I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2237 
To strengthen student achievement and graduation rates and prepare young 
people for college, careers, and citizenship through innovative partner-
ships that meet the comprehensive needs of children and youth. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 4, 2013 
Ms. CHU (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. HONDA, 
Mr. ELLISON, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. POLIS, and Mr. LOEBSACK) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen student achievement and graduation rates and 
prepare young people for college, careers, and citizenship 
through innovative partnerships that meet the com-
prehensive needs of children and youth. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Developing Innovative Partnerships and Learning Op-
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portunities that Motivate Achievement Act’’ or the ‘‘DI-
PLOMA Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Purposes. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
Sec. 5. Demonstration program authorized; allotment to States. 
Sec. 6. State child and youth strategy. 
Sec. 7. Coordinating body; State applications. 
Sec. 8. State use of funds. 
Sec. 9. Local consortium application; local child and youth strategy. 
Sec. 10. Local use of funds. 
Sec. 11. Construction. 
Sec. 12. Accountability and transparency. 
Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The future strength of the Nation’s democ-
racy, as well as the Nation’s economy, is dependent 
upon the investments made in children and youth 
today. 
(2) Evidence demonstrates that effective part-
nerships among schools and communities increase 
student achievement by addressing the academic 
needs of students as well as the challenges the stu-
dents face outside the classroom. For example: 
(A) Chicago Public Schools leads the Na-
tion’s largest community school initiative and 
found that nearly half of the students in com-
munity schools had increased math and reading 
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grades, and that between 2001 and 2006, com-
munity schools had greater gains in math and 
reading than regular Chicago public schools. 
(B) In a massive study of Chicago public 
schools, sociologist Anthony Bryk demonstrates 
that in schools where grassroots organizations 
forge strong connections with their schools, 
trust levels are greater, the school environment 
is civil, and parent involvement is greater. 
(C) Cincinnati Community Learning Cen-
ters, an initiative started in 2001, brings a 
number of organizations (such as the YMCA, 
the United Way, and the University of Cin-
cinnati) to schools, where a School Based Re-
source Coordinator develops and facilitates com-
munity-based partnerships and resources that 
are responsive to the needs of the school and 
community. In Cincinnati, graduation rates in-
creased from 51 percent in 2000 to 83 percent 
in 2009, the achievement gap between African- 
American students and White students de-
creased from 14.5 percent in 2003 to 4.3 per-
cent in 2009, and Cincinnati is the first urban 
district in Ohio to receive an ‘‘effective’’ rating. 
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(D) In Wisconsin, where partnerships are 
required for grant programs, non-traditional 
partners have proven to be instrumental for 
smaller communities to enrich after school pro-
grams. Those might include local trucking com-
panies, the Grange, Farm Bureau, small retail-
ers, and retirees. 
(E) Union City (New Jersey) school dis-
trict proves that by breaking down institutional 
‘‘silos’’ and creating deep partnerships, collabo-
ration and municipal involvement, schools can 
be vibrant places of hope despite poverty, unem-
ployment, and lack of affordable housing. 
(F) Molly Stark Elementary School in 
Bennington, Vermont, is a full-service commu-
nity school of about 400 students from kinder-
garten through 5th grade that exemplifies the 
spirit of community involvement. People of all 
ages, backgrounds and experiences learn and 
work together as neighbors to improve student 
learning. In addition to a rigorous curriculum, 
the school offers on-site pediatric, psychological, 
dental, pre-school, outreach, nutrition, coun-
seling, after school and summer school pro-
grams that level the playing field for all stu-
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dents, particularly the roughly 60 percent of 
students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. 
(G) Harmon Johnson Elementary School 
in Sacramento, California, has a student popu-
lation with 97 percent of students eligible for 
free or reduced-price lunch and 69 percent as 
English Language Learners. This community 
school encourages 21st century learning, and 
saw an API increase by 45 points in the last 
year. The school offers many resources to ad-
dress students’ social, emotional, and physical 
needs, including a health and wellness center, 
access to 9 mental health therapists and a 
state-of-the-art dental program that were all de-
veloped with strong parent collaboration. 
(H) By meeting the comprehensive needs 
of students, Communities In Schools, a national 
dropout prevention organization, demonstrates 
that 78 percent of participating students im-
proved their attendance, 89 percent had fewer 
behavior incidents, 80 percent improved their 
academic performance, and 78 percent of eligi-
ble seniors graduated from high school. 
