I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1636 
To establish expanded learning time initiatives, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2011 
Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, and Mr. HONDA) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish expanded learning time initiatives, 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 ‘‘Time for Innovation 
Matters in Education Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Although the demands of our global society 
have grown and expectations of our students and 
schools have risen, the time allotted for students and 
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teachers to reach these standards has remained the 
same for decades. 
(2) The near-universal school calendar, con-
sisting of 180 6-hour days, has not changed since 
the school calendar was designed to meet the needs 
of farms and factories in the early 20th century. 
(3) According to the Programme for Inter-
national Student Assessment (PISA), which meas-
ures how well students from more than 70 econo-
mies are prepared to meet the challenges they may 
encounter in the future, students in the United 
States have maintained a status quo for nearly 1 
decade, while the mathematics and reading ratings 
of students from other high-performing nations sur-
pass the ratings of students in the United States. 
(4) Quality expanded learning programs, which 
provide students with more than 300 additional 
school hours per year, have demonstrated success in 
improving student academic performance across the 
United States. 
(5) Expanded learning time initiatives can ad-
dress the diverse academic needs and interests of 
students and modernize public schools to help stu-
dents develop 21st century learning skills and pre-
pare all students for life-long success. 
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(6) As of the date of enactment of this Act, 
most expanded learning opportunities are offered 
through charter schools or schools with independent 
organizational structures, but expanded learning 
time could positively impact all public school stu-
dents, from prekindergarten through grade 12. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to increase opportunities for students in 
high-need schools to participate in expanded learning 
time initiatives, including expanded school days, ex-
panded school weeks, or expanded school years, in 
order to increase student academic achievement and 
student engagement and success in schools, by— 
(A) providing students with more in-depth 
and rigorous learning opportunities in reading 
or language arts, mathematics, science, history 
and civics, and other core academic subjects; 
(B) providing students with more time for 
additional subjects and enrichment activities 
that contribute to a well-rounded education, 
which may include music and the arts, physical 
education, service-learning, and experiential and 
work-based learning opportunities (such as 
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community service, learning apprenticeships, in-
ternships, and job shadowing); and 
(C) providing teachers with increased op-
portunities to work collaboratively, and to par-
ticipate in common planning, within and across 
grades and subjects, to improve instruction; 
(2) to improve teaching and learning by using 
expanded learning, including school redesign, to— 
(A) create a seamless program or cur-
riculum with regular and expanded teaching 
and learning opportunities within a school pro-
gram that is comprehensively redesigned for 
students and teachers; and 
(B) improve access to instructional sup-
ports for academically struggling students; 
(3) to encourage States, local educational agen-
cies, and schools to develop high-quality, innovative, 
replicable, and sustainable initiatives to expand 
learning time, including using school redesign; and 
(4) to create partnerships between schools and 
local educational agencies, and external organiza-
tions such as community-based organizations, insti-
tutions of higher education, community learning cen-
ters, cultural organizations, and health and mental 
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health agencies to provide expanded learning oppor-
tunities for students. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION 
ACT TERMS.—The terms ‘‘community-based organi-
zation’’, ‘‘core academic subjects’’, ‘‘elementary 
school’’, ‘‘highly qualified’’, ‘‘institution of higher 
education’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘other 
staff’’, ‘‘parent’’, ‘‘professional development’’, ‘‘sec-
ondary school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State 
educational agency’’ have the meanings given the 
terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER.—The term 
‘‘community learning center’’ means a community 
learning center, as defined in section 4201(b) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7171(b)), that receives assistance under 
part B of title IV of such Act. 
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) 1 or more local educational agencies; 
or 
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(B) a partnership that includes 1 or more 
local educational agencies and 1 or more of the 
following: 
(i) A nonprofit community-based orga-
nization, such as— 
(I) an organization with dem-
onstrated experience in expanding 
learning opportunities and helping 
schools redesign their educational pro-
grams to better meet student needs; 
or 
(II) an organization focused on 
alternative learning or dropout pre-
vention. 
(ii) An institution of higher education. 
(iii) A community learning center. 
(iv) An entity that is carrying out an 
after-school program. 
(v) A public or nonprofit entity. 
(4) EXPANDED LEARNING TIME INITIATIVE.— 
The term ‘‘expanded learning time initiative’’ means 
a program that— 
(A) uses an expanded school day, expanded 
school week, or expanded school year schedule, 
that increases the total number of school hours 
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for the school year at a school by not less than 
300 hours (which shall include hours in which 
a student is engaged in academic activities, ex-
periential learning, work-based learning, and 
enrichment, but shall not include hours in 
which a student is engaged in sports or employ-
ment activities)— 
(i) compared to the school year that is 
standard for the local educational agency 
serving the school, for schools of the com-
parable level (elementary school, middle 
school, or high school, as defined under ap-
plicable State law); or 
(ii) in the case of a charter school 
that is its own local educational agency, 
compared to the school year that is stand-
ard for local educational agencies in the 
surrounding area, for schools of the com-
parable level; 
(B) uses the expanded learning time in-
volved to redesign the school’s program in a 
manner that includes additional time— 
(i) for academic work, and to support 
innovation in teaching, to improve the pro-
ficiency of participating students (particu-
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larly struggling students) in reading or 
language arts, mathematics, science, his-
tory and civics, and other core academic 
subjects; 
(ii) to advance student learning for all 
students, including those who already meet 
or exceed student academic achievement 
standards, as measured by State academic 
assessments 
required 
under 
section 
1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6311(b)(3)); 
(iii) for additional subjects and en-
richment activities that contribute to a 
well-rounded education, which may include 
music and the arts, physical education, 
service-learning, 
and 
experiential 
and 
work-based learning opportunities (such as 
community service, learning apprentice-
ships, internships, and job shadowing); and 
(iv) for teachers for collaboration, and 
common planning, within and across 
grades and subjects; and 
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(C) will expand learning time for all stu-
dents in all grade levels in the school, except 
that— 
(i) the program shall not require sec-
ondary schools to have all students on 
campus at all times; and 
(ii) a school that includes an on-site 
prekindergarten-level program may choose 
whether or not to expand the learning time 
of such program, however, if the school de-
cides to provide expanded learning time for 
prekindergarten, the school must do so for 
all students enrolled in prekindergarten at 
the school. 
(5) EXPANDED LEARNING TIME SCHOOL.—The 
term ‘‘expanded learning time school’’ means a 
school that has implemented an expanded learning 
time initiative using funds received under this Act. 
(6) GRADUATION RATE.—The term ‘‘graduation 
rate’’ means a graduation rate as defined 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)) and clarified by section 200.19(b) 
of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, or any cor-
responding similar regulation or ruling. 
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(7) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘high-need 
school’’ means— 
(i) a public elementary school or sec-
ondary school at which 50 percent or more 
of the students are low-income students; or 
(ii) a high school with a graduation 
rate of less than 75 percent. 
(8) HIGH
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 
means a public high school, as defined under appli-
cable State law. 
(9) LOW-INCOME STUDENT.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come student’’ means a student who is eligible to be 
counted under 1 of the measures of poverty de-
scribed in section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6313(a)(5)). 
(10) REDESIGN.—The term ‘‘redesign’’, used 
with respect to a school or school program, means 
a process to significantly reconfigure a school’s or 
program’s schedule in a manner that more effec-
tively utilizes students and teachers’ time, including 
providing additional time— 
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