I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5738 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish 
the Stronger Together Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 12, 2016 
Ms. FUDGE (for herself and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to establish the Stronger Together Program. 
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 ‘‘Stronger Together 
School Diversity Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. STRONGER TOGETHER PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 
seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating part F as part G; and 
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(2) by inserting after part E the following: 
‘‘PART F—STRONGER TOGETHER PROGRAM 
‘‘SEC. 4551. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
‘‘(1) Students from low-income families are 6 
times more likely to attend high-poverty schools than 
their more affluent peers. 
‘‘(2) Racial diversity in schools results in long- 
term social and academic benefits, including reduced 
neighborhood, college, and workplace segregation, 
higher levels of social cohesion, a reduced likelihood 
of racial prejudice, and the development of skills to 
navigate and find comfort in racially diverse set-
tings. 
‘‘(3) Students from low-income families who at-
tend more affluent elementary schools are more like-
ly to perform better academically than similar stu-
dents who attend high-poverty schools. 
‘‘(4) Students who attend the most affluent 
schools are nearly 70 percent more likely to attend 
college than students who attend the highest-poverty 
schools, regardless of their socioeconomic back-
ground. 
‘‘(5) 
Students 
who 
attend 
racially 
and 
socioeconomically isolated schools have less access to 
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experienced 
and 
qualified 
teachers, 
advanced 
coursework, high-quality instructional materials, and 
adequate facilities. 
‘‘(6) According to the Government Account-
ability Office, as of the 2013–14 school year, 16 per-
cent of our Nation’s public elementary schools and 
secondary schools served student populations com-
prised of 75 percent or more Black and Hispanic 
students and 75 percent or more students eligible 
for free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 
et seq.), an increase of more than 9 percent com-
pared to the percentage of such elementary and sec-
ondary schools in the 2000–2001 school year. More 
than 7,700,000 Black students and 12,300,000 His-
panic students attend racially and socioeconomically 
isolated public elementary schools and secondary 
schools. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part is to sup-
port the development, implementation, and evaluation of 
comprehensive strategies to address the effects of con-
centrated poverty or racial isolation by increasing diver-
sity, including socioeconomic diversity or racial diversity, 
in publicly funded early childhood education programs and 
public elementary schools and secondary schools. 
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‘‘SEC. 4552. RESERVATION FOR NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘The Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent 
of the amounts made available under section 4558 for a 
fiscal year to carry out activities of national significance 
relating to this part, which may include— 
‘‘(1) research, development, data collection, 
monitoring, technical assistance, evaluation, or dis-
semination activities; or 
‘‘(2) the development and maintenance of a 
community of practice for recipients of grants under 
this part and other experts in the field of school di-
versity. 
‘‘SEC. 4553. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED; LENGTH OF GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 
available under section 4558 and not reserved under 
section 4552 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
award grants, on a competitive basis in accordance 
with section 4554(b), to eligible entities described in 
subsection (b) to enable the eligible entities to de-
velop or implement ambitious plans to improve di-
versity and reduce or eliminate socioeconomic or ra-
cial isolation in publicly funded early childhood edu-
cation programs and public elementary schools and 
secondary schools. 
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‘‘(2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—The Secretary may, 
in any fiscal year, award— 
‘‘(A) planning grants; 
‘‘(B) implementation grants; or 
‘‘(C) planning grants and implementation 
grants. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—An entity that is eligible 
for a grant under subsection (a) is a local educational 
agency, a consortium of such agencies, an educational 
service agency, or another regional educational authority, 
that has significant achievement gaps and socioeconomic 
or racial segregation within or across the school districts 
served by the entity. 
‘‘(c) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) PLANNING
GRANT.—A planning grant 
awarded under this part shall be for a period of not 
more than 1 year. 
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—An implemen-
tation grant awarded under this part shall be for a 
period of not more than 3 years, except that the 
Secretary may extend an implementation grant for 
an additional 2-year period if the eligible entity re-
ceiving the grant demonstrates to the Secretary that 
the eligible entity is making significant progress on 
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the program performance measures identified in sec-
tion 4556. 
‘‘SEC. 4554. APPLICATIONS; AWARD BASIS. 
‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity described in 
section 4553(b) that desires to receive a grant under this 
part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may prescribe, including— 
‘‘(1) a description of the project for which the 
eligible entity is seeking a grant, including— 
‘‘(A) how the eligible entity proposes to use 
funds under this part to improve the academic 
and life outcomes of students in high-poverty or 
racially isolated publicly funded early childhood 
education 
programs 
or 
public 
elementary 
schools and secondary schools by supporting 
interventions that increase diversity in such 
programs and schools; 
‘‘(B) in the case of an implementation 
grant, the implementation grant plan described 
in section 4555(b)(1); and 
‘‘(C) any available evidence, or if such evi-
dence is not available, a rationale based on cur-
rent research, regarding how the proposed 
project will increase diversity; 
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‘‘(2)(A) in the case of an eligible entity pro-
posing to use any portion of funds under this part 
to benefit high-poverty publicly funded early child-
hood education programs or public schools, a de-
scription of how the eligible entity will identify and 
define income level and socioeconomic status; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity proposing 
to use any funds under this part to benefit publicly 
funded early childhood education programs, or pub-
lic schools, that are racially isolated, a description of 
how the eligible entity will identify and define racial 
isolation; 
‘‘(3) a description of the plan of the eligible en-
tity for continuing the proposed project after fund-
ing under this part ends; 
‘‘(4) a description of how the eligible entity will 
assess, monitor, and evaluate the impact of the ac-
tivities funded under this part on student achieve-
ment and student enrollment diversity; 
‘‘(5) an assurance that the eligible entity has 
conducted, or will conduct, robust parent and com-
munity engagement, and where appropriate, tribal 
consultation, while planning for and implementing a 
program under this part, such as through— 
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‘‘(A) public hearings or other open forums 
to inform the development of any formal strat-
egy to increase diversity; and 
‘‘(B) outreach, in a language that parents 
can understand, and consultation with families 
in the targeted district or region that is de-
signed to ensure participation in the planning 
and development of any formal strategy to in-
crease diversity; 
‘‘(6) an estimate of the number of students that 
the eligible entity plans to serve under the proposed 
project and the number of students to be served 
through additional expansion of the project after the 
grant ends; 
‘‘(7) an assurance that the eligible entity will— 
‘‘(A) cooperate with the evaluation process, 
including any evaluation that might require 
data and information from multiple recipients 
of grants under this part; and 
‘‘(B) participate in communities of practice 
with other recipients of grants under this part; 
‘‘(8) an assurance that, to the extent prac-
ticable, the eligible entity has developed the plan in 
consultation with other relevant entities, including 
local housing or transportation authorities; 
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‘‘(9) an assurance that, to the extent possible, 
the eligible entity has considered the potential impli-
cations of the grant activities on the demographics 
and student enrollment of nearby publicly funded 
early childhood education programs, public elemen-
tary schools or secondary schools, or local edu-
cational agencies not included in the activities of the 
grant; and 
‘‘(10) in the case of an eligible entity applying 
for an implementation grant, a description of how 
the eligible entity will implement, replicate, or take 
to scale a strategy based on a strong or moderate 
level of evidence, as determined under subclause (I) 
or (II) of section 8101(21)(A)(i), or will test a 
promising strategy to increase diversity in publicly 
funded early childhood education programs or public 
elementary schools and secondary schools. 
‘‘(b) AWARD BASIS.— 
‘‘(1) CRITERIA
FOR
EVALUATING
APPLICA-
TIONS.—The Secretary shall award grants under 
this part on a competitive basis, based on the quality 
of the applications submitted by eligible entities de-
scribed in section 4553(b) and each eligible entity’s 
likelihood of achieving success in improving student 
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outcomes or outcomes on other performance meas-
ures under section 4556. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
part, the Secretary may give priority to an eligible 
entity that proposes, in application submitted under 
subsection (a), to use funds under this part to sup-
port a program that extends beyond one local edu-
cational agency, such as an inter-district or regional 
program. 
‘‘SEC. 4555. USES OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) PLANNING GRANTS.—Each eligible entity that 
receives a planning grant under this part shall use the 
grant funds to carry out the following required activities: 
‘‘(1) Completing a comprehensive assessment of 
the educational outcomes and socioeconomic and ra-
cial stratification of children attending publicly fund-
ed early childhood education programs, and public 
elementary school and secondary school students, 
within the area and an analysis of the location and 
capacity of program and school facilities and the 
adequacy of local or regional transportation infra-
structure in the area. 
‘‘(2) Developing and implementing a robust 
family and community engagement plan, including, 
where feasible, public hearings or other open forums 
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that would precede and inform the development of a 
formal strategy to improve diversity. 
‘‘(3) Developing options, including timelines 
and cost estimates, for improving diversity, such as 
weighted lotteries, revised feeder patterns, school 
boundary redesign, or regional coordination. 
‘‘(4) Developing an implementation plan based 
on community preferences among those options. 
‘‘(5) Building the capacity to collect and ana-
lyze data that provide information for transparency, 
continuous improvement, and evaluation. 
‘‘(6) Participating in a community of practice 
with other grantees, including those receiving imple-
mentation grants. 
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT PLAN.—Each el-
igible entity that receives an implementation grant 
under this part shall implement a high-quality plan 
that includes— 
‘‘(A) a comprehensive set of strategies de-
signed to improve academic outcomes for all 
students, particularly low-income students and 
minority students, by increasing diversity in 
publicly funded early childhood education pro-
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grams and public elementary schools and sec-
ondary schools; 
‘‘(B) evidence of strong family and com-
munity support for these strategies, including 
evidence that the eligible entity has engaged in 
meaningful family and community outreach ac-
tivities; 
‘‘(C) ambitious but achievable goals to in-
crease diversity over the course of the grant pe-
riod; 
‘‘(D) collection and analysis of data to pro-
vide transparency and support continuous im-
provement throughout the grant period; and 
‘‘(E) a rigorous evaluation of the effective-
ness of the proposed project. 
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS ACTIVITIES.— 
Each eligible entity that receives an implementation 
grant under this part may use the grant funds to 
carry out one or more of the following activities: 
‘‘(A) Recruiting, hiring, or training addi-
tional teachers, administrators, and other in-
structional and support staff in new, expanded, 
or restructured publicly funded early childhood 
education 
programs 
or 
public 
elementary 
schools or secondary schools, or other profes-
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