I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2105 
To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades 
are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports 
so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in 
secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and 
district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of 
students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle 
grades models for struggling students, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2015 
Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in 
the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous 
curriculum with effective supports so that students com-
plete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary 
school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State 
and district policies and programs relating to the aca-
demic achievement of students in the middle grades, 
to develop and implement effective middle grades models 
for struggling students, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Success in the Middle 
Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) International comparisons indicate that stu-
dents in the United States do not start out behind 
students of other nations in mathematics and 
science, but that they fall behind by the end of the 
middle grades. 
(2) Approximately 64 percent of students in 
grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2013 
National Assessment of Educational Progress. A lit-
tle over one-third of students in grade 8 in the 
United States, and approximately 3 percent of such 
students who are English language learners, can 
read with proficiency, according to the 2013 Na-
tional Assessment on Educational Progress (referred 
to in this section as ‘‘NAEP’’). 
(3) In mathematics, 35 percent of students in 
grade 8 show skills at or above the NAEP proficient 
level in 2013. However, the percentage of students 
in grade 4 at the NAEP proficient and above level 
was 42 percent. In grade 8, the gaps between the 
average mathematics scores of White and Black stu-
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dents and between White and Hispanic students 
were approximately as wide in 2013 as in 2009. 
(4) Combining measures of academic achieve-
ment and motivation, social engagement, and self- 
regulation—the behavioral domains essential for suc-
cess across the school and work continuum—pro-
vides a more holistic picture of students, including 
their likelihood of enrolling in college following high 
school graduation. This information, available in 
middle school, allows for early identification of and 
intervention with students who may be less likely to 
complete secondary school and attend an institution 
of higher education. 
(5) Higher education readiness should begin in 
middle school. A student in grade 8 has at least a 
75-percent chance of dropping out of secondary 
school if the student attended school less than 80 
percent of the time in grade 8 and failed English or 
mathematics in that grade. 
(6) Middle grades students are hopeful about 
their future, with 93 percent believing that they will 
complete secondary school and 90 percent believing 
they will find a good job after high school gradua-
tion. 
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(7) Students who do not attend school regu-
larly, who are subjected to frequent disciplinary ac-
tions, or who fail mathematics or English have less 
than a 15-percent chance of graduating secondary 
school on time and a 20-percent chance of grad-
uating 1 year late. Without effective interventions 
and proper supports, these students are at risk of 
subsequent failure in secondary school, or of drop-
ping out. 
(8) Student transitions from elementary school 
to the middle grades and to secondary school are 
often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in-
adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 
sharing of student performance and academic 
achievement data between grades. 
(9) Middle grades improvement strategies 
should be tailored based on a variety of performance 
indicators and data, so that educators can create 
and implement successful school improvement strate-
gies to address the needs of the middle grades, and 
so that teachers can provide effective instruction and 
adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk stu-
dents. 
(10) To stem a secondary school dropout rate 
nearly 3 times the average— 
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(A) students with disabilities in the critical 
middle grades must receive appropriate aca-
demic accommodations and access to assistive 
technology; 
(B) high-risk behaviors in such students, 
such as chronic absenteeism and course failure, 
must be monitored; and 
(C) problem-solving skills with broad appli-
cation must be taught to such students. 
(11) Local educational agencies and State edu-
cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 
provide support for school improvement strategies. 
Successful models do exist for turning around low- 
performing middle grades, and Federal support 
should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 
promising practices based on evidence from success-
ful schools. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘edu-
cational service agency’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local 
educational agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘secondary 
school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 
meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Ele-
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mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) 
CHRONIC
ABSENTEEISM.—The 
term 
‘‘chronic absenteeism’’ means the percentage of indi-
vidual students missing 10 percent, or more, of the 
days of school in a school year. 
(3) DIGITAL
LITERACY
SKILLS.—The term 
‘‘digital literacy skills’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 202 of the Museum and Library 
Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 
(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 
(A) not less than 1 eligible local edu-
cational agency; and 
(B)(i) an institution of higher education; 
(ii) an educational service agency; or 
(iii) a nonprofit organization with dem-
onstrated expertise in high-quality middle 
grades intervention. 
(5) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 
a local educational agency that serves not less than 
1 eligible school. 
(6) ELIGIBLE
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 
school’’ means an elementary or secondary school 
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