii) describe, for each school year,
specific, measurable, educational goals for
each local educational agency, school, or
group of students affected by the proposed
waiver; and
(iv) explain why the waiver will assist
the local educational agency or school in
meeting such goals.
(B) EVALUATION
OF
APPLICATIONS.—A
State educational agency shall evaluate an ap-
plication submitted under subparagraph (A) in
accordance with the State’s education flexibility
plan described in paragraph (3)(A).
(C) 
APPROVAL.—A 
State 
educational
agency shall not approve an application for a
waiver under this paragraph unless—
(i) the local educational agency or
school requesting such waiver has devel-
oped a local reform plan that is applicable
to such agency or school, respectively; and
(ii) the waiver of Federal statutory or
regulatory requirements as described in
paragraph (1)(A) will assist the local edu-
cational agency or school in meeting its
educational goals.
(5) MONITORING.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational
agency participating in the program under this
section shall annually monitor the activities of
local educational agencies and schools receiving
waivers under this section and shall submit an
annual report regarding such monitoring to the
Secretary.
(b) PERFORMANCE DATA.—Not later than
2 years after a State is designated as an Ed-
Flex Partnership State each such State shall
include performance data demonstrating the de-
gree to which progress has been made toward
meeting the objectives outlined in paragraph
(3)(A)(iii).
(6) DURATION OF FEDERAL WAIVERS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not
approve the application of a State educational
agency under paragraph (3) for a period ex-
ceeding 5 years, except that the Secretary may
extend such period if the Secretary determines
that such agency’s authority to grant waivers
has been effective in enabling such State or af-
fected local educational agencies or schools to
carry out their local reform plans.
(B) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—Three years
after a State is designated an Ed-Flex Partner-
ship State, the Secretary shall—
(i) review the performance of any
State educational agency in such State
that grants waivers of Federal statutory or
regulatory requirements as described in
paragraph (1)(A); and
(ii) terminate such agency’s authority
to grant such waivers if the Secretary de-
termines, after notice and opportunity for
hearing, that such agency has failed to
make measurable progress in meeting the
objectives outlined in paragraph (3)(A)(iii)
to justify continuation of such authority.
(7) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE WAIVERS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Secretary is
authorized to carry out the education flexibility pro-
gram under this subsection for each of the fiscal
years 2000 through 2004.
(b) INCLUDED PROGRAMS.—The statutory or regu-
latory requirements referred to in subsection (a)(1)(A) are
any such requirements under the following programs or
Acts:
(1) Title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965.
(2) Part B of title II of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965.
(3) Subpart 2 of part A of title III of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(other than section 3136 of such Act).
(4) Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965.
(5) Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965.
(6) Part C of title VII of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965.
(7) The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Tech-
nical Education Act of 1998.
(c) WAIVERS NOT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary
may not waive any statutory or regulatory requirement of
the programs or Acts authorized to be waived under sub-
section (a)(1)(A)—
(1) relating to—
(A) maintenance of effort;
(B) comparability of services;
(C) the equitable participation of students
and professional staff in private schools;
(d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to affect the authority of a State educational
agency that has been granted waiver authority under the
following provisions of law:
(1) Section 311(e) of the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act.
(2) The proviso referring to such section 311(e)
under the heading ‘‘EDUCATION REFORM’’ in the
Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1996
(Public Law 104–134; 110 Stat. 1321–229).
(e) ACCOUNTABILITY.—In deciding whether to ex-
tend a request for a State educational agency’s authority
to issue waivers under this section, the Secretary shall re-
view the progress of the State educational agency to deter-
mine if such agency—
(1) makes measurable progress toward achiev-
ing the objectives described in the application sub-
mitted pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(A)(iii); and
(2) demonstrates that local educational agencies
or schools affected by such waiver or authority have
made measurable progress toward achieving the de-
sired results described in the application submitted
pursuant to subsection (a)(4)(A)(iii).
(f) PUBLICATION.—A notice of the Secretary’s deci-
sion to authorize State educational agencies to issue waiv-
ers under this section shall be published in the Federal
Register and the Secretary shall provide for the dissemina-
tion of such notice to State educational agencies, inter-
ested parties, including educators, parents, students, advo-
cacy and civil rights organizations, other interested par-
ties, and the public.
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