I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2928 
To provide grants to States to improve high schools and raise graduation 
rates while ensuring rigorous standards, to develop and implement effec-
tive school models for struggling students and dropouts, and to improve 
State policies to raise graduation rates, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 28, 2007 
Mr. HINOJOSA (for himself, Mr. BACA, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. 
SERRANO, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. REYES, 
Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SALAZAR, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. SCOTT
of Virginia, Mr. DAVIS
of Illinois, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. LEE, and Ms. 
LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To provide grants to States to improve high schools and 
raise graduation rates while ensuring rigorous standards, 
to develop and implement effective school models for 
struggling students and dropouts, and to improve State 
policies to raise graduation rates, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Graduation Promise 
Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘local educational 
agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational 
agency’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec-
tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) GRADUATION RATE.—The term ‘‘graduation 
rate’’ (except when used as part of the term ‘‘aver-
aged freshmen graduation rate’’) has the meaning 
given the term in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)). 
(3) HIGH-PRIORITY.—The term ‘‘high-priority’’, 
when used with respect to a secondary school, means 
a school that— 
(A) has low student achievement; and 
(B)(i) has a low graduation rate; or 
(ii) feeds students into a high school that 
has a low graduation rate. 
(4) HIGH
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 
means a secondary school in which the— 
(A) entering grade of the school is not 
lower than grade 6; and 
(B) highest grade of the school is— 
(i) grade 12; or 
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(ii) in the case of a secondary school 
approved by a State to issue a regular di-
ploma concurrently with a postsecondary 
degree or with not more than 2 years’ 
worth of postsecondary academic credit, 
grade 13. 
(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States of the United States, the District 
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, and the Republic of Palau. 
TITLE 
I—HIGH 
SCHOOL 
IM-
PROVEMENT AND DROPOUT 
REDUCTION FUND 
SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 
The Senate finds the following: 
(1) About a third of our Nation’s high school 
students fail to graduate in 4 years, and another 
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