I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5200 
To improve the accountability provisions of the part A of title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 
Mr. WU introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To improve the accountability provisions of the part A of 
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965, 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 ‘‘No Child Left Behind 
Improvement and Flexibility Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ESEA. 
(a) 
ASSESSMENTS
AND
ADEQUATE
YEARLY 
PROGRESS.— 
(1) CONTINUOUS GROWTH MODEL.—Clause (iii) 
of section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
6311(b)(2)(C)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(iii) results in continuous and sub-
stantial academic improvement for all stu-
dents as demonstrated by measures of stu-
dents’ progress toward proficiency, includ-
ing longitudinal growth at the student level 
or student cohort level;’’. 
(2) DATA AVERAGING.—Clause (iii) of section 
1111(b)(2)(J) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘or other means that increase 
the stability of school-building results from year to 
year’’ after ‘‘school’’. 
(3) SAME SUBGROUP, SAME SUBJECT.—Section 
1116(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘that 
fails, for 2 consecutive years, to make adequate 
yearly progress’’ and inserting ‘‘in which the 
same group of students described in section 
1111(b)(2)(C)(v) fails in the same subject, for 
2 consecutive years, to make adequate yearly 
progress’’;
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘that 
fails to make adequate yearly progress’’ and in-
serting ‘‘that fails (with respect to the same 
group of students and the same subject de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A)) to make adequate 
yearly progress’’; 
(C) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking ‘‘that 
fails to make adequate yearly progress’’ and in-
serting ‘‘that fails (with respect to the same 
group of students and the same subject de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A)) to make adequate 
yearly progress’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (8)(A), by striking ‘‘to 
fail to make adequate yearly progress’’ and in-
serting ‘‘to fail (with respect to the same group 
of students and the same subject described in 
paragraph (1)(A)) to make adequate yearly 
progress’’. 
(4) MULTIPLE MEASURES.—Paragraph (2) of 
section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)) is 
amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 
clause (ii);
(ii) by striking the period at the end 
of clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(iv) include with respect to each 
group of students described in subpara-
graph (C)(v) multiple measures of aca-
demic achievement, such as the proportion 
of State report card indicators met, a per-
formance index score, student drop-out 
rate, and a measure based on individual 
student achievement gains over time.’’; 
(B) in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C), by 
striking ‘‘based primarily on the academic as-
sessments described in paragraph (3)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘based primarily (but not more than 60 
percent) on the academic assessments described 
in paragraph (3)’’; and 
(C) by amending subparagraph (D) to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR OTHER INDICA-
TORS.—In carrying out subparagraphs (A), 
(B), and (C), the State shall ensure that— 
‘‘(i) the indicators described in those 
provisions are valid and reliable, and are
consistent with relevant, nationally recog-
nized professional and technical standards, 
if any; and 
‘‘(ii) schools identified for school im-
provement, corrective action, or restruc-
turing are identified using multiple meas-
ures of assessing school performance.’’. 
(5) 
NORM
REFERENCED
ASSESSMENTS.— 
Clause (ii) of section 1111(b)(3)(C) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)(C)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘provide’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, be aligned with cur-
riculum and instruction to adequately assess 
their effect on each content standard assessed, 
and include individual test items that, based on 
technical criteria, enable students to achieve the 
items if the students receive appropriate in-
struction’’ before the semicolon at the end. 
(6) EXCLUSION OF LEP STUDENTS FROM MATH 
ASSESSMENTS.—Clause (ix) of section 1111(b)(3)(C) 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(30(C)) is amended—
(A) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in subclause (III)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘subject to subclause 
(IV),’’ before ‘‘the inclusion of limited 
English proficient students’’; and 
(ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(C) at the end of the clause, by adding the 
following: 
‘‘(IV) at the discretion of the 
State, the exclusion of limited English 
proficient students who have attended 
school in the United States for not 
more than 1 school year from the aca-
demic assessments of mathematics 
and reading or language arts;’’. 