(3) According to a 2013 report by the National 
Equity and Excellence Commission, ‘‘to ensure that 
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every child receives what he or she needs to succeed 
in school, we require a systemic means of cutting 
through the red tape that ties up funding streams 
and personnel. Governance reforms must ensure co-
ordination and cooperation across federal, state and 
local agencies. Communities, tribes, states and the 
federal government must work together.’’. 
(4) Approximately only 75 percent of 9th grad-
ers graduate from high school 4 years later. Of stu-
dents who graduate from high school, 2 out of 3 (67 
percent) enroll in a 2- or 4-year college in the fall 
after completing high school. Only about half (58 
percent) of first-time, full-time college freshmen 
seeking a 4-year degree receive a bachelor’s degree 
within 6 years or less. 
(5) Over the past 4 decades, the United States 
has slipped from being first in the world in high 
school and college graduation rates to 21st and 
14th, respectively, putting the Nation at a growing 
competitive disadvantage with other countries. 
(6) Research shows that the holistic needs of 
students must be met in order to strengthen student 
achievement. One analysis of 16 factors influencing 
student achievement found that over half of the fac-
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tors identified were present in the lives of students 
outside of the classroom. 
(7) Research from the Government Account-
ability Office found that students who change 
schools less frequently are more likely to perform at 
grade level and less likely to repeat a grade than 
their less stable peers. 
(8) In research by Teachers College, Columbia 
University, studies in psychology, health, and edu-
cation feature school ‘‘connectedness’’ as important 
to student learning, achievement, and well-being. 
When students feel a sense of connection with the 
larger world and community institutions, they are 
more engaged in instructional activities and express 
greater commitment to school (Furrer & Skinner, 
2003; Roeser, Midgley, & Urdan, 1996; Wentzel, 
1997). 
(9) We know from successful experiences that 
hundreds of thousands of arts, cultural, service, 
sports, colleges and other youth organizations, as 
well as civic and faith-based groups want to partner 
with schools and educators to reinforce learning, but 
far too often, neither the school nor the community 
know how to effectively connect with each other. 
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(10) In order for the United States to compete 
in a global economy, the copartnering efforts of gov-
ernment, social services, business, arts, home, com-
munity-based organizations, and philanthropy need 
to concentrate their efforts where they are most 
needed: in our schools. 
(11) Research from Johns Hopkins University 
shows that access to summer learning opportunities 
leads to significant student learning gains not expe-
rienced by students who cannot access summer 
learning opportunities. 
(12) A study of summer learning programs in 
California found that students experienced improved 
academic skills, school attendance, relationships with 
peers and adults, and positive work habits after at-
tending summer learning programs. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to create engaging learning experiences 
that— 
(A) 
strengthen 
academic 
achievement, 
build civic capacity, and provide a continuum of 
supports and opportunities for children, youth, 
and their families; and 
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(B) prepare young people for college, ca-
reers, and citizenship through results-focused 
partnerships at all levels that mobilize and co-
ordinate school and community resources; 
(2) to ensure the academic, physical, social, 
emotional, health, mental health, and civic develop-
ment of disadvantaged youth and thereby strengthen 
their families and communities; 
(3) to engage and support parents, care givers, 
and families in their role as first educators of their 
children; 
(4) to promote community and family engage-
ment in the academic and developmental needs of 
children and youth; 
(5) to leverage and integrate the human and fi-
nancial assets of local communities, schools, State 
governments, the Federal Government, and the nat-
ural assets of communities— 
(A) toward better results for children, 
youth, and families; and 
(B) for sustained civic capacity; and 
(6) to develop school improvement strategies 
that incorporate approaches that meet the com-
prehensive needs of children and youth, such as full 
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service community schools, community-based, inte-
grated student services, and related approaches. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMUNITY-BASED, INTEGRATED STUDENT 
SERVICES.—The term ‘‘community-based, integrated 
student services’’ means interventions, coordinated 
through a single point of contact, that improve stu-
dent achievement by connecting community re-
sources with the academic and social service needs 
of students. 
(2) 
COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
IN
EDU-
CATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘community 
engagement in education’’ means systematic ef-
forts to involve, engage, and collaborate with 
parents, community residents, members of 
school communities, community partners, and 
other stakeholders in exploring the needs of 
their students and schools, developing plans to 
address those needs, and working together to 
address those needs. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term includes ef-
fective community engagement in an ongoing 
process to develop a welcoming school and 
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