(b) TEACHER QUALITY.— 
(1) HIGHLY
QUALIFIED
SPECIAL
EDUCATION 
TEACHERS.—Paragraph (23) of section 9101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801) is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘(ex-
cept that a special education teacher may 
satisfy the requirements of this subclause
by passing such a rigorous State academic 
subject test in special education or in any 
1 subject that the teacher teaches if, with 
respect to each other academic subject in 
which the teacher teaches, the teacher 
works in collaboration with a teacher who 
is highly qualified in the subject)’’ before 
the semicolon; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 
the subparagraph; 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) when used with respect to a special 
education elementary, middle, or secondary 
school teacher, means that the teacher holds at 
least a bachelor’s degree and— 
‘‘(i) has met the applicable standard 
in subparagraph (B) or (C); or 
‘‘(ii) has successfully completed an 
academic 
major, 
a 
graduate 
degree, 
coursework equivalent to an undergraduate 
academic major, or advanced certification 
or credentialing in special education.’’.
(2) HIGHLY QUALIFIED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
TEACHERS.—Section 9101(23)(B)(i) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801(23)(B)(i)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘means that the teacher’’ 
and inserting ‘‘means that the teacher holds at 
least a bachelor’s degree and’’; and 
(B) by amending subclause (I) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(I) has successfully completed a 
graduate degree, or advanced certifi-
cation or credentialing; and’’. 
(3) PORTABILITY OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED STA-
TUS.—Subsection (a) of section 1119 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6319) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) TRANSFERRING TEACHERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), if a teacher transfers to a school 
after demonstrating at another school that he 
or she was highly qualified, the teacher is 
deemed to continue to satisfy the requirements 
of subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of section 
9101(23), as applicable.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a teacher described 
in subparagraph (A) transfers to a school in a 
different State, the State may reject the teach-
er’s status as highly qualified to the extent that 
such status was based on passing a rigorous 
State test pursuant to section 9101(23)(B) or 
meeting a high objective uniform State stand-
ard 
of 
evaluation 
pursuant 
to 
section 
9101(23)(C). 
‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 
paragraph, the term ‘different State’ means a 
State other than the State in which the teacher 
demonstrated that he or she was highly quali-
fied.’’. 
(4) CERTIFICATION
WAIVERS.—Clause (ii) of 
section 9101(23)(A) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)(A)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(ii) the teacher does not currently 
have certification or licensure requirements 
waived on an emergency, temporary, or 
provisional basis;’’. 
(c) SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.— 
(1) GRADUATION RATE.—Clause (vi) of section 
1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘, except that the State may 
exclude from the calculation of such percentage stu-
dents with disabilities who are allowed by State law 
to remain in secondary school beyond the standard 
number of years’’ after ‘‘who graduate from sec-
ondary school with a regular diploma in the stand-
ard number of years’’. 
(2) ASSESSING
STUDENTS
WITH
DISABIL-
ITIES.—Subparagraph (C) of section 1111(b)(3) of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) is amended— 
(A) in clause (xiv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in clause (xv), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(xvi) notwithstanding clause (i), at 
the discretion of the State, provide for out- 
of-level testing of children with disabil-
ities.’’. 
(d) RURAL SCHOOLS.— 
(1) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS IN RURAL 
SCHOOLS.—Subsection (a) of section 1119 of the El-
ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6319), as amended by subsection (b)(3), is 
further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) RURAL SCHOOLS.— 
‘‘(A) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 
the requirements of this subsection with respect 
to the teachers teaching at any rural school if 
the school demonstrates to the Secretary’s sat-
isfaction that such requirements impose an 
undue hardship on the school because of popu-
lation and geographic restraints. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—To seek a waiver 
under this paragraph, a school shall submit to 
the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information 
as the Secretary may require. Any such applica-
tion shall include— 
‘‘(i) an explanation of why the re-
quirements of this paragraph impose an 
undue hardship on the school because of 
population and geographic constraints; and 
‘‘(ii) a description of the actions the 
school intends to take to meet such re-
quirements